Peace funds start flowing

Peace region farmers face countless challenges, from weather to resource development, but there was some good news this week with the announcement of funding that should boost the resilience of the sector.

Seven projects will receive nearly $210,000 in the first disbursement of cash from the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund. BC Hydro established the $20 million fund in 2018 to offset impacts on agriculture from the construction of the Site C dam, which will flood thousands of acres of protected farmland.

The fund, administered by the Northern Development Initiative Trust, is chaired by Rick Kantz.

The largest grant in the initial round of funding from the compensation fund is $100,000 to support BC Grain Producers Association projects assessing grain and oilseed varieties suitable to the Peace.

The research is particularly important as growers wrestle with a changing and more variable climate. Publicly funded research to help producers identify promising varieties is tough to secure. While the industry does undertake trials of new varieties, they’re limited in scope.

“It’s still a challenge to get funds to be able to plant them in BC, because BC is a small producer in the grain industry in Canada,” Kantz told Country Life in BC recently.

A variety of crop management and education initiatives also received funding.

RDR Ventures Ltd. received $25,209 to expand the irrigation system at Rainey Ranch, an investment that will improve its grazing capabilities, while Ardills Ranch Ltd. received $25,000 to build a wildlife control fence.

On the education front, the Northern Environmental Action Team received $27,112 for a Northern Cohort Extension and Outreach Program to provide educational opportunities for alternative agricultural production in the Peace Region. Blackbird Environmental Ltd. received $24,140 to establish a program to train farm workers in the use of drones as farm management tools.

Younger learners will also benefit, thanks to funding for an agriculture education program at the Don Titus Montessori school in Chetwynd that will introduce students up to Grade 7 to “the unique experience of gardening in northern BC.”

A grant of $2,000 to the Peace River Regional 4-H Council will provide opportunities for youth communication and leadership training in agriculture-related projects.

Applications are now being received for a second disbursement in 2020. A total of $291,000 is available to applicants. To apply, visit http://bit.do/Site-C-fund-2020.

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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