Dairy Farmers of Canada partners with Cineplex

Aug 09, 2019

DFC’s Blue Cow logo will be featured in 60 theatres nationwide

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is encouraging the country’s moviegoers to use real butter on their movie popcorn.

DFC has announced a partnership with Cineplex that will see the theatre franchise display DFC’s Blue Cow logo during movie pre-shows, on decals, in ads in the Cineplex Magazine and through other signage. The partnership, which launched on Canada Day, runs until June 2020 and will promote Canadian dairy farmers in 60 theatres across Canada.

Cineplex offers real butter at a cost but a “butter flavouring” for free.

“Cineplex customers can feel good about treating themselves to real butter on their popcorn, knowing it was made from 100 per cent Canadian milk,” Pamela Nalewajek, vice-president of marketing and strategic business development with DFC, said in a July 16 statement. “Over 80 per cent of Canadians now recognize the Blue Cow logo and what it stands for: high-quality milk produced by Canadian dairy farmers on small family farms, produced without the use of artificial growth hormones and free from antibiotics.”

Dairy farmers are pleased with the new partnership.

Getting DFC’s logo into the community will help customers support dairy producers, said Albert Leyenhorst, a producer from Dalmeny, Sask.

“The more people see the blue cow and make the connection between it and high-quality Canadian milk, the better off we are as an industry,” he told Farms.com. “The awareness is still growing, but this new partnership with Cineplex will help it move along.”

Leyenhorst has noticed a change in how some people buy dairy products.

Canadians started looking closely for local products after details of the USMCA trade agreement revealed Canada was giving up some of its dairy market.

“As the (USMCA) negotiations went on, a lot of people would only buy milk or butter with the blue cow on it because they recognize it as a symbol for Canadian milk,” he said.

Dairy Farmers of Canada photo

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.