• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Current Issue:

FEBRUARY 2023
Vol. 108 Issue 2

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Country Life in BC, 36 Dale Road, Enderby, BC, V0E1V4. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

7 days ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

buff.ly

INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
View Comments
  • Likes: 1
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 weeks ago

A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural Land Commission hosted in Langley Monday night regarding a proposal to include 305 acres controlled by the federal government in the Agricultural Land Reserve. More than 76,000 people have signed an online petition asking municipal and provincial governments to protect the land from development, and for the federal government to grant a long-term lease to the Heppells. Read more in this morning's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. conta.cc/3XYXw6k ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Your weekly farm news update

web-extract.constantcontact.com

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 January 25 2023 Surrey ALR inclusion cheered A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural L
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

2 months ago

Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand this season and prices remain comparable to last year. But the number of tree farms has decreased dramatically over the past five years and the province will increasingly need to look elsewhere if it wants to meet local demand. More in this week's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Christmas trees in demand

buff.ly

Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand, with high quality trees making it to market. “The market is good. We’ll probably outdo last year and last year was one of our best years…
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 months ago

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall. ... See MoreSee Less

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall.
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

Avian influenza virus can be killed by chlorine at no higher a concentration than is present in drinking water, so unless farms are using untreated groundwater in their barns I don't see how it could be a source of transmission. www.researchgate.net/publication/5594208_Chlorine_Inactivation_of_Highly_Pathogenic_Avian_Influen...

2 months ago

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall. ... See MoreSee Less

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall.Image attachment
View Comments
  • Likes: 10
  • Shares: 8
  • Comments: 8

Comment on Facebook

Goes to show how far-removed our current government is from the agricultural sector. To put someone in this position who has no farming background is a slap in the face to all of our hard-working producers.

Going to be a heck of a learning curve. Helping the agricultural community recover from the biggest natural disasters in history, handling the avian influenza outbreak that is threatening our poultry industry, dealing with a crisis in meat processing, managing ongoing threats from climate change, supporting producers who are facing unprecedented inflation in an industry with very slim margins to begin with..... to name a few of the challenges our new Minister will have to face all with one of the lowest budgets of any ministry. I wish her the best of luck but I hope she's got a lot of support around her.

Best of wishes in your new position

Congrats to Pam, cool to see a Fraser Valley based ag minister but also so sad to see Lana reassigned . I have no doubt she will do an amazing job in her new role.

Will be missed by #meiernation

Bryce Rashleigh

Nooooooo!

Lana did a shit job and now we have a minister with no farming background at all. Aren’t we lucky..

View more comments

Subscribe | Advertise

BC Tree Fruits prepares to relocate

May 8, 2019 byPeter Mitham

BC Tree Fruits Co-operative found a new executive team, and soon it will have a new home.

The co-op announced this week that it expects to close on the purchase of 85 acres in the Ellison area of Kelowna by the end of May. The transaction will occur in tandem with the sale of its property in Penticton.

“This purchase signals our commitment to the industry, our growers, our staff and the valley, and will give us the ability to compete on a global scale moving forward,” said co-op CEO Todd McMyn in a statement.

McMyn was appointed CEO at the beginning of April, an appointment announced alongside that of new CFO Ross Dwhytie. The two senior positions had been vacant since November.

During the search for new executives, co-op president Jeet Dukhia told Country Life in BC that a number of restructuring initiatives were underway in order to secure money for an automated plant in the north Okanagan. The reorganization, Dukhia added, could include the purchase of a new property on Kelowna’s outskirts. A decision was expected by this summer.

“We should be on the outskirts of the city where land is cheap,” he said at the time. “We are looking to the next 50 years.”

This month’s land purchase at 3330 Old Vernon Road should fit the bill.

“[It] will see a consolidation of all of the cooperative’s northern facilities,” the co-op says. “[It] will house state-of-the-art apple, cherry, pear and soft fruit packing line(s) as well as office space and the cider operations and a ‘destination’ cidery.”

A timeline for the project hasn’t been set. Government approvals for construction have yet to be obtained for the site, which may require an exclusion from the Agricultural Land Reserve. A co-op representative was not immediately available to confirm this, but the purchase announcement said the co-op “will be working closely with all levels of government” to make the facility a reality.

Cost is also a factor. A competitiveness study last year said government funding could be difficult to secure. Six years ago, renewal of co-op facilities was estimated at $40 million. Construction cost increases in the intervening years will likely make the cost of the current project much higher.

With annual sales of close to $130 million, the grower-owned co-op has been diversifying its business in recent years. While it has long supplied inputs to orchardists through its subsidiary, Growers Supply Co., it also produces Broken Ladder hard cider. Most recently, in April, it launched a new line of fruit-based alcoholic beverages under the M.O. Fruitsecco brand. [BC Tree Fruits image]

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

BC Tree challenge falls short

Co-op meets with growers

Orchard sector pilots new job-matching website

Guaranteed returns for apples

BC Tree Fruit sells another property

Province sets agenda for tree fruit future

Apple marketing commission proposed

Cold snap hits Okanagan fruit growers

BC Tree Fruits prepares to sell assets, apples

Todd McMyn

BC Tree CEO builds team spirit

Staff reorganization targets leaner fruit co-op

BC Tree Fruits transition continues

Previous Post: « Abattoir operators await provincial action
Next Post: Young Agrarians land funding »

Copyright © 2023 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved