Videos educate consumers about milk

Friday, April 4, 2014

by SUSAN MANN

An Ontario dairy farm family is among three featured in a series of Dairy Farmers of Canada videos designed to show consumers how their milk is produced.

The three families are: the Keunens from Kerwood, Ontario, the Bouwmans from Chilliwack, British Columbia and the Irvings from Pugwash, Nova Scotia.

Geneviéve Latour, Dairy Farmers of Canada assistant director of marketing and nutrition communication, says the objective of the videos is to “get consumers to feel good about choosing dairy products made from 100 per cent Canadian milk, to show them it’s produced according to a high quality standard and that farmers care about their work.”

There are six videos that cover the topics: healthy cows, safety standards, accountability, regulations, consistent quality and innovation. The vidoes are available at: www.CanadianMilk.ca.  Each video takes viewers through the families’ farm and shows them how the farmers ensure they’re producing quality milk and how they care for their cows.

Latour says “we know Canadian dairy farmers work hard to produce high quality milk and they’re proud of their work.” The videos help to make the process farmers use to produce milk visible. “Sometimes consumers have no idea of what’s going on in the barn. They do know Canadian milk goes through rigorous health and inspection standards and they know it’s produced according to quality standards. But what does that mean?”

The videos explain and show exactly what those standards are. “It’s a way to showcase what the farmers are doing,” she says, adding the videos are a way for consumers to have a virtual farm tour. BF