Farming

Harry Burton. (photo by Burton)

250 and counting: Salt Spring man tries to keep apple varieties from going extinct

Local farmer looks to diversify apple availability in the name of good taste

  • May 30, 2023

 

Beekeepers tend to hives in 2020. Beekeepers, aquaculturalists and federally licensed marijuana and hemp growers can now apply for special funding to help protect against extreme heat. (Chelsea Thomsen/Special to Black Press)

Province expands extreme weather funding program to include beekeepers, pot growers

Growers can apply for up to $35,000 in cost-sharing program to protect against heat, floods, fire

 

The second annual B.C. Cannabis Summit was hosted in Kelowna April 21-23, 2023. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)

B.C. Cannabis Summit blunt and blazing the way for a better legal market

The summit was held at Kelowna’s Eldorado Hotel and Manteo Resort

  • Apr 24, 2023

 

A petition to the federal government aims to ban cephalopod farms in Canada. (Credit: Pixabay)

There are no octopus farms in Canada. BC SPCA, experts call on feds to keep it that way

Experts say practice not only morally questionable, but environmentally destructive too

A petition to the federal government aims to ban cephalopod farms in Canada. (Credit: Pixabay)
Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food (left) was taken on a tour of Lucent BioSciences Inc. at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby on March 15, as part of an announcement for funding for clean tech farming projects in B.C. (Government of Canada photo)

4 B.C. agri-businesses awarded $1.6M in federal funding for clean-technology projects

Projects designed to reduce runoff, get farms further off the grid and reduce fuel consumption

Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food (left) was taken on a tour of Lucent BioSciences Inc. at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby on March 15, as part of an announcement for funding for clean tech farming projects in B.C. (Government of Canada photo)
Screenshot of released Meadow Valley Meats video (Animal Justice Canada/Screenshot of video)

BC SPCA reiterates calls for provincial action on slaughterhouses amid Pitt Meadows probe

Animal Justice Canada released footage of Meadow Valley Meats and the BC SPCA is investigating

Screenshot of released Meadow Valley Meats video (Animal Justice Canada/Screenshot of video)
Shahram Rashti (left) and Bahram Rashti (right) of UP Vertical Farms just unveiled Canada’s first hands-free vertical farming facility. (Special to The News)

Canada gets its first hands-free vertical farming facility

UP Vertical Farms is expected to produce nearly 2 million pounds of salad greens each year

Shahram Rashti (left) and Bahram Rashti (right) of UP Vertical Farms just unveiled Canada’s first hands-free vertical farming facility. (Special to The News)
Cattle roam in a field near Pigeon Lake, Alta., on May 1, 2022. Experts say an uptick in extreme weather, such as drought, is leading beef farmers in the U.S. and Canada to thin their herds in near-record numbers, which could lead to supply problems in the beef industry over the longer term. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Extreme drought makes cattle farmers thin herds, could cause future supply problems

Climate change likely to increase drought conditions over time in Canada and U.S.

Cattle roam in a field near Pigeon Lake, Alta., on May 1, 2022. Experts say an uptick in extreme weather, such as drought, is leading beef farmers in the U.S. and Canada to thin their herds in near-record numbers, which could lead to supply problems in the beef industry over the longer term. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
A new Plant and Animal Health Centre will be built by the province in the Fraser Valley, as the current building is at risk of flooding again someday. The ministry of agriculture and food will have a business plan with some suitable locations highlighted by the end of 2023. (Pixabay photo)

Province announces plans to replace Abbotsford plant and animal health facility, citing flood risk

Current facility in Abbotsford was damaged by the flooding in 2021 but back in operation for now

A new Plant and Animal Health Centre will be built by the province in the Fraser Valley, as the current building is at risk of flooding again someday. The ministry of agriculture and food will have a business plan with some suitable locations highlighted by the end of 2023. (Pixabay photo)
White Spot executive chef James Kennedy will be co-hosting the Dec. 6 online cook-along event. (BCAITC/Special to The News)

B.C. chefs host free online cook-along with White Spot

The Dec. 6 event uses local ingredients and teaches home cooks how to make two different dishes

White Spot executive chef James Kennedy will be co-hosting the Dec. 6 online cook-along event. (BCAITC/Special to The News)
A farmer sorts through eggs as they exit the hen barn at an egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on Monday, March 7, 2016. Canadian poultry and egg producers have now lost more than 3.7 million birds to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power)

Seven Fraser Valley poultry farms under quarantine for avian influenza

Commercial flocks at risk from migratory birds; ministry offering free online information sessions

A farmer sorts through eggs as they exit the hen barn at an egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on Monday, March 7, 2016. Canadian poultry and egg producers have now lost more than 3.7 million birds to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power)
Cops found most of the cash lost by Chilliwack farmer who was going to purchase blackbelly sheep with it. (Sheri Elgersma photo)

Cops for Cancer team finds $2,350 in cash lost by would-be sheep farmer in Chilliwack

Cyclists managed to corral 23 $100 bills meant to purchase blackbelly sheep

Cops found most of the cash lost by Chilliwack farmer who was going to purchase blackbelly sheep with it. (Sheri Elgersma photo)
Leo Benne, president and CEO of Bevo (left), and the rest of his management team will remain significant shareholders as part of the Aurora Cannabis deal.

BC plant propagation facility signs deal with major cannabis provider in Canada

Bevo Farms’ parent company was acquired by Aurora Cannabis for more than $45 million

Leo Benne, president and CEO of Bevo (left), and the rest of his management team will remain significant shareholders as part of the Aurora Cannabis deal.
Daybreak Farms general manager Kieran Christison thanked the community for their “eggstraordinary” support as the farm can now get started on upgrades. (Michael Bramadat-Willcock/Terrace Standard).

City of Terrace backs northwest B.C.’s biggest egg producer to double output

Daybreak Farms wins big with approval to expand and modernize egg production

Daybreak Farms general manager Kieran Christison thanked the community for their “eggstraordinary” support as the farm can now get started on upgrades. (Michael Bramadat-Willcock/Terrace Standard).
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picks some cherries at the Lutz family farm on Hillborn Street in Summerland.(John Arendt - Summerland Review)

Okanagan migrant farm worker advocates not happy with Trudeau’s tour stops

RAMA pens letter to the PM explaining he should have visited migrant farm workers

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picks some cherries at the Lutz family farm on Hillborn Street in Summerland.(John Arendt - Summerland Review)
Protesters with the Meat the Victims organization ran onto the Excelsior Hog Farm property in Abbotsford on April 28, 2019. The trial is now underway for three people who have been charged in relation to the incident. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

Abbotsford farmer says 2019 protest at hog farm was ‘hard to deal with’

Calvin Binnendyk testifies at trial for 3 charged with mischief and break-and-enter

Protesters with the Meat the Victims organization ran onto the Excelsior Hog Farm property in Abbotsford on April 28, 2019. The trial is now underway for three people who have been charged in relation to the incident. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)
(left to right) Roy Sasano, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer speak to the media prior to making their first appearance at the Abbotsford courthouse. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

Trial for Abbotsford hog farm protesters begins

Roy Sasano, Nick Schafer and Amy Soranno facing 14 combined charges

(left to right) Roy Sasano, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer speak to the media prior to making their first appearance at the Abbotsford courthouse. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)
(Right to left) Nick Schafer, Amy Soranno and Roy Sasano’s trial begins on Monday (June 27). Geoff Regier (left) had all his charges dropped.

B.C. hog farm protesters going to trial on Monday

Trial for Roy Sasano, Nick Schafer and Amy Soranno scheduled for Abbotsford court

(Right to left) Nick Schafer, Amy Soranno and Roy Sasano’s trial begins on Monday (June 27). Geoff Regier (left) had all his charges dropped.
Abbotsford’s Gurleen Maan will be looking for love in the new CTV unscripted series Farming For Love.

Abbotsford’s Gurleen Maan looking for love on new unscripted Farming for Love series

Third-generation farmer appearing on Farming For Love unscripted series

Abbotsford’s Gurleen Maan will be looking for love in the new CTV unscripted series Farming For Love.
Thomas Bravais at his property in Cokato, which was flooded in November last year and is now underneath feet of silt left behind. (Scott Tibballs / The Free Press)

Cokato landowner points finger at CP Rail after being left high and dry from historic flooding

CP are denying responsibility for silt left behind by floodwaters diverted by blocked CP culverts last year

Thomas Bravais at his property in Cokato, which was flooded in November last year and is now underneath feet of silt left behind. (Scott Tibballs / The Free Press)