The economic case for building a $50-million milk concentration facility in Alberta is a slam dunk, but lining up financing and getting regulatory approval for a producer-owned plant has proven to be very complicated, says Alberta Milk chair Stuart Boeve.

Got delays? Game-changing milk plant still on hold

Dewatering milk would slash transport costs, but securing needed agreements has been complicated

Reading Time: 3 minutes It was hailed as a game-changer for Alberta’s milk sector but three years on, construction of a first-of-its-kind dairy concentration facility has yet to begin. “We thought the legal agreement, the regulatory oversight and the financing would take six to 12 months,” said Alberta Milk chair Stuart Boeve. “It wound up being two years so […] Read more

File photo of a Canadian Holstein dairy cow outdoors. (Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

Quebec ag ministry, UPA organize to round up rogue dairy herd

Spooked cattle on run since July

Quebec’s provincial ag ministry and the Mauricie regional arm of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) are asking for the public’s patience as they organize a new effort to capture a herd of dairy cattle on the loose since the summer. Quebec media quoting dairy farmer Pierre Lapointe, the animals’ owner, have said the cattle […] Read more


(Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

CUSMA compensation set for supply-managed sectors

Feds pledge over $1.7 billion in payments, programs

A final round of payments and programs for Canada’s supply-managed dairy and feather sectors — this time in compensation for the sequel deal to NAFTA — is now on deck for 2023 and beyond. Compensation to those sectors for domestic market concessions granted under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was telegraphed in federal Finance Minister Chrystia […] Read more

(Artisteer/iStock/Getty Images)

Dairy commission fills board vacancy

Green tech CEO named to commissioner spot on CDC board

Concerns that the Canadian Dairy Commission could be caught short at its board table have been resolved with a new appointment to a vacant commissioner’s chair. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Sept. 27 announced Shikha Jain will be the CDC’s commissioner for a four-year term effective Sept. 15. Jain, who lives at Guelph, is […] Read more


Ontario dairy producer Korb Whale, pictured with his two daughters, says the sector already has established practices and technology that can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent.

Dairy Farmers of Canada embraces goal of achieving net zero

Producers who back the ambitious goal say it’s both attainable and a good business move

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dairy Farmers of Canada has set a target for the sector to be net zero by 2050 — and is accompanying the pledge with a publicity blitz on billboards, radio, YouTube, TikTok and the internet. But how it will reach that ambitious emissions-reduction goal is still to be worked out. “We said that net zero […] Read more

On dairy farms, methane from cattle is a big part of their carbon footprint, but researchers say diet can control emissions at least somewhat.

Dairy’s gap in the map toward net zero

Canadian dairy has a carbon emissions goal but is still hammering out the way to get there

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has a goal to reach net zero on carbon emissions but admits the plan to get there doesn’t exist. Not yet, at least. “It kind of reminds me of JFK saying, ‘By 1969, we’ll have a man on the moon’ and they hadn’t invented rockets yet,” […] Read more


File photo of soy-based milk alternatives. (SherSor/iStock/Getty Images)

Lactalis to shift from milk to near-milk at Sudbury

Facility to halt fluid milk processing, switch to plant-based product lines

The processor of the Beatrice and Lactantia milk brands plans to put its fluid milk processing plant in northern Ontario over to plant-based dairy substitutes. The Canadian arm of France’s Lactalis said Wednesday it will stop fluid milk processing and packaging at its plant at Sudbury effective Sept. 30 and convert that plant to a […] Read more

(AgropurSolutions.ca)

Agropur cheese plant workers take deal, halt strike

Milk not taken at Granby, Que. plant for over five weeks

Milk delivery to a major cheese plant in Eastern Canada is expected to resume soon as unionized employees at dairy co-operative Agropur’s facility at Granby, Que. end a five-and-a-half-week strike. The plant’s 250-odd workers, represented by the Syndicat des salaries de la fromagerie — an arm of Centrale des syndicats democratiques (CSD) — have voted […] Read more


(Artisteer/iStock/Getty Images)

New CEO named for Canadian Dairy Commission

The Canadian Dairy Commission has hired from within for its new chief executive. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced Benoit Basillais, the CDC’s director of policy and economics, became the Crown corporation’s new CEO effective Monday. Basillais replaces Serge Riendeau, the dairy producer and former Agropur Co-operative president who’s been the CDC’s chief […] Read more

An original proposal by Health Canada to label ground beef as high in saturated fat has been shelved.  Photo: Jeff Haynes/Reuters

Health Canada to slap warning labels on sugary, salty and fatty foods

Ottawa | Reuters – Foods high in sugars, sodium and saturated fat will come with clear warning labels in Canada starting in 2026, the federal government said on Thursday, in an effort to promote healthier eating choices and reduce chronic health risks. “We know that it’s not always easy to make healthy choices,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told […] Read more