Concessions under CUSMA, which replaced NAFTA at the beginning of July, have cost the BC dairy industry approximately $8.6 million to date. This week, through Dairy Farmers of Canada, producers called on Ottawa to announce compensation and a clear timeline for delivering the direct payments it promised the sector as a result of the new …
NEWS
Poultry plant outbreak
A fifth meat processing plant in the province has suffered an outbreak of COVID-19. The outbreak was announced October 18 by Fraser Health Authority, which identified the location as the J. & L. Beef Ltd. plant at 17565 65A Avenue in Surrey. The plant operator is Sunrise Poultry Processors Ltd. The initial case tested positive …
Milk board wants froth
A surge in complaints from baristas has prompted the BC Milk Marketing Board to ask producers to test the foaming character of their milk prior to shipment. “‘Non-foaming’ milk continues to appear periodically … and has escalated rather significantly since late August,” a notice to producers this week stated. “Coffee shops compete on the quality …
Apple growers protest in Kelowna
To raise awareness of the challenges faced by the apple growers in Okanagan, the BC Fruit Growers Association sold apples at 12 cents a pound in Kelowna on Thanksgiving weekend. BCFGA billed the sale at the Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market on October 10 the “BC Apples Farewell Tour” to highlight how low returns are forcing …
Turkey farm draws protestors
A poultry grower in Kelowna is the latest target of one of the four activists charged in the invasion of an Abbotsford hog farm last year. Amy Soranno led a protest on Thanksgiving weekend against Patton Farms Inc. in Kelowna, which is building a barn and provincially inspected Class B slaughter facility set to come …
Parties unveil agriculture platforms
While it cut funding to the agriculture ministry this year, the BC NDP is pledging to expand many of its existing initiatives for agriculture if re-elected in the October 24 election. The three planks of BC NDP agriculture programming – Grow BC, Feed BC and Buy BC – will be “strengthened,” according to the platform …