• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Cart
  • Checkout

Primary Sidebar

Current Issue:

AUGUST 2026
Vol. 112 Issue 8

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Loading form…

Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

1 day ago

The committee of MLAs charged with setting priorities for the next provincial budget is recommending regular, annual funding for water storage infrastructure associated with food production, including for engineering inspections, maintenance and upgrades. The recommendation builds on the BC Cattlemen's Association's recommendation of an annual allocation of $5 million for water storage infrastructure related to food production, noting that it could also support resilience in the face of climate-related events. While the province has allocated $120 million for agricultural water infrastructure, agriculture minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC this week that other ministries and the federal government will need to be involved in funding future p#BCAgts#BCAgCAg

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

The committee of MLAs charged with setting priorities for the next provincial budget is recommending regular, annual funding for water storage infrastructure associated with food production, including for engineering inspections, maintenance and upgrades. The recommendation builds on the BC Cattlemens Associations recommendation of an annual allocation of $5 million for water storage infrastructure related to food production, noting that it could also support resilience in the face of climate-related events. While the province has allocated $120 million for agricultural water infrastructure, agriculture minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC this week that other ministries and the federal government will need to be involved in funding future projects.

#BCAg

#BCAg
View Comments
  • Likes: 23
  • Shares: 6
  • Comments: 3

Comment on Facebook

A typical small-to-medium farming operation featuring a house, main barn, and machine shed generally has around 8,000 to 12,000 square feet of total roof surface. The Okanagan Valley is one of the driest regions in Canada, averaging roughly 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) of annual precipitation. Storing a full year's collected rainwater from those roofs yields roughly 262,500 litres. In the three regional districts that make up the Okanagan valley proper (North Okanagan, Central Okanagan, and Okanagan-Similkameen), the 2021 Statistics Canada Census of Agriculture records roughly 3,100 total farms. Multiply that number by 262,500 litres of harvested rainwater equals 813.75 million litres of water saved per year. Capturing that volume of water across every farm roof in the region would significantly ease peak summer pumping pressure on local groundwater aquifers and Okanagan Lake.

Fantastic!! We will work hard to be involved and do what we can as well as a collective group on the Salmon River!

Absolutely! Long over due and very welcomed. Let's make this happen.

1 day ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 days ago

About 40 community members gathered at Silver Creek Community Hall near Salmon Arm last Thursday to discuss ways to improve water availability for both farms and spawning salmon. While the province has since rescinded a fish protection order for the watershed that shut down irrigation, future risks to water access remain top of mind. "We are here because water matters to each of us," says rancher and organizer Trudy Schweb. Farmland Riparian Interface Stewardship Program manager Lee Hesketh outlined the potential for upland water storage while Rob Dinwoodie highlighted cost-shared funding opportunities through the Environmental Farm Plan program for riparian assessments, irrigation efficiency upgrades and other water-related projects available to producers. Photo credit | Facebook/Trudy Schweb

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

About 40 community members gathered at Silver Creek Community Hall near Salmon Arm last Thursday to discuss ways to improve water availability for both farms and spawning salmon. While the province has since rescinded a fish protection order for the watershed that shut down irrigation, future risks to water access remain top of mind. We are here because water matters to each of us, says rancher and organizer Trudy Schweb. Farmland Riparian Interface Stewardship Program manager Lee Hesketh outlined the potential for upland water storage while Rob Dinwoodie highlighted cost-shared funding opportunities through the Environmental Farm Plan program for riparian assessments, irrigation efficiency upgrades and other water-related projects available to producers. Photo credit | Facebook/Trudy Schweb

#BCAg
View Comments
  • Likes: 36
  • Shares: 4
  • Comments: 4

Comment on Facebook

Salmon River Watershed Roundtable should be looked into again.

Well done my girl,the voice of Silver Creek ranchers and more

Thanks for covering this🌟

2 days ago

The BC Fruit Growers Association is urging Greater Vernon Water and the Regional District of North Okanagan to halt water shut-offs hitting 2,100+ acres of Okanagan orchards mid-season. With losses potentially topping $250 million, fruit growers say decisions of this scale demand a coordinated plan with farmers and the province — not one-sided cuts. They’re not the only producers affected by this year’s dry conditions.

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

Cash Flows

www.countrylifeinbc.com

VERNON – Water restrictions intensified across the southern Interior in late July, with record low stream flows clouding the cash outlook for ranches and orchards. Fourteen agricultural water users...
View Comments
  • Likes: 5
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

Food should ALWAYS come first. Allow the farmers their water. My grandad watered the apples by flume from the mountain. Let’s get on with AG and get out of the way!

3 days ago

The BC Fruit Growers Association has joined Apples Canada, a new national voice for provincial apple organizations in BC, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Charles Stevens of Ontario chairs the new group, an evolution of the apple working group within Fruit & Vegetable Growers Canada (FVGC), the new group will tackle production, sustainability, research and policy issues as well as advocate for market access in partnership with FVGC. It follows the creation of the Greenhouse Produce Alliance of Canada earlier this year, which replaced the former greenhouse vegetable working group. The berry and field vegetable sectors will continue to maintain working groups with FVGC, while the long-estblished Canadian Potato Council serves the interests of potato growers under the FVGC umbrella.

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

The BC Fruit Growers Association has joined Apples Canada, a new national voice for provincial apple organizations in BC, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Charles Stevens of Ontario chairs the new group, an evolution of the apple working group within Fruit & Vegetable Growers Canada (FVGC), the new group will tackle production, sustainability, research and policy issues as well as advocate for market access in partnership with FVGC. It follows the creation of the Greenhouse Produce Alliance of Canada earlier this year, which replaced the former greenhouse vegetable working group. The berry and field vegetable sectors will continue to maintain working groups with FVGC, while the long-estblished Canadian Potato Council serves the interests of potato growers under the FVGC umbrella.

#BCAg
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Subscribe | Advertise

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook

Government funding under discussion

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada minister Marie-Claude Bibeau

May 4, 2022 byPeter Mitham

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be the focal point of the next agricultural policy framework when the five-year Canadian Agricultural Partnership ends in 2023.

Provincial and territorial ministers met with their federal counterpart Marie-Claude Bibeau this week to check in prior to the annual in-person conference scheduled for Saskatoon in July.

Bibeau told Country Life in BC that she expects the new policy framework to be signed in July.

“A significant part of the programming will have a direct impact on emission reduction,” she says.

She said it’s still too early to pin a value on the policy framework. The current framework set forth programming worth approximately $3 billion.

“We’re still working on the dollar figure,” she says, noting that the key goal right now is agreeing on common objectives for emission reductions. “It’s too early to share anything regarding the framework.”

This week’s meeting also discussed ongoing issues, including progress towards a retail code of conduct, also expected to be finalized in July, and avian influenza.

Bibeau also said supply-managed sectors can expect firm word on compensation for market access concessions granted under CUSMA, which replaced NAFTA in 2020, in October as part of the fall economic update.

While acknowledging that the announcement won’t fall within the first year of the current Liberal mandate, as promised during the 2019 election, Bibeau said dairy farmers – who have expressed concern – know that money is coming.

“This is what has been written clearly in the last budget. You will see the compensation for dairy, poultry and eggs in the fall economic statement,” she says.

 

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

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

New federal minister

Livestock health in spotlight

Cattle

Province files AgriRecovery request

Bilateral agreement signed

National celebration of agriculture

Ministers discuss avian influenza

CUSMA compensation announced

Historic relief package delivered

Flood recovery will take time

Produce drives BC exports

New year, new era

No new concessions

Previous Post: « Province backs off compensation
Next Post: Weevil monitoring begins »

© 2026 COUNTRY LIFE IN BC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED