ARMSTRONG – The idea of seeing their children grow up to pursue dairy farming as a viable career was John and Candice Riemersma’s core motivation in applying for the BC Milk Marketing Board’s New Entrant Program. It also won the couple a spot among the three families selected as finalists in this year’s program, which …
Avian influenza returns
Poultry producers across the province are once more on high alert for highly pathogenic avian influenza after three positive test results in the past week. The industry went back to red level biosecurity protocols September 12 following a potential case in the Fraser Valley. The disease was confirmed at a commercial flock in Chilliwack with …
Salmon Arm abattoir closes
Many hog producers in the Thompson-Okanagan region are without a processor after Salmon Arm’s Rocana Meats suddenly closed in August. “It has been really, really hard for producers in that area. It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” says Small-Scale Meat Producers Association executive director and project manager Julia Smith. “Most people are finishing …
Peace heifer shot, butchered
The persistent problem of cattle rustling has one Peace rancher wondering why the police aren’t taking incidents more seriously. On September 6, three days after moose season opened, rancher Walt Hedges found the remains of one of his replacement heifers at the side of an oil road crossing one of his Crown land tenures. The …
Market garden makes a wise transition
KELOWNA – Of all the challenges farmers face – from unpredictable weather to finding workers – one of the greatest often occurs when it’s time to transition the farm. Whether a farm is passed to a family member, sold to an outside buyer or placed on the auction block, planning an exit strategy should begin …
Nicola ranches wait for help
The latest of three natural disasters to hit their property in a little over a year has the owners of Bar FX Ranch near Merritt wondering when the province will step up. A brief torrential downpour on August 23 triggered a mudslide spread silt and gravel across their fields and those of neighbours in the …