Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is proud to be the national, united voice of Canadian dairy farmers. We strive to defend and promote the hard work that goes into creating some of the best milk in the world. Here is an end-of-the-year roundup as we move forward with confidence into 2024.

The 2023 Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) annual meeting had an agenda packed with presentations discussing reproductive health, new approaches to management, beef-on-dairy markets, fertility, and calfhood health effects on reproductive performance that kept the more than 200 attendees busy over the three-day event.

In an era where many corporations and governments are promising to reduce emissions en route to net zero, new opportunities have emerged for agriculture to diversify into carbon markets. 

While the animal feed industry has made great strides in pushing for a modernized feed regulatory environment that keeps pace with scientific advancements in animal nutrition and international competition, hurdles remain.

The usual suspects (expected progeny differences [EPDs], genomic testing, heterosis) were covered, as were some issues (beef-on-dairy, methane emissions, cardiac health) that may have been a bit more of a surprise to the uninitiated at an event ostensibly dedicated to beef cattle genetics.

The Dairy Farmers of Canada's (DFC) target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 is not a recent development. This objective has sparked queries from producers who initially felt unprepared and uncertain about how to achieve it.