(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Dairy support price gets second bump of year

Reading Time: 3 minutes Facing depressed world prices for milk, Canada’s dairy farmers can expect a boost of about 2.76 per cent in their overall revenue from industrial milk sales starting Sept. 1. The Canadian Dairy Commission on Friday announced an unusual second increase this year in the support prices it sets for butter ($8.0062 per kilogram, up from […] Read more

Skim milk powder. (PelchGroup.com)

Dairy farmers, processors strike deal for future

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa — Dairy Farmers of Canada and dairy processor associations have reached an agreement in principle on how to evolve the Canadian dairy system for the future. The agreement was reached during meetings in Charlottetown following a year of talks, which followed previous attempts to open a dialogue over pricing and other issues. Details of […] Read more


European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker — shown here at right with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November — has taken the EU’s free trade pact with Canada off the fast track by allowing each EU member nation’s parliament to ratify the deal. (PM.gc.ca)

EU bows to pressure, gives member parliaments say in Canada trade deal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters –– The European Commission bowed to pressure to give Europe’s parliaments the right to ratify a landmark free-trade deal with Canada, a decision meant to address public concerns but which could wreck Europe’s broader trade strategy. In the face of popular suspicion about secretive trade deals benefiting big companies, Commission President Jean-Claude […] Read more

(Europa.eu)

EU farming chief wants rapid Brexit talks, plans new dairy aid

Reading Time: 2 minutes Hannover, Germany | Reuters — Europe’s agriculture industry, already grappling with a dairy crisis, wants rapid talks about Britain’s exit from the European Union to minimise disruption, EU farming commissioner Phil Hogan said on Thursday. “Farmers know better than anyone that you need stability and certainty to plan for the future,” Hogan said in a […] Read more


Canadian breeding cattle exports, such as these animals en route to Croatia by air in a CLGA file photo, now have access to Turkey. (CLiveGen.org)

Breeding cattle get market access to Turkey

Reading Time: < 1 minute Exporters of Canadian breeding cattle expect to see another $4.5 million per year in business from a new agreement for market access to Turkey, according to the federal government. Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced an agreement with Turkey on export certificates for Canadian breeding cattle effective “immediately.” […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Diafiltered milk issue sours on slow federal response

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Two weeks after rallying on Parliament Hill to protest Trans-Pacific and European trade agreements, some dairy farmers say the government is still slacking when it comes to supporting their industry. The immediate crisis, according to Jan Slomp, a Vancouver Island dairy farmer and president of the National Farmers Union, is diafiltered milk. […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Ottawa weighs options over U.S. milk proteins

Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is working on a plan to shore up its sheltered dairy industry, including measures to counter fast-rising imports of milk proteins from the U.S., according to the federal agriculture minister. Any new support risks widening a trade dispute among North America’s dairy farmers over $150 million worth of U.S. milk […] Read more

Saputo’s Canadian dairy division includes brands such as Dairyland, Neilson, Nutrilait, Baxter and Armstrong. (Dave Bedard photo)

Saputo eyes Brazil for acquisitions

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Saputo Inc., one of Canada’s largest dairy producers, has an eye on Brazil for possible acquisitions, and could make deals worth as much as $3.5 billion, its CEO said Thursday. The struggling global dairy industry is fragmented, potentially yielding opportunities, Lino Saputo Jr. said. The company would like to buy cheesemaking plants in […] Read more


(BlackRiverCheese.com)

Gay Lea buys Ontario artisanal cheesemaker

Reading Time: < 1 minute Another storied eastern Ontario artisanal cheesemaker is set to go co-op. Gay Lea Foods, billed as Ontario’s biggest and Canada’s second-biggest dairy co-operative, announced a deal Wednesday to buy Black River Cheese Co. effective June 1 for an undisclosed sum. Based in Prince Edward County at Milford, about 45 km southeast of Belleville, Black River […] Read more

Supply management gives income certainty to Blake Jennings.

Young farmers getting a head start

Among supply management’s successes are its programs to help young farmers get established

Reading Time: 10 minutes “We’ve got a lot of young people coming in,” says Tim Lambert, CEO of the Egg Farmers of Canada. Like others, he credits board programs that give young farmers preferential access not only to quota, but to training in business leadership, and management. Yet underpinning it all, says Lambert, is income security. “They earn a […] Read more