The Manitoba Advantage in Dairy Protein
Manitoba offers low-priced land, energy, and water for the expansion of existing operations and set up of new facilities for the emerging dairy protein industry. In order to expand existing markets for dairy products, federal investment opportunities exist.
Manitoba’s Dairy Industry
The dairy industry in Manitoba includes dairy production and processing, employing around 1,600 Manitobans.
- The province has a total of 249 farms as of 2021.
- All dairy farms in Manitoba are family-owned and -operated.
- Dairy Farmers of Manitoba offers an entrant program to encourage dairy farmers to set up in the province.
- The dairy industry is supply managed and allows dairy farmers to match the supply of milk production to meet the demands of Canadians.
- Receipts from supply-managed commodities were $325 million in 2021, with 433 million liters of milk sold in 2021. Dairy farm cash receipts make up 12.3 per cent of total livestock farm cash receipts in 2021. The province generated $354 million in cash receipt from milk in 2022.
- As of January 2021, the dairy cow inventory accounted for 36,700 dairy cow heads.
With a decrease in the number of dairy farms in Canada and an increase in demand for dairy products, dairy farmers are constantly striving to increase efficiency by utilizing quality genetics, automation, and targeted feeding. This has resulted in farms producing more milk and generating more revenue per farm.
Learn more about dairy production in Manitoba here.
Industry Associations
Market and Consumer Trends
Dairy is one of the primary traditional sources of protein chosen by consumers. Over the last year, Canadians increased their consumption of cream, cheese, and ice cream products, but reduced their consumption of fluid milk.
Dairy Farmers of Canada and its members pioneered the establishment of the production initiative to demonstrate how farmers sustainably manufacture milk. Farmers prove to consumers that they work to ensure milk quality and safety and improve animal health, welfare, and environmental stewardship with production.
Research
The University of Manitoba plays a vital role in assisting producers and processors in developing markets. The university recently opened its new dairy research barn to research cow health and efficiency. This facility allows milk to be separated from different treatments for further research. The dairy barn is open to the public, offering demonstrations and educational components to increase awareness of milk production.
Contact
For more information on Manitoba's dairy sector or if you would like this information in an alternate format, email us at: agindustrydev@gov.mb.ca