Country Life in BC

Small on-farm dairy processors raise concerns about systemic inequities

July 7, 2020

KAMLOOPS – Two small dairies are hoping there’s room in supply management for an alternative…

Ranchers troubled by inconsistencies in well licensing

July 7, 2020

BEAVERDELL – An analysis of nearly 500 groundwater licences the province has issued under the…

Pandemic highlights SAWP improvements

June 24, 2020

British Columbia’s response to COVID-19 has set an example for other provinces in managing seasonal…

Cherries face the pits

June 24, 2020

BC cherry growers face a second straight year of record losses thanks to severe cold…

Metro Vancouver a food gateway

June 24, 2020

A report to Metro Vancouver’s regional planning committee on June 12 highlights just how much…

Mexico sticks with BC

June 17, 2020

Mexico’s decision to withhold seasonal workers from Canada will have a minimal effect on BC…

Agriculture first for support

June 17, 2020

Close to three-quarters of BC residents believe agri-food companies should be first in line for…

Kelowna readies exclusion bid

June 17, 2020

Kelowna wants the Agricultural Land Commission to approve the exclusion of 40 acres for the…

Province boosts online grants

June 10, 2020

Overwhelming demand for provincial funding to support online sales activities has led the province to…

Record nutrition coupon funding

June 10, 2020

This week marks the start of another season for the BC farmers’ market nutrition coupon…

Grand Forks ducks flood

June 3, 2020

The flood watch is not completely over for farmers and residents in Grand Forks, but…

Raspberry traits assigned values

June 3, 2020

BC produced nearly 15 million pounds of raspberries last year with an average farmgate value…

Organic matter regulations delayed

June 3, 2020

Chalk up delays in the province’s revision of the Organic Matter Recycling Regulation to COVID-19.…

Rethinking the concept for mobile abattoirs

June 1, 2020

MCBRIDE – Hopes are high that a government-inspected Class E mobile abattoir may soon move…

Poultry and hops a winning combination

June 1, 2020

ABBOTSFORD – The vast difference between the farm they started in 2005 and what it’s…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

March 25, 2026

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4 days ago

It takes a village! The Small Scale Meat Producers Association welcomed provincial and community leaders and stakeholders to an open house at the North Okanagan Butcher Hub in Spallumcheen earlier today. The butcher hub opened for business last September to provide local, small-scale meat producers a dedicated cut-and-wrap facility and access to a mobile butcher trailer to get their products to market. The first of its kind in BC, it addresses a critical gap in the provincial meat supply chain and is designed as a reproducible model for rural communities across the province. The project is a partnership between the Small Scale Meat Producers Association, the provincial government, the Township of Spallumcheen, the Regional District of the North Okanagan and the Agricultural Land Commission.

@Small-Scale Meat Producers Association
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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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Not quite on the subject but.. could you please share how the requirements have changed for changing Ag land to development land? Honest respectful question. I see a bunch of ag land being developed and I was wondering what or how it has changed

Dyson makes $725 a day!

Cut that government bloat!

Biggest problem , people doing what they don't know how to do it . Hire farmers . Dykes and drainage commission should also be maintained and managed by farmers . These city folk should all be kicked to the curb

We need to just abolish the ALC, it is a useless bureaucratic entity.

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2 weeks 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?

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

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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