The Yukon government continues to work on a local food strategy. “It’s a five-year strategy. What we’re doing with that is we’re taking small steps to promote government purchase of local food. We’re trying to get a government policy in place that if they have a special event, they have to consider local food and […] Read more
Stories by Shelley Tomlinson
Ag centre takes up urban agriculture among its projects
University of the Fraser Valley works with horticulture and livestock as well as agriculture innovation
The Agriculture Centre of Excellence at the University of the Fraser Valley has three main functions, according to Garry Fehr, the director of the centre and professor in the department of geography and the environment. “First of all, we have the barns and greenhouses in Chilliwack which serve for both education, especially September to the […] Read moreCalf feeding is focal pointof research into dairy health
Calves require higher levels of milk feeding to do well, but this can cause complications because it can make weaning more difficult
Dan Weary’s research goal is to improve the lives of animals in the dairy industry. Weary, a professor at the University of British Columbia, said a major part of their work involves working with young calves. “On most Canadian dairy farms, the farmers are keeping all of the baby females, the heifer calf and they’re […] Read moreB.C. project matches land with new farmers
A project matching new farmers with available farmland in Metro Vancouver received $25,000 in funding earlier this month from the federal and British Columbia governments. The Young Agrarians is leading the pilot project in partnership with the Farm Folk City Folk Society. “The land matching program is based on a model in Quebec that’s been […] Read more
B.C. opts to review farmland management
Committee has broad mandate as it examines all aspects of Agricultural Land Reserve and Agricultural Land Commission
The British Columbia government has appointed an advisory committee to lead the province’s revitalization of the Agricultural Land Reserve and Agricultural Land Commission. Jennifer Dyson, who served on the commission from 2008-17, has been appointed chair of the nine-member committee. “We’ve got this amazing group of individuals from around the province. We’re not a commodity group, […] Read moreB.C. boosts AgriStability coverage
British Columbia farmers who experienced income declines in 2017 may be able to recover some of their losses under special provisions set up under an existing farm program. “It’s actually just enhancing a program that already exists but we’ve established new guidelines to reflect the challenges that farmers and ranchers have felt this year,” said […] Read more
Expert looks at ways to get most from agricultural land reserve
Lenore Newman wants to expand the study of farmland. Newman, the Canada Research Chair in Food Security and the Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley, wants to explore the value of British Columbia’s agricultural land reserve. “I think the important background there is that I really see the agricultural land reserve as like […] Read more
B.C. study finds ineffective farm drainage in Lower Mainland
A study of drainage issues was recently completed in Delta, B.C. Researchers from the University of B.C. took part in the study. “The project really came about through the work that the climate action initiative spearheaded,” said Sean Smukler, an assistant professor at UBC. According to Smukler, regional assessments of potential climate change impact were […] Read more
B.C. fires take toll on producers; fruit sector hurt by heat
The wildfires that burned across British Columbia this year affected producers in varying degrees. “It impacted the fields. I saw photos from throughout the Cariboo that lost everything. The trees are still standing but all the grass is still gone but they lost a lot of the crop for the year,” said Serena Black, general […] Read more
B.C. Young Farmers offers networking opportunities
British Columbia Young Farmers is trying to strengthen the province’s next generation of farmers. “We strengthen it by providing networking opportunities for farmers to interact with their cohorts,” said Jillian Robbins, a board member with B.C. Young Farmers. “We also do educational workshops and sometimes day learning things so we will bring in speakers or […] Read more
