Agriculture

Volunteers from River Wrangler Sportfishing in the Mission Hills community deliver donations by boat after the floods affected dairy farms in Abbotsford in November 2021

BC Dairy thanks the community for over $850,000 flood relief donations, and shines a spotlight on local community heroes

British Columbians have come forward with an incredible show of support for…

  • Jan 10, 2022

 

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, chats with farm owner Veronica Enright at her dairy farm in Compton, Que., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Arbitrators have issued their final report into U.S. complaints about how Canada is interpreting North American trade rules around dairy imports — and both countries are claiming victory. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Both sides claim victory after U.S. complaint about Canada’s dairy quota practices

Panel says Canada’s practices are ‘inconsistent’ with the commitments spelled out in the trade deal

 

Lana Popham, B.C. agriculture minister, said only two per cent of the annual provincial turkey production has been lost due to recent flooding. (Jill Hayward photo)

98% of turkeys survived flooding, says B.C. Agriculture Minister

However, flooding could affect the cost of Christmas turkeys, says Lana Popham

 

Flooded farms are seen in this aerial photo in Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford, B.C., on Monday, November 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘It’s my life’s work’: B.C. fruit and vegetable growers face uncertainty after floods

Flooding comes a few months after a heat wave in late June “torched” crops

Flooded farms are seen in this aerial photo in Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford, B.C., on Monday, November 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Volunteers flocked to a Greendale property to dry off soggy calves boated in from Sumas. (Victoria Hergott Facebook)

VIDEO: Volunteers dry off soaked calves who stood for hours in Fraser Valley floods

Soggy, shivering calves were in bad shape after standing in chest-deep water for hours

Volunteers flocked to a Greendale property to dry off soggy calves boated in from Sumas. (Victoria Hergott Facebook)
Mink look out from a pen at a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Friday Nov. 6, 2020. Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will be prohibited on farms by April 2023 as part of the province’s permanent ban of the industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP

Nova Scotia pays for COVID-19 vaccines for mink, B.C. says no before closing industry

Nova Scotia’s vaccination program will be launched soon at five farms until the end of December

Mink look out from a pen at a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Friday Nov. 6, 2020. Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will be prohibited on farms by April 2023 as part of the province’s permanent ban of the industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP
Avtar Dhillon is having success growing saffron flowers on his Abbotsford blueberry farm. The stigmas are removed from the plants, dried out and sold as a spice for cooking and other purposes. (Vikki Hopes/Abbotsford News)

Abbotsford farmer among first in B.C. to grow and harvest ‘world’s most expensive spice’

Avtar Dhillon has success with saffron, normally produced in arid climates

Avtar Dhillon is having success growing saffron flowers on his Abbotsford blueberry farm. The stigmas are removed from the plants, dried out and sold as a spice for cooking and other purposes. (Vikki Hopes/Abbotsford News)
Mink farms are being phased out in B.C. and will be shut down entirely by April 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

BC plans to phase out mink farming industry by 2025

The government is doing this over four years to allow farmers and workers a transition period

Mink farms are being phased out in B.C. and will be shut down entirely by April 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
On Aug. 3, Pender Island residents Chris Hall and Stef Lowey will have officially completed a year of only eating what they can grow, harvest, catch or raise themselves. (Courtesy of Chris Hall and Stef Lowey)

From salt to stevia: B.C. couple nears full year without buying food

Pender Island’s Chris Hall and Stef Lowey have produced everything they’ve eaten since Aug. 3, 2020

On Aug. 3, Pender Island residents Chris Hall and Stef Lowey will have officially completed a year of only eating what they can grow, harvest, catch or raise themselves. (Courtesy of Chris Hall and Stef Lowey)
Cherries at Pravin Dhaliwal’s family farm in Oliver, B.C., are seen cooked on their trees, when the temperature hit a record 41.5 C in a June 2021 handout photo. Dhaliwal is trying to maintain his passion as a third-generation farmer while dealing with the reality of climate change and says farmers need more support from provincial and federal governments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Pravin Dhaliwal

Farmers say heat wave, drought show vulnerable agricultural sector needs support

Farmers across Canada look to provincial and the federal governments for help

Cherries at Pravin Dhaliwal’s family farm in Oliver, B.C., are seen cooked on their trees, when the temperature hit a record 41.5 C in a June 2021 handout photo. Dhaliwal is trying to maintain his passion as a third-generation farmer while dealing with the reality of climate change and says farmers need more support from provincial and federal governments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Pravin Dhaliwal
A sign hangs at an entrance to the Stanko Ranch, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, near Steamboat Springs, Colo. Members of the third, fourth and fifth generations of the Stanko family currently work on the ranch, which includes about 90 head of cattle, but Jim Stanko says due to drought conditions this year, if he can’t harvest enough hay to feed his cattle, he may need to sell off some of his herd. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

As drought cuts hay crop, U.S. cattle ranchers face culling herds

Choices increasingly centered around how herds can sustain drought conditions

A sign hangs at an entrance to the Stanko Ranch, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, near Steamboat Springs, Colo. Members of the third, fourth and fifth generations of the Stanko family currently work on the ranch, which includes about 90 head of cattle, but Jim Stanko says due to drought conditions this year, if he can’t harvest enough hay to feed his cattle, he may need to sell off some of his herd. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. (Screen shot)

Government to allow ‘more residential flexibility’ in agricultural lands, says B.C. minister

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham was guest speaker Friday during Surrey Board of Trade-hosted Zoom meeting

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. (Screen shot)
Agriculture depends on irrigation in many parts of B.C., and licences are required for using groundwater sources such as wells for agricultural or industrial use. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. farms, industry risk losing water rights as licence deadline nears

Non-domestic groundwater claims must be filed by March 2022

Agriculture depends on irrigation in many parts of B.C., and licences are required for using groundwater sources such as wells for agricultural or industrial use. (B.C. government photo)
Blueberry harvest in the Fraser Valley relies mainly on older Indo-Canadian workers provided through labour brokers. (Maple Ridge News)

B.C. ‘moving very cautiously’ on minimum wage for farm workers

Most workers support piece-rate pay for picking, survey says

Blueberry harvest in the Fraser Valley relies mainly on older Indo-Canadian workers provided through labour brokers. (Maple Ridge News)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham takes questions in the B.C. legislature in 2017. (Hansard TV)

UPDATE: B.C. will fund another year of fresh fruit, vegetables, milk in schools

John Horgan government working on school meal program

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham takes questions in the B.C. legislature in 2017. (Hansard TV)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham promotes the government’s BuyBC food program in 2019. (B.C. government)

Money running out for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk in B.C. schools

‘Looking at ways to support this type of program,’ minister says

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham promotes the government’s BuyBC food program in 2019. (B.C. government)
Cows from Creekside Dairy in Agassiz experienced 2021’s spring weather for the first time on Thursday, April 22, early in the morning. (Screenshot/Creekside Dairy)

VIDEO: B.C. cows react with joy to springtime pasture

Creekside Dairy spreads joy as their cows see their home fields for the first time since winter

Cows from Creekside Dairy in Agassiz experienced 2021’s spring weather for the first time on Thursday, April 22, early in the morning. (Screenshot/Creekside Dairy)
A mink at a farm, taken on July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins

Quarantined B.C. mink farm resumes breeding after COVID-19 outbreak

Province approves resumption of breeding at Fraser Valley farm, and 8 others not in quarantine

A mink at a farm, taken on July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins
Farmland in Surrey. (Photo: Surrey.ca)

B.C. Agriculture minister sends Surrey ‘stern’ letter for nixing agriculture advisory committee

Cities intending to restrict or prohibit agriculture within a farming area may need to be ‘regulated,’ Lana Popham warned

Farmland in Surrey. (Photo: Surrey.ca)
In honour of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month, a national organization has received federal money to expand its programming. (U.S Department of Agriculture/Flickr)

Agriculture education in Canadian schools gets $1.6M boost from the feds

It’s imperative students know where their food comes from: Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau

In honour of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month, a national organization has received federal money to expand its programming. (U.S Department of Agriculture/Flickr)