VICTORIA – When flooding hit Sumas Prairie last month, years of efforts by the BC Dairy Association to prepare producers for disaster paid off. Working with the provincial government, the association developed an emergency planning workbook for members. A template pulls together key information producers should have at hand in the event of an emergency, …
NEWS
Province sets agenda for tree fruit future
KELOWNA – The province released 19 recommendations on November 12 outlining a plan to stabilize BC’s troubled tree fruit sector, the culmination of a nine-month process launched in February at the annual convention of the BC Fruit Growers Association. “BCFGA is supportive and observe that the government recommendations have taken account of difficult times in …
Frustration over “timber-centric” range bill
VERNON – Frustration filled Werner Stump’s voice as he addressed the North Okanagan Livestock Association on November 15 regarding the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), which the province wants to amend. “You have heard me talk about this for quite a while and unfortunately I don’t have good news,” he says. “There has been …
Christmas tree growers face a grim future
CHILLIWACK – BC residents should be able to find their annual Christmas tree this year, but the annual pilgrimage to the tree lot stands to become more challenging. Art Loewen, founder of Pine Meadows Tree Farms in Chilliwack, is a past president of the Canadian Christmas Trees Association and has been growing trees since 1970. …
Catastrophic flooding
ABBOTSFORD – Unexpected. Unprecedented. Catastrophic. These are a few of the words officials have used to describe the rains and flooding that hit southern BC in November. The intensity of the weather system that dumped more than 100 mm of rain on Abbotsford on November 14 set a new record, and saw the province rank …
Mortalities less than expected
A clearer picture is emerging of livestock losses as a result of last week’s flooding and landslides in the Lower Mainland and southern Interior. The good news is, it’s not all bad. A preliminary assessment by the BC Dairy Association this week indicates that 500 cattle perished on Sumas Prairie, a fraction of the approximately …