SKOOKUMCHUK – Jessica and Harold Tichenor have renovated several properties over the years, developing their building and gardening skills to where they could tackle extremely challenging projects. At a point in their lives when most farmers are thinking about retirement, they bought an off-grid property in the East Kootenays that turned out to be one …
NEWS
Province looks beyond timber
The province announced $25 million on February 15 to support the creation of eight additional Forest Landscape Planning tables (FLPs). “This is a positive step towards improved consideration of non-timber forest values,” says Werner Stump, vice-president of the BC Cattlemen’s Association. “Equally important will be the realization that how we have been managing the landscape …
Organic growth in sight
Seventeen candidates have stepped forward to produce organic milk in BC as part of the BC Milk Marketing Board’s expansion of its New Entrant Program (NEP) to organic producers. Unlike the regular NEP, a draw was not held to establish a short list of candidates. All applicants who submitted a completed application by the February …
Weather-driven fruit shortfalls
New tools are helping growers anticipate and assess the impact of weather on their plants, but the truth of how resilient they’ve been in the face of extreme weather events is often not known until harvest. Data for 2022 released February 16 by Statistics Canada indicates that several fruit crops saw lower production last year, …
Avian influenza threat looms
The latest date for a case of avian influenza during a winter outbreak in BC is February 19, chicken producers were told at their latest general meeting last month. With that date fast approaching, the lack of cases since January 22 has been good news for poultry growers. But that’s no reason to relax, Woody …
BC snowpack declines
Despite the grey and rainy days of BC in the wintertime, the snowpack on mountain ranges throughout the province checked in below average on February 1. The latest snow survey and water supply bulletin from the province, released February 8, reports that the snowpack is 21% below normal provincewide. Just three basins – the Lower …