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 to allow ‘more residential flexibility’ in agricultural lands, says B.C. minister

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

 

A North Okanagan organization has expressed serious concerns about the living conditions for migrant farm workers during the recent heat wave. from (Canadian Press file photo)

Heat wave: ‘Miserable’ conditions for migrant workers has Armstrong group seeking donations

Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture said farmworkers are living in houses unequipped to withstand the record temperatures

A North Okanagan organization has expressed serious concerns about the living conditions for migrant farm workers during the recent heat wave. from (Canadian Press file photo)
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)
Matt and Kim Van Rookhuyzen, with their children Nolan and Bentley, run Reverent Acres water buffalo farm in Yankee Flats. (Alpine Wildbloom Images photo)

Shuswap farm family finds happiness among water buffalo

Kim and Matt Van Rookhuyzen run Reverent Acres farm in Yankee Flats

Matt and Kim Van Rookhuyzen, with their children Nolan and Bentley, run Reverent Acres water buffalo farm in Yankee Flats. (Alpine Wildbloom Images photo)
BX-Swan Lake firefighters responded to reports of a wildfire Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Jennifer Smith - Vernon Morning Star)

Small fire sparks fear in Vernon homeowner

BX-Swan Lake firefighters respond to reports of wildfire

BX-Swan Lake firefighters responded to reports of a wildfire Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Jennifer Smith - Vernon Morning Star)
Fruit farmers in the Okanagan and Creston valleys are in desperate need of cherry harvesters amid COVID-19 work shortages. (Photo: Unsplash/Abigail Miller)

‘Desperate’ need for workers at Okanagan cherry farms

Fruit farmers are worried they’ll have to abandon crops due to COVID-19 work shortages

Fruit farmers in the Okanagan and Creston valleys are in desperate need of cherry harvesters amid COVID-19 work shortages. (Photo: Unsplash/Abigail Miller)
Keremeos’ weather patterns are very unique. The village is often hotter and more arid than Penticton in the summer and experiences more extreme winters with more snowfall, while being warmer than Princeton in the winter due to its lower elevation. (Keith Ryan/Flickr)

What will the weather be like tomorrow in Keremeos? No one really knows for sure

The village, based largely on farming, has been without an Environment Canada weather station since 2000

Keremeos’ weather patterns are very unique. The village is often hotter and more arid than Penticton in the summer and experiences more extreme winters with more snowfall, while being warmer than Princeton in the winter due to its lower elevation. (Keith Ryan/Flickr)
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
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
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)
(Hal Brindley - Dreamstime)

Enderby farmers caught between coyotes and bylaw tickets

The Smith family is stuck in a Catch-22 between protecting their livestock and incurring noise complaints

(Hal Brindley - Dreamstime)
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.
Terra Firma’s Kitchen’s owners Kevan McCroy (left) and Terra Park. (Liam Harrap/Revelstoke Review)

New farm to table cafe opens in Revelstoke

Head chef describes the menu as polished farmhouse cooking

Terra Firma’s Kitchen’s owners Kevan McCroy (left) and Terra Park. (Liam Harrap/Revelstoke Review)
Keremeos farmers and residents gathered Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 to voice their concerns about the impending closure of Growers Supply Co., the village’s only farming equipment store. (Jesse Day - Western News)

South Okanagan farmers dismayed by sudden closure of supply store

Farmers say the closure of Growers Supply CO. will have massive consequences for their businesses

Keremeos farmers and residents gathered Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 to voice their concerns about the impending closure of Growers Supply Co., the village’s only farming equipment store. (Jesse Day - Western News)
Two puppies and a baby goat have been stolen from Willows Farm in Aldergrove. (Willows Farm/Special to The Star)

Two Maremma puppies and a baby goat are missing from Aldergrove farm

Owner of Willows Farm believes they have been stolen and fears for their safety

Two puppies and a baby goat have been stolen from Willows Farm in Aldergrove. (Willows Farm/Special to The Star)