A changing of the guard is underway in BC field vegetables. Karina Sakalauskas will succeed the province’s long-time field vegetable specialist Susan Smith, who retires later this month after two decades with the province’s agriculture ministry. Smith’s contributions were recognized at the BC Certified Seed Potato Growers Association’s annual general meeting in Squamish on November …
David Schmidt endowment planned
November 20 marks one year since the sudden death of Country Life in BC editor emeritus David Schmidt at the age of 73. The face of Country Life in BC for four decades, Schmidt was known for his deep understanding of the industry, his commitment to accurate, insightful reporting, and his passion for sharing the stories of …
On-farm innovation fuels turnaround
CRESTON – After eight years of careful, steady growth, Nigel and Laura Francis of Cartwheel Farm near Creston were ready to take their market garden to the next level. Since 2022, they have invested significantly in state-of-the-art equipment and technology in their quest to operate fossil fuel-free and grow more food throughout the year. At …
Staccato cherry rights defended
Could a cherry by any other name be as sweet? A federal court in Washington State believes so, and recently upheld Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s claim to the successful variety against attempts by a Washington grower to market it under a different name. On August 22, the US District Court for the Eastern District of …
Avian flu response keeping pace
A fall wave of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has hit a cross-section of BC farms, but the response effort is so far keeping pace to contain the outbreaks. “We have the capacity to continue this pace,” Clayton Botkin, executive director of the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, told stakeholders during an October 30 …
Milk price holds the course
The Canadian Dairy Commission is leaving farmgate milk prices essentially unchanged in 2025, following its annual review of production costs and consumer prices. The price of fluid milk leaving will decline by 0.02% on February 1, thanks to declines in input costs that marginally outpaced increases in consumer prices. This will mean a marginal decrease …