Country Life in BC reporting honoured

Country Life in BC was recognized at the annual Canadian Farm Writers Federation awards for excellence in agricultural communications in Halifax on October 5.

The paper took top honours in two categories, Production Photography and People Feature.

Photographer Kari Lynn Turner won gold for Roll Call, a photo in the January 2023 paper showing the herd at Ogilvie Stock Ranch in Kamloops falling into line as a round bale is readied to roll out on a winter day.

Nelson-based correspondent Brian Lawrence won gold in the People Feature category for “Growing opportunities for fellow farms”, a profile of Nathan Wild and Emily Woody of Confluence Farms near Castlegar published in August 2023.

August 2023 also saw publication of columnist Kathleen Gibson’s award-winning Viewpoint “Reconciliation is more than just a land deal.” The piece won bronze for opinion writing.
The winning streak continued in the September issue, with two more bronze awards.

Tracey Fredrickson’s profile “Off-the-grid organic farm thrives on efficiency,” which told the story of Gary Diers and Inanna Judd of Tipiland Organic Produce – now Argenta Farms – was the bronze recipient in the People Feature category.

Tom Walker’s technical feature, “Grasslands take carbon storage underground,” in the same paper also received a bronze award.

In the Business Economics Reporting category, associate editor Peter Mitham won bronze for his clear presentation of the financial challenges facing the dairy sector in the February 2023 paper, “Dairy farmers on the brink.”

Contributors to Country Life in BC also won honours for submissions published elsewhere.

Vancouver Island correspondent Kate Ayers won silver in the Communication Short category for her farm safety piece, “Rate of child on-farm injuries unchanged for decades,” in the Spring 2023 issue of BC Holstein News (now Western Canadian Dairy News).

The annual awards competition attracted 149 submissions from across Canada in 5 categories. A total of 48 awards were presented. Country Life in BC congratulates all the winners.

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3 hours ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

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5 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

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Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

6 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

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Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

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Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

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What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC