Yoga trumps Milk Day Wednesday, June 1, 2016 by SUSAN MANNDairy farmers from across Canada are piggybacking on an event established 15 years ago to recognize milk’s importance globally as a food, World Milk Day, to hold a rally in Ottawa highlighting the significance of the Canadian dairy industry.World Milk Day is actually Wednesday but because yoga sessions are being held outside on Parliament Hill that day, the Canadian dairy rally will be on Thursday, June 2, says Isabelle Bouchard, Dairy Farmers of Canada communications and government relations director. “We didn’t want to disturb the yoga people.”About 3,000 farmers from across Canada are projected to attend the rally, Bouchard says. “Every province will be represented.”Some eastern Ontario and Quebec farmers will arrive by tractor. Bouchard says she doesn’t know if anyone plans to bring cows.Canadian dairy farmers leaders along with Dairy Farmers of Canada president Wally Smith and Dairy Farmers of Ontario chair Ralph Dietrich will be speaking. The speeches begin about 1:15 p.m.Although the Canadian dairy event has been called a “protest” in some news reports, Bouchard says it’s not.Graham Lloyd, Dairy Farmers of Ontario general counsel and communications director, says Ontario wouldn’t support the event if it were a protest.“Ontario is only supporting a rally to highlight the importance of the Canadian dairy industry to the Canadian economy,” he explains. “Ontario does not support a protest.”Bouchard says the rally is being held to recognize the Canadian dairy industry, honour the country’s great system of supply management, and put a spotlight on several matters industry leaders want resolved. The dairy industry needs government action to ensure it’s “healthy and strong in the future.”Bouchard says the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s executive met with federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay recently to talk about the compensation farmers need as a result of the increased cheese access Canada granted Europe under the Canada-European Union Economic Trade Agreement. Talks were also held on diafiltered milk imports and the impact they’re having in eating away a portion of Canadian dairy farmers’ incomes.“The feeling out of this meeting was the minister and his team understood where we were coming from and why,” she says.Dairy Farmers say the solution to the diafiltered milk imports is for the federal government to enforce the Canadian cheese compositional standards. (See Better Farming story April 20, 2016).The government now has all the information it needs “for it to figure out what type of long-term resolution it wants to propose,” she explains.The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization established World Milk Day in 2001 to highlight milk’s importance as a food around the world. BF Vineland launches new greenhouse research facility Ontario beefs up loan guarantee
Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth Monday, June 30, 2025 Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost Friday, June 27, 2025 The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online
Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online
Twelve Ontario Agri-Businesses Receive Funding Support Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Bioenterprise Canada has announced the successful recipients of the second call for proposals under the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) Commercialization Stream. Twelve organizations across Ontario will receive support to bring innovative agri-food solutions to the... Read this article online