We milk 340 Holsteins twice a day, so I'll take a stab at answering this...
American dairy products are not illegal, at least that is my understanding. They would be subject to import tariffs, so likely only higher end product has enough margin left to justify the hassle of importing? You are correct that growth hormone and antibiotic residue is a huge issue here, and there is no tolerance for any antibiotic residue in milk, period, but that is true on both sides of the border. Posilac (the growth hormone that increases milk production) is legally available in the states but has never been in Canada. There is no test to determine if it has been used though, any American dairy product that claims hormone free is relying on signed declarations from the producers supplying the plant.
As for the broader topic, as soon as someone figures out how I can keep my milk on farm and not sell it to the processing plant and wait for prices to rise, then I will think seriously about moving away from a quota system
I realize I am way oversimplifying a very complex and nuanced subject, and I know that there are production and price contract mechanisms in the free market, but eventually and fundamentally, the processors know that we can't not sell our milk every day, and that profoundly influences every aspect of milk marketing.
For the specific situation that trump has stirred up discussion on, my understanding goes like this...
- for quite a few years up til now, ultrafiltered skim milk (no fat, basically a liquid milk protein product) has been classified as a food ingredient rather than a type of milk, and has therefore been able to come into the country without import tariffs. This has been used quite a bit in cheese making, yoghurt too a bit, making the argument that it's not really milk pretty weak in my view
- this has contributed greatly to a buildup of skim milk powder in Canada (the fat is still valuable, but the protein was being sourced elsewhere) and occasionally processors just taking the cream and dumping the milk down the drain. Not a great way to do business and feel proud about feeding the world
- discussions have been happening for years to try to tweak the system so that the Canadian system can function more effectively. The new regulations alllow for Canadian processors to pay international market prices for Canadian milk that gets made into this difiltered milk protein concentrate, and puts import tariffs on foreign milk protein products, choking off a large amount of the American exports of this stuff to Canada
- one American processor in particular has issued notices to dairy farms that since the uses changed, they have no market for those farms milk anymore, and won't be picking up their milk anymore. Their business model was heavily dependent on exports to Canada and they are creating an unbelievably gut wrenching situation for those farms affected. But they have had months, if not years to realize this change was brewing.
- so yeah, the Donald is apparently going to swoop in and save these farms from their processors shortsightedness by declaring war on Canadian dairy farmers. Or something like that......
I've gotta milk cows in 7 hrs. I'm heading to bed now