Drive-thru lanes are a familiar sight at fast-food joints, but can you imagine drive-thru farm stands? They’ve become a popular option for farms trying to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 this year. Eagle Acres in Langley and Maan Farms in Abbotsford offered drive-through options for on-farm events this spring. This summer, Blueberry Junction in …
Food priorities need to focus on the basics
People working on sustainability have been talking for years about a tipping point. This may well be the year we’ve reached it. A mortal threat to human health – COVID-19 – has disrupted the global status quo and will condition everything we do from now on, at least until we have an effective treatment or …
Closures underscore need for licensing reform
COOMBS – A year ago, Lori Gillis was sounding the alarm about the coming wave of retirements that threatened to drastically reduce meat processing capacity on Vancouver Island. She was 66, and had nearly 23 years’ experience under her belt. “All the butchers – red and poultry – we’re all in the same sort of …
Inaugural viticulturist of the year chosen
WEST KELOWNA – Of the approximately 120 honours viticulturist and winemaker Karnail Singh Sidhu has received since opening Kalala Organic Estate Winery in 2008, receiving the BC Grapegrowers Association’s inaugural Viticulturist of the Year award is the most satisfying. “Ninety percent of winemaking is done in the vineyard,” says Sidhu. “If a wine loses [a …
Small-lot farmers call for greater Infrastructure
ARMSTRONG – Small-scale producers say the province needs to rebuild rural food processing capacity if it wants them to thrive. While small, local producers have come into their own in recent years and drawn several aspiring farmers to rural acreages, the rules often restrict growth and leave them scrambling for the kind of support that …
Ottawa announces new rules for foreign workers
BC is awaiting details of federal plans to develop mandatory requirements for seasonal worker accommodations provided by farmers as well as a stronger inspection regime. The initiative of Employment and Social Development Canada was announced July 31 by Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion minister and Delta MP Carla Qualtrough and federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude …