With the application deadline for a new round of Buy BC funding closing next week, many past recipients are giving thanks for the program’s support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm and Meadery in Abbotsford had to adapt quickly when the pandemic cancelled all workshops, tours and events on the farm. Through Buy …
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Bee tech team
BC agriculture minister Lana Popham had a honey of a gift for beekeepers at their semi-annual meeting and education day on March 20. Popham announced $100,000 in funding for the first year of a technology transfer program, something the BC Honey Producers Association has been seeking for years. BC is the last province in Canada …
Hornet surveillance plans outlined
Surveillance plans are in place to keep tabs on the Asian Giant Hornet this year, in the hope of preventing it from gaining a foothold in the Fraser Valley and elsewhere. Nicknamed the “murder hornet” by the media, the Vespa mandarinia can be up to 5 cm in length. A swarm can destroy a bee …
Douglas Lake wins appeal
The BC Court of Appeal has sided with Douglas Lake Cattle Co., overturning an earlier ruling granting fishers access to Minnie and Stoney Lakes. The new judgment also firmly rejects claims of any public right to cross private lands to access Crown property in BC, often termed “right to roam.” BC Supreme Court Justice Joel …
SlaughterRight training launched by ag ministry
VICTORIA – SlaughterRight is the province’s new, mandatory training program for on-farm meat plants following consolidation of meat inspection within the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. The agriculture ministry took over inspection of D and E class facilities December 1. Regional health authorities previously oversaw training and inspection. “[The ministry] is now implementing …
Ranchers plead with province to address elk issue
KAMLOOPS – Ranchers are asking the province to tighten management of elk populations as the ungulates become an increasing nuisance to agriculture. “We believe that elk populations are growing in certain regions,” says Elaine Stovin, assistant general manager with the BC Cattlemen’s Association. Vanderhoof rancher and wildlife biologist Olin Albertson with the Nechako Regional Cattlemen’s …