TerraLink celebrates 50 years

A homegrown success celebrated its 50th anniversary in Abbotsford on June 27.

A community barbecue attended by 300 staff, growers, partners and dignitaries celebrated the origins and evolution of TerraLink Horticulture Ltd., which has evolved from a local supplier to a regional powerhouse serving growers across Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

To mark its growth, TerraLink contributed $50,000 to food banks in BC and Alberta.

“TerraLink has seen a tremendous transformation through its five decades,” says Matt Thurston, who succeeded vice-chair Stan Loewen as CEO last year. “We are proud to give back to the communities that have supported us through these years as we continue to build a legacy of generational growth.”

Founded in Abbotsford as Coast Agri in 1973, TerraLink adopted its current name after it was spun out of Agro Pacific Industries Ltd. (formerly the East Chilliwack Fruit Growers Co-op) following Agro Pacific’s collapse under $33 million in debt related to a foray into feed for farmed salmon.

Acquired by private equity firm Triwest Capital Partners in October 2000, TerraLink expanded its product line, distribution capabilities and value-added services to become one of BC’s largest farm supply businesses.

Triwest sold the business to Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver in January 2009, and its growth continued. It now employs 148 people serving 7,000 customers from offices in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Delta, Kelowna and Airdrie, holding what it describes as “a commanding presence” supplying commercial greenhouses, turf, nursery, ornamental, forestry, landscaping and organic operations as well as garden centres.

“Through utilizing its generational knowledge and local perspectives, TerraLink has created value-added solutions for its stakeholders,” TerraLink said in a statement. “TerraLink has been a driving force in championing the advancement of growers for the past five decades, and will continue to be for a long time to come.”

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Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.

SEPTEMBER 2026
Vol. 112 Issue 9

TerraLink celebrates 50 years

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