Barbados Agricultural Society imports pregnant heifers from Canada, boosting domestic milk production

The island’s ailing industry is set to receive a long-awaited boost with the importation of the first batch of pregnant heifers, vital for increasing domestic milk production, James Paul, chief executive of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) said Monday.

At the same time, there are concerns that an agreement to import milk from neighbouring Guyana could severely impact the already struggling dairy industry.

The 180 animals are set to arrive from Canada on December 3, three months later than planned. The decision to source the cattle from Canada follows a scrapped plan to import almost twice as many heifers from the United States.

“Canada is a more expensive proposition but the fact is we need the cows,” Paul told Barbados TODAY. “We had no choice; they don’t have any cases of bird flu.”

He added that the cows are expected to arrive at Grantley Adams International Airport with all necessary paperwork to be completed by then.

When the animals arrive they will be quarantined for at least one month and the associated cost of doing so has been factored into the overall cost.

“It has cost us more than originally planned but we are committed to improving the genetic stock we have in Barbados. The timing of the arrival of these cows will help us to improve milk production as we go into next year. It will take about 50 per cent more, in terms of cost, to import the cows, than what we had originally planned,” Paul said.

The import of new stock is crucial for dairy farmers, who have been grappling with reduced milk production due to sweltering heat and other factors. Currently, supermarket shelves are seeing low supplies of some locally produced milk products.

Through a partnership with RBC Royal Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture, at least six farmers will have the opportunity to import heifers via a cost-effective mechanism.

“RBC has lived up to expectations in terms of the industry. They are facilitating the loan and we want to thank them,” Paul said. “The Ministry of Agriculture also played a great role in this programme and we want to thank the Minister [Indar Weir] for his efforts. The ministry was able to provide seed funds and made this thing possible.”

Paul added that the Ministry of Agriculture had also increased its rebate from 50 per cent to 80 per cent to support the initiative.

“A lot of investment has been put into this thing,” he noted.

Sourcing the heifers from Canada represents a significant step towards revitalising the island’s dairy industry, with hopes high for a noticeable impact on milk production by early next year. Annual milk production has shrunk to three million litres, the BAS said.

In August, dairy farmers secured a deal to import 180 pregnant heifers from Canada that was to have begun in September, to boost the island’s milk production. They had originally planned to spend $1.5 million to import 320 pregnant climate-resistant heifers from the United States, with the first batch of 214 animals expected to arrive by plane in July. The plan was halted in May when Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Trotman announced a ban on importing cows from the US due to an outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) in cattle, which was also being contracted by farm labourers.

While the efforts to bolster the dairy industry are not expected to bear fruit until next year, the BAS chief has come out in opposition to milk imports from Guyana.

Last week, Savannah Milk, produced by the Guyanese beverage conglomerate Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), was launched here as part of the St Barnabas Accord signed by Barbados, Guyana, and Suriname to boost food security.

Despite repeated complaints of low milk production levels and a shortage of milk on supermarket shelves prompting the cattle imports, Paul called for protection of the domestic milk trade.

He argued that there is “absolutely no shortage of milk from Pine Hill Dairy . . . to justify going to Guyana to import this milk”. He warned that this move could “compromise local production severely” and potentially undermine the investments made by farmers.

The BAS CEO also raised questions about the standards of the imported Guyanese milk.

He said: “Pine Hill Dairy, at great cost, have ensured that their products meet labelling standards and we don’t know if the company in Guyana has done the same thing.”

As the situation unfolds, Paul indicated that the Caribbean Farmers Network, of which BAS is a member, may need to address these concerns at the CARICOM level to protect the interests of small farmers.

The BAS is a member of farming bodies in the region and one of the things we have agreed to do is not to engage in actions that would compromise the production of our domestic products,” he said. “But what we are seeing in the region now is actions by big conglomerates and other people who have special interests that threaten the livelihood of small farmers. It means the Caribbean Farmers Network, of which we are a part, will have to play a role at the level of CARICOM, in terms of speaking out about these things.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb