Farming

A fire scene several hundred metres from the nearest water supply made it difficult to battle a blaze that destroyed a barn in north Nanaimo on Thursday, Sept. 30. (Greg Sakaki/News Bulletin)

Nanaimo firefighters battle barn blaze for several hours

Crews were called out at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, to corner of Jenkins and Dines roads

 

A farmer harvests her hay on a farm near Cremona, Alta., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Livestock producers in Saskatchewan facing hot, dry conditions this growing season and a feed shortage have another problem to contend with -- hay fraud. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

RCMP warn of rise in hay fraud in Saskatchewan

High demand for hay this year is fuelling the scam

 

A two striped grasshopper infected with Entomophaga grylli, a fungal pathogen which only kills grasshoppers, is seen on a plant near Lethbridge, Alta., in a July 2021 handout photo. A pattern of dry, hot weather across the Prairies over the past few years has resulted in a grasshopper infestation of epic proportions, with some experts saying the nuisance is negatively affecting every part of the agriculture industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Dan Johnson, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Booming grasshopper populations plague Prairie farmers

Higher than usual number of grasshoppers inhabiting grassy areas and feasting on crops

 

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

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)
Kristy Sivorot and her son Griffin with Juniper, a lame, pregnant cow she bought from a large dairy operation to nurse back to health. Juniper gave birth to Junior, a bull calf, on July 21 and is doing well. (Zoe Ducklow - Sooke News Mirror)

Vancouver Island’s women hobby farmers part of a growing food revolution

Raising livestock and families: the young women farmers of Sooke share their stories

Kristy Sivorot and her son Griffin with Juniper, a lame, pregnant cow she bought from a large dairy operation to nurse back to health. Juniper gave birth to Junior, a bull calf, on July 21 and is doing well. (Zoe Ducklow - Sooke News Mirror)
Ben Glassen working with turkeys on a farm in the Westwood Road area of Nanaimo. Glassen wants to establish a poultry abattoir on a site on Jingle Pot Road. (Karl Yu/News Bulletin)

With meat-processing site numbers dwindling, Vancouver Island farmer seeks abattoir

Ben Glassen has ALC application for small-scale facility in Nanaimo

Ben Glassen working with turkeys on a farm in the Westwood Road area of Nanaimo. Glassen wants to establish a poultry abattoir on a site on Jingle Pot Road. (Karl Yu/News Bulletin)
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

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

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
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
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
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Province invests $2M in three Vancouver Island food hubs

Hub network provides shared-use processing facilities to small agri-businesses

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A Nanaimo chicken breeder came home to discover a gruesome scene Monday after a neighbour’s dog got loose and killed 28 of her chickens. (Photo submitted)

Dog kills ‘showgirl’ chickens at Vancouver Island farm

Breeder in Cedar upset at deaths of more than two dozen chickens

A Nanaimo chicken breeder came home to discover a gruesome scene Monday after a neighbour’s dog got loose and killed 28 of her chickens. (Photo submitted)
A seaweed farm installation in Klahoose First Nations Territory by Cortes Island. (Cascadia Seaweed photo)

Seaweed farming opens world of opportunity for coastal B.C.

“It’s projects like this that can show what true reconciliation is about.”

A seaweed farm installation in Klahoose First Nations Territory by Cortes Island. (Cascadia Seaweed 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.
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau rises during a sitting of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Feds reveal details of $35M fund to help make farms safer in COVID-19 pandemic

The program will be applied retroactively to cover any COVID-19-related costs from March 15

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau rises during a sitting of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
A huge blueberry harvesting machine like this one (not this exact one and these are not the suspects) was taken from a rural Abbotsford property over the weekend. (Facebook photo)

UPDATE: Massive blueberry harvester stolen from rural Fraser Valley property

A huge machine with a top speed of 15 kph was taken from an area near No. 3 road over the weekend

A huge blueberry harvesting machine like this one (not this exact one and these are not the suspects) was taken from a rural Abbotsford property over the weekend. (Facebook photo)