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

The Brousseau family of St. Paul, Alta.

Finding a way to say ‘Yes’

Saying ‘no’ to a multi-generation corporation has helped Richard and Nicole Brousseau find their own route toward succession, with a clear focus on family

Reading Time: 8 minutes The road to farm succession can have many twists and turns. And every farm is unique, so it can be easy to lose your way in all the options, or to fall into somebody else’s cookie-cutter solution. Yet being true to your own business and family needs should always come first, as the Brousseau family […] Read more


Cattle disease outbreak under control: New Zealand ministry

Reading Time: 2 minutes Wellington / Reuters – New Zealand’s first outbreak of a serious bacterial cattle disease was well under control, the Primary Industries ministry said on Friday, with stock movement restrictions in place and testing continuing. News of the discovery of mycoplasma bovis earlier this week on a single farm in the world’s largest dairy exporter briefly […] Read more

Jersey Cow on a sunny afternoon

Jersey cattle numbers on the rise in Manitoba

Butter and cheese are back as part of a healthy diet, and so is the interest in Jerseys

Reading Time: 3 minutes Moo-ve over Holsteins, the little brown cow is gaining ground. Not since our nation’s centennial have so many Jersey calves been registered in Canada, says Steven Smith of Clanwilliam, president of the Manitoba Jersey Cattle Club. He says the breed came just shy of 10,000 registrations last year, breaking the record set in 1967. “The […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Trump wins support for possible WTO action on Canada dairy

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Australia and New Zealand dairy industry leaders say they would support moves by the United States to draw the World Trade Organization into a trade dispute with Canada, after President Donald Trump said existing rules were unfair. On a visit to the U.S. cheese-making state of Wisconsin on April 18, Trump said he […] Read more

Working together as brother and sister might be even easier than making a partnership between two brothers work, Mark and Melinda think. But it still requires a balance of trusting each other to be there for the farm, but giving them enough space to be their own people.

The brother and sister advantage: Melinda Foster-Marshall and Mark Foster of Jockbrae Farms

Just because they’re siblings doesn’t mean Melinda and Mark instantly agree on everything. But they have a system for finding common ground, and once they’ve found it, they commit

Reading Time: 5 minutes Mark Foster and his sister Melinda Foster-Marshall never thought they’d be farming together. They had different personalities and routes through high school, but they have created roles and responsibilities and processes that are allowing their individual strengths to create a successful farming business. Melinda has a degree in geological sciences from Queen’s University and was […] Read more


Brother and sister Tom and Suzanne Pettit didn’t grow up thinking they’d farm together, but once they hit their 20s, they started seeing how well it might work. Today, they are consistently hitting their quality and financial targets, and they have learned how to help each other perform at the top of their game.

The brother and sister advantage: Tom and Suzanne Pettit of Misty Glen Holsteins

There can be a kind of magic in a brother-sister relationship that helps them run a better farm business

Reading Time: 5 minutes A small but growing number of brother-and-sister farms across Canada are rewriting the rules on how families farm together in a new spirit of gender equality. Even more than that, though, they’re showing the rest of the industry how to step up their productivity with new management strategies that let every member of the team […] Read more

You have to look at what makes sense ahead of you,” says Joan. “Life is full of so many changes, some you’re ready for, and some are unexpected.”

Dairy producer takes the next big step

Change Makers: As a couple, the Craigs’ decision to transform their farm and leverage new opportunities has opened up a new future

Reading Time: 7 minutes Today’s farmers are change makers. Re-inventing our farms has become normal.  So Country Guide asked top ag journalists from across the country to interview farmers who excel at change, taking their farms in very different directions with an eye to finding their best opportunities. Their stories start with our January 2017 issue and will continue through […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Greig: Salmonella strain hard to treat in livestock

Reading Time: 2 minutes A strain of salmonella resistant to multiple antimicrobials is spreading in Ontario and Quebec cattle herds. There have been 23 cases of Salmonella Dublin in 15 herds reported in Ontario since 2012, but the numbers have been increasing each year. There were eight cases reported in 2015 and four in 2016 through August. Dr. Dave […] Read more

“You know it can work, it’s a matter of finding a way to make it work on your operation with your own climate.” – Brian Newcombe, Cornwallis Farms.

Building on 255 years

On this Nova Scotia farm, the ninth generation takes a decidedly modern approach to soybeans

Reading Time: 5 minutes Two and half centuries is a long time for a family to be farming. But brothers Craig and Brian Newcombe are leveraging the latest cropping techniques and business smarts to build the farm for the 10th generation of Newcombes. Part of the ninth generation of Corn­wallis Farms near Port Williams, N.S., the Newcombes manage a […] Read more