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JUNE 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 5

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2 weeks ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations 👍🎉

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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2 weeks ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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2 months ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 months ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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Bee losses significant but not extreme

June 15, 2022 bySandra Tretick

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 when he spoke to Country Life in BC.

“Essentially, it turns out our winter mortality has not been as outlandish or extreme or worrisome as it has been reported in other provinces,” says van Westendorp. “Last year we [lost] 32%, and this year we [lost] 32% again. We perhaps have squeezed through this whole debacle here in British Columbia better than most other provinces.”

The picture looks far bleaker further east and there have been reports of terrible losses far beyond the norm.

Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, says losses in Manitoba and Quebec will likely top 60%. This will push the national average higher than it was last year (23.2%), but how far it exceeds the five-year average (32.6%) won’t be known until the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists releases its report in mid-July. The BC numbers feed into this report.

BC losses averaged 30% over the previous five winters, ranging from a low of 20.3% two years ago to a high of 34.3% four years ago. This contrasts sharply with average winter losses of 10-12% in the decades before 1990, when the varroa mite arrived in the province. Since then, losses have steadily increased.

Even though losses this past winter are within the five-year range, van Westendorp says it will be painful for the industry to absorb and rebuild their colony numbers.

He notes that there is a “whole hodgepodge of different causes” for the losses, but beekeepers cited weather, poor queens, weak colonies going into winter and ineffective mite control as the top four reasons.

There are about 4,500 beekeepers around BC, but the overwintering survey is limited to those that operate at least 25 colonies. This gives van Westendorp a dataset of approximately 300 beekeepers.

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