Your farm has a nutrient management plan, but does it include your neighbours? A larger-scale plan is a great idea for intense livestock neighbourhoods that struggle to use manure efficiently. It also ensures nutrients stay in the field and out of tiles and waterways, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs field crop sustainability… Read more »
Category: Dairy
Nestle upgrading Haagen-Dazs and Drumstick ice cream plant in London, Ont.
Nestlé is spending over $51 million on upgrades to its ice cream factory in London, Ontario that supplies all of Canada with Haagen-Dazs, Parlour and Drumstick products. Groundwork has started on an expansion that will increase the plant’s footprint by 9,000 square feet, while adding 12 new jobs and shifting 45 seasonal part-time positions to… Read more »
There’s gold in them fields: Finding more margin in forage
Thin margins may have some farmers looking to cut costs, but for croppers and livestock producers alike, there’s an often overlooked option for making money: forage. Whether through higher dairy and beef production efficiency, or through cash sales, recent research out of Michigan State suggests that more farmers should be taking a harder look at forage… Read more »
MacAulay non-committal on dairy program to offset CPTPP concessions
The federal Liberals remain non-committal on whether they will offer compensation to the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors for market access that will be conceded if the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is ratified. The CPTPP terms agreed to last month would open up an additional 3.25 percent of Canada’s domestic dairy… Read more »
U.S. dairy subsidies equal 73 percent of producer returns, says new report
Comparing government support for Canadian versus American dairy farmers is not a simple black and white process. While Canada’s dairy sector operates under a regulated supply management system, the U.S. government’s support for its dairy farmers is less direct. Support, in its various forms, equaled 73 percent of U.S. dairy farmers’ market returns in 2015,… Read more »
Conservatives to push Liberals on TPP compensation
With the Canadian trade team agreeing to the Trans Pacific Partnership, there will be opportunities for the opposing parties to bring up issues with the deal. You can expect both the NDP and the Conservatives to use the TPP agreement as political leverage. The Conservatives, who were previously very critical of the Liberals for not… Read more »
Building consumer trust is our responsibility, says ‘Farmer Tim’
Tim May says he’s “just a farmer down the road.” But the Rockwood, ON dairy farmer — better known as ‘Farmer Tim’ in the social media world — and his 43 cows are certainly punching above their weight in the fight to help consumers understand what really happens on the farm these days. Three years… Read more »
The U.S. had increased dairy market access to Canada through TPP and they gave it up
Throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiating rounds, groups like the United States Dairy Export Council have been lobbying for increased market access into Canada. The Americans are looking for the same kind of access that they enjoy with Mexico. This week we saw the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership… Read more »
Over $6M announced to fund livestock and forage research in Saskatchewan
Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart today announced a $6.3 million commitment to 24 livestock and forage-related research projects and $2 million over two years to the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence. Background: Livestock centre of excellence receives $4.5 million from federal gov’t A&W donates $5M to the… Read more »
New TPP deal, same concessions for Canada’s supply managed sectors
The Canadian government has conceded the same access to the country’s dairy, poultry and egg markets in the new Trans-Pacific Partnership as was agreed to the initial version of the deal in 2015 when the U.S. was still part of the TPP. Canada and the other 10 countries concluded negotiations on Tuesday for the updated… Read more »
Dairy School: Cover crops add value to corn silage rotation
Do you plant a cover crop before or after you harvest corn silage? It’s an option dairy farmers should consider, says University of Wisconsin Extension crops and soils agronomist Heidi Johnson, especially when planting corn after corn. Removing corn silage and then leaving the ground bare risks soil erosion, decreases microbial activity, and reduces the field’s ability… Read more »
Dairy Farmers of Canada hires new CEO
Dairy Farmers of Canada has found its new chief executive officer, and he comes with an understanding of the processing side of the dairy business in Canada. Jacques Lefebvre’s first official day in DFC’s Ottawa office is January 8th, as he replaces Caroline Emond, who departed in July 2017. He comes to DFC from his… Read more »
How sensors and cloud technology are improving milk quality and safety
Sensors and internet cloud technology — a combination sometimes described as the “Internet of Things” — are increasingly being used by farmers to maximize the quality and food safety of their production. The reduced cost of sensors and the ability to connect them to the internet (and users’ smartphones) is enabling new uses for this technology,… Read more »
Determining where to cut antimicrobial use for dairy calves
All livestock producers have been urged to cut unnecessary antibiotic use, to try to prevent resistant bacteria from developing in their herds and flocks. But on the farm, the question is where, and how? Consider dairy calves, for example. More than half of the deaths of dairy calves are from diarrhea. Producers often treat that… Read more »
Ontario providing $24 million to Kingston baby formula facility
The Ontario government is investing $24 million in a baby formula production facility being built by a Chinese company in Kingston. Premier Kathleen Wynne met with Feihe International — the owners of Canada Royal Milk — on November 25th in Beijing, China. Slated to open by 2020, the $225 million plant will be the Chinese… Read more »