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
Category: Dairy
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
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
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
What do consumers think of Canadian farmers? Recent studies tell us that consumers appreciate and respect farmers’ efforts to produce healthy, affordable, safe food for Canadians. But to maintain the strength of the Canadian farm brand and consumers’ trust, farmers must continue to be brand champions for their own farms and their industry, says Len… Read More
Summer may feel a long way off, but being prepared to manage heat stress in dairy cattle goes a long way in warding off the production losses that go along with it. We’re also well into the 2016 feed crop, and there are reports of several farmers struggling to keep mycotoxin (specifically DON/vomitoxin) levels low enough… Read More
The Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX) returns for its fifth year at the Stratford Rotary Complex April 5 & 6. This year the show coincides with the Spring Discovery Show in Ancaster (April 3 to 6) and the National Holstein Convention in Markham (April 5 to 8). With three national dairy events happening in southwestern Ontario during… Read More
AGCO is expanding its forage equipment business, acquiring the forage division of Lely Group. Lely, which is known more for its dairy equipment in North America, manufactures balers, loader wagons, mowers and rakes in Europe. The two companies have reached an agreement-in-principle, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. “The integration… Read More
Trade has become the talk on all news programs and in coffee shops across not just Canada, but all of North America. America’s Trump administration has promised it will improve current deals and strike new bilateral agreements around the world, creating opportunities and challenges for Canada. With the impending NAFTA renegotiation being a hot topic,… Read More
Change is good. Change is the only constant. Be the change you want to see in the world. There’s no shortage of sayings that reference change. Michael Barrett, president and CEO of Gay Lea Foods, prefers, though, to use imagery when discussing change and being ready for it. In his words, there are lines in the sand,… Read More
Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Maxime Bernier performed very well in the leadership debate held at the Manning Conference over the weekend according to many delegates, but Canadian dairy farmers were left rather concerned. Not surprisingly, Bernier maintained his stance of being against supply management for dairy, egg and poultry sectors. On Friday afternoon Bernier… Read More
While the U.S. dairy industry has raised its voice in calling on the Trump administration to pressure Canada into allowing more dairy imports, Dairy Farmers of Canada has kept a relatively quiet profile over the last few months. The national dairy producer group appears to have chosen to stay out of the spotlight with Canada’s… Read More
The US dairy industry is pressuring its government to act on Canadian dairy import policies. A group of 17 dairy companies representing U.S. dairy farmers and processors sent a letter this week to governors in 25 states asking them to “urge Canadian policymakers to uphold existing trade commitments” and prevent the implementation of a national strategy that… Read More
Manitoba’s new government is planning to remove what it calls “impractical and costly” regulations to make it easier to build barns and farm buildings and bring the province’s farm building code in line with rules in other Western Canadian provinces. Speaking at Keystone Ag Producers’ annual meeting in Winnipeg last week, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced… Read More
Have you seen the Dairy Farmers of Canada newest ad? (Scroll down to view) The latest television commercial and billboard campaign has received critical acclaim from advertising big wigs, but at least some of the farmers the ad represents aren’t exactly thrilled with the “crying over spilled milk” commercial calling it “horrifying,” “dark,” and “confusing.”… Read More