The Canadian Dairy Commission chairs and supports the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee (CMSMC) and its secretariat. The Committee serves as the key national body for policy development and discussions respecting the dairy production and processing sectors.

The Committee meets four times yearly to examine the main production, economic and marketing factors affecting the dairy industry, including:

The Total Quota is the national milk production target for Canada. On behalf of the industry, the Canadian Dairy Commission calculates the Total Quota on a monthly basis, according to a method set by the Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee. This target is expressed in kilograms of butterfat, and is monitored on an ongoing basis and adjusted as needed to reflect variations in supply and demand. The national quota is allocated among regional pools.

Responsibilities of the federal departments and agencies

The Canadian dairy industry comprises several federal stakeholders, including:

La gestion de l’offre dans le secteur laitier

Dans le domaine des produits laitiers, l'équilibre entre l'offre et la demande suppose un équilibre entre la production de toutes les fermes laitières et la consommation intérieure de produits laitiers. Le contrôle de la production nationale à la ferme se fait grâce aux quotas. La gestion des approvisionnements tient également compte de certaines importations au Canada et d'une partie de la production qui est expédiée sur les marchés d'exportation.

For dairy producers, milk pooling agreements are a way of managing the financial risks associated with the trends in domestic markets. The Canadian Dairy Commission administers these agreements on behalf of the dairy sector. The pooling of revenues from milk sales enables producers to receive an average price per hectolitre or per kilogram of components, based on total sales.

Supply management in Canada’s agricultural sector

Any industry, from car manufacturing to shoe factories, tries to establish the best possible balance between supply and demand. Farm producers try to do the same thing through supply management. They manage their production so that it will align with the demand forecasts for their products. In a supply management system, demand is forecast by means of calculations, and production signals are sent out to producers based on the demand forecasts that are obtained this way.