SPALLUMCHEEN – Merritt’s loss is the North Okanagan’s gain as the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association shifts its focus from a Nicola Valley abattoir to a butcher hub based in Spallumcheen. “We were able to pivot funds from the Nicola project to invest in the North Okanagan,” says SSMPA executive director Julia Smith. “This will be …
Small-Scale Meat Producers Association
Insurer steps up to cover farmgate abattoirs
MERRITT – Small-scale meat producers across the province are resting easier following Peace Hills General Insurance’s announcement in April that it will cover farmgate abattoirs. “It’s very good news. We’ve been working on this for over two years,” says Julia Smith, executive director of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association. “We had been back and forth …
Poultry gatherings banned
The province has tightened controls on poultry in the face of a growing number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. With fall bird migrations in full wing, the province’s chief veterinary officer reintroduced an order on October 14 indefinitely prohibiting the comingling of flocks. The order applies to all poultry, fowl, guinea fowl, peafowl, …
Abattoir closure leaves producers scrambling
SALMON ARM – Hog producers in the Thompson-Okanagan are without a processor after Salmon Arm’s Rocana Meats suddenly closed in August. “It has been really, really hard for producers in that area. It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” says Small-Scale Meat Producers Association executive director and project manager Julia Smith. “Most people are …
Avian influenza returns
Poultry producers across the province are once more on high alert for highly pathogenic avian influenza after three positive test results in the past week. The industry went back to red level biosecurity protocols September 12 following a potential case in the Fraser Valley. The disease was confirmed at a commercial flock in Chilliwack with …
Historic relief package delivered
Tough negotiations have delivered BC farmers a landmark recovery package that promises to help farmers recover from catastrophic flooding and landslides last November. The provincial and federal agriculture ministers have combined two relief programs to secure $228 million in funding under what’s billed as the “2021 Flood Recovery Program for Food Security.” Delivered through AgriRecovery, …