Agriculture

Flooded farms are seen in this aerial photo in Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford, B.C., on Monday, November 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘It’s my life’s work’: B.C. fruit and vegetable growers face uncertainty after floods

Flooding comes a few months after a heat wave in late June “torched” crops

 

Volunteers flocked to a Greendale property to dry off soggy calves boated in from Sumas. (Victoria Hergott Facebook)

VIDEO: Volunteers dry off soaked calves who stood for hours in Fraser Valley floods

Soggy, shivering calves were in bad shape after standing in chest-deep water for hours

 

Cedar Valley Farms in Abbotsford has had its licence conditionally reinstated after it was suspended in late October following allegations of animal abuse. (Image from video footage provided to Animal Justice)

Licence reinstated with mandatory conditions for Abbotsford dairy farm

Cedar Valley Farms still under investigation by BC SPCA for animal-abuse allegations

 

Mink look out from a pen at a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Friday Nov. 6, 2020. Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will be prohibited on farms by April 2023 as part of the province’s permanent ban of the industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP

Nova Scotia pays for COVID-19 vaccines for mink, B.C. says no before closing industry

Nova Scotia’s vaccination program will be launched soon at five farms until the end of December

Mink look out from a pen at a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Friday Nov. 6, 2020. Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will be prohibited on farms by April 2023 as part of the province’s permanent ban of the industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP
Blair family members Sonya Klemm, John Blair, Anne Blair, Doug Blair, and Alan Gregson attended the donation presentation Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)

VIDEO: Blair family adds $10,000 donation to Langley’s farm museum coffers

Help Load the Wagon campaign raising money to expand Fort Langley facility

  • Nov 8, 2021
Blair family members Sonya Klemm, John Blair, Anne Blair, Doug Blair, and Alan Gregson attended the donation presentation Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
Avtar Dhillon is having success growing saffron flowers on his Abbotsford blueberry farm. The stigmas are removed from the plants, dried out and sold as a spice for cooking and other purposes. (Vikki Hopes/Abbotsford News)

Abbotsford farmer first in B.C. to grow and harvest ‘world’s most expensive spice’

Avtar Dhillon has success with saffron, normally produced in arid climates

Avtar Dhillon is having success growing saffron flowers on his Abbotsford blueberry farm. The stigmas are removed from the plants, dried out and sold as a spice for cooking and other purposes. (Vikki Hopes/Abbotsford News)
Mink farms are being phased out in B.C. and will be shut down entirely by April 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

BC plans to phase out mink farming industry by 2025

The government is doing this over four years to allow farmers and workers a transition period

Mink farms are being phased out in B.C. and will be shut down entirely by April 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Debbie Thiessen captured the cranberry harvest in Langley a few years ago.

Cranberry Festival is Saturday in Fort Langley

Event kicks off with breakfast by the Lions Club

Debbie Thiessen captured the cranberry harvest in Langley a few years ago.
Maan Farms in Abbotsford has lost half of its pumpkin crop due to rot. The unmarketable pumpkins are being offered to animal farmers and sanctuaries. (Dylaina Gollub Photography)

Abbotsford farm loses half its pumpkin crop due to rot

Maan Farms now offering unusable pumpkins to animal farmers

Maan Farms in Abbotsford has lost half of its pumpkin crop due to rot. The unmarketable pumpkins are being offered to animal farmers and sanctuaries. (Dylaina Gollub Photography)
Xinguang Yang has been in Langley for a little more than a year now, and said one of his favourite things to do is pick blueberries at Langley farms. "I like Langley very much," he shared. (Special to the Langley Advance Times)

SHARE: In search of the best berries in Langley

Send us your photo showing how you view Langley, and it could be featured in a future edition

  • Aug 29, 2021
Xinguang Yang has been in Langley for a little more than a year now, and said one of his favourite things to do is pick blueberries at Langley farms. "I like Langley very much," he shared. (Special to the Langley Advance Times)
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)
Cherries at Pravin Dhaliwal’s family farm in Oliver, B.C., are seen cooked on their trees, when the temperature hit a record 41.5 C in a June 2021 handout photo. Dhaliwal is trying to maintain his passion as a third-generation farmer while dealing with the reality of climate change and says farmers need more support from provincial and federal governments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Pravin Dhaliwal

Farmers say heat wave, drought show vulnerable agricultural sector needs support

Farmers across Canada look to provincial and the federal governments for help

Cherries at Pravin Dhaliwal’s family farm in Oliver, B.C., are seen cooked on their trees, when the temperature hit a record 41.5 C in a June 2021 handout photo. Dhaliwal is trying to maintain his passion as a third-generation farmer while dealing with the reality of climate change and says farmers need more support from provincial and federal governments. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Pravin Dhaliwal
A sign hangs at an entrance to the Stanko Ranch, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, near Steamboat Springs, Colo. Members of the third, fourth and fifth generations of the Stanko family currently work on the ranch, which includes about 90 head of cattle, but Jim Stanko says due to drought conditions this year, if he can’t harvest enough hay to feed his cattle, he may need to sell off some of his herd. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)

As drought cuts hay crop, U.S. cattle ranchers face culling herds

Choices increasingly centered around how herds can sustain drought conditions

A sign hangs at an entrance to the Stanko Ranch, Tuesday, July 13, 2021, near Steamboat Springs, Colo. Members of the third, fourth and fifth generations of the Stanko family currently work on the ranch, which includes about 90 head of cattle, but Jim Stanko says due to drought conditions this year, if he can’t harvest enough hay to feed his cattle, he may need to sell off some of his herd. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Plan your visit to the Aldergrove Fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 28 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 29.

Come on down and join Aldy on the farm: The Aldergrove Fair is back!

The Aldergrove Fair has been an annual summer fixture in these parts…

  • Jul 26, 2021
Plan your visit to the Aldergrove Fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 28 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 29.
Lou Fasullo captured a picture of blueberry season in full swing. He snapped this picture on River Road, near Nathan Creek in Fort Langley. “We are so fortunate to live a place that’s so close to where are food is grown,” he said. “Big thank you to all the farmers and pickers who make this possible.” (Special to Langley Advance Times)

SHARE: So close to the food source

Send us your photo showing how you view Langley, and it could be featured in a future edition

  • Jul 26, 2021
Lou Fasullo captured a picture of blueberry season in full swing. He snapped this picture on River Road, near Nathan Creek in Fort Langley. “We are so fortunate to live a place that’s so close to where are food is grown,” he said. “Big thank you to all the farmers and pickers who make this possible.” (Special to Langley Advance Times)
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)
Agriculture depends on irrigation in many parts of B.C., and licences are required for using groundwater sources such as wells for agricultural or industrial use. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. farms, industry risk losing water rights as licence deadline nears

Non-domestic groundwater claims must be filed by March 2022

Agriculture depends on irrigation in many parts of B.C., and licences are required for using groundwater sources such as wells for agricultural or industrial use. (B.C. government photo)
Lou Fasullo recently snapped this shot from the junction of Rawlison Crescent and 232nd Street, near Fort Langley, where the crops are being irrigated against a beautifully scenic backdrop. “I thought this captured the essence of Fort Langley, the ruggedness of the mountains, and the bread basket of the Valley,” he said in sharing the image. (Special to Langley Advance Times)

SHARE: Seen as the bread basket of the Valley

Send us your photo showing how you view Langley, and it could be featured in a future edition

  • Jun 6, 2021
Lou Fasullo recently snapped this shot from the junction of Rawlison Crescent and 232nd Street, near Fort Langley, where the crops are being irrigated against a beautifully scenic backdrop. “I thought this captured the essence of Fort Langley, the ruggedness of the mountains, and the bread basket of the Valley,” he said in sharing the image. (Special to Langley Advance Times)
Langley 4-H junior member, Juliet, participated in Field to Fork Challenge this past year. (Aldergrove Star files)

Field to Fork challenge returns to get young cooks creating

4-H BC hosts contest for kids to submit BC grown recipes and cooking videos for cash prizes

Langley 4-H junior member, Juliet, participated in Field to Fork Challenge this past year. (Aldergrove Star files)
Blueberry harvest in the Fraser Valley relies mainly on older Indo-Canadian workers provided through labour brokers. (Maple Ridge News)

B.C. ‘moving very cautiously’ on minimum wage for farm workers

Most workers support piece-rate pay for picking, survey says

Blueberry harvest in the Fraser Valley relies mainly on older Indo-Canadian workers provided through labour brokers. (Maple Ridge News)