With temperatures cresting 40°C in various parts of the province this week, BC Forests Minister Bruce Ralston signed the first Section 88 order of the season. Lower Salmon River water users (east of Westwold) must cease irrigating forage crops from August 15 through September 30 in order to protect fish, specifically the spawning population of …
Comox Valley farmers seek support
Mid-Island Farmers Institute representatives spoke to the Comox Valley Regional District this week to advocate for a coordinated response to the region’s water shortage and threat of restriction on irrigation water. “We have a dugout at our farm and it’s virtually empty,” institute president and produce grower Diane Jackson of Fitzgerald Farms in Merville told …
New dairy entrants selected
BC Milk has chosen five candidates to become new dairy producers as part of this year’s selection process. The board chose four producers from a shortlist of seven candidates selected by random draw earlier this year to enter conventional production and one producer was chosen to meet the demand for organic production out of pool …
Peace Region land-sharing proposal nixed
FORT ST. JOHN – Widespread opposition from landowners in the Peace has nixed a bid by four First Nations to initiate a treaty land sharing arrangement in the region similar to one that exists in Saskatchewan. Doig River, Halfway River, Prophet River and West Moberly First Nations – all signatories to Treaty 8 – had …
Water cut to growers
A growing number of what the province tactfully calls “suspected unauthorized users” are being ordered to stop groundwater extractions, jeopardizing their operations. A total of 17 users on Vancouver Island have received orders to date, including 10 in the Koksilah and seven in the Tsolum watersheds, Connie Chapman, acting director of the Water Management Branch …
New federal minister
What’s old is new again as Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet in what many say sets the stage for a general election. Lawrence MacAulay was reappointed to the agriculture portfolio following a four-year stint as minister of veterans affairs and associate minister of national defence. He succeeds Marie-Claude Bibeau, who was transferred to be minister …