The Canadian government’s 30-day ban on passenger flights from India and Pakistan to stop the spread of the COVID-19 B.1.617 variant, could have a big impact on Fraser Valley farmers. “A number of our workers are in India and they don’t anticipate coming back anytime soon,” says Satwinder Bains, owner of Westberry Farms, a blueberry …
Veterinarians face shortage
Veterinarians are the latest to complain about a shortage of skilled workers in agriculture. BC faces the worst shortage of veterinarians in Canada, according to a 2019 labour market study by the Society of BC Veterinarians. The gap is approximately 100 vets a year, affecting both small and large animal care and limiting the support …
Farm injury rate falls
BC farms have been working hard to stay safe, an accomplishment AgSafeBC chair Don Dahr says everyone can take credit for. “With more than 24,000 workers in the agriculture subsector in 2019, a reduction in the number of time-lost claims is something everyone of us should be proud of,” he told the association’s annual meeting …
Travel restrictions raise concerns
Travel restrictions are coming to BC this week, and that could put a chill on farmers’ ability to access domestic labour. Specifics of the new restrictions have yet to be unveiled, but the province has said they’ll limit travel between health regions. Signs will be posted at the Alberta border asking non-residents not to enter. …
Government budgets support marketing
Budget speeches in Victoria and Ottawa this week didn’t use the word “agriculture” but the province did give a 5% boost to the provincial agriculture ministry. The provincial budget on April 20 gave a $4.4 million boost to agriculture ministry operations, lifting the ministry’s annual budget to $99.8 million. This is up from $95.4 million …
Metro Vancouver reconsiders targeted grazing
Goats are natural-born weedeaters, but that doesn’t make them ideal for every city. While they’ve seen service in Kamloops and other municipalities in Western Canada, don’t expect them to be controlling invasive weeds in Metro Vancouver any time soon. Metro Vancouver’s climate action committee discussed a report April 16 that noted goats are ideal for …