Indigenous communities across the province were hit hard by food chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 and last year’s myriad natural disasters. But many groups are working together to produce food locally while also bringing Indigenous farming roots to light. “There is a lack of recognition that there are many Indigenous people that are very engaged …
NEWS
Off-season sales boosted by new vending machine
CHILLIWACK – A vending machine from the Netherlands has improved winter sales on a Chilliwack farm. Berry Bounty Farms installed the Innovend machine last July, allowing it to display more than a dozen products from berries to eggs and honey in individual climate-controlled compartments with see-through doors. An increasingly common sight in Europe, the installation …
Abbotsford approves flood mitigation option
Abbotsford city council approved a flood mitigation strategy for Sumas Prairie on June 13. The preferred option is a hybrid of three of the four options presented to residents, farmers and business owners in April. Comments were accepted until May 15. The feedback led councillors to choose a strategy that focuses on enhancing Abbotsford’s existing …
Bee losses significant but not extreme
For the second year in a row, nearly a third of honey bee colonies in BC did not make it through the winter. Each spring, provincial apiculture specialist Paul van Westendorp surveys beekeepers to assess winter mortality and identify the causes. He was putting the finishing touches on the 2022 overwintering survey on June 10 …
Borrowing costs begin to bite
Three increases this year to the Bank of Canada’s overnight lending rate are raising financing costs for farmers. The central bank’s benchmark rate increased to 1.5% on June 1, six times what it was at the start of the year. Prior to the first increase in March, the benchmark rate had been 0.25% since March …
Packers say they’ll work together to fix industry
KELOWNA – A group of packers have sent a letter to BC apple growers outlining their commitment to work together and offering a number of suggestions to improve the industry. But the BC Fruit Growers Association says the suggestions are not substantial enough and will ask the province to step in. The 11-member group includes …