VICTORIA – Opponents of a new slaughterhouse waste composting facility in British Columbia’s interior says the operation, which takes only non-specified risk material, threatens the environment and residents. In mid-January, the Mitchell family, owners of Spa Hills Farm, opened the compost operation between Falkland and Salmon Arm. The facility will accept 1,300 tonnes of non-specified […] Read more
Stories by Shannon Moneo
Raw milk producer challenges law
VIC TORIA – A dairy farmer from Chilliwack, B.C., is launching a constitutional challenge of the law that prohibits her from legally drinking and distributing raw milk. Alice Jongerden filed notice under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Jan. 19 in B.C. Supreme Court, citing Section 7’s “right to liberty and security of the […] Read more
B.C. compost operation to take pressure off abattoirs
VICTORIA – A B.C. poultry farmer is slicing costs for three abattoirs thanks to the opening of his slaughter waste composting facility, which means no more long-distance trucking of meat scraps to Calgary. In mid-January, Spa Hills Farm owner Jake Mitchell opened the compost operation in the Salmon Valley, between Falkland and Salmon Arm, where […] Read more
Dairy markets raw milk products as cosmetics to dodge laws
VICTORIA – A Chilliwack raw milk dairy is labelling its products as cosmetics to get around provincial regulations that forbid the distribution of raw milk for human consumption. Because British Columbia’s Public Health Act considers raw milk a health hazard, the 22-cow dairy has rebranded to keep the product flowing for its 450 Vancouver-area customers. […] Read more
Farmers to allow hunters on land
VICTORIA – In response to the increasing number of cases where wild animals kill livestock or ruin crops, the B.C. Wildlife Federation has introduced a program that gives hunters access to private land. Known as the Outdoor Passport program, it will bring together farmers and ranchers who are struggling with wildlife and hunters who want […] Read more
Fewer halls decked with boughs of holly
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s holly business once was jolly. Thirty years ago, up to 50 Vancouver Island holly farms and about a dozen more in the Vancouver area flourished, supplying Canada and the U.S. with the prickly Christmas garnish. Today, only a handful of commercial producers on the Island and one small operation run by […] Read more
B.C. ag minister knows the ropes
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s new agriculture minister brings farm and financial backgrounds to his fourth portfolio since being elected in May 2009. Ben Stewart grew up on the family fruit farm near Kelowna, B.C., but went to work in the banking industry immediately following high school. He had previously been responsible for community and rural […] Read more
B.C. producer sells raw milk despite ruling
VICTORIA – Alice Jongerden hasn’t quit milking and distributing milk from a 21-cow herd even after a B.C. Supreme Court decision in March ordered her Home on the Range farm to halt distribution of raw milk intended for human consumption. Raw milk is a health hazard, wrote B.C Supreme Court justice Miriam Gropper. When coupled […] Read more
U.S. beef recovering
VICTORIA – When beekeepers on southern Vancouver Island checked their hives this spring, they discovered colony losses anywhere from 40 to 95 percent. “It’s catastrophic,” said Sol Nowitz, co-owner of Jingle Pot Apiary in Nanaimo. “Like everything else in agriculture, what tipped the scales was the weather.” Last fall, he had 275 colonies, each with […] Read more
Saved seeds gaining interest
SOOKE, B.C. – If the packed room at Sooke’s Seedy Saturday was any indication, Vancouver Island gardeners are buying saved seeds from growers rather than those found in hardware and grocery stores. Launched in Vancouver 21 years ago, Seedy Saturdays across Canada see people swap or buy heritage seeds or open-pollinated seeds that have been […] Read more
