Hope Is Milk Prices Will Not Increase

Nov 03, 2023

Early last month, the CDC issued a statement saying it was looking at a 1.7 percent hike in farm gate milks prices, starting February 1st, but that's been put off until the beginning of May. The commission, which is a crown corporation, reviews the price that dairy farmers are paid for their milk every fall.

When the CDC made its announcement last month, at least two groups came forward urging the commission to hold the line on hiking the price of milk. The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers called for a pause and so did the Dairy Farmers of Canada. Both were concerned about the rising cost of food for many Canadians. Even this brief pause isn't a guarantee that milks prices won't go up at the retail level this winter. There are many other factors that come into play. Many of those same factors are affecting the price of just about everything we buy. The announcement by the CDC could put pressure on other supply managed industries to hold the line on their price increases.

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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.