New Savour Ontario summer campaign

July 22, 2021

Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s culinary brand, Savour Ontario, is proud to present our summer campaign, Savour Ontario Outdoors. This campaign will remind consumers of the abundance in Ontario - from the agricultural bounty and exquisite dairy made right in our own backyard to its world-class craft and culinary richness. All to be enjoyed in the great outdoors.
 
Click on link below to learn more about the campaign.
Savour Ontario Outdoors-Eng

Celebrating the best milk quality Ontario has ever produced

July 19, 2021

Measuring somatic cell count (SCC) is one of the tools the industry uses to gauge animal health and milk quality. That’s why we’re excited to announce the weighted SCC average for Ontario in May was 160,000 cells/mL—truly a record achievement!

Low SCC numbers is an indication that Ontario dairy farmers have high standards when it comes to animal care and milk production. Paul Chaddock from Tansymoss Farms is one of Ontario’s top 12 herds for low SCC. Read all about how Chaddock strives for milk quality excellence in the June issue of Milk Producer.

Read the op-ed written by Guy Séguin, DFO’s systems engineer, in the July issue.
 
You can also catch up on the April and May issues on the magazine website, as well as more archives here.
To read the current issue and archives, visit www.milkproducer.ca.
 

Updates to DFO’s Quota and Milk Transportation Policies book

July 15, 2021

Updates to DFO’s Quota and Milk Transportation Policies book

At DFO’s June 2021 board meeting, the board approved changes to the Quota and Milk Transportation Policies book, effective July 1, 2021. The changes relate to:

• Producers wanting to sell their quota;
• Producers who cease shipping milk for a period and wish to recommence.

View the Quota and Milk Transportation Policies book: English | en français

All updates are documented at the back of the English policy book. Updated policy books are posted on the industry site under Programs & Policies in the left navigation.

July issue of Milk Producer magazine available online

July 13, 2021

The online version of the July Milk Producer magazine is available at www.milkproducer.ca.

• Start reading the July magazine here, with the ability to download it as a PDF;
• Jump to the cover story where New Brunswick dairy farmer Gilbert Matheson shares his journey entering the dairy industry more than a decade ago.

You can also catch up on the May and June issues on the magazine website, as well as more archives here.  

July 2021 quota exchange summary report now available

July 09, 2021

Click here to download the latest July 2021 quota exchange summary report.

View the Quota Exchange Archive page, available in the left navigation, for the full list of past summary reports. 

Lisa Thompson appointed new Ontario Ag Minister

June 25, 2021

Lisa Thompson, member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Huron-Bruce, has been sworn in as Ontario’s new Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on June 18, replacing former agriculture minister Ernie Hardeman.  

“I am humbled to be given this new post, and I pledge to Ontario’s agri-food sector and rural communities that I will work hard on their behalf,” Thompson says, who has been an MPP since 2011. Thompson was previously the Minister of Education and Minister of Government and Consumer Services.

Thompson acknowledged the hard work Hardeman has put in as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and is looking forward to working side-by-side with farmers, commodity organizations, processing sector and rural communities.

Other notable changes to the cabinet include:

• Dave Piccini, MPP for Northumberland-Peterborough South, appointed as Minister of Environment;
• Greg Rickford, MPP for Kenora-Rainy River, appointed as Minister of Northern Development, Mining, Natural Resources and Forestry, as well as Indigenous Affairs;
• Kinga Surma, MPP for Etobicoke Centre, appointed as Minister of Infrastructure.

DFO and Ontario soccer partner to offer bursaries

June 21, 2021

Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) has partnered with Ontario Soccer to be a community partner and the exclusive title partner of the “MilkUP Ontario Soccer Future Leaders Program.”
 
Created to support the education and development of youth leaders within Ontario Soccer, the MilkUP Ontario Soccer Future Leaders Program takes a holistic approach to leadership recognition and development, with an emphasis on growth. The program is based on three pillars of celebration, recognition and development to support Ontario soccer youth leaders. 
 
“The MilkUp program was created to have a meaningful, measurable and enduring effect on Youth sports across the province and to drive awareness of the benefits of milk in a healthy, active lifestyle – no matter what age, says Cheryl Smith, DFO chief executive officer. “Organizations like Ontario Soccer do great work supporting local Youth and partnering with them allows us support them, too. Every dollar that goes into this program represents direct investment from a real person – a dairy farmer - and we are very proud of the support we provide to Youth activity and opportunity, where they live and work.”
 
Read the full press release here: https://www.ontariosoccer.net/news_article/show/1169437
 

June 2021 quota exchange summary report now available

June 11, 2021

Click here to download the latest June 2021 quota exchange summary report.

View the Quota Exchange Archive page, available in the left navigation, for the full list of past summary reports. 

Updated contact list for DFO Field Services Representatives (FSRs)

June 11, 2021

Visit Dairy Farmers of Ontario's (DFO) Contact Us page to see the updated Field Services Representative (FSR) contact list. 

DFO celebrates Local Food Week 2021

June 11, 2021

This year, Local Food Week in Ontario is from June 7 to 13, 2021. Local Food Week is held each year during the first full week of June. Local Food Week is a yearly celebration of the bounty of fresh, healthy food grown, produced and processed in the province. It's an opportunity for consumers to aim to fill their plates with local food and thank everyone involved in agriculture, including farmers and all others in the dairy industry.

Use the hashtag #LoveOntFood to join in on social media.
 

Attend FFCO's virtual field trips

Two of DFO's partners, Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) and AgScape, are celebrating Local Food Week by hosting several virtual field trips to local farms each day at 1:30 p.m. ET from June 7 to 13.

One of the first field trips is on Tuesday, June 8 to Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese in Woodstock, Ont., by owner and head cheesemaker Shep Ysselstein. He grew up on his family's dairy farm, Friesvale Farms, where he sources milk for his plant today.

Other field trip destinations include a strawbery farm, honey farm, sheep farm, potato farm, dairy goat farm and vineyard.

Watch live on FFCO's site and catch up on previous videos.