WILLIAMS LAKE – An initial offering of 12 ranches totalling more than 45,000 acres by Monette Farms, one of Canada’s largest farm operators, ended without bids – a sign, according to industry sources, that uncertainty surrounding Aboriginal title is scaring off buyers. The offering of the properties last November through Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. was …
NEWS
Farm finds resilience going with the grain
AGASSIZ – A family-run mixed organic farm on Seabird Island highlights the potential for grain and other crops in the Fraser Valley, and the importance of diversification to long-term resilience. “This is the start of the really fertile valley floor land that runs all the way to Delta,” says Hannah Exley, daughter of Jim Grieshaber-Otto …
Poultry biosecurity notches down
Declining risk factors for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have prompted the BC Poultry Association to lower the industry’s biosecurity threat level from red to yellow. The decision, taken last week, is effective immediately. “While BC is no longer in an active outbreak that mandates a red-level response, risk remains elevated,” the association said in …
BCPVGA gets new general manager
BC potato growers have hired a new general manager. Jennifer Winning succeeded long-time general manager Leisa Yee in January and made initial contact with growers during the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford later in the month. Winning is no stranger to agriculture, however, having created the Food for Friends program, an initiative that connects local …
Snowpack declines – but winter’s not over
Drought isn’t top of mind for most people in the middle of winter, but staff at the province’s River Forecast Centre are keeping tabs on the snowpack, mindful of its importance to watersheds across the province. While the provincial snowpack was 107% of normal at the beginning of the year, a strong high-pressure ridge in …
Reclassification sparks farm definition debate
NANAIMO – A farm property should be taxed as a farm even if the farm operation includes value-added processing, according to a Nanaimo cidery facing a big boost to its property tax bill. Big Bang Cider sits on 17.5 acres at 1235 Nanaimo Lakes Road, a location chosen because it lies within the Agricultural Land …