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Originally published:

OCTOBER 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Shut down again

Corkscrew harvest

Groundwater consultation launched

Wineries cheer extension of support program

Editorial: Heads in the sand

Back 40: A generation lost for words

Viewpoint: Farm status should value more than profits

Abattoirs demand essential status for inspectors

Battle looms over fruit co-op’s assets

Ag Briefs: Country Life in BC reporting honoured

Ag Briefs: Mushrooms target of trade complaint

Foundation funds record number of ag projects

Community support helps flood survivors heal

Pat Tonn looks back on career building up youth

BC Fairs looks beyond cash crunch

Cowichan title decision creates uncertainty

Fair-thee-well

Ranchers on hook for water storage solutions

Virtual fencing revolutionizes rotational grazing

Islands Trust sidelines ag in policy statement

Reports back significant hazelnut potential

Sand boosts Delta cranberry yield

Farm Story: What I did on my summer vacation

Inspiring a new generation of farmers

Sidebar: Summerland Food Hub moves forward

New farmers breathe life into rural community

Sparks fly as Day at the Farm draws crowds

Woodshed: A newcomer takes Newt down memory lane

Evening for Ag raises thousands for youth groups

Jude’s Kitchen: Autumn uppers inspired by the season

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18 hours ago

Berryhill Foods Inc. is expanding into fresh berries by acquiring Driediger Farms' main Langley processing plant and 78-acre property for $23.3 million. The frozen berry processor will operate the farm and build on the Driediger legacy. Rhonda Driediger, whose family has farmed the property since 1959, will support the new owners during the first year before pursuing other ventur#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Berryhill Foods Inc. is expanding into fresh berries by acquiring Driediger Farms main Langley processing plant and 78-acre property for $23.3 million. The frozen berry processor will operate the farm and build on the Driediger legacy. Rhonda Driediger, whose family has farmed the property since 1959, will support the new owners during the first year before pursuing other ventures.

#BCAg
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Good to hear👏

Does that mean fresh strawberries this year? Dredigers are the best.

2 days ago

The BC Peace River Grain Industry Development Council is seeking nominations to fill two positions on its board. The council is responsible for disbursing $350,000 in levies collected annually for field crop production projects and research in BC’s Peace region. Nomination deadline is March 1; election will take place at the council’s agm in early summer.

#BCAg
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The BC Peace River Grain Industry Development Council is seeking nominations  to fill two positions on its board. The council is responsible for disbursing $350,000 in levies collected annually for field crop production projects and research in BC’s Peace region. Nomination deadline is March 1; election will take place at the council’s agm in early summer.

#BCAg
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3 days ago

BC Blueberry Council executive director Sudeshna Nambiar says trust in agricultural organizations is built on transparency and accountability. Growers facing rising costs and uncertainty want straight answers about how decisions are made and realistic results, not just promises. Practical, grower-led programming and clear communication about what works—and what doesn't—build credibility and strengthen agriculture's voice beyond the farm gate. She penned our Viewpoint in this month’s edition of Country Life in BC. We found it refreshing.

BC Blueberries
#BCAg
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BC Blueberry Council executive director Sudeshna Nambiar says trust in agricultural organizations is built on transparency and accountability. Growers facing rising costs and uncertainty want straight answers about how decisions are made and realistic results, not just promises. Practical, grower-led programming and clear communication about what works—and what doesnt—build credibility and strengthen agricultures voice beyond the farm gate. She penned our Viewpoint in this month’s edition of Country Life in BC. We found it refreshing.

BC Blueberries 
#BCAg
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5 days ago

Do you have what it takes to build the new province’s new Plant and Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford? The province is inviting candidates to submit qualifications via BC Bid by April 13, with a short list of builders set for release in June. An integrated design-build process will construct the lab, which is expected to cost no more than $400 million. The BC Ministry of Infrastructure is leading the project, which is set to break ground in 2027 and take four years to build. The province purchased the site of the new lab on January 29 for $27.8 million.

#BCAg
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Do you have what it takes to build the new province’s new Plant and Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford? The province is inviting candidates to submit qualifications via BC Bid by April 13, with a short list of builders set for release in June. An integrated design-build process will construct the lab, which is expected to cost no more than $400 million. The BC Ministry of Infrastructure is leading the project, which is set to break ground in 2027 and take four years to build. The province purchased the site of the new lab on January 29 for $27.8 million.

#BCAg
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27 million could have started alot of small scale and infrastructure for local food producers.

now those who complained about the lack of increase in the agricultural portion of the latest provincial budget should understand just where some of their taxpauers $$$ are going.

6 days ago

Cultivating good employees requires the same attention as other farm tasks, business coach Trevor Throness told Mainland Milk Producers at their annual general meeting last month. He outlined four worker categories based on attitude and productivity, with "brilliant jerks" – highly productive but disruptive employees – posing unique challenges. Good workers are attracted to the best workplace cultures, he told producers, not recruited. It’s a cool take on the labour challenges facing BC’s agricultural sector and it appears in the print edition of Country Life in BC this month.

#BCAgriculture
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Cultivating good employees requires the same attention as other farm tasks, business coach Trevor Throness told Mainland Milk Producers at their annual general meeting last month. He outlined four worker categories based on attitude and productivity, with brilliant jerks – highly productive but disruptive employees – posing unique challenges. Good workers are attracted to the best workplace cultures, he told producers, not recruited. It’s a cool take on the labour challenges facing BC’s agricultural sector and it appears in the print edition of Country Life in BC this month.

#BCAgriculture
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Reports back significant hazelnut potential

Chilliwack field day focuses on industry expansion

Attendees at the BC Hazelnut Growers Association field day, like Henry van Someren, were smitten with Don Hooge’s sucker cutting blade. Photo | Ronda Payne

October 1, 2025 byRonda Payne

CHILLIWACK – Growing local and global demand is fuelling a renewed focus on BC hazelnuts and their potential.

Past replant programs failed to achieve full uptake from hazelnut growers, but a new report from Chris Bodnar, assistant professor of agriculture at the University of the Fraser Valley, may drive more interest from government, investors and growers looking for new options.

“There is significant potential for growth based on climatic reasons and soil types,” says Bodnar, who addressed about 35 growers during the BC Hazelnut Growers Association (BCHGA) field day at Fraser Valley Hazelnuts in Chilliwack, September 13.

The potential was noted in a November 2024 opportunities assessment report prepared for the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food to provide growers with alternative crop options in anticipation of future environmental changes. Hazelnuts were one of four promising crops for further research.

The report provided a starting point for Bodnar’s own opportunities assessment report for the sector, which he expects to formally release in October.

“We have [an agriculture] minister in BC who loves hazelnuts,” Bodnar says. “I think that’s something to leverage.”

Popham has overseen multiple rounds of renewal funding for the sector since 2018, but Bodnar says that support could change as government priorities shift. His report aims to leverage her current enthusiasm to drive industry growth.

Bodnar’s overview of the hazelnut industry considers current production, processing capacity, demand, market conditions, crop values, infrastructure, value chain gaps, government support and policy landscape, and strategic opportunities and recommendations. He presented the eight draft recommendations to growers at the field day.

The first is to expand processing capacity and infrastructure, summarized in the report as building “the backbone of cracking, cleaning and packing either through a cooperative processing venture or public-private funding model, to ensure no grower is left without a viable path to market their nuts.”

Other recommendations include: develop harvest and post-harvest solutions; strengthen marketing, branding and consumer education, including creating a BC Hazelnut brand; promote value-added product development; implement a levy to generate funds for industry; pursue strategic partnerships for marketing, research, agrology and other supports; and strategically expand acreage in diverse geographic regions.

Bodnar notes that the Okanagan has been identified as an important potential region for growers shifting away from apples.

“Canadian apples are no longer seen as competitive,” he says. “That would be one of the more obvious places to position the sector for more growth.”

The final recommendation urges enhanced grower support and knowledge transfer to reduce risk and improve the likelihood of grower success. This includes tracking the growth and spread of Eastern Filbert Blight in resistant varieties to ensure risks to industry are mitigated wherever possible.

“Farmer events continue to be a really important part of how the sector might develop,” he says.

New growers Henry and Jan van Someren of Fort Langley are hopeful for increased support for the industry, especially in education. They participate in field days and similar events as often as possible to learn about proper hazelnut care.

“We’re into our third summer,” Henry says of their one-acre orchard. “We try to attend as much as we can ever since we planted.”

Like many growers, the van Somerens find value in hearing they are on the right track with their farming practices. They also value learning new techniques and being part of the tight-knit hazelnut grower community.

“We want to stay connected and learn more about what people are doing,” Henry says. “Because we’re so new, the learning is important to us. To see that we are somewhat on track is encouraging.”

Community is something Mike Sunder, owner of Horti International, spoke about in a fireside chat-style Q&A with BCHGA executive director Sue Grubac.

Sunder’s portion of the field day focused on nutrition and amendments but he went slightly off-script to discuss the importance of coming together in agriculture.

“It’s not a competition,” Sunder says. “Ultimately, we want to work as a community.”

He says when growers come together, they ask each other questions and share knowledge. However, when farmers see other farmers as competitors, they lose out on that sense of community and synergy. This ultimately costs them more than they could ever gain by being an island.

“That community is what makes us better and makes us learn,” he says. “It’s the best way to drive this industry forward.”

Another part of the field day included a hay ride, during which participants were taken to a five-year-old, double-density orchard for a demonstration of tree removal. Every second tree in the orchard will be removed this year to improve the production of the maturing trees left standing.

Adam Russenholt of Inland Enterprises brought his tree mulcher to the farm to demonstrate how quickly and accurately he can remove trees and “mulch them down to whatever size the grower wants.”

The machine he showcased is nimble, able to get to alternate trees quickly without damaging their neighbours. It can handle trunks of six to eight inches in diameter (he has larger equipment to remove larger trees). From the point of touching the trunk with the mulching blade to leaving debris behind on the orchard floor took about 10 seconds.

“I was going slower, too, because there were people around,” Russenholt says.

While suckers may return after the tree is removed, these are easily managed with regular management practices used on the suckers of existing trees.

Don Hooge of Fraser Valley Hazelnuts also conducted a demonstration, showing how a special round blade with teeth removes suckers from around trees without damaging roots or trunks.

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Water management crisis calls for collaboration

Eastern Filbert Blight threatens to resurface

Hazelnut funding renewed

Oregon hazelnut optimism inspires BC growers

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