Show time!

Growers from across BC will gather this week for the Pacific Agriculture Show, the first time the event has been held in-person since before COVID-19.

The province’s biggest farm show kicks off at the Tradex in Abbotsford, March 31, and runs through April 2.

Originally scheduled for the end of January, the show – as well as the short course the Lower Mainland Horticultural improvement Association organizes – was postponed due to uncertainties regarding the omicron variant. Now, with public health restrictions eased and life returning to normal, the show goes on.

The program is largely the same as originally scheduled for January, with minor changes. The water management session scheduled for Friday morning, for example, will focus on irrigation and the Environmental Farm Plan program. Previously, it was focused on encouraging producers to apply for existing-use groundwater licences. The deadline for applications was March 1, requiring the change.

Other sessions on berries, greenhouse and vegetable production and floriculture will offer an array of technical information from speakers in BC and across North America. Dairy producers also have the opportunity to meet for a lunch-and-learn session on Thursday focused on farm feed efficiencies and dairy herd health.

The event will be especially meaningful this year as Fraser Valley growers reconnect to socialize and share lessons from not only two years of the pandemic but also the devastating rains of last fall. With recovery money beginning to flow, show organizer Jim Shepard expects the show will give growers a chance to discuss options with suppliers.

“The worst is over and now it’s time to rebuild,” he says. “What better place to come together than the Pacific Ag Show to source all that equipment and products, and the information, technology. And sharing stories about how everyone can help each other as well.”

According to the province, more than $17 million in AgriRecovery funding has been paid to 123 farms to date. A further $208 million has yet to be disbursed.

That represents a significant pool of money for rebuilding, in addition to assistance provided by industry organizations, insurers and private entities.

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12 hours ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

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5 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

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Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

6 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

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Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

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Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

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What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC