In 2019, we expect all food for sale to be safe to eat and nutritious. Every year though, people return from a vacation to some far off paradise partially sick. Every year right at home we are warned on radio and TV about food recalls and warnings about some kind of bacterial contamination. Many of these warnings or recalls are for foods imported from outside Canada.
I too like my salad in winter and some fresh fruit in February but I know that some fruits never grow in Canada in winter or summer. Some fresh vegetables are grown in Canadian greenhouses but when there is snow on the ground; most veggies are imported from a place with no snow.
Most developed countries now have some type of controls on dairy products. When my grandfather delivered his own fresh milk with a horsedrawn milk wagon there was local control on milk quality. There were three farms that delivered milk in our little town and if the milk quality from one farm wasn’t good enough then the housewife switched to another farmer to supply the bottled milk.
In 1997, Dairy Farmers of Canada began working on the Canadian Quality Milk program that would give Canadian dairy farmers a 150 page binder full of information and rules to follow which would make the quality of our Canadian milk the best in the world.
By 2004, the C.Q.M. program was released to Quebec dairy producers. When the C.Q.M. program was introduced, every milk producer was invited to a one day introduction and explanation of the C.Q.M. 150 page instruction manual. The training and manual was provided at no cost to the farmers. At that time there was also provided at a greatly reduced price to the dairy farmer, a time temperature recorder, better known as a T.T.R. machine. This machine was connected to the milking equipment and bulk milk tank. It constantly recorded the temperature of the water used to wash the milking equipment and the bulk milk tank. It also recorded the temperature of the milk 24 hours a day. All this information and the time it happened were recorded in the machine and if there was a problem, different alarms and blinking lights signaled to farmer before there was a serious problem. There was also a premium paid on the farmer’s milk if the program was adhered to.
An S.O.P. (standard operating procedure) must be written by the dairy producer so that everything that happens in the dairy barn is best for the animals, best for efficiency, best for milk quality, best for employees to understand and follow and traceable when needed. Best Management Practices (B.M.P.) must be adhered too. Staff training and communication, animal health and biosecurity, dairy facilities must meet standards. Use and storage of pesticides, medicines, chemicals, manure, milking management, animal health and biosecurity; how feed is stored, prepared and delivered and mangers kept clean.
Many heifer calves raised to replace cows that retire are fed a medicated calf grower to prevent the little calves from getting sick. This very common medicated calf feed and even dog and cat food must be stored separately from dairy cow feed to help prevent contamination of the milk cows’ feed.
All medications must be recorded when purchased and every time one is used. The purpose or animal it is used on must be recorded with the exact time it was administered and any withdrawal time also recorded.
All animals born must be recorded, along with any problems while being born, all vaccinations and any medications given. Every time that an animal is treated or even moved to a barn on another farm, this too must be recorded.
Animal welfare has always been at the top of every dairy farmers’ mind. Not only are these animals the livelihood of the dairy farmer and for an animal to be most productive. All stress must be eliminated from an animal’s life. That means the best feed available, a clean dry place to rest, no beating the animal, no violent shouting or even use of a violent dog, not too cold and not too hot; (ideal cow temperature is 42 degrees Fahrenheit). The C.Q.M. program demands that Canadian dairy farmers treat their animals with respect and use pain killers whenever something like dehorning or any other operation is carried out.
The last edition of the C.Q.M. manual was written in 2010. The C.Q.M. manual can be downloaded from the browser on your computer.
For several years now, all Canadian dairy farmers are required to adhere to the C.Q.M. standards. This law was voted on and passed by Canadian dairy farmers. Not by politicians. It was passed to help assure our consumers that when they buy or serve Canadian dairy products from a package with the little blue cow on it, they are serving the best dairy products in the world produced by the best looked after cows in the world.
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations. gladcrest@gmail.com
