The annual gathering of agricultural enthusiasts in Woodstock, Ontario, at Canada's Outdoor Farm Show brought a week full of smiles, beautiful weather and insightful conversations. The Canadian dairy industry was well represented at the exhibition Sept. 10-12.

At recent national and global meetings in September and November, DFC has ensured policy makers learned about the work dairy farmers are doing on antimicrobial usage and what help farmers will need to play their part within a “One Health” approach.

For a producer, determining whether to introduce a new solution into their operation is an important decision. So it is critical to develop innovations with the herd in mind. As dairy management varies around the world, carrying out validation research on Canadian dairy farms is a critical step in solution development.

One of the key fears of aging farm founders is the conflict they anticipate when the farming heir has access to millions of dollars of land and the siblings who are off to other careers do not have the same net worth opportunity in their future. Or do they?

Winter weather which includes cold temperatures, ice and snow can lead to some additional hazards when completing your regular tasks at work – because of this, you must take extra precautions this time of year.

Although no single disease transmission pathway has been identified for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), one highly probable transmission route is through consuming contaminated water.

Managing bovine respiratory disease (BRD) can sometimes feel like a game of whack-a-mole for dairy producers. Many stressors can pop up with little to no advanced warning early in a calf’s life, putting them at greater risk for developing BRD.  

It is a pretty exciting time in the field of milk fever prevention. New products, new strategies and new research are here – giving dairy producers more options to prevent milk fever and subclinical hypocalcemia. 

In my 50 years of experience, managing the level of SCC and mastitis in fresh heifers is critical to achieving excellent milk quality. There are many important ways to improve milk quality on your dairy, but don’t let fresh heifers contribute to your issues.

Robotic batch milking was introduced some years ago, but interest in this type of milking setup started gaining serious traction in the last year or two. Here’s what you need to know.

In April 2024, four McGill University students from the Macdonald College’s Farm Management and Technology (FMT) program participated in the 2024 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC). Hear from two of the participants about their experience and goals as future leaders in the dairy industry.

An adjusted feeding program for winter that provides adequate nutrients to sustain increased energy demands at all life stages, coupled with practical farm management strategies, will help keep calves, heifers and lactating cows productive throughout the cold season.

By focusing on key factors that can influence your herd lifetime productivity and taking a holistic view of your farms, you can identify opportunities to maximize your herd efficiency and the long-term sustainability of your operation.

By proactively managing your livestock ventilation system as the seasons change, you can ensure a stable, healthy environment for your animals year-round. Regular maintenance, thoughtful adjustments to your system and considering upgrades when possible will all contribute to optimal conditions in your dairy.

Producers today have a new tool available to help keep calves healthy and minimize sickness events before weaning. That tool is IgY.

A less-studied strategy to help calves cope with cold stress could be through having a companion. Pair or group housing of calves has become a popular topic of discussion over the past few decades. We conducted a study to measure if pair-housing calves in a dual hutch system could help reduce the effects of cold stress during winter. Read about the study's results.

Austin Ruud didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur when he had the idea for a compostable net wrap. Though he comes from a family of entrepreneurs, he had spent the past seven years working full time on the family cow-calf operation in northern Alberta.

As with any legacy, it started with one cow. After the purchase of Fernhame PBL Penelope, Don and Wendy Chalack would soon acquire a dairy and buy 25 more cows, developing a business that would produce more than a dozen All-Canadian and All-American nominees, acquire three Master Breeder shields and become a household name in the North American registered dairy cattle industry.

In Canada, the dairy sector is a major source of agricultural methane, placing it squarely in the spotlight as the country races to meet Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) targets and Canada's net zero by 2050 commitment. However, the industry’s sluggish pace toward emission reductions raises serious doubts about achieving this goal.

The Faber family is hitting the Oregon Trail, dodging typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery. For those readers who don’t think Social Security will be around for them when they retire, this is a reference to the popular computer game Oregon Trail.

When you arrive in the winter years of your life, you start to wonder about footprints. Not the ones you make in the mud or in the snow, but the ones that are indelibily etched in the path of your life.

Have you ever considered what your core values are? Or better yet, have you thought about what the core values are for your farm or business? Someone once said that core values can serve as a lighthouse when the fog of life starts circling around you.

Life goes on and I'll make new memories in my truck, but I think everyone's first car holds a special place in their heart.