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JULY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 6

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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.

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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.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations 👍🎉

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

Congratulations!

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

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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1 month 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.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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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...
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2 months 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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2 months 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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DAS expands to Kootenays

June 29, 2022 byTracy Fredrickson & Peter Mitham

The BC Decision Aid System, one of the best resources available for providing time-sensitive information on managing pests, is expanding to the Kootenays.

Five new provincially funded weather stations in the Creston area will collect and integrate data used to forecast insect population trends so orchardists can anticipate and respond to pest management issues.

An additional five stations funded by the Columbia Basin Trust, and enhanced with support from the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) will provide valuable climate data to beef, forage and grain producers and local governments.

The expansion is the result of a scientific climate modelling project Fields Forward Society of Creston undertook to assist local producers.

“The weather station project will both support the agriculture sector and inform response efforts to natural disaster events related to climate change,” Fields Forward says in a June 28 press release announcing the expansion. “Real-time data collected will be readily available to and utilized by local government agencies, farmers, the BC Wildfire Service, and other public agencies engaged in natural disaster response and mitigation efforts.”

BC DAS has been used in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys to maximize the efficiency of pest-management practices and fruit production since 2018 and now counts more than 360 users.

The expansion is supported with $70,000 from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, part of a three-year, $375,000 funding commitment for BC DAS, $103,900 from Columbia Basin Trust and $50,000 from the regional district.

Melissa Tesche, general manager of the Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Program, says BC DAS – which adapts technology developed in neighbouring Washington – makes the best science available to deal with pests on a farm property in a grower-friendly way.

Growers can log onto the system and request information on a specific pest or disease. The system uses historical data and current readings on temperature, moisture and other factors to determine when a pest or disease will be a problem, suggests a course of action to resolve the problem, and the best timing for the best results.

SIR uses the system to provide recommendations to growers when additional control measures are required.

Fourth-generation grower Kevin Day, co-owner of Day’s Century Growers in Kelowna, says BC DAS support’s his farm’s commitment to producing high-quality fruit and sustainable agriculture.

“It enables us to deal with the problems in a way that maintains balance between good bugs and bad bugs in the orchard, benefitting the ecosystem for all,” he says.

Similar benefits are envisioned in the Kootenays.

“Since Creston has so many microclimates, it will be helpful to predict what the weather will do in this valley,” says Freddy von Harling, manager of Piper Farms Ltd. “It will make it easier for us to make a harvest decision for hay or grain. It also will help with application of herbicides; we will not have to guess anymore what the wind and humidity will do throughout the day.”

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