BC producer groups give back

‘Tis the season of giving, and BC producer groups are doing their part.

During its annual conference at the end of November, the BC Dairy Association announced the contribution of $180,000 in matching funds to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation for transformative equipment and programs.

The funding is part of $640,000 contributed over the past year to several charities, including Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, Backpack Buddies and BC Agriculture in the Classroom.

And it’s not alone. The good eggs in the poultry sector come together for an annual golf tournament each summer in support of Union Gospel Mission. Organized by egg and turkey farmers, this year’s event raised a record $213,685.

The initiative is on top of BC Eggs own contributions to 4-H BC, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, Sheway, Easter Seals and Ag for Autism.

BC egg producers have also donated just over 39,000 dozen eggs to Food Banks BC this year, one of several ways producers are making nutritious locally grown food available to those in need.

The fruit sector also diverted thousands of tons of apples to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank this fall with, for which producers received credit through the BC Farmers Food Donation Tax Credit program, which provides a tax credit equivalent to 25% of the retail value of donated product.

This winter, the BC Cattlemen’s Association will contribute $5,000 for beef and other high-need items to BC food banks chosen by Food Banks Canada as part of the Burger It Forward program.
Sponsored by Canada Beef, the program aims to recruit more than 40 community restaurants in BC which will tally sales of burgers made with 100% Canadian beef throughout February. Canada Beef will then donate the equivalent of one meal to Food Banks Canada to a maximum of 20,000 meals nationally.

The event will be followed in March by the annual Make a Difference sale in support of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Based in Abbotsford, the event raises $400,000 annually in support of efforts to eliminate global hunger.

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1 day ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

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6 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

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Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

7 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

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Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

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Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

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What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC