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
Got delays? Game-changing milk plant still on hold
Dewatering milk would slash transport costs, but securing needed agreements has been complicated
Call to pay dairy farmers to quit misses the mark, says Alberta Milk
Report predicts half of dairy farms will go out of business in a decade without sweeping changes in the sector
Report predicts half of dairy farms will go out of business in a decade without sweeping changes in sector
Reading Time: 5 minutes CORRECTED, Nov. 19 — Alberta’s milk sector faces challenges — but a call to pay farmers to quit the business and to overhaul the entire system is off base, say industry officials here. A recent report from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab says that without major changes, Canada could lose half of its dairy farms in […] Read more
The cost of feed was a plus for dairy producers one year ago
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dairy farmers not only saw more demand for their production in 2017 but enjoyed lower feed costs, says the latest provincial report on the economics of milk production. The cost of producing milk in Alberta decreased by five per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, said research analyst Pauline Van Biert. “The total cost for […] Read more
Want to become a dairy farmer?
Application deadline for new entrants is March 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications are now being accepted for Alberta Milk’s New Entrant Assistance Program, which offers a quota loan at no cost to successful applicants. The program provides two kilograms of loaned quota for every kilogram bought (previously this was 1:1), up to a maximum of 25 kg/day. The 25-kilogram loan is enough quota to milk 18 […] Read more
TPP trade deal to impact Alberta
Livestock, canola and grain producers say it’s a big win, but supply management will see its market share shrink
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s just what they hoped for — or not as bad as they feared. News of a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was cheered by export-focused farm groups while getting a ‘it could have been worse’ reaction from many in the supply management sector. “This is really fantastic news for Canada’s beef producers,” said […] Read more
The time has come to rethink single-trait selection
Temple Grandin was right about animal welfare, and she’s right about respecting the dual purpose of food animals, too
Reading Time: 4 minutes I am a big fan of Dr. Temple Grandin. A long time ago we stood in a small community hall in Alberta with 60 farmers in attendance. She talked about an animal’s reaction to light, movement, and sound, and encouraged producers to see their facilities through the eyes of their livestock. I talked about shrinkage […] Read more
Dairy production dips as cull cow prices soar
Dairy production in Alberta has dropped to its lowest level in a year — and the high price of cull cows is to blame
Reading Time: 2 minutes The price of replacement dairy heifers in Eastern Canada is keeping cull cows on the farm longer, reducing milk production by almost three per cent in Ontario from the same time last year. But in Alberta, it’s the strong price of cull cows that’s keeping milk production down. “Cull prices are really, really high,” said […] Read more
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