BEAVERDELL – An analysis of nearly 500 groundwater licences the province has issued under the Water Sustainability Act reveals sharp inconsistencies in what’s being required of owners. Sandra Ryan and partner Bill Di Pasquale are small-scale forage producers in Beaverdell. They registered their well and this past March received a conditional groundwater licence for a …
NEWS
Province expands slaughter licences
PORT ALBERNI – The BC Ministry of Agriculture has announced the opening of three new regions for class D on-farm slaughter licences. Farmers within the Regional District of Alberni-Clayoquot, as well as electoral area D in Central Kootenay and electoral area H in Fraser-Fort George Regional District, will now be eligible to apply for class …
Small on-farm dairy processors raise concerns about systemic inequities
KAMLOOPS – Two small dairies are hoping there’s room in supply management for an alternative way of doing business that will keep on-farm processors viable into the future. Laura Hunter of Blackwell Dairy in Kamloops and Erin Harris of Kootenay Meadows Farm in the Creston Valley reached out on Facebook recently seeking support for ideas …
Cidermakers give fresh purpose to island orchards
PENDER ISLAND – Katie Selbee and Matthew Vasilev of Twin Island Cider on Pender Island have a business as unique and authentic as the cider they produce, taking apples from century-old orchards on the Gulf Islands and fermenting them traditionally with naturally occurring yeasts in their farm-based cidery. They started just four years ago after …
Pandemic highlights SAWP improvements
British Columbia’s response to COVID-19 has set an example for other provinces in managing seasonal farm workers this year, but Mexico’s consul-general in Vancouver says an overhaul of the program remains necessary. “British Columbia has done exceptional things,” Berenice Díaz Ceballos told Country Life in BC, singling out the province’s decision to fund housing and …
Cherries face the pits
BC cherry growers face a second straight year of record losses thanks to severe cold in January and a late spring frost. The two cold weather events have resulted in the 2020 harvest on track to be down more than 40% from normal levels. BC’s Production Insurance program has received 296 claims for yield loss out …