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MAY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 4

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1 week ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 weeks ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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2 weeks ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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2 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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4 weeks ago

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ALC puts focus on farming

September 11, 2019 byPeter Mitham

The province’s Agricultural Land Commission is drawing fire for its decision to reject a request by Rusted Rake Farm of Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island to operate its on-farm restaurant.

The decision, handed down September 5, also nixed the farm’s plans for a microbrewery until it is producing enough grain to support its planned production.

The restaurant seats 100 indoors while an outdoor picnic area accommodates about 40. It operates six days a week from 8 am to 5 pm, and claims to use more than half the farm’s production. The farm produces vegetables and fruit, and has a small amount of livestock.

It wasn’t enough for the ALC.

“There is not a sufficient amount of agriculture to support a restaurant of the Eatery’s size and scale given the number of seats and its hours of operation,” its decision says. “As such, the Panel finds that the farm has become ancillary to the Eatery, rather than vice versa.”

A similar argument applied to the brewery. Provincial regulations stipulate that enough farm product must be produced to meet production requirements before a brewery is developed. However, Rusted Rake had acquired equipment sufficient to produce 14,500 litres of beer a year with just 4,000 pounds of wheat in hand. An order for additional equipment to expand production is in place, with the aim of producing 12.5 tons of barley a year to support production of 40,000 litres annually.

Once again, land commissioners were unimpressed.

“Farming must come first,” they write. “In the case of the application, the applicants are requesting to operate a brewery in advance of reaching the threshold of primary farm product production.”

Moreover, the operation lacked local government approval.

However, supporters quickly took to social media to vent frustration with the land commission’s decision, including Opposition agriculture critic Ian Paton.

“Its hard to protect farmland when the NDP keep killing opportunities for farmers in BC to think outside the box in order to remain viable,” he wrote on Facebook.

A petition seeking the repeal of changes passed under Bill 52 last fall and Bill 15 this spring has been set up at Change.org. It had received more than 2,400 signatures as of September 10. A public consultation by the province last year on ways to revitalize the ALC and the Agricultural Land Reserve drew just 2,600 responses.

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