Organic milk premiums plummet Wednesday, September 2, 2009 by SUSAN MANNAn organic dairy farmer is questioning the reasons motivating the Dairy Farmers of Ontario decision to reduce organic milk premiums.The provincial marketing organization reaffirmed its decision at the August board meeting to cut premiums on the cheese and skim milk powder classes.The decision means farmers’ blend price will be down one cent a litre starting this fall and premiums are chopped to 16 cents a litre from 28 cents a litre, effective Aug. 1 for Class 3 (cheese) and Sept. 1 for Class 4 (skim milk powder). The premium of 28 cents a litre for the organic fluid milk class remains the same.The blend price reduction is the initial impact of the premium cut. But the cut is designed to boost skim milk powder sales. Once sales increase, the DFO anticipates the reduced blend price will rise, says Bill Mitchell, DFO’s assistant communications director.Skim milk powder sales were declining because “of price pressure on it,” he says.Lawrence Andres, owner of Harmony Organic, opposes the premium decrease because he’s not convinced there will be increased skim milk powder and cheese milk sales. Instead, farmers will just be taking a financial hit, he says.Currently there is a surplus of organic milk with only 65 to 75 per cent of production being marketed as organic and the rest going into the conventional milk pool. The premium is only paid on the portion of milk that goes into the organic pool.Most organic milk is used for fluid milk, Mitchell says.There are 74 organic dairy farmers in Ontario. BF Take the money and leave Minister vows to help devastated apple growers
Pilot project supports Ontario and Quebec ag Friday, July 24, 2026 A new two-year pilot project is designed to help livestock farmers in Quebec by giving them access to an Ontario abattoir. The project, a collaboration between the Quebec and Ontario governments, with additional support from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), would see a limited... Read this article online
Canada Opens Interprovincial Alcohol Sales Thursday, July 23, 2026 A major change to Canada's internal marketplace is set to create new opportunities for wineries, breweries and distilleries after nine provinces signed a landmark agreement allowing direct-to-consumer sales of alcoholic beverages across participating jurisdictions. The deal is being hailed... Read this article online
Heat and Rain have led to a challenging growing season for Cauliflower Growers in Ontario. Thursday, July 23, 2026 There are only 1,225 acres dedicated to growing cauliflower in Ontario, but they produce 14,545,000 lbs of the vegetable. Growers across key vegetable-producing regions are preparing for increased shipments of locally grown cauliflower to grocery stores, restaurants, wholesalers and... Read this article online
Who Knew so Much Canadian Watermelon is Grown in Ontario Thursday, July 23, 2026 Many consumers may think of watermelon as an exotic fruit, but Ontario grows about2,000 acresof watermelons each year, more than 35,084tonnesof watermelon.Watermelonharvest now is underway. Watermelon originated in northeastern Africa, particularly in the region that today includes Sudan... Read this article online
Ontario Farmers Harvest One of Canada’s Top Carrot Crops Wednesday, July 22, 2026 Carrots are among Ontario's most important vegetable crops, contributing significantly to local food production and year-round fresh produce availability. Ontario grows the most carrots of any Canadian province – 45% of the country’s carrots. According to Statistics Canada, Ontario... Read this article online