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JUNE 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 5

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2 days ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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3 days ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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1 month ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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1 month ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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1 month ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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Mortalities less than expected

Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued by a group of people after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia triggering landslides and floods, shutting highways, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

November 24, 2021 byPeter Mitham

A clearer picture is emerging of livestock losses as a result of last week’s flooding and landslides in the Lower Mainland and southern Interior.

The good news is, it’s not all bad.

A preliminary assessment by the BC Dairy Association this week indicates that 500 cattle perished on Sumas Prairie, a fraction of the approximately 23,000 head on local dairy farms. An estimated 6,000 head were evacuated in the wake of the November 13-15 storm. Approximately 16,000 remained on their farms.

“It is a credit to the tireless work of farmers, their families and volunteers that so many cattle were saved and so few lost,” says BC Dairy chair Holger Schwichtenberg, a dairy farmer in Agassiz who hosted 43 animals on his property.

However, the losses may increase as the full impact of flooding on the 62 dairy farms evacuated becomes clear. Waters remain high at many farms, and some animals may require euthanization.

Poultry and egg producers also indicate that losses may be lower than expected.

“We believe that most of our flocks survived,” says BC Egg Marketing Board communications director Amanda Brittain, noting that just one farm lost to the disaster.

Approximately 60 egg farms accounting for just 10% of the provincial flock were in evacuation zones.

The impact on broiler farms is also anticipated to be less than feared – less, even, than losses during the dramatic heat this summer.

According to the BC Chicken Marketing Board, more than 20 broiler farms were directly impacted by the flooding. A total of 1.4 million birds were in evacuation zones.

BC Poultry Association spokesperson Ray Nickel, the industry’s emergency operations commander, expects losses to exceed 100,000 birds. A final tally won’t be known until the birds ship, but he’s optimistic that the toll will be less than the 416,146 birds lost to heat this summer.

“We’ve had some amazing stories and success,” he says, noting one large farm that had sandbagged its barn and was able to ship the most vulnerable birds even as the waters rose.

“We believe a majority of [birds] will be shipped and will come out of it,” he says.

While the BC Turkey Marketing Board expects some losses, it notes that the majority of producers were outside the flood zone.

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