Orchard embraces leasing to preserve family legacy
Profitability, not succession, was the real challenge

KELOWNA – When equipment was removing the apple trees from his orchard in spring 2025, Shayne Witzke largely stayed inside the family farmhouse, grieving the end to three generations of apple production. The Kelowna orchard had earned industry awards for fruit quality and innovation, but with declining margins, external pressures such as loans, pests and …
FARM NEWS UPDATE September 16, 2026
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Potato field day caps solid season
One of the largest gatherings of the BC farm sector took place at Lundstrum Farms…

Ag critic Paton goes independent
Delta South MLA Ian Paton parted ways with the Conservative Party of BC on August…

BC leads livestock tax deferrals
BC has the largest number of regions qualifying for the federal government’s livestock tax deferral…

Water restrictions collide with wildfire season
SUMMERLAND – Water management is in the spotlight following unprecedented irrigation restrictions and aggressive wildfires…

Succession sales in spotlight
Ontario’s Northlight Wine Collective has purchased Meyer Family Vineyards and Mayhem Wines of Okanagan Falls.…

Abbotsford funds organic blueberry initiative
Organic BC is using funding from the Abbotsford Community Foundation to build domestic markets for…

Young Leader heads to Winnipeg
Vanderhoof rancher Sarah MacDonald is in Winnipeg this week, one of 23 semi-finalists vying for…

Dairy sector selects new entrants
Despite a greater number of applicants this year, the BC Milk Marketing Board has accepted…

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

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

Peace agriculture faces threat from hydro project
The province is considering building a brand new 750 megawatt dam on the Peace River,…

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

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

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

Ottawa commits $20M to flood mitigation
Ottawa has committed $20 million towards cost-shared planning and initial project management work to address…
FARM NEWS UPDATE
September 16, 2026Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES
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