‘It’s change they’re afraid of’: We asked beef farmers what they think of supply management
September 13, 2018 | News Article
“I understand (dairy’s) trepidation, but there are hundreds of thousands of other farmers that are being potentially hung out to dry if NAFTA fails because of supply management,” said Ryan Kasko, a cattle feeder from near Lethbridge, Alta.
Ryan Thompson, owner of Living Sky Beef near Minton, Sask., laughed at the argument that food safety is tied to market controls. “To say that monopolizing a market will ensure safety, they’re not even connected,” he said. “It’s change they’re afraid of, but I firmly believe that the milk produced in Canada is the highest quality in the world, and I don’t think they need to be afraid of some other country coming in and taking their market,” said Thompson. “Canadians will pay for Canadian milk because that’s what they want to buy, and I don’t think it matters if there’s U.S. or New Zealand or European milk on the shelf.”