Reading Time: 3 minutes No one likes to see milk being dumped, but it’s been an unfortunate part of the COVID-19 story. Dairy farms across North America have been dumping milk — and making headlines because of it. It’s a consequence of unprecedented swings in demand, said Karlee Conway, a spokesperson for Alberta Milk. “We’re just finding that consumer […] Read more
Unprecedented demand swings forcing milk to be dumped
Alberta Milk has temporarily reduced quota amounts to deal with oversupply caused by pandemic
Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers, Perdue says
Homeland Security to ease visa rules for ag workers
Reuters — The U.S. government plans to buy milk and meat from farmers as part of an initial US$15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for government purchases as growers and […] Read more
Ag dean receives dairy award of merit
Reading Time: < 1 minute Lakeland College’s dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences is this year’s winner of the John J Kennelly Western Canadian Dairy Seminar Award of Merit. The award was presented to Josie Van Lent at the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar last month. The award recognizes those who have made a substantial contribution to the western Canadian […] Read more
University of Alberta test to offer new way to control mastitis
Pen-side test will be able to accurately predict which cows need proactive treatment
Reading Time: < 1 minute University of Alberta researchers are developing an easy pen-side test for mastitis. The test works by mixing urine samples with a chemical solution that uses colour intensity to reveal metabolite concentrations. Although still in development, the test could predict the likelihood of mastitis with 95 per cent accuracy. Identifying cows that are susceptible to developing […] Read more
Alberta Milk working to increase milk supply
Demand for milk and dairy products has jumped, but Alberta Milk is increasing deliveries to processors
Reading Time: 2 minutes [UPDATED: Mar. 24, 2020] Alberta Milk is aware of milk shortages in the province and is addressing them, says a spokesperson. “There are shortages happening across the province and we’re trying really hard to react to them,” Karlee Conway said March 23. “I think it comes back to people hoarding milk and products — and […] Read more
Saputo to shut two dairy plants in East
Canadian dairy processing giant Saputo, in a move it describes as “right-sizing” its manufacturing footprint, plans to close two of its plants in Eastern Canada within a year. Montreal-based Saputo said Thursday it will close the former Riverside Cheese and Butter plant at Trenton, Ont. this September and its Baxter dairy plant at Saint John, […] Read more
Program gives dairy industry hopefuls a foot in the door
Alberta Milk is accepting applications for the New Entrant Assistance Program until March 31
Reading Time: 3 minutes Peggy and Harmen Hondebrink didn’t see a way to start dairy farming on their own before Alberta Milk introduced its New Entrant program nine years ago. “It’s not something you can just start out of nothing,” said Peggy Hondebrink, who now operates a dairy farm with husband Harmen east of Rocky Mountain House. “To buy […] Read more
Agropur pulls milk over sanitizer residue concerns
A case of “discomfort” reported by one consumer has led North America’s biggest dairy co-operative to pull certain batches of milk from sale in Quebec and Ontario. Agropur on Friday announced a voluntary recall of certain bagged and cartoned milks made at its Ottawa processing plant and sold under the Sealtest and L’ecole c’est nourrissant […] Read more
Ben + Jerry’s says ‘happy cows’ lawsuit should be put to pasture
Reuters — Ben + Jerry’s said it does not deceive consumers by saying it used milk and cream from “happy cows” to make its ice cream, and that an environmental advocate’s lawsuit claiming otherwise should be dismissed. In a Monday filing seeking to end the proposed nationwide class action, Ben + Jerry’s said James Ehlers […] Read more
New dairy-processing plant to be built in Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Western Milk Pool, which represents dairy producers in Western Canada, will build a new dairy concentration facility. Construction of the Dairy Innovation West plant will begin in April and is expected to be completed by March 2021. The facility will be located near Lacombe and Red Deer. The state-of-the-art facility, the first of its […] Read more
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