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 »
Category: Dairy
Lely Focusing on Robotics, Sells Forage Division to AGCO
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 »
Agritalk Panel: Canada/U.S. Trade Strategy, Quota, and Border Taxes
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 »
Gay Lea Foods Ready for the Next Line in the Sand
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 »
Bernier Promises to Tear Down Supply Management if Elected Prime Minister
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 »
Dairy Farmers of Canada Keeping a Low Profile, Monitoring NAFTA Rumblings
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 »
U.S. Dairy Companies Push Back Against Canada’s “Protectionist Policies”
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 Farm Building Code Changes To Make it Easier to Build New Barns
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 »
Spilled Milk Commercial Has Dairy Farmers Crying Foul
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 »
Alberta Milk Launches Program to Entice New Dairy Farmers
Until March 31, Alberta Milk will be accepting applications to The New Entrant Assistance Program. The program offers a quota loan at no cost to successful applicants that want to be dairy farmers anywhere in province. Ever dreamt about owning a dairy farm? Now’s your chance. Alberta Milk’s New Entrant Assistant Program (NEAP) is now… Read more »
Text Message: Your Cow Is About to Calve
Add letting you know that your cow is about to give birth to the list of things your cell phone can do. A calving sensor that communicates via mobile network from Ireland-based MooCall recently debuted on the Canadian market. “It’s a calving sensor that will text you a half hour to one hour before the cow… Read more »
Dairy School: The Lowdown on Low-Lignin Alfalfa
Ontario dairy farmers had their first opportunity to plant low-lignin alfalfa in 2016. In this episode of the Real Agriculture Dairy School we visit with Elmira, Ontario, dairy farmer Dale Martin and PRIDE Seeds market agronomist Aaron Stevanus to get the lowdown on low-lignin alfalfa. Martin harvested his first crop HarvXtra low-lignin alfalfa with Roundup Ready… Read more »
Dairy Quality Wins Top Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Award
Dairy Quality Inc. and its mobile milk testing device was the big winner at Ontario’s 10th annual Premier’s Awards for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence. Premier Kathleen Wynne presented the Premier’s award – the province’s highest honour for outstanding contributions in innovation to the agri-food sector – to the Newmarket-based company. Its mobile testing device helps dairy farmers… Read more »
CFIA Proposes Changes to Animal Transport Rules
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proposed changes to the rules for the transportation of animals. Discussions about changes to the transport regulations, most of which have been in place since 1977, have been ongoing for a number of years. The draft amendments were finally published in Canada Gazette on December 3 (read the entire proposal here.) The… Read more »
Mobile Microscope Tests Dairy Somatic Cell Count
A new mobile app from Newmarket, Ontario-based Dairy Quality Inc. is turning iPhones and iPods into microscopes for dairy farmers. The company’s new Dairy Health Check device includes milk sampling slides that plug directly into the phone. This, combined with somatic cells count (SCC) and ketosis testing apps that analyze the samples, turn the phone… Read more »