Canadian dairy farms follow similar trends to main rivals

George Morris report says number of dairy farms has fallen by 90 per cent since the
late 1960s and the cow herd has shrunk from 3.5 million to one million today

Canada’s dairy herd, as well as the number of farms and processors, has contracted at about the same pace as its counterparts in the U.S., Australia, and Europe, says a new report from the George Morris Centre. The main difference is that Canada hasn’t increased milk production as much as other countries have, and due

Ontario farmer continues dairy fight

An Ontario dairy farmer is appealing his conviction of producing, selling and distributing raw milk to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Michael Schmidt, who farms northwest of Toronto, was charged in 2006 following an undercover police sting operation into his dairy business, which supplied 150 families with raw milk. Each family had paid $300 for


Canadian dairy industry is a source of pride

Iam proud of Canada’s national agriculture policy for dairy — supply management. Like many rural initiatives of the past, it has deep co-operative roots that have nurtured the development of a viable, modern dairy sector in every region of Canada. It provides the degree of discipline and organization necessary for dairy farmers in the organized

Supply management is in trouble

Good news. Canada is joining talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will open lucrative new trade opportunities — if we give up supply management. Or so you’d think by reading national newspapers these days. Ever since Canadian participation in the TPP talks was announced last month, columnists in the Globe and Mail and National Post



Dairy discussions continue

Dairy farmers are looking at quota harmonization across western provinces as a way to improve efficiency. Henry Holtmann, chairman of the Western Milk Pool’s (WMP) quota harmonization committee, said the process of making recommendations is moving forward as representatives from the four provinces work to build trust and mutual understanding. “I think we will move



It wasn’t what she ate

washington / reuters /Investigators are searching for a dozen herdmates of the elderly California dairy cow that had mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department said May 17, with all signs indicating it was a rare spontaneous case of the fatal brain-wasting illness. Two laboratories associated with the World Organization for Animal Health confirmed the cow


New regulations match EU

Canadian dairy farmers will have to meet new standards for somatic cell counts beginning this summer. Effective August 1, regulatory limits for producers will be lowered to 399,000 per millilitre from 499,000 per millilitre. But industry representatives said farmers are ahead of the curve and prepared for the change. “The change is not going to