Total Production Quota Regulations
made under clause 14(1)(e) of the
Dairy Industry Act
S.N.S. 2000, c. 24
N.S. Reg. 255/2009 (effective August 1, 2009)
amended to N.S. Reg. 172/2025 (effective September 1, 2025)
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.
Citation
Interpretation
Application of regulations
Producer quota allotment and registration
Assistance to new producers
Location of dairy farms
Duty to comply with regulations
Prohibited uses of milk shipment
Board order to dispose of TPQ
Assignment of TPQ
Calculating producer payment and quota utilization
Adjusting Provincial total production quota
TPQ flexibility for individual producers
Transfers of TPQ
Changes in interest in TPQ through corporate amalgamations
Changes in interest in TPQ through transfer of shares and partnership interests, issuance
of shares
Considerations for transfers and issuance of shares
Minimum TPQ
TPQ of producer who ceases producing
2-step transfers
Operation of TPQ exchange
Offers to buy and sell
Market clearing price cap
Withdrawal or amendment of offer
TPQ exchange transactions
Canceling TPQ exchange
Clearing TPQ exchange
Notifying participants of results of offers
When transfer of quota effective
Leasing TPQ in event of catastrophe
Over-quota milk price
Additional production days
Dalhousie University exemption
Certificate of interest in TPQ
Reporting TPQ transfers
Operation of a Credit Exchange
Offers to buy and sell
Clearing the credit exchange
Payment and transfers of credits
Cancelling credit exchange
Schedule “A”
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Total Production Quota Regulations.
Interpretation
2 In these regulations,
“Act” means the Dairy Industry Act;
“assisted new producer” means a new producer who is receiving assistance under
the Board policy;
“associated persons” means persons that are any of the following:
(i) members of the same immediate family,
(ii) trustees, personal representatives or beneficiaries of the same trust or
estate,
(iii) a donor of a power of attorney and an attorney,
(iv) a corporation and its officers, directors or shareholders, both legal and
beneficial,
(v) partners in the same partnership,
(vi) a trust or corporation that owns shares of a corporation or has an interest
in a partnership,
(vii) a corporation, partnership or trust controlled by the same person;
“beneficial shareholder” means a person who has a beneficial interest in 1 or more
shares issued by a corporation, whether or not that person is listed as the registered
owner of any such share;
“Board policy” means a policy of the Board established under Section 5;
“child” of an individual means a person who
(i) is the individual’s biological child, adopted child, or step-child, and
(ii) has resided or did reside with the individual for a period of at least two
years;
“credit” means an unused unit of milk production equal to 1 kg of TPQ, that is
created when daily quota is not filled to its maximum potential, including any
flexibility granted by the Board to manage milk production as permitted by the
provisions in Section 14 regarding cumulative over-production and cumulative
under-production;
“credit exchange” means the exchange for the buying and selling of credits
administered by the Board in accordance with these regulations;
“credit exchange clearing price” means the price at which credits are bought and
sold on the credit exchange, as determined under Section 38;
“dairy farm” includes all of the following:
(i) land and buildings necessary for a producer’s dairy operation,
(ii) a producer’s dairy and farm equipment,
(iii) all of a producer’s cows that have calved at least once and are required
to support the producer’s Total Production Quota as determined by the
Board;
“immediate family” of an individual means the individual’s spouse, parent, child or
grandchild and the spouse of any parent, child or grandchild of the individual;
“interest in TPQ” means a legal or beneficial interest in TPQ and includes all of
the following:
(i) a person that has a direct interest in TPQ, or has an interest in TPQ
through a series of associated persons with direct or indirect ownership
interests in one another,
(ii) a shareholder of a corporation that has an interest in TPQ,
(iii) a partner in a partnership that has an interest in TPQ,
(iv) a trustee or beneficiary of a trust that has an interest in TPQ,
(v) a personal representative or a beneficiary of an estate that has an interest
in TPQ;
“market clearing price” means the price at which TPQ is deemed bought or sold on
the TPQ exchange, as determined under Section 26;
“new producer” means a person who
(i) is not selling milk to the Board,
(ii) is licensed by the Board to produce milk under the Act,
(iii) is located within a reasonable area for bulk milk pick-up, as determined
by the Board, and
(iv) is none of the following:
(A) a director, officer, partner, shareholder or spouse of a producer,
(B) a corporation or partnership of which a producer, or a producer’s
spouse, is a director, officer, partner or shareholder,
(C) a corporation or partnership that has any directors, officers,
partners or shareholders in common with a producer,
(D) a person who holds an interest in TPQ or an interest in milk quota
anywhere in Canada;
“pay period” means the period customarily followed by the Board for paying
transporters and producers which is equivalent to a calendar month;
“person” means any of the following:
(i) a natural person,
(ii) a corporation,
(iii) a partnership,
(iv) a trust or estate;
“Provincial total production quota” or “Provincial TPQ” means the total annual
butterfat required to meet the Province’s annual butterfat or equivalent milk
volume requirements and supply Provincial demand for fluid milk, as allotted
under the Dairy Products Marketing Regulations made under the Canadian Dairy
Commission Act (Canada);
“spouse” means either of two persons who
(i) are married to each other,
(ii) not being married to each other, have cohabitated in a marriage-like
relationship for a period of at least one year, or
(iii) are in a registered domestic partnership;
“total production quota” or “TPQ” means a quota allotted by the Board in
accordance with these regulations to represent a portion of an individual producer’s
share of the Provincial TPQ expressed in kilograms of butterfat;
“TPQ exchange” means the exchange for the buying and selling of TPQ
administered by the Board in accordance with these regulations and the
Interprovincial Milk Quota Regulations made under the Act; and
“year” means the dairy year as determined by the Board.
Application of regulations
3 These regulations apply only to producers of cows’ milk.
Producer quota allotment and registration
4 (1) TPQ may be allotted only to a producer who meets all of the following criteria:
(a) [repealed]
(b) the producer meets the requirements of the Milk Producers Licensing
Regulations made under the Act;
(c) except for a new producer, the producer is selling milk to the Board in
accordance with these regulations.
(2) Each producer who meets the criteria in subsection (1) must be assigned a
registration number by the Board.
(3) There must be only 1 registration number for 1 dairy farm, and 1 producer must
hold only 1 registration number regardless of whether the producer operates 1 or
more dairy farms.
(4) The Board must allot only one TPQ for each producer.
Assistance to new producers
5 The Board may establish a policy to assist some or all new producers, and the policy may
authorize an allotment by the Board of 20 kg of butterfat per day of TPQ each year to a
new producer selected in accordance with the policy, with the assisted new producer
returning any such allotment of TPQ to the Board over a period of time determined by the
Board.
Location of dairy farms
6 (1) All dairy farms established after these regulations come into force must be located
within a reasonable area for bulk milk pick-up, as determined by the Board.
(2) In determining whether a location is within a reasonable area for bulk milk pick-up, the Board must consider all of the following:
(a) the incremental milk transportation costs;
(b) any logistical constraints such as roads or bridges that would be difficult or
hazardous for transporters to travel and whether adding the location would
extend the time required for a milk pick-up route beyond the time permitted
for a driver to operate a truck;
(c) any additional factors that the Board considers relevant.
(3) If, after consideration of the factors in subsection (2), the Board determines that a
location may not be within a reasonable area for bulk milk pick-up, the Board must
refer the issue to the Advisory Committee for Transportation established under the
Advisory Committee Regulations made under the Act for advice and a
recommendation.
(4) The Board will not purchase milk from a producer whose dairy farm is not within
a reasonable area.
Duty to comply with regulations
7 (1) Except as provided for in these regulations, TPQ must not be sold, assigned, leased
or transferred.
(2) If a producer contravenes these regulations, the Board may revoke or suspend any
or all TPQ registered to the producer on any terms and conditions that the Board
considers appropriate in the circumstances.
Prohibited uses of milk shipment
8 (1) A producer must not ship milk to a processor on the basis of either of the
following:
(a) TPQ allotment registered in the name of another producer;
(b) the producer’s TPQ allotment, if the milk is from cows other than those
located on the producer’s dairy farm.
(2) A producer must not ship milk to another producer for the purpose of shipment or
reshipment to a processor.
Board order to dispose of TPQ
9 The Board may order a producer to dispose of their TPQ, in either of the following
circumstances:
(a) the producer’s production is too low to provide satisfactory cooling, sampling
or measurement;
(b) the producer has shipped at an average daily rate of less than 110 L per day
for 2 or more consecutive pay periods.
Assignment of TPQ
10 (1) In this Section, “recognized lending institution” means any of the following:
(a) a bank listed in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Bank Act (Canada);
(b) a credit union to which the Credit Union Act applies;
(c) the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board;
(d) Farm Credit Canada;
(e) a lender approved by the Board.
(2) On receiving a completed assignment of TPQ in a form approved by the Board,
made between a recognized lending institution and a producer for the purpose of a
secured transaction, the Board may consent to the assignment on any terms and
conditions that the Board considers appropriate.
(3) The consent of the Board to an assignment of TPQ does not in any circumstances,
nor is it deemed to, warrant the validity of the assignment, and the Board is not
liable for any loss or damage that may be suffered by the lending institution as a
result of its reliance on the assignment.
(4) [repealed]
Calculating producer payment and quota utilization
11 To calculate producer payment and quota utilization, each producer’s monthly TPQ is
calculated by multiplying the producer’s daily TPQ by the number of days of milk
production shipped during that month.
Adjusting Provincial total production quota
12 (1) The Board may make an interim adjustment to Provincial TPQ to ensure that an
adequate supply of milk is available to meet market requirements.
(2) The Board may allot any adjustment to the Provincial TPQ to producers based on
the following conditions:
(a) an increase in Provincial TPQ will be allotted to a producer’s TPQ as a
percentage of the producer’s TPQ as of the date of the adjustment;
(b) [repealed]
(c) [repealed]
(d) a decrease in Provincial TPQ will be deducted from a producer’s TPQ as a
percentage of the producer’s TPQ as of the date of the adjustment.
13 [repealed]
TPQ flexibility for individual producers
14 (1) In this Section,
“cumulative over-production” refers to the amount by which a producer’s
cumulative production exceeds their cumulative TPQ;
“cumulative under-production” refers to the amount by which a producer’s
cumulative production is less than their cumulative TPQ.
(2) (a) The limit of a producer’s cumulative over-production is 10 times the
producer’s daily TPQ.
(b) Despite subsection [clause] (a), the Board may impose limits on the amount
of over-production that can be accumulated in a given month.
(3) (a) The Board may only impose a limit pursuant to clause (2)(b) on the following
grounds:
(i) when there is a reasonable expectation of circumstances requiring the
disposal of a substantial amount of milk,
(ii) when there is a reasonable expectation of circumstances resulting in a
significant negative impact on producer revenues,
(iii) an emergency, or a reasonable expectation of an emergency, within
whole or part of the Nova Scotia dairy sector including sudden
reduction in processing capacity, disease, and closure or disruptions of
markets,
(iv) an emergency declared by Federal, provincial or municipal government
which has a significant impact on whole or part of the Nova Scotia dairy
sector.
(b) The Board may impose a limit for one pay period.
(c) The Board may renew or reimpose a limit.
(4) (a) The Board must give notice of any limit imposed pursuant to clause (2)(b)
within 24 hours of setting such limit to producers and to Council.
(b) Such notice must include the grounds upon which the limit is being made and
how long the limit is being imposed.
(c) The Board shall promptly provide such further information and explanation as
is requested by Council.
(5) The portion of a producer’s cumulative over-production that exceeds the
over-production limits in subsections [clause] (2)(a) or established under [clause]
(2)(b) is classed as over-quota production.
(6) The limit of a producer’s cumulative under-production is 15 times the producer’s
daily TPQ.
(7) Under-production up to the limit in subsection (6) may be carried forward
indefinitely.
(8) Under-production in excess of the limit in subsection (6) must not be carried
forward.
(9) When a producer sells their entire TPQ on the TPQ exchange,
(a) all cumulative over-production at the time of sale is classed as over-quota
production; and
(b) the selling producer must reimburse the Board for all over-quota production
described in clause (a), based on the difference between the most recent
component prices and the over-quota component prices.
Transfers of TPQ
15 (1) A transfer of TPQ is not effective until authorized by the Board.
(2) A transfer of TPQ must take place on the TPQ exchange, except in any of the
following circumstances:
(a) a transfer of TPQ with a dairy farm to a new producer or to an immediate
family member;
(b) a transfer of TPQ from a parent to a child who is a new producer at the time
of the transfer;
(c) a transfer by a producer of all of their TPQ to a corporation
(i) if the transferring producer is an individual and the only shareholder in
the corporation is the transferring producer; or
(ii) if the transferring producer is a partnership and the only shareholders in
the corporation are the partners of the transferring producer;
(d) a transfer by a producer of all of their TPQ to a partnership in which the
transferring producer is a partner, if the partnership does not hold any TPQ at
the time of the transfer, and holds only the TPQ of the transferring producer
immediately after the transfer;
(e) a transfer of TPQ by a corporation to 1 or more of its shareholders on the sale
of their shares in the corporation, or on the wind-up or dissolution of the
corporation;
(f) a transfer of TPQ by a partnership to 1 or more of its partners on the sale of
their interest in the partnership, or on the wind-up or dissolution of the
partnership.
(3) [repealed]
(4) [repealed]
(5) [repealed]
(6) A new producer or immediate family member who purchases or acquires a dairy
farm must acquire the TPQ allotted to the previous owner.
(7) Except as otherwise approved by the Board, all transfers of TPQ must occur at the
beginning of a pay period.
Changes in interest in TPQ through corporate amalgamations
15A (1) Two or more producers that are corporations are not permitted to amalgamate to
continue as one corporation.
(2) A producer that is a corporation must not amalgamate with a corporation that is not
a producer unless authorized by the Board.
Changes in interest in TPQ through transfer of shares and partnership interests, issuance
of shares
15B The following are prohibited:
(a) the issuance of shares by a producer that is a corporation, unless the share
issuance is authorized by the Board and the recipient of the shares is an
existing shareholder of the producer or an immediate family member of a
shareholder of the producer;
(b) all transfers of shares by a shareholder in a producer that is a corporation,
unless the transfer is authorized by the Board and the recipient of the shares is
one or more of the following:
(i) an immediate family member of a shareholder of the producer,
(ii) an existing shareholder of the producer,
(iii) a person who is not
(A) a director, officer, partner, shareholder or spouse of a producer,
(B) a corporation or partnership of which a producer, or a producer’s
spouse, is a director, officer, partner or shareholder,
(C) a corporation or partnership that has any directors, officers,
partners or shareholders in common with a producer, [or]
(D) a person who holds an interest in TPQ or an interest in milk quota
anywhere in Canada;
(c) the transfer of a partnership interest in a producer that is a partnership, unless
the transfer is authorized by the Board and the recipient of the partnership
interest is one or more of the following:
(i) an immediate family member of a partner in the producer,
(ii) an existing partner in the producer,
(iii) a person who is not
(A) a director, officer, partner, shareholder or spouse of [a] producer,
(B) a corporation or partnership of which a producer, or a producer’s
spouse, is a director, officer, partner or shareholder,
(C) a corporation or partnership that has any directors, officers,
partners or shareholders in common with a producer, [or]
(D) a person who holds an interest in TPQ or an interest in milk quota
anywhere in Canada.
Considerations for transfers and issuance of shares
15C (1) The Board must not authorize any transfer of TPQ, transfer of shares or a
partnership interest in a producer, or issuance of shares of a producer if the
proposed transfer or issuance, either on its own or as part of a series of
transactions, would be inconsistent with the intent or purpose of these regulations
or the Act.
(2) In assessing a proposed transfer of quota, shares or a partnership interest or an
issuance of shares, the Board must consider the real substance of the transaction
and in doing so may disregard the outward form.
Temporary transfer prohibitions
15D (1) If the Board considers it advisable or necessary, the Board may temporarily
prohibit
(a) a transfer of TPQ under Section 15;
(b) a transfer of TPQ under Section 35;
(c) a producer that is a corporation from issuing shares;
(d) a shareholder of a producer that is a corporation from transferring shares.
(2) The Board may not prohibit the transfer of shares under clause (1)(d) if the
recipient is
(a) a new producer and immediate family member of a shareholder of the
producer; or
(b) an assisted new producer.
Minimum TPQ
16 (1) A producer must hold TPQ of at least 10 kg of butterfat per day.
(2) If a producer’s TPQ falls below 10 kg of butterfat per day, the producer must
acquire enough TPQ within 1 month to hold TPQ of at least 10 kg of butterfat per
day.
(3) If a producer fails to comply with subsection (2), the Board must not purchase the
producer’s milk, and the producer must either acquire TPQ until they have TPQ of
at least 10 kg of butterfat per day, or sell their TPQ in accordance with Section 17.
(4) This Section does not apply to any of the following:
(a) producers who held TPQ of less than 10 kg of butterfat on February 1, 2016;
(b) assisted new producers;
(c) producers who were assisted new producers in the previous 12 months.
TPQ of producer who ceases producing
17 (1) A producer who ceases production must sell their TPQ before the 5th TPQ
exchange after the date of the producer’s last milk shipment, except that if the 4th
TPQ exchange after the date of the last milk shipment is pro-rated for sellers, the
producer must sell all their remaining TPQ in the next TPQ exchange that is not
pro-rated for sellers.
(2) If a producer fails to comply with the time limits set out in subsection (1), their
TPQ must be cancelled by the Board.
2-step transfers
18 (1) If authorized by the Board, a producer may complete a transfer to a partnership or
corporation under subsection 15(2) in 2 steps, with part of the TPQ being
transferred in step 1 and the balance being transferred in step 2.
(2) During the period between step 1 and step 2 of a 2-step transfer,
(a) the producer and the partnership or corporation are deemed to be 1 producer;
and
(b) there is deemed to be 1 dairy farm between the producer and the partnership
or corporation.
(3) A producer must undertake a 2-step transfer by
(a) submitting a written request for approval to the Board;
(b) completing the 2-step transfer of the dairy farm within no more than 5
business days; and
(c) completing the 2 steps within the same calendar month.
Operation of TPQ exchange
19 (1) A producer, including an assisted new producer but excluding a new producer who
is not assisted, or an authorized designate of a producer, may offer to sell or buy
TPQ on a TPQ exchange.
(2) A TPQ exchange may operate in any month of the year.
(3) TPQ is transacted on a TPQ exchange in units of hundredths of kilograms of
butterfat per day.
Offers to buy and sell
20 (1) A producer wishing to participate on a TPQ exchange must submit either 1 offer to
buy TPQ or 1 offer to sell TPQ, and the offer must be submitted through the
producer portal, or hand delivery [delivered] directly to a DFNS staff member
during open office hours on a form approved by the Board and include all of the
following information:
(a) whether the offer is to buy or sell TPQ;
(b) the amount of TPQ the offer is for, expressed as a number of kilograms or, for
a portion of a kilogram, expressed in hundredths of a kilogram;
(c) the offer price per kilogram rounded to the nearest dollar value;
(d) the name of the producer, their signature, if applicable, and their producer
registration number;
(e) the month of the TPQ exchange to which the offer applies.
(f) whether it is an initial bid/sell or an amendment.
(2) [repealed]
(3) [repealed]
(4) An offer to buy or sell TPQ must be received by the Board by 12:00 p.m. (noon)
on the last business day before the 14th day of the month of the TPQ exchange.
(5) A producer must not offer to sell and buy TPQ on the same TPQ exchange.
(6) Subsection (5) does not apply to an assignee under an assignment of TPQ, to
which the Board has consented, who places an offer to sell assigned TPQ on the
TPQ exchange.
[(7)] The Board must adjust the offer of any producer to buy an amount of TPQ on the
TPQ exchange greater than 10% of the producer’s TPQ at the time the offer is
submitted downward to equal 10% and notify the producer of this adjustment.
(8) Subsection (7) does not apply to an assisted new producer for the period of time
prescribed in the Board policy.
Market clearing price cap
21 The Board must reject any offer to buy or offer to sell TPQ on a TPQ exchange at a price
greater than $24 000 per kilogram of TPQ.
22 [repealed]
Withdrawal or amendment of offer
23 A producer may withdraw or amend an offer by submitting the amendment through the
method of submission until the deadline of submission specified in subsection 20(4).
TPQ exchange transactions
24 (1) In this Section, “banking day” means a day between Monday and Friday, inclusive,
and on which at least half of the banks in the Province are open for business.
(1A) On or before the 3rd-last banking day of the month of a TPQ exchange, each
producer with a successful buy offer in that TPQ exchange must pay the Board in
full for the quantity of TPQ that the producer bought.
(2) Before the 10th day of the month immediately after the month of a TPQ exchange,
the Board must pay producers any money due to them as a result of selling TPQ on
that TPQ exchange.
(3) If a producer does not pay as required by subsection (1A), due to a dishonoured
payment by the producer’s bank,
(a) the TPQ bought by the producer returns to the Board and may be sold on a
later TPQ exchange; and
(b) except as provided in subsection (6), all of the following apply to the
producer:
(i) the producer is liable for all costs incurred by the Board resulting from
the dishonoured payment and the costs must be paid before any of the
producer’s future offers to buy or sell TPQ on the exchange are
accepted,
(ii) the producer is not eligible to buy TPQ on the exchange for a period of
12 months following full reimbursement of the costs referred to in
subclause (i).
(3A) If, in the opinion of the Board, it is obvious that a dishonoured payment by a
producer is the fault of the banking system and not the fault of the producer,
subclause (3)(b)(ii) does not apply to the producer.
(4) No later than 30 days after the date a producer’s payment is due under subsection
(1A), the producer may submit a request in writing to the board of directors of the
Board requesting that subclause (3)(b)(ii) not apply to the producer.
(5) On receipt of a request from a producer under subsection (4), the board of directors
of the Board must give the producer a reasonable opportunity to make submissions
either in writing or in person to the board of directors of the Board.
(6) If, after giving the producer a reasonable opportunity to make submissions, the
board of directors of the Board is satisfied that the dishonoured payment was the
result of circumstances beyond the control of the producer, and not the result of
any fault or negligence by the producer, subclause (3)(b)(ii) does not apply to the
producer.
Canceling TPQ exchange
25 (1) The Board may cancel a TPQ exchange for a particular pay period if
(a) the total amount of TPQ offered for sale on the exchange is 2.0 kg or less; or
(b) the Board considers it advisable or necessary to do so.
(2) A producer who submits an offer for a TPQ exchange that is cancelled may
resubmit their original offer or an amended offer for a later exchange.
(3) If the Board cancels a TPQ exchange under clause (1)(a), the Board may buy all of
the TPQ offered for sale on the exchange at a price equal to the market clearing
price on the most recent TPQ exchange.
(4) The Board may offer to sell any TPQ purchased under subsection (3) on a later
exchange at a price determined by the Board, and any such offer must be dealt with
in the same manner as if it were an offer to sell TPQ by a producer for the
purposes of Section 26, except that Section 20 does not apply.
Clearing TPQ exchange
26 (1) In this Section, “exiting producer” means a producer whose total volume of TPQ is
10 kg or less of butterfat per day and who has submitted an offer to sell their entire
TPQ on the TPQ exchange.
(2) At the time a particular TPQ exchange is to operate, the Board must match the
volumes and prices that have been submitted by the producers in the offers to sell
and buy and must determine the point at which offers to buy and offers to sell most
closely match on the basis of price and volume according to the following table:
TPQ
|
$ Price
Lowest to
Highest
|
Kilograms
Offered
For Sale
at Price
|
Cumulative
Sales
|
Difference
|
Cumulative
Buys
|
Kilograms
Offered to
Buy at
Price
|
(3) The procedure described in this Section is known as “clearing” the TPQ exchange.
(4) The market clearing price as determined by clearing the TPQ exchange is the price
that TPQ is deemed to be sold or bought for on the TPQ exchange.
(5) If a producer offers to buy TPQ at a price equal to or higher than the market
clearing price, then that offer is deemed to be successful and the transaction will
take place at the market clearing price.
(6) If a producer offers to sell TPQ at a price equal to or lower than the market
clearing price, then that offer is deemed to be successful and the transaction will
take place at the market clearing price.
(7) If, at the market clearing price, the cumulative volume of the successful offers to
buy is greater than the cumulative volume of the successful offers to sell, the TPQ
must be distributed to buyers according to the following order of priority:
(a) first, if there is a successful buy offer from an assisted new producer who is in
their quota acquisition period as described in the Board policy and who,
immediately before the TPQ exchange, held less TPQ than the buyer prorate
exemption amount prescribed in the Board policy, the TPQ must be allocated
to the assisted new producer until 1 of the following conditions is satisfied:
(i) all of the TPQ is allocated to the assisted new producer,
(ii) the assisted new producer’s buy offer is filled,
(iii) the TPQ held by the assisted new producer immediately before the TPQ
exchange plus the amount of TPQ bought by the producer is equal to
the buyer prorate exemption amount prescribed in the Board policy;
(aa) second, if there is a successful buy offer from an assisted new producer and
the TPQ exchange is taking place during a month in which the assisted new
producer is required by the Board to reimburse TPQ to the Board in
accordance with the Board policy, the TPQ must be allocated to the assisted
new producer until 1 of the following conditions is satisfied:
(i) all of the remaining TPQ is allocated to the assisted new producer,
(ii) the assisted new producer’s buy offer is filled,
(ii) the amount of TPQ bought by the assisted new producer is equal to the
amount prescribed in the Board policy as the buyer prorate exemption
amount during the reimbursement period;
(b) third, any remaining TPQ must, subject to subsection (8), be allocated to each
producer with an unsatisfied successful buy offer through iteration of TPQ in
increments of 0.01 kg, as follows:
(i) before each allocation round, producers with unsatisfied buy offers must
be randomly sorted into a list;
(ii) in each allocation round, 0.01 kg of TPQ must be allocated to each of
the producers on the list, beginning with the first producer on the list
and continuing down the list until each producer on the list has been
allocated 0.01 kg of TPQ or until all of the TPQ has been allocated,
whichever occurs first;
(iii) allocation rounds must continue until all of the TPQ has been allocated.
(8) If an assisted new producer acquires TPQ under clause (7)(a), and part of their
successful buy offer remains unsatisfied, the assisted new producer must not be
allocated any TPQ under clause (7)(b) on that exchange.
(9) If an assisted new producer acquires TPQ under clause (7)(aa), and part of their
successful buy order remains unsatisfied, the assisted new producer must be
allocated TPQ under clause (7)(b) on that exchange.
(10) Subject to subsections (11) and (12), if, at the market clearing price, the cumulative
volume of successful offers to sell is greater than the cumulative volume of the
successful offers to buy, the TPQ sold at the market clearing price must be pro-rated for sellers to the extent necessary to balance the exchange, so that each
producer who has a successful offer to sell sells the volume of TPQ calculated as
follows:
Volume sold = volume producer offered for sale ×
(cumulative volume of successful offers to buy)
(cumulative volume of successful offers to sell)
(11) If a TPQ exchange would otherwise be pro-rated for sellers, and one or more of the
producers who has a successful offer to sell is an exiting producer, then, before
pro-rating the exchange,
(a) all of the TPQ offered for sale by the exiting producer or producers who have
successful offers to sell must be sold; and
(b) the exchange must then be pro-rated for sellers, based upon the remaining
cumulative volume offered for sale and the remaining cumulative volume of
successful offers to buy at the market clearing price.
(12) If the total volume of TPQ offered for sale by all exiting producers who have
successful offers to sell is greater than the cumulative volume of successful offers
to buy at the market clearing price,
(a) the total volume of TPQ offered for sale by the exiting producers must be pro-rated for exiting sellers; and
(b) no other TPQ must be sold at that exchange.
(13) [repealed]
Notifying participants of results of offers
27 The Board must individually notify each participant on a TPQ exchange in writing of
whether or not their offer was successful.
When transfer of quota effective
28 TPQ bought on a TPQ exchange is transferred to the successful buyer effective at the
beginning of the following pay period.
29 [repealed]
Leasing TPQ in event of catastrophe
30 (1) In this Section,“catastrophe” includes
(a) severe injury to, or the illness or death of, a producer or a producer’s dairy
herd; and
(b) destruction of a producer’s dairy facilities.
(2) If, because of a catastrophe, a producer reduces production or discontinues
production temporarily, the producer may apply to the Board on a form provided
by the Board to lease up to 100% of their TPQ to 1 or more producers.
(3) The Board may approve leasing under this Section in accordance with a policy
regarding catastrophe relief as established and amended from time to time by the
Board.
(4) A lease must be submitted to the Board in writing on the standard form provided
by the Board by the deadline established by the Board.
(5) A TPQ lease is not effective until it is approved by the Board.
(6) Any adjustment to Provincial TPQ made under Section 12 applies to all TPQ
leased.
(7) Subject to the Board’s policy regarding catastrophe relief, a TPQ lease starts at the
beginning of a pay period and ends on the last day of that pay period.
(8) Leased TPQ reverts to the lessor on expiry of a lease.
(9) A producer that is leasing in TPQ under this Section may also purchase credits in
accordance with these regulations, up to the maximum number of credits permitted
under Section 36.
(10) A producer that is leasing out their TPQ under this Section may not participate in
the credit exchange.
Over-quota milk price
31 All shipments of over-quota production must be paid at the over-quota price for the pay
period in which it is produced.
Additional production days
32 (1) A producer may receive additional production days of TPQ if the producer has
fully utilized their TPQ.
(2) Despite the allowance for carrying over under-production in subsection 14(7), any
additional production days that are not utilized in the month in which it is [they
are] issued must not be carried forward for future use, unless the Board decides
otherwise.”
Dalhousie University exemption
33 Subsections 14(6), (7) and (8), respecting the limit of cumulative under-production and
the carrying forward of under-production, do not apply to Dalhousie University.
Certificate of interest in TPQ
34 (1) By no later than February 1, 2021, and every 36 months thereafter, each producer
must submit to DFNS a certificate of interest in TPQ that identifies all of the
following:
(a) each person who has an interest in TPQ of that producer as of February 1 of
the calendar year in which the certificate is provided;
(b) all persons who are associated persons with each person identified under
clause (a).
(2) A certificate of interest submitted under subsection (1) must be in a form approved
by the Board and include a statutory declaration confirming the information
provided is complete and accurate.
(3) At any time, DFNS may require a person who has been issued TPQ to submit a
certificate of interest in TPQ in accordance with subsection (1) to DFNS no later
than 30 days after receiving notice of the requirement.
(4) If a natural person who is a producer or who has an interest in TPQ dies, that
person’s executor, administrator or other authorized representative must submit a
certificate of interest no later than 120 days after the person’s death.
Reporting TPQ transfers
35 (1) By no later than 30 days after a transfer of TPQ under subsection (2), each
producer affected by the transfer must submit a certificate of interest in TPQ in
accordance with subsection 34(1).
(2) The following are considered a transfer of TPQ under this Section:
(a) any transfer of all or part of the TPQ held by a person to another person,
unless the transfer occurred on the TPQ exchange;
(b) any change in the shareholders or beneficial shareholders of a corporation that
has an interest in TPQ;
(c) any change in the partners of a partnership that has an interest in TPQ;
(d) any change in the income beneficiaries or capital beneficiaries of a trust that
has an interest in TPQ, whether the change occurred before or after the final
distribution of that trust;
(e) any change other than those listed in clauses (a) to (d) that results in a person
acquiring or disposing of an interest in TPQ or that otherwise affects a
person’s interest in TPQ.
Operation of a credit exchange
36 (1) Unless a credit exchange is cancelled pursuant to Section 40, the Board must
operate a credit exchange each calendar month, in which credits will be transferred
between successful buyers and sellers in that calendar month.
(2) A producer may participate in a credit exchange in a month if
(a) the producer has sold milk to the Board in the month prior to the deadline for
submitting offers to the credit exchange; or
(b) the producer has sold all of their TPQ in the preceding month.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), the maximum number of credits a producer may offer to
buy or sell on a credit exchange is the number of credits equal to 8 days of the
producer’s permitted production, calculated as 8 times the producer’s daily TPQ
during the month in which the credit exchange occurs.
(4) The number of credits a producer may purchase in a month shall be reduced or
prohibited under the following circumstances:
(a) a producer that has incurred one or more penalties in 1 month in the preceding
12 months under the Milk Producer Licensing Regulations [made under the
Act] may purchase no more than the number of credits equal to 6 days of the
producer’s permitted production for the 2 calendar months following the
month in which the penalty occurred;
(b) a producer that has incurred one or more penalties in 2 months in the
preceding 12 months under the Milk Producer Licensing Regulations [made
under the Act] may purchase no more than the number of credits equal to 3
days of the producer’s permitted production for the 3 calendar months
following the month in which the latest penalty occurred;
(c) a producer that has incurred one or more penalties in 3 or more months in the
preceding 12 months under the Milk Producer Licensing Regulations [made
under the Act] shall be prohibited from purchasing credits for the 4 calendar
months following the month in which the latest penalty occurred.
Offers to buy and sell
37 (1) A producer wishing to participate on a credit exchange may submit up to 3 bids to
either offer to buy credits or offer to sell credits.
(2) The total of the bids submitted under subsection (1) must not exceed the number of
credits a producer may offer to buy or sell pursuant to Section 36.
(3) A producer must not offer to buy and sell credits on the same credit exchange.
(4) A producer may submit offers to buy or sell credits beginning on the first day of
each month.
(5) Offers must be submitted via the producer portal, or hand delivery directly to a
DFNS staff member during open office hours on a form approved by the Board,
and offers must include all of the following information:
(a) whether the offer is to buy or sell credits;
(b) the number of credits the offer is for;
(c) the offer price per credit;
(d) the producer’s signature, if applicable, name of the producer, and their
producer registration number.
(6) Offers submitted by the producer portal must be received by no later than 11:59
p.m. on the second business day after the 15th [day] of the month.
(7) Offers submitted by hand delivery must be received directly by a DFNS staff
member by no later than 4:00 p.m. on the second business day after the 15th [day]
of the month.
(8) Offers may be withdrawn or amended at any time by the method of submission
until the deadline of the method of submission.
Clearing the credit exchange
38 (1) Two business days after the deadline for submitting offers to the credit exchange,
the Board must operate the credit exchange by matching the volumes and prices
that have been submitted by producers’ offers to sell and offers to buy and must
determine the point at which offers to buy and offers to sell most closely match on
the basis of price and volume according to the following table:
Credits
|
$ Price
Lowest to
Highest
|
Kilograms
Offered
for Sale at
Price
|
Cumulative
Sales
|
Difference
|
Cumulative
Buys
|
Kilograms
Offered to
Buy at
Price
|
(2) The procedure described in subsection (1) is known as “clearing” the credit
exchange.
(3) The credit exchange clearing price as determined by clearing the credit exchange
shall be the price at which all credits are sold and bought on the credit exchange.
(4) Each producer that has submitted an offer to buy credits at or above the credit
exchange clearing price shall be a successful buyer, and each producer that has
submitted an offer to sell credits at or below the credit exchange clearing price
shall be a successful seller.
(5) If the credit exchange is balanced, such that the cumulative number of credits
offered for sale at or below the credit exchange clearing price equals the total
number of credits offered to buy at or above the credit exchange clearing price, all
offers to buy at or above the credit exchange clearing price shall be satisfied by all
offers to sell at or below the credit exchange clearing price.
(6) If the cumulative number of credits offered for sale at or below the credit exchange
clearing price is less than the cumulative number of credits offered to purchase at
or above the credit exchange clearing price, the credits will be sold and purchased
as follows:
(a) each successful seller will sell all of the credits they offered for sale; and
(b) each successful buyer will purchase a percentage of the credits (rounded to
whole credits) they offered to buy, the percentage being the cumulative
number of credits offered to buy at or above the credit exchange clearing price
as a percentage of the cumulative number of credits offered to sell at or below
the credit exchange clearing price.
(7) If the cumulative number of credits offered for sale at or below the credit exchange
clearing price is greater than the cumulative number of credits offered to purchase
at or above the credit exchange clearing price, the credits will be sold and
purchased as follows:
(a) each successful buyer will purchase all of the credits they offered to buy;
(b) each successful seller will sell a percentage of the credits (rounded to whole
credits) they offered to sell, the percentage being the cumulative number of
credits offered to sell at or below the credit exchange clearing price as a
percentage of the cumulative number of credits offered to buy at or above the
credit exchange clearing price.
Payment and transfers of credits
39 (1) The Board must transfer credits from successful sellers and to successful buyers in
the month of the credit exchange, and the credits transferred shall be effective for
that month.
(2) The Board must deduct the payment due for each producer’s purchase of credits in
a month from the producer payment for the producer for that month.
(3) The Board must add the payment owing for each producer’s sale of credits in a
month to the producer payment for the producer for that month.
Cancelling credit exchange
40 (1) The Board may cancel a credit exchange for a particular month in any of the
following circumstances:
(a) a computer malfunction or other technological malfunction prevents the credit
exchange from operating;
(b) there is a sudden and unforeseen need to decrease milk production in the
Province;
(c) any other unforeseen circumstances such that, in the opinion of the Board,
cancelling the credit exchange is in the best interests of producers and the
dairy industry in the Province.
(2) If the Board cancels a credit exchange
(a) all offers submitted for that exchange are null and void; and
(b) the Board must notify producers of the cancellation immediately following the
Board decision.
Schedule “A”
[repealed]
The following regulations are not yet in force and are
not included in the current consolidation:
Note: Only regulations that are specifically repealed and
replaced appear in this table. It may not reflect the entire history of
regulations on this subject matter.