BC farmers facing a broken water licensing system should look to community partnerships as a potential solution, according to Chris Bodnar, who farms in the Fraser Valley. Speaking at the Lower Mainland Horticultural Conference in January, Bodnar described how collaboration with the Kwantlen First Nation led to swift approval of a wetland project on his …
AgriStability program boosted
DUNCAN – Provincial enhancements to AgriStability promise to address the mounting financial cost of extreme weather and shifting markets on BC crop producers. In mid-January, the province raised the compensation rate under AgriStability to 90% on income declines greater than 30% as well as increasing the program’s existing payment limit to $6.2 million. Previously, the …
Roots to growth in an agrarian community
The public space in our office/farm store building has recently become a regular meeting place for a local group of wool spinners, my wife Ann among them. Their gatherings are informal two-hour afternoon spinning sessions. The activity is communal, tactile and agrarian. Stories are told, knowledge is shared, and fleece is turned into yarn with …
Vineyards enter new year with recovery in sight
OSOYOOS – While the 2024 grape crop across the southern Interior was 10% of normal thanks to the cumulative effects of extreme cold events in two consecutive winters, the losses weren’t spread evenly. BC growers typically harvest in the range of 30,000 tons of wine grapes, but in 2023 that fell to 19,570 tons. In …
Ag leaders honoured at gala
Reg Steward was named the 2024 Scotiabank Champion of Agriculture during the BC Agriculture Council’s annual Agri-Food Industry Gala in Abbotsford, January 22. Caught off-guard by the honour, Steward told the capacity-crowd of 450 he was speechless, then thanked “the people I work for, have worked for and work with.” Steward has been boots-on-the-ground with …
Apple growers discuss marketing commission
Apple growers will get a chance to hear more about and discuss a proposed apple marketing commission during grower consultation sessions on January 30 in Oliver and January 31 in Winfield. Inner Harbour Consulting principal Derek Sturko, a former assistant deputy minister with the province’s agriculture ministry, was hired to facilitate the process. Inner Harbour …