VERNON – With limited provincial resources, haskap berry producers must forge their own paths toward business viability and success through value-added products and direct-to-consumer marketing. “I didn’t want to make a mistake and pick something that’s really hard, which is kind of ironic because I ended up with something really hard,” says Indigo Valley Farm …
NEWS
Province to oversee livestock welfare
The province is poised to assume responsibility for farmed animal welfare in BC, establishing a new division within the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food to take over from the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Policing of animal welfare, including that of farmed animals, has been the statutory responsibility of the …
AI hit chick placement
A glimpse of just how hard highly pathogenic avian influenza hit the BC poultry sector last fall is seen in Statistics Canada data related to the placement of chicks and poults. Data released last week for the period through February indicates a sharp drop in placements in October and November at the height of infections, …
Veles continues with BC Veg
Natalie Veles has been reappointed as an independent commissioner with the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission. Veles was one of two independent commissioners appointed in early 2022 following a governance review that aimed for a more accountable and diverse board at the commission. Veles was selected alongside Craig Evans to serve following a competitive application process. …
Contracts cancelled for beekeepers
Weather is often a significant issue for beekeepers as it can have a direct impact on colony survival. But this past January’s freeze event will also have an indirect effect, killing off a major source of revenue for Interior beekeepers as well as a source of spring foraging for their bees. The freeze event January …
Triple-whammy for farm income
BC farmgate sales are set to rise 2% this year to $4.8 billion, but net cash income will drop 12% due to a 24% decline in program payments. This will push total net income even further into the red, with the sector set to losing $304.9 million this year following a loss of $221.6 million …