DELTA – BC’s legal cannabis crop is reaching new highs, ranking as the top cash crop by value – ahead of both fresh fruits and vegetables. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, and since then it has become a major agricultural crop. Last year, licensed cannabis producers contributed $10.6 billion to Canada’s GDP. In BC, Statistics …
NEWS
Restaurant connections fuel farm’s growth
LADNER – Growth is on the agenda for Ladner’s Vive le Veg Farm, where owners TJ and Olivia McWilliam have a new baby and have nearly doubled the size of their market garden to two acres. Since starting the farm in 2021 on a quarter acre leased from the Malenstyn family, the McWilliams have grown …
Land Commission lays off staff
With no budget increase this year, the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is laying off six staff to make ends meet. “Ongoing financial constraints and the requirement to operate within the approved budget have required the ALC to reduce its staffing complement,” ALC chair Jennifer Dyson says in a March 24 letter to agriculture sector organizations, …
Vancouver Island attracts small-lot buyers
Small-lot growers and hobby farmers helped make Vancouver Island one of the most active farmland markets in the province last year, with demand boosting values by 5.3%. “Demand was high for 10 to 20-acre homesteads, driven by part-time farmers, which resulted in rising values for smaller parcels. Larger farms had a limited market,” Farm Credit …
Province appoints new apiculturist
With beekeepers preparing their colonies for spring, the province has officially announced Abigail Chapman as successor to former provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp. BC chief veterinary officer Dr. Theresa Burns made the announcement March 18, officially confirming Chapman’s selection. Word of an appointment circulated at the BC Honey Producers Association annual conference last fall, but …
Board finds overgrazing rules unenforceable, unmeasurable
MERRITT – A BC Forest Practices Board investigation has found instances of non-compliance related to overgrazing have damaged open grasslands in the Mine pasture, part of the Coutlee Range Unit near Merritt. The investigation was initiated after a complaint by two of six range agreement holders who share grazing rights in the Coutlee Range Unit …