BC ranks fourth in Canada in terms of farm labour demand, according to a report released this week by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. The report indicates that BC’s farm sector will have an annual shortfall of more than 15,000 domestic workers by 2029. However, this is an improvement over 2017, when the shortfall …
TB trace-out completed
Trace-out of animals associated with a herd in BC’s southern interior where bovine tuberculosis was detected last fall have been completed. Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff made the announcement at the end of May. The latest update to the investigation, posted last week, indicates that one herd of 1,500 animals remains under movement controls. That …
Clifton Ranch sustainability recognized
The grasslands of the South Okanagan are, according to BC Parks, “one of the four most-endangered ecosystems in Canada.” They’re so significant that discussions to gather them into a national park reserve are in the works. But protecting grasslands doesn’t necessarily mean fencing them off from cattle, as the Clifton family of Keremeos has shown. …
Ottawa funds young workers
Year-end school tours are over for most farms, and now the real work begins. While many see the annual field trips as a chance to interest students in a future career in agriculture, many more farmers are grappling with the need to get work done right now. A new report from the Canadian Agricultural Human …
ALR changes face review
Recent changes to rules governing farm residences in the Agricultural Land Reserve meet the criteria for a “systemic investigation,” says the office of the BC Ombudsperson. This what the office has told Meghan McPherson, who owns a hobby farm in the Comox Valley. McPherson reported on her discussion with the office during a meeting District …
Ranchers to build beef brand
Build the brand, then build the plant: that’s the recommendation of the steering committee handling plans for a new federally inspected beef packing plant in BC. “The vision is still to build a BC beef plant in Prince George,” plant project team member and consultant Glenn Brand told the BC Cattlemen’s Association annual general meeting …