Farming

Adult Western corn rootworms feasting on a corn plant. The insects, which are highly destructive to corn crops, were discovered in the North Okanagan and Shuswap for the first time in August 2023. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture photo)

Pest that devastates corn crops found at North Okanagan, Shuswap farms

The Western corn rootworm causes over $1 billion of damage to U.S. corn crops each year

 

An orchard worker picks Red Delicious apples from an Okanagan orchard. Many fruits in Canada are now ripening. (Black Press file photo)

QUIZ: Are you ready for the fruit harvest?

Agricultural workers are harvesting various fruit crops

 

B.C. farmers will once again be eligible to apply for funding through a joint federal-provincial program that helps producers adapt to climate change. The province announced Aug. 3, 2023 that $4 million will be available through the Beneficial Management Practices program, which aims to help farmers and ranchers throughout B.C. become more resilient and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment. (Pixabay)

B.C., Canada promise $4M to help farmers adapt to climate change, drought

Program aims to help producers with waste management, air-quality and emissions control

 

The happy couple, Meghan Russell and Doug Groenendijk, during the Season 1 finale of Farming For Love. (Photo courtesy of CTV)

B.C.’s Farmer Doug chooses his mate for budding relationship from reality TV series

Farming life connects Chemainus’ Groenendijk and Ontario woman

The happy couple, Meghan Russell and Doug Groenendijk, during the Season 1 finale of Farming For Love. (Photo courtesy of CTV)
Yuko Suda, the owner of Brave Child Farms, has used the B.C. Land Matching Program which connects new and young farmers with farmland. The province announced Wednesday (July 26, 2023) that it would be getting a $480,000-boost for the next year. (B.C. government/YouTube)

$480K to help connect new, young B.C. farmers with land

The provincial government is boosting its land-matching program with $480,000 for the…

Yuko Suda, the owner of Brave Child Farms, has used the B.C. Land Matching Program which connects new and young farmers with farmland. The province announced Wednesday (July 26, 2023) that it would be getting a $480,000-boost for the next year. (B.C. government/YouTube)
B.C. rancher Suzanne Fradette’s cattle are driven through a forest in an undated handout photo. Fradette says they are just keeping their heads above water amid skyrocketing hay costs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Suzanne Fradette

B.C. ranchers struggle as drought sends hay prices soaring

Price of feed up about 30 per cent, ranchers say as they fight to stay afloat

B.C. rancher Suzanne Fradette’s cattle are driven through a forest in an undated handout photo. Fradette says they are just keeping their heads above water amid skyrocketing hay costs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Suzanne Fradette
Becky Young converted a 23-foot 1999 international Thomas school bus with her husband, Gary Eichenauer. Young is the executive director of Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). (Photo by Gary Eichenauer)

WWOOF connects travellers with organic farmers in exchange for room, board

Travel the world one organic farm at a time

Becky Young converted a 23-foot 1999 international Thomas school bus with her husband, Gary Eichenauer. Young is the executive director of Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). (Photo by Gary Eichenauer)
Cherries (File Photo)

Buy local urges BC Tree Fruits, as U.S. cherries flood market

Late-season American cherries are being sold in the Okanagan, rather than fresh, locally-grown fruit

Cherries (File Photo)
Silvia and Franz Laffer (middle), with their family Selina, Everly and Kyle Staples (L) and Aletta, Minette, Florian and Sebastian Laffer (R). The Laffer’s own Sunshine Ranch in Horsefly, B.C. Their children and grandchildren live nearby. (Kim Kimberlin Photo/Black Press)

From a butcher shop to a wedding venue, Sunshine Ranch in Horsefly diversifies

Silvia and Franz Laffer moved to Horsefly in 1993

Silvia and Franz Laffer (middle), with their family Selina, Everly and Kyle Staples (L) and Aletta, Minette, Florian and Sebastian Laffer (R). The Laffer’s own Sunshine Ranch in Horsefly, B.C. Their children and grandchildren live nearby. (Kim Kimberlin Photo/Black Press)
Bob Shoker of Shoker Farms in his strawberry fields on Unsworth Road in Chilliwack. (Jenna Hauck/ Black Press Media)

‘You can’t get fresher than that’: Strawberries, field to stand in 20 minutes

Shoker Farms has been in Chilliwack since 1975 and strawberries are their specialty

Bob Shoker of Shoker Farms in his strawberry fields on Unsworth Road in Chilliwack. (Jenna Hauck/ Black Press Media)
Mayhem the camel and his friends at the Bartlett farm. (Alysha Bartlett/ Submitted)

Okanagan camel is just a baby ‘growing like a weed’

Mayhem the camel lives in Lavington, B.C.

Mayhem the camel and his friends at the Bartlett farm. (Alysha Bartlett/ Submitted)
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
Harry Burton. (photo by Burton)
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

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