Updated, Jan. 24 — A panel tasked with reviewing complaints of changes in Canadian butter’s consistency has found there’s not enough data out there to support those complaints — nor to support the allegation that palm byproducts in cows’ rations were the cause. The Expert Working Group on Feed Supplementation, set up by Dairy Farmers […] Read more
Study finds no data to show change in butter consistency
Not enough data to link to palm supplement use, either
Road closures mean disposal for B.C. milk
Dairy farmers in Kootenays can still move milk east to Alberta
Many of British Columbia’s dairy producers can expect to have to dump raw milk for the near future as highways and other roads are rendered impassable. The B.C. Milk Marketing Board on Tuesday said milk won’t be picked up until further notice in several areas where roads are closed and/or trucks can’t enter the Lower […] Read more
Burp-busting feed additive for cattle still a few years from approval
Alberta research has found 3-NOP works, but the path to regulatory approval is long
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new feed additive can reduce methane emissions in beef and dairy cattle, but unfortunately, it’s not available in North America yet and won’t be for some time. The feed additive, called 3-nitrooxypropanol (or 3-NOP for short), is a methane-inhibiting compound created by Dutch company DSM Nutritional Products. “It’s quite well researched in dairy and beef […] Read more
StatsCan sees higher cattle, hog inventories at July 1
Full impacts of West's drought not yet counted
Nationwide head counts of livestock from the “early stages” of Western Canada’s ongoing drought won’t yet show the weather’s full impact, but showed slightly larger herds heading into this summer compared to last year. Statistics Canada on Monday reported the first year-over-year increase in the size of the country’s cattle herd as of July 1 […] Read more
Take a walk thru on the dairy farm
Walk thru event being held Aug. 7
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s too soon to hold Breakfast on the Dairy Farm again. But a version of it — Walk thru on the Dairy Farm — is being held on Aug. 7 at Happy Cow Dairy in Red Deer County. “Organizers have worked with Alberta Health Services to follow all COVID-19 safety protocols while still offering a […] Read more
‘Buttergate’ has dairy sector on the defensive
Hard-to-spread butter suddenly becomes an international controversy on what Canadian dairy farmers feed their cows
Reading Time: 2 minutes It started with a few tweets and texts, but escalated into an issue that drew international attention — and a vow from the chair of Alberta Milk “to do better.” It began with people wondering why their butter no longer spread easily at room temperature before suddenly turning into a controversy over what dairy farmers […] Read more
Dairy farmers asked to pass on palm byproducts in rations, for now
Seek out other ingredients while hard-butter issue under review, DFC asks
Canadian dairy farmers whose feed rations include supplements made with palm byproducts are being asked to consider other options while consumer complaints over butter are probed more closely. Dairy Farmers of Canada on Thursday asked its farmer members to “consider alternatives to palm supplements” pending the outcome of a review of “issues that have been […] Read more
Alberta Milk’s new-entrant program now open
Applications close on March 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Milk is now accepting applications for the New Entrant Assistance Program (NEAP), which offers a quota loan at no cost to qualified new farmers. New this year is the ability for those accepted to use loaned quota as security with financial institutions. To date, 22 farms have started under the program, said Alberta Milk […] Read more
Participants wanted for dairy cost study
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta dairy farmers are wanted for the 2021 edition of the Dairy Cost Study. The pandemic has affected dairy producers, said provincial research analyst Pauline Van Biert. “For the dairy farmer, demand for milk production has fluctuated as processors made adjustments to meet changes in the marketplace,” she said. Participants in the study will receive […] Read more
Pandemic spurs farm gate milk price hike
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Dairy Commission has set aside its usual milk price adjustment formula and is increasing the price paid to farmers by $1.46 per hectolitre effective Feb. 1. The increase “will partially offset losses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and market trends which have caused revenues to remain below the cost of production,” the […] Read more
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