As CUSMA comes into effect, I think that compensation needs to happen very quickly.
To give an example, in the last few years our industry has seen significant growth when we created special milk classes. Our markets were growing. A lot of dairy farmers invested in their farms, anticipating growth and new markets. I want to say that dairy farmers have been very good at adapting to the increases in markets and have been able to fulfill the demands of the market.
On a personal note, we built a brand new barn to be able to handle market increases. We spent close to $3 million. These are the types of investments that dairy farms are making to handle market growth.
If we don't see market value compensation soon, for a lot of dairy farms, depending on where they are in their business cycles, especially our youth who are coming into dairy, as I am, it will be a very difficult time.