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.

All content on this website is copyrighted, and cannot be republished or reproduced without permission.

7 hours ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments

Likes: 1
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

12 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 20
Shares: 7
Comments: 0

4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 17
Shares: 1
Comments: 0

Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 1
Comments: 3

There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.