• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact

Primary Sidebar

Current Issue:

MAY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 4

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

3 days 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Arts leads BCFGA forward

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 7
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

1 week 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Milk board undertakes review

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 weeks 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.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

BC wool value, volume drop

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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...
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 4
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

#bcag
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Market farm works smarter, not harder

www.countrylifeinbc.com

VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

3 weeks ago

... See MoreSee Less

View
View Comments
  • Likes: 8
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Subscribe | Advertise

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook

Provincial extension service coming

February 1, 2023 byPeter Mitham

A new provincial extension service is in the works, an initiative applauded at an Agri-Extension and Research event organized by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and held at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Abbotsford on January 27.

The regional extension program will be launched this spring.

It will be a progression of the regional model used by the Climate Change Adaptation Program but be more producer-engaged with applied research, according to a presentation delivered by ACRD agricultural support coordinator Heather Shobe, who led the event.

Dovetailing with provincial priorities, the new program will focus on climate mitigation, adaptation and overall sustainability. Since human and financial resources are considerations, it aims to effectively use its own staff while engaging with allied organizations.

The program remains in development, but Shobe said it promises to fit with the vision of a more integrated approach to regional agricultural support.

“A network approach could be an avenue to ensure that producers and regional actors are co-leaders in development of programs that meet their particular regional needs,” she says.

Other opportunities discussed at the event included reinvigorating the province’s network of farmers institutes.

A meeting of institute representatives took place in 2018 and 2019, but ended with the pandemic. Without a dedicated staff person overseeing the secretariat set up to coordinate linkages between the institutes, the initiative has fallen by the wayside despite a desire to forge closer ties.

However, several speakers at the January 27 event expressed a desire for the institutes to support agriculture in the province’s several regions.

Closer collaboration with the academic community is another opportunity. However, breakout groups said a coordinator is needed to direct the work, similar to farmers institutes.

A third breakout group at the event discussed a whole food system approach that would include both marine and Indigenous foods, not just conventional agriculture.

A total of 22 people attended the event, which was the culmination of a three–year project funded in part by the Vancouver Foundation. A final report is due in the near future.

Shobe said a further three-year program may be considered that builds on the existing work.

Previous Post: « Farmland Advantage funding extended
Next Post: Community spirit honoured at gala »

Copyright © 2025 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved

View on Facebook
PreviousNext

View on Facebook