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

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

OCTOBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 10

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Stories In This Edition

BC Beef set to launch

All in the Family

Peace leads farmland sales

Second residences allowed in ALR until July 2021

Ready for the season

Editorial: Turkey run

Back 40: Some things about farming never change

Viewpoint: Growing craft beer sector built on community connections

BC Tree Fruits prepares to sell assets, apples

Sidebar: No quick fix

Cherry growers slammed by record losses

Pickers – and choosers

Animal rights activists land in court

Meat producers frustrated by consultations

A2 milk launch aimed at lactose-intolerant

Ag Briefs: Northern Health signs on with FeedBC

Ag Briefs: Cranberry outlook brightens

Ag Briefs: Agriculture nabs recovery funding

Ag Briefs: North Okanagan reaches farmers

Pandemic delays review of anti-dumping order

Potato field day showcases new varieties

Province tightens rules for employers

Peace grain growers gather bitter harvest

Learning to do

Vancouver Island grain harvest looks promising

Slaughter waste receives fresh funding

Ranchers threaten litigation over treaty negotiations

Sweet sale

Sidebar: Rancers seek compensation for Chilcotin land losses

Ardill Ranch receives Century Farm award

Sidebar: The long haul

Research: Regenerative ranching counters climate change

A new generation keeps the family greenhouse growing

Hazelnut growers on the lookout for invasive stink bug

New president for BC Hazelnut

First-gen farmers plot a vision for success

New research director puts people first

Reflective tarps piloted in FV blubeberries

Speciality mushroom growers come into their own

Seeking insights

Dairy success is about attention to detail

Woodshed: To Rocky’s end, and flirting with danger

Green bean trials target large grower needs

Farm Story: There’s plenty to put the dynamite in the family dynamic

AITC rolls out virtual options for teachers

Jude’s Kitchen: Brunch for a bunch

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

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

16 hours ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments
  • Likes: 3
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 weeks ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

#BCAg
View Comments
  • Likes: 51
  • Shares: 12
  • Comments: 12

Comment on Facebook

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations 👍🎉

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

View more comments

2 weeks ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

#BCAg
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

www.countrylifeinbc.com

KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
View Comments
  • Likes: 7
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 months 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Arts leads BCFGA forward

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 8
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 months 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Milk board undertakes review

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Subscribe | Advertise

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

Meat producers frustrated by consultations

Action, not talk, needed from province, say small growers

Small-Scale Meat Producers Association executive director Julia Smith

October 1, 2020 byTom Walker

MERRITT – BC meat producers are frustrated that the province is spending more time studying how to help them than getting on with acting on its findings.

The BC Ministry of Agriculture released an intentions paper September 14 aimed at modernizing rural slaughter practices, but Julia Smith of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association says the government doesn’t seem to realize the urgency of the situation.

“The intentions paper talks about undertaking a risk assessment project to support development options for rural meat production,” says Smith. “It’s too late for that now. Many operations simply cannot survive another round of consultations.”

Smith says the slaughter and cut and wrap capacity in BC is facing a serious crisis that will only accelerate in the coming months. Abattoirs are already cancelling bookings that were made months ago, she says, and producers are being left with literally nowhere to process their animals legally.

“The government has an opportunity here to provide relief and oversight during a global pandemic that could be a catalyst for long-lasting, progressive change in the future,” she notes.

But the government already knows that. It first began talking with the industry back in 2016. There were numerous consultations and a standing committee of the legislature delivered a report on the situation in 2018.

Nova Woodbury, executive director of the BC Association of Abattoirs, says her members are tired of saying the same things.

“I have 10 Word documents open right now that are past submissions I have made to the ministry and I am trying to consolidate them into yet again another response,” she said.

This is the worst time of the year to try and talk to the industry, Smith adds.

“September is not the time of year to initiate meaningful consultation with the farmers and ranchers,” she says. “Implement some emergency measures now and continue to consult through the winter to hammer out more permanent changes for the spring.”

Overall, the intentions the province outlines are good and reflect what many in the industry have been saying. They include increasing the standards of inspection for class D and E plants to more closely align their uninspected slaughter practices with those of inspected class A and B processors.

“This paper provides the support the industry has been asking for and gives reassurance to members of the public that food safety and animal welfare standards are going to be enforced,” says Woodbury.

The paper follows the province’s decision in August to consolidate all meat inspection in the province under the agriculture ministry’s Meat Inspection Branch, a change effective December 1. (While the branch oversaw inspections at class A and B plants, D and E facilities were under the BC Ministry of Health.)

The intentions paper focuses on four key areas: public health and safety, innovation, regulatory efficiency and strengthening the provincial food supply.

Public health and safety is where improving oversight, increasing inspections and updating codes of practice for D and E facilities fall.

Virtual inspections, post mortem inspections and third-party involvement in inspections is part of innovation. The framework for D and E processors could also be updated.

Regulatory efficiency will be addressed by working with FrontCounter BC to improve the licensing process.

Aiming to strengthen the provincial food supply, the government acknowledges that demand is increasing for local meat. But that isn’t a new or unexpected issue, Smith points out.

“We were already struggling to meet the growing demand long before COVID hit,” she says. “A resilient and diverse local food supply chain isn’t something we should have just in case the ‘real’ food supply chain breaks down. It should be the norm and we need appropriate infrastructure and regulations that reflect this.”

The deadline for public feedback is November 16*. The province promises to begin making regulatory and policy changes by the end of the year.

Woodbury hopes there is money for the government to follow through. She notes that the meat inspection branch moved to cut costs last year by mandating restrictions on overtime.

Smith urges the province to use taxpayers’ dollars wisely.

“Instead of spending money on more consultation, spend it to support abattoirs to expand, local butchers to expand, and new people to open slaughter and butcher facilities,” she says.

With the province announcing $1.5 billion in funding last month for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith believes there’s no better time for action.

“If we were ever going to make something happen quickly, it is now,” she says.

[The deadline for feedback was extended to November 16 after this story went to press.]
Previous Post: « A new generation keeps the family greenhouse growing
Next Post: BC Tree Fruits prepares to sell assets, apples »

Copyright © 2025 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved