• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

OCTOBER 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 10

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Stories In This Edition

Reprieve for water users

BCTF packinghouses on the block

Rest easy

Flower co-op celebrates 60 years

Editorial: Give us this day

Back 40: The heat is on, and hard choices are needed

Viewpoint: International journalists see the best of BC

Westwold ranchers speak out against irrigation ban

Communication critical to solve water issues

Ag Briefs: Canada loses New Zealand trade challenge

Ag Briefs: Cherry promotion promising

Reliance on foreign workers under scrutiny

IAFBC keeps growing its business

Poultry growers on edige as fall bird migrations start

ALR policy review shows room for improvement

Western corn rootworm detected in OK

On-farm slaughter expands limited options

Building a business around community

Outstanding in her field

Weather ideal for grain harvest

New project offers value-added opportunities

Autonomous seeders move forward

BC hosts national Christmas tree conference

BC fairs hit hard by post-COVID volunteer shortage

Sidebar: Fairs resume post-COVID with new challenges

Panel dishes “the real dirt on farming”

Farm Story: Good corn, like good farming, isn’t cheap

Longer trial, strong results

Tidy orchards ensure clean hazelnut harvest

DFWT blueberry rest program expands east

Ditching the plastic mulch

Compost tease: learning through trial and error

Woodshed: Kenneth bets the water dowzer double or nothing

Quesnel youth awarded 4-H scholarship

Harvest thanks

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

2 days ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

#BCAg
View Comments
  • Likes: 43
  • Shares: 8
  • Comments: 9

Comment on Facebook

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

View more comments

3 days ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

www.countrylifeinbc.com

KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

1 month 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Arts leads BCFGA forward

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 8
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

1 month 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Milk board undertakes review

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

1 month 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

BC wool value, volume drop

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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...
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 4
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Subscribe | Advertise

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook

Communication critical to solve water issues

Government silence in Westwold a study in crisis mismanagement

Good forage is in short supply across BC this year thanks to a province-wide drought, and irrigation bans imposed by the province are drawing fire from producers. SCHWEB FAMILY CATTLE

October 1, 2023 byTom Walker

WESTWOLD — The Salmon River watershed is a complex ecosystem. A variety of water use interests, long-term environmental impacts and minimal mitigation efforts make the river problematic.

A key issue is the river’s importance as a salmon-bearing stream, which makes it especially vulnerable to regulations designed to protect aquatic life.

But the watershed is also the sole water source for scores of agricultural users, including dairy, beef and forage operations as well as smaller mixed farms and residences. Salmon Lake, off Douglas Lake Road, is one of the origins of the river but there is no dam to control outflows.

Another concern is forest management. The entire region has been impacted by logging as well as the White Rock Lake wildfire in 2021, resulting in reduced upland water-holding capacity and much larger and more intense spring freshets.

The combination of issues isn’t unique to the Salmon River, but they’ve come to a head here with particular intensity over the past three years. Ranchers and farmers are especially concerned at the apparent lack of research presented to justify a curtailment order delivered to forage operations in the lower Salmon River watershed on August 15.

The order, as well as a follow up press release from the BC Ministry of Forests, claimed the decision to restrict irrigation was “science-based.” Streamflows had fallen below 1,270 litres per second, according to the order, and action was needed to protect fish populations.

The decision was in line with reports dating back to the 1970s which said low streamflow thresholds were key to protecting the local salmon run here, as in other sensitive watersheds around the province.

But the province failed to respond to multiple requests from water licensees for a meeting to review the decision, which would have given farmers an opportunity to understand the underlying science. Instead, messaging from the province thanked them for taking steps to reduce water use and defer the curtailment order, which was presented as a last resort to save the fish.

Yet a 110-page report on the conditions, trends and issues completed for the Salmon River Watershed Roundtable in 1995 provided a thorough overview of the problems and made a number of recommendations.

Of chief importance was a study of the “water budget,” the key supply and demand levels for the watershed as well as the relationships between surface water, groundwater, the region’s aquifers, adjacent wetlands and the likelihood of some valley water draining south toward the Okanagan. Groundwater licensing, regulation and user fees, were also recommended.

The report recommended exploring additional water storage capacity, as well as water conservation. The protection and restoration of salmon habitat was also recommended.

One recommendation from the 1995 report was partially carried out.

“My husband was contracted to work on riverbank restoration,” says Westwold rancher Trudy Schweb. “He helped to install rip-rap and plant shade trees along the river banks, but the funding ran out and the project was never completed.”

BC Cattlemen’s Association general manger Kevin Boon says his organization has been discussing headwater control with government for years.

“What I don’t understand is the lack of involvement from DFO,” he says. “They are responsible for salmon. Why are they not investing in mitigation projects?”

Irrigation technology has improved significantly and many hay fields along the valley are watered by the latest pivot systems, but they are expensive.

“We would love to buy a pivot system but it is not within our budget right now,” says Schweb.

While the province introduced a $20 million agricultural water infrastructure program to assist producers expand water storage and undertake irrigation improvements, it was quickly oversubscribed.

Some producers have criticized the program for requiring costly studies that both complicate and double the cost of improvements. For her part, Schweb thinks the money would be better spent developing headwater storage that could help control spring flows and release water later in the season to support spawning salmon.

Regardless of where money is spent, none of the solutions are going to be cheap.

“There is a huge investment needed in water management and infrastructure for both food security and management of all of our other needs including fish,” says Boon, noting that irrigation is crucial to forage producers, who must water fields immediately following a cut in order to foster the next crop.

“It’s like starting a new lawn, the grass needs to be watered immediately,” he says.

Boon believes a local watershed council would help bring all sides to the table to develop a comprehensive plan for the management of the watershed. Similar work is underway in the Koksilah and has been recommended for the Tsolum, both of which were also subject to  curtailment orders this summer.

“[Build] a plan for required storage and management to insure that there is adequate water available when it is needed for fish habitat that is not reliant on or detrimental to the investment that has been made by agriculture,” Boon says.

It would also go a long way to addressing the lack of communication that’s met the concerns of Westwold producers this year. Rather than sending natural resource officers in bulletproof vests to ticket and fine frustrated farmers, listening to their concerns and providing a direct response would go a long way towards garnering community support.

“It’s been more than a month. If they would just meet with us, I know we could come up with some ideas to support both the farmers and the salmon,” Schweb says.

Previous Post: « Okanagan egg producers chosen
Next Post: BC pumpkins weigh in »

Copyright © 2025 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved