The auction of a dozen ranches totalling close to 45,000 acres held by Monette Farms Ltd. of Saskatchewan is moving to the next phase after none of the properties were sold by January 9. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. announced that it would offer the properties for sale on December 2 and set an initial deadline …
Delta grower inspires salad start-up
DELTA – A next-generation salad producer is growing his business with the help of some time-honoured BC expertise. Growing up in Saskatoon, Jon Karwacki was schooled in the importance of delivering the freshest produce to consumers by his father, Star Produce Ltd. founder David Karwacki. After graduating from university, he joined the business and worked …
Traceability reprieve for livestock
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has hit pause on amendments to traceability regulations under the Health of Animals Act. “The CFIA will pause any publication of the regulations until the proposed changes are more widely understood and concerns are heard and taken into consideration,” the agency announced January 10. The changes have yet to …
BC/Yukon OYF finalists announced
The finalists for the BC/Yukon Outstanding Young Farmers program have been announced, ahead of presentations at the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford on January 22. This year’s short list includes Annelise Grube-Cavers of Fresh Valley Farms in Spallumcheen, which produces pasture-raised, organic certified meat and eggs; flower grower Corne Quik of Quik’s Farm in Chilliwack; …
BC farm input costs rise
The cost of inputs on BC farms is up 36% versus pre-pandemic levels, according to data released January 14 by Statistics Canada. Data for the third quarter of 2025 point to a 39% increase in the cost of crop production driven by fertilizer prices, while livestock costs rose 33%. Yet the dramatic run-up in beef …
Lawsuits drive ranchers’ call for DRIPA’s repeal
KAMLOOPS – A raft of lawsuits is a symptom of the province’s dysfunctional reconciliation process, ranchers say, and point to the need for a reset. Exhibit A is a 10-year-old land claim the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation (SSN), made up of the Tk’emlúps and Skeetchestn bands, filed in BC Supreme Court in 2015 to assert …