How do you say 'milk the cows' in Spanish? Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Immigrant workers aren't only found on dairy farms in the southern and western United States. A couple of years ago agricultural services in New York state were offering farmers seminars on how to communicate with Hispanic workers.A recently released survey of more than 5,000 U.S. dairy farms reveals that immigrant labour is a key contributor to running those businesses. Conducted by the National Milk Producers Federation last year, the study says that immigrant labour, mostly from Mexico, accounted for 41 per cent of an estimated 138,000 full-time employees on dairy farms. They were paid an average of $10 an hour – about the same as cashiers in stores, and better than fast food workers, but less than workers on ranches, landscape companies and in slaughterhouses.Immigrant workers are critical to the dairy industry, the study says. Analysis of economic "simulations" shows that a 50 per cent loss of foreign workers would knock off 2,266 farms, cut the national herd by 673,000 cows and result in a 7.9 per cent drop in milk production from the 185.6 billion pounds produced in 2007. A complete loss of foreign labour would cut milk production by 29.5 billion pounds because 4,532 farms would be eliminated. The average farm in the study milked 297 cows.The study said that a 50 per cent cut in foreign labour would increase retail milk prices by more than 30 per cent. Send all the foreign workers elsewhere and retail milk prices would rise by 60 per cent. And removing even half of the workers would also eliminate nearly 133,000 U.S. jobs, "those held by immigrant and native-born U.S. workers alike."Farms with less than 50 cows were removed from the study, even though they account for more than 45 per cent of all U.S. dairy farms. They represent only 7.4 per cent of milking cows and 6.7 per cent of milk production.The study supports a need for immigration reform in the United States. But there were no figures in the study to reflect the suffering dairy farm operators are now undergoing. All those workers are helping to contribute to a milk glut, and current prices less than US$12 for a hundred pounds of milk are far below the cost of production. BSE not linked to farmed fish A pig for adoption
First Northern Cohort Joins Ontario Vet Program Thursday, September 4, 2025 This September, the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph welcomed its inaugural Northern Cohort of 20 students through the Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program (CDVMP). This initiative, created in partnership with Lakehead University, marks a milestone... Read this article online
Manitoba Farmers Defend Their Whisky Roots Amid Ontario Backlash Thursday, September 4, 2025 As most reader will know by now, on August 28, beverage alcohol giant Diageo announced it will be closing its Amherstburg, Ontario bottling plant. Located just 25 kilometres from the nearest U.S. border crossing, the company says the decision is part of a strategy to streamline its supply... Read this article online
Global grain trade gets a shake-up: What it means for Canadian farmers Tuesday, September 2, 2025 The global grain and oilseed trading industry is undergoing a major transformation—and Canadian farmers should take note. A recently published study in the September 2025 issue of discussed how the traditional dominance of a few multinational giants is giving way to a more competitive,... Read this article online
Canadian Farmers Face Weaker Soybean Yields Ahead Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada forecasts that Canadian soybean production will decline in 2025, reflecting weaker yields across major producing provinces. Nationally, output is projected to fall by 7.3% year over year to 7.0 million tonnes. The decline is linked to a drop in yields, which are expected... Read this article online
Canadian Corn Outlook Shows Mixed Regional Trends Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada projects Canadian corn-for-grain production to grow slightly in 2025, despite drier-than-normal weather and high temperatures that have pressured yields. National production is forecast to rise 1.4% year over year to 15.6 million tonnes. This gain comes from higher... Read this article online