DAIRY UPDATE
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LICENSING REQUIREMENT
Changes have been made to DFO Regulations and Grade A Inspection procedures
t its March meeting, Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s (DFO) board approved changes to the DFO Milk
General Regulation and the DFO Fees,
Charges, Levies and Penalties Regulation.
Changes went into effect on April 1, 2016.
Meeting the requirements of the “Code
of Practice for the Care and Handling of
Dairy Cattle” is now a licensing requirement to produce and market milk.
Any Grade A inspection performed in
addition to one initial Grade A inspection
and one follow-up inspection in every
two-year period is subject to a $250 farm
inspection fee. The new policy ensures
producers requiring more frequent inspections to maintain Grade A standards are
directly responsible for paying the cost
generated by these activities.
It is important to note the frequency of
Grade A inspections has been increased
based on risk criteria related to milk quality
test results, farm inspection history and complaints. The risk-based inspection program
ensures an efficient use of DFO resources as
it relates to the monitoring and enforcement
of Grade A standards in Ontario.
Upon inspection, farms that do not
meet Grade A standards are being inspected more frequently. For example, a farm
classified as unsanitary non-Grade A, is inspected around every three months until it
is classified as Grade A in two consecutive
inspections. At this point, the farm graduates to the six-month inspection frequency, which applies until the farm is classified
as Grade A in two consecutive inspections.
The farm then graduates to the 12-month
inspection frequency, which will be maintained until the farm is classified as Grade
A in two consecutive inspections. It is
at this point the farm graduates to the
24-month inspection frequency. The graduated inspection schedule is shown in the
adjacent tab