The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is urging farmers to complete a survey regarding potential changes to how royalties are levied on seeds for cereal crops in Canada. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency launched a public consultation last winter to gauge feedback on two options for collecting royalties on saved seed. …
NEWS
ALC needs local governments
The linchpin of farmland protection in BC is local government, according to the head of the Agricultural Land Commission. “The commission can’t really do anything without local government,” Kim Grout, the commission’s CEO told a meeting in Merville last week that kickstarted a seven-week consultation on how the province can better support farmers and farming …
Raising a stink
Cannabis farms are facing mounting pressure to comply with federal regulations requiring them to have systems in place that “prevent the escape of odours.” A resolution from Lake Country that’s endorsed by the Southern Interior Local Government Association is coming before the Union of BC Municipalities’ annual convention this week asking the province to adopt …
Record high pork stocks
Chinese consumers eat 88 pounds of pork a year, more than anyone else in the world, but a trade war means producers from North America won’t be able to feed that market – and they’ll have to deal with rising inventories of their own in the interim. China is home to more than half the …
ALC steps up compliance efforts
New hires at the Agricultural Land Commission are leading to stronger protections for farmland in BC. The commission now employs seven compliance and enforcement staff, with the latest two being added this year. Staff are now stationed in regions across the province, a shift from three years ago when two staff based in Burnaby were …
Rains wash away burn bans
The return of wet weather across much of BC has washed away extremely dry conditions across much of the province, and most open fire prohibitions. While growers on the South Coast have received a month’s worth of rain in recent days, hampering harvest, government scientists deemed conditions right for removing restrictions on open fires in …