The BC Farm Industry Review Board has found the BC Milk Marketing Board violated its pledge to not involve itself in the financing arrangements for Dairy Innovation West, the new processing plant jointly owned by dairy producers in the four Western provinces. Writing to BC FIRB in May 2020, then-BC Milk chair Ben Janzen confirmed …
BC-Alberta sign wine MOU
While there’s plenty of work yet to be done, a memorandum of understanding BC and Alberta signed this week will allow BC wineries to ship direct to consumers in Alberta after years of running battles over the issue. The latest occurred this past winter, when Alberta blocked shipments from BC wineries – salt in the …
Grasslands tour puts spotlight on common ground
KAMLOOPS – The annual Grasslands Conservation Council of BC (GCC) field day visited Tunkwa Provincial Park on June 8, with participants learning about the park’s creation and management of the surrounding grasslands. Tunkwa Provincial Park was created in 1996 to protect a portion of the area’s extensive mid-elevation grasslands, as well as lakes, wetlands and …
Groundwater enforcement picks up
Drought conditions worsened on Vancouver Island last week, coinciding with a growing stream of reports that BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship staff are visiting farms in the Tsolum watershed to ensure compliance with groundwater licensing rules. The Tsolum was one of four watersheds where irrigation of forage was shut down last August …
Gill shifts to greenhouses
BC Blueberry Council executive director Anju Gill has accepted a staff position at the BC Greenhouse Growers Association (BCGGA). While the role has yet to be fully defined, Gill will be making the move in August as the greenhouse association strengthens its staff resources in the face of an ambitious work plan that includes the …
Cherries replant funding opens
Cherry producers will be able to apply for funds to support orchard renewal beginning July 9. The funding is the third round of funding for the sector under the initial Perennial Crop Renewal Program announced in spring 2022, which was backed by $15 million of provincial monies for tree fruits, berries and hazelnuts. Previous rounds …