New rules governing teen workers are set to take effect October 15, two years after the province asked farmers to provide input on the regulations. The new regulations give effect to Bill 8, passed in May 2019, which raised the minimum employment age from 12 to 16 years in a bid to protect young workers. …
NEWS
Province announces rodenticide restrictions
A new provincial ban on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides took effect July 21, but it will have limited impact on farmers. The ban will last 18 months with the aim of reducing harm to wildlife, through both direct poisoning and the consumption of poisoned rodents. The active ingredients in the rodenticides cause death by internal bleeding. …
Wildfires spark emergency declaration
An active, early start to the wildfire season in BC led the province to declare a state of emergency July 20, the first sparked by wildfire since 2018. Two quiet seasons have given way to one with the potential to rival the record seasons of 2017 and 2018, as high temperatures and low moisture combined …
BC Blueberry Council gets a new chair
Abbotsford blueberry grower and veterinarian Dalbir Benipal is the new chair of the BC Blueberry Council. Benipal narrowly edged out fellow grower Jason Smith at the first meeting of the council’s nine directors following the council’s annual general meeting in late June. Benipal received five votes while Smith received four. Benipal previously served as vice-chair, …
Armyworm pressure low
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 …
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 …