ABBOTSFORD – Approximately 60,000 chickens roam Ray Nickel’s four-level barn in Abbotsford. The environment in the facility is computer-controlled, with air flow and temperature closely monitored to ensure the birds are comfortable and – more important – healthy. Close quarters mean that if one bird gets sick, all are vulnerable. To further reduce the risk …
Meat processing review fails to meet expectations
MERRITT – First it dodged half the province by cancelling a week of scheduled meetings in June and now it’s squandering the chance to show leadership and help the BC meat processing industry move forward. The legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fish and Food has delivered its final report, making no definitive recommendations on …
Traceability regulations expected next year
ARMSTRONG – The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency wants farmers to get ahead of new traceability regulations expected to come into effect next year. CCIA general manager Anne Brunet-Burgess has worked on the regulations since 2015 and the due date has moved several times, but she now expects the first draft to be published in spring …
Success starts with solid business plan
ABBOTSFORD – The first thing farmers and agri-businesses need to do when trying to obtain financing for a new project is to develop a plan. That’s the first place the BC Ministry of Agriculture can help, BCMA partnerships and outreach manager Lindsay Bisschop told the Fraser Valley chapter of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors …
Cherry growers hit hardest by wildfire smoke
KELOWNA – Cooler, clearer weather has finally beaten back smoke from the province’s worst wildfire season on record that delivered air quality worse than Beijing, but producer groups are reporting mixed effects. Hank Markgraf, field services manager at BC Tree Fruits, says the smoky skies were the worst he’s ever seen, and that created problems …
Farm employers on edge
ABBOTSFORD – Another round of changes to the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program has farm employers on edge after the hassles of obtaining workers for the 2018 season. Come 2019, workers from Mexico will have to provide biometric identification prior to arrival while employers face new housing standards against a backdrop of an ongoing review of …