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JULY 2025
Vol. 111 Issue 6

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations 👍🎉

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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1 month ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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2 months ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 months ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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Farmland lease rates

CATHY GLOVER PHOTO

May 1, 2024 byPeter Mitham

Higher land costs translate to higher rents for farmers who lease their land, according to a recently released analysis of farmland rental rates from Farm Credit Canada.

The annual analysis, which plots cash rents against the value of farmland for each province, indicated that landowners were charging tenant farmers rent equivalent to 2.52% of the value of their land. This was virtually unchanged from 2.55% last year, indicating that lease rates were keeping in step with increases in land costs.

FCC reported in March that farmland values increased 11.5% last year.

Nova Scotia was alone in seeing rental rates outstrip growth in farmland values, with all other provinces either seeing rents rise in step or lag changes in land values.

“The three provinces that recorded the highest farmland value increases in 2023, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec, also saw increases in rental rates, maintaining stability in rent-to-price ratios,” FCC notes.

BC, which saw land values fall 3.1% last year, driven by declines in the Fraser Valley, was absent from the analysis, however.

FCC says there simply wasn’t enough rental rate data from the province to analyze.

Secure tenure and high land costs are big issues for farmers in the province, so much so that Young Agrarians set up a land-matching program, now funded by the province, to foster lease arrangements between landowners and farmers.

Census of Agriculture data indicate that 771 of the 15,841 farms in the province were wholly dependent on leased land in 2021. Private landowners leased land to 3,092 farms, awhile government leased to 820 farms.

Government leases totalled 1.7 million acres, reflecting the importance of Crown land to the province’s farms and ranches.

This also complicates the picture of compensation, however.

Several payment arrangements exist. Some owners are content with the reduction in property taxes that comes from allowing their land to be farmed while others accept a share of production. Cash rates run from as little as $1 an acre up to a few hundred dollars.

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