(Photo courtesy Architect of the Capitol, VisitTheCapitol.gov)

U.S. said considering TPP trade deal without Canada

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The United States, frustrated over the lack of progress with Canada over new rules for agriculture trade, is weighing “contingencies” that could include completing a Pacific Rim trade pact that excludes Canada, according to two sources familiar with the issue. One official familiar with the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiation said […] Read more

Martin de Groot

When being organic isn’t enough

Their consumers don’t just want organic, says Martin de Groot. They want animal welfare, cow comfort, energy self-sufficiency… and they want to see it all in action

Reading Time: 5 minutes With the milk from their 60-cow, mostly Holstein herd, Martin de Groot, his wife Ineke Booy and their family make their Mapleton’s Organic line of ice creams and fresh and frozen yoghurts in their on-farm dairy at Moorefield, Ont., shipping their winter surplus through Harmony Organic Dairy Products. What they sell is much more, however, […] Read more


(FDA.gov via Flickr)

U.S. FDA to cut trans fats from foods

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/New York | Reuters –– The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday made good on its proposal to effectively ban artificial trans fats from a wide range of foods, from microwave popcorn to frozen pizza, saying they raise the risk of heart disease. Under new FDA regulations, partially hydrogenated oils, which have been shown […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Global dairy demand seen picking up only slightly

Reading Time: 2 minutes Wellington | Reuters –– Global dairy prices are expected to pick up only slightly over the next 12 months, New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, said Thursday. Fonterra said the subdued outlook amid sluggish demand would likely slow the pace of New Zealand dairy output growth, and kept its forecast payout […] Read more


(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Supply-managed sectors bolster defenses against TPP

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian farmers are stepping up their campaign against a nearly complete Pacific trade pact they fear will destroy protections for local dairy, egg and chicken producers and endanger jobs. Farmers in Quebec, which produces 40 per cent of Canada’s dairy products, ran full-page newspaper advertisements on Tuesday warning Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations threaten […] Read more

Skim milk powder. (PelchGroup.com)

EU farmers fear ‘roller coaster’ as milk market deregulated

Reading Time: 3 minutes Belview Port, Ireland | Reuters –– Billions of euros and thousands of jobs will flow from the historic deregulation of Europe’s dairy sector, a string of Irish ministers promised at the opening this week of a vast new plant to make dried milk for developing markets. But elsewhere in the European Union, many farmers are […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Supply management limits growth in Canada, Saputo says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s tightly managed dairy sector limits domestic opportunities for Saputo, the country’s largest dairy, forcing it to focus on growth elsewhere, the company’s chief executive said Thursday. CEO Lino Saputo Jr. emphasized in an interview that the company is not lobbying Ottawa to either dismantle or preserve Canada’s supply management system for dairy, […] Read more

China’s small dairy farmers dump milk as sector enters downturn

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters –– Small dairy farmers in China are dumping milk and selling cows as demand from processors slows in a sharp turnaround from last year, when a scramble for supplies prompted a huge surge in milk powder imports. Slower growth in milk product consumption, higher yields from modern dairy farms and the excess […] Read more


(Becel.ca)

Que. complying with, appealing AIT ruling on edible oil products

Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec has amended its rules on sales of vegetable oil-based dairy products, but is still appealing the ruling that led to the amendments, the Saskatchewan government reports. Amendments to Quebec’s Food Products Act last week have loosened laws that have effectively banned sales in Quebec of edible oil dairy substitutes, such as some margarines and […] Read more

Saputo profit jumps 17 pct on higher cheese, butter prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters – Canada’s largest dairy producer Saputo Inc reported a 17 per cent jump in quarterly earnings on Thursday, boosted by higher U.S. cheese and butter prices and recent acquisitions. The Montreal-based company, whose brands include Dairyland and 1/2 Moon cakes, said it intends to buy back 5 per cent of its common shares during […] Read more