The Westgen Group of Companies held its annual general meeting in Abbotsford this week following a year that was both extremely challenging yet extremely rewarding. “[It] was, in some ways, one of the most successful years in Westgen’s history,” Westgen CEO Chris Parry said in his report. Group revenues totaled $21.2 million, an increase of …
Dairy
Western dairy groups streamline
Dairy producers in the four western provinces will operate as a single production unit under the terms of an agreement signed last week. “BC Milk, BC Dairy, Alberta Milk, SaskMilk, and Dairy Farmers of Manitoba have all agreed to a partnership approach that aligns the resources and expertise of the five organizations under one WMP,” …
New Zealand follows US challenge
New Zealand has taken its cue from the US and launched its own challenge of Canada’s allocation of dairy quotas. On May 12, New Zealand initiated dispute settlement proceedings against Canada regarding its implementation of tariff rate quotas under the terms of the CP-TPP trade deal. New Zealand has informed Canada and other signatories to …
Dairy compensation fund opens
There’s a spot of good news for dairy farmers reeling from this year’s natural disasters. Just in time for Christmas, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada is accepting applications for the third round of payments under the Direct Payment Program, worth $38,000 to a farm with 80 cows. The program delivers $1.75 billion to the dairy sector …
Fraser Valley flooding continues
A thousand acres of blueberries remain underwater in the Fraser Valley, while more than 200 farms in the province continue to operate under evacuation orders or alerts as another series of weather systems tracks across southwestern BC. A statement from the BC Blueberry Council this week described the flooding as “an unprecedented event of great …
Catastrophic flooding hits Fraser Valley
The flood waters are receding but the toll of what the province has dubbed “the worst weather storm in a century” is rising, with Abbotsford pointing to heavy losses of livestock on Sumas Prairie. “I saw barns half-full of water,” Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said on Wednesday morning, following a flyover of the area on …