Happy new year!

We rang in the new year in Toronto, Canada!  I love visiting big cities.  We both agreed that what we're most looking forward to in 2013 is the building (and if all goes well, completion) of the manure lagoon and the free stall barn.  Which is pretty much the opposite of the city life, actually.

Canada has a different system for dairies - a quota system.  A farmer who wants to produce milk has to have a quota.  This controls the amount of supply in the country, so prices are controlled.  The price for one quota (which is equal to about one cow) in 2010 was $20,000 to $30,000.  The average Canadian dairy farm has 77 cows.  To get more, you have to buy someone else's quota.  This is really different than here, because in the U.S. anyone can produce milk and find someone to buy it. 

That's your fun international dairy fact of the day!

I saw some dairy advertisements in Toronto ... here were two nice ads next to the waterfront ice rink:

 

 

And this picture was in a coffee shop in the distillery district.  I wonder if that cow added milk to her coffee ...

Happy new year!  Thanks, as always, for following along on our dairy farm adventures.