Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced $2.6 million in federal funding for the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) to support three projects that will assess and improve alfalfa growth using artificial intelligence and develop a carbon offset system for grasslands. Some of the funding announced July 19 will also be used… Read More
Pierre Lampron has been re-elected to a third term as president of Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC). An organic dairy farmer from Mauricie, Quebec, Lampron was re-elected during DFC’s annual general meeting, which was held virtually on July 13-14. “I would like to thank dairy farmers for putting their trust in me once again,” he… Read More
The dispute between Canada and the U.S. over the allocation of dairy tariff rate quotas under the new North American trade deal took a step toward resolution this week, as the members of the three-person dispute panel that will issue a ruling on the U.S. complaint were announced. Elbio Oscar Roselli Frieri will chair the… Read More
A Quebec-based company that sells a digital platform for controlling environmental conditions in barns and automating tasks is set to be acquired by Ingersoll Rand. The owners of Maximus have entered an agreement to be bought by the global industrial company in an all-cash deal worth $135.4 million. Headquartered in Montreal, with around 100 employees,… Read More
By John McGregor With calls for a searing, west-approaching heat wave bearing down on us this week and next, the moisture situation across the province remains pointed at a significant moisture deficient with our hay and pasture fields. A very well-timed rain in late June brought a bit of relief at the time, however, it… Read More
The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) has announced its plan and commitment to sustainability goals by 2030. Focused on three areas — climate, land use, and animal health and welfare — the plan outlines the roundtable’s “commitments to advance and improve the sustainability of the global beef value chain.” Specifically, GRSB aims to globally reduce by… Read More
Ontario’s Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) has elected a new chair and vice chair and two new directors to its board at its recent annual general meeting. Brian Miller, a Huron County farmer and the poultry industry representative on the board, steps up as chair of the organization, while Don Gordon, a farmer from the… Read More
Canada’s Competition Bureau has turned down a request to look into concerns that a lack of competition has allowed the price of deadstock pickup from farms to skyrocket in parts of the country. The Manitoba Pork Council filed a complaint earlier this year, noting a ten-fold increase in prices charged by Rothsay Rendering for fallen… Read More
The United States has requested and established a dispute settlement panel to review measures regarding Canada’s administration of its dairy tariff rate quota (TRQs) policies, under the new trade agreement USMCA/CUSMA. The U.S. is challenging Canada’s allocation of dairy TRQs — specifically the set-aside of a percentage of each dairy TRQ exclusively for Canadian processors…. Read More
The Ontario Forage Council, Ontario Hay Listings, Ontario Biomass Producers Co-op, and the Ontario Hay and Forage Co-operative have worked together to provide one online hub for forage, pasture, and biomass crop production for Ontario. The Ontario Forage Network at ONForageNetwork.ca will host information on seeding, growing, harvesting, storing, and marketing these crops. The network… Read More
If you’re a cattle feeder who’s been following the value of the Canadian dollar, you’ll know it’s not moving in the right direction for people in the export market. Combine that with rising feed costs and the price of feeder cattle, the input costs for the feeder are not headed toward higher profitability. Lethbridge barley… Read More
When establishing alfalfa there’s a key decision to make: should the forage be under-seeded to an annual crop? Sometimes called a companion or nurse crop, experts say that instead, the annual crop acts more like competition than a companion. Ashley Knapton, dairy strategic account manager with Corteva, says that a nurse crop draws on similar… Read More
Ashley Knapton is the dairy strategic account manager with Corteva. Based in Eastern Ontario, Knapton spends her days working that bridge between the dairy farmer, the cow nutritionist, and what happens in the field. But this isn’t really where she thought she’d end up. Knapton — also known as Kaptin Knapton on social media— had… Read More
Dairy processor Agropur Cooperative says it will be closing its fluid milk plant at Winnipeg, Man., later this year, consolidating production at other Agropur facilities in Western Canada. “Unfortunately, the level of investment required to maintain the plant’s competitiveness in the coming years was becoming too high. We are making this strategic decision to optimize… Read More
The latest round of compensation payouts to dairy farmers for lost market share through international trade deals will be complete by the end of the month. This second round of the Dairy Direct Payment Program brings the total number of dairy farmers registered for compensation to 9,682. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced… Read More