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Current Issue:

September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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1 day 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 😊

3 days ago

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3 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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4 days 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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5 days 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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Hog farm invaders convicted

A police officer stands on the property at Excelsior Hog Farm surrounded by people who showed up to support the farmers after protesters occupied a barn, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Sunday April 28, 2019. Approximately 50 people occupied a barn and another 135 individuals protested on the rural road outside the farm after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a video last week that it says shows dead piglets as well as fully grown pigs with growths and lacerations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

July 13, 2022 byPeter Mitham

Two leaders of a high-profile farm invasion in April 2019 have been convicted on charges of break-and-enter and mischief.

Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer opted for trial by jury in the hope of better pleading their case and shining a light on farming practices in the province. But after a short trial, the jury ended up convicting them for their role in the invasion of Excelsior Hog farm in Abbotsford.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 26. The convictions could see the two handed sentences of up to 10 years in jail.

A much longer list of 21 charges were originally filed against four people involved in the invasion. However, prosecutors dropped charges against Geoff Regier earlier this year, leaving the three remaining individuals facing 14.

Roy Sasano was acquitted during the trial for his role in the affair, which saw 165 individuals descend on the farm on a quiet Sunday morning.

The remaining charges were ultimately pared back to just two counts apiece.

BC Pork did not have an immediate response to the conviction, but it has supported an industry-wide response to the growing threat activists pose animal agriculture.

The concerns have also impacted the dairy and poultry industries, both of which have been subject to undercover operations by animal rights activists.

The most recent incident saw the temporary suspension of the production licence for Cedar Valley Farms, an organic dairy in Abbotsford. The farm is now operating under the oversight of the BC Milk Marketing Board. BC SPCA has recommended criminal charges to Crown counsel.

The province announced stronger legal protections against trespassing for farms in 2019 in response to the Excelsior invasion. The move was applauded by the BC Agriculture Council, however BCAC had no comment on the conviction.

Soranno and Schafer are considering an appeal of the conviction.

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