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APRIL 2026
Vol. 112 Issue 4

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20 hours ago

According to the BC River Forecast Centre, the Okanagan snowpack stood at just 58% of normal on April 1 — the lowest reading since measurements began in 1980 — raising concerns about drought conditions in the region this summer. The rest of the province sits at 92% of normal.

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According to the BC River Forecast Centre, the Okanagan snowpack stood at just 58% of normal on April 1 — the lowest reading since measurements began in 1980 — raising concerns about drought conditions in the region this summer. The rest of the province sits at 92% of normal.

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2 days ago

At her first AGM as executive director of BC Meats, held Saturday in Abbotsford, Jennifer Busmann spoke about her strong ties to agriculture and her optimism for the organization's future. Busmann has cattle of her own and came to the role with existing relationships with members and the board of directors that helped her feel integrated from the start. She stepped into the position in Februa#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

At her first AGM as executive director of BC Meats, held Saturday in Abbotsford, Jennifer Busmann spoke about her strong ties to agriculture and her optimism for the organizations future. Busmann has cattle of her own and came to the role with existing relationships with members and the board of directors that helped her feel integrated from the start. She stepped into the position in February.

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4 days ago

Shannon Wiggins of Headwind Farm in North Saanich is this year's Mary Forstbauer Grant recipient from the BC Association of Farmers Markets. The $500 grant will help Wiggins expand her plot at Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, growing more storage crops to extend her harvest season. Wiggins credits farmers markets with inspiring her own farming journey and commitment to building community through food. Congratulations!

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Shannon Wiggins of Headwind Farm in North Saanich is this years Mary Forstbauer Grant recipient from the BC Association of Farmers Markets. The $500 grant will help Wiggins expand her plot at Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, growing more storage crops to extend her harvest season. Wiggins credits farmers markets with inspiring her own farming journey and commitment to building community through food. Congratulations!

https://tinyurl.com/45bddtw8

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Wahoo! Congrats Shannon! I love your produce. Can’t wait for the radishes 🫜

Congratulations!

Well done!! 🩷🩷🩷

5 days ago

New farmers can avoid costly mistakes by learning from those who've been there. At a Young Agrarians mixer in Penticton, five BC farmers shared hard-won lessons on pricing, pivoting, relationships and burnout. From coyote losses to business burnout, their message was clear: set prices that reflect true costs, make decisions quickly and don't let farming define your worth. Myrna Stark Leader's story appears in our April e-edition, now available to view online at: tinyurl#BCAg2uw53vvm

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New farmers can avoid costly mistakes by learning from those whove been there. At a Young Agrarians mixer in Penticton, five BC farmers shared hard-won lessons on pricing, pivoting, relationships and burnout. From coyote losses to business burnout, their message was clear: set prices that reflect true costs, make decisions quickly and dont let farming define your worth. Myrna Stark Leaders story appears in our April e-edition, now available to view online at: https://tinyurl.com/2uw53vvm

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7 days ago

War in the Middle East is delivering a generational shock to BC farm input costs, with nitrogen fertilizer prices already 60% above pre-pandemic levels and rising fast. Okanagan Fertilizer president Ken Clancy says supply shortfalls are expected as Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions tighten global supplies and demand surges. BCAC says it's monitoring the situation and ready to advocate for government relief measur#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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Fertilizer, fuel costs soar amid Iran conflict

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ENDERBY – War in the Middle East has delivered a generational shock to energy prices, meaning BC farmers can expect a prolonged period of higher costs, not just for fuel but also for fertilizer.
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Animal activists sentenced

A police officer stands on the property at Excelsior Hog Farm surrounded by people who showed up to support the farmers after protesters occupied a barn, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Sunday April 28, 2019. Approximately 50 people occupied a barn and another 135 individuals protested on the rural road outside the farm after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a video last week that it says shows dead piglets as well as fully grown pigs with growths and lacerations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

October 19, 2022 byPeter Mitham

Two activists convicted for their part in the April 2019 invasion of Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford have been sentenced to 30 days in jail and a year’s probation.

Amy Soranno and Nick Shafer received the sentences in Abbotsford on October 12, with the added requirement that they submit their DNA to a national databank of offenders.

“The offenders knew full well that they were deliberately breaking the law when they chose to do what they did,” Justice Frits Verhoeven said in his reasons for judgment. “It is impossible to feel sympathy for the predictable consequences of their own deliberate actions, or to consider them as mitigating.”

Verhoeven described the incident as a grave threat to public order given that both Soranno and Shafer knew what they were doing, and knew that it was illegal.

“The harm to society’s values lies in the pernicious and misguided idea that breaking the law for political purposes, or higher moral purposes, is acceptable,” he said. “This kind of behaviour must be denounced and deterred in the most emphatic of terms.”

But the duo have appealed their conviction, meaning the sentences that were set to begin October 21 will not be served immediately. If and when they do wind up in prison, Soranno will do so intermittently, given what Verhoeven described as the “precarious” nature of her health (court documents describe this as “a debilitating illness which has no definitive diagnosis” and severe celiac disease).

In the meantime, they’re free on bail, with several conditions including a requirement to report to a bail supervisor beginning October 19 as required; avoiding contact with Excelsior’s owners and remaining at last 5 km away from the farm; and not attending animal farms or petting zoos.

The conditions are on top of conditions imposed following Soranno’s and Shafer’s release on bail following their arrest with four other activists in Waterloo, Ontario last fall.

Those conditions included a “no contact” clause prohibiting them from speaking with each other, one regularly breached in the course of the recent proceedings in Abbotsford.

The conditions don’t impact their supporters, however. Dozens staged a demonstration outside Excelsior on October 12, while the farm’s owners continued caring for their animals.

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