DUNCAN – BC signed an historic watershed planning agreement with the Cowichan Tribes last May that set the stage for the province’s first water sustainability plan, but local farmers say the pressures on the region’s farms can’t wait. Beginning in the mountains southwest of Duncan and flowing 44 km northeast towards the city, the Koksilah …
Country Life in BC writer recognized
Clear communication can help smooth hard times, and the BC Landscape and Nursery Association honoured Country Life in BC contributor Ronda Payne of Maple Ridge for her accomplishments in that regard. Payne received the association’s Garden Communicator of the Year Award for her “outstanding communication to the public on garden and landscape topics.” An avid …
Rangeland forage allocation studied
A new report from the BC’s Forest Practices Board has identified opportunities to improve range management through forage measurement and allocation across the province. “Government has developed good guidelines for measuring forage, but they aren’t consistently used,” FBP board member Gerry Grant said in releasing the report on December 5. In addition, the province lacks …
PNE fundraiser supports 4-H
BC’s biggest agricultural fair, the Pacific National Exhibition, may be best known for its midway and concert venues these days, but it maintains close ties to the province’s agricultural community through its support of 4-H. This year’s annual “Evening for Agriculture” fundraiser was held December 9, coinciding with the PNE’s new winter festival that offered …
Producers wary of housing bylaw implications
SAANICHTON – Growers in Central Saanich say proposed changes to local zoning bylaws that will align them more closely with new provincial regulations designed to increase housing options within the Agricultural Land Reserve will eat up productive farmland. “I’m really against the proposed changes,” says Katy Connelly of Sea Dog Farm in Saanichton, who grows …
Nanaimo farmland vulnerable
A suite of bills passed before the fall sitting of the legislature that wrapped up at the end of November stands to increase the pressure on unprotected urban farmland. The new legislation upzones every residential property in the province and gives the lieutenant governor discretion to mandate higher densities along rapid transit routes. Unprotected farmland …