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
Looking for the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift for Women who work in Agriculture? Friday, May 2, 2025 Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and what better way to show appreciation for the incredible women in agriculture than by supporting products and services created by women in agriculture? Whether she’s managing livestock, growing crops, running a farm-based business—or all of... Read this article online
FCC Predicts Canadian Farmers will Wait to Buy New Farm Equipment Thursday, May 1, 2025 This year may not be the year to buy a brand-new John Deere X Series combine. No matter how great it would be to raise harvest capacity by 45 percent, Canadian farmers may put off their purchase until later. Rising farm equipment prices due to trade disruptions will alter farmers'... Read this article online
Holland Marsh Celebrates 100 Years of Agricultural Excellence Thursday, May 1, 2025 Celebrating a century of farming, community, and natural heritage in Ontario’s “Salad Bowl” 2025 marks a significant milestone for the town of Bradford West Gwillimbury as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Holland Marsh—a region renowned for its rich soil, vibrant farming... Read this article online
How will Carney work with Farmers? Wednesday, April 30, 2025 Prime Minister Carney has a mandate to lead the country, but the country is quite divided, and much of the agriculture industry feels alienated. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre have both pledged cooperation on key issues like U.S. tariffs. As the new... Read this article online
Sheep farmers win Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers Wednesday, April 30, 2025 Sheep farmers and wool producers from Wallenstein, Ont. are Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025. “It’s great to be recognized by your peers in the industry with an award like that,” Ryan Schill told Farms.com. “When we started the sheep farm, there were people questioning us... Read this article online