Country Life in BC

Peace agriculture faces threat from hydro project

Site E could flood more than 19,000 acres

August 1, 2026

The province is considering building a brand new 750 megawatt dam on the Peace River, and some in BC’s agricultural sector are starting to weigh in. Site E would be built at the confluence of the Peace and Alces rivers, close to the Alberta border, making it the fourth dam on the Peace. It is …

FARM NEWS UPDATE August 19, 2026

Succession sales in spotlight

Abbotsford funds organic blueberry initiative

Young Leader heads to Winnipeg

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Dairy sector selects new entrants

August 5, 2026

Despite a greater number of applicants this year, the BC Milk Marketing Board has accepted…

KPU sets up research hopyard

August 5, 2026

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has set up a research hopyard at the Molson Coors plant in…

Cash Flows

August 1, 2026

VERNON – Water restrictions intensified across the southern Interior in late July, with record low…

WorkSafeBC releases preliminary rates

July 22, 2026

WorkSafeBC announced preliminary premiums for 2027 on July 13, with most agriculture sectors seeing a…

BCPVGA hires general manager

July 22, 2026

Clayton Botkin has been appointed general manager of the BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association…

Fish protection orders loom

July 22, 2026

The province is doing its utmost to hold off on fish protection orders that would…

Ottawa commits $20M to flood mitigation

July 8, 2026

Ottawa has committed $20 million towards cost-shared planning and initial project management work to address…

Okanagan 4-H holds stock show

July 8, 2026

The annual Okanagan 4-H Stock Show takes place July 7-11, with 26 steers available to…

BCAC plans farmland trust

July 8, 2026

A farmland trust will be established this fall to help BC farmers transition land at…

Drought forces Salmon River farmers to act

July 2, 2026

WESTWOLD – Hay producer Clay Abel knows it isn’t a matter of if, but when,…

Table grape growers eye opportunities

July 2, 2026

LANGLEY – Gorgi Petkov still remembers the big, juicy table grapes grown in his home…

Full circle for Okanagan Specialty Fruits

June 24, 2026

BC biotech success story Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF) is once more BC-owned, following its…

BCAC policy forum kicks off

June 24, 2026

Penticton is the scene this week for the BC Agriculture Council’s new flagship event for…

Chilco Ranch practices honoured

June 10, 2026

Hanceville’s Chilco Ranch-Miller Ranches Ltd. is this year’s recipient of the BC Cattlemen’s Association Ranch…

ALR processing rules changing

June 10, 2026

The province is set to announce changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural…

FARM NEWS UPDATE

August 19, 2026

Succession sales in spotlight

Abbotsford funds organic blueberry initiative

Young Leader heads to Winnipeg

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1 day ago

Chilco Ranch–Miller Ranches of Hanceville received the national environmental stewardship award from the Canadian Cattle Association at this week's Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Winnipeg. The fourth-generation ranch blends traditional values with modern innovation as it manages 1,000 cow-calf pairs of Hereford cattle across 170,000 acres. Rotational grazing, soil health improvement and careful land stewardship as well as advanced water-monitoring technology ensures sustainable ranch operations, while deep community involvement through 4-H and other organizations support future generations. You can read more of their story in the September issue of Country Life in BC, which goes to press next week. Photo | Facebook/Canadian Cattle Associat#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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The deadline to weigh in on BC's proposed food-processing rules in the Agricultural Land Reserve has been extended to September 18. Proposed changes would open nearly 1.3 million acres of protected farmland to food processors by allowing processors to build plants on Class 5-7 soil (and Class 4, in some cases) as long as 5% of inputs are grown in BC. Currently, all processors must source at least 50% of inputs from BC. The existing 50% rule would stay in place for Class 1-3 soils. The BC Agriculture Council, which has previously raised concerns that the proposal reflects a narrow set of interests, says it's still reviewing the details with its #BCAgrs.

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Funny how they always release these proposals in August when most farms are working overtime.

Let’s use our brains for a moment and think about this. Let’s say I’ve got a farm in bc, where i grow a crop that I then turn into jam. I have a small window each year where my produce is ready. I turn it into jam. Now my jam becomes a big hit and people want it year round. The only way for me to produce outside of my fruit bearing window is to bring in fruit from other places. I’m supposed to let my investment sit idle for most of the year? You can extrapolate this to many things we grow in bc and have short windows where it is ready. Our goal shouldn’t be to make it harder for people to succeed. Maybe 5% is too low, but 50% means it’s going to sit idle.

emails can be sent here: AF.Minister@gov.bc.ca

5%? Yeah, that’s a big “no” from me… the whole point of allowing processing on farmland is to make farms more economically viable by increasing the market for their product.

Where is the link for input?

I find that 5% vs 50 % equation very unsettling. In this situation it is not 5% from the farm it is 5% from bc. The rest can come from anywhere else. This is fine for industry standards but does not help agriculture in bc. So if we are going to give up limited agricultural land for this endeavour it had should help farming in bc. Farmers are expected to use 50% of their own on farm product on alr. Farmers would continue to be expected to use 50% while processors need not grow anything nor support bc farms. This doesn’t pass the sniff test to me

I am by far, no expert, but why would you even propose to build a plant on good farmland, isn’t that for growing a plant? You can build a plant on any ground. Reminds me of all the greenhouses built on prime soil, to me it reduces capacity and takes away from local farmers so big business can come in and take over.

Here is the link: news.gov.bc.ca/files/FoodProcessingALR_DiscussionPaperAug18_2026.pdf Taking input until September 18th. In my opinion, lowering the sources to just 5% does nothing to build food sovereignty which is what we desperately need.

This is such bs

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2 days ago

The province has just issued a new temporary protection order for the Salmon River, effective immediately, restricting irrigation water for forage crops such as hay, alfalfa, and corn. A previous order was issued on July 28 and rescinded on August 8 due to wildfire risk, but low stream flows persist, threatening over 200 spawning Chinook salmon in the watershed. Affected licence holders will be contacted directly. Drought support is available to farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The province has invested $120 million in the Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program to support farmers facing water scarcity.

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Can someone explain why they irrigate during the day in the blistering heat. Would it be better to water early morning and at sunset?

Time to start new methods of agriculture, ive watched our ecosystem take a beating in my lifetime, iym not against any productivity of our economic development within our structures, really its not rocket science. Its just going to cost alot to change to a better, more viable solution. Banks and your intellectuals, wanna run this country with money, then quit, wasting it on ignorance. The solutions are all easy, just how much money, do we waste, and how much are we going to spend, on actually fixing the issues.

200 fish over all the feed that grows in this valley wow that some expensive fish

Get your water off fly hills two big lakes off there Spa and author

The methods we have now are because settlers always saw what was excess resources in their eyes - the riches of the ‘New World’ have been used and abused and as the limits have been reached are in disbelief and still trying to push for more….when the problem is US and how settlers have always been about extraction and not living with and much less understanding the landscapes in their integration because the next crop is the horizon and there is no compassion for the land its flora and fauna because it needs to be remade in the settler image and naive ideal

4 days ago

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has established a one-acre research hopyard at Molson Coors' Chilliwack plant, housing 10 experimental selections and 40 heritage varieties. The multi-year partnership supports new hop variety development and breeding decisions for BC growers, building on Chilliwack's history as Canada's former largest hop-producing region. www.countrylifeinbc.com/kpu-sets-up-rese #BCAgh#kwantlenpolytechnicuniversityc#MolsonCoorsty #MolsonCoors ... See MoreSee Less

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What is old is new again in Chilliwack.

7 days ago

Complex, curious and compassionate, and above all a contributor to his family, his community and the dairy industry is how family, friends and colleagues remembered Dave Janssens this morning at a memorial service in Surrey following his untimely passing July 21 while cycling through the Peace region. A standing-room-only congregation attended as Janssens' life and decades of service were honoured. An elected member of both the BC Milk Marketing Board and the BC Dairy Association, Janssens represented the industry at the provincial and national level and was recognized for his clear thinking and willingness to entertain diverse perspectives. He retired last year following six years as a director of the BC Milk Marketing Board. His absence from industry discussions will be miss#BCAg##BCDairyDairy ... See MoreSee Less

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Our Sincere Condolences to the family and all who had the pleasure of knowing David, he left his mark, Rest in Peace David 🙏🏼

A significant contributor in so many ways, sorry for your loss!