Canada’s use of tariff rate quotas in the dairy sector breaches the country’s obligations under CUSMA, the trade deal that replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020, according to a settlement panel decision published this week. The decision stems from a complaint former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer filed December 9, 2020. Lighthizer claimed that Canada’s reservation …
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New year, old troubles
Weather woes and road closures continue to plague BC farmers, who entered the new year facing disruptions due to snow and ice. Arctic inflows sent temperatures across BC plummeting to record lows at the end of December, just six months after the province shattered high temperature records. Growers in the Lower Mainland still reeling from …
Insurance under scrutiny
ABBOTSFORD – BC residents suffered significant losses this year as wind, wildfire and floods walloped their farms and properties. But insurance payouts will cover just a fraction of these losses. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, total insurable losses as of mid-December totalled less than $650 million. “A brand new farm building should have …
High grain prices welcome, but harvest falls flat
DAWSON CREEK – This year’s high commodity prices should be good news for Peace River growers but extreme heat cut yields and left some producers with as little as 30% of a normal crop. “The heat dome in southern BC also hit us up north. We broke records and our crops dried right out, and …
Interior ranchers feel forgotten
PRINCETON – All hands were on deck to help residents in Abbotsford and the eastern Fraser Valley after record rainfall in mid November cut highway connections to the rest of Canada. Repair crews rushed to remove debris from major freight corridors, including Hwy 7, the Coquihalla and Hwy 1. But ranchers in the southern Interior …
Kootenay growers target winter deliveries
CASTLEGAR – With about eight weeks before their inaugural season of weekly produce box deliveries was complete, Skattebo Acres owners Mira Fahrenbruch and Matt McClelland decided to take on a new challenge by launching weekly winter boxes. But space was a bit of an issue. “You can’t just till another 100-foot bed,” says Fahrenbruch. To …