The first national championship of the Outstanding Young Farmer competition in two years has named Ray and Tracey Bredenhof of Abbotsford this year’s winners alongside Jenny Butcher and Wes Kuntz of Little Brown Cow Dairy in Brantford, Ontario. The Bredenhofs operate R&T Farms in Abbotsford, which has grown to produce 225,000 broilers a year. It …
Grain sector receive funding
BC’s grain sector is a top beneficiary of the latest round of funding from the fifth disbursement from the Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund. The fund announced awards totalling $517,000 on December 2, with 19 projects – including five in the grain sector, which collectively received $247,000 for research, development and infrastructure. The single largest grant …
Fraser Valley flooding continues
A thousand acres of blueberries remain underwater in the Fraser Valley, while more than 200 farms in the province continue to operate under evacuation orders or alerts as another series of weather systems tracks across southwestern BC. A statement from the BC Blueberry Council this week described the flooding as “an unprecedented event of great …
Mental health in the spotlight
Comprehensive financial compensation for BC mink farmers being pushed out of business and growers displaced by the ongoing extreme weather across southwestern BC has yet to be announced, but in both cases the province has been quick to highlight mental health support for growers. The province’s agriculture ministry even went so far as to say …
Water quality grants available
A third round of grants to protect surface water quality in the Shuswap watershed is now available from the Shuswap Watershed Council. “One of the SWC’s primary objectives is to protect and maintain the water quality in Shuswap and Mara Lakes,” explains SWC program manager Erin Vieira. “In particular, we’re focused on reducing nutrient inputs …
Producers urged to make emergency plans
VICTORIA – When flooding hit Sumas Prairie last month, years of efforts by the BC Dairy Association to prepare producers for disaster paid off. Working with the provincial government, the association developed an emergency planning workbook for members. A template pulls together key information producers should have at hand in the event of an emergency, …