ALC members appointed

The closing days of the old year heralded a host of appointments to the Agricultural Land Commission.

Commissioners Erin Carlson (Summerland), Jolleen Dick (Port Alberni), Wayne Harris (Creston) and Danna O’Donnell completed terms on December 19.

A ministerial order signed by agriculture minister Lana Popham on December 16 reappointed Carlson and Harris for three-year terms while O’Donnell was appointed for a two-year term.

Dick was replaced by fellow Vancouver Island farmer Jan Slomp (Courtenay), who was appointed for a two-year term ending December 19, 2026.

Commissioners Robert Haywood-Farmer (Savona) and Brenda Schoepp (Victoria) completed their terms on New Year’s Day, and a second ministerial order reappointed Schoepp for a two-year term ending January 1, 2027, while Haywood-Farmer will serve three years until January 1, 2028.

Keeping ahead of the curve, Popham extended the term of Andrew Adams (Prince George) through December 1, 2026, while Joseph Deuling (Lumby) was appointed for a three year-term ending December 31, 2027.

Sitting commissioner Holger Schwichtenberg (Agassiz), whose term was set to expire in March will now serve an additional four years through March 12, 2029.

Commissioner Karen McKean will serve an additional three years, being reappointed through April 30, 2028.

The latest appointments follow Popham’s order on November 25 rescinding the appointment of Lynn Lashuk (Lake Country). Lashuk, along with Chad Stump of the ?Esdilagh First Nation, were appointed to two-year terms with the commission beginning November 1 by Popham’s predecessor Pam Alexis.

November 1 also saw Jeff McCallum of Nanaimo take his seat as a commissioner for a two-year term following an August 1 order by Alexis.

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1 day ago

The committee of MLAs charged with setting priorities for the next provincial budget is recommending regular, annual funding for water storage infrastructure associated with food production, including for engineering inspections, maintenance and upgrades. The recommendation builds on the BC Cattlemen's Association's recommendation of an annual allocation of $5 million for water storage infrastructure related to food production, noting that it could also support resilience in the face of climate-related events. While the province has allocated $120 million for agricultural water infrastructure, agriculture minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC this week that other ministries and the federal government will need to be involved in funding future p#BCAgts#BCAgCAg

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A typical small-to-medium farming operation featuring a house, main barn, and machine shed generally has around 8,000 to 12,000 square feet of total roof surface. The Okanagan Valley is one of the driest regions in Canada, averaging roughly 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) of annual precipitation. Storing a full year's collected rainwater from those roofs yields roughly 262,500 litres. In the three regional districts that make up the Okanagan valley proper (North Okanagan, Central Okanagan, and Okanagan-Similkameen), the 2021 Statistics Canada Census of Agriculture records roughly 3,100 total farms. Multiply that number by 262,500 litres of harvested rainwater equals 813.75 million litres of water saved per year. Capturing that volume of water across every farm roof in the region would significantly ease peak summer pumping pressure on local groundwater aquifers and Okanagan Lake.

Fantastic!! We will work hard to be involved and do what we can as well as a collective group on the Salmon River!

Absolutely! Long over due and very welcomed. Let's make this happen.

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2 days ago

About 40 community members gathered at Silver Creek Community Hall near Salmon Arm last Thursday to discuss ways to improve water availability for both farms and spawning salmon. While the province has since rescinded a fish protection order for the watershed that shut down irrigation, future risks to water access remain top of mind. "We are here because water matters to each of us," says rancher and organizer Trudy Schweb. Farmland Riparian Interface Stewardship Program manager Lee Hesketh outlined the potential for upland water storage while Rob Dinwoodie highlighted cost-shared funding opportunities through the Environmental Farm Plan program for riparian assessments, irrigation efficiency upgrades and other water-related projects available to producers. Photo credit | Facebook/Trudy Schweb

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Salmon River Watershed Roundtable should be looked into again.

Well done my girl,the voice of Silver Creek ranchers and more

Thanks for covering this🌟

The BC Fruit Growers Association is urging Greater Vernon Water and the Regional District of North Okanagan to halt water shut-offs hitting 2,100+ acres of Okanagan orchards mid-season. With losses potentially topping $250 million, fruit growers say decisions of this scale demand a coordinated plan with farmers and the province — not one-sided cuts. They’re not the only producers affected by this year’s dry conditions.

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VERNON – Water restrictions intensified across the southern Interior in late July, with record low stream flows clouding the cash outlook for ranches and orchards. Fourteen agricultural water users�...

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Food should ALWAYS come first. Allow the farmers their water. My grandad watered the apples by flume from the mountain. Let’s get on with AG and get out of the way!

3 days ago

The BC Fruit Growers Association has joined Apples Canada, a new national voice for provincial apple organizations in BC, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Charles Stevens of Ontario chairs the new group, an evolution of the apple working group within Fruit & Vegetable Growers Canada (FVGC), the new group will tackle production, sustainability, research and policy issues as well as advocate for market access in partnership with FVGC. It follows the creation of the Greenhouse Produce Alliance of Canada earlier this year, which replaced the former greenhouse vegetable working group. The berry and field vegetable sectors will continue to maintain working groups with FVGC, while the long-estblished Canadian Potato Council serves the interests of potato growers under the FVGC umbrella.

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