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MAY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 4

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2 weeks ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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3 weeks ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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3 weeks ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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3 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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1 month ago

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Cattle industry seeks cash

May 6, 2020 byTom Walker

There was some hope for the BC cattle industry in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on May 5 of $252 million to support agriculture and food processing.

Almost half the funds, $125 million, are earmarked for AgriRecovery initiatives to support producers facing additional costs as a result of COVID-19. The funds include $50 million for a cattle set-aside program aimed at supporting feedlots across Canada unable to move cattle to processing plants.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association estimates there are currently 100,000 head of cattle finished and ready for market with nowhere to go. The number is increasing by more than 6,000 every day.

“This falls well short of what we need,” says CCA president Bob Lowe, noting that industry is spending $400,000 a day to maintain animals until processing capacity frees up. “We already used up $50 million a couple of weeks ago.”

The BC Association of Cattle Feeders says the slowdown is affecting cattle that should be moving to feedlots from backgrounding operations. Producers who have no other options are selling at a loss; ranchers with options are holding off.

“We have operators who are putting cattle out to grass that normally wouldn’t,” says Andrea van Iterson, the association’s executive director.

AgriRecovery is a joint federal-provincial program and van Iterson says her members are talking with the province on how it might support cattle feeders.

“We are having discussions with business risk management and the agriculture ministry to ensure that however the money is administered to the province, our membership’s needs will be represented and, in some way, met,” she says.

The second-largest portion of the funds, $77.5 million, will create an Emergency Processing Fund to help food producers, including meat plants, access more personal protective equipment for workers and expand or upgrade facilities.

“We are looking at how to tap into this fund and what it will cover to improve productivity,” says Nova Woodbury, executive director of the BC Association of Abattoirs. “I’m hoping it will include things such as new equipment and expanded processing room, as well as cooler and freezer capacity.”

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