Farming

On Aug. 3, Pender Island residents Chris Hall and Stef Lowey will have officially completed a year of only eating what they can grow, harvest, catch or raise themselves. (Courtesy of Chris Hall and Stef Lowey)

From salt to stevia: B.C. couple nears full year without buying food

Pender Island’s Chris Hall and Stef Lowey have produced everything they’ve eaten since Aug. 3, 2020

 

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. (Screen shot)

Government allowing ‘more residential flexibility’ in ALR, Popham tells Surrey meeting

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham was guest speaker Friday during Surrey Board of Trade-hosted Zoom meeting

 

Farm hand Connor Hunt bales a hay crop near Cremona, Alta., Monday, July 17, 2017. Farmers are calling for emergency relief as drought ravages crops across the Prairie provinces. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Prairie farmers pray for rain as drought, grasshoppers ravage crops and pastures

Scorching temperatures have left crops in poor condition across wide swaths of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

 

The recent heat wave may have spared later variety of blueberries. (The News files)

Lower Mainland blueberry farmers hope heat hasn’t harmed later variety crops

Duke, the earliest variety, most affected by recent heat wave

The recent heat wave may have spared later variety of blueberries. (The News files)
Cloverdale-area farmer Mike Bose at his family-operated corn maze in 2016. The annual attraction won’t open this summer for the first time in 22 years. (File photo: Tom Zillich)

Surrey’s Bose Corn Maze won’t open this summer due to COVID uncertainties

The family’s 25-acre cornfield labyrinth first opened in 1999

Cloverdale-area farmer Mike Bose at his family-operated corn maze in 2016. The annual attraction won’t open this summer for the first time in 22 years. (File photo: Tom Zillich)
Tom Michell of Michell’s Farm outside Victoria shows damage that heat caused on his raspberry crop. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Vancouver Island farmers face significant crop losses due to excessive heat

Berry patches suffer extensive damage, but high temperatures a benefit for corn growers

Tom Michell of Michell’s Farm outside Victoria shows damage that heat caused on his raspberry crop. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
Pumpjacks draw oil out of the ground as a deer stands in a canola field near Olds, Alta., Thursday, July 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canadian farmers have spring in their step from strongest commodity prices in years

Canola recently hit a 13-year peak after stubbornly low prices, gaining 52 per cent year-to-date

Pumpjacks draw oil out of the ground as a deer stands in a canola field near Olds, Alta., Thursday, July 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Protesters at Cloverdale Fairgrounds show their support for farmers in India. (File photo: Jason Sveinson)

ZYTARUK: Surrey’s valuable farmland – just like India’s – needs protecting

Now that is a legacy worth voting for

Protesters at Cloverdale Fairgrounds show their support for farmers in India. (File photo: Jason Sveinson)
A South Surrey blueberry farmer is defending the use of wind turbines after a Morgan Creek couple filed a complaint against his neighbour. (Pixabay photo)

South Surrey noise complaint highlights urban-rural clash, says farmer

‘I do feel there is not a lot of respect for the farmers’: Avtar Longiye

A South Surrey blueberry farmer is defending the use of wind turbines after a Morgan Creek couple filed a complaint against his neighbour. (Pixabay photo)
A Morgan Creek resident has filed an official complaint against a blueberry farmer in the area. (Google image)

Morgan Creek couple files official noise complaint against blueberry farmer

Pair who recently moved to South Surrey say blasting fans keep them from sleeping

A Morgan Creek resident has filed an official complaint against a blueberry farmer in the area. (Google image)
Marchers supporting Indian farmers rallied in Surrey last month, from Bear Creek Park to Holland Park along King George Boulevard. (File photo: Tom Zillich)

Surrey MP says mayor’s motion to support Indian farmers is his to make

“He has his own sovereignty, right,” Sukh Dhaliwal says

Marchers supporting Indian farmers rallied in Surrey last month, from Bear Creek Park to Holland Park along King George Boulevard. (File photo: Tom Zillich)
Surrey farmland (File photo)

OUR VIEW: Hey Surrey, don’t squash the squashes

Clearly more respect for other peoples’ property and livelihood is in order here

  • Apr 14, 2021
Surrey farmland (File photo)
A mink sniffs the air as he surveys the river beach in search of food, in meadow near the village of Khatenchitsy, 65 kilometres northwest of Minsk, Belarus on September 4, 2015. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is the latest group to speak out against mink farming in the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Sergei Grits

Union of BC Indian Chiefs latest group to call for moratorium on B.C. mink farming

With other countries phasing out mink farming, time is now for province to follow suit, says union VP

A mink sniffs the air as he surveys the river beach in search of food, in meadow near the village of Khatenchitsy, 65 kilometres northwest of Minsk, Belarus on September 4, 2015. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is the latest group to speak out against mink farming in the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Sergei Grits
A mink at a farm, taken on July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins

Quarantined B.C. mink farm resumes breeding after COVID-19 outbreak

Province approves resumption of breeding at Fraser Valley farm, and 8 others not in quarantine

A mink at a farm, taken on July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins
Dozens of tractors rode down 104th Avenue in Whalley Saturday afternoon (March 13, 2021) as part of one of the ‘Basmodi Wave’ events happening across the Lower Mainland for the next several weeks to continue to draw attention to the farmers’ protests in India. (Photo: Lauren Collins)

‘Basmodi Wave’ rolls into Surrey to support Indian farmers

This is the third in a series of events across the Lower Mainland through to the end of April

Dozens of tractors rode down 104th Avenue in Whalley Saturday afternoon (March 13, 2021) as part of one of the ‘Basmodi Wave’ events happening across the Lower Mainland for the next several weeks to continue to draw attention to the farmers’ protests in India. (Photo: Lauren Collins)
City staff will examine the idea of allowing the raising of backyard hens in White Rock, following a delegation from city resident Cheryl Kendrick. (Black Press file photo)

City of White Rock tackles backyard hen proposal

Raising chickens could be part of local urban food production

City staff will examine the idea of allowing the raising of backyard hens in White Rock, following a delegation from city resident Cheryl Kendrick. (Black Press file photo)
In early 2022, B.C. farmers and ranchers will be required to participate in the Premises Identification (ID) program. (Black Press Media files)

B.C. farmers and ranchers will be required to ID their livestock by end of 2021

The program will allow the province to trace animals in times of danger and disease

In early 2022, B.C. farmers and ranchers will be required to participate in the Premises Identification (ID) program. (Black Press Media files)
Protesting farmers and their families gather around a bonfire to mark the harvest festival, which is called Lohri, on a blocked highway in protest against new farm laws on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Changes in India’s farm laws could potentially open up one of the world’s most populous markets and are being closely watched by Canada’s agricultural and economic sectors, say experts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Altaf Qadri

Changes in Indian farm laws could benefit Canada, experts say

Laws have sparked large-scale protests from farmers

Protesting farmers and their families gather around a bonfire to mark the harvest festival, which is called Lohri, on a blocked highway in protest against new farm laws on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Changes in India’s farm laws could potentially open up one of the world’s most populous markets and are being closely watched by Canada’s agricultural and economic sectors, say experts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Altaf Qadri
Dave and Skye Hamming of Tazo Farms are pictured inside their barn, with roughly 110 cattle behind them. A recently installed DeLeval milking robot, pictured in the background, allows them to do more, with fewer hands. (Phil McLachlan - Black Press Media)

Supply management key to survival of B.C. dairy industry, says Okanagan farmer

Automation, robotic milking; family farms continue to adapt to keep up with the changing times

Dave and Skye Hamming of Tazo Farms are pictured inside their barn, with roughly 110 cattle behind them. A recently installed DeLeval milking robot, pictured in the background, allows them to do more, with fewer hands. (Phil McLachlan - Black Press Media)
“Comet,” born Dec. 18, survived his mother’s death at Christina Lake’s Fuster Cluck Farm after local farmers stepped in with life-saving milk. Comet is pictured in the home of Fuster Cluck’s Amy Enns-Haywood and Nigel Haywood. Photo courtesy of Amy Enns-Haywood.

Baby goat survives rocky birth at Kootenay farm after neighbours pitch in

“Comet” is thriving at Fuster Cluck Farm, where he plays with other baby goats and the farmers’ daughter

“Comet,” born Dec. 18, survived his mother’s death at Christina Lake’s Fuster Cluck Farm after local farmers stepped in with life-saving milk. Comet is pictured in the home of Fuster Cluck’s Amy Enns-Haywood and Nigel Haywood. Photo courtesy of Amy Enns-Haywood.