P.E.I. dairy farmers thank consumers

Dec 19, 2018

Consumers are choosing to buy Canadian milk over American

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Dairy farmers from Prince Edward Island thanked local consumers for buying Canadian milk.

About 40 dairy families participated in the “Have a Dairy Blue Christmas” campaign throughout the province over the weekend. The families handed out milk and cookies as a sign of appreciation for consumers who purchased Canadian milk with the Dairy Farmers of Canada cow logo.

P.E.I. has about 165 dairy farms.

Sales of Canadian milk in Atlantic Canada have increased by about 1 per cent since Canada, the United States and Mexico agreed to the USMCA, said Ron Maynard, a dairy farmer from Summerside, P.E.I. and director with Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island.

Once the trade agreement is enacted, the U.S. will receive access to about 4 per cent of the Canadian dairy market.

Handing out milk and cookies is a small gesture, but producers want Canadians to know they are thankful for their support.

“The support for the dairy industry has been very strong,” Maynard told Farms.com. “We just wanted to say thank you for continuing to support dairy farmers and showing unity against (imported dairy products.)”

The treats also seemed appropriate given the time of year, Maynard said.

“Milk and cookies are going to be out on Christmas Eve,” he said. “So, when Santa comes down the chimney in Canada he can be sure he’s having a nice glass of Canadian milk.”

Rayanne Frizzell, a dairy farmer from Glen Valley, P.E.I. helped come up with the dairy campaign.

The initiative also allows farmers to communicate with consumers about food production.

“We haven’t been able to educate (consumers) along the way, so I think understanding what food labeling is, packaging and how products get to them is definitely important,” she told CBC on Dec. 14.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.