Thousands of litres of milk are being dumped in Chilliwack each day as a result of the flooding.

Because of road closures, dairy farmers cannot get their supply from Chilliwack east to processors for pasteurization.

Matt Schmidt, owner of Gala Dairy, is one of Chilliwack鈥檚 smaller dairy producers. He was forced to dump 2,000 litres of milk on Wednesday. He wanted to give the milk away but couldn鈥檛 since it hadn鈥檛 been pasteurized.

It would have been in violation of their agreement as a licensed milk producer, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a waste (but) you have to follow the rules as a licensed producer,鈥� Schmidt said.

ALSO READ:

He鈥檚 one of about 470 licensed producers in B.C. The milk is collected from the farms and shipped to some of the 30 to 40 licensed processors in the province which pasteurize the milk.

Those milk processors include some large plants in Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Vancouver.

鈥淎s farmers, it鈥檚 disheartening dumping away a seemingly good product because it can鈥檛 go to market due to the flooding. Hopefully it鈥檚 a short-term issue.鈥�

He says they鈥檙e fortunate because farmers are still getting paid for the milk that they鈥檙e dumping.

鈥淚t鈥檚 sad but it also could lead to health issues. You don鈥檛 want to contribute to people going to the hospital,鈥� Schmidt said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 enough milk being dumped that would feed Chilliwack for a long time but it can鈥檛 be stored indefinitely and because there鈥檚 no transportation routes out, it鈥檚 a consequence of the flooding.鈥�

Another concern is feed for the cows. Grain is in low supply and although cows also eat hay and corn silage, grain is the key feed for high milk production.

鈥淚f you completely take the grain out of their diet that they鈥檙e accustomed and trained to, it will have devastating affects on their milk production that can last for up to a year.鈥�

Schmidt is hoping the highways will open soon so dairy farmers have more access to grain mills like those in Abbotsford, and so the milk can get picked up.

Milk pick-up happens every two days. Schmidt鈥檚 last pick-up day was Monday in the pouring rain but it did not get picked up on Wednesday (Nov. 17). His next pickup day is Friday (Nov. 19) and he鈥檚 hoping the roads will be open again for that to happen.

鈥淚 would assume movement of milk would be considered an essential service. The factories right now in Vancouver and Coquitlam are not getting enough milk to supply the area that they could distribute to.鈥�

RELATED: