BC’s dairy industry took quick and decisive action last week against Cedar Valley Farms, an organic dairy in Abbotsford, following allegations of animal abuse. BC Milk Marketing Board circulated a note to industry on October 27 saying that it had suspended the farm’s licence following the receipt of information from the BC SPCA “regarding violations …
NEWS
Langley logs Asian hornet
Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff made an unexpected discovery October 22 while performing a routine monthly check of a trap set to monitor for Japanese beetle in south Langley. The decaying body of an Asian giant hornet lay within, the first confirmed report of one of the insects this year in Canada. Since no hornets …
Grading standards shorten cucumbers
Consultations opened October 29 on new federal grade standards that could shorten the length of some Canada No. 1 cucumbers. While individually packaged long seedless cucumbers will still need to be a minimum of 11 inches to qualify as Canada No. 1, those sold by the dozen can max out a half inch shorter than …
Groundwater users could lose rights next year
VERNON – This summer’s dry weather resulted in a record number of restrictions on water use across southern BC, underscoring just how tapped out some basins are. Salmon River remained at drought level 5 last month – the most severe under the province’s new six-tier drought rating system – even after the autumn rains arrived. …
Producers silent on Columbia River Treaty impacts
VICTORIA – The recently completed public consultation on the Columbia River Treaty’s impacts on BC agriculture has come up short. “We are extremely disappointed that we only received four submissions to our request for feedback,” says Kathy Eichenberger, who is leading the Columbia River Treaty review on behalf of the province. Eichenberger acknowledges that it …
The battle continues long after the war is over
In November 1968, I worked on a maintenance project in a large Vancouver sawmill. To avoid the worst of the morning traffic on the Patullo bridge, I left home early and regularly spent the half-hour before work on my own drinking coffee in the gloomy lunchroom. I arrived one morning to the sound of weeping …