Founding Partners
The Lactanet partnership between CanWest DHI, CDN and Valacta brings together leading dairy herd improvement organizations responsible for milk recording, genetic evaluations and knowledge transfer in Canada.
By leveraging the respective strengths of the three partners, Lactanet provides Canadian dairy farmers with the tools necessary to help them succeed and face the challenges that lie ahead for our industry while ensuring our global leadership position for the future.
Lactanet combines the strength of these three partners:
CanWest DHI was established in 2004 as an alliance of Western Canadian DHI Services and Ontario DHI. CanWest DHI provides herd management products and services to more than 3,500 herds across five provinces and four time zones with a team of 200 dedicated employees. CanWest operates three labs and tests about 3 million DHI samples annually. The labs are located in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Edmonton, Alberta and Guelph, Ontario. CanWest provides a growing range of health and disease diagnostic milk testing services including Johne’s & Leukosis, Mastitis, Milk Preg Test, BVD, and Ketoscreen.
Valacta, the dairy production centre of expertise, is the successor to the Programme d’analyse des troupeaux laitiers du Québec (PATLQ), which in turn, came from the Dairy Herd Analysis Service (DHAS) established by McGill University during the 1960’s. Valacta improves the profitability and sustainability of dairy farms by raising producers’ awareness of the multiple aspects of the technical and economic performance of their herd and management. On an international level, Valacta shares its expertise with several countries such as Ukraine and Brazil. With more than 3 million samples tested each year, our laboratory is one of the largest in North America, serving the industry for over 50 years. It is audited periodically by the Standards Council of Canada according to the international standard ISO/IEC 17025. With its head office located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Valacta has a large team of nearly 300 employees serving close to 4,000 customers in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.
MR. MICHEL ROBERT, Chair, dairy producer from Saint-Bruno-de-Guigues, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, appointed by the PLQ;
MR. KEVIN WADE, Ph.D., Vice-Chair, Professor, Animal Science, appointed by McGill University;
MR. JUAN CARLOS ARANGO SABOGAL DVM, Professor, Pathology and Microbiology, appointed by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Université de Montréal;
MR. SERGE BOIVIN, dairy producer from Coaticook, Estrie, appointed by VIA – Agricultural Advisory Services Expertise Hub;
MS. MARIETTE GAGNON, dairy producer from Saint-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Chaudière-Appalaches, appointed by the PLQ;
MR. JEAN-FRANCOIS HAREL, external board member, appointed by Valacta’s Board of Directors;
MR. NORMAN HOULE, appointed by MAPAQ;
MR. JACQUES LAFORTUNE, dairy producer from Saint-Roch-de-L’Achigan, Lanaudière, appointed by the PLQ;
MS. ANDRÉANE MARTIN, observer appointed by MAPAQ;
MS. STACY MATHESON, dairy producer from Kras, New Brunswick, observer appointed by the Atlantic provinces;
MS. BARBARA PAQUET, dairy producer from Saint-Côme-Linière, Beauce, appointed by the CIAQ;
MR. ALPHONSE PITTER, dairy producer from Saint-Tite, Mauricie, appointed by the CQRL;
MR. DAVID POULIN, dairy producer from Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, appointed by the PLQ;
MR. FRANCOIS RICHARD, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, appointed by Université Laval;
MS. MARY ELLEN TRUEMAN, dairy producer from Sackville, New Brunswick, appointed by the Atlantic provinces;
MS. ELSA VASSEUR, Ph.D., Professor, Animal Science, appointed by McGill University.
Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) was officially created on May 29, 1995 as the result of a federal government decision to privatize all genetic evaluation activities in Canada. CDN is the national genetic evaluation centre for dairy cattle and provides data management and information services to Canadian dairy producers and member organizations including breed associations, dairy herd improvement agencies, A.I. organizations and Dairy Farmers of Canada. With over 32,000 unique users monthly, the CDN website is the leading source for genetic information.
