March 30, 2000
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)

The following statement was issued today by Forest Resources and Agrifoods Minister Kevin Aylward. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

On Thursday and Friday of this week, the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador are holding their Annual General Meeting in Corner Brook.

It is fitting therefore that I stand in the House today and highlight the many areas of this vital industry within the provincial economy.

Fourty-nine dairy farms are operating in the province.

Milk production for 1999 is estimated at about 33.4 million liters of fluid milk and is continuously increasing. This year�s target is expected to be exceeded by more than 1.4 million liters. This is an indication that producers are becoming more efficient in their operations. Local production has placed the Newfoundland and Labrador at 100 per cent self-sufficiency in fluid milk.

Many farms have shown increases in cow milk production as a result of excellent management in areas of genetics, nutrition and housing.

Dairy is a $100 million industry with employment in excess of 700 people, and indirectly over 1000. These jobs, created between farms, Brookfield Dairies, and Central Dairies, include on-farm, processing, manufacturing, marketing and sales, and transportation.

The dairy industry continues to develop and grow. There has been ongoing work in the field of grain production. In 1999, there were 100 acres of land seeded and harvested with barley and wheat. For four years in a row, cattle corn has been planted in the western region. These measures are aimed at reducing the cost of feed for the farmers.

Work is also being done in the area of forage production in order to improve the producers� ability to implement better crop production management and practices.

Programs such as The School Milk Program and The Daphne Taylor Milk Quality Award of Excellence encourage higher milk consumption and the production of high quality milk respectively.

Newfoundland and Labrador has some of the finest professionals in the dairy industry. Phil MacLean and Pauline Duivenvoorden, who operate Headline Holstein Dairy Farms in Goose Arm and Reidville were recognized early last year as Atlantic Canada�s Outstanding Young Farmers. Wilson Chaffey of St. Davids, one of the pioneers in dairy farming on the west coast, was inducted into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame last year.

The Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods continues to provide support to the dairy industry through such programs as: veterinary services, analysis of feed and soil, subsidizing limestone prices, milk quality testing, engineering services, extension services, identification of land use, and on-farm mapping.

In closing, there are challenges ahead for the Newfoundland and Labrador dairy industry. These challenges are being met with professional and up-to-date equipment. The economic prospect of the industry in the province is positive.

2000 03 30                                                     2:05 p.m.