Dairy Cattle & Production Tips

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks April 18 at Snap-on Tools’ headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Video screengrab from Whitehouse.gov)

Trump vows to back U.S. dairy farmers in Canada trade spat

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News April 18, 2017

Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to defend U.S. dairy farmers who have been hurt by Canada’s protectionist trade practices, during a visit to the cheese-making state of Wisconsin. Canada’s dairy sector is protected by high tariffs on imported products and controls on domestic production as a means of supporting prices that […] Read more

Jaylor is already marketing Jaylor/MMI TMR units such as this H1950. (Jaylor photo)

Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Livestock, Machinery

Jaylor to buy U.S. TMR mixer manufacturer

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News April 6, 2017

Southern Ontario feed mixer manufacturer Jaylor plans to expand its total mixed ration (TMR) product lineup by buying a U.S. competitor. Jaylor, based at Orton, Ont., about 30 km north of Guelph, announced Wednesday it has bought a controlling stake in Colorado manufacturer MMI International, previously known as Mohrlang Manufacturing, for an undisclosed sum. “For […] Read more

Dairy Cattle, Livestock, Reuters

Lactalis still short in bid to delist Parmalat

By Reuters, GFM Network News April 4, 2017

Milan | Reuters — France’s Lactalis has not secured the 90 per cent stake in Parmalat it needed to press ahead with plans to delist the Italian food company, a filing showed Tuesday. On the last day of an extended bid on shares it did not already own, the French dairy group reached an overall […] Read more

Crops, Dairy Cattle, Reuters

Danone wins antitrust approval to buy WhiteWave

By GFM Network News April 3, 2017

Washington | Reuters — French food group Danone has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave Foods, the Justice Department said on Monday. To win approval for the US$10.4 billion deal, Danone agreed to sell its leading U.S. organic yogurt business Stonyfield Farms, the department said. Danone did not immediately reply […] Read more

Cereals, Crops, Dairy Cattle

Ukraine farmers examine Canadian agriculture co-ops

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News March 31, 2017

A delegation of Ukrainian farmers were visiting agriculture co-ops this week, looking to see if the approach can benefit their grain businesses in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. In Ontario they visited Agris Co-op and Great Lakes Grain in Chatham, Agrico fertilizer storage outside London, an Agromart retail operation in Wellburn, and the Donkers’ dairy goat farm […] Read more

This is an actual picture of hairy heel warts taken by a dairy producer.

Cattleman’s Corner, Dairy Cattle

Controlling hairy heel warts in dairy cattle

A clean barn is part of preventative measures

By Peter Vitti March 27, 2017

Since the new year, I have travelled to many dairy farms across Western Canada and conducted a personal survey about lameness in dairy cattle. At each visit, I asked producers “What was their biggest cause of hoof problems?” Almost unanimously, their answer was “hairy heel warts!” This is no surprise, since multiple surveys conducted over […] Read more

Dairy Cattle, Livestock, Reuters

Lactalis short of threshold to delist Parmalat

By Reuters, GFM Network News March 21, 2017

Milan | Reuters — France’s Lactalis failed to reach the 90 per cent stake in Parmalat it required to proceed to delist the Italian food company in the last day of a buyout offer, a filing by the Milan bourse showed Tuesday. Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy firm, bought 15.11 per cent of the shares […] Read more

Crops, Dairy Cattle, Forages, Machinery

Robot milker firm Lely to shed forage equipment business

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News March 13, 2017

Dutch dairy equipment manufacturer Lely, best known in the Canadian market for its robotic milking systems, plans to focus on that business and sell its forage equipment lines to Agco. The two companies announced Monday they have an agreement in principle for Lely to sell its forage division, including two German manufacturing plants, to U.S.-based […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Dairy Cattle, The Dairy Corner

Dairy Corner: How to optimize dry matter intake

Assess what’s happening at the feed bunk, supply proper ration

By Peter Vitti March 6, 2017

There is only one way I know to supply the essential nutrients to high-producing cows to yield large volumes of milk, milk-fat, milk-protein and solids — assure dairy cows optimize dry matter intake of good feed is at its best. As a dairy nutritionist, I am so convinced each bite of lactation diet counts that […] Read more

Dairy Cattle, Livestock

Dairy sector still working toward ingredients strategy

By GFM Network News February 15, 2017

The Canadian dairy industry has missed a self-imposed deadline for the Feb. 1 implementation of a national ingredients strategy — but work continues toward that implementation. The strategy is meant to create a lower-priced class of milk, Class 7, to encourage the use of skim milk powder in further-processed ingredients. Ontario has already independently implemented […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs make gains

U.S. grains: Soybeans rally after Trump urges China to buy more U.S. beans

Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada appoint policy lead

GFM Network News