Henk Schuurmans drove to Vancouver to support supply management
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
An Ontario dairy producer finished a 20-day trek to B.C. on Monday.
Henk Schuurmans drove from his family dairy farm in Elmira, Ont. to Victoria, B.C. to educate the public about Canada’s dairy industry.
Canadians showed great interest and support for the sector during the Canadian Milk Tour.
“There was great support for Canadian dairy anywhere we went,” Schuurmans told Farms.com today. “People had a lot of questions, which is great. And they’re proud to buy Canadian milk from Canadian farms.”
Schuurmans arrived in B.C. on the heels of Canada and the United States reaching an agreement that, once ratified, will replace NAFTA.
As part of the agreement, the United States will receive access to almost 4 per cent of Canada’s dairy market.
“The farmers and consumers I spoke to weren’t exactly pleased about the deal,” he said. “There was some conversations about maybe modifying product labels to really highlight the fact that the milk or cheese came from a Canadian dairy farm.”
The federal government will compensate dairy farmers for the increased market access, CBC reported. Dairy farmers also received support when Canada opened the dairy market in the CETA and CPTPP trade agreements.
The help is appreciated but farmers would have preferred the government protected supply management, Schuurmans said.
“Milk in the U.S. is highly subsidized, and we don’t want to see the same thing happen to our products,” he said. “It’s too early to determine how dairy farmers are going to be affected by (America’s) increased market access, but it would’ve been great if the government could have protected the industry.”
Individuals along Schuurmans’ route also supported him on a personal level.
He originally departed the family farm on June 22 aboard a cabless John Deere 6430 tractor. Henk’s wife, Bettina, sat beside him in the passenger seat as the tractor pulled a trailer with a large plastic cow named Maple.
On July 9, their tractor collided with a transport truck near Saskatoon, Sask. Bettina passed away because of the accident, and Henk spent time in hospital with a broken pelvis and ribs.
Schuurmans decided to resume the tour when he felt well enough.
So, on Sept. 13, Henk and his two daughters, Lize and Emily, left Elmira, Ont. in a pickup truck to complete the tour.
“I wanted to finish the tour with my daughters to honour Bettina,” he said. “The people we’ve met along the way have been so kind to us, and I know Bettina is smiling.”
Henk and Bettina Schuurmans/Sharon Grose photo