Dairy program helps farmers explore on-farm processing Thursday, April 11, 2013 by SUSAN MANN Dairy Farmers of Ontario is introducing a follow up program to a previous one called project origin that helped interested farmers explore on-farm processing. Project origin II is designed to determine if more farmers are interested in on-farm processing or if any existing or new on-farm processors want to become federally registered rather than provincially registered, DFO says in a report released at its recent spring policy conference. Getting a federal license would enable on-farm processors to distribute their product across Canada as opposed to being restricted to Ontario, which they are with a provincial license. There are currently three on-farm fluid milk processors and eight cheese or yogurt on-farm processors in Ontario. Bonnie den Haan, who is part of the on-farm fluid milk processing company Sheldon Creek Dairy near Loretto (near Orangeville), says they were part of project farmgate, which DFO introduced in 2009 to assist farmers establish on-farm fluid milk processing. But many farmers interested in the program wanted to manufacture cheese, and to encompass both fluid and industrial milk projects DFO established project origin. Bonnie, her husband, John, and their family own Sheldon Creek Dairy. They pasteurize and bottle whole and dark chocolate milk from the Holstein cows on their farm, Haanview Holsteins. The milk is sold in one-quart bottles and isn’t homogenized. Den Haan says they weren’t part of project origin, where the farmers in the program applied as a group to get money and used a consultant that DFO selected. She says project farmgate was awesome. They received help from DFO for some consulting work to design their facility. They also had access to a DFO report about on-farm processing in the United States. About helping on-farm processors become federally registered, den Haan says that’s something farmers should take on themselves after they get set up. She says at Sheldon Creek Dairy they don’t have any plans in the near future to get federally registered and if they do “we’ll do it on our own.” “DFO should be helping Ontario farmers supply Ontario consumers,” den Haan says. “We’re a domestic industry and that’s the direction we should be staying in.” She says the on-farm processing at Sheldon Creek Dairy “has been a really fun experience. People love our product and they love coming to the farm.” BF Smartstax corn seed sellers beef up their product 4-H Canada announces new CEO
Ontario Promotes Local Food to Boost Economy and Jobs Thursday, June 5, 2025 Ontario is celebrating Local Food Week from June 2–8, 2025, honoring the people behind the province’s strong and self-sufficient food supply. From farmers and food processors to retailers and restauranteurs, these individuals contribute to the economy and food security. The agriculture... Read this article online
Scientists at Guelph Target Avian Threat Thursday, June 5, 2025 The University of Guelph (U of G) is activeey engaged against the spread of avian flu. Experts from a variety of departments, including virology, engineering, veterinary medicine, and computer science, are working together to stop this growing threat. “This is not just a crisis for the... Read this article online
Trouw Nutrition launches IntelEgg Thursday, June 5, 2025 Trouw Nutrition has announced the launch of , a digital platform designed to empower layer producers with real-time insights and data-driven decision-making tools. The image above shows an demo screen. This browser-based application is set to transform how poultry farmers monitor,... Read this article online
New Report Highlights Farm Housing Needs in Greenbelt Areas Wednesday, June 4, 2025 The Greenbelt Foundation has released a new report titled Housing Needs and . It highlights the urgent need for housing solutions in rural Ontario for farm families, farm workers, and agri-business employees. As the farming community knows, agriculture is a vital part of Ontario’s... Read this article online
New Precision Ag Digital Digest Coming Soon Wednesday, June 4, 2025 The Summer 2025 Farms.com Precision Ag Digital Digest will be released on June 11. Summer is upon us! Tillage and seeding are mostly completed (…hopefully), so we are shifting focus to irrigation, baling, spraying, guidance, and harvest (among other topics and technologies). In... Read this article online