The blast of cold air Okanagan vineyards experienced December 21 was a hot topic at this week’s Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California. The largest show devoted to viticulture and enology in North America, the conference included panels on vine resilience and winter damage – timely discussions following the severe frost event that …
Pilot helps UBCO’s Feed BC initiative grow
KELOWNA – A year-old pilot program at UBC Okanagan is showing that providing more locally sourced foods for students takes resources well as commitment. Since September 2021, UBC has been working with the North Okanagan Land to Table Network to bring more local food to campus. A participant in the province’s Feed BC program, which …
Generational change for finances
With one more hike to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate widely anticipated on January 25, higher interest rates are reshaping how farmers and ranchers approach their business. BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic described the dramatic shift of four percentage points in interest rates over the past year as a generational event that’s forcing a …
Seed potato stocks short
Potatoes remain the top vegetable with consumers, offering good value as the price of other produce skyrockets, but growers face short seed supplies as 2023 begins. “This is probably the first year that people are really mulling over the fact that seed actually might be a limiting factor. It’s not very often that we hear …
Provincial employer registry backlogged
What should have been the smoothest start to the season after three years of pandemic-related hurdles for growers who employ foreign workers has been bumpier than expected. With regulators keeping closer tabs on hiring protocols, many farm employers in BC found themselves barred from filing applications to source workers from overseas last fall until they …
Dairy producers raise alarm on costs
BURNABY – Producer income loomed large on the minds of dairy producers as the province’s three dairy organizations gathered online for their annual general meetings November 22. During the open discussion that followed the meetings, held online to facilitate attendance from across the province, the leading question asked was what was being done to improve …