Country Life in BC

Merlot, Pinot Gris tops in BC

September 23, 2020

With the grape harvest getting underway in the Okanagan, an analysis of last year’s crop…

Agriculture nabs recovery funding

September 23, 2020

BC’s agrifood sector was among those singled out as a priority for funds as part…

Province launches meat consultation

September 16, 2020

The BC Ministry of Agriculture is finally beginning to update slaughter practices. Comments are being…

Apples smoked by fires, labour

September 16, 2020

The smoke blanketing the southern half of BC over the past week from fires in…

Mushroom production up

September 16, 2020

Detailed statistical information on Canada’s mushroom sector has been hard to come by. During the…

Second residences still allowed

September 9, 2020

The province will allow landowners in the ALR to place a manufactured home for immediate…

Peace leads land deals

September 9, 2020

Provincial property transfer data indicates that sales of BC farm properties fell 11% in the…

Activists in court

September 9, 2020

Activists charged in last year’s invasion of the Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford have appeared…

Province funds tissue disposal

September 2, 2020

The province is providing $500,000 to help BC abattoirs deal with waste animal tissue following…

SAWP leeway sought

September 2, 2020

With applications now being accepted for seasonal workers arriving in 2021, farm leaders are stepping…

Wine institute renames

September 2, 2020

When public health restrictions to fight COVID-19 came into effect earlier this year, wine production…

Field days feeling the pinch of social distancing rules

September 1, 2020

DELTA – Many farmers block off their calendars for the field days that give them…

Sheep producers told to bear with wildlife

September 1, 2020

METCHOSIN – A black bear has been killing sheep in the Metchosin area on Vancouver…

Changes to land commission kick in this fall

September 1, 2020

BURNABY – Changes to how the Agricultural Land Commission does business at the end of…

Under one roof

September 1, 2020

VICTORIA – The BC Ministry of Agriculture is taking over meat inspection in the province…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

September 2, 2026

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1 hour 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