Despite the financial pressures facing farmers last year, federal records show that BC’s farm businesses remained solvent even as input costs and interest rates rose. A sector-by-sector breakdown of the 3,402 business insolvencies reported by the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy last year indicated that agriculture in BC remained in good health. While …
Community spirit honoured at gala
Five leaders in BC’s agricultural community were honoured at the BC Agriculture Council’s annual gala on January 25. Dairy farmers Jimi Meyer and Hallie Jacobs were honoured with the Scotiabank Champion of Agriculture award for their support of Fraser Valley dairy farmers following the flooding in November 2021. “Our initial goal was just to bring …
Provincial extension service coming
A new provincial extension service is in the works, an initiative applauded at an Agri-Extension and Research event organized by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and held at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Abbotsford on January 27. The regional extension program will be launched this spring. It will be a progression of the …
Farmland Advantage funding extended
A project that started as a small five-year pilot program in the Kootenays in 2016 has received renewed funding through March 2025 that expands it to the Thompson Okanagan region and beyond. The federal government, though Environment and Climate Change Canada has committed $455,000 under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and …
Dairy farmers on the brink
ABBOTSFORD – A growing number of dairy farms in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. “The dairy [sector] is particularly challenged,” says Karen Taylor, director of corporate finance, agriculture and agribusiness with BMO Financial Group in Abbotsford, who addressed a workshop the Centre …
Greenhouse extends growing season, sales
WYCLIFFE – When imported produce is in short supply at the grocery store and fresh produce becomes a winter luxury, it’s heartening to know dedicated farmers are producing good food locally through the season. Apple Quill Farm in Wycliffe, a small community between Cranbrook and Kimberley, is one of the most prolific small-scale winter producers …