(Marina Karkalicheva/iStock/Getty Images)

Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers, Perdue says

Homeland Security to ease visa rules for ag workers

Reuters — The U.S. government plans to buy milk and meat from farmers as part of an initial US$15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for government purchases as growers and […] Read more

Dairy cows need a proper “dry” period with good nutrition in order for their body’s to recover before the next lactation.

Faraway dry cow program provides important break

High-producing cows need time to recover before next lactation period

As a young dairy nutritionist years ago, university research taught me that once a lactation cycle is completed, the dairy cow should be dried off, dry-treated and put onto a 60-day dry cow feeding program — an initial faraway stage of 40 days, and followed by a 20/21-day close-up stage. As a result many metabolic […] Read more



Calves in outdoor hutches will need extra feed, particularly during the coldest days of winter.

Hutch-housed calves need extra milk replacer in winter

There is a limit to how much cold that calves can handle

Despite the trend to build heated barns to raise young stock, there are still lots of outside hutches and cold barns to feed pre-weaned dairy calves. Many of these calves are raised solely on commercial milk replacer. As a dairy nutritionist, I review many of these milk replacer-feeding programs and make the necessary changes to […] Read more





(ThornloeCheese.com)

Gay Lea buys northern Ontario cheesemaker

Ontario’s first producer of verified-grass-fed butter and cheeses is set to become part of the province’s biggest dairy co-operative. Gay Lea Foods said Monday it has completed a deal to buy Thornloe Cheese from its current owner, Guelph-based dairy genetics firm EastGen, for an undisclosed sum. Thornloe Cheese on its website says the business takes […] Read more

Quebec OYF nominees, Simon Michaud and Mylene Bourque with their children Elliot, Laurence, Mathias and Jasmine. 

Canada’s OYF 2019: Quebec nominees

Re-design of a re-design gets dairy on track for Quebec farmers

Starting their own dairy farm hasn’t exactly been a smooth road for Simon Michaud and Mylene Bourque, but the young Quebec couple’s efforts to establish a productive and efficient farming operation in the heart of tourist country earned them recognition earlier this year as Quebec’s regional finalist for the Outstanding Young Farmer’s program. Born and […] Read more


Proper ration 
helps dairy cows avoid negative energy balance.

Proper feed intake keeps dairy cows milking

Dairy Corner: Good management avoids negative energy balance

A good dry matter intake or DMI plan is really a foundation of building optimum energy intake by early-lactation dairy cows. This energy drives good milk yield (and milk fat) at peak production and over the rest of their lactation. Unfortunately, there is a natural lag time between peak milk production and subsequent peak DMI […] Read more