Pacific Ag Show postponed

The rise of the omicron variant of COVID-19 has cancelled several industry events planned for this month.

Both the Pacific Agriculture Show and BC Dairy Industry Conference have made the difficult decisions to postpone in-person events until protocols around COVID-19 stabilize.

While the Pacific Agriculture Show intended to decide by January 17 on whether or not to postpone proceedings or pivot to a wholly virtual event, organizer Jim Shepard acted early in order to give exhibitors certainty regarding travel arrangements.

“The latest BC provincial health authority regulations have cancelled all events until January 18,” Shepard said in an e-mail to stakeholders December 27. “Given this uncertainty and the recent uptick in COVID cases, we have made the decision to move the show to new dates, March 31-April 2.”

Shepard promises further details in the coming weeks, noting that sponsors and exhibitors supported postponing the show as “the best and most responsible option.”

An e-mail the following day from the Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association announced that the annual growers short course would move with the show. While field work might mean lower physical attendance, growers will continue to have to option to attend virtually and access sessions in the weeks following the course.

The new restrictions have meant the outright cancelling of the BC Dairy Industry Conference as an in-person event. It is the second cancellation for the conference, which was originally set to take place in December but was rescheduled when flooding hit the Fraser Valley in November.

Instead, the BC Dairy Association will offer a producer education session January 19 featuring presentations originally scheduled for the January 17-18 conference. Details of the new online event, Feeding the Future: Advancing Dairy Processing in BC, will be available this month.

Despite the cancellations, the Mainland Milk Producers intend to hold an in-person annual general meeting this Friday at the Clarion Hotel in Abbotsford. Business meetings are allowed at 50% capacity, underscoring how evolving protocols are facilitating beneficial social interactions while mitigating public health risks.

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9 hours ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

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5 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

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Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

6 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

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Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

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Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

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What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC

OCTOBER 2026
Vol. 112 Issue 10

Pacific Ag Show postponed

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