The trade aid package announced by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is not very helpful for the dairy industry. That’s according to Dave Buck, President of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association. He says the dairy specific financial assistance package provided by the USDA centered on an estimated $127 million in direct payments representing less than 10 percent of dairy losses caused by the retaliatory tariffs.

He says what’s more helpful for America’s dairy producers is the preliminary trade deal reached between the U.S. and Mexico. Buck says they’re still hoping to get Canada into a full remake of the NAFTA agreement but there are still issues to work out.

Buck says the major problem with Canada on dairy isn’t really their supply management program, it’s that they’re taking advantage of selling milk powder on the world market undercutting the U.S..

Canadians are in Washington D.C. this week speaking with U.S. trade officials about NAFTA.