Canadian government invests in DFC to bolster dairy sector, DFC appoints David Wiens as president

CANADA – Canada has invested more than US$7.5m into Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC), an advocacy group created to form a single entity for representing the interests of dairy farmers, to carry out research and identify solutions that can improve the dairy industry’s environmental and economic resilience.

The funding will be provided through the AgriScience Program – Clusters Component, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

According to DFC, the investment to the Dairy Research Cluster 4 for a sustainable dairy sector now totals $13m and also involves Lactanet and Novalait.

“Today’s announcement provided to the Dairy Research Cluster 4 is essential to enable strong, robust and evidenced-based research material that ultimately helps dairy farmers increase the efficiency of their farms,” Pierre Lampron, president of Dairy Farmers of Canada said.

“The investment is another important step towards Dairy Net Zero and Canadian dairy farmers’ continued work on furthering a sustainable dairy sector.”

The Canadian government also announced that the fifth compensation payment for dairy producers under the Dairy Direct Payment Program (DDPP) will provide support of up to US$1.2bn over six years to account for the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Program.

David Wiens appointed as new DFC president

Meanwhile, the advocacy group has elected David Wiens as president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) at the organization’s annual meeting in Winnipeg. With the DFC board since 2009, Wiens succeeds Pierre Lampron.

“I would like to thank dairy farmers for electing me to lead our national organization…our industry is at a crossroads, we face numerous challenges, but there are also opportunities which we must seize,” David Wiens said during his appointment.

Weins previously served as a director on the DFC board since 2009; in 2011, he was elected to the position of vice president. 

During his time on the board, Wiens has been serving as the chair of the Promotion Committee and is currently serving as the chair of the production committee and of the Canadian Dairy Research Council. He also chairs the committee that is reviewing and updating the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle.

“Dairy farmers are the first link with milk production in bringing highly nutritious dairy products to consumers. Yet, we rely on our dairy processors as key partners in the supply chain,” Weins stressed.

“It is in the overall sector’s interest to adopt collaborative approaches to meet the expectations of Canadians.”

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