Pilot program seeking dairy farmers

A new partnership hopes to make it easier for Manitoba milk producers to hire locally. Keystone Agricultural Producers is working with Workplace Education Manitoba and Industry Training and Employment Services to create a pilot program that would see interested participants trained to work on dairy farms in southeastern parts of the province. Read more: New dairy[...]

Cover crops ‘essential’ to in-field grazing

Got cows? On your cropland? Jay Fuhrer certainly hopes so. The soil health specialist believes cropland and large ruminants are a natural fit. He advocates turning animals out of the barn and onto the land whenever possible. “Soils, plants and animals evolved together,” he told producers gathered in Winnipeg for the annual Dairy Farmers of[...]


Dairy farmers watch NAFTA closely

Canadian dairy producers are watching NAFTA renegotiations like a hawk, but predicting what demands U.S. negotiators will make of Canada and Mexico remains somewhere between ‘difficult’ and ‘impossible.’ “Through Dairy Farmers of Canada, we follow those trade talks very closely and we are on the ground at every round,” David Wiens, chair of Dairy Farmers[...]

New dairy plant will churn out butter, other products

Manitoba dairy producers will no longer have to ship milk across provincial borders, thanks to an increased processing capacity at home. The $100-million MDI dairy-processing plant is up and running in Winnipeg’s South End, increasing Manitoba’s dairy-processing capacity by about 40 per cent. The 80,000-square-foot retrofitted egg-processing facility will now process 180 million litres of[...]


Dairy issue to be contentious

Canada’s minister of agriculture says concessions in non-supply-managed commodities will not be offered up to U.S. negotiators as a way to ensure the security of Canada’s dairy industry during the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “I’ve never heard that said except in the media,” said Minister Lawrence MacAulay, following an announcement at[...]

Mechanization focus of new dairy research

Dairy research in Manitoba has got a $1.4-million boost. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler made the announcement at the University of Manitoba last week, indicating the cash will be used to retrofit an existing hog barn for dairy research at the Glenlea Research Station, just south of Winnipeg. “It’s[...]


Canadian dairy history book celebrates Canada 150

With Canada’s 150th birthday just around the corner, dairy farmers across the country are sharing their stories in a new book. “It’s a really neat look at our history,” said David Wiens, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba chair, at a recent district meeting. Printed in both French and English, Dairy Farmers, Deeply Rooted for a Strong[...]

Value shifts away from protein

With more Canadians turning to higher-fat dairy products, dairy farmers are looking at long-term solutions for balancing production with consumer demand. “We want to satisfy this demand with Canadian butterfat or Canadian cream, but as you know, at this point we are all just trying to catch up with this marketplace,” said Brent Achtemichuk, Dairy[...]


Milk production being ramped up

Manitoba’s dairy farmers are preparing for what may be the largest increase of processing capacity ever seen as a result of one project. “I don’t know if there has ever been a situation elsewhere in Canada where there has been a 40 per cent increase in processing capacity in a province from just one project,[...]

Canada’s supply management model for world: MacAulay

If American dairy producers are upset with new ingredient strategies north of the border, Canada’s federal government hasn’t heard about it — at least not through official channels. Speaking at a conference in Winnipeg last week, Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food minister said he isn’t aware of protectionist concerns coming out of the U.S. and that[...]