Trade lawyer Peter Clark has studied the level of subsidies available to U.S. dairy farmers. (John Greig photo)

Report pegs U.S. dairy support levels

Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. dairy farmers continue to benefit from broad agriculture supports, a study shows. Dairy Farmers of Canada has had Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates regularly study the effect of U.S. government policy on dairy farms in that country. The latest version of the project was released at the Dairy Farmers of Canada policy conference held […] Read more

An adult Thelazia gulosa removed from the eye of a human and shown here on a person’s finger. (CDC.gov)

Eye worm, known only in cattle, found in U.S. woman’s eye

Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — An Oregon woman has become the first person worldwide known to have had an eye infestation by a tiny worm species previously seen only in cattle that is spread by flies that feed on eyeball lubrication, U.S. government researchers said on Monday. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists […] Read more


Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay says the U.S. government’s proposals on dairy in NAFTA are “a non-starter.” (John Greig photo)

Dairy farmers get no assurances on NAFTA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Dairy farmers are seeking assurances there would be no more access to Canada’s dairy market in a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement — but Lawrence MacAulay, Canada’s minister of agriculture and agri-food, would not provide them. “Because of the NAFTA negotiations going on, we have to be careful what we say publicly,” MacAulay said […] Read more

Don Mayo discusses the promotion of Canadian milk at a Dairy Farmers of Canada policy conference in Ottawa. (John Greig photo)

Milk ad awareness beating top brands

Reading Time: 3 minutes Dairy Farmers of Canada is trying harder to track how well its marketing efforts boost milk sales, after Ontario members pulled promotion funding over a lack of information. Dairy Farmers of Canada’s (DFC) policy conference this week in Ottawa included a presentation by Don Mayo, global managing partner for IMI, an organization that measures media […] Read more


Health Canada said its proposed front-of-pack symbols aren’t yet in the proposed regulations as published, but will be included in the final regulation. (Dave Bedard photo)

Dairy sector wary of proposed food label policy

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian consumers are being asked to weigh in on proposed new front-of-pack warnings for foods high in saturated fats, sugars and sodium, starting this weekend. And while whole milk would get a pass from such a plan, Canada’s dairy farmer organization fears many other dairy products would wind up wearing such warnings, thus “alarming” consumers. […] Read more

Nicolaas and Wilma Zeldenrijk operate one of the most technologically advanced farms in Canada, with automated feeding, milking and bedding.

Deciding about technology

Why do some farms leap ahead in technology while others wait? The reasons aren’t what you think

Reading Time: 5 minutes Four robots at New Galma Dairy near Ingersoll, Ont., milk the cows while a second automated system finds its way around the barn feeding cows and heifers by itself and a third machine beds the cows without human intervention. Calves can decide when they want milk from a machine that identifies them and gives them […] Read more


(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Chicken, dairy farmers rip TPP concessions

Reading Time: 3 minutes Updated, Jan. 25, 2018 — Canada’s supply-managed producer groups warn that the new Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade deal stands to chip away unnecessarily at their markets. Chicken Farmers of Canada on Wednesday said the CPTPP deal, on which Canada pledged Tuesday it will sign in March, still includes concessions on market access […] Read more

Dairy Farmers of Ontario CEO Graham Lloyd says dairy marketing activities need to show that they can build the market for milk. (John Greig photo)

Ontario’s dairy farmers ramp up own marketing

Reading Time: 2 minutes Dairy Farmers of Ontario is starting to build its own consumer marketing department, now that it’s retaining marketing funds collected from farmers and no longer sending tens of millions of dollars to Dairy Farmers of Canada. What does it mean? Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s withdrawal from national marketing of milk has meant upheaval at Dairy […] Read more


Pierre Lampron, president of Valacta and Dairy Farmers of Canada. (John Greig photo)

Dairy organizations partner to manage risk

Reading Time: 3 minutes A partnership among Canadian dairy service provider organizations should help position Canadian producers to take advantage of rapidly changing technology and make the sector more efficient, the groups say. Why does it matter? The number of Canadian dairy farmers continues to drop and the need for more efficient services is growing as the price of […] Read more

Eastern Canada’s dairy producers are expecting another announcement this month from processing co-operative Agropur about new construction. (Canam-Construction.com)

More milk quota increases expected for Eastern Canada

Reading Time: 3 minutes Updated, Jan. 15, 2018 –– Dairy Farmers of Ontario expects it will need six per cent more milk from producers in the next year. DFO chair Ralph Dietrich told the organization’s annual meeting that new processing capacity coming online this year will help drive the continued increase in quota allocated to meet the demand. The […] Read more