Agriculture

On Aug. 3, Pender Island residents Chris Hall and Stef Lowey will have officially completed a year of only eating what they can grow, harvest, catch or raise themselves. (Courtesy of Chris Hall and Stef Lowey)

From salt to stevia: B.C. couple nears full year without buying food

Pender Island’s Chris Hall and Stef Lowey have produced everything they’ve eaten since Aug. 3, 2020

 

Cherries at Pravin Dhaliwal’s family farm in Oliver, B.C., are seen cooked on their trees, when the temperature hit a record 41.5 C in a June 2021 handout photo. Dhaliwal is trying to maintain his passion as a third-generation farmer while dealing with the reality of climate change and says farmers need more support from provincial and federal governments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Pravin Dhaliwal

Farmers say heat wave, drought show vulnerable agricultural sector needs support

Farmers across Canada look to provincial and the federal governments for help

 

A sign hangs at an entrance to the Stanko Ranch, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, near Steamboat Springs, Colo. Members of the third, fourth and fifth generations of the Stanko family currently work on the ranch, which includes about 90 head of cattle, but Jim Stanko says due to drought conditions this year, if he can’t harvest enough hay to feed his cattle, he may need to sell off some of his herd. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

As drought cuts hay crop, U.S. cattle ranchers face culling herds

Choices increasingly centered around how herds can sustain drought conditions

 

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. (Screen shot)

Government to allow ‘more residential flexibility’ in agricultural lands, says B.C. minister

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham was guest speaker Friday during Surrey Board of Trade-hosted Zoom meeting

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. (Screen shot)
Cherries are ripening in Summerland orchards. Because of the recent extreme heat, there are risks of damage to fruit crops, including fruit burning while on the trees. (John Arendt - Summerland Review)

Extreme heat puts fruit Okanagan crops at risk

Prolonged hot weather results in some fruit burning while still on the trees

Cherries are ripening in Summerland orchards. Because of the recent extreme heat, there are risks of damage to fruit crops, including fruit burning while on the trees. (John Arendt - Summerland Review)
A North Okanagan organization has expressed serious concerns about the living conditions for migrant farm workers during the recent heat wave. from (Canadian Press file photo)

Heat wave: Okanagan group concerned about ‘miserable’ conditions for migrant workers

Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture said farmworkers are living in houses unequipped to withstand the record temperatures

A North Okanagan organization has expressed serious concerns about the living conditions for migrant farm workers during the recent heat wave. from (Canadian Press file photo)
Agriculture depends on irrigation in many parts of B.C., and licences are required for using groundwater sources such as wells for agricultural or industrial use. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. farms, industry risk losing water rights as licence deadline nears

Non-domestic groundwater claims must be filed by March 2022

Agriculture depends on irrigation in many parts of B.C., and licences are required for using groundwater sources such as wells for agricultural or industrial use. (B.C. government photo)
Blueberry harvest in the Fraser Valley relies mainly on older Indo-Canadian workers provided through labour brokers. (Maple Ridge News)

B.C. ‘moving very cautiously’ on minimum wage for farm workers

Most workers support piece-rate pay for picking, survey says

Blueberry harvest in the Fraser Valley relies mainly on older Indo-Canadian workers provided through labour brokers. (Maple Ridge News)
A food hub facility proposed for Summerland has been promoted as a way to benefit agriculture in the area. (Black Press file photo)

Okanagan ‘food hub’ proposed for Summerland

Municipality of Summerland seeking to create facility to help in agri-food industry

A food hub facility proposed for Summerland has been promoted as a way to benefit agriculture in the area. (Black Press file photo)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham takes questions in the B.C. legislature in 2017. (Hansard TV)

UPDATE: B.C. will fund another year of fresh fruit, vegetables, milk in schools

John Horgan government working on school meal program

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham takes questions in the B.C. legislature in 2017. (Hansard TV)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham promotes the government’s BuyBC food program in 2019. (B.C. government)

Money running out for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk in B.C. schools

‘Looking at ways to support this type of program,’ minister says

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham promotes the government’s BuyBC food program in 2019. (B.C. government)
Cows from Creekside Dairy in Agassiz experienced 2021’s spring weather for the first time on Thursday, April 22, early in the morning. (Screenshot/Creekside Dairy)

VIDEO: B.C. cows react with joy to springtime pasture

Creekside Dairy spreads joy as their cows see their home fields for the first time since winter

Cows from Creekside Dairy in Agassiz experienced 2021’s spring weather for the first time on Thursday, April 22, early in the morning. (Screenshot/Creekside Dairy)
Valid Manufacturing received a government grant to assist their work on a system to divert dairy cow waste and turn it into usable fertilizer. (Jim Elliot-Salmon Arm Observer)

Salmon Arm business helps make the most of manure

Valid Manufacturing Ltd. has developed a system to separate nutrients from dairy cow waste.

Valid Manufacturing received a government grant to assist their work on a system to divert dairy cow waste and turn it into usable fertilizer. (Jim Elliot-Salmon Arm Observer)
A mink at a farm, taken on July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins

Quarantined B.C. mink farm resumes breeding after COVID-19 outbreak

Province approves resumption of breeding at Fraser Valley farm, and 8 others not in quarantine

A mink at a farm, taken on July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins
Farmland in Surrey. (Photo: Surrey.ca)

B.C. Agriculture minister sends Surrey ‘stern’ letter for nixing agriculture advisory committee

Cities intending to restrict or prohibit agriculture within a farming area may need to be ‘regulated,’ Lana Popham warned

Farmland in Surrey. (Photo: Surrey.ca)
In honour of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month, a national organization has received federal money to expand its programming. (U.S Department of Agriculture/Flickr)

Agriculture education in Canadian schools gets $1.6M boost from the feds

It’s imperative students know where their food comes from: Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau

In honour of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month, a national organization has received federal money to expand its programming. (U.S Department of Agriculture/Flickr)
Personal protective equipment is seen in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

$16.9 million invested to improve worker safety, strengthen B.C.’s food supply chain

Money to be used for social distancing, personal protective equipment, cleaning, and air circulation

Personal protective equipment is seen in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
The Hilborn home on Logie Road in Summerland was built by the Nelson brothers, who also built the buildings at the Summerland Research Station. (Contributed)

Early Summerland researcher pioneered greenhouse use

Joseph Hilborn and his brother William advoacated greenhouse work in the early 1900s

  • Jan 13, 2021
The Hilborn home on Logie Road in Summerland was built by the Nelson brothers, who also built the buildings at the Summerland Research Station. (Contributed)
FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2018 file photo, a worker pours wild blueberries into a tray at a farm in Union, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Canadian blueberries no threat to U.S. producers, embassy tells trade commission

Blueberry imports from Mexico appear to be the primary concern, particularly for southern producers

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2018 file photo, a worker pours wild blueberries into a tray at a farm in Union, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Freshly picked blueberries are see at Emma Lea Farms in Ladner, B.C., on Monday July 21, 2014. British Columbia is contributing funds in response to a probe into whether blueberry producers in the United States are being unfairly harmed by what some say is an influx in berry imports, including from Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. helps fund blueberry farmers against U.S. trade commission investigation

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister for jobs and economic recovery, says the province is giving Ottawa about $80,000

Freshly picked blueberries are see at Emma Lea Farms in Ladner, B.C., on Monday July 21, 2014. British Columbia is contributing funds in response to a probe into whether blueberry producers in the United States are being unfairly harmed by what some say is an influx in berry imports, including from Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck