A Quebec ice cream processing plant absorbed in 2017 by Canada’s biggest dairy co-operative will shut its doors in about 10 months’ time. Agropur Co-operative announced Friday it plans to close the former Les Aliments Lebel plant at Lachute, Que., just northwest of Montreal, in August 2020 and transfer the plant’s operations to other Agropur […] Read more

Agropur to shut Montreal-area ice cream plant

Dairy payments to be based on quota at Aug. 31
Canadian dairy farmers’ piece of the first year of a federal free trade compensation package is going to be based on quota they held at the end of last month. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on Sept. 6 announced more details for what’s been dubbed the Dairy Direct Payment Program, though a registration period hasn’t yet […] Read more

Nominations sought for dairy industry awards
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Milk is accepting nominations for the Dairy Industry Achievement Award and the Recognition of Service Award. The former celebrates individuals or organizations who have made substantial contributions to the leadership and development of Alberta’s dairy industry. The latter honours those who have served producers or the Alberta dairy industry with a high level of […] Read more

Future payouts from dairy fund still up for discussion
What happens to the rest of Canada’s eight-year, $1.75 billion funding envelope to compensate its dairy farmers for other countries’ gains in market access is still up for discussion, according to the federal ag minister. In a statement Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Ottawa gets that Canadian dairy farmers want more direct payments beyond […] Read more

Dairy farmers to get direct cash payment as trade compensation
Canadian dairy farmers will be getting direct cash compensation after the government gave up dairy market access to other countries in recent trade deals. The compensation follows promises by the Trudeau government — and the Harper government before it — that dairy farmers would be compensated in some form for the loss of market. Why […] Read more

Indian court acquits six in cow vigilante case
New Delhi | Reuters — An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted six men of the killing of a 55-year-old Muslim dairy farmer, citing lack of evidence, raising questions over the prosecution’s failure to make its case despite videos of a crowd beating him in the street. The 2017 attack on Pehlu Khan and his two […] Read more

Supply-managed sector compensation details due before election
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has pledged to lay out details on trade pact compensation for supply-managed sectors before the federal election in October. The pledge comes as the federal Liberals face pressure from supply-managed sectors and the federal opposition Conservatives to deliver on compensation for access granted to the Canadian market under Canada’s free […] Read more

P.E.I. to manage deadstock removal
Prince Edward Island’s latest provincial operating budget calls for its agriculture and land department to directly manage removal of deadstock for dairy and beef cattle producers. Finance Minister Darlene Compton’s 2019-20 operating budget, presented Tuesday, said the province will take over management of the deadstock contract “to reduce the administrative burden placed on the dairy […] Read more

Parmalat’s play for Kraft cheeses clears regulators
Dairy giant Parmalat’s proposed $1.62 billion deal for Kraft Heinz’s “natural” cheese business in Canada has cleared federal antitrust regulators. The federal Competition Bureau on Thursday said it issued a “no action letter” to the two companies and would put up a position statement detailing its reasons in the “coming days.” The deal is expected […] Read more

Breakfast on the Dairy Farm serves up another helping
Three more farms are hosting the popular event this year, which remains driven by volunteers
Reading Time: 2 minutes The idea was born — fittingly enough — around a kitchen table. And seven years on, the popularity of Breakfast on the Dairy Farm just keeps on growing. The first edition of the event, an idea hatched by some members of East Olds Dairy Farmers group during a kitchen conversation in 2012, attracted 348 people. […] Read more