A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward. Summerland grower Adrian Arts was named BCFGA’s executive director on April 24 following the departure of former general manager Melissa Tesche, who left to head the Okanagan Basin Water …
NEWS
BC mourns sheep advocate
A tireless advocate for the BC sheep sector has died. Barbara Ydenberg of Wind’s Reach Farm in Langley passed away April 26 following an incredibly short battle with cancer. Born in California, Ydenberg moved to BC with her family to a farm near Fort Langley in 1971. She joined Pony Club and rode in many …
Bringing mental wellness forward
“Employees must stop crying before returning to work.” The decal, spotted recently in the washroom of a small-town veterinary clinic alongside the soap dispenser, may be the best mental wellness notice out there. With its echoes of the mandatory hand-washing signs in many workplaces, it addresses the many other reasons beside bodily imperatives that send …
Landowners push back against rail trail plans
ARMSTRONG – The 50-kilometre planned Shuswap North Okanagan rail trail from Sicamous to Armstrong remains contentious, with a conflict between landowners and regional districts over the wording and scope of easements being turned over to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC). The rail trail is an initiative of the Regional District of the North Okanagan (RDNO), …
Vet urges dairies to be vigilant against HPAI
ABBOTSFORD – The devastation California dairy herds are experiencing from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has BC dairy producers taking note. There are no reported cases of HPAI-infected dairy or beef cattle in Canada to date, but with borders still open to the free movement of non-lactating animals and BC at the northern end of …
Reminiscences of a honeyed career
CRANBROOK – Those involved in the art of keeping bees often mention a lifelong attraction to the insects. For BC provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp, a Grade 3 school trip sparked his interest. “Apparently, it made such an impression on me, I couldn’t stop talking about them for weeks,” van Westendorp told the BC Honey …