Raspberry growers are receiving additional support to renew their industry. The province is making $300,000 available to support the removal of old varieties and the replanting with new varieties suitable for both the fresh and individually quick frozen (IQF) markets. Similar to recent funding for the hazelnut sector’s renewal, the funding will also support strategic …
Douglas Lake challenge dismissed
Private property that encloses Crown property will remain closed to the public, following the Supreme Court of Canada’s refusal last week to hear an appeal of a ruling that protects Douglas Lake Ranch from trespassers. Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club members hoped the country’s highest court would hear an appeal of a BC Court …
Farmland values keep rising
High farmland values got even higher in BC in the first half of 2021, according to Farm Credit Canada. A mid-year report from the federally backed agricultural lender said BC farm property values increased nearly 9% as hobby farmers battled commercial growers for rural properties. “This is a significant increase considering that British Columbia has …
Feeling the heat on water
DUNCAN – The province is facing pushback over its water management strategy following four fish protection orders this summer, a management tool that runs counter to its troubled groundwater licensing initiative. Two years ago, agricultural irrigators in the Kokilah River watershed became the first to have water access curtailed under Section 88 of the Water …
Province falls short on dam safety oversight
VICTORIA – BC’s auditor general says the province has failed to ensure dam owners comply with dam safety regulations, raising the risk of failures such as the 2010 collapse of the Testalinden dam on rangeland south of Oliver that swept away houses, vineyards and farm equipment. But the report, released September 14, stopped short of …
Cheesemakers felt the heat this summer
DUNCAN – Keeping their animals cool and fields productive were challenges for many dairy farmers this summer, but those with processing facilities in their operations also struggled to ensure adequate milk production. Dairy and artisan cheese producers on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland took a double hit as the heat stressed their animals and …