Greater public awareness of the cost of trespassing on farmland is one positive result of a December 28 joyride in a Saanich hayfield. Two trucks ran amok in the 10-acre field farmed by Longview Farms, said general manager Ryan Vantreight. The 17-year-old drivers were caught when the trucks became stuck in the mud. “The police …
risk management
Agriculture ministers discuss concerns
A meeting of federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers in Ottawa this week addressed several issues of concern to BC producers. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham told Country Life in BC before she left that she would be discussing assistance for farmers in the Peace hit hard by adverse conditions this fall. The assistance would …
Ottawa targets trade issues
The federal government is seeking to reassure producers it’s supporting them in the midst of trade troubles. On July 25, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced up to $6 million for Canada Pork International under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriMarketing Program “to strengthen, diversify and grow Canada’s pork exports in priority markets around the world.” …
Ottawa designates 48 regions for livestock tax deferral
“Significant forage shortages” in 48 regions of BC have prompted the federal government to let livestock producers defer taxes on proceeds from the sale of breeding livestock in the 2019 tax year. “Preliminary analysis indicates that livestock producers in Western Canada and Quebec are experiencing significant forage shortages due to drought conditions, supporting an early …
Province boosts risk management funding
There wasn’t much new in the February 19 provincial budget so far as the BC Agriculture Council is concerned, but nothing was lost, either. The budget promises to boost the BC Ministry of Agriculture’s budget by $5 million, funds designed to support risk management efforts at the farm, community and regional level. Business development funding, …
Tax relief for livestock producers
Ottawa has approved 79 census subdivisions in BC for relief under the livestock tax deferral program. Producers in seven provinces are eligible for the relief, but Western producers will be key beneficiaries. The designated locations in BC include all of Vancouver Island and the BC coast north from Point Tsawwassen to Haida Gwaii and Stewart, …