ABBOTSFORD – Canada has yet to follow the lead of Washington State and move to declare Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) a quarantine pest. On April 7, Washington officials filed for all species in the genus Vespa to be placed on the list of quarantined pests for the state. The hornets were first reported in …
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Building soil structure with organic compost
SURREY – A three-year-old biofuel facility in the heart of the Lower Mainland has ramped up compost production, creating a new soil amendment source for BC growers. Owned by the City of Surrey and operated under a 25-year contract with Convertus, the Surrey biofuel facility is the first closed-loop organic waste facility in North America. …
Farmer-chef connections still paying off
FORT STEELE – The province’s showcase of local food producers has been on hold during the pandemic, but the first two Every Chef Needs a Farmer, Every Farmer Needs a Chef events continue to repay attendees. Held in 2018 and 2019, the conferences attracted a total of 500 farmers, chefs and food service professionals from …
Flight ban strands workers
The Canadian government’s 30-day ban on passenger flights from India and Pakistan to stop the spread of the COVID-19 B.1.617 variant, could have a big impact on Fraser Valley farmers. “A number of our workers are in India and they don’t anticipate coming back anytime soon,” says Satwinder Bains, owner of Westberry Farms, a blueberry …
Veterinarians face shortage
Veterinarians are the latest to complain about a shortage of skilled workers in agriculture. BC faces the worst shortage of veterinarians in Canada, according to a 2019 labour market study by the Society of BC Veterinarians. The gap is approximately 100 vets a year, affecting both small and large animal care and limiting the support …
Farm injury rate falls
BC farms have been working hard to stay safe, an accomplishment AgSafeBC chair Don Dahr says everyone can take credit for. “With more than 24,000 workers in the agriculture subsector in 2019, a reduction in the number of time-lost claims is something everyone of us should be proud of,” he told the association’s annual meeting …