BC Tree Fruits Co-operative held its annual general meeting in Peachland on October 24, giving members a chance to meet and question the co-op’s new CEO. Kelowna supply chain management specialist Warren Sarafinchan joined the co-op at the end of September after Todd McMyn was let go. McMynn had been in the role less than …
NEWS
ALC gets an earful
DELTA – Small-lot agriculture, secondary residences and the profound disconnect between farmers, local government and the Agricultural Land Commission are emerging as common themes at townhall sessions the province launched in September to figure out how it can support farming in the Agricultural Land Reserve. The four-hour sessions featured presentations by ALC chair Jennifer Dyson, …
Neighbours raise stink over cannabis farms
LANGLEY – A year after their crop was legalized for recreational use, cannabis growers in BC are facing a challenge familiar to other agricultural sectors – greater regulation. Both municipalities and neighbours are calling on the province to adopt legislation consistent with federal regulations requiring cannabis producers to have systems that “prevent the escape of …
Giant hornets headline beekeepers’ concerns
PRINCE GEORGE – If you want to catch a bee, ask a beekeeper to help. That’s the strategy provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp used when two Asian giant hornets were spotted and captured at a Nanaimo-area apiary in September, and it’s a good thing he did. “This is a totally other creature,” van Westendorp told …
New skills needed for technology-driven agriculture
ABBOTSFORD – Canadian agriculture has the potential to generate $11 billion in revenue, Royal Bank of Canada senior vice-president John Stackhouse told a select group of industry leaders at an RBC Farmer 4.0 luncheon in Abbotsford, October 10. “The world will have to produce more food than ever before to feed people in the next …
Blue country, red cities
Monday’s federal election painted much of BC blue, with the exception being coastal ridings and the southern Interior riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay. Of the 42 ridings in the province, 17 went to the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer. Those ridings represent a predominantly rural populace. Eleven ridings voted in NDP candidates, including those on Vancouver …