Country Life in BC

Groundwater deadline firm

February 1, 2022

VICTORIA – The province is holding fast on a March 1 deadline for existing, non-domestic…

BC SPCA seizes cattle

January 26, 2022

Beef cattle removed from a property near Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island last week by…

Spallumcheen plans agri-industrial zone

January 26, 2022

Spallumcheen wants to hear how 106 acres of protected agricultural land can serve producers if…

McMillan leads crop consultants

January 26, 2022

Abbotsford-based crop consultant Grant McMillan, regional manager for ICMS Inc., will begin his term as…

Sumas Prairie farmers sue government

January 19, 2022

Two farms on Sumas Prairie are asking BC Supreme Court to certify a class action…

CanadaGAP participation drops

January 19, 2022

While retail sales channels demand more from producers, CanadaGAP statistics indicate more producers in BC…

BC Tree Fruit sells another property

January 19, 2022

A diligent divestment strategy has seen BC Tree Fruits Cooperative sell close to $40 million…

Grape growers assess damage

January 12, 2022

Grape growers are assessing damage from a late December cold snap that hit the central…

‘Blue Cow’ signals happy cows

January 12, 2022

Dairy Farmers of Canada wants consumers to know that the Blue Cow logo is a…

BC Veg consultation ends

January 12, 2022

This week marks the end of a consultation regarding the appointment of independent members to…

Pacific Ag Show postponed

January 5, 2022

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

Dairy complaint succeeds

January 5, 2022

Canada’s use of tariff rate quotas in the dairy sector breaches the country’s obligations under…

New year, old troubles

January 5, 2022

Weather woes and road closures continue to plague BC farmers, who entered the new year…

Kootenay growers target winter deliveries

January 1, 2022

CASTLEGAR – With about eight weeks before their inaugural season of weekly produce box deliveries…

Interior ranchers feel forgotten

January 1, 2022

PRINCETON – All hands were on deck to help residents in Abbotsford and the eastern…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

August 5, 2026

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24 hours 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.

1 day ago

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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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