The flooding of Peace farmland for the Site C reservoir has been pushed back till next year, but funds continue to flow to projects in the region from the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund created to offset its impacts. The fund’s board of directors has approved $107,155 in grants to six projects that support …
NEWS
Province considers farmland tax
ABBOTSFORD – Unused farmland could be the next front in the province’s battle against real estate speculators. Citing the precedent of the speculation and vacancy tax the province levies on underused housing, BC Premier David Eby said the province is considering applying a version of the tax to underused farmland in the ALR. “There’s a …
BC agriculture loses a champion
Veteran farm journalist and Country Life in BC editor emeritus David Schmidt has died. Schmidt passed away unexpectedly in Chilliwack, November 20. A cause of death has not been released. Raised on a mixed farm in Chilliwack, Schmidt was the face of Country Life in BC for decades as he diligently covered producers meetings across …
Flood recovery in hand
Two years after the atmospheric rivers of November 2021 led to catastrophic flooding and landslides across southern BC, cutting off farms and communities for weeks, those hit hardest continue to be grateful for the support that helped them get back into production. A series of roundtables ultimately pegged “extraordinary” losses to agriculture – those not …
Cherry growers weigh trade complaint
BC cherry growers took a beating on price last season as cheap California and Washington fruit flooded the market. But whether or not the industry seeks an anti-dumping order is up in the air, with greater investment in domestic marketing possibly yielding greater benefits. “Prices really crashed last July,” explains BC Fruit Growers Association general …
Hazelnuts are an opportunity for Kootenay growers
ERICKSON – Hazelnut production was the focus of a field day Kootenay and Boundary Farm Advisors organized September 30 at two Creston Valley farms. Led by BC Hazelnut Growers Association president Zachary Fleming, approximately 15 participants from around the Kootenays saw both a fledgling planting barely two years old and an established farm in production …