2015 Milk Calendar celebrates tradition, innovation and delicious food

New edition pays tribute to Dairy Farmers of Ontario's 50th Anniversary

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 10, 2014 /CNW/ - The 2015 Milk Calendar celebrates a special milestone in Ontario's proud farming history - the 50th anniversary of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. To mark the occasion, this year's calendar is full of interesting dairy farming facts, a sneak peek into the life of four generations of a working Ontario dairy farming family, and, of course, delicious family-friendly recipes. The calendar will be distributed in most daily newspapers across Ontario on Saturday, November 15, 2014.

"Ontario has such a rich and vibrant dairy farming history," says Bill Emmott, chair, Dairy Farmers of Ontario. "Our province is home to 4,000 dairy farms, each and every one family-owned and operated. This Calendar demonstrates 50 years of family, farming, technology, and products."

The Verburg family, featured in the 2015 Milk Calendar, has been farming since 1960 in the Township of Athens, near Brockville. Four generations of the family work on the farm to this day, taking care of 185 Holsteins.

"We are so fortunate to work with each other in an industry that we love," says John Verburg, dairy farmer. "We're proud to be a dairy farm family and we take great pride in being able to provide nutritious, wholesome milk to thousands of Canadians."

The 2015 Milk Calendar, as with previous Milk Calendars, truly honours the hard work of farmers like the Verburgs by incorporating the goodness of milk and dairy products into each and every recipe.  The new calendar's recipes, developed by Heather Trim, an Ontario food writer and recipe developer, include quick and nutritious breakfast foods, simple entrées and sweet desserts the whole family will enjoy.      

"I love cooking with milk and dairy products, so it was an honour to develop recipes for Ontario's favourite calendar," says Heather. "All the recipes in the 2015 Milk Calendar are simple and delicious. You can get the whole family, from youngest to oldest, involved in the kitchen."

In addition to the monthly recipes, the calendar features cheese, cream and baking recipe pages. Also included are cooking tips, a nutritional analysis for each recipe and options for varying some of the ingredients.

All recipes included in the calendar are available at MilkCalendar.ca. Monthly recipes are available in French at the back of the Milk Calendar and on MilkCalendar.ca.

About MilkCalendar.ca
MilkCalendar.ca will feature all of the recipes found in the 2015 Milk Calendar. The website will also host monthly recipe demonstration videos for the 2015 Milk Calendar, as part of more than 90 recipe videos created for the Milk Calendar over the years.

About Dairy Farmers of Ontario
Dairy Farmers of Ontario, a not-for-profit organization, is proudly owned and operated by Ontario dairy farmers. It is the marketing group for the largest sector of Ontario agriculture.

About Dairy Farmers of Canada
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) strives to create favourable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future.  DFC works to maintain policies that foster the viability of Canadian dairy producers and to promote quality Canadian dairy products made from 100% Canadian milk as part of a healthy balanced diet. 

SOURCE: 100% Canadian milk

For media inquiries, to set up an interview with Heather Trim or the Verburg family, or to receive an electronic version of the media materials, please contact: Sandra Da Silva / Geneviève Fontaine, Dairy Farmers of Canada, [phone] / [phone], [email protected] / [email protected]