Country Life in BC

Frost nips cherry growers

April 14, 2021

Cherry growers in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys hope a run of frosty temperatures since…

No surprises in Throne speech

April 14, 2021

The second throne speech since the BC NDP held few surprises for agriculture. Opening a…

BCTF warehouse listed

April 7, 2021

BC Tree Fruits is moving ahead with the consolidation of facilities and the disposition of…

Beekeepers suffer colony losses

April 7, 2021

High winter colony losses were among the issues discussed at the semi-annual meeting of the…

Potato growers keep seed treatments

April 7, 2021

BC potato growers are breathing a sigh of relief following a Health Canada decision last…

No right to roam

April 1, 2021

VANCOUVER – The BC Court of Appeal has sided with Douglas Lake Cattle Co., overturning…

Producers beef up support for Island cattle

April 1, 2021

COURTENAY – Vancouver Island beef producers have banded together to establish a regional affiliate of…

Richmond’s ag community mourns a leader

April 1, 2021

RICHMOND – Richmond farming advocate Ralph May has died. He was 71. May, a lawyer…

College assignment sparks salsa business

April 1, 2021

KELOWNA – Tyler Chartrand saw a hole in the market he decided to fill. Since…

Province reveals abattoir changes

March 31, 2021

A newer, simpler licensing system is on the horizon for BC abattoirs. During a meeting…

BC farms reduce plastic

March 31, 2021

BC farms have made significant strides towards reducing plastic waste, and new federal funding will…

Buy BC program delivers

March 31, 2021

With the application deadline for a new round of Buy BC funding closing next week,…

Market restrictions lifted

March 24, 2021

The lifting of restrictions on non-food vendors at farmers markets is music to the ears…

Bee tech team

March 24, 2021

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham had a honey of a gift for beekeepers at their…

Site C fund awards grants

March 24, 2021

Ten projects are receiving more than $175,000 from the compensation fund set up to offset…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

September 2, 2026

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5 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.

The annual potato variety trial in Delta on August 27 attracted more than 300 people from across Canada, with Bill Zylmans of the BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association declaring it a gathering of "the extended potato family." With the expansion of BCPVGA's mandate to a host of field vegetable growers, the field day was a chance to network, learn and understand issues across the vegetable sector. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham and Delta South MLA Ian Paton were on hand for the event at Lundstrum Farms on Westham Island, with both applauding efforts to restore bridge access to the island earlier this year to ensure production was unimpeded. Results of the trials will be published in the new year once seasonal data has been collated and analyzed.

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Lana Popham is the hardest working MLA in the province, I don’t agree with the NDP policies, however I do recognize a hard working MLA…thanks for what you do