LANGLEY – Gorgi Petkov still remembers the big, juicy table grapes grown in his home country of Macedonia – and he’s on a mission to create similar varieties in BC. Petkov, vineyard manager of Fairmeade Estate in Langley, is trialling three new table grape varieties – Ivory, Timpson and Strawberry Grape – for the Lower …
Cash Flows
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 served by Greater Vernon Water (GVW) who maxed out their allocations were shut down by the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) in mid-July, including one …
BC ranchers brace for wildfires
Prolonged drought conditions and the threat of dry lightning across the province are boosting the chances for a spike in wildfire activity this week. Cliff Chapman, provincial operations director with the BC Wildfire Service, expects the next few days to be challenging, especially in the Cariboo, Southeast and Kamloops fire centres. “We’ve never seen fuel …
KPU sets up research hopyard
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has set up a research hopyard at the Molson Coors plant in Chilliwack to support its ongoing research and new variety development. “We’re excited to work with Molson Coors in supporting local farmers through this multi-year project,” says Paul Adams, director of KPU’s Applied Genomics Centre, where researcher Mathias Scheutz oversees the …
Dairy sector selects new entrants
Despite a greater number of applicants this year, the BC Milk Marketing Board has accepted just three new producers as part of this year’s New Entrant Program. Deirdre and James Howard and Brent and Cheryl Posthumus were selected from five candidates who attended interviews in July. A total of 10 candidates were originally selected via …