Two new assistant deputy ministers are joining the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Michelle Koski is joining the province after five years as CEO of the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. “I am happy to share that I have accepted a position as assistant deputy minister with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food,” she …
Isolation program keeps going
A provincial initiative designed to curb COVID-19 continues to prove useful this winter as a host of respiratory illnesses afflict or threaten BC residents. To protect farm workers, the provincially funded BC Farm Worker Safe Isolation Program remains available to farm employers who wish to isolate workers at a hotel to prevent the spread of …
Rabobank expands lending
Three years of planning has culminated in Dutch financial services firm Rabobank working directly with Canadian farmers. With more than 25 years experience in Canada, Rabobank felt the time was right to begin working directly with farmers. “The number of young farmers is actually growing and the country is on track to become the world’s …
Farm values stable despite market shifts
Property assessments will soon be landing in mailboxes across the province, with the publication of the 2023 tax roll by the BC Assessment Authority. But farmland assessments in the province are largely unchanged despite the dramatic shifts in the real estate market as a whole, according to BC Assessment. “Properties with Farm Classification have static legislated …
BC Milk opens organic stream
The BC Milk Marketing Board’s is accepting applications until February 7 from potential new entrants in advance of a random draw that will select 10 candidates who will vie for the opportunity to be one of three new dairy producers beginning production by the end of 2024. But this year’s program will also include an …
PRFA projects receive funding boost
The Peace River Forage Association of BC has received $85,380 from the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund to support research and training projects. The association received the largest sum of money in the fund’s seventh round of grants, announced last month. Under the Research and Demonstration Initiatives funding stream, $80,380 will go towards conducting …