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September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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1 day ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

3 days ago

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3 days ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
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4 days ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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5 days ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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Province defrays COVID-19 costs

October 13, 2021 byKate Ayers

The province is offsetting the cost of special measures farmers took this summer to keep domestic workers safe from the risk of COVID-19.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 domestic seasonal workers help with fruit harvest throughout the Okanagan and Creston areas each year. Without domestic workers, BC Fruit Growers Association labour manager Ron Forrest says “there would have been a lot of fruit left on trees.”

Keeping those workers safe is critical, both for the crop and to keep the communities that host them safe.

Originally announced June 29, the BC Seasonal Domestic Farm Worker COVID-19 Safety Program totals $50,000 and will benefit at least 25 farms. The funding covers up to 70% of eligible expenses incurred between April 1 and October 31 to a maximum of $2,000 per farm. Applications must be received by the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries by October 31.

These costs may relate to sanitation measures for common areas; cleaning, disinfecting and sanitization products, and infrastructure costs related to on farm housing.

The funding was part of $652,000 the province announced in June to ensure safe camping conditions for domestic workers at sites in Oliver, Summerland and the Creston Valley. It extended funding granted in 2020 of $422,000, bringing the total investment in domestic farm workers safety to nearly $1.1 million over two years.

The funding paid off. There were no cases of COVID among domestic workers last year, and this year appears to have been equally successful.

“There is a pickers camp in Oliver, which will have around 150 people. It was anywhere between 80 and 230 (workers) maximum this year,” says Forrest. “We never had a problem.”

Government and industry worked together to provide adequate facilities at the Oliver and Summerland camps over the last two seasons. Coordinators oversaw activities at each location, ensuring the safety of workers. The province also introduced a seasonal liaison position in Creston to act as a COVID-19 coordinator there.

The efforts to reduce risks among domestic workers paralleled efforts to keep foreign workers safe. The majority of temporary foreign workers, nearly 10,000, participate in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. During the past two seasons, the province has accommodated and fed them during their two-week mandatory quarantine prior to their heading to farms.

With files from Peter Mitham

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