BC Tree Fruits Co-operative is seeking new leadership as it seeks to stay competitive in the marketplace. In late November, two years after Stan Swales took the helm CEO, the co-op posted an ad for his replacement as well as a new CFO to replace Warren Everton, who joined the co-op in February 2013. The …
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Vineyard deals
While all signs point to record grape harvests in BC and further south along the West Coast of the US, demand for Okanagan vineyard land continues. Farm Credit Canada highlighted the phenomenon in its annual report on farmland values earlier this year, with FCC senior relationship manager Amos Rossworm noting that purchases were driven by …
Ag waste reg “nearly” done
ABBOTSFORD – The BC Ministry of Environment plans to implement the new agricultural waste control regulation over several years, the ministry’s clean technologies director Chris Jenkins and hazardous waste senior policy specialist Mike Schwalb told the Mainland Milk Producers Association at its fall meeting in Abbotsford, October 24. Review of the regulation, originally adopted in 1992 …
Sweet times for BC honey producers
VICTORIA – Bees may be the new pocket pet for urban residents, quipped a speaker at the BC Honey Producers Association annual meeting and education day in Victoria on October 26, but government support is stronger than ever for the tiny but mighty insect. BCHPA membership now stands at more than 750, boosting association revenues …
Farm market banks on relationship-building
LADNER – In Delta’s recent civic election, newcomer Alicia Guichon won her council seat by a landslide. In second place for votes was veteran Lois Jackson, who ran for council after 19 years as mayor. Jackson trailed Alicia by over 1,000 votes. Guichon was unique among council candidates, and not just because at 30 years …
Drought results in record low water flows
VANDERHOOF – Producers in the Northwest and Central Interior of BC hope snowfall this winter will help recharge local aquifers. While most regions are recovering from the extremely dry conditions of early October, the improvement comes after surface water dropped to some of the lowest levels in living memory. “Stream levels were at near-historic lows,” …