Hewitt’s Dairy owner Marie Hewitt, left, has reached a deal to sell the family-owned dairy processing business to Gay Lea Foods. (HewittsDairy.com)

Ontario’s Gay Lea to buy Hewitt’s Dairy

Reading Time: 2 minutes A 127-year-old family-owned Ontario dairy processor is set to go co-op. Gay Lea Foods, the province’s largest dairy co-operative, announced Wednesday it reached a deal to buy Hewitt’s Dairy of Hagersville for an undisclosed sum, effective Nov. 1. Hewitt’s is an icon in southern Ontario for its dairy bar just north of Hagersville, about 25 […] Read more


(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Feds back livestock genetics marketing push

Reading Time: < 1 minute A bid to boost sales of Canadian dairy, sheep and goat genetics in export markets has picked up seven-figure federal funding. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Wednesday announced $1.6 million for the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association (CLGA), mainly to help the association achieve its target of increasing sales and exports of dairy genetics by 10 […] Read more

After surviving red tape, cost overruns and delays, the van Bergeijks say success in value adding hinges on your skills — and your resilience

The goal is gouda

Adam and Hannie van Bergeijk got their top-quality Gouda cheese into Sobeys, but only by overcoming a series of roadblocks

Reading Time: 4 minutes Two years after he began making cheese commercially on his New Hamburg, Ont. dairy farm, Adam van Bergeijk admits he is pleased with their progress. “We’re close to our targets,” he says. But van Bergeijk also admits it’s been a long haul to get to this point. About 25 per cent of the milk from […] Read more


EU provides aid to dairy sector after Russian ban

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission announced financial support for exporters of dairy products hit by Russia’s ban on Western food imports, adding to emergency measures already taken to help fruit and vegetable producers. Moscow this month imposed a one-year embargo on meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the U.S., the European Union, […] Read more

McKinven and Beerwort had to choose. Either get creative, or get out. That’s when they got creative.

Lookout Holsteins and Jerseys ‘start from scratch’

Like a growing number of Canadian operations, Quebec’s Lookout finds success by heading in a direction all it’s own

Reading Time: 6 minutes Wrong turns are part of steering any business to success, as are some unexpectedly bumpy roads. There is no such thing as a perfect roadmap, with the upshot that many young farmers suffer indecision along the way, and some even abandon their course at times. All the same, the story of Lookout Holsteins and Jerseys […] Read more


Supreme Court rejects raw-milk dairyman’s appeal

Reading Time: 3 minutes An Ontario dairyman’s legal challenge of bans on the sale of unpasteurized milk has ended at the Supreme Court of Canada’s doormat. The country’s top court on Thursday dismissed — without costs — the application from Durham, Ont. farmer Michael Schmidt, in which he sought leave to appeal previous losses at Ontario’s Court of Justice and […] Read more

(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Milk prices sink as ‘white gold’ floods even China’s demand

Reading Time: 3 minutes Wellington/Shanghai | Reuters –– Hopes of a “white gold” rush fuelled by booming Asian demand for milk and other dairy products have been dealt a blow, as swollen stockpiles in top consumer China and a flood of supply pummel dairy prices. Global dairy prices have fallen more than 40 per cent since February, according to […] Read more


Saputo posts bigger profit, hikes dividend

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters –– Saputo Inc., Canada’s largest dairy producer, reported higher quarterly earnings on Tuesday, lifted by recent acquisitions. The Montreal-based company also increased its quarterly dividend by 13 per cent to 26 cents from 23 and announced a two-for-one stock split. For Saputo’s first quarter through June 30, net income rose to $145.3 million, or […] Read more

Imports of “pizza kits” for use by Toronto-based Pizza Pizza were cut off last fall by a federal ways-and-means motion adjusting Canada’s tariff schedule on food imports. (Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. officials call foul over Canada’s ‘pizza kit’ clampdown

Reading Time: 4 minutes Ottawa’s move to plug a regulatory hole that eased pizzerias’ access to U.S. mozza seems to have halted traffic in “pizza kits” — but U.S. officials see that move as potentially trade-unfriendly. Officials also estimate the move will effectively shut Canada’s ports to thousands of tons of U.S. pizza toppings valued at up to US$30 million […] Read more