Portrait of Ben Loewith. next to cow.

The moment is right

Commodity prices are on a high, so why are these successful, well-managed farms doubling down on diversification?

Reading Time: 6 minutes Loewith and Sons Limited has kept to the same business model since 1948: Raise cows, milk cows, then sell the milk to the wholesale market. After all, it’s a model that has proved itself across the years and it has powered the Hamilton, Ont. dairy farm through multiple expansions and continued increases in production. “We’re […] Read more

Darlene Compton, shown here on provincial budget day in 2020, is Prince Edward Island’s new ag minister. (PrinceEdwardIsland.ca)

P.E.I. finance minister moves to ag file

Darlene Compton named agriculture minister in shuffle

Reading Time: < 1 minute Prince Edward Island’s deputy premier now handles the provincial agriculture file following a cabinet shuffle Friday. Premier Dennis King has named Darlene Compton, MLA for the riding of Belfast-Murray River, as minister of agriculture and land, justice and public safety minister and attorney general, replacing Stanhope-Marshfield MLA Bloyce Thompson. Thompson, who had handled the ag […] Read more


(Artisteer/iStock/Getty Images)

New CEO named for Canadian Dairy Commission

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Dairy Commission has hired from within for its new chief executive. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced Benoit Basillais, the CDC’s director of policy and economics, became the Crown corporation’s new CEO effective Monday. Basillais replaces Serge Riendeau, the dairy producer and former Agropur Co-operative president who’s been the CDC’s chief […] Read more

A Mexican port-of-entry sign on Highway 92 near Naco, Arizona. (Rex_Wholster/iStock/Getty Images)

CUSMA leaders to discuss agreement during Mexico visit

Reading Time: < 1 minute Mexico City | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will discuss terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) agreement, which was ratified in 2018, during a visit to Mexico, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday. “We’ll have a summit to discuss terms of the trade agreement treaty… in Mexico,” […] Read more


An original proposal by Health Canada to label ground beef as high in saturated fat has been shelved.  Photo: Jeff Haynes/Reuters

Health Canada to slap warning labels on sugary, salty and fatty foods

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters – Foods high in sugars, sodium and saturated fat will come with clear warning labels in Canada starting in 2026, the federal government said on Thursday, in an effort to promote healthier eating choices and reduce chronic health risks. “We know that it’s not always easy to make healthy choices,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told […] Read more

File photo of the Agropur logo on its former fluid milk plant in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Agropur backs major upgrades for Nova Scotia ice cream plant

Dairy co-op puts up $34M to 'redefine space' at Truro

Reading Time: 2 minutes Major dairy co-operative Agropur is putting up eight figures to upgrade an ice cream and frozen novelties plant it owns in Nova Scotia to handle new premium product lines. The co-operative said June 17 it will invest $34 million in the former Scotsburn plant at Truro, to “redefine the space within the plant (and) support […] Read more


(Noel Hendrickson/DigitalVision/Getty Images)

Mid-year farm gate price hike approved for milk

Processors say incremental hike may soften impact on consumers

Reading Time: 3 minutes A request from Canada’s dairy farmer organization for an unscheduled increase in the current farm gate price for milk, to help farmers catch up with steep rises in their costs of production, has been granted. The Canadian Dairy Commission said Tuesday it will recommend that the farm gate price for milk be increased effective Sept. […] Read more

(Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

Dairy farmers seek mid-year increase on farmgate milk prices

CDC to seek stakeholder comment next week

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Dairy Commission will seek out feedback from industry stakeholders next week on Canadian dairy farmers’ request for a mid-year raise in farmgate milk prices. The CDC said June 2 it had received a request from Dairy Farmers of Canada for the increase “due to the current inflationary environment.” If it’s approved, and if […] Read more


File photo of a garbage dump at Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T. (Rlesyk/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada launches offset credits to help tackle emissions

Landfill gas protocols now launched; ag-related protocols soon to follow

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada on Wednesday launched a credit system for greenhouse gas offsets, a major part of its plan to cut carbon emissions, starting with a set of rules stipulating how projects can generate tradeable credits by capturing gas from landfills. The government said protocols for four other sectors including agriculture and forest management are […] Read more

Lisa Thompson. (LisathompsonMPP.ca)

Ontario ag minister returns in another Tory majority

Lisa Thompson retains seat in election

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s governing Progressive Conservatives will head back to the legislature with their incumbent agriculture minister at the caucus table. Lisa Thompson, Premier Doug Ford’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs since June last year, easily held her southwestern riding of Huron-Bruce in Thursday’s provincial election by a spread of 15,594 votes over Liberal challenger […] Read more