The Dairy Farmers of Ontario program is part of five-province initiative.

As the cost of “doing business” in agriculture continues to climb, more producers, including those in the dairy industry, are looking for a hand-up, to help ease some of the financial burden in establishing themselves. The Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) is providing that opportunity with its 2025 New Entrant Quota Assistance Program (NEQAP), with a deadline of October 31, 2024. It’s part of a five-province (P5) initiative designed to assist producers who are interested in dairy production, but who might not have the financial means to get started in the industry. Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are the other four provinces with similar programs.

With the DFO’s New Entrant Quota Assistance program, 160 kilograms of quota are made available per year to qualified entrants. The DFO is offering access for up to eight positions from the 2025 new entrant program. Subject to issuing a license to produce and market milk and approving the order to issue quota, the organization will match 20 kg of quota to successful applicants. The DFO will then match 20 kg of quota for 10 years and take back 1.2 kg per year starting in the eleventh year.

Eligibility requirements

Primary qualifications for submitting an application for Ontario’s NEQAP include:

• Must be 18 years or older
• Cannot have been previously licensed to producer and market milk in Canada
• Can only submit one application
• Can only submit one per farm facility
• May use a provincially registered business name
• Must produce and market milk from their own separately licensed dairy facility and cannot share facilities

Another stipulation necessary for application is to have a financial business plan, prepared by a certified accountant. An Agreement to Finance, signed from a lending institution and indicating financing in the plan is in line with what’s stipulated in the plan is also required.

The complete three-section application must be sent by registered mail or emailed to neqap@milk.org on or before October 31, 2024, with a date stamp of no later than the deadline date.

Need help?

As with many business proposals, this application process is extensive, with details on assessment criteria, the start of quota exchange in May 2025, how the NEQAP-2025 policies are administered and some frequently asked questions. Producers interested in more information on this opportunity can contact staff at Elite Agri Solutions for help in navigating through the DFO’s 2025 New Entrant Quota Assistance Program’s eligibility criteria. Call 519 – 953 – 4479.