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September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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4 days ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

7 days ago

... See MoreSee Less

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7 days ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
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1 week ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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1 week ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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Federal tax targets homes

March 1, 2023 byPeter Mitham

Concerns are growing that a new federal tax designed to curb foreign speculation on residential real estate in Canada could take farmers by surprise.

The so-called Underused Housing Tax is part of a package of measures that took effect January 1, including a two-year ban on foreign ownership.

The new UHT could see foreign nationals who are not permanent residents charged 1% of the value of any “underused” residential property, with exemptions for vacation properties. (Vacation properties may be exempt if occupied 28 days a year or more.)

While the average Canadian citizen is excluded from paying the new tax and will be exempt from filing requirements, the same is not true for private companies, partnerships and trusts owned 90% or more by Canadians.

With 56% of farms in BC operating as incorporated entities, hundreds of farmers face an additional nine pages of paperwork as part of the residential declaration process even if no tax is owing.

This concerns St. John McCloskey, an associate with the law firm Clark Wilson in Vancouver, which has been raising the alarm about the potential risks facing property owners who hold real estate through corporate entities, including partnerships and trusts.

Declarations must be made by April 30, with the penalty for those who don’t file starting at $5,000 a year in addition to any tax owing.

Special issues face farmers, who may have two or three residences on a single parcel – homes not just for themselves, but extended family as well as workers.

McCloskey says declarations need to break out the value of each residence, something that may require the assistance of an appraiser as property assessments typically value improvements collective rather than individually.

“How do you value a piece property that has more than one residential property on it for the purposes of the Underused Home Tax?” McCloskey asks. “There’s not a good answer.”

But it’s vital for owners who are not sole proprietors to declare, because the government reserves the right to assess taxes or penalties at any time in the future.

“This means that if a taxpayer incorrectly believes that they do not have to file, their potential liability lasts forever!” a Clark Wilson bulletin notes.

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