The federal budget delivered April 16 held no surprises for agriculture and little to cheer about, either. The budget allocated $64 million to support an increase in the interest-free limit on Advance Payments Program loans to $250,000 from $100,000 for the 2024 program year. However, the announcement had already been made nearly a month earlier …
Wine sector celebrates award winners
PENTICTON – The Wyse family of Oliver’s Burrowing Owl Estate Winery took home the Canadian Wine Industry Award of Distinction during the 2024 Wine Industry Awards ceremony on March 12 in Penticton. A long-term commitment to producing high-quality wine while honouring and protecting the local environment have been defining practices at Burrowing Owl, founded in …
Haida Aboriginal title recognized
Seven weeks after the province deferred controversial amendments to the Land Act that would have allowed shared decision-making over Crown land, the province has formally recognized the Haida Nation’s jurisdiction over Haida Gwaii. An agreement signed April 14 between the Council of Haida Nation and BC constitutes formal recognition of Aboriginal title by the Crown …
AI risk for dairy discussed
BC dairy farmers are being advised to stay alert for highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has infected dairy herds in eight US states. “I don’t want to put too much emphasis on that and alarm anyone without real reasons,” BC Dairy Association chair Casey Pruim told producers attending their spring meeting online on April 12. …
Peace producers break ground
The soil is dry, but Peace producers are optimistic about the season ahead. “We’ve had a very mild winter up here. We hardly had any snow and typically, when we’re this far north, we’ll have a foot and a half of snow in the field at some point and this year we had two to …
Water stewardship metrics questioned
Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Minister Nathan Cullen faced grilling in committee this week as the budget for his ministry’s operations came under scrutiny by MLAs. Independent MLA Adam Walker, who represents Parksville-Qualicum, questioned how the province is measuring the success of its water stewardship initiatives to ensure they are delivering on government’s objectives. “Looking …