WESTWOLD – Townhall meetings as the new year gets underway will determine whether or not a beef packing plant proposed for Prince George will go ahead. If it does, it will mean changes in how the BC industry finishes cattle. Someone intimately familiar with what that could mean is BC Association of Cattle Feeders executive …
NEWS
Online platform connects producers, consumers
VANCOUVER – When entrepreneur Victor Straatman moved with his family to Vancouver from the Netherlands in summer 2015, he went online seeking grass-fed meat from a local farmer. Through a referral, he finally found a source and placed his order. But he had to meet the farmer in a North Vancouver parking lot. The farmer had …
Animal cruelty charges laid
Three parties appeared in Chilliwack provincial court this week to hear charges laid following a 2017 investigation into the abuse of chickens at farms in the Fraser Valley. Elite Farm Services Ltd., its president Dwayne Dueck, and processor Sofina Foods Inc. are charged with 38 counts of abusing animals. The charges were brought forward by …
Dairy working group meets
A working group convened to develop strategies to mitigate the impact of Canada’s new free trade agreement with the US and Mexico (CUSMA) met for the first time December 13. “Our government will continue to defend the interests of our dairy farmers and we are making sure that they are fully and fairly supported well …
BC ice wine harvest begins
BC wineries have picked approximately 135 tons of grapes for ice wine since December 5, when temperatures fell to levels required for the harvest. Twenty wineries registered an intention to produce ice wine this year with the BC Wine Authority, which regulates production. Seven plucked frozen grapes for the sweet beverage on December 5, 6 …
Ottawa invests in dairy sector
Ottawa has met criticism of its betrayal of Canada’s dairy sector in recent trade deals with fresh investment in the dairy sector. A week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed CUSMA – the Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement, as it’s known in Canada – and Dairy Farmers of Canada penned an open letter declaring it a “dark …