Ontario’s first producer of verified-grass-fed butter and cheeses is set to become part of the province’s biggest dairy co-operative. Gay Lea Foods said Monday it has completed a deal to buy Thornloe Cheese from its current owner, Guelph-based dairy genetics firm EastGen, for an undisclosed sum. Thornloe Cheese on its website says the business takes […] Read more
Gay Lea buys northern Ontario cheesemaker
Free business analysis for dairy producers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Enrolment is now open for the Dairy Cost Study, which offers free business analysis for participating Alberta dairy farmers. Participants provide farm information over the course of a year, which is then compiled to create a business analysis on the cost and returns of producing milk at their farm. Individual data is kept confidential but […] Read more
Bloc Quebecois president tapped as party’s ag critic
The Bloc Quebecois will head into the House of Commons next month with a new critic handling the agriculture portfolio. Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has named Yves Perron, the rookie MP for Berthier-Maskinonge, as the party’s critic for agriculture, agri-food and supply management. As the Bloc’s ag critic, Perron replaces Mirabel MP Simon Marcil, who […] Read more
New general manager for Alberta Milk
Reading Time: < 1 minute Freda Molenkamp-Oudman will be the new general manager of Alberta Milk. On Dec. 1, the former assistant deputy minister with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry will take over from Mike Southwood, who is retiring after 19 years with the organization. Molenkamp-Oudman has also been the general manager of the Alberta Agriculture Products Marketing Council, the oversight […] Read more
Agropur to shut Montreal-area ice cream plant
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
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
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