SPALLUMCHEEN – Merritt’s loss is the North Okanagan’s gain as the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association shifts its focus from a Nicola Valley abattoir to a butcher hub based in Spallumcheen. “We were able to pivot funds from the Nicola project to invest in the North Okanagan,” says SSMPA executive director Julia Smith. “This will be …
LIVESTOCK
BC control zones revoked
The turn of the year brought a positive turn of events in the BC poultry sector’s battle against highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. Two primary control zones (PCZs) in the province were revoked by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, including one in Langley on January 5 and second in the District of Kent on January …
Rangeland forage allocation studied
A new report from the BC’s Forest Practices Board has identified opportunities to improve range management through forage measurement and allocation across the province. “Government has developed good guidelines for measuring forage, but they aren’t consistently used,” FBP board member Gerry Grant said in releasing the report on December 5. In addition, the province lacks …
Ben Janzen recognized for service
High production costs, narrow margins and market opportunities were key topics of discussion at the BC Dairy Industry Conference in Vancouver last week. A pre-conference meeting of producers with national industry representatives underscored the severe challenges BC producers are facing as incomes fall short of production costs and interest rates show no sign of abating …
BC FIRB gets a good egg
BC Egg Marketing Board chair Gunta Vitins has been appointed vice-chair of the BC Farm Industry Review Board, succeeding Al Sakalauskas, who succeeds her at the egg board. The two traded places November 1, with the appointments lasting for a term of two years. BC FIRB chair Peter Donkers welcomed Vitins to the board, noting …
Mink farmers sue government
The mink are gone, but not the legal challenges. The first livestock sector shut down by the province is continuing its fight against a November 2021 order that immediately ended breeding activities and require the removal of all live mink from the province’s nine farms by this past April. The industry, which produced 318,000 mink …