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September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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1 week ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

2 weeks ago

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2 weeks ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattleâ...
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2 weeks ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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2 weeks ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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BC leads food price increases

December 9, 2020 byPeter Mitham

BC food prices are set to rise in 2021 even as prices drop in the other three western provinces.

“We are expecting British Columbia to experience higher than average price increases,” states the annual food price report released this week by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

The report forecasts food prices nationally will rise 3% to 5% this year, led by meat and vegetables at upwards of 6.5%, and bakery products at 5.5%.

The report draws on well-established modelling to make its forecasts, and this year’s analysis included the work of Jim Vercammen, professor of food and resource economics in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC.

Vercammen says BC is vulnerable to supply chain disruptions associated with lockdowns in California, a key supplier of fresh produce to the province.

“A few years ago we saw what happened to the price of cauliflower when there was a major supply chain disruption,” he told Country Life in BC. “It is certainly reasonable to believe that something similar can happen again, but this time impacting a wider swath of produce.”

On the other hand, he feels the meat supply proved itself resilient this year despite shutdowns to major plants in Alberta.

The net effect to local growers should be positive. While imports supplement local production, typically during the winter when local farms can’t take advantage of peak pricing, greenhouse growers are in a better position.

“Shortages and the associated higher prices would certainly benefit the local hot house industry and other local producers,” says Vercammen, while cautioning that prices still need to reflect local incomes. “If consumers return to indicating that they are willing to pay a premium for local produce but shy away from doing so when in the store, then growth of the local industry will continue to be constrained.”

According to a recent report for the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity, food affordability has been a top concern for Canadians this year. While incomes in BC typically support higher prices, more than 80,000 people access the province’s 103 food banks each month. This has increased through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Approximately 50% of our members reported an increase in client numbers in the advent of the pandemic,” says Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks BC. “However, many of our members have seen increasing client numbers since the fall and anticipate the demand will continue to rise.”

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