Spring has hardly sprung but fall is fast approaching for livestock producers. An announcement last week from Johnston’s Custom Cutting in Chilliwack urged producers who hadn’t already done so to book slaughter dates with the facility. “The slots are already getting limited from July to December 2019,” a memo to producers said, noting that dates …
BC producers hit hard by 2018 wildfires eligible for AgriStability relief
A potent mix of flooding, drought and wildfire in 2018 have prompted the federal and provincial governments to trigger the late participation mechanism of the AgriStability program. Canada’s new agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement in Coldstream on Monday as part of her first visit to BC as agriculture minister. “The late participation mechanism …
BC markets question “local” definition
Defining “local” food is a big issue for farmers’ markets in eastern BC, which raised their concerns at the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets annual conference in Kimberley March 8-10. The association has lost at least one market over the issue, and Dawn Deydey, cofounder of the Mountain Market in Fernie, doesn’t want to see …
Horticulture projects receive funding
Ottawa has announced millions of dollars in funding for horticulture research at events on both sides of the country. On March 11, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced up to $4.2 million in funding for the BC Fruit Growers Association. The cash will support the development of new apple and cherry cultivars. The funding for …
Trade deals lead poultry groups’ concerns
The fourth annual BC Poultry Conference enjoyed record attendance with just over 500 people registered for the event held in Vancouver, February 28-March 1. The conference brings together representatives of the province’s four feather groups – chicken, eggs, hatching eggs and turkeys – for two days of annual meetings, motivational speakers and technical seminars. The …
Cold weather raises concerns for crops
February has gone down in the record books as the coldest on record, particularly in southern BC where the locals typically bask in blossoms and blue skies. Water on fields in Delta were glazed over last week and frost has Longview Farms on the Saanich Peninsula – the country’s largest daffodil farm – anxious to …