About Us
At a glance
Dairy farming in Manitoba
| Number of dairy farms (as of December 2020) | 259 |
| Average milking herd size | 170 cows |
| Number of milking cows | 47,000 |
| Total amount of milk produced in the 2019-20 dairy year | 409 million litres |
| Number of dairy processing plants | 11 |
Supply management
Dairy farmers in the province – and across the country – operate under the supply management model. This model enables dairy farmers to carefully match the supply of milk they produce to meet the needs of Canadians.
Supply management keeps your milk local – and it benefits farmers, government, processors, and consumers. Dairy farmers receive a fair and stable price for their milk and rely on the market to make a living – without depending on government subsidies for milk production. Processors receive a steady supply of high quality milk at a fair price to manufacture into dairy products. And Canadians have access to a wide variety of high quality dairy products at reasonable and stable prices.
Dairy farms across the country support our Canadian economy and local communities by providing 221,000 jobs and contributing $19.9 billion to Canada’s GDP.