WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. – The British Columbia Agriculture Council wants a stable income.”There is an increasing need to have an established fund of industry dollars that can be sourced and leveraged for the benefit of B.C. agriculture,” said council chair Garnett Etsell, who made the case for more money at the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association annual […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Raising livestock on island has its challenges
SATURNA ISLAND, B.C. – Getting to Campbell Farm on Saturna Island involves an hour-long ferry ride from Vancouver Island followed by a slow drive on a single lane road.Once there, however, the view from the 500 acre farm nestled between mountains and the Pacific Ocean make the trek worthwhile.This is where Jacques (pronounced Jackie) Campbell […] Read more
Cattle producers may get longer grazing leases
WILLIAMS LAKE B.C. – British Columbia grazing lease tenures may be extended for ranchers who depend on public land for livestock forage and water.Longer rental agreements and easier renewals should provide more security to ranchers, said Pat Bell, B.C.’s minister of forests and range.Following recommendations from a recently released ranching task force, 20-year tenures could […] Read more
Beef export recovery still has long way to go: exporter
Canadian beef exports to Central and South America markets are making a comeback.Panama has announced it is accepting Canadian breeding cattle and expanding market access to bovine genetics, said a news release from agriculture minister Gerry Ritz and international trade minister Peter Van Loan.In 2009, the value of Canadian agriculture and food exports to Panama […] Read more
Disease halts imports of Arizona horses
Canada has banned horses from Arizona following diagnosis of the viral disease vesicular stomatitis.Horses from all other states will require certification that they have not been in Arizona, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement.Before they can enter Canada, horses from the U.S. require an American health certificate and a written statement that […] Read more
Packer monopolies to be studied
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. – Consolidation in the Canadian beef business has escalated in the last five years and producers want to know who controls their cattle and who is profiting from them.Delegates at the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting in Williams Lake May 28-29 passed two resolutions dealing with packer ownership of feedlot cattle […] Read more
Ranchers howling for wolf control
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. – Last summer, David Haywood-Farmer was checking his cattle near Kamloops, B.C., when he found two sets of wolf tracks by a calf’s remains.Such incidents are happening more often on British Columbia ranges and beef producers want something done.The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association has been meeting with provincial ministers because the Wild Predator […] Read more
Downgrade anaplasmosis status: producers
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. – A winter of costly quarantines and testing for a suspected outbreak of anaplasmosis has prompted the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association to push for changes in the disease’s status.The producers want anaplasmosis delisted as a federally reportable disease and declared an annually notifiable disease.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency takes control measures for […] Read more
B.C. producers feel abandoned by provincial gov’t
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. – Helen Bayliff told one politician after another what is going wrong for British Columbia ranchers.She talked about poor cattle prices, lost grazing land from forest encroachment and drought, wild horses running rampant over the range and wolves attacking calves.New to B.C. Cattlemen’s Association meetings, Bayliff wondered if elected officials are getting […] Read more
Horse breeders oppose U.S. imports
A petition is circulating in Canada to stop the import of American slaughter horses to protect the Canadian industry.The petition, led by a group of horse breeders, wants the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to abandon the requirement for complete traceability on slaughter horses.The petition is on-line at www.horsepetition.com and paper copies are available for submission […] Read more
