PAS kicks off

The province’s largest agricultural trade show kicks off this week, as the Pacific Agriculture Show celebrates its 25th anniversary at the Tradex in Abbotsford on January 26-28.

Registrations for the rebranded Regenerative Agriculture and Growers Short Course indicate strong attendance this year that will push Tradex – now under new management – to the max.

Organizers told participants to expect “a really full event” when the show kicks off January 26. The trade show floor will be full, and the province’s role as lead organizer has seen admission to all parts of the event lowered to just $15 per person.

“Tradex has assured us there are adequate food service options for attendees,” organizers reported last week, with food trucks adding an element of excitement to the standard fare.

Running concurrent with the trade show, the short course marks its 65th anniversary this year. It will kick off with sessions on regenerative agriculture, agritech and greenhouse and vegetable production on January 26.

Raspberries and strawberries will also feature on the first day, followed by all-berry sessions on Friday and blueberries on Saturday.

Sessions on January 27 focus on potatoes, field vegetables, hazelnuts and cannabis, as well as spotlights on the province’s Feed BC initiatives, including Every Chef Needs a Farmer.

Direct marketing, organics and hops production dominate Saturday, alongside blueberries.

Saturday is often prime time for families to attend and learn more about local farms. Displays include an expanded petting zoo where kids can get up close and personal with their farm friends.

Due to the ongoing avian influenza outbreak, live poultry will not be present as poultry producers continue to observe stringent biosecurity protocols. Tradex sits in the middle of one of the primary control zones established by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to control the disease.

While registrations have been steady, those who cannot attend have the option to register to attend virtually. The popularity of this option in the past has made it available once again this year. In-person attendees will also receive a code to stream the live presentations after the fact, reviewing them for details they might have missed.

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12 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.