As NAFTA negotiations begin on Wednesday, there’s no question dairy is one of the few agricultural issues where there’s a serious conflict between Canadian and American objectives. On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland released Canada’s list of demands, with protection of supply management for dairy and poultry on the list. Freeland made it clear… Read more »
Category: Dairy
Canadian dairy groups disappointed with Canada-EU cheese import allocation
Canada’s dairy processors and producers say the federal government has “failed to adequately support its dairy sector” after announcing plans for the allocation of cheese import licenses through the Canada-European Union trade deal (CETA). Canada agreed to tariff rate quotas for nearly 18 million kilograms of annual cheese imports in CETA under two categories: 16… Read more »
Dairy Farmers of Canada elects new president
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has a new president, as Pierre Lampron was elected on a two-year term at the group’s annual general meeting in Edmonton on Wednesday. Lampron is a seventh generation organic dairy farmer in the Mauricie region of Quebec, according to DFC’s website. He previously represented Quebec on the board of Dairy… Read more »
Dairy Farmers of Ontario withdrawing promotional funding from Dairy Farmers of Canada
A disagreement between Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) and Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) over promotions and marketing has led the provincial group to withdraw its promotional funding from the national organization. DFO notified its members this week that it will not be sending funds for promotions and marketing to DFC as of January 1,… Read more »
Dairy Farmers of Canada executive director stepping down
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) will likely be without an executive director when negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement begin later this summer, where the U.S. will push to gain increased access to the Canadian dairy market. DFC’s current executive director, Caroline Emond, has decided to step down effective July 4th. A… Read more »
Trudeau is the best person to trade away supply management
Before we start let me make this point very clear: This editorial is not an argument for or against supply management. It’s a statement on Canada’s negotiating position heading into the upcoming NAFTA talks. In any trade you try to maximize the return on an asset. In sports, this could be other players, draft picks… Read more »
Canadian dealer listed in top 10 North American Krone outlets
Krone North America has announced their highest retail sales volume dealers for fiscal year 2016 and a big surprise is that a Canadian retailer made the list. Krone manufactures and sells hay and forage equipment in 40 countries around the world but has relatively small distribution in Canada. With a heavy focus in the forage market, Krone… Read more »
Did Perdue really say “if you want supply management, that’s fine”?
It’s no surprise that Canada’s dairy supply management was discussed in the first face-to-face meeting between Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and new U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. However, some of Perdue’s comments on supply management after the meeting on Monday are surprising or noteworthy with many on the U.S. side calling for the system to be dismantled…. Read more »
Watching for ‘Cow Signals’ is time well spent
Every time a cow takes a lame step or stands for a long period of time she’s sending a signal. Farmers who read those signals and respond with efforts to improve cow comfort are rewarded with increased cow longevity and more profit in their pocket. That’s the return on investing in Cow Signals, according to Agribrands… Read more »
Domino’s Pizza says it won’t be pushed around by animal activists
Farmers have gotten used to food companies bowing to the desires and demands of animal activists. It seems rare for a mainstream food company to stand behind the methods and practices of farmers and ranchers across the United States and Canada. Outside of McDonald’s Canada, the list seems quite short at times (and, yes, they’re moving… Read more »
AgriTalk Free For All: Wheat trade harmonization, planting delays, labour shortages and dairy friction
On Friday, Shaun Haney was invited to be on the Free For All Panel on Agritalk, along with Chip Flory and Jim Wiesemeyer. Agritalk with Mike Adams has over 95 United States based radio affiliates and can be heard across North America on Rural Radio 147 (couple hours before RealAg Radio). The topics included US… Read more »
What Should We Expect From NAFTA Renegotiation?
Reports the White House was finalizing an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement sent shockwaves through the markets and export-reliant sectors of the economy, including agriculture, on Wednesday. However, after President Trump spoke with leaders from Canada and Mexico on Wednesday night, the White House issued a statement… Read more »
Trump’s “Shock and Awe” Doesn’t Reflect Dairy Reality: Gerry Ritz
President Trump’s attacks on Canadian dairy are short-sighted and don’t reflect the reality of the Canada-U.S. dairy relationship, says former Canadian agriculture minister Gerry Ritz. “This is typical President Trump. It’s all shock and awe, throw down the gauntlet and then really not have a lot of details that his assumptions are based on,” he… Read more »
Trump Admin Targets Softwood Lumber While Keeping Sights on Canadian Dairy
The Trump administration expressed its displeasure with Canadian dairy policy several times on Monday, coinciding with the announcement of new countervail duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. “It has been a bad week for U.S.-Canada trade relations,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in a statement. “Last Monday, it became apparent that Canada… Read more »
Canadian Dairy XPO Attendance Tops 16,000
Dairy producers from across Canada and around the world helped the Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX) establish a record attendance earlier this month. Overall, attendance at the Stratford, Ont., dairy industry trade show surpassed 16,000, breaking the attendance record of 14,900, set last year. Those are huge numbers considering there are about 15,000 dairy farms in… Read more »