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JULY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 6

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4 weeks ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations 👍🎉

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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4 weeks ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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2 months ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 months ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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Abbotsford flood mitigation options

[City of Abbotsford photo]

April 6, 2022 byKate Ayers

Abbotsford city staff presented four options to city council on April 4 aimed at mitigating damage from flooding similar to what followed last November’s atmospheric rivers.

City staff, alongside consulting engineers Kerr Wood Leidal, developed the options for long-term flood risk reduction and mitigation on Sumas Prairie. Two largely maintain the status quo, with minor improvements to the Barrowtown pump station and a new Sumas River pump station.

Option 3 relocates the Sumas River dike north of Hwy 1 and adds a new floodway as well as additional storage capacity in addition to upgrading the Barrowntown pump station and a new Sumas River pump station.

Option 4 would create a new floodway and add three new pump stations as well as upgrade the Barrowtown pump station. The most expensive option, it would have the least impact on property owners.

Options 3 and 4 meet the flood protection guidelines in BC and can withstand a 1-in-200-year event. The four options range in cost from $209 million to $2.8 billion.

“There will be robust discussions with farmers,” says Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun, noting that some options may impact farms, businesses and residences.

The city has launched a consultation that welcomes feedback from residents, businesses, First Nations and neighbouring governments over the next six to eight weeks.

Once the consultation period wraps up, the city will identify the preferred flood mitigation option and complete a long-term flood mitigation plan. Funding discussions will then commence with senior levels of government.

“If we do nothing, we’re going to have this happen again,” says Braun. “I have kept the ministers provincially and federally in the loop. … They have a rough idea of what the ballpark dollar value is. That won’t come as a shock to them, but they haven’t guaranteed funding yet.”

The amount of funding Abbotsford seeks will depend on which of the four options council selects.

“Options one and two do not meet provincial standards for dikes,” he says. “The only way one of those two options will be chosen is if the federal and provincial governments say they don’t have money for us.”

But the city doesn’t have the money, either. Speaking at the Mainland Milk Producers annual general meeting earlier this year, Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon MP Brad Vis said existing formulas for calculating disaster assistance were never intended for disasters of the scale Abbotsford saw last fall.

“The 80-20 formula – the 20% that small towns are supposed to recover in times of disaster – probably isn’t going to work, even for Abbotsford, this time around,” he said. “For Abbotsford to cover 20% of total cost of damage is beyond the scope of even a mid-sized municipality.”

Braun is well aware of the fact, and has been written both the premier and prime minister regarding the city’s requirements, both in terms of financing and infrastructure.

“We don’t have this kind of money as a city through property taxes,” he says. “We need their help.”

 

 

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