SALMON ARM – Hog producers in the Thompson-Okanagan are without a processor after Salmon Arm’s Rocana Meats suddenly closed in August. “It has been really, really hard for producers in that area. It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” says Small-Scale Meat Producers Association executive director and project manager Julia Smith. “Most people are …
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Milk board picks new entrant finalists
ARMSTRONG – The idea of seeing their children grow up to pursue dairy farming as a viable career was John and Candice Riemersma’s core motivation in applying for the BC Milk Marketing Board’s New Entrant Program. It also won the couple a spot among the three families selected as finalists in this year’s program, which …
Avian influenza returns
Poultry producers across the province are once more on high alert for highly pathogenic avian influenza after three positive test results in the past week. The industry went back to red level biosecurity protocols September 12 following a potential case in the Fraser Valley. The disease was confirmed at a commercial flock in Chilliwack with …
Salmon Arm abattoir closes
Many hog producers in the Thompson-Okanagan region are without a processor after Salmon Arm’s Rocana Meats suddenly closed in August. “It has been really, really hard for producers in that area. It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” says Small-Scale Meat Producers Association executive director and project manager Julia Smith. “Most people are finishing …
Peace heifer shot, butchered
The persistent problem of cattle rustling has one Peace rancher wondering why the police aren’t taking incidents more seriously. On September 6, three days after moose season opened, rancher Walt Hedges found the remains of one of his replacement heifers at the side of an oil road crossing one of his Crown land tenures. The …
Fossens recognized for innovative practices
ROCK CREEK – Ranch sustainability depends on three key strengths, according to the Fossen family: innovation, improvement and involvement. The family’s commitment to all three won them recognition this year with the presentation in June of the BC Cattlemen’s Association’s Ranch Sustainability Award. “For us, the award is not about one specific project,” says Doug …