AITC funding in limbo

The province has missed a deadline to fund the BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutrition Program, an initiative of the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation.

AITC had asked the province for a response by May 10 so it could make arrangements with farmers and prepare to roll out the program when a new school year begins this fall.

While the province expanded the agriculture ministry’s budget this year, including funding for local purchasing programs, it has yet to find the $3.5 million in funding AITC requested.

The misstep jeopardizes the future of a program that supplies hundreds of students across BC with local produce.

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham came under fire in the legislature on May 11 for missing the deadline, with Opposition MLAs questioning her priorities.

“Can she please explain why her government is eliminating funding for a program that has provided half a million students with fresh BC fruits, vegetables and milk?” Abbotsford West MLA Mike de Jong asked.

Delta South MLA and agriculture critic Ian Paton noted in a press release that farmers also stand to lose.

“Why would the minister abandon a program that not only supports students, but farmers as well?” he asked. “More than 1,000 BC farmers stand to lose income from growing and providing products for this important initiative. It is a win-win for everyone involved, yet the minister hasn’t been in a hurry to act to save it.”

Popham acknowledged the importance of the program but noted that funding to date has been from the BC Ministry of Health. She indicated that the next round of funding would be through Feed BC.

The mandate letter she received last fall outlined partnerships with the BC Ministry of Education to expand Feed BC to primary and secondary schools.

“We will be working together with the association and the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to look at how a program can continue,” she told the legislature.

4 weeks ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival ... See MoreSee Less

Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

www.countrylifeinbc.com

ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.

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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

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Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.