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Jan 15, 2025 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
A pilot project to transform food distribution in the Kootenays is underway through the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council (CKFPC). “It’s challenging for our small-scale seasonal producers to find a carrier they can afford. Those that are successful are usually transporting their own goods within the region, a time-consuming, inefficient process that takes them away from producing," says CKFPC executive director Damon Chouinard.
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Jan 1, 2025 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
A pilot project to transform food distribution in the Kootenays is underway through the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council (CKFPC). “It’s challenging for our small-scale seasonal producers to find a carrier they can afford. Those that are successful are usually transporting their own goods within the region, a time-consuming, inefficient process that takes them away from producing," says CKFPC executive director Damon Chouinard.
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Dec 4, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
BC Supreme Court approved the sale of two more properties last week as BC Tree Fruits Co-op moved closer to being wound down. The orders, dated November 27, approved the sale of the co-op’s Kelowna warehouse at 880 Vaughan Avenue to the Mark Anthony Group for $17.5 million. A smaller facility on Bottom Lake Road in Lake Country sold to the District of Lake Country for $9.1 million. Both properties sold for less than asking.
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Dec 4, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham |Peter Mitham
Boosted by the first quota increases since the last free trade deal was signed, BC dairy producers have set their sights on market growth in the years ahead. A focus on attracting processor investment is key, with two major processing plants on the horizon locally and the Canadian Dairy Production Council eyeing niche markets that could add $1.4 billion annually to the sector’s national revenues.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
What’s old is new again with Premier David Eby’s choice of Saanich South MLA Lana Popham as agriculture minister. Popham returns to a role from which Eby shuffled her in December 2022 in favour of Pam Alexis, who lost her seat in October’s provincial election.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
Provincial field vegetable specialist Susan Smith was honoured at the annual meeting of the BC Certified Seed Potato Growers Association on November 19 in advance of her retirement this month. Smith joined the BC Ministry of Agriculture in 2004 and became a trusted resource for local growers, first in field vegetables and later in the organic and nursery sectors.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
November 20 marks one year since the sudden death of Country Life in BC editor emeritus David Schmidt at the age of 73. The face of Country Life in BC for four decades, Schmidt was known for his deep understanding of the industry, his commitment to accurate, insightful reporting, and his passion for sharing the stories of BC farmers and food producers.
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
The Canadian Dairy Commission is leaving farmgate milk prices essentially unchanged in 2025, following its annual review of production costs and consumer prices. The price of fluid milk leaving will decline by 0.02% on February 1, thanks to declines in input costs that marginally outpaced increases in consumer prices. This will mean a marginal decrease in the BC blend price, which has increased sharply over the past two years as fluid milk consumption has increased.
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
A fall wave of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has hit a cross-section of BC farms, but the response effort is so far keeping pace to contain the outbreaks. “We have the capacity to continue this pace,” Clayton Botkin, executive director of the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, told stakeholders during an October 30 webinar. This success has been due to diligent, early reporting of sick birds, a notable aspect in the response to date.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
countrylifeinbc.com | byPeter Mitham
KAMLOOPS – Two years of high cattle prices and low moisture have triggered a dramatic drop in BC’s cattle herd, but the bottom is in sight. The latest data from Statistics Canada indicates a 4% drop in Western Canada’s beef herd since 2022, not far off the national decline of 3%. But within BC, the decline on beef operations as of July 1 was double the national average at 6%.
