Country Life in BC

AgriStability deadline extended

March 22, 2023

Unprecedented disease pressure and the extreme weather BC producers encountered in 2022 have prompted Ottawa…

Richardson Ranch hosts bull sale

March 22, 2023

Don and Leslie Richardson hosted their second online and 37th annual sale of Tlell bulls…

Westgen looks beyond challenges

March 22, 2023

The Westgen Group of Companies held its annual general meeting in Abbotsford this week following…

Bilateral agreement signed

March 15, 2023

BC will see an additional $29 million over five years from the federal government when…

Rail corridor approval delayed

March 15, 2023

A day before the March 15 deadline the BC Court of Appeal set for a…

BC farmland values slow

March 15, 2023

BC may have the highest farmland values in Canada, but the rate of increase slowed…

AI response in spotlight

March 8, 2023

BC’s poultry sector gathered as a whole for the first time since 2020 after three…

New funding on track

March 8, 2023

The federal government is now accepting applications for a suite of programs that will be…

Food security funding welcomed

March 8, 2023

While the provincial budget has yet to be receive approval in the legislature, the province…

Animal activists target abattoir

March 1, 2023

Video footage from surveillance cameras installed at Meadow Valley Meats in Pitt Meadows is underscoring…

Carbon tax rebate announced

March 1, 2023

This week’s provincial budget delivered on a long-time wish of the agriculture sector by nixing…

Federal tax targets homes

March 1, 2023

Concerns are growing that a new federal tax designed to curb foreign speculation on residential…

Farmers question regenerative ag agenda

March 1, 2023

ABBOTSFORD – A new strategic framework for regenerative agriculture and agritech marked Pam Alexis’s first…

Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

March 1, 2023

ROCK CREEK – A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a…

Filling a market for fresh corn in Chase

March 1, 2023

CHASE – Who hasn’t tucked into a cob of sweet, juicy corn during a warm…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

August 5, 2026

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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

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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.

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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

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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🌟

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.

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Cash Flows

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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�...

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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.

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