Trends continue to snowball with labels about what’s in a food product being expanded to how that food was grown or processed. Gluten-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, cage-free, everything-else-free labels are multiplying. It seems almost every day I see a new announcement from a company or a grocery store ad or a label on something I go to buy that has a claim like this.

“Issues. Analysis. Solutions.” is the theme for the 34th Western Canadian Dairy Seminar to be held March 8-11 at the Sheraton Red Deer in Red Deer, Alberta. From the seminar sessions to the trade show to the pre-conference events, there will be multiple opportunities to address the many issues facing Canada’s dairy industry.

While supply management has survived the two major trade deals negotiated in recent years, there is little doubt that these agreements and the growing challenge of dealing with the structural surplus of milk protein will change the industry in some basic and permanent ways.

In less than two weeks, Progressive Dairyman will send out its first-ever Extra enewsletter dedicated solely to the Canadian dairy industry. This new digital offering is something you’ll want to get. Here are seven reasons why.

In the wake of the upcoming implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, which will eventually permit a greater quantity of European cheese to enter our domestic market, and the recent conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) felt it even more imperative to do all that was within its power to ensure that Canadian cheese remain top-of-mind among both its key consumers and emerging markets in the crucial final quarter of 2015.

The 48th annual B.C. Dairy Expo will take place in conjunction with the Pacific Agriculture Show from Jan. 27-28. The first day consists of self-guided, day-long farm tours, while the second day is a half-day seminar program from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the BMO Room at the Tradex – Trade and Exhibition Centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia.