Dairy farmers are seeking assurances there would be no more access to Canada’s dairy market in a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement — but Lawrence MacAulay, Canada’s minister of agriculture and agri-food, would not provide them. “Because of the NAFTA negotiations going on, we have to be careful what we say publicly,” MacAulay said
Dairy farmers get no assurances on NAFTA
Milk ad awareness beating top brands
Dairy Farmers of Canada is trying harder to track how well its marketing efforts boost milk sales, after Ontario members pulled promotion funding over a lack of information. Dairy Farmers of Canada’s (DFC) policy conference this week in Ottawa included a presentation by Don Mayo, global managing partner for IMI, an organization that measures media
Ontario processing vegetable contract compromise reached
The Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers marketing board believes it has found a compromise to an imposed regulation that would have gutted grower contract protection. Why it matters: Farmers had contract security of two years previously, but new regulations would have taken that down to none — and processors could have dropped growers whenever they wished.
Ontario’s processing vegetable growers in new regulatory reality
The only way is forward. That’s what Ontario’s processing vegetable growers heard at their annual meeting from the chair of the group that regulates farm marketing in the province. That doesn’t mean some farmers didn’t still question the province’s move to fire the board of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) and its staff in
Hot fall pulls Ontario corn yields above average
Ontario’s corn crop yielded better than expected, at 184 bushels per acre average, while soybeans were closer to their 10-year average at 44 bushels per acre, according to Agricorp. Why it matters: The provincial crop insurance agency has some of the most solid crop production numbers in Ontario, as its members have to report their
Guelph to host new agri-food accelerator
The University of Guelph has created a new organization to help launch agri-food ideas and innovations. Accelerator Guelph aims to provide business training, help create networks and provide a process to innovators in agriculture and food at the university. Why does it matter? Getting research and great ideas from university researchers to the market has
Ontario’s dairy farmers ramp up own marketing
Dairy Farmers of Ontario is starting to build its own consumer marketing department, now that it’s retaining marketing funds collected from farmers and no longer sending tens of millions of dollars to Dairy Farmers of Canada. What does it mean? Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s withdrawal from national marketing of milk has meant upheaval at Dairy
Super cluster aims to break down industry silos with data
The Smart Agri-Food Super Cluster aims to use efficient and powerful data to create better collaboration within the agriculture sector. It is one of nine super clusters in the running for $950 million in federal funding for super clusters that make a broad economic impact. Another agriculture sector cluster, the Protein Industries Canada Supercluster, is
Mapping profit can drive precision farming decisions
Precision farming can find the high-yield, low-yield, high-fertility and low-fertility areas of a farm, but the missing link has been how that ties to profitability. Why does it matter? The capacity to apply nutrients variably across a crop field isn’t new, but it’s been difficult for farmers to see the justification of the cost of
Dairy organizations partner to manage risk
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
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