Agriculture

Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. A recovery package is expected to be announced today for British Columbia’s agriculture industry after devastating floods last November. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Governments to announce recovery plan for B.C. agriculture industry after floods

Announcement billed as the largest recovery program for the sector in the province’s history

Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. A recovery package is expected to be announced today for British Columbia’s agriculture industry after devastating floods last November. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A pair of former Langley farmers still has to pay a multi-million dollar award related to blueberry sabotage, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled. (Black Press Media files)

$2.9 million judgment stands in Langley blueberry field sabotage case

Roundup sprayed on blueberries before farm sold due to foreclosure

A pair of former Langley farmers still has to pay a multi-million dollar award related to blueberry sabotage, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled. (Black Press Media files)
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. Farm irrigation in Abbotsford. (B.C. government)

Deadline approaches for B.C. irrigation, commercial water licences

March 1 cutoff means stopping water use, applying as new user

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. Farm irrigation in Abbotsford. (B.C. government)
Langley Township is appealing a court ruling that said a South Langley farmer has the right to process his chickens on his own property. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Langley Township appeals court ruling allowing chicken abattoir

The five-year legal fight between a farmer and the Township continues

Langley Township is appealing a court ruling that said a South Langley farmer has the right to process his chickens on his own property. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Sixty years after the founding of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board, 308 broiler chicken growers are registered in B.C., contributing 14,353 total jobs and $1.1 billion to Canada’s GDP.

BC Chicken marks 60 years with a delicious new contest

Enter your best BC chicken recipe for your chance to win!

  • Jan 31, 2022
Sixty years after the founding of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board, 308 broiler chicken growers are registered in B.C., contributing 14,353 total jobs and $1.1 billion to Canada’s GDP.
CubicFarms animal-feed growing spin-off is up for a SXSW Innovation Award. (cubicfarms.com)

SXSW names Langley, Pitt Meadows company finalist in Innovation Awards

The Texas tech show will pick a winner on March 14

CubicFarms animal-feed growing spin-off is up for a SXSW Innovation Award. (cubicfarms.com)
Nadja Moritz, Marcel Sachse and daughter Lily Sachse-Moritz live at Pinch of Soil Farm in South Langley. (Langley Advance Times files)

Ideas that make Langley farms more sustainable could get some green

Langley Sustainable Agriculture Foundation will offer up to $10,000 in grants and scholarships

Nadja Moritz, Marcel Sachse and daughter Lily Sachse-Moritz live at Pinch of Soil Farm in South Langley. (Langley Advance Times files)
Photo courtesy of J Summers.

B.C. disasters, extreme weather underscore need for climate-resilient agriculture

“We should be building the infrastructure for the next 30 years, starting yesterday.”

Photo courtesy of J Summers.
Cows and their calves graze in a pasture on a farm near Cremona, Alta., Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Some Alberta cattle producers say they will run out of food for their animals this weekend, as train delays and the impacts of last summer’s drought combine to create a crisis situation on the Prairies.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canadian cattle producers desperate as feed shortage reaches crisis levels

‘I’ve never experienced where we don’t know what we’re going to feed the cattle Monday morning’

Cows and their calves graze in a pasture on a farm near Cremona, Alta., Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Some Alberta cattle producers say they will run out of food for their animals this weekend, as train delays and the impacts of last summer’s drought combine to create a crisis situation on the Prairies.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Volunteers from River Wrangler Sportfishing in the Mission Hills community deliver donations by boat after the floods affected dairy farms in Abbotsford in November 2021

BC Dairy thanks the community for over $850,000 flood relief donations, and shines a spotlight on local community heroes

British Columbians have come forward with an incredible show of support for…

  • Jan 10, 2022
Volunteers from River Wrangler Sportfishing in the Mission Hills community deliver donations by boat after the floods affected dairy farms in Abbotsford in November 2021
Mink on many farms in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley were tested positive in the past for the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. (Langley Advance Times files)

B.C. government bans mink farming, activists demand more

A fox fur farm might open in Langley

Mink on many farms in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley were tested positive in the past for the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. (Langley Advance Times files)
Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, chats with farm owner Veronica Enright at her dairy farm in Compton, Que., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Arbitrators have issued their final report into U.S. complaints about how Canada is interpreting North American trade rules around dairy imports — and both countries are claiming victory. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Both sides claim victory after U.S. complaint about Canada’s dairy quota practices

Panel says Canada’s practices are ‘inconsistent’ with the commitments spelled out in the trade deal

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, chats with farm owner Veronica Enright at her dairy farm in Compton, Que., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Arbitrators have issued their final report into U.S. complaints about how Canada is interpreting North American trade rules around dairy imports — and both countries are claiming victory. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Elite Farm Services workers are seen throwing chickens at a Chilliwack farm in undercover video filmed by Mercy for Animals in 2017. Elite and poultry processor Sofina Foods were sentenced Dec. 14, 2021 and must each pay a $300,000 fine.

Two companies each fined $300k for chicken abuse in Abbotsford and Chilliwack

Elite Farm Services Ltd. and Sofina Foods also subject to three years’ probation

Elite Farm Services workers are seen throwing chickens at a Chilliwack farm in undercover video filmed by Mercy for Animals in 2017. Elite and poultry processor Sofina Foods were sentenced Dec. 14, 2021 and must each pay a $300,000 fine.
Lana Popham, B.C. agriculture minister, said only two per cent of the annual provincial turkey production has been lost due to recent flooding. (Jill Hayward photo)

98% of turkeys survived flooding, says B.C. Agriculture Minister

However, flooding could affect the cost of Christmas turkeys, says Lana Popham

Lana Popham, B.C. agriculture minister, said only two per cent of the annual provincial turkey production has been lost due to recent flooding. (Jill Hayward photo)
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

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

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

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)
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 among 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)