June 2021

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JUNE 2021

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Using all the tools

IN THE CHEST Applying stress management practices to maintain mental health

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Research sheds light on mental health and farming

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Vol. 97 No. 6

CONTENTS PUBLISHED BY DAIRY FARMERS OF ONTARIO 6780 Campobello Rd., Mississauga, Ont., L5N 2L8 EDITOR Jennifer Nevans jennifer.nevans@milk.org

Editorial Editor’s column

4

Board column

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ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Pat Logan pat.logan@milk.org 519-788-1559

Co-ordinated by Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s communications division, Sharon Laidlaw, Manager, Corporate Communications.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS For subscription changes or to unsubscribe, contact: MILK PRODUCER 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 2L8 Phone: (905) 821-8970 Fax: (905) 821-3160 Email: milkproducer@milk.org Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policies of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by Milk Producer or Dairy Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised.

Dairy Research Dairy News

UBC research

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OMAFRA research

42

Ontario SCC numbers

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SPARK research

44

proAction module

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Lactanet research

45

OVC recognition

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N.S. processor profile

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New N Noted

Tax relief for producers

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Featured products

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Markets Market demand

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Milk Producer welcomes letters to the editor about magazine content.

Websites: www.milkproducer.ca www.milk.org Facebook: /OntarioDairy Twitter: @OntarioDairy Instagram: @ontariodairy

Farm Management Bt resistance

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Feed management

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Reducing calving pain

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Mental health

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Managing S. Dublin 38

Cover photo courtesy of John Major MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

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EDITORIAL

[ FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD

By Jennifer Nevans

EDITOR

E

arlier this spring, I attended the last session of Farm & Food Care Ontario’s winter speakers’ series, featuring Scott McDeivitte from Gordon Food Service Canada.

It was an interesting presentation about how the food service industry has adapted during COVID-19, what trends have emerged because of the pandemic and what’s in store for the future.

Gordon Food Service Canada is a large food service distributor for restaurants, hotels, hospitals and just about any business or organization that sells food. If there’s anyone with a clear view of the supply chain disruption, it’s McDeivitte.

“It was catastrophic—we lost 78 per cent of our business,” he says.

With warehouses full of perishable food and

no customers to sell it to, never in the company’s history did they ever have to go backward. And many of his customers also weren’t prepared for what they would have to face over the last year.

Throughout his presentation, a common theme emerged: food service providers that are still thriving are the ones that have innovated and adapted to the changing markets.

“If you made it this far, you’re going to rock it when we reopen,” he says.

During the early months of the pandemic, food service businesses that survived were the ones that embraced off-premise dining or curbside pickup. They had to become tech savvy to keep up with touchless payment, boost their social media promotion and create digital menus—essentially, embrace technology in a world where face-to-face interaction has been replaced with digital everything.

When the world emerges from the pandemic, McDeivitte predicts a few trends that will remain. This includes smaller menus at restaurants to better manage inventory and food waste, using local food when they’re plentiful and making

them the star of a “limited time offer” menu and incorporating a retail component at restaurants to provide alternative revenue streams.

Trends around sustainability and food transparency will remain post-COVID. This includes making sure customers can visibly see safety protocols in an establishment, as well as sharing where their food comes from and the farmers responsible for producing them.

In terms of consumption patterns, one of the trends that will stick around is the increasing amount of takeout consumers purchase—a trend seen even before the pandemic. McDeivitte also believes people yearning for social interaction after the pandemic will be eager to return to restaurants. These predictions certainly provide a light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.

And if there’s a silver lining in all of this, those who have made it this far are sure to have some new tools in their tool belt to not only remain competitive when the disease is behind us, but also survive the next catastrophe that comes their way.

PAVING THE WAY TO A VIBRANT, GROWING INDUSTRY THROUGH CONTINUOUS LEARNING

By Vicky Morrison

DFO BOARD MEMBER

L

ast month, I picked up my son’s high school diploma. It felt strange walking out of the eerily quiet school knowing this was it—we got our son, Scott, to the stage of finishing high school. But just like many milestones over the last year, the pandemic has largely overshadowed this achievement.

However, this experience and my thoughts of what’s next for Scott really made me think about learning. In my past life, before I immigrated to Canada, I was a lecturer at an agricultural college, teaching all levels from apprentice to degree. The education wasn’t just aimed at the students. We also did technology transfer and benchmarking performance with farmers.

Technology transfer involved taking research 4

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

papers and trying to incorporate the learnings with the college dairy herd, showing farmers how to utilize research findings in a practical way on their farms. It was honestly my favourite part of the job—connecting farmers to continuous education and bringing life to the adage, “You learn something new every day.”

After moving to Canada and getting lost in the busyness of a dairy farming life, it was humbling to join Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s (DFO) board and realize how much I still had to learn about our industry. While it was a bit of a crash course—made more challenging by the virtual world we currently live in—I’m forever indebted to my fellow board members for their patience in getting the newbie up to speed.

I think we all learned new things about our food supply system and communicating virtually in those early days of the pandemic—the motto for 2020 will always be, “You’re on mute.”

Even with all this going on, DFO has risen to the challenge of looking at lifelong learning for our producers.

Last year, we initiated the board’s first subcommittee. John Wynands and I sit on the committee, along with four producers at large. Our mandate is to address training opportunities for producers and create a pathway for learning and development. My love of learning has been reignited by the passion shown by this group, and it has encouraged me to look for ways to continue my education again.

My pathways in life have surely shown my love for learning, but I have also recognized we need to foster learning in our lives in whatever form it takes. Scott will be joining the dairy herdsperson apprenticeship program offered at Ridgetown College in the fall—completely different from the paths his dad and I took, but it’s what’s right for him.

DFO’s board is constantly learning. As today’s new issues arise around marketing, innovation, environment and sustainability, we’re educating ourselves so we can navigate the best pathway for our industry, ensuring we have a vibrant, growing industry for generations to come.

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DAIRY NEWS

[

INDUSTRY EDGING TOWARD ‘MAGIC’ SCC SEASONAL AVERAGE THIS SUMMER

By Owen Roberts

CONTRIBUTOR

A

long trending drop in seasonal somatic cell counts (SCC) in Ontario dairy herds is nearing an encouraging milestone.

This summer, the provincial average summer SCC is poised to drop to below 200,000 cells per millilitre of milk for the first time since record-keeping in 1987.

This figure, considered a golden ring for udder health and milk quality, would be a breakthrough in many ways, says University of Guelph dairy management specialist Dr. David Kelton.

“It’s the magic line in the sand for the industry,” he says. “I’ll be thrilled if we continue following key practices to maintain low SCC numbers and get herds below 200,000 cells/ mL this summer.”

July, August and September present particular challenges for managing SCC. Warm weather, high humidity and organic matter create favourable conditions for bacteria to multiply that promote higher SCC. But over time, producers have made progress year-round managing their herds to improve health and reduce SCC numbers. That’s seen in the monthly averages over the often-problematic summer, which have been steadily dropping.

Last year, they dipped to 209,000 cells/mL, 217,000 cells/mL and 205,000 cells/mL in July, August and September, respectively, which was about 5,000 cells/mL lower than 2019.

If that trend continues, at least one summer month under 200,000 cells/mL of milk is a distinct possibility.

Kelton says there are a variety of reasons for this continuous downward trend, including changes in the SCC penalty program. The SCC penalty threshold was lowered to 400,000 cells/mL and put emphasis on SCC counts from every bulk tank shipment, rather than on a farm’s monthly SCC average.

“It was a turning point,” Kelton says. “By seeing the counts from every shipment, producers have an opportunity to keep a closer watch on their production and respond quickly if they see a change happening in the wrong direction.”

Kelton says other factors have been at play as well. An uptake in dairy technology by produc6

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

FROM LEFT are Wyatt, Paul, Shawna and Dawson Chaddock from Tansymoss Farms.

The farm has one of the lowest somatic cell count averages in Ontario.

Photo courtesy of DHI

ers means health management and monitoring is at an all-time high. For example, almost 20 per cent of Ontario dairy herds are now using robotic milking systems with advanced sensors that provide timely health-related information.

Bedding and ventilation have improved as well to keep barns drier, Kelton says. Those efforts have been exacerbated by climate change and weather extremes, which often drive up the humidex. “When the humidex goes up, production goes down and SCC goes up,” he says.

And finally, through attrition, some producers with repeatedly higher SCC levels have left the industry. Kelton says those who remain are raising the bar.

“It’s not just a few herds driving change— it’s industry wide,” he says. “Dairy farmers have made a decision to push for a higher quality product. That’s what consumers and processors want.

More people want to know where food comes from and how it’s produced, and producers have taken continuous improvement to heart.”

One such producer is Paul Chaddock from Tansymoss Farms. He and his family—wife, Shawna, and sons Wyatt and Dawson—run a freestall milking operation with 120 cows on 200 acres near Lancaster, Ont. The Tansymoss herd is one of Ontario’s top

12 herds for low SCC, charting an average SCC of just 59,000 cells/mL of milk.

Management-wise, Chaddock closely watches DHI scores and sends milk samples from cows suspected of having mastitis to the University of Guelph for testing. Cows that are what Chaddock calls “repeat offenders” are culled.

He says his operation’s commitment to hygiene is the key to low SCC numbers. To keep cows clean and comfortable in the barn, he uses water beds and water pillows. Stalls are scraped three times daily and replaced with fresh pine shavings.

In the parlour, milking units are sanitized with a five-gallon pail of near-boiling water and sanitizer. Milking personnel wear gloves. During milking, teats are stripped and then dipped with an iodine pre-dip. They’re wiped with a cloth towel 45 to 60 seconds later. Milking units are then attached, and after milking, teats are post dipped.

“Healthy, clean teat ends are the key here,” Chaddock says. “We’ve found consistency is important for the best results. My number one message is clean, clean, clean.”

Owen Roberts is a Guelph-based journalist and former president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.

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NEW PROACTION MODULE SENDS STRONG MESSAGE ON SUSTAINABILITY OF DAIRY SECTOR

By Dairy Farmers of Canada

CONTRIBUTOR

T

hrough continuous investments in research, the adoption of new practices and innovative partnerships with other stakeholders, the dairy sector continues to reduce its overall environmental impact.

The sector already has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world: Producing one litre of milk in Canada emits less than half the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the global average. This is a testament to the dedication of farmers across the country—their day-to-day work that is part of an important bigger picture.

While dairy producers have reasons to be proud of their progress over the last quarter century, interest continues to grow from industry stakeholders and the general public in the environmental sustainability of the Canadian milk supply.

As consumers want to see their values reflected in the products they buy, farmers have a vested interest in ensuring Canadians’ views toward environmental protection are reflected in the industry’s farming practices.

Moreover, farmers are citizens of this planet and find value in ensuring the longevity of their farms and their land so they can be passed on from generation to generation.

dairyproaction.ca, allows farmers to assess the use of on-farm practices related to soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, silage seepage and plastic waste. Through this exercise, farmers can note positive actions they already take while learning about new ideas to consider embracing. This information will help the industry describe practices undertaken to

advance environmental stewardship.

The remaining requirements aim to reduce the risk of contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water from wastewater and manure, and make the best use of manure and other nutrients on the farm.

Continued on page 22

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The module’s foundational requirement is the environmental farm plan (EFP) or, in the province of Quebec, the agri-environmental support plan (plan d’accompagnement agroenvironnemental, PAA) or PAA-equivalent. This requirement enables farmers to develop and implement individual action plans, evaluating areas of strength while addressing areas with improvement opportunities.

The second requirement, the environmental questionnaire, which is available at www.

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DAIRY NEWS

THE ONTARIO Dairy Research Centre at the Elora Research Station.

Photo courtesy of Richard Seck

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH’S ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE ONCE AGAIN A WORLD LEADER

By Tamara Botting

CONTRIBUTOR

T

he University of Guelph’s (U of G) Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) has once again proved itself a leader on the world stage.

In March 2021, the QS World University Rankings were released, and OVC placed fifth worldwide and first in Canada for veterinary science.

OVC was joined by two other Canadian institutions in the top 50 schools ranked for veterinary science—University of Calgary placed 37th on the list, and Université de Montréal was 42nd.

Six Canadian schools were in the top 100 spots on the international list for agriculture and forestry: University of British Columbia (17th), University of Guelph (21st), McGill University (53rd), University of Saskatchewan (82nd), University of Alberta (86th) and University of Toronto (97th).

“Guelph is a unique ecosystem for research innovation when it comes to agriculture and food, particularly dairy,” says Dr. Jeffrey Wichtel, OVC’s dean.

Over the years, the school has established partnerships with many key stakeholders, including producers, processors, government bodies, such as the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and industry organizations, such as Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO).

“We’re all aligned, which is pretty unique. We all support each other,” Wichtel says.

He notes the mutual support and collaboration “means the research questions we investigate tend to be relevant and practical to the industry because we all communicate so well.”

What makes this especially notable is that relatively speaking, Ontario’s dairy and other livestock industries are small.

“We punch way above our weight in terms of

THE ONTARIO Veterinary College was joined by two other Canadian institutions in the top 50 schools ranked for veterinary science.

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Dunn, University of Guelph 8

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

research, innovation and training,” Wichtel says.

“The research we do at the vet school in the agricultural context really covers the full spectrum, from illnesses in the animals to larger ecosystem issues,” says Dr. David Kelton, DFO’s research chair in dairy cattle health and professor of epidemiology at U of G. Sometimes, students will work directly with farmers, trying to help them solve problems they’re encountering with their operations.

However, the school also has access to the Ontario Dairy Research Centre at the Elora Research Station, which was purpose-built for “research related to animal health and disease, etc., in a controlled environment, where we can do some of the more complex studies we couldn’t do on a commercial dairy farm,” Kelton says.

The centre opened in 2015 and was the result of a partnership between the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), OMAFRA, U of G and the Ontario dairy industry.

“The last set of dairy barns in Elora were built in the late ’60s—they were getting (outdated),” says Bill Emmott from Emcrest Farms, who was DFO’s chair at the time. “They were doing good research for what they could and with what they had, but it certainly didn’t resemble dairy farms now.”

He says DFO was glad to be a partner for the centre.

“I thought it was super important we get everything together, and we keep a facility in Ontario,” he says. ARIO was a major funder and there were additional significant contributions from the federal government.

Continued on page 10 W W W.MILK PRODUCER.CA

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University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College once again a world leader, cont’d from page 8 Kelton noted while OVC has achieved great things, there are always new goals to strive toward.

“We’ve got a project we’re doing right now with OMAFRA, looking at how we can better deliver veterinary care to underserved parts of Ontario,” he says.

In a case of finding the silver lining, the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to shift to online learning, which has “created some opportunities for us to virtually connect with teaching opportunities that are far more distant and that we might not have done if we were in our normal face-to-face scenario,” Kelton says.

Of course, the pandemic also brings new challenges.

“It’s particularly important to understand the Tamara Botting is an author and award-winning journalist.

DFO’S BOARD APPROVES POLICY BOOK UPDATE

A

THE DAIRY Research Centre at the Elora Research Station was the result of a partnership between the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), OMAFRA, U of G and the Ontario dairy industry.

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Dunn, University of Guelph

value of this ongoing collaboration in supporting Ontario’s vibrant agri-food sector,” Wichtel says, who notes the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (previously the OMAFRA-U of G Partnership) will be undergoing scheduled review in preparation for an intended five-year renewal.

t Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s (DFO) May 2021 board meeting, the board approved changes to the Quota and Milk Transportation Policies book, effective June 1, 2021. The changes relate to: • proAction suspension policy; • Parent to child transfer; • New Entrant Quota Assistance Program; • New producer applicant requirements.

To view the Quota and Milk Transportation Policies book, visit DFO’s website at https://new.milk.org/Industry/Programs-and-Policies.

Celebrating all things dairy We celebrate production of high-quality milk and dairy products with commitment to the best care of land and cattle.

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We know this dairy business is also a cherished way of life.

We appreciate our dedicated customers and friends, our dairy producers, our farm families, our diverse industry, with a spirit of innovation and grit, of shared values and faith.

Our bond is the amazing dairy cow, helping her reach her genetic potential. We have tools for all types of dairies to efficiently use Udder ComfortTM because we know this comfort matters.

For tips, news and cow comfort resources, click the newsletter signup at our website or email sales@uddercomfort.com for a free subscription to Comfort Matters Enews. Thank you for making Udder Comfort #1 in North America.

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DAIRY NEWS

COWS BY THE SEA: ORGANIC NOVA SCOTIA ON-FARM PROCESSOR FOCUSES ON MARKETING

By Allison Williams

CONTRIBUTOR

O

verlooking the Northumberland Strait’s east side with Prince Edward Island in the distance, Knoydart Farm Ltd. near Merigomish, N.S., is an on-farm processor owned by the Hunter family. They’re proud to operate the only certified organic farm in the Maritimes.

“We’re a family farm milking 55 kilograms of quota,” says Frazer Hunter, owner of Knoydart Farm. “We’re out on the coastline of Nova Scotia. There’s fresh sea air and grass fields. You can see the lobster boats out fishing.”

Their website boasts of a ruggedly beautiful land where the family raises its cows by the sea to make cheese.

Hunter manages the processing business, while his wife, Angela, and daughter-in-law, Rena, milk the cows, and his son, Adam, manages the farm.

After buying the dairy farm in 1998, Hunter and Angela slowly transitioned it to organic.

Knoydart Farm has sold cheddar-style cheese at its cheese house for more than a decade since 2010. In July 2020, Knoydart began selling its organic milk, bottled on-farm.

The farm’s cheeses include one based on English Double Gloucester and another on Welsh Caerphilly. They also make younger cheeses in several flavours, such as dill, caraway and cranberry, and fresh cheese curds weekly.

KNOYDART FARM is located on the scenic coastline of Nova Scotia.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Polson

“Our popular products are aged cheddar, poppyseed and garlic cheeses, as well as the fresh curds,” he says, adding their curds rival those in Quebec.

Their 70-cow herd is a mix of 40 per cent Milking Shorthorn, and 30 per cent each of Holstein and Jersey. The herd is mostly grass fed, supplemented with forage, including turnips, kale, round bale silage, kelp and organic hulled oats, and they’re milked in a double-five herringbone freestall barn with sand and sawdust bedding.

Knoydart used to ship milk through Nova Scotia’s organic co-operative processor, East Coast Organic Milk, which came to life in 2012 but had to close in 2014 due to cheaper out-of-province competition.

FRAZER HUNTER manages Knoydart Farm’s on-farm processing business, making a variety of cheddar-style cheeses in the farm’s cheese house.

“In Nova Scotia, there’s no (price) premium for organic milk like there is in Ontario,” Hunter explains. Any organic milk that’s commercially shipped is mixed with conventional in grocery stores. “We have to market ourselves to get the price back,” he says.

Hunter says their marketing and consumer strategy changed completely at the start of COVID-19. “Sales didn’t go down, but the channels and distribution methods changed.

We did a lot of online sales,” he says.

They faced occasional mailing delays, which are a headache with perishable products. Farmers markets went virtual, and the Hunter family sold products online in several of the markets, though Hunter says he prefers to interact and connect with consumers in person.

He mentions an unexpected benefit of COVID-19—it increased the community sentiment, which he says is already strong in Nova Scotia. “Customers were saying they really wanted to support local,” he says. “We developed even more of a community.”

As the COVID-19 situation continues to improve, he’s noticed some consumers resuming in-person buying. The family continues to use its website to market the farm and products and also post short promotion videos. “It’s all about marketing and keeping consumers interested,” Hunter says. “The consumer is key.”

Allison Williams is Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s communications specialist.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Polson 12

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

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DAIRY NEWS

AG MORE THAN EVER FINDS A NEW HOME WITH CCFI

T

he Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) has announced the organization has reached an agreement with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to assume the leadership of one of the agriculture industry’s top public advocacy forums, Agriculture More Than Ever (AMTE).

“It is important to acknowledge the excellent work FCC has done to promote public trust in the Canadian food system through Ag More Than Ever,” says John Jamieson, CCFI’s pres-

ident and chief executive officer. “This shift complements the work we’ve been doing since 2016 when CCFI was formed to help earn public trust in Canada’s food system. The synergies with Ag More Than Ever will support our activities in sustaining public trust for decades to come.”

Jamieson says the addition of Ag More Than Ever is a key milestone in the organization’s growth strategy and builds on its plan to connect Canadians with agriculture and the

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food system by providing transparent, twoway communications.

FCC has driven the AMTE platform since it was launched in 2012 in response to a rising need to improve public perceptions about agriculture and food. It was set up to create a forum where the industry could come together to share pride for agriculture, as well as inform consumers about who produces their food and how it is produced.

“Over the years, Ag More Than Ever has been very successful at putting a human face on one of Canada’s most important and dynamic industries. That’s why it has grown into one of the top forums for celebrating Canadian agriculture and generating stronger public trust in our food system.”

—Todd Klink, FCC’s chief marketing officer AMTE has become the number one social media channel dedicated to public trust in Canadian agriculture, with more than 94,000 followers across multiple social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It has also been the driving force behind Canada’s Agriculture Day, launched five years ago to celebrate Canadian agriculture, food and everyone who works in the industry.

Klink says FCC has served as an industry catalyst by leading the AMTE initiative for almost a decade, so now was a good time to pass the torch to CCFI. Both FCC and CCFI view the transfer as an opportunity to take the public trust initiative and conversation to the next level. Through its public advocacy and awareness activities, CCFI has emerged as the neutral voice on all things related to food in Canada.

“We are excited with the possibilities Ag More Than Ever offers CCFI and our partners.

It is a wonderful, people-centric communications program that we will use to highlight the work of the Canadian food system as it continues to provide healthy food to Canadians and people around the world,” Jamieson says.

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1. Mosher, R. A., Coetzee, J. F., Cull, C. A., Gehring, R., KuKanich, B. (2011) Pharmacokinetics of oral meloxicam in ruminant and preruminant calves. J. Vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 35, 373–381. 2. K. A. Allen, J. F. Coetzee,L. N. Edwards-Callaway, H. Glynn, J. Dockweiler,B. KuKanich, H. Lin,C. Wang, E. Fraccaro, M. Jones and L. Bergamasco. (2013) The effect of timing of oral meloxicam administration on physiological responses in calves after cautery dehorning with local anesthesia J. Dairy Sci. 96 :5194–5205 http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-6251. 3. Olson et al. Efficacy of oral meloxicam suspension for prevention of pain and inflammation following band and surgical castration in calves BMC Veterinary Research (2016) 12:102 Oral Meloxicam provided Pain control (behavioral and physiological) for band or knife castration for 72 hours. 4. Daniel Shock, Steven Roche and Merle Olson (2019) Comparative Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Oral and Subcutaneous Meloxicam Administered to Postpartum Dairy Cows Vet. Sci. 2019, 6, 73; doi:10.3390/vetsci6030073. 5. Shock, D., Roche, S., Nagel, D. and Olson, M. (2020) The Effect of Delivery Method on the Pharmacokinetic Properties of Meloxicam in Pre-Weaned Dairy Calves with Diarrhea. Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 10, 27-38. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojvm.2020.103003. 6. Coetzee, J.F., KuKanich, S.B., Mosher, R.A. & Allen, P.S. (2009) Pharmacokinetics of intravenous and oral meloxicam in ruminant cattle. Veterinary Therapeutics, 10, E1–E8. 7. Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH 55216 Ingelheim/Rhein. Germany http://www.zds-bonn.de/services/files/tierschutz/anx_72555_en.pdf ANNEX I SUMMARY OF PRODUCT

For more information on pain prevention, contact your veterinarian or visit solvet.ca Solvet is a subsidiary of AVL Ltd. - I Care For Cattle logo is a trademark of Solvet/AVL.

DAIRY NEWS

FOOD BANK DONATIONS

O MORE THAN

MILK REPLACER

; Quality ingredients ; Hands-on research ; On-farm support Milk replacer, colostrum & supplements for calves

ntario producers are reminded to sign up for the Food Bank Donation Program before the July 1, 2021, deadline.

This year, Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) implemented administrative changes to the program by removing the renewal process to better streamline program delivery and ensure a consistent supply of milk to Feed Ontario.

In keeping with a suggestion from a number of producers, those who opt into the program will continue to stay in the program until they provide written notice to DFO to opt out.

• DFO will provide two opportunities every year for producers to opt out—before the dairy year begins in August and halfway through the dairy year in February; • To opt out, producers must provide written notice at least 30 days before Aug. 1 or Feb. 1, at which time they will be removed from the program starting in August or February of that year; • Ontario producers who would like to donate through the program starting in August 2021 can fill out the new donation form included in the May 2021 issue of Milk Producer magazine and return it to DFO in the prepaid envelope

by July 1, 2021; • A food donation tax credit is available.

The forms can also be submitted by fax at 905821-0116 or scanned and emailed to foodbank@ milk.org.

To access the forms online, visit https://bit. ly/3bbA7bR (English) or https://bit.ly/3xTZiJI (French).

NOW? t validations DID YOU20K en 21, independ

anet As of June 1, ucted by Lact ve been cond ha io d ar ea nt O st in provider in ndent service pe de in es ic an as ’s field serv ers of Ontario ns of Dairy Farm ction validatio oA es (FSRs). pr tiv ta en es pr re national d according to s are conducte Dairy Farmer by established ts en m ire t qu re more abou FC). To learn s, of Canada (D responsibilitie w ctanet’s ne La d an le s’ tic R ar FS Producer ay 2021 Milk at c hi refer to the M infograp check out the on page 8 or 3f5lx6U. https://bit.ly/

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DAIRY NEWS

DFO’S MINECRAFT EDUCATION GAME DOWNLOADED 1.8M TIMES

C

apitalizing on the popularity of the Minecraft video game, which sees 126 million active users every month, Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) developed its own educational version called Dairycraft.

This free online learning resource serves as an ongoing tool available to teachers, students and parents to support virtual and in-class learning.

The content is designed to bring core concepts from the Ontario curriculum to life in one of the most popular gaming environments among four-

to 18-year-olds. Lesson plans challenge students to get creative and collaborate to complete tasks relating to three core learning pillars: local, versatility and nutrition.

The map has been free to download and import on Dairycraft.ca since November 2020. In March 2021, Microsoft approved the map to be embedded directly into their two core platforms—Minecraft Marketplace and Minecraft: Education Edition.

The Marketplace map went live in late March

and has been downloaded more than 1.8 million times around the world. Anyone with a Minecraft account can download Dairycraft by visiting https://bit.ly/343Ud3Q. In April, Microsoft released the approved classroom lessons in the Education Edition. This platform is exclusively for teachers and is a highly respected and frequently used tool, especially in a virtual school environment.

To access the three lessons, visit the links below: • Grade 1: https://education.minecraft.net/ lessons/a-day-on-the-farm; • Grade 4: https://education.minecraft.net/ lessons/how-nutrients-affect-your-body; • Grade 5: https://education.minecraft.net/ lessons/matter-changing-states.

LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE TAX RELIEF FOR 2020

T

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18

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

he Canadian government has released a list of prescribed drought regions in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec where livestock tax deferral has been authorized for the 2020 tax year.

Low moisture levels in 2020 resulted in significant forage shortages for livestock producers in some regions, resulting in some producers reducing their breeding herd in order to manage feed supplies.

The Livestock Tax Deferral provision will allow livestock producers in those prescribed regions who reduced their breeding herds by at least 15 per cent to defer a portion of their 2020 income from sales until the 2021 tax year, when the income may be partially offset by the cost of reacquiring breeding animals.

The criteria for identifying regions for livestock tax deferral is forage yields of less than 50 per cent of the long-term average as a result of drought or flooding in a particular year. Eligible regions are identified based on weather, climate and production data, in consultation with industry and provinces. For a map of the prescribed regions, visit https://bit. ly/3fx7cQR. “Extreme weather conditions this past year have caused many challenges for Canadian producers,” says Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau. “The government of Canada is committed to providing support that will help livestock producers manage the impacts of drought and focus on rebuilding their herds and businesses.”

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85

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DAIRY NEWS

DAIRY FARMERS OF ONTARIO PARTNERS WITH LOCAL CHEFS

F

or the third year in a row, Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) partnered with Feast On-certified restaurants and local Ontario chefs to host Milk & Honey events across the province.

“As the official chef ambassadors for Feast On, sourcing ingredients locally and creating close relationships with farmers in our region is of the utmost importance, and dairy is one of the largest contributors to our food culture in Ontario,” says Ricky Casipe, co-owner of Ricky + Olivia.

“As chefs, it’s always a proud moment and such a big deal to work with Dairy Farmers of Ontario.”

Throughout May, consumers could order special Milk & Honey menu items at eight participating local restaurants for delivery or takeout.

Consumers could also sign up to receive the Milk & Honey Digital Recipe Collection on the Savour Ontario website. This collection included 20 recipes inspired by Ontario dairy, local food and the flavours of spring created in partnership with Feast On chefs across the province and paired with VQA Ontario wines.

The chefs incorporated local dairy into mouthwatering dishes, such as lemon and blueberry ricotta pancakes, chilled Ontario shrimp and mascarpone brioche cinnamon rolls.

The digital recipe collection was promoted

PICTURED IS buttermilk fried chicken with local honey.

on social media through Facebook and Instagram, as well as the Weather Network app, to engage consumers in the seasonal content as they checked the weather in their local area.

The campaign aimed to encourage additional subscribers to the Savour Ontario newsletter and increase site traffic on savourontario.ca.

“The original Milk & Honey campaign was

a joint initiative between DFO and Culinary Tourism Alliance/Feast On to support the 2019 and 2020 Milk Calendar,” says Kimberly Romany, DFO’s senior marketing manager of nutrition and culinary. “Today, Milk & Honey supports the Savour Ontario brand by leveraging chefs and venues selected based on their established use and advocacy for dairy. The recipes are an expression of their unique culinary vision, with dairy as the hero.”

For more information on campaigns, such as Milk & Honey, stay tuned on savourontario.ca for exciting summer initiatives.

PARTICIPATING FEAST ON RESTAURANTS

THESE MASCARPONE brioche cinnamon rolls are one of 20 recipes featured in the Milk & Honey Digital Recipe Collection.

20

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

• Craft Farmacy, London, Ont.; • The Breakfast Pig, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; • Iron Kettle B&B, Comber, Ont.; • Radical Gardens, Timmins, Ont.; • Richmond Station, Toronto, Ont.; • Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ont.; • Ricky + Olivia (pop-up locations); • Sumac + Salt (pop-up locations); • The Waring House, Prince Edward County, Ont.; • Rare Restaurant, Peterborough, Ont.

WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

Talk to your veterinarian about Zactran® Zactran® Injectable Solution is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, used under license. ©2021 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Canada Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DAIRY NEWS New proAction module sends strong message on sustainability of dairy sector, cont’d from page 7

LEVERAGING SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS THROUGH THE BLUE COW LOGO The proAction program forms the backbone of the Blue Cow logo, which has become one of Canada’s most trusted brands.

Nine out of 10 Canadians are now familiar with this powerful symbol, which can be found on more than 8,500 dairy products.

What’s more, proAction supports Dairy Farmers of Canada’s (DFC) marketing efforts

and allows dairy farmers to speak with confidence about their commitments in the areas of food safety, sustainability and animal care.

DFC leverages this important program tirelessly through its marketing efforts, social media activities, public statements and communications with consumers.

Dairy farmers’ hard work gives credibility to those communications around the high standards of practice followed on Canadian dairy farms.

For additional information on the new environment module, including the Environment Reference Manual, or to access a variety of fact sheets and other resources on the proAction program, visit www.dairyfarmers.ca/proAction.

ONTARIO ENVIRONMENTAL FARM PLAN

D

airy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) is aware that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), which is providing training on how to complete an environmental farm plan (EFP), has suspended EFP workshops across the province.

DFO is working with Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) to determine how the EFP requirement will be assessed considering the difficulties some producers might experience in obtaining an EFP for their validation. Details will be provided to Ontario producers as they become available. In the meantime, producers are encouraged to contact OSCIA at 519-826-4214 or email oscia@ontariosoilcrop.org for information regarding options to complete or update their EFP online.

A $50 service fee applies if, as requested by the producer, DFO staff mail a blank environmental questionnaire form to the producer and enter the completed form into the proAction website on behalf of the producer.

22

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

BONNIE DEN HAAN RE-ELECTED FFCO CHAIR

B

onnie den Haan, Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s (DFO) board member, has been re-elected to serve as chair of Farm & Farm Care Ontario (FFCO).

“I’m grateful for my fellow board members and our staff whose passion and creativity ensured an exciting and successful year for the organization,” den Haan says. “As I begin my second year as chair, I reflect on how far this organization has come and feel optimistic the best is yet to come.”

Also continuing in their roles are Crispin Colvin, nominated by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, as first vice-chair, and Janelle Caldwell, nominated by Egg Farmers of Ontario, as second vice-chair. John Taylor, nominated by the Ontario Mutual Insurance Association, has been newly elected as treasurer.

“I look forward to a second year in the role of vice-chair and working with the board and our members across agriculture to further our mission of earning public trust in food and farming in Ontario,” Colvin says.

At the organization’s online BONNIE DEN annual business HAAN has been meeting in April, re-elected to serve as chair of FFCO’s voting Farm & Food Care membership apOntario. proved the slate of directors to the board.

FFCO’s board of directors include: • Richard Blyleven, nominated by Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario; • Josh Boersen, nominated by Grain Farmers of Ontario; • Janelle Caldwell, nominated by Egg Farmers of Ontario; • Crispin Colvin, nominated by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture; • Bonnie den Haan, nominated by Dairy Farmers of Ontario; • Jordan Fois, nominated by Chicken Farmers of Ontario; • Brian Gilroy, nominated by Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association; • Joe Hickson, nominated by Ontario Seed Growers’ Association.

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MARKETS

[

PREPARING FOR FALL DEMAND WITH ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE DAYS ticipate demand by issuing production signals to ensure enough milk is in the system to prepare for what could be a very strong fall period.

“Usually during the spring months, we would experience a ‘spring flush,’” Dubé says.

“This is when we would see a surge in milk production after winter, but this year, overall P5 butterfat production actually fell during the spring months.”

Dubé says demand has been quite strong for several months now, and butter stock levels have remained flat. In March and April 2021, butter stocks remained at 27,790 tonnes—an indication the industry will not be able to completely meet its 35,000-tonne target by the end of the dairy year in July 2021. However, the recently announced additional production signal

By Jennifer Nevans

EDITOR

D

ue to an increase in anticipated market requirements, which will be above the normal level of production, P5 boards have agreed to issue two additional incentive days for August and an additional incentive day for June, July, September, October and November to conventional producers only.

Patrice Dubé, Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s (DFO) chief economics and policy development officer, says the industry is anticipating a strong fall period as a result of the economic recovery after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

As such, P5 boards are trying to properly an-

% Butterfat

P10 UTILIZATION BY CLASS*

% Solids non-fat

For March 2021 (kg of butterfat/kg of solids non-fat) 12.26%

1a1 1b

2.84% 2.89%

2a 2b4

% Revenue 26.21%

14.52%

*5.03%

6.38%

*2.34%

0.84% 2.96% 0.19% 0.89% 0.93% 3.68% 5.01%

3a1 3a2

*1.51% *0.99% *4.54% 16.08% 15.14%

3b2 0.88% 1.09% 2.54% 3.04%

3c1 3c2

*15.91% *0.87% *3.03%

7.50%

3c4

*9.49%

11.03%

0.36% 0.35%

3c6 3d 4a

*0.32% 2.88% 4.19%

*2.91% 16.72%

-3.43% 1.35% 2.48% 2.85%

4d 5a 5b

1.47% 1.37% 0.37%

5c 0%

*28.60% *8.44%

3.94%

2b5

24

*

5%

20.67%

*13.61% *-1.69% *1.61%

7.54%

*2.04% *0.45%

10%

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

15%

20%

25%

30%

will help the industry get closer to its targeted butter stock level for July.

“After the economy reopens, we’re projecting demand to return to the growth levels they were before the pandemic, which was about two to 2.5 per cent,” he says. “In order to meet that demand, it’s imperative for us to send additional signals to increase milk production.”

Meanwhile, cheese stocks in April 2021 increased to 109,300 tonnes compared with 101,000 tonnes at the beginning of the year. The steady increase is possibly the result of additional dairy imports from trade agreements displacing domestic cheese production, as well as dairy processors’ desire to be well positioned for a strong demand for cheese in the fall and during the 2021 holiday period, Dubé says.

Class 1a1 (includes Classes 1a2, 1a3, 1c and 1d for confidentiality reasons) Fluid milk and beverages Class 1b Fluid creams Class 2a Yogurt, yogurt beverages, kefir and lassi Class 2b4 (includes Classes 2b1, 2b2 and 2b3 for confidentiality reasons) Fresh dairy desserts, sour cream, milkshakes and sports nutrition drinks Class 2b5 Ice cream and frozen yogurt Class 3a1 Specialty cheese Class 3a2 Cheese curds and fresh cheeses Class 3b2 (includes Class 3b1 for confidentiality reasons) Cheddar cheese and aged cheddar Class 3c1 Feta Class 3c2 Asiago, Gouda, Havarti, Parmesan and Swiss Class 3c4 (includes Classes 3c3 and 3c5 for confidentiality reasons) Brick, Colby, farmer’s, jack, Monterey jack, muenster, pizza cheese, pizza mozzarella and mozzarella other than what falls within 3d.

Class 3c6 Paneer Class 3d Mozzarella used strictly on fresh pizzas by establishments registered with the Canadian Dairy Commission Class 4a Butter and powders Class 4d (includes Classes 4b1, 4b2, 4c and 4m for confidentiality reasons) Concentrated milk for retail, losses and animal feed Class 5a Cheese for further processing Class 5b Non-cheese products for further processing Class 5c Confectionery products

35% WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

Alberta Saskatchewan British Columbia Manitoba

$48,025 $41,200

Ontario

$24,000

Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island

$24,000

DFO administration DFO research CanWest DHI Transportation Market expansion

$0.625 $0.050 $0.060 $2.880 $1.400

$0.625 $0.050 $0.060 $2.880 $1.400

$80

Total deductions Average total net

$5.015 $73.475

$5.015 -$5.015

192.82

21,805.42 339.95 Exchange cancelled Exchange cancelled No clearing price established

173.60 338.94

$75 $78.49 Apr. 2021

Mar. 2021

Feb. 2021

Jan. 2021

Dec. 2020

Nov. 2020

Oct. 2020

Sept. 2020

Aug 2020

July 2020

May 2020

$70

*These figures are based on Ontario’s average composition for April 2021 of 4.15 kg butterfat, 3.21 kg protein and 5.95 kg other solids, rounded to the nearest cent.

WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

21,242.34

61.83

ONTARIO MONTHLY PRODUCER AVERAGE GROSS BLEND PRICE $85

A total 3,341 producers sold milk to DFO in April compared with 3,376 a year earlier.

P5 AND WESTERN MILK POOL BLEND PRICES* The graph below shows the 12-month blend price for the P5 provinces and Western Milk Pool (WMP).

82 *There is a three-month lag reporting these figures.

80

P5 blend price WMP blend price

76 74

WMP $78.88

Mar 2021

Jan 2021

Feb 2021

Dec 2020

Nov 2020

Oct 2020

Aug 2020

70

Sept 2020

72 July 2020

Blend price in $/hL

78

May 2020

Source: USDA

302.67 97.00 82.60 45.48 Exchange cancelled 228.02 249.86

AMOUNT PURCHASED/ kg 76.00 25.48

**Quota cap price of $24,000 in effect in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

Overquota

The April 2021 Class III Price, US$17.67 per hundredweight, is equivalent to C$49.36 per hectolitre. This equivalent is based on the exchange rate US$1 = C$1.23066, the exchange rate when the USDA announced the Class III Price.

The Class III Price is in $ US per hundredweight at 3.5 per cent butterfat.

One hundredweight equals 0.44 hectolitres.

Canadian Class 5a and Class 5b prices track U.S. prices set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

AMOUNT FOR SALE/kg

*Newfoundland does not operate a monthly quota exchange. Quota is traded between producers.

Within quota

U.S. CLASS PRICES

AMOUNT WANTED/kg

$36,450

June 2020

For April 2021

PRICE/kg

June 2020

ONTARIO DEDUCTIONS, PER HL

PROVINCE

Apr 2020

National dairy product sales at the retail level remain strong. For the 52-weeks ending April 24, 2021, sales for fluid milk, fluid cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese and butter increased by 3.5, 11.1, 2.1, 7.5, 8.9 and 11.8 per cent, respectively, compared with the previous 52-weeks.

Total national butterfat requirements for March 2021 reached 1.15 million kilograms compared with 1.11 million kg the year before. Meanwhile, total P10 milk production in March 2021 reached 1.10 million kg compared with 1.08 million kg the year before.

P5 boards’ primary objective is to continuously monitor the milk market situation and meet demand in the most optimal way. Given these uncertain times, P5 boards will continue to adapt production signals to address market changes, as required.

MAY PRICES

MONTHLY QUOTA PRICES ($/kg)

P5 $76.92

MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

25

COVER STORY

Using all the tools

IN THE CHEST

Morgan Overvest of eastern Ontario continues to apply recommended stress management practices to her daily life as a dairy farmer to maintain her mental health—and is also learning from others about how best to handle future stress

By Treena Hein

CONTRIBUTOR

L

ike many professions, dairy farming presents plenty of stressors—factors that can change over time in degree, nature and number. The good news is farmers, such as Morgan Overvest and many others around the world, are actively trying to absorb and apply the best ideas for handling stress in their lives.

In her daily life, Overvest has been able to put wise strategies into practice, such as minimizing stress, connecting with others and making changes where possible, and it’s all making a positive difference.

Overvest was fortunate in that she and her parents, Gerry and Linda, had the resources to install robotic milking at their farm in eastern Ontario

26

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

in 2017, replacing tiestall milking for 90 cows. It was something she wanted in place when she decided to take over the farm—to help keep farming stress manageable and set them up for possible expansion.

They also farm 600 acres, and Overvest’s husband, Justin Uyterlinde, a large animal veterinarian, also helps on the farm. “I wanted the flexibility of robotics, especially if we’re going to have kids,” Overvest says.

Although the switchover was stressful from a financial perspective— in addition to buying the robots, there was a new barn build—overall, Overvest says debt, which is often a big source of stress for some younger dairy farmers, does not generally present much stress for her family since she and her parents have always made careful decisions.

“Also, succession planning was pretty straightforward from the start,” she shares. “I was the only one of my siblings who wanted to farm, so there’s no pressure to make the operation support two families or try to manage differWWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

ent visions. I think that’s a big source of stress for some families.”

She says they also share decision-making well, whereas in families where they’re not on the same page with different decisions, she thinks it would be very hard. “We talk all the time to try and stay on top of problems and concerns,” she adds.

Recently, Overvest realized she’d like to have certain evenings off, and it would also be good for her mental health to have a couple of hours on some afternoons to keep on top of her household. She brought it up and her parents have been fully supportive.

She also believes talking things out has been a huge plus for her dad. “Growing up, he didn’t talk about things—no one did back then very much,” she says. “We just knew dad was stressed because he was in a bad mood and we left him alone. But now, we talk. He also talks more to our neighbours. His stress level is much lower than it was about six years ago.

It was hard for him to make all the decisions alone. Now he has fewer (independent) decisions, and we make the rest together.”

Overvest also connects with her peers. “I’m lucky I have quite a few women friends who are transitioning to the main farming role like I am,” she explains. “We’ve been comparing notes for years, and we’re not afraid to tell each other how we’re feeling. Having them in my life was definitely a factor in my decision to farm.”

She has also connected with other women in

FROM LEFT are Justin Uyterlinde and Morgan Overvest, along with Morgan’s parents, Linda and Gerry.

Photo courtesy of John Major

her area and those in the new Eastern Ontario Women in Ag Facebook group. In her view, it’s very good for one’s mental health to feel they are in the same boat with others instead of isolated.

It’s also been very valuable for Overvest to connect with farming women who are further

MORGAN OVERVEST and her father, Gerry, operate Overdale Farms in L’Orignal, Ont. Photo courtesy of John Major WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

along in life to get an idea of what it’s like to farm full time and have kids.

“I do a lot of the barn chores, and there is no company to provide paid maternity leave,” she says. “And I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so it won’t be easy for me to step away from the barn for a little while. I know it will work out, but I’m a planner and the unknown is stressful. By talking to women who are doing it or have done it, I’m getting ideas and it’s fantastic to know I have women I can turn to with any questions.”

Of course, the pandemic has added extra stress for everyone, but it’s also helped many farmers identify stressors and make changes. For Overvest, she’s realized how busy she was before the pandemic with the Holstein Club, the local fair board and other activities.

“I think I was stretched way too thin,” she says. “I thought I was doing these activities for my mental health, but now I think it had the opposite effect. Having time away from it has made me realize I need to do less and really enjoy the things I do choose to do.”

Overvest also employs the strategy of healthy diversion or escapism by listening to audiobooks when she’s on the tractor or doing chores. “I can listen to three books a week,” she says. “It’s something I really look forward to and it’s good to think about something completely different.”

MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

27

COVER STORY

Mental health

AND FARMING

New research is providing understanding of what holds farmers back from seeking assistance, which will hopefully lead to more use of mental health resources—and better resources

By Treena Hein

CONTRIBUTOR

O

f all the professions, farming is considered one of the most stressful. It’s helpful to reach out and take advantage of some of the resources now available, but as researchers at University of Guelph (U of G) have discovered, there are some unique barriers that prevent farmers from doing so. However, now that factors holding them back have been identified, farmers may be more motivated—and resources can also be better tailored to meet their unique needs.

“We know from past research that in many nations, farmers are reported to be less likely to seek help for their mental health compared with non-farmers, and some of that is due to a belief self-reliance should be enough to address challenges,” says Dr. Briana Hagen, a postdoctoral fellow at U of G, who joined Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton’s research team on farming and mental health in late 2015. At that point, researchers conducted a national survey of farmers to uncover the sources of stress and the impact of those stresses.

In 2017, they began an Ontario-focused survey involving some of the same farmers they had been in contact with in 2015. This time, they conducted semi-structured interviews with 75 farmers and people who work with them. Jones-Bitton and Hagen wanted to better explore perceptions of the help-seeking process, and the motivations and barriers to seeking help—all with the goals of increasing the rate at which farmers seek resources and to help build more impactful mental health services.

“We came up with questions with the assistance of our Stakeholder Working Group, which we formed from members of commodity group partners,” Hagen explains. “We took the first 75 people who contacted 28

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

DR. BRIANA HAGEN, a postdoctoral fellow at U of G, joined Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton’s research team on farming and mental health in 2015.

us and it happened that the group was split equally between male and female.” Many types of farming were represented, and there was good representation from dairy.

Among the perceived barriers to seeking mental health resources, some of them have lessened, but for others, there is still some way to go. “I think stigma is one that’s lessening quite a bit, and we’re also getting there with better access to care,” she notes. “It was never easy for farmers to get a WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

counselling appointment that fits in between milking times, for example. Now, because of the pandemic, it’s the norm to have virtual mental health sessions, which is excellent for farmers and rural communities in general, but on the other hand, Internet access isn’t equal for everyone. There are also some texting services, which can work well for people in some situations.”

Cost was another barrier to seeking mental health help that was identified in the 2017 study, and there were also gender differences. Male farmers reported having more peer support with other farmers available to them compared with female farmers, but didn’t report seeking formal help as much as female farmers reported.

However, Hagen says across the board, there was a barrier to continuing to seek help if the

counsellor did not understand how farming works. “For example, if a farmer seeks counselling and is told to take a couple of weeks off, that lack of understanding is very frustrating, and the farmer won’t continue.”

Currently, there are several projects Jones-Bitton and Hagen are working on. Using the 2017-18 data, they’re now analyzing how female farmers experience stress on the farm.

Hagen notes female farmers can often have the hidden workload of more household management and childcare than their male partners, in addition to farm work, which for many women farmers also includes bookkeeping.

Researchers are also now collecting data for a second national survey. They are keen to discover if there are differences in types or degree of stress for farmers five years later, as well as

the impact of COVID-19.

In 2019, Jones-Bitton and Hagen created a mental health literacy group training program called In the Know, available at https:// ontario.cmha.ca/intheknow/. Building on the pilot project, the program launched in Manitoba earlier this year and is now being rolled out in 18 regions in Ontario. Farmers are trained to identify, understand and handle mental health challenges. Hagen is pleased it’s getting so much attention.

“It’s a total training time of four hours and is unique to agriculture,” Hagen explains.

“The topics for the modules were identified as priorities by our working group. It’s wonderful there are more resources for farmers now, and that more are reaching out to gain the benefits.”

Roundup of mental health resources across Canada

T

here is now a wide range of unique mental health resources for farmers.

First, however, if you are in immediate distress, call the new Canada Suicide Prevention toll-free at 1-833-456-4566, which is available 24 hours a day. There are many more help lines by province and other resources available at https://bit.ly/3wf1zOb.

GENERAL RESOURCES

For non-immediate stress management help, below are some resources listed by Dairy Farmers of Canada: https://dairyfarmersofcanada.ca/en/mental-health-resources.

• Do More Agriculture Foundation: https:// www.domore.ag/; • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19; • Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA): https://cmha.ca/news/covid-19and-mental-health; • Tips to respond to employee anxiety about COVID-19: https://cmha.ca/news/6-tipsto-respond-to-employee-anxiety-aboutcovid-19; • The Working Mind: COVID-19 Self Care and Resiliency Guide: https://theworkingmind.ca/ sites/default/files/twm_self-care-resilienceguide.pdf.

FARMER WELLNESS PROGRAM WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

Ontario dairy farmer and psychotherapist Deborah Vanberkel created the Farmer Wellness Program in 2019, a counselling program with free first sessions. For more information, visit https://www.farmerwellnessprogram.ca.

IN THE KNOW

The farmer mental health program In the Know, available at https://ontario.cmha.ca/intheknow/, was designed by Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton and Dr. Briana Hagen from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph. It is being rolled out in 18 regions of Ontario and launched in Manitoba earlier this year. The program, which is run by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), is geared toward helping farmers better identify, understand and cope with the many mental health challenges they face in their profession. For more information, contact a CMHA branch or email Mike Feenstra at mfeenstra@ontario.cmha.ca.

FARMER’S TOOLBOX

The Farmer’s Toolbox, available at https:// www.thefarmerstoolbox.com/, offers mental health video interviews with farmers, mental health first aid courses and other resources.

FARM MANAGEMENT CANADA

For insight into how to manage your farm to maintain better mental health, read Farm Management Canada’s 2020 report Healthy

Minds, Healthy Farms: Exploring the Connection between Mental Health and Farm Business Management, available at https:// fmc-gac.com/mh-media-kit/. Here are some findings from the report: • Regularly following a written farm business plan contributes to peace of mind and more effective coping mechanisms; • Only 21 per cent of farmers indicate they regularly follow a written business plan, and 48 per cent indicate they never or rarely do; • Farmers who use a written business plan also frequently follow other business practices, such as adhering to a budget, benchmarking performance, seeking training and communicating about the future of the farm with those impacted.

There are three guiding principles for supporting and bridging mental health and business management: • A risk management approach: Risk management is language that resonates with farmers in the context of business planning, as well as the peace of mind that can support positive mental health; • A team approach: Building support teams involving advisers, family members and peers can alleviate the pressures of decision-making; • A preparedness approach: Planning ahead does not mean predicting the future— it means preparing for whatever might happen in the future. This is a key shift in current perceptions of farm business planning.

MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

29

COVER STORY

Robotic milking and

MENTAL HEALTH

Research shows the mental health of dairy farmers using automated milking systems may be related to the health of their cows

By Treena Hein

CONTRIBUTOR

R

obotic milking systems are a popular investment on Canadian dairy farms—and for good reason. They free up dairy farmers’ time so they can get more done in a day and can improve individual cow and herd management. It’s also been discovered in past research that Canadian farmers who transitioned to robotic milking find their work less stressful than before.

In February 2021, Dr. Trevor DeVries, a professor in the department of animal biosciences at University of Guelph, and Dr. Meagan King, who was a postdoctoral researcher in that department and is now a professor of animal physiology and welfare at the University of Manitoba, published a study involving robotic milking in the Animal Welfare journal.

Previously, DeVries found dairy farmers who adopted automated systems reported improved quality of life. Specifically, these farmers suggested they’d gained more time flexibility and found work to be less stressful and physically demanding. They also found employee management was easier and saw improved herd management and health.

In the newly published study, DeVries and King wanted to understand how dairy farmers using robotic milking systems are doing in terms of their mental health, and which factors are related to their mental health.

“We were already doing a study on robots and cow health and wanted to tackle this because understanding factors affecting the mental health of farmers is very important,” King says. “Farming is a very stressful job, and we need to understand the 30

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

DR. TREVOR DEVRIES and Dr. Meagan King from the University of Guelph recently published a study involving robotic milking in the Animal Welfare journal.

stressors farmers face based on what type of farm they have, how they manage their animals and which technologies they use. There’s much more attention being paid to mental health in farming now, and that’s very positive.”

DeVries and King surveyed 28 Ontario dairy farms with robots to assess management practices, cow health, milk production and farmer mental health. “We discovered overall, female farmers reported greater stress, anxiety and depression compared with male farmers,” King explains.

“We also found farmers who work mostly alone on the farm had greater anxiety and depression levels. Also, those farms with automated feeding systems had farmers who reported lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Perhaps what producers can take away from this is although it

may be difficult to change these factors on your farm, if any of them apply to you or if you are having a tough time, you aren’t the only one feeling stressed or overwhelmed and it’s important to reach out for support.”

They also found when linking farmer mental health to cow health, farms with more severely lame cows were associated with farmers having greater stress and anxiety levels. This supports DeVries’ previous work whereby producers had reported the transition to automated milking systems had improved the quality of their cows’ lives in addition to their own lives.

“Although our study was not designed to test this, it’s possible dairy farmers using robotic milking systems may be experiencing less stress, anxiety and depression than the average Canadian farmer, based on farmers from all commodity groups as surveyed by Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton and her colleagues,” King says.

King is now applying for funding to compare the well-being of farmers with all types of barns, such as robots, tiestall and freestall, as well as those with and without automated feeding systems. She would also like to study the well-being of cows and farmers as they transition to new systems, such as robotic milking or automated feeding. She believes it would be valuable for farmers to know about the overall experience, and if there are initial and longterm impacts on cow health and welfare.

Treena Hein is an award-winning contributor to many publications in Canada and beyond, specializing in business and technology issues in the sectors of agriculture, food, manufacturing and more.

WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

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FARM MANAGEMENT

[ GROWING CEREALS FOR LIVESTOCK RATIONS Editor’s note: In 2020, certain Ontario regions experienced high corn rootworm pressure that challenged current Bt rootworm hybrids. In regions where Bt rootworm corn hybrids have been used for more than three consecutive years, resistance among corn rootworm populations is suspected. To assist producers in addressing this issue and rotating away from silage corn, Milk Producer is publishing a series of articles provided by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This is the second article in the four-part series. Look in the May 2021 issue for the first article.

By Joanna Follings

CONTRIBUTOR

C

ereals can be used to replace corn as an energy source in livestock rations, and this substitute can help disrupt corn rootworm life cycles in the field. When growing cereals for feed, the key areas to focus on include variety selection, establishment, fertility and disease management.

WINTER CEREALS Growing a great cereal crop starts with selecting a variety that is best suited to the operation. Several factors should be considered when choosing a variety, including farm location, winter survival, insect and disease resistance, lodging potential and yield. Producers can utilize the Ontario cereals performance trial data on www.gocereals.ca and select varieties that perform well in the area.

Winter cereals are very responsive to planting date. If winter wheat or winter barley is planted late and if conditions are not fit, there is greater Figure 1: Optimum planting date map for winter wheat in Ontario

risk of winter survival issues. To determine the optimum planting date for the region, Ontario’s optimum winter wheat planting date map is a great resource (Figure 1).

While this map can be a helpful tool, it should only be used as a guideline.

Planting into good conditions has a big impact on establishment success.

If conditions aren’t right and waiting a day or two beyond the optimum date means better planting conditions, then producers should wait.

Timely planting is even more important for winter barley, which should be seeded at least seven to 10 days prior to the optimum winter wheat seeding date for the region (Figure 1). Winter barley is not recommended for northern Ontario due to winter survival challenges.

Planting winter wheat too early increases the risk of snow mould, lodging and barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). It’s generally not recommended to seed more than 10 to 14 days prior to the optimum date for the region. When seeding at the optimum time for the region, target a seeding rate of 1.4 to 1.6 million seeds per acre. On heavier clay soils, higher seeding rates may be necessary.

If producers are seeding more than 10 days prior to their optimum date, reduce seeding rates by 25 per cent to help manage these risks. If producers are planting later than the optimum date, the seeding rate should be increased by 200,000 seeds/ac per week to a maximum of 2.2 million seeds/ac to compensate for the delayed planting.

Seeding depth and a starter fertilizer containing phosphorus are also significant factors. Winter cereals should be seeded at a depth of one inch. However, this can often be difficult due to the lack of accuracy of drills. Therefore, producers should target 1.25 to 1.5 inches to ensure they’re seeding their crop deep enough. Shallow seeding can result in plants being more prone to winterkill and heaving (Figure 2).

A seed-placed starter fertilizer containing phosphorus should also be used to provide nutrients for early growth and promote root development.

This improves winter survival and crop uniformity. Seed-placed starter fertilizer has been shown to increase yields by 7.5 bushels per acre on average. In long-term trials, the response to seed-placed phosphorus on low testing soils has been 12 bu/ac, and on high testing soils three to four bu/ac. For fertility guidelines, refer to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affair’s Agronomy Guide for Field Crops available at https://bit.ly/3bqtZfV. Where available and conditions permit, apply manure ahead of seeding. Remember to account for nutrients from manure when calculating fertility requirements.

Nitrogen rates can be pushed to 120 to 150 pounds/ac for soft red winter wheat when a fungicide is used. If no fungicide application is planned, rates should not exceed 90 to 100 lb/ac to manage disease and lodging risk. The most important cereal disease to watch for is fusarium head blight (FHB), which can cause deoxynivalenol (DON), or vomitoxin. Choose varieties with tolerance to FHB. A fungicide can be applied when head emergence is complete (called T3 timing) to further protect the crop.

SPRING CEREALS Spring barley can be sown as soon as soil conditions are fit to carry equipment in the spring. Where conditions permit, frost seeding spring barley is a great way to plant early. An early-planted crop helps avoid the hot, dry conditions that can occur later in the growing season and impact pollination and grain fill.

The target date for planting spring cereals is April 10 for southwestern 32

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

W W W.MILK PRODUCER.CA

Figure 2: Winter wheat seeded at one inch seeding depth (left) versus a half inch seeding depth (right)

be used to fine-tune the nitrogen rate applied to spring barley.

Like winter wheat, fusarium head blight can be a challenge in spring barley. Selecting varieties that are more tolerant to this disease and timely scouting and harvest can help reduce the risk.

Joanna Follings is a cereals specialist at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

This article is prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs livestock technology specialists to provide information producers can use on their farm.

Ontario, April 15 for central and eastern Ontario and May 10 for northern Ontario. In areas of greater than 3,100 CHUs, spring cereals are generally not recommended and should not be grown if planting is delayed beyond April 20.

Barley should be seeded at a rate of one to 1.4 million seeds/ac at a one-inch depth. For starter fertility guidelines, refer to the Agronomy Guide for Field Crops. When barley is grown in areas that receive more than 2,800 CHUs, apply 45 to 60 kilograms per hectare (40 to 54 lb/ac) nitrogen. In areas that receive less than 2,800 CHUs, apply 70 to 90 kg/ ha (63 to 81 lb/ac) nitrogen. Alternatively, soil nitrate-nitrogen tests can

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FARM MANAGEMENT

INCORPORATING MULTIPLE TOTAL MIXED RATIONS

By Luciana Prates

CONTRIBUTOR

F

eeding total mixed rations (TMRs) to dairy cattle is not an unusual practice, and many dairy producers have been managing TMRs for many decades.

A TMR combines feeds into a single feed mix, ensuring cows have a nutrient-balanced ration in every bite. In other words, a TMR is formulated to optimize dry matter intake to support cows’ growth, milk production and reproduction.

Additionally, a TMR reduces sorting, which lowers the risk of digestive upset, stabilizes rumen pH and optimizes degradability and digestion of feeds.

These factors contribute to increase milk yield and milk components, leading to a more effective, efficient and profitable way to feed dairy cows.

TMRs have been used for many years, but some producers may not be aware of the benefits of incorporating multiple TMRs throughout the dairy barn. Most farmers group their animals in different pens, which is usually two pens for dry cows and three pens for lactating cows.

Although cows are physically separated, most of them still have one TMR for the lactating barn and one TMR for the dry cows. However, farms should have two TMRs for the dry cows and at least three TMRs

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for lactating cows.

During the dry period, non-lactating cows are usually grouped as faroff and close-up dry cows. As such, using two TMRs could minimize the metabolic and nutritional disorders observed at calving and in the postpartum period.

Dry cows may need about two to three kilograms of long-steam hay with a TMR to provide enough effective fibre. Meanwhile, TMRs for close-up dry cows should also be balanced for anions and cations and have the nutrient density adjusted to prevent metabolic disorders, such as hypocalcaemia, or milk fever, displaced abomasum, retained placenta and other disorders.

In the lactating barn, producers use several strategies to group the cows, such as the stage of lactation or number of lactations. However, a common way to group lactating cows on the farm is creating three pens—one for fresh cows, a second for first lactation cows (or first-calf heifers) and a third for second and greater lactation cows (or old cows).

Fresh cows are still within the transition period where many of their metabolic and physiologic mechanisms are being adjusted from a non-lactating to a lactating condition with a high nutrient demand but an inherent low dry matter.

For that reason, their TMR should contain high energetic density, high-quality fibre source associated with highly digestible nutrients, specific rumen protected vitamins and amino acids and palatable additives to stimulate intake, which should minimize the impact of metabolic disorders related to postpartum.

First lactaction cows are commonly separated from the second or greater lactation cows for social and nutritional reasons. This leads to less competition and improved access to bunk and stall space. Additionally, TMR for first lactation cows should be adjusted for a higher group than their actual production level to compensate the growth they still have during their first lactation.

Lastly, second and greater lactation cows are included in a single pen. This lower-producing group often receives the same forage as the higher producing cows, which may not allow for optimal use of various forages. This could result in higher feed costs because more expensive ingredients are provided to cows in the late-lactation stage. Producers should adjust TMR based on an analysis of productivity and profitability.

Ideally, the lactating barn should have five main groups. However, depending on the farm structure and management, having many separate groups may become unfeasible. Speaking with a nutritionist will help identify the best strategy for TMR based on how the animals are grouped.

If using multiple TMRs are not suitable in the farm structure, using top-dress feeding and adjusting the amount of TMR delivered in each group might be an alternative strategy to improve animal performance and production.

For instance, adjusting the TMR in the close-up and-or fresh cow pens could significantly reduce metabolic disorders during the transition period. Although there is no perfect answer for all systems and feeding system needs to be suited to the farm, it’s imperative to evaluate the benefits multiple TMRs could bring to the farm.

Luciana Prates is a ruminant nutritionist at Proveta Nutrition Ltd.

W W W.MILK PRODUCER.CA

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE CALVING PAIN FOR CALVES?

POWER THROUGH THE HEAT

By Steven Roche

CONTRIBUTOR

W

hen producers think about pain associated with calving, they typically think of pain to the dam, but calves can also experience pain during calving. It’s most likely to occur when calves experience dystocia, or a difficult or prolonged calving.

This may be due to traumatic injuries, such as fractured leg, mandible, ribs or spine, ruptured internal organs or diaphragm or severe internal bleeding. Pain can also be due to prolonged or forceful traction with a mechanical calving aid, such as a calving jack or chains, where calves experience pain during and immediately after forced extraction.

DETERMINING WHEN THE CALF IS IN PAIN Dystocia has been shown to adversely affect the vigour of newborn calves. For example, research suggests calves experiencing dystocia are more likely to have: • Higher levels of blood cortisol—a marker of stress and pain—and creatine kinase—an indicator of muscle damage; • Lower blood pH, or acidosis, as a result of an inability to get sufficient amounts of oxygen; • An inability to regulate body temperature; • Decreased blood flow to vital organs; • A harder time staying upright and take longer to stand.

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Ask your nutritionist about integrating BIOPOWER SC into your cows’ diet today!

Feeding BIOPOWER® SC during heat stress has been shown to:

IMPACT OF PAIN AT CALVING As a result of the challenges listed above, calves born to a dystocia are more likely to: • Have reduced colostrum intake; • Have failed transfer of passive immunity; • Be treated for disease; • Die. Preventing dystocia from occurring in the first place is the best starting point.

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FARM MANAGEMENT

What can be done to reduce calving pain for calves?, cont’d from page 35 Most dystocias are a result of the birth canal not being large enough to accommodate the calf during birth without difficulty.

To address this, producers should consider their ability to decrease calf birth weight through genetic selection. Avoiding excess high energy nutrition in the third trimester can help prevent fat from accumulating within the pelvic area, which narrows the birth canal.

Producers can help increase the chances of the dam having an adequate pelvic diameter by ensuring cows are at an appropriate body condition prior to calving (≤ 3.5 out of 5), and first time calvers are an appropriate size at breeding to ensure they are at least 85 per cent of their mature body weight by the time they are ready to calve.

DETERMINING WHEN TO INTERVENE Unfortunately, because of the nature of the calving process and the physiological aspects involved, even when all preventative measures are followed, there is still a risk of dystocia occurring. Producers need to be prepared to manage these events efficiently and effectively.

Frequent examinations will help determine when interventions are needed. The goal is to ensure examinations occur every 15 to 30 minutes. If there is no progress or the calf is showing signs of distress, such as reduced reflexes or swollen tongue, head or limbs, the cow should be examined.

Be sure to discuss an appropriate calving management plan with a veterinarian. They may also be able to advise on when they should be called to intervene.

CALF MANAGEMENT AFTER CALVING The importance of calving management doesn’t end when the calf is born. Calves experiencing dystocia are more susceptible to hypothermia, especially when exposed to low environmental temperatures and when they have failed passive immunity transfer.

In these cases, producers need to take quick action to prevent the impact of dystocia. Drying the haircoat, providing warm colostrum as soon as possible following calving and placing the calf in clean, deep straw bedding and under a heat lamp if available will reduce the consequences associated with hypothermia and failed passive immunity transfer.

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PAIN CONTROL FOR CALVES The use of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) could be beneficial for calves to reduce the pain and inflammation they may have experienced during a dystocia event.

Specifically, in calves born from a difficult calving, it has been shown providing meloxicam will improve calf vigour and suckling reflex.

This likely contributes to improved milk intake, health and weight gain in the first week following calving.

Based on this, providing an NSAID to calves that endured a dystocia is warranted.

It’s important to note more research and evidence is needed in this area to determine whether the blanket use of NSAIDs (given to every calf at birth) is warranted or necessary.

Talk to a veterinarian about the best practice for the herd.

TAKEAWAY MESSAGES Calving can be a painful process for the calf, resulting in tissue damage and an inability to get sufficient oxygen. This is especially true when calves experience dystocia. Producers should first focus on dystocia prevention through management of dam nutrition, genetics, size and age at first breeding for heifers.

When dystocia happens, producers need to be ready at the right time to prevent the negative consequences endured by the calf and cow. Calves that experience dystocia need to be cared for immediately by providing them with colostrum right after birth and ensuring they’re kept warm.

NSAIDs can also help by reducing the pain and inflammation that occurs when a calf experiences the effects of a difficult calving. Work with a veterinarian to determine what strategies could be employed to better manage pain during calving for all animals.

Steven Roche MNP.ca

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JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

is the director and principal consultant at ACER Consulting.

W W W.MILK PRODUCER.CA

MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 How can you help your workers “flatten the curve” of emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic?

By Workplace Safety & Prevention Services

CONTRIBUTOR

T

he last year has been challenging for everyone’s mental health in many ways.

Social isolation, work and childcare demands, fear of contracting COVID-19 and other pressures have left many people feeling anxious and-or depressed. Those working in the dairy industry are no exception.

Danielle Stewart, a mental health consultant at Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, says workplaces and managers can do much more to help employees.

“It’s all about building trust,” Stewart says, adding workers need to have confidence owners are doing all they can to support their COVID-related physical and emotional well-being. “If there’s a silver lining to COVID-19, it’s the opportunity for businesses to maintain or regain trust, which is the backbone of a strong organizational culture.”

Stewart recommends these practices to help boost trust, ease fears and worries and support employees’ mental health during the pandemic.

• Mitigate the risk of COVID spread on the farm: Have strong protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID, including screening, disinfecting, social distancing, masks, physical barriers, etc. Make sure everyone understands the policies and procedures being used to protect their health and safety; • Reduce stigma: Bring COVID-related and other mental health issues out into the open.

Let compassion, vulnerability and flexibility be your watchwords. Provide employees with advice and means of support from mental health experts. “Make sure workers feel they can talk about it comfortably and confidentially in the workplace,” Stewart says; • Communicate all COVID-related information in an open, honest and transparent manner: Use question and answer documents or safety talks, Stewart says. Make sure communication runs both ways. Create an environment that encourages everyone to share their tips for reducing anxiety and stress in their own lives. Take time to listen to employees’ needs or concerns and respond in a timely manner with reasonable solutions or compromises that might help reduce stress and anxiety; • Be clear about expectations: This is for WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

employees’ health and safety, as well as worklife balance. If employees are having trouble meeting expectations, do they have the tools and resources they need to get the job done?

Consider whether expectations need to be redefined; • Keep a pulse on public health notifications and mandatory workplace rules: Adjust your policies accordingly and advise everyone of the changes. Assure everyone the workplace is on top of mental health issues.

This helps embed trust; • Be flexible with work-life balance and lead by example: It’s possible to find balance on the farm. The key is to plan for it and prioritize it. You may find you need to be more flexible in your scheduling and planning, and in some cases, it’s more about work-life integration.

Plan, prioritize and be flexible. Take breaks and encourage others to as well; • Check in regularly: If employees are working alone, you should email, phone or text throughout the day to check in on their physical and mental safety. Watch and listen for signs that they may be stressed, anxious or overwhelmed.

Be prepared to make changes to provide support and if needed, recommend additional resources and support. Employees who work alone may experience greater mental distress, so checking in with them is particularly vital.

SAFETY RESOURCES • COVID-19 mental health resources: wsps.news/COVIDMentalHealth; • Daily Chore: Handling Stress on the Farm: wsps.news/DailyChore; • ThinkMentalHealth.ca agricultural resources: wsps.news/TMHAg; • Recorded ag safety webinars on tractor safety and working alone: wsps.news/AgSafetyVideos; • Working alone safely video: https://youtu.be/PsSNBiBqVtI.

This article was prepared by Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS). For more information, visit www.wsps.ca or contact WSPS at customercare@wsps.ca.

MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

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FARM MANAGEMENT

SALMONELLA DUBLIN: A NEW DISEASE WITH PROFOUND IMPACTS

By Dave Renaud

By Dave Renaud

CONTRIBUTOR

S

almonella Dublin (S. Dublin) is an emerging threat in all cattle sectors across Canada. It’s a multidrug-resistant bacteria that can cause a variety of symptoms in animals and is particularly devastating for young animals.

S. Dublin has been found on dairy and veal farms across Ontario and has been responsible for causing high levels of mortality and disease when outbreaks occur (Figure 1).

WHAT DOES S. DUBLIN CAUSE IN ANIMALS? The most common pattern seen on farms with S. Dublin detected is a sudden outbreak, which causes high levels of mortality. These outbreaks occur most commonly on veal farms where they result in more than 20 per cent of calves dying in a group.

Beyond high mortality, calves that are between two to five months old may also have signs of septicemia or respiratory disease. Septicemia is a serious bloodstream infection with rapid onset that can cause calves to die without any indication of illness beforehand.

A unique feature of the respiratory disease that is caused by S. Dublin is calves will not respond to antibiotic treatment. S. Dublin exhibits very high resistance to several commonly used antibiotics, making it very difficult to treat. When these signs are identified, producers should work with their veterinarian to submit samples for bacterial culture. This can help identify the cause early and allow producers to establish mitigation strategies to prevent spread throughout an operation.

HOW DOES S. DUBLIN AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH? S. Dublin is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can cause disease in animals and humans. In humans, this bacteria can cause very severe disease, including septicemia. Similar to animals, it is resistant to antibiotic therapy. Often, human cases of S. Dublin require long-term hospitalization.

Humans are typically infected by consuming raw, unpasteurized milk from cows that shed the bacteria in their milk, or they are infected by consuming feces from cows that shed the bacteria in their manure. Due to the zoonotic risk, consuming pasteurized milk, wearing gloves and thorough handwashing when work38

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

ing with animals is best practice to prevent infection.

Figure 1: Number of premises with Salmonella Dublin from 2012 to 2020

HOW DO PRODUCERS PREVENT S. DUBLIN ON THEIR FARMS? The major pathway for S. Dublin to enter a farm is through the purchase of a carrier animal. Carriers are cows that appear healthy but shed S. Dublin in their manure and milk. For dairy farms, maintaining a truly closed herd by not purchasing animals is a critical factor to preventing its spread.

If animals need to be purchased, ensuring the animals come from a farm that has a negative bulk tank milk test, as well as a negative blood test, is best practice. This testing can also be used to identify other infectious diseases, such as Johne’s disease and leukosis, that can have a serious impact on the farm.

Keeping a closed herd is not possible for veal farms, and the introduction of S. Dublin into the herd primarily comes from buying a carrier calf. Veal producers should buy from as few sources as possible, discuss S. Dublin status and prevention strategies with source farms (if applicable) and maintain excellent biosecurity measures on-farm to help prevent introduction to their facilities.

As S. Dublin is shed in manure, it can also be transmitted by people, boots, coveralls and equipment entering the farm. Specifically, producers should ensure service providers, such as artificial insemination technicians, drovers or cattle buyers, veterinarians and visitors, have clean and disinfected boots and coveralls containing no manure, or keep designated boots and coveralls for visitors when they come onto the farm.

WHAT CAN PRODUCERS DO IF THEY HAVE S. DUBLIN ON THEIR FARM? S. Dublin is spread mostly through carrier animals that shed the bacteria in their manure and milk, especially at calving time, and susceptible calves ingest the contaminated feces or milk.

When S. Dublin is diagnosed, effort should be placed on identifying carrier animals through blood testing. Ensuring the calves do not encounter manure from older cattle is also critical, which means having a clean calving area is important.

Housing, feeding equipment and other surfaces that come into frequent contact with manure are critical control points that, when

cleaned and disinfected, will reduce transmission of this bacteria. Using oxidizing agents, such as accelerated hydrogen peroxide or chlorine dioxide, after fecal matter has been removed will kill S. Dublin.

TAKE-HOME MESSAGES S. Dublin is an emerging pathogen that can cause high levels of mortality and respiratory disease that does not respond to treatment. It can also cause severe disease in humans when raw, unpasteurized milk is consumed from infected cows.

It’s important to highlight most Ontario dairy farms are not infected at this time. Limiting the purchase of new animals into the producer’s herd is the biggest factor that will prevent this disease from coming onto their farm.

Producers should work with their veterinarian to discuss preventative measures to limit the risk of this disease occurring on their farm.

This project was funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

Dave Renaud is an associate consultant with ACER Consulting Ltd. and a veterinary epidemiologist in the department of population medicine at the University of Guelph.

Calf Care Corner delivers the latest information and ideas to help you improve the way calves are raised on your farm. If you have any comments or questions about Calf Care Corner, send an email to info@calfcare.ca. Follow Calf Care Corner on Facebook and Twitter @CalfCareCorner, and sign up for monthly e-blasts at www.calfcare.ca.

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DAIRY RESEARCH DAIRY RESEARCH

[ IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMENESS DETECTION

By Hanna Eriksson, Ruan Daros, Marina von Keyserlingk and Daniel Weary

CONTRIBUTORS

L

ameness is one of the greatest challenges facing the dairy industry. About 25 per cent of dairy cows in Canada are lame, which is why it’s important new cases of lameness are promptly identified since treating chronically lame animals is often unsuccessful.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to correctly identify lame animals. It can be challenging to differentiate between imperfect gait and mild lameness, meaning a diagnosis of mild lameness may be unreliable, especially when based on a single assessment.

New research at the University of British Columbia (UBC) has shown gait assessments are more reliable when conducted repeatedly.

More frequent assessments also increase the likelihood of finding new cases. However, there is little consensus on how often lameness

should be evaluated on-farm when performing lameness studies.

UBC researchers followed 262 cows from dry-off until calving on six farms in B.C. All cows were considered sound at the beginning of the study. Gait was scored weekly, using a 1 to 5 scale (1 to 2 meaning freely able to move, 3 meaning compromised locomotion and 4 to 5 meaning severely restricted ability to move).

Researchers used three increasingly stringent definitions of mild lameness and tested how the different definitions affected the ability to identify new cases (Table 1). Animals with a locomotion score equal to or greater than 4 were considered severely lame in all definitions.

To determine how well these findings related to the presence of claw lesions, researchers compared the different lameness definitions against claw records collected by professional hoof trimmers.

To evaluate how assessment frequency affected the identification of new lameness cases, researchers created three data sets

Table 1: Lameness definitions

LAME1

Scored 3 or higher at least once

LAME2

Scored 3 on at least two consecutive occasions, or ≥4 at least once

LAME3

Scored 3 on at least three consecutive occasions, or ≥4 at least once

40

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

containing the same animals. Either every assessment, every other assessment or every third assessment in the original data set was kept for each animal, with the first assessment being the same in all three data sets.

A high percentage of the animals (82 per cent) were diagnosed as lame when using the LAME1 definition compared with 50 per cent and 35 per cent of cows when using the LAME2 or LAME3 definition, respectively.

Of the 158 animals considered mildly lame according to the LAME1 definition, 28 per cent were scored 3 on only one occasion.

However, 71 per cent of the animals that scored 3 on two consecutive occasions also scored 3 the following visit. When comparing LAME2 and LAME3, there was a high agreement in how cows were classified, with 85 per cent of the cows classified the same way.

When assessing how well different lameness definitions related to the presence of claw lesions at trimming, LAME1 proved to be the least useful. More than 75 per cent of the cows identified as lame had no lesions at trimming.

Both LAME2 and LAME3 were more successful at distinguishing between animals with and without claw lesions. Given that recovery is better when claw lesions are treated promptly, researchers recommend using the W W W.MILK PRODUCER.CA

LAME2 methods since this leads to a more rapid diagnosis than using LAME3.

Results also showed the value of more frequent gait assessments. Fewer animals were considered lame when assessment frequency decreased. Fifty per cent of the cows were identified as lame when they were assessed weekly, but only 23 per cent were identified when gait scoring occurred every three weeks, showing many cases of lameness can be missed when scoring is infrequent.

With frequent scoring, any cases that were missed were likely to be very short—69 per cent of the cows that changed from lame to sound when assessed every two weeks were lame for two weeks or less. As well, 49 per cent of the animals that changed category when assessed every third week were lame for four weeks or more.

These results provide evidence that new cases of lameness are common during the dry period. Using occasional gait scores of 3 to identify lameness leads to overestimating the number of lame animals. In addition, many cases of lameness can be missed if cows are assessed infrequently.

Researchers recommend gait should be evaluated at least every other week in adult dairy cattle, including dry cows. Cows that are deemed mildly lame should be monitored more often by the farmer, and have their claws checked if gait does not improve.

Severely lame animals should be examined upon first detection.

Hanna Eriksson completed her PhD in the animal welfare program at the University of British Columbia and is now a postdoctoral fellow in the department of animal nutrition and management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Ruan Daros completed his PhD in the animal welfare program at the University of British Columbia and is now a faculty member at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Parana, School of Life Sciences in Brazil.

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DAIRY RESEARCH

PREVENTING THE INTRODUCTION OF BOVINE VIRAL DIARRHEA VIRUS Decades of research emphasize the important actions producers can take to protect their herd

By Cynthia Miltenburg CONTRIBUTOR

B

ovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus is one of the most common viral diseases in cattle and is found in most countries around the world. Viral infections lead to respiratory and reproductive disease, causing significant economic losses for producers.

BVD infection is typically introduced to a herd with the arrival of a persistently infected (PI) animal—a bovine that appears normal but sheds large amounts of the BVD virus into the environment. Naïve cattle exposed directly to the virus through nose-to-nose contact or indirectly through contaminated materials become sick with a fever, depression, pneumonia andor diarrhea, and have reproductive losses and a

reduction in milk yield.

Occasionally, a severe form of BVD will occur with higher mortality, but more often, animals will recover. However, when pregnant cattle between 40 to 120 days gestation are exposed to BVD virus, the fetus is not able to launch an immune response and these calves will accept the virus as part of itself. As a result, they are born as a persistently infected animal and begin shedding BVD virus after birth, and a cycle of infection is maintained in the herd.

Some European countries have BVD control or eradication programs, and there are herds, regions or even countries that are declared BVD-free. To maintain this status, ongoing monitoring of animals is required to ensure the virus has not been introduced. The effectiveness of a surveillance program and maintenance of BVD-free status relies on un-

derstanding risk factors for introduction or reintroduction into a herd.

A recent study published in the Journal of Dairy Science conducted a meta-analysis—a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies—to provide an overview of possible risk factors for the introduction of BVD infection in European cattle herds. The goal was to assess the importance of the most frequently studied risk factors so producers can prioritize actions to prevent the introduction of BVD. The key benefit of a meta-analysis is researchers can aggregate data from many separate studies, leading to greater statistical power and a better understanding of the consistency of findings between studies.

Researchers searched three scientific databases using the same search terms to identify research studies that met their inclusion criteria.

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Initially, 6,985 papers in five languages were identified. However, after removing papers that didn’t include full texts, studied BVD in other species, were outside of Europe or didn’t include all the appropriate data, only 18 remained. In cases where enough studies evaluated the same risk factor in a way that the data could be combined, it was included in the meta-analysis. These included risk factors associated with herd characteristics, cattle movement and neighbourhood risk.

When the data was pooled, European dairy herds had an increased risk of BVD compared with beef herds. Researchers believe this may be associated with more contact between cattle and people, and higher traffic on dairy farms compared with beef farms. BVD infection risk also increased with increasing herd size. This finding may be due to larger herds being more likely to purchase cattle and the associated risk of introducing a PI into the herd.

The meta-analysis identified herds that introduce new cattle from outside the herd as higher risk for BVD infection compared with herds that do not introduce cattle. However, not all purchased cattle pose the same risk, but risk likely increases with a higher number of cattle purchased and with purchases from a larger number of source herds.

Researchers also found there was greater risk of BVD infection for herds that participated in cattle shows compared with herds that did not. The possibility of encountering BVD-infected cattle at shows or during transport leads to a greater risk of infecting the herd upon return. Finally, where cattle have contact at pasture, either by sharing pasture or through overthe-fence contact, BVD risk was increased compared with herds not sharing pasture. The extent of this risk is likely influenced by cattle density and the prevalence of BVD in the area.

An insufficient number of studies reported reproductive risk factors in a way that could be combined for analysis. Similarly, the authors could not conduct meta-analysis on farm management, biosecurity variables or diagnostic testing since they were included in a low number of studies and were not reported in a way the data could be combined.

However, another meta-analysis published recently on production losses associated with BVD found vaccination and biosecurity reduced annual BVD production losses per animal. As an example, a farm practising the biosecurity measure of quarantining and testing WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

a new animal before entering the herd is lower risk than a farm where a cow is immediately introduced to the herd.

Even though this meta-analysis focused on European cattle systems, the results can be generalized to areas outside Europe where similar cattle production systems are used.

BVD is detected regularly on submissions to diagnostic labs in Canada, which means understanding the risk to avoid introduction to naïve herds is also relevant in Canada. There were no unexpected risk factors identified in the meta-analysis, but consensus between studies reinforces the importance of adopting practices that will reduce the risk of introducing BVD or another infectious disease and optimize BVD control programs.

Reference: van Roon AM, et al. Quantification of risk factors for bovine viral diarrhea virus in cattle herds: A systematic search and meta-analysis of observational studies. J Dairy Sci. 2020 Oct;103(10):9446-9463.

Cynthia Miltenburg is a lead veterinarian of animal health and welfare at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

This article is prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs livestock technology specialists to provide information producers can use on their farm.

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DAIRY RESEARCH

FINDING CLINICAL CLUES IN THE LOWER GUT TO OPTIMIZE WEANING STRATEGIES

By Mya Kidson CONTRIBUTOR

D

airy farmers looking to improve livestock health should start early by paying greater attention to nutrition and lower gut health in young calves, say University of Guelph (U of G) animal scientists.

Although research has long focused on the rumen, or stomach, of cattle, U of G’s team has found early damage to the lower gut may hamper calf growth after weaning and may impair health later in life.

It’s best to use optimum weaning and feeding strategies to avoid damaging the small and large intestine of calves and cows, says Dr. Michael Steele, a professor in the department of animal biosciences at U of G. He has been conducting studies on feeding strategies, weaning and lower gut health with postdoctoral researcher Dr. Taylor Yohe and PhD student Jolet van Niekerk.

During and after weaning, rumen pH drops,

making the organ very acidic. Although mature animals can suffer from ruminal acidosis with often severe consequences, Steele says the calf rumen can adapt to low pH. “A lot of calf gastrointestinal studies focus on the rumen,” he says. “Our research has found the ruminal environment in calves is quite strong in response to low pH.” He found problems in calves occur less in the rumen and more in the lower gut, which is more susceptible to increased permeability. Excessive lower gut fermentation of feed components in the milk and starter can increase local and systemic inflammation and further damage the lower gut.

That can lead to more severe clinical manifestations, such as disease and stunted growth.

Between one-quarter and one-half of calves get sick before weaning, and between five and 10 per cent of calves die from early disease.

Farmers may reduce illness and death through proper nutrition and management, highlighting the importance of refining early feeding and weaning strategies.

Steele suggests farmers gradually wean calves off milk starting after eight weeks of age and over a period of at least two weeks. Calves that are not gradually transitioned at weaning can experience a dramatic increase in dietary starch during this phase, which often induces “leaky gut.”

Bubbly manure is a sign of high fecal starch, often

occurring with abrupt weaning—an indicator a calf has not adjusted well to this transition.

Steele says the problem can be prevented with a more gradual transition to solid feed. He says a step-down program longer than two weeks will allow the calf a better transition period.

This research is ongoing to provide a coordinated approach for better early calf health.

“Integration is the key component to optimizing cattle health,” Steele says. “We become better at identifying how to reduce clinical manifestations by investigating how all components of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract work together and seeing where these clinical manifestations arise.”

This research was funded by Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Provimi North America, a division of Cargill Animal Nutrition, Mitacs, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Alberta Milk, Lallemand, WestGen, B.C. Dairy Association, SaskMilk and Dairy Farmers of Manitoba.

Mya Kidson is a student writer for the University of Guelph’s office of research.

This series highlights dairy research at the University of Guelph.

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MANAGEMENT VERSUS GENETICS: IMPROVING ON-FARM PERFORMANCE

By Caeli Richardson & Brian Van Doormaal CONTRIBUTORS

A

dvances in research and technology give researchers a deeper understanding of the complex biological processes and environmental factors behind the production of dairy products. Researchers continue to develop genetic evaluations for traits that have the largest impact on the animal’s productive life, including health, fertility, longevity, functional conformation and production.

With the introduction of genomics, re-

searchers have propelled the genetic improvement of traditional traits and driven gains in novel traits with low heritability. While functional traits help decrease on-farm expenses, production is still the primary revenue source for dairy farmers, which should be sustained for multiple lactations.

To reflect this, production yields and herd life are the biggest contributors to the Pro$ index, and the lifetime performance index (LPI) formula in Holsteins has relative weights of 40 per cent on both the production and durability components. Milk, fat and protein yields are some of the most reliable and heritable traits, having av-

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PRODUCTION IMPROVEMENTS OVER TIME The average Canadian Holstein cow born in 1975 produced 6,907 kilograms of milk with 256 kg of fat and 207 kg of protein, in terms of mature equivalent (ME) yields. Since then, researchers have seen improvements to almost double those levels.

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DAIRY RESEARCH

Management versus genetics: Improving onfarm performance, cont’d from page 45 For Holsteins born in 2017, the average ME yields were 12,468 kg of milk, 495 kg of fat and 403 kg of protein. This increase is due to two factors—the introduction of improved management techniques and the selection for genetically superior animals.

Canadian dairy herds are among the top managed herds in the world. Improvements at the herd level for on-farm performance were historically due to changes in management techniques. Nationally, farmers have a high adoption rate of new technologies and use these to get the most out of their cows.

Some management methods include the introduction of new milking systems, early detection methods for subclinical infections, better cow comfort, optimization of rations or the Figure 1: Historical national averages for protein production in mature equivalents

Figure 2: Historical national averages for milk production in mature equivalents

Figure 3: Historical national averages for fat production in mature equivalents

46

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

widespread use of herd management software.

However, if a herd’s average genetic potential is low, greater management efforts are needed to achieve the desired high performance.

Genetics indicate the potential an animal has. Management decides whether the cow meets that potential or performs below expectations. Over time, and with the introduction of new genetic technologies that allow the industry to make incredible genetic progress, the proportion of on-farm performance due to genetics is getting larger. Farmers can genetically improve their animals at a much faster rate, which means less management interventions are required to have a high-producing cow in the average herd.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show increases in on-farm production performance over time for protein, milk and fat yields, separated into a management component (blue) and a genetic component (yellow). The grey area represents the base level of ME production yields for Holsteins born in 1975.

The proportion of on-farm production performance due to genetics has steadily increased over time and now represents a significant proportion of on-farm performance progress—in some cases, the majority.

For protein yield, researchers see an increase in the rate of genetic gain (the slope of the graph) around the same time as the implementation of genetic evaluations for cows and the LPI index in Canada (late 1980s and early 1990s).

This is also true for the introduction of genomics in 2009, which increased genetic gain by improving accuracies and shortening the generation interval. Gains due to genetics are cumulative from generation to generation and have long-term benefits. Each time farmers select for increased protein, they build on the progress that was previously made. In fact, for Holsteins born in 2017, 57 per cent of the cumulative production improvement for protein yield since 1975 has been due to genetics, and the remaining 43 per cent has been due to better herd management practices.

For milk yield, a similar trend exists whereby the relative improvement of on-farm performance has gradually shifted from management to genetics (Figure 2). For cows born in 2017, 61 per cent of the gains accumulated since 1975 have been due to genetics and 39 per cent due to management.

Figure 3 shows the switch in progress from management to genetics has been relatively slower for fat yield, with each area roughly contributing equally (46 per cent for management

and 54 percent for genetics in 2017) to the accumulative improvement realized since 1975. This is most likely due to the ease of improving fat performance through adjusting feeding rations.

While there are quite a few management practices that can be used to increase fat production, altering protein yield through dietary manipulation is much more challenging and costly. The long-term solution is to increase the importance of fat production in the genetic selection goals and decisions.

LONG-RUN TRENDS In the milk payment system, fat is becoming more valuable. Historically, selection emphasis within the production component of LPI strongly favoured protein compared with fat.

This emphasis has been continually updated to better reflect the most current economic climate and payment system for farmers.

These changes in the milk payment system are annually reflected in the update of the Pro$ formula applied in each breed. For LPI, the most recent update in 2019 resulted in 60 per cent of the production emphasis being focused on increasing fat yield, with the remaining 40 per cent on protein production. In more recent years, researchers are beginning to see the same proportional performance trend in fat as protein, but it’s not as prominent yet. As selection continues, researchers expect fat will follow the same genetic trend.

The industry may start to see a similar trend in functional traits as farmers continue to select for more robust animals. Functional traits allow farmers to have more profitable cows—both by allowing cows to reach their full productive potential, but also by saving costs associated with poor health and fertility. Management still plays an important role, especially for traits with lower heritability. The genetic goal is to create a future herd that is easy to manage.

To find out where a herd stands in terms of management versus genetic potential, farmers can use the Compass tool at https://www. compasscan.ca/welcome.php. This is a free online tool that allows farmers to determine what the future herd may look like based on their selection decisions.

Caeli Richardson is the KTT genetics expert at Lactanet Canada.

Brian Van Doormaal is the chief services officer at Lactanet Canada..

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ew N Noted offers an opportunity for agribusinesses to inform readers about new and exciting products available to them. To have your new products and services in our issue, forward your information to pat.logan@milk.org.

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Through a variety of speakers, discussion panels and interactive learning, top-notch content will be featured through the virtual platform so attendees can enjoy learning and networking from anywhere—their home, office, field, boat, barn or greenhouse.

AgEx is the only event in Canada dedicated exclusively to bringing farm management enthusiasts together to build their business acumen. This year’s theme, The challenge of change, is about acknowledging change can be difficult but immense opportunities are available.Conference-goers will leave AgEx equipped with the information, tools and practical skills to prosper through change.

WHY ATTEND AGEX? • It’s the only gathering place for Canada’s farm management enthusiasts; • It focuses on building the business acumen and prosperity of Canada’s farmers; • It focuses on practical takeaways and learning outcomes; • It focuses on interactive learning to meet the diverse learning preferences and practices of delegates.

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SPEAKERS TO SHARE NUTRIENT INFORMATION AT AG IN MOTION

By Linda Brett

CONTRIBUTOR

F

armers looking for information on variable rate agronomy and nutrient uptake guidelines can get informed at several sessions online at the Ag in Motion digital event.

On June 23, 2021, speakers at the digital event will share information on topics around the theme Getting on with growing—vigilance in crop care, presented by xarvio Digital Farming Solutions.

Keynote sessions include tips on implement-

ing variable rate agronomy on the farm, as well as work being done to revise crop macro- and micronutrient uptake and removal guidelines for 14 crops grown in Western Canada. Several key industry companies will share timely information to help farmers in season.

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS • Variable rate and precision ag: Think about your thinking. Dennis Bulani, prairie pioneer of variable rate agronomy, will discuss what he has learned about zone management, as well as the opportunities and obstacles of implementing variable rate agronomy on the farm;

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• Revising the crop nutrient uptake and removal guidelines for Western Canada. Fran Walley, professor at the University of Saskatchewan, will share a project plan for ensuring guidelines for crop nutrient uptake and removal reflect current crop varieties and yields, fertilizer application rates and crop management practices in farm fields.

Registered attendees can also view sessions hosted by Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, xarvio Digital Farming Solutions, RBC and Field of STARS, presented by Bayer.

For further information, please visit: www.vicshooftrimmingcourse.ca Contact: Vic Daniel Box 43 Arva, ON, N0M 1C0 519-679-6711

Dairy Farmers of Ontario SCHOLARSHIPS Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) has an annual scholarship program, which offers up to four $3,000 FORentering FCCa degree or scholarships toAD students diploma program in agriculture.

To be eligible for these scholarships, an applicant must: • Be a son or daughter of a DFO licensed dairy producer (sons or daughters of current board members are not eligible); • Be entering semester one of an agricultural degree program or a diploma program in agriculture; • Have achieved an average of 80 per cent or greater in Grade 12 credits (best six to be averaged).

Selection criteria will be based on: • Academic achievement;

Scholarship ad_resized.indd 1 WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

• Future career plans; • Demonstrated leadership in secondary school and/or community activities.

Payment if selected: The scholarships will be payable in two installments, one in semester one and one following semester two, based on satisfactory achievement.

Application forms are available behind the password on DFO’s website at https://new.milk.org/, in the Documents section under Forms.

Complete application forms must be sent to DFO

by Aug. 31, 2021.

For more information, please contact Ashley Wannamaker at ashley.wannamaker@milk.org.

2021-05-10 2:13:43 PM MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

49

NEW N NOTED Speakers to share nutrient information at Ag in Motion, cont’d from page 49 “Farmers always face a great deal of decisions once cropping is underway,” says Lynda Tityk, executive vice-president of Glacier FarmMedia, which owns and operates Ag in Motion. “We want to share essential information that can help farmers when they are out in the field making choices based on what they are seeing.”

The June 23 digital event will be fully mobile so farmers can view content on the go on their mobile devices, or come back to the information on their laptops as their schedule allows.

REGISTER AT AGINMOTION.CA The June Ag in Motion digital event is the second of six events planned throughout the year.

The Ag in Motion digital events are free to attend. Farmers only need to register once for a digital pass at aginmotion.ca.

Registration gives farmers all-year access to past sessions, as well as notifications of future sessions and special offers. Throughout 2021, six themed Ag in Motion digital events will cover topics on seeding, growing, research, livestock, harvest and innovation.

Content from each event will be available online until Dec. 31, 2021. up

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NOUVELLES

L’INDUSTRIE SE RAPPROCHE DE LA MOYENNE SAISONNIÈRE « MAGIQUE » DU NCS CET ÉTÉ Par Owen Roberts

COLLABORATEUR

L

a baisse tendancielle du nombre de cellules somatiques (NCS) dans les troupeaux laitiers de l’Ontario est sur le point de franchir une étape encourageante.

Cet été, la moyenne provinciale du NCS devrait passer sous la barre des 200 000 cellules par millilitre de lait pour la première fois depuis la tenue des registres en 1987.

Ce chiffre, considéré comme la cible par excellence pour la santé du pis et la qualité du lait, constituerait une percée à bien des égards, selon le Dr David Kelton, spécialiste en gestion laitière de l’Université de Guelph. « C’est la limite convoitée pour l’industrie, ditil. Je serai ravi si nous continuons à suivre les pratiques clés afin de maintenir ces niveaux bas de NCS et même obtenir un chiffre inférieur à 200 000 cellules/ml cet été pour les troupeaux. » Les mois de juillet, août et septembre présentent des défis particuliers pour la gestion du NCS. Le temps chaud, l’humidité élevée et les matières organiques créent des conditions favorables à la multiplication des bactéries qui favorisent l’augmentation du NCS. Mais au fil du temps, les producteurs ont fait des progrès tout au long de l’année dans la gestion de leurs troupeaux pour améliorer la santé et réduire le NCS. C’est ce qui ressort des moyennes mensuelles enregistrées au cours de l’été, souvent problématique, qui n’ont cessé de baisser. L’année dernière, elles ont plongé à 209 000 cellules/ ml, 217 000 cellules/ml et 205 000 cellules/ml en juillet, août et septembre, respectivement, soit environ 5 000 cellules/ml de moins qu’en 2019.

Si cette tendance se poursuit, avoir au moins un mois d’été sous les 200 000 cellules/ml de lait est tout à fait possible.

Le Dr Kelton ajoute qu’il y a une variété de raisons pour cette tendance continue à la baisse, dont des changements dans le programme de pénalité du NCS. Le seuil de pénalité pour le NCS a été abaissé à 400 000 cellules/ml et l’accent a été mis sur les comptages du NCS de chaque chargement de réservoir à lait, plutôt que sur la moyenne mensuelle du NCS d’une exploitation. « Cela a marqué un tournant, affirme-t-il. En voyant les comptages de chaque chargement, les producteurs ont la possibilité de surveiller de plus WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

DE GAUCHE à droite, Wyatt, Paul, Shawna et Dawson Chaddock de Tansymoss Farms, dont la moyenne du nombre de cellules somatiques est l’une des plus basses en Ontario.

Photo, gracieuseté de DHI

près leur production et de réagir rapidement s’ils voient un changement se produire dans la mauvaise direction. » Selon lui, d’autres facteurs ont également joué un rôle. L’adoption des technologies laitières par les producteurs signifie que la gestion et la surveillance de la santé n’ont jamais été aussi importantes. Par exemple, près de 20 % des troupeaux laitiers de l’Ontario utilisent maintenant des systèmes de traite robotisés dotés de capteurs perfectionnés qui fournissent des renseignements en temps réel sur la santé.

On a également amélioré la litière et la ventilation afin de garder les étables plus sèches, poursuit le Dr Kelton. Ces efforts ont été exacerbés par le changement climatique et les conditions météorologiques extrêmes, qui font souvent grimper l’indice humidex. « Lorsque l’indice humidex augmente, la production diminue et le NCS grimpe », explique-t-il.

Enfin, en raison de l’attrition, certains producteurs chez qui les niveaux de NCS étaient régulièrement plus élevés ont abandonné leur exploitation, donc ceux qui restent relèvent la barre. « Ce ne sont pas seulement quelques troupeaux qui sont à l’origine du changement, c’est l’ensemble de l’industrie, dit-il. Les producteurs laitiers ont pris la décision d’exiger un produit de meilleure qualité. C’est ce que veulent les consommateurs et les transformateurs. De plus en plus de gens veulent savoir d’où viennent les aliments et comment ils sont produits, et les producteurs ont pris à cœur l’amélioration continue. » L’un de ces producteurs est Paul Chaddock, de Tansymoss Farms. Lui et sa famille - sa femme, Shawna, et ses fils Wyatt et Dawson - gèrent une exploitation de traite en stabulation libre de 120

vaches sur 200 acres près de Lancaster, en Ontario.

Le troupeau Tansymoss est l’un des 12 meilleurs troupeaux de l’Ontario pour leur faible NCS, avec un NCS moyen de seulement 59 000 cellules/ml de lait.

En matière de gestion, M. Chaddock surveille de près les scores d’amélioration des troupeaux laitiers (DHI) et envoie des échantillons de lait des vaches soupçonnées de mammite à l’Université de Guelph pour des tests. Les vaches qui sont ce que M. Chaddock appelle des « récidivistes » sont abattues.

Il affirme que l’engagement de son exploitation envers l’hygiène est la clé du faible taux de NCS. Pour assurer la propreté et le confort des vaches dans l’étable, il utilise des lits d’eau et des coussins d’eau. Les stalles sont raclées trois fois par jour et revêtues de copeaux de pin frais.

Dans la salle de traite, les unités de traite sont désinfectées avec un seau de cinq gallons contenant de l’eau presque bouillante et un désinfectant.

Le personnel de traite porte des gants. Pendant la traite, les trayons sont dénudés puis trempés dans un bain d’iode. Ils sont essuyés avec une serviette en tissu 30 à 45 secondes plus tard. Les unités de traite sont ensuite fixées et, après la traite, les trayons sont soumis à un post-traitement. « L’essentiel est d’avoir des trayons propres et en bonne santé, explique M. Chaddock. Nous avons constaté que la constance est importante pour obtenir les meilleurs résultats. Mon principal message est qu’il faut être “propre, propre, propre” ».

Owen Roberts est un journaliste basé à Guelph et ancien président de la Fédération internationale des journalistes agricoles.

MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

F1

NOUVELLES ET MARCHÉS

PAVER LA VOIE À UN SECTEUR DYNAMIQUE ET EN PLEINE CROISSANCE GRÂCE À L’APPRENTISSAGE CONTINU porer les connaissances acquises en l’appliquant au troupeau laitier du collège pour ainsi montrer aux agriculteurs comment utiliser concrètement les résultats de la recherche. C’était la partie de mon travail que je préférais, amener les fermiers à apprendre constamment, à valider le vieil adage « On apprend chaque jour quelque chose de nouveau ».

En déménageant au Canada et en me perdant dans l’effervescence du secteur de la production laitière, j’ai eu l’honneur de me joindre au conseil d’administration de Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) et en même temps j’ai réalisé à quel point j’en avais encore beaucoup à apprendre. C’était donc une période d’apprentissage intensif, rendue encore moins facile par le passage au virtuel causé par la pandémie, et c’est avec beaucoup d’humilité que je veux remercier mes collègues d’avoir pris le temps de me mettre à jour.

Je pense que nous avons tous appris de nouvelles choses sur notre système d’approvisionnement alimentaire et sur la communication virtuelle durant les premiers jours de la pandémie – pour moi, la devise pour 2020 sera toujours : « ton micro est fermé ». Malgré tout, DFO a relevé le défi de travailler sur l’apprentissage permanent pour nos producteurs.

By Vicky Morrison MEMBRES DU CONSEIL D’ADMINISTRATION DE DFO

L

e mois passé, je suis allée chercher le diplôme d’études secondaires de mon fils. C’était étrange de sortir d’une école trop tranquille, heureuse d’avoir su guider Scott jusqu’à la fin de ses études secondaires, mais comme beaucoup d’autres étapes importantes de l’année dernière, la pandémie a largement éclipsé cette réussite.

Cela dit, cette expérience et mes réflexions sur ce qui attend Scott m’ont fait réaliser l’importance de l’apprentissage. Avant d’immigrer au Canada, j’étais chargée de cours dans un collège agricole. J’y enseignais à tous les niveaux, des débutants aux finissants. Mais l’éducation n’était pas réservée aux étudiants.

Nous faisions aussi des transferts de technologie et des évaluations comparatives des performances avec les agriculteurs.

Le transfert de technologie consiste à prendre des recherches publiées et à essayer d’incor-

PRIX PONDÉRÉS DU P5 ET DU POOL DE L’OUEST* Le graphique ci-dessous montre le prix pondéré de 12 mois pour les provinces du P5 et le pool de lait de l’Ouest (PLO). *Ces chiffres sont fournis avec un décalage de trois mois

PROPORTION DE MATIÈRE SÈCHE DÉGRAISSÉE À LA MATIÈRE GRASSE (M.S.D.-M.G.) Ce graphique montre la proportion de M.S.D.-M.G. en Ontario pour les 12 derniers mois par rapport à sa proportion ciblée de 2,1722.

Proportion de M.S.D.-M.G. en Ontario Proportion ciblée de M.S.D.-M.G. en Ontario

Prix pondéré du P5 Prix pondéré du PLO 82

2,45

80

avril 2021

fév. 2021

mars 2021

déc. 2020

janv. 2021

oct. 2020

nov. 2020

2,15

août 2020

2,2 sept. 2020

fév. 2021

mars 2021

janv. 2021

déc. 2020

oct. 2020

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

nov. 2020

août 2020

sept. 2020

juin 2020

juil. 2020

mai 2020

72

2,25

juin 2020

74

2,2077

2,3

juil. 2020

P5 76,92 $

2,35

mai 2020

76

avril 2020

Prix pondéré à l’hectolitre F2

PLO 78,88 $

Proportion de M.S.D.-M.G.

2,4

78

70

L’an dernier, nous avons formé le premier sous-comité du conseil d’administration. John Wynands et moi-même faisons partie du comité, ainsi que quatre producteurs indépendants.

Notre mandat est d’aborder les possibilités de formation pour les producteurs et de créer un parcours d’apprentissage et de perfectionnement. Mon amour de l’apprentissage est ravivé par la passion manifestée par ce groupe, et cela me motive à trouver des moyens de poursuivre à nouveau mon éducation.

Mon parcours fait preuve de ma soif d’apprentissage, mais je me suis rendu compte que nous devons favoriser l’apprentissage dans nos vies, sous toutes ses formes. Scott s’inscrira à l’automne au programme d’apprenti pâtre au collège Ridgetown - un parcours complètement différent de celui que son père et moi avons suivi, mais c’est ce qui lui convient.

Le conseil d’administration de DFO n’arrête jamais d’apprendre. Alors que de nouvelles questions surgissent aujourd’hui autour du marketing, de l’innovation, de l’environnement et de la durabilité, nous nous éduquons pour pouvoir emprunter la meilleure voie pour notre secteur, garantir une industrie dynamique et en pleine croissance pour les générations à venir.

WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

SE PRÉPARER POUR LA DEMANDE D’AUTOMNE AVEC DES JOURNÉES D’INCITATIFS SUPPLÉMENTAIRES Par Jennifer Nevans

RÉDACTRICE

E

n raison de la hausse des besoins prévisionnels du marché, qui seront supérieurs au niveau normal de production, les offices du P5 ont convenu d’ajouter deux journées d’incitatifs pour le mois d’août, et une journée d’incitatifs supplémentaire pour les mois de juin, juillet, septembre, octobre et novembre, pour les producteurs conventionnels uniquement.

Patrice Dubé, chef du service économie et agent d’élaboration des politiques de Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO), affirme que l’industrie prévoit une période de croissance pour l’automne, en raison de la reprise économique suivant la levée des restrictions liées à la COVID-19. Par conséquent, les offices du P5 tentent d’anticiper correctement la demande en émettant des signaux à la production afin d’assurer qu’il y aura assez de lait dans le système pour préparer ce qui pourrait être une période d’automne très active. « Généralement, pendant les mois printaniers, on connaît une « poussée de printemps », affirme Dubé. « C’est lorsque nous faisons face à une intensification de la production laitière

après l’hiver, mais cette année, la production globale du P5 de matière grasse a diminué pendant les mois printaniers. » Dubé indique que la demande est particulièrement forte depuis quelques mois maintenant, et le niveau des stocks de beurre est demeuré stable. En mars et avril 2021, les stocks de beurre sont restés à 27 790 tonnes, indiquant que l’industrie ne sera pas en mesure d’atteindre complètement son objectif de 35 000 tonnes d’ici à la fin de l’année laitière en juillet 2021. Cependant, le signal de production récemment annoncé aidera l’industrie à se rapprocher de son niveau ciblé de stock de beurre pour juillet. « Après la reprise économique, nous prévoyons que la demande retrouve le niveau de croissance qu’elle avait avant la pandémie, et qui se situait entre 2 et 2,5 %, » affirme-t-il. « Afin de satisfaire cette demande, il nous est impératif d’envoyer des signaux supplémentaires afin d’accroître la production laitière. » Entre-temps, les stocks de fromage en avril 2021 ont augmenté jusqu’à atteindre 109 300 tonnes, en comparaison aux 101 000 tonnes en début d’année. Cette augmentation régulière résulte probablement des importations supplémentaires de produits laitiers découlant des ac-

cords commerciaux déplaçant la production domestique de fromage, ainsi que le souhait des transformateurs laitiers d’être bien positionné pour une forte demande en fromage à l’automne et pendant la période des vacances de 2021, affirme Dubé.

Les ventes nationales de produits laitiers au détail restent considérables. Pour les 52 semaines s’achevant au 24 avril 2021, les ventes de lait, de crème de consommation, de yogourt, de crème glacée et de beurre ont augmenté respectivement de 3,5; 11,1; 2,1; 7,5; 8,9 et 11,8 pour cent, en comparaison avec la précédente période de 52 semaines.

Les besoins totaux nationaux en matière grasse pour mars 2021 ont atteint 1,15 million kilogrammes, en comparaison aux 1,11 million kg l’année précédente. Entre-temps, la production laitière totale du P10 en mars 2021 a atteint 1,10 million kg, en comparaison au 1,08 million kg l’année précédente.

L’objectif principal de l’office du P5 est de surveiller en continu la situation du marché laitier et de satisfaire la demande de la façon la plus optimale. Compte tenu de ces périodes d’incertitude, les offices du P5 continueront d’adapter les signaux de production pour faire face aux changements du marché, tel que la situation nous l’exige.

PRIX DU QUOTA QUOTIDIEN ($/kg)

MAI PRIX

PROVINCE

Prix/kg

Montant voulait/kg

Quantité à vendre/kg

Quantité achetée/kg

Alberta

48 025 $

302,67

97,00

76,00

Saskatchewan

41 200 $

82,60

45,48

25,48

Colombie-Britannique

Échange annulé

Manitoba Ontario

36 450 $

228,02

249,86

61,83

24 000 $

21 242,34

192,82

173,60

Québec

24 000 $

21 805,42

339,95

338,94

Nouveau-Brunswick

Échange annulé

Nouvelle-Écosse

Échange annulé

Île-du-Prince-Édouard

Il n’y a pas de prix d’équilibre d’échange établi

*Terre-Neuve n’utilise pas d’échange mensuel de quotas **Plafond de 24 000 $ en vigueur en Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Nouveau-Brunswick, Ontario, Nouvelle-Écosse et le Québec WWW.MILKPRODUCER.CA

MILKPRODUCER | JUNE 2021

F3

JUIN

REVENU BRUT MOYEN EN ONTARIO

Retenues en Ontario

Retenues brutes moyennes par hL, basé sur la composition mensuelle provinciale kg-par-hL.

Pour avril 2021

Prix intérieur-quota Excédent de quota

M.G. par kg

Protéin par kg

A.M.S par kg

REVENU par kg de M.G.

REVENU *par hL

10,86 $

9,85 $

0,90 $

18,92 $

78,49 $

0,00 $

0,00 $

0,00 $

0,00 $

0,00 $

En avril, 3341 producteurs ont livré du lait au DFO compara­tivement à 3376 l’an dernier.

*Utilisation par classe dans le P10

% M.G.

Pour mars 2021 (kg de M.G./kg d’extrait sec dégraissé)

% Extrait sec degrasse

* 12,26 % 2,84 % 2,89 %

2a 2b4

26,21 %

14,52 %

3a2

*5,03 %

6,38 %

*2,34 % *1,51 % *0,99 % *4,54 % 16,08 % 15,14 %

3b2 0,88 % 1,09 % 2,54 % 3,04 %

3c1 3c2

*15,91 % *0,87 % *3,03 %

7,50 %

3c4

*9,49 %

11,03 %

0,36 % 0,35 %

3c6 3d 4a

*0,32 % 2,88 % 4,19 %

*2,91 % 16,72 %

-3,43 % 1,35 % 2,48 % 2,85 %

4d 5a 5b

1,47 % 1,37 % 0,37 %

5c 0%

*28,60 % *8,44 %

0,84 % 2,96 % 0,19 % 0,89 % 0,93 % 3,68 % 5,01 %

3a1

F4

% Revenu

3,94 %

2b5

5%

20,67 %

*13,61 % *-1,69 % *1,61 %

7,54 %

*2,04 % *0,45 %

10 %

JUNE 2021 | MILKPRODUCER

15 %

20 %

avril 2021

Pour avril 2021

Le prix réel du transport pour avril 2021 était de 2,880 $ l’hectolitre.

1b

mars 2021

PRIX BRUT ACCORDÉS

*Ces équivalents par hl sont calculés d’après la composition moyenne ontarienne pour avril 2021 de 4,15 pour la M.G., de 3,21 pour la protéine et de 5,95 pour les A.M.S., et arrondis au centième près.

1a1

fév. 2021

5,015 $ -5,015 $

$70 janv. 2021

5,015 $ 73,475 $

78,49 $ déc. 2020

Total de retenues Total net moyen

$75 nov. 2020

0,625 $ 0,050 $ 0,060 $ 2,880 $ 1,400 $

oct. 2020

0,625 $ 0,050 $ 0,060 $ 2,880 $ 1,400 $

sept. 2020

Administration DFO Recherche DFO CanWest DHI Transport Expansion de marché

$80

août 2020

*par hL

juil. 2020

*par hL

$85

juin 2020

Excédent de quota

mai 2020

Intérieur quota

25 %

30 %

35 %

Classe 1a1 (comprend les classes 1a2, 1a3, 1c et 1d pour des raisons de confidentialité) Lait et boissons Classe 1b Crèmes liquides Classe 2a Yogourt, boissons à base de yogourt, kéfir et lassi Classe 2b4 (comprend les classes 2b1, 2b2 et 2b3 pour des raisons de confidentialité) Desserts laitiers frais, crème sure, milk shakes, et boissons nutritionnelles pour sportifs Classe 2b5 Crème glacée et yogourt glacé Classe 3a1 Fromages de spécialité Classe 3a2 Fromages en grains et fromages frais Classe 3b2 (comprend la classe 3b1 pour des raisons de confidentialité) Cheddar et cheddar vieilli Classe 3c1 Feta Classe 3c2 Asiago, gouda, havarti, parmesan et suisse Classe 3c4 (comprend les classes 3c3 et 3c5 pour des raisons de confidentialité) Brick, Colby, fermier, jack, Monterey jack, munster, fromage pour pizza, mozzarella pour pizza, et autres mozzarellas non couvertes dans la classe 3d.

Classe 3c6 Panir Classe 3d Mozzarella utilisée strictement sur les pizzas fraîches par les établissements enregistrés auprès de la Commission canadienne du lait Classe 4a Beurre et poudres Classe 4d (comprend les classes 4b1, 4b2, 4c et 4m pour des raisons de confidentialité) Lait concentré pour la vente au détail, les pertes et l’alimentation animale Classe 5a Fromages destinés à la transformation Classe 5b Produits non fromagers destinés à la transformation Classe 5c Produits de confiserie

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