>> We're also going to stand up for our dairy farmers in
Wisconsin.
[applause]
And I've been reading about it.
I've been talking about it for a long time, and that demands
really immediately fair trade with all of our trading partners
and that includes Canada.
[applause]
Because in Canada, some very unfair things have happened to
our dairy farmers and others.
And we're going to start working on that with Ron and with Scott
and with Paul and with all of your representatives.
What's happened to you is very, very unfair.
It's another typical one-sided deal against the United States.
And it's not going to be happening for long.
So Scott, you and Ron and myself and Paul and everybody else,
we're going to get together and we're going to call Canada and
we're going to say, "What happened?"
And they might give us an answer but we're going to get the
solution, not just the answer, okay?
Cause we know what the solution is, all right?
[applause]
>> President Donald Trump wades in trying to fix a problem that
could put some Wisconsin dairy farmers out of business.
The president made these comments during his trip to
Kenosha this week after scores of farmers learned earlier this
month that their processor would no longer buy their milk citing
Canadian regulations preventing its export.
The president brought welcome attention to the issue but how
might he fair?
We turn to Mark Stephenson with the UW-Madison Program on Dairy
Marketing and Policy.
Thanks for being here.
>> You're very welcome.
>> Let's unpack some of what President Trump had to say about
this situation.
He made it sound like he would call Canada and get a quick
solution.
At least he would start working on this immediately.
Is there an immediate or quick solution?
>> I presume there could be, but I doubt that that will be the
case.
Canada has a very highly protectionist dairy industry and
they've never moved quickly on things in the past.
And I think that foot dragging would be what is likely to be
the case this time.
>> Meanwhile for the farmers like those whom we visited last
week out of Waterloo, they tell us this week that they think
it's great that the president has kind of gotten involved.
But that they need this short-term solution because as
of May 1, they lose their processor, their market for
their milk.
So then they say at least they'd be looking for a long-term
solution.
But for farmers like Jennifer and Shane Sauer that we visited
with who have not yet found a processor to sell to, what can
they do?
>> Well there's a lot that's being done on their behalf right
now trying to find a processing home for the milk.
One of the problems we have at this point in time is just that
we have a tremendous amount of milk on the marketplace and
there really doesn't appear to be any dairy processor who is
anxious to pick up more milk.
So it would be almost altruistic for a dairy processor to pick up
a few of these farms to help relieve some of that situation.
It's short-term, I think, an issue but farms cannot go
without selling milk for a very long period of time before, you
know, they've lost all the profit they would have for the
year.
>> For someone like yourself who knows so much about this, what
is that like?
>> Oh, it's a tremendous problem and an issue.
As I said I think that farms are experiencing a great deal of
stress right now because there is not an obvious answer to
this.
We have had a few of the farms picked up by a couple of plants
and we hope that more will be.
But the truth of the matter is we still have more than half of
the milk that was originally lost their home that has not
found a new home yet.
>> What would be a long-term solution?
>> Long-term solution will find new markets for dairy products.
It could be for exports overseas.
Our domestic market has been robust and we can pick up a few
of these items in the marketplace as well.
But, you know, those are things that are going to take months
and we've got maybe a few weeks that these farmers could go.
>> Now President Trump described what Canada was doing as some
very unfair things.
Congressional leaders here in Wisconsin have also declared
that Canada is practicing unfair trade practices.
Is that true?
>> I think they can be viewed as being unfair.
They've created a new class of milk or dairy product that is
going to be priced at so-called competitive or world prices,
which are much lower than their internal or domestic prices are.
And this is clearly done as a strategy to help avoid, you
know, the cross-border movement of these dairy products from the
U.S.
into Canada.
>> And so as the U.S.
has done in the past, could we sue Canada over this?
>> We can.
In fact, our -- the likelihood is that we will bring a lawsuit
against the Canada through the World Trade Organization, the
appellate court there but that's years.
That had happened back in 1990s and it took probably four years
before that was settled.
>> What role does the over-production of milk in the
U.S.
or globally play in all of this?
>> It certainly plays a role and locally right here at home, it
plays a substantial role.
We've had farms that have been dropped from a processing home
in the past and usually that's no headline at all because
there's some other processor waiting to pick that farm up.
The difference right now is that in my 30 years of working in the
dairy industry I've never seen this kind of thing happen when
you can't even cajole people into thinking about a little bit
longer term use of this milk and dairy product for their plants.
>> Canada says the U.S.
itself is to blame because it doesn't manage its dairy
production.
What about that?
>> There are very few countries that do manage their dairy
production.
Canada is certainly one of those.
They have a quota-based system that allows each dairy farmer
the privilege of selling a certain amount of kilograms of
butterfat into the marketplace every day.
We don't have that.
Most countries with substantial dairy industry doesn't have
anything like that.
>> So this is kind of what happens when the market comes to
bear?
>> The market comes to bear.
We've had very good season for producing milk.
The cows are doing very well.
Farmers are responding to coming off of two years of low milk
prices with now moderate milk prices
and they are producing more milk.
>> All right. Mark Stephenson, thanks very much.
>> You're welcome.