Company

History & Mandates

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. Currently, the six mandates of CDN include the following:

1. The calculation and publication of genetic evaluations for all dairy breeds in Canada as well as related services including the extension of information and research results.          
2. The coordination of industry-supported research in the area of dairy cattle improvement. 
3. The coordination of industry standards related to publishable lactation records, information required for genetic evaluations and Publication Code of Ethics.
4. The ongoing development and maintenance of the Data Exchange System for the dairy cattle improvement industry.
5. Act as a catalyst to identify opportunities and encourage closer collaboration among its member organizations, even to the point of integration.
6. Provide services to industry partner organizations and international bodies that take advantage of core competencies and provide benefit to member organizations and/or Canadian dairy producers. 

Mission

The Canadian Dairy Network mission is “to provide excellence and leadership in dairy herd improvement through an efficient information infrastructure and quality genetic evaluation services”.

Membership

The organizations that are members of Canadian Dairy Network are divided into four categories, all of which are interested in the genetic improvement of dairy cattle in Canada. They include all artificial insemination organizations involved in the production and/or distribution of dairy bull semen in Canada, all dairy breed associations that offer animal identification, herdbook registration and type classification programs nationally as well as the three regional dairy herd recording agencies officially accredited in Canada. Dairy Farmers of Canada is a member of CDN representing the interests of all Canadian dairy producers.

Governance

Canadian Dairy Network is governed by an eight-member Board of Directors, which mainly consists of dairy producers. These directors are elected from among the voting delegates, of which there are approximately 25, who are appointed by the member organizations depending on their relative size and level of activity within their sector. Three directors are elected from the A.I. delegates while the breed association and dairy herd recording delegates can each elect two directors and Dairy Farmers of Canada appoints one CDN director.

Additional Company Information

• Board
• Committees
  • GEB
  • DairyGen
  • Standards
  • DairyTrace
• Staff