Dairy farmers have won a rare mid-year price hike to address rising costs of production, but it falls short of what’s needed to keep pace with inflation. The Canadian Dairy Commission approved a 2.5% increase in the farmgate milk price this week in response to a request the Dairy Farmers of Canada made at the …
Province funds weather preparedness
This week may have marked the official start of summer, but for many growers, cool damp weather continues to delay crops in sharp contrast to 2021 when the end of June brought scorching temperatures and dramatic wildfires. This year, berry and cherry growers are reporting harvest delays of 10 to 14 days. While the spring …
Indigenizing agriculture, ensuring food supply resiliency
Indigenous communities across the province were hit hard by food chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 and last year’s myriad natural disasters. But many groups are working together to produce food locally while also bringing Indigenous farming roots to light. “There is a lack of recognition that there are many Indigenous people that are very engaged …
Off-season sales boosted by new vending machine
CHILLIWACK – A vending machine from the Netherlands has improved winter sales on a Chilliwack farm. Berry Bounty Farms installed the Innovend machine last July, allowing it to display more than a dozen products from berries to eggs and honey in individual climate-controlled compartments with see-through doors. An increasingly common sight in Europe, the installation …
Abbotsford approves flood mitigation option
Abbotsford city council approved a flood mitigation strategy for Sumas Prairie on June 13. The preferred option is a hybrid of three of the four options presented to residents, farmers and business owners in April. Comments were accepted until May 15. The feedback led councillors to choose a strategy that focuses on enhancing Abbotsford’s existing …
Bee losses significant but not extreme
For the second year in a row, nearly a third of honey bee colonies in BC did not make it through the winter. Each spring, provincial apiculture specialist Paul van Westendorp surveys beekeepers to assess winter mortality and identify the causes. He was putting the finishing touches on the 2022 overwintering survey on June 10 …