Country Life in BC

BC farmland values flat

October 8, 2025

BC farmland values were flat in the first half of this year as economic uncertainties…

Reports back significant hazelnut potential

October 1, 2025

CHILLIWACK – Growing local and global demand is fuelling a renewed focus on BC hazelnuts…

Cowichan title decision creates uncertainty

October 1, 2025

RICHMOND – A landmark Aboriginal title ruling has some in BC’s agriculture sector worried about…

Islands Trust sidelines ag in policy statement

September 30, 2025

PENDER ISLAND – A new draft Islands Trust policy statement that removes a key Agricultural…

Country Life in BC reporting honoured

September 24, 2025

Country Life in BC found the “win” in “Winnipeg” on September 20, receiving a record…

Vintage replacement renewed

September 24, 2025

The province has extended the vintage replacement provisions introduced last year to support wineries bereft…

CUSMA consultations begin

September 24, 2025

Ottawa has launched public consultations regarding the Canada-US-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA) ahead of a…

Southern Interior irrigators shut down

September 10, 2025

The province says it listened to local growers when it shut down forage irrigation in…

ALC rejects Cowichan dike removal

September 10, 2025

BC’s Agricultural Land Commission has rejected an application by Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Trust…

BCAITC appoints new executive director

September 10, 2025

Cheryl Johnson is the new executive director of the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation…

Council calls for review of farm classification rules

September 3, 2025

ABBOTSFORD – This fall is likely to bring a push for change to farm classification…

Indigenous agriculture faces regulatory reality

September 3, 2025

VICTORIA – Provincial efforts to promote Indigenous food sovereignty face growing questions over how Indigenous…

Berry growers on lookout for rose stem girdler

September 3, 2025

SALEM, OREGON – Unpredictability makes the rose stem girdler a challenging adversary, and the fact…

Province funds avian flu upgrades

August 20, 2025

Fraser Valley poultry farms will receive up to $30,000 each from the province for barn…

Regions selected for livestock tax deferral

August 20, 2025

Dry conditions in wide swaths of eastern BC means ranchers in the regions can take…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

March 25, 2026

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8 hours ago

The Agricultural Land Commission is laying off staff after years of flat funding under the BC NDP. ALC chair Jennifer Dyson warns that application volumes, enforcement activity and legal obligations have all risen while its operating budget has stayed effectively flat — meaning longer wait times ahead for some services.

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Land Commission lays off staff

www.countrylifeinbc.com

With no budget increase this year, the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is laying off six staff to make ends meet. “Ongoing financial constraints and the requirement to operate within the approved...

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6 days ago

A BC Forest Practices Board investigation has found overgrazing has damaged grasslands in the Coutlee Range Unit near Merritt — and the range-use plan meant to prevent it was unenforceable. With complaints about overgrazing on the rise and grasslands covering just 1% of BC's land mass, the findings raise fresh questions about how the province manages one of its most vulnerable — and valuable — food-producing ecosyste#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Board finds overgrazing rules unenforceable unmeasurable

MERRITT – A BC Forest Practices Board investigation has found instances of non-compliance related to overgrazing have damaged open grasslands in the Mine pasture, part of the Coutlee Range Unit near...

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Several ranchers in recent years have gone into temporary non use on that range , so that means the grass should grow. But drought conditions/lack of rain and snow don’t allow that to happen . Dried up springs , creeks waterholes in various pastures add to over grazing where there is water , as livestock and everything else stay close to the water source . So even though less cattle are on it , over grazing appears. There is a large volume of horses on it 365 days/year which is wrong ! They pull grass right out of the ground when it’s just trying to grow ,, opens the door for weeds to grow in. That don’t help it. Aging infrastructure ( fences) laying on the ground, pipe line building , ( lack of commitment to fence maintenance) amongst all users contributes also to over grazing. Recreational atv users leaving gates open between pastures allows livestock to go back or ahead in pastures also expidites over grazing. Logging ( bcts) has no problem laying out cut locks on both sides of a fence , then it gets smashed down during logging and they don’t take responsibility to stand it back up or clean the cattle gaurds out when they are done , that happened 4 years ago on pasture 5 up there . I bet it is still not fixed . There are lots of contributing factors to the problem.

Tragedy of the commons.

I looked through the report. I saw nothing about the effects of noxious weeds on productive grasslands. This particular area is vulnerable because of the Ministry’a efforts to diversify the use of the Grasslands.

This pasture is under tremendous pressure not only from cattle but from irresponsible local residents who treat it as a landfill dumping all manner of household debris here. And don't even get me started on the mud bogging and camping in sensitive riparian areas. The feral horses are in this pasture 365 days a year just hammering it. Would sure be nice to see some enforcement action on people who are intentionally ripping up the grasslands and riparian areas. Cattle could be a valuable resource for rebuilding soils and native grasses in this area with the help of electric fencing and/or e-collars. The humans will be harder to manage.

The Forest and Range Practices Act was written by lawyers for global forest licencee shareholders. Results-based = unenforceable.

Also, can we talk about the impact of a pipeline being built through the middle of this field for multiple years?

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1 week ago

East Kootenay rancher Randy Reay is digging a new well after two natural water sources dried up on his Crown tenures. A new Living Lakes Canada assessment found 15% of mapped aquifers in the region are high-priority for monitoring, yet 80% of those go unmonitored. With over 48% of BC's provincial observation wells reporting below-normal groundwater levels, ranchers and researchers are sounding the alarm on water security. The story is in our March edition, and we've posted it to our website thi#BCAgk.

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Water woes: groundwater under pressure across BC

JAFFRAY – As a young boy growing up in the Kootenay-Boundary region, Randy Reay never expected to run out of water. But this year, in mid-February, his fields are bare. There is no snow halfway up t...

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Jaffrey is in the east Kootenays not kooteney boundary

2 weeks ago

BC farmers are bracing for prolonged higher input costs as war in the Middle East drives up fuel and fertilizer prices. Nitrogen fertilizer costs were already climbing before the Iran conflict began, with prices still roughly 60% above pre-pandemic levels. Farm Credit Canada warns that unlike 2022, strong commodity prices may not offset rising costs this time. Local suppliers expect supply challenges and further price increases ahead.

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Fertilizer prices on the rise

War in the Middle East has delivered a generational shock to energy prices, meaning BC farmers can expect a prolonged period of higher costs not just for fuel but also for fertilizer.

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