Four years after an unusual outbreak of true armyworm on Vancouver Island and in the Fraser Valley, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries staff continue to monitor for the pest and other threats to the region’s forage crops. Provincial entomologist Tracy Hueppelsheuser noted that trapping caught just 10 true armyworm moths on Vancouver Island …
NEWS
Province allows secondary homes
The province has ended more than two years of uncertainty for property owners in the Agricultural Land Reserve by allowing them to have a secondary residence without seeking permission from the Agricultural Land Commission. “The new residential flexibility will provide ALR property owners with the relief of housing security,” said Meghan McPherson, a Comox Valley landowner …
Islands Trust defers policy statement
Gulf Islands farmers have some breathing room to digest and comment on sweeping changes proposed for the Islands Trust policy statement. Trustees soundly defeated first reading of the bylaw at a special meeting on July 8, with just six in favour and 16 opposed. Instead, trustees voted 24 to one to defer consideration of first …
BC farmers have public trust
BC Agriculture Council’s fourth annual consumer research survey suggests consumers’ perceptions of farmers, the agriculture industry and the province’s food supply chain have strengthened since 2018. A key finding from this year’s survey is that British Columbians continue to have very positive views of BC farmers. The results show that 96% of respondents believe that …
Livestock producers count losses
Ranchers are on alert as more than 200 active wildfires burn across BC, many sparked following last week’s intense heat. “We are moving into an unprecedented situation with fires. It’s 2017 on steroids in terms of fire activity. It’s so dry out there,” says BC Cattlemen’s Association general manager Kevin Boon. Some ranchers have suffered …
Peace whipped by wild winds
The record heat wave that baked many parts of BC last week also created turbulent conditions for crop farmers in the Peace region, where temperatures exceeded 36 degrees Celsius. The high pressure system unleashed dramatic winds of more than 100 km an hour that swept down from the mountains. By the time the winds reached …