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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.

#BCAg
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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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Provincial employer registry backlogged

January 18, 2023 byPeter Mitham

What should have been the smoothest start to the season after three years of pandemic-related hurdles for growers who employ foreign workers has been bumpier than expected.

With regulators keeping closer tabs on hiring protocols, many farm employers in BC found themselves barred from filing applications to source workers from overseas last fall until they had valid certificates from the BC government.

Under legislation passed in 2018, the province requires that employers hiring foreign workers register with the province within 30 days of hiring workers. Registration became mandatory in December 2020.

But registration needs to be renewed regularly, and the result last fall was a flood of applications at the BC Ministry of Labour and a backlog in processing.

“We are currently experiencing an increased volume of applications,” a notice on the registration site says. “Applications are processed in the order they are received and we are unable to expedite applications at this time.”

“Their systems just didn’t keep up to the volume of applications that they received,” says Reg Ens, general manager of the Western Agriculture Labour Initiative. “Nobody anticipated the volume.”

Without a certificate, employers couldn’t obtain federal approval to hire workers let alone arrange travel for them.

A keyword search for “orchard” indicates that no certificates were issued to businesses identified as such in all of December. A search for “farm” retrieved 340 hits, but of the 200 certificates issued since September, 132 were issued this month.

The delays were so bad that industry officials met with the province’s agriculture and labour ministers January 12 to discuss the situation.

“They have heard industry’s concerns that the backlog is creating for the rest of the application process, and they’re taking steps to get through that as quickly as possible,” Ens says.

Government has also expressed openness to sending renewal reminders to employers to ensure a more even flow of applications in future.

“Until this fall, we had never had any complaints,” Ens notes. “Employers we talked to said it was going well.”

BC farms typically welcome about 15,000 foreign workers a year, primarily from Mexico and the Caribbean.

While air capacity continues to normalize post-pandemic, Ens says issues will always arise.

“There’s always another challenge with these programs,” he says.

 

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