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September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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4 days ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

6 days ago

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7 days ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
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1 week ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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1 week ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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Wage rates increase

Myrna Stark Leader photo

March 16, 2022 byPeter Mitham

With inflation at its highest rate since the 1980s, a higher cost of living is also inflating the notion of a so-called living wage.

Once pegged at $15 an hour, it’s now $16.75 in the agricultural heartland of the Fraser Valley and $18.49 in the Okanagan.

BC made good on the recommendation of the Fair Wages Commission to raise the base wage all workers receive above $15 an hour last year, and now inflation is pushing it higher once again.

The province announced this week that the minimum wage will rise to $15.65 on June 1, a 2.8% increase over last year. The increase is linked to the province’s inflation rate.

Hand harvesters will see their wages rise by a similar percentage come January 1, 2023. The delay reflects the province’s desire to give farm operations time to prepare for the increase rather than instituting the change mid-season.

Piece rates are paid for the harvesting of 15 commodities in BC, including daffodils, mushrooms, berries and tree fruits.

But the province has yet to make any large-scale changes to the piece rate system, which remains largely unchanged since the province implemented it in 1981.

The province commissioned a report in 2018 designed to give it the data it needed to overhaul the system and ensure workers received proper compensation for their work. According to comments provided to the Fair Wages Commission, the system was exploitative and even racist.

But the report, published in 2019, found 90% of growers supported the existing system. Moreover, while blueberry harvesters were the least likely to receive minimum wage when paid piece rates, these growers would also be hurt most by any increase in their piece rate to match minimum wage.

“We have been taking an in-depth look at how to ensure compensation is fair for farm workers, sustainable for farm operators and economically viable for the industry,” the BC Ministry of Labour told Country Life of BC in a statement, noting that it is in discussions with the agriculture ministry. “By updating the piece rates on these crops, we will ensure that farm workers are paid a fair wage for the valuable work they do. We will have more to share as the Ministry continues its work on the piece rate crops.”

 

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