Stories from our other publications
Why are broad trade agreements that benefit almost all Canadians being jeopardized to protect a small subset of farmers, estimated at just 13,500 across Canada? The United States has repeatedly indicated that a key tension in North American Free Trade (NAFTA) renegotiations is Canada’s protection of dairy, poultry and egg producers. These protectionist policies were […] Read more
When combined with earlier trade deals, 10 per cent of the dairy and poultry will potentially be in foreign hands
The supply-managed sector learned the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as the updated TPP trade deal is now known, would be proceeding at the same time the rest of the country did. That’s despite regular meetings with cabinet members and government officials to express concerns about provisions in it. The sector is now awaiting […] Read more
Confined livestock do little to help build soil health
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 […] Read more
Barriers to employment can be as straightforward as lacking access to transportation or childcare
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 […] Read more
Beef 911: Vaccines for the clostridial diseases are the cheapest on the market, but often aren’t given
There has definitely been a trend upwards of the various forms of clostridial disease seen primarily inside housed dairy cattle. This article will explore how it is possible for these cases to occur and how there are still an alarming number of dairy and beef producers who don’t vaccinate, vaccinate sporadically, or forget about booster […] Read more
As demand for butter fat continues to grow, Western Milk Pool to eliminate SNF/BF ratio
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 […] Read more
Negotiations have featured ‘exotic demands’ from the U.S. and dairy doesn’t feel singled out
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 […] Read more
The off-grid option has upfront costs but locks in energy costs for the foreseeable future
A southern Manitoba dairy is just days away from flipping the switch on the largest solar-powered farm in Manitoba. Optimist Holsteins Ltd. near Otterburne is in final stages of setting up a newly installed 175-kilowatt, solar photovoltaic (PV) system. When operational it will begin producing enough power to meet all the farm’s electrical needs while […] Read more
If they are it will be because of NAFTA 2.0 and Donald Trump
Canada’s supply management system is a textbook case for food sovereignty. But the social contract the system represents may need to be redrafted as we head toward North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations. Supply management is a social contract between farmers and consumers. Canada’s heavily criticized quota regime for the dairy, egg and poultry […] Read more
It’s unfair to consumers and has significant hidden costs when it comes to making trade deals
U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear: Dairy is high on the U.S. agenda for NAFTA. And Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has also made it clear that this government is committed to protecting supply management. Three of the top-six milk-producing states in the United States — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — helped […] Read more
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