Gala event celebrates success

Agricultural excellence was celebrated at this year’s BC Agriculture Council gala on January 28, with 400 households tuning in after a day of seminars as part of the Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association short course alongside the Pacific Agriculture Show.

Bev Whitta, Gary Funk and Carmen Wakeling were honoured for their contributions to BC agriculture and work to reach out beyond the sector.

Nanoose Bay poultry farmer Bev Whitta received the Scotiabank Champion of Agriculture award for her development of the Poultry in Motion trailer on Vancouver Island.

Gary Funk of MEI Schools in Abbotsford received the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation’s Outstanding Teacher award for his work spearheading MEI’s ecological studies program. It has grown to include a 2,000-square-foot greenhouse, gardens, orchard and on-site composting that introduces elementary and secondary students to agriculture and related studies.

BCAC’s Award for Excellence in Agriculture Leadership went to Carmen Wakeling of Eatmore Sprouts & Greens in Courtenay. Wakeling’s leadership within her sector and a collaborative approach that emphasizes respect and inclusivity was hailed as an example for others.

However, all growers deserved a round of applause in the opinion of keynote speaker Rex Murphy, who noted that never once last year did Canadians have to worry about a lack of food. He felt the sector needed to be a higher priority with the country’s leadership. However, spending during the pandemic would likely result in less support afterwards as governments tried to rein in a federal debt recently estimated at close to $1 billion.

Speakers during the Pacific Agriculture Show frequently referenced Murphy’s comments. A total of 1,400 visitors, exclusive of exhibitors and speakers, registered to attend the show. This was approximately 20% of the usual in-person attendance.

“We were happy with our number,” said show organizer Jim Shepard.

Attendance in many short-course sessions up versus previous years, impressing the LMHIA board and session chairs.

The silent auction that raises funds for the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation each year received $13,255 in bids. This exceeded last year’s tally of $11,113.

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1 day 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/]

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5 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

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6 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.

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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.

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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.