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Current Issue:

MAY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 4

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2 weeks 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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3 weeks 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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3 weeks 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.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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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...
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3 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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1 month ago

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Foreign worker consultation planned

FILE PHOTO / MYRNA STARK LEADER

June 21, 2023 byPeter Mitham

BC Agriculture Council and the Western Agriculture Labour Initiative are preparing to survey temporary foreign workers this summer in an effort to understand how employers can improve workers’ experience and reduce complaints.

“The goal of the work is to collect anonymous information directly from workers on their experience in BC,” a bulletin circulated to fruit growers this week says. “At the end of the project, BCAC will prepare a summary report highlighting best practices and ideas to implement on farms.”

A webinar sharing preliminary perspectives from workers and gathering input from employers on the survey can help them takes place June 21.

The survey comes on the heels of a Jamaican government report released in April praising the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program following allegations of “systematic slave-like conditions” on participating farms.

A fact-finding mission found this was not the case, noting that most workers from Jamaica were proud to participate.

“The overall assessment of the conditions of the Jamaican farm workers were described as ‘good,’” the report states. “However, the team discovered pockets of poor labour and industrial relations conditions, particularly in provinces outside of Ontario.”

This includes BC, where worker satisfaction was particularly low.

Summarizing the report’s findings in Jamaica’s House of Representatives, Jamaica Labour and Social Security Minister Karl Samuda said that worker liaison services in Ontario enjoyed a 74.4% satisfaction rate versus a 6.6% negative rating.

However, only 11.3% were satisfied in British Columbia, which had a 38.7% negative rating.

“That has to be addressed and we have already taken steps to deal with that,” Samuda said.

 

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