Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture industry continues to demonstrate resilience and reliability. It’s on my 2021 agenda to continue to talk about this achievement publicly to continue to educate those outside agriculture, but I’m also marking the beginning of a new year celebrating the growing normalization of talking openly about mental …
NEWS
Grower takes issue with groundwater limits
OLIVER – When Hans Buchler and his wife bought the land for their 18 acres of vineyard almost 40 years ago, one of the attractions was the water. “There is a good well on the property, which was important,” he says. “When I talked to the district of Oliver, they told me it would be …
Leasing farmland a vital strategy for farmers
METCHOSIN – While the province has been keen to support land-matching to help new farmers launch their operations, leasing farmland is a long-standing practice in BC that’s been vital to many farm businesses. Recent research by the provincial government’s Behavioural Insights Group underlined the importance of land leases to agriculture, stating that it’s commonplace for …
Kelowna school embraces new container farm
KELOWNA – The newest container farm in BC is at Kelowna’s KLO Middle School. Since mid-November, a 40-foot shipping container just outside the school’s front doors has produced lettuce, kale and bok choy. The next crop will include basil, thyme and oregano. “Right now, we’re only growing about one-sixth capacity but the farm could produce …
Tsartlip acquire farmland
The latest chapter in the saga of Woodwynn Farm has seen the Tsartlip First Nation take ownership of the property from the province, which acquired it through BC Housing in July 2018. BC Housing secured the 193-acre property on the Saanich Peninsula from the Creating Homefulness Society, which bought the property in 2009 as a …
Strengthening connections
Strengthening and expanding rural Internet access is a key objective of the federal government, which recently launched a rural broadband fund to support development and connectivity. But sometimes, farmers need to take matters into their own hands, said Jesse Hirsh, who has added to his experience in the tech sector by becoming a small-scale grower …