DELTA – BC blueberry farmers and some apiarists were left scratching their heads after it was reported that there would be a sizable bee shortage in the Fraser Valley this spring. In April, the Vancouver Sun reported that beekeepers, including “major operators from Alberta,” were refusing to send their colonies to the Fraser Valley this …
Province urged to regulate farmhouse size
VANCOUVER – Metro Vancouver’s submission to the nine-member advisory committee appointed to recommend ways to revitalize the Agricultural Land Commission and the lands it oversees has put the issue of farmhouse size at the top of its wish list. The submission, presented to Metro Vancouver’s regional planning committee by Theresa Duynstee, was set to go to …
Traceability regs to include animal movement
PENDER ISLAND – Traceability regulations are right around the corner. The promise is something livestock producers have heard before, but this time the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it’s the truth. Sometime within the next year, regulations will require more than just an approved ear tag. Premises will have to be registered and movements …
New meat producer association launched
MERRITT – Small-scale meat producers across BC are banding together to form a new association representing farmers and ranchers who raise meat outside of the conventional system. The Small-Scale Meat Producers Association was founded by primary producers and their supporters following several months of online Facebook discussions that garnered the interest of about 75 ranchers …
Salal berries have market potential
Sometimes, some of the best health foods are right in front of you – or perhaps swirling in a glass-filled gift from a buddie. “A friend gave me a bottle of dessert wine that included some salal juice as a present,” says professor Peter Constabel, director of the Centre for Forest Biology, University of Victoria. …
Labour trouble
LANGLEY – A packed house gathered for the spring meeting of the BC Landscape and Nursery Association at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Langley on March 12, keen to get answers to questions about the state of the labour force. The association is engaged in an extensive study of labour requirements for the sector, but the …