VERNON – This summer’s dry weather resulted in a record number of restrictions on water use across southern BC, underscoring just how tapped out some basins are. Salmon River remained at drought level 5 last month – the most severe under the province’s new six-tier drought rating system – even after the autumn rains arrived. …
NEWS
Producers silent on Columbia River Treaty impacts
VICTORIA – The recently completed public consultation on the Columbia River Treaty’s impacts on BC agriculture has come up short. “We are extremely disappointed that we only received four submissions to our request for feedback,” says Kathy Eichenberger, who is leading the Columbia River Treaty review on behalf of the province. Eichenberger acknowledges that it …
The battle continues long after the war is over
In November 1968, I worked on a maintenance project in a large Vancouver sawmill. To avoid the worst of the morning traffic on the Patullo bridge, I left home early and regularly spent the half-hour before work on my own drinking coffee in the gloomy lunchroom. I arrived one morning to the sound of weeping …
Nelson farm builds soil and local community
NELSON – One of the Nelson area’s larger market gardens, Bent Plow Farm, is a model that other farmers and agriculture enthusiasts are excited to see. About 30 people braved heavy rains September 27 to attend a field day organized by Kootenay & Boundary Farm Advisors and Young Agrarians. But if visitors huddled under umbrellas …
US approves SWD parasite
Parasitic wasps have joined battle alongside berry growers in the fight against spotted-wing drosophila. US researchers have successfully petitioned the US Department of Agriculture to permit the release of Ganaspis brasiliensis for SWD control within the US. “This permit allows mass rearing and release of these parasites throughout the USA,” a team of researchers led by …
BCAC meetings bear fruit
Representatives of agriculture organizations from across BC met with provincial cabinet ministers and staff today as part of a virtual BC Agriculture Day. With meetings continuing past 5 pm yesterday, the event organized by the BC Agriculture Council was set to include 35 meetings over two days with more than 50 farmers, ranchers and agricultural …