The grasslands of the South Okanagan are, according to BC Parks, “one of the four most-endangered ecosystems in Canada.” They’re so significant that discussions to gather them into a national park reserve are in the works. But protecting grasslands doesn’t necessarily mean fencing them off from cattle, as the Clifton family of Keremeos has shown. …
NEWS
Ottawa funds young workers
Year-end school tours are over for most farms, and now the real work begins. While many see the annual field trips as a chance to interest students in a future career in agriculture, many more farmers are grappling with the need to get work done right now. A new report from the Canadian Agricultural Human …
ALR changes face review
Recent changes to rules governing farm residences in the Agricultural Land Reserve meet the criteria for a “systemic investigation,” says the office of the BC Ombudsperson. This what the office has told Meghan McPherson, who owns a hobby farm in the Comox Valley. McPherson reported on her discussion with the office during a meeting District …
Ranchers to build beef brand
Build the brand, then build the plant: that’s the recommendation of the steering committee handling plans for a new federally inspected beef packing plant in BC. “The vision is still to build a BC beef plant in Prince George,” plant project team member and consultant Glenn Brand told the BC Cattlemen’s Association annual general meeting …
Cherry growers ready to pick
The first firm, ripe cherries of the season are set to head to BC packinghouses in the coming days. Oliver grower Pinder Dhaliwal, president of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association, is pleased with the size and quality of the fruit. “We’ve had no drastic weather and there’s no rain forecast for the next few days, …
BC hop industry matures
BC’s hop industry faces a bright future as the industry consolidates around growers with long-term plans, but plenty of challenges remain. “We’re getting more interest and we’re also developing a number of export markets,” says Ray Bredenhof of Bredenhof Hop Farms in Abbotsford and chair of the BC Hop Growers Association. “I’m working on international …