Province files AgriRecovery request

The province has asked Ottawa to support an AgriRecovery program for the province’s beef sector, days after representatives of the province’s grape and wine sector asked agriculture minister Pam Alexis for similar support in response to last December’s devastating freeze event that killed a third of their vineyards.

“I have spoken with federal minister [Marie-Claude] Bibeau to ensure she is aware of the gravity of the situation,” Alexis said regarding the circumstances of livestock producers suffering the impacts of drought and fire. “We need the federal government’s support during this challenging time and I am continuing to advocate strongly for the agriculture community. Just as we’ve done with other recent challenges, we will get through this by working together.”

Ministry staff told Country Life in BC that other “farmers and producers who are facing challenges due to the impacts of wildfires and drought” can register as late participants in AgriStability, a business risk management program that addresses extraordinary shortfalls in revenue. The arrangement will see the advance payment rate boosted from 50% to 75%.

Business risk management programs are on the agenda at this week’s annual meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture in Fredericton. In the meantime, the province encourages producers “directly impacted by the current drought” to contact the agriculture ministry.

“We encourage any farmers or ranchers directly impacted by the current drought to contact our AgriService BC line at 1 888 221-7141 with their concerns,” staff said. “From there, ministry staff can help farmers and ranchers access existing programs or put them in touch with a regional agrologist for specialized assistance.”

No mention was made of support for winter-killed vineyards and the impact on the wine industry, which are set to see a $133 million decrease in total revenues this year and the potential loss of 381 jobs, or 20% of sector employment.

Wine Growers BC president and CEO Miles Prodan was not available to comment.

Prodan was attending this week’s annual meeting of Wine Growers Canada in Ontario, where growers recently secured an AgriRecovery program to help them recover from the effects of extreme weather a year ago.

6 days ago

A BC Forest Practices Board investigation has found overgrazing has damaged grasslands in the Coutlee Range Unit near Merritt — and the range-use plan meant to prevent it was unenforceable. With complaints about overgrazing on the rise and grasslands covering just 1% of BC's land mass, the findings raise fresh questions about how the province manages one of its most vulnerable — and valuable — food-producing ecosyste#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Board finds overgrazing rules unenforceable unmeasurable

www.countrylifeinbc.com

MERRITT – A BC Forest Practices Board investigation has found instances of non-compliance related to overgrazing have damaged open grasslands in the Mine pasture, part of the Coutlee Range Unit near...

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Several ranchers in recent years have gone into temporary non use on that range , so that means the grass should grow. But drought conditions/lack of rain and snow don’t allow that to happen . Dried up springs , creeks waterholes in various pastures add to over grazing where there is water , as livestock and everything else stay close to the water source . So even though less cattle are on it , over grazing appears. There is a large volume of horses on it 365 days/year which is wrong ! They pull grass right out of the ground when it’s just trying to grow ,, opens the door for weeds to grow in. That don’t help it. Aging infrastructure ( fences) laying on the ground, pipe line building , ( lack of commitment to fence maintenance) amongst all users contributes also to over grazing. Recreational atv users leaving gates open between pastures allows livestock to go back or ahead in pastures also expidites over grazing. Logging ( bcts) has no problem laying out cut locks on both sides of a fence , then it gets smashed down during logging and they don’t take responsibility to stand it back up or clean the cattle gaurds out when they are done , that happened 4 years ago on pasture 5 up there . I bet it is still not fixed . There are lots of contributing factors to the problem.

Tragedy of the commons.

I looked through the report. I saw nothing about the effects of noxious weeds on productive grasslands. This particular area is vulnerable because of the Ministry’a efforts to diversify the use of the Grasslands.

This pasture is under tremendous pressure not only from cattle but from irresponsible local residents who treat it as a landfill dumping all manner of household debris here. And don't even get me started on the mud bogging and camping in sensitive riparian areas. The feral horses are in this pasture 365 days a year just hammering it. Would sure be nice to see some enforcement action on people who are intentionally ripping up the grasslands and riparian areas. Cattle could be a valuable resource for rebuilding soils and native grasses in this area with the help of electric fencing and/or e-collars. The humans will be harder to manage.

The Forest and Range Practices Act was written by lawyers for global forest licencee shareholders. Results-based = unenforceable.

Also, can we talk about the impact of a pipeline being built through the middle of this field for multiple years?

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1 week ago

East Kootenay rancher Randy Reay is digging a new well after two natural water sources dried up on his Crown tenures. A new Living Lakes Canada assessment found 15% of mapped aquifers in the region are high-priority for monitoring, yet 80% of those go unmonitored. With over 48% of BC's provincial observation wells reporting below-normal groundwater levels, ranchers and researchers are sounding the alarm on water security. The story is in our March edition, and we've posted it to our website thi#BCAgk.

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Water woes: groundwater under pressure across BC

JAFFRAY – As a young boy growing up in the Kootenay-Boundary region, Randy Reay never expected to run out of water. But this year, in mid-February, his fields are bare. There is no snow halfway up t...

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Jaffrey is in the east Kootenays not kooteney boundary

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Cameron Stockdale is the new executive director of provincial farm safety organization AgSafeBC. Find out more in this week's Farm News Update from Country Life in B#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

New leadership at AgSafe BC

Cameron Stockdale is the new executive director of provincial farm safety organization AgSafeBC, succeeding Wendy Bennett. Bennett left AgSafeBC in September 2025, following 12 years with the…

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