Agriculture

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)

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  • 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

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  • 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)
Lily M from Glen Valley 4-H Club with her speak show “Let Them Eat Cake Pops!” placed 1st in Langley District and 3rd in Fraser Valley Regional Competition. (Special to The Star)

Langley 4-H members learn skills through public speaking

Chloe B,, Elly V., and Lily M. earned first in three different speaking categories this spring

Lily M from Glen Valley 4-H Club with her speak show “Let Them Eat Cake Pops!” placed 1st in Langley District and 3rd in Fraser Valley Regional Competition. (Special to The Star)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham takes questions in the B.C. legislature in 2017. (Hansard TV)

UPDATE: B.C. will fund another year of fresh fruit, vegetables, milk in schools

John Horgan government working on school meal program

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham takes questions in the B.C. legislature in 2017. (Hansard TV)
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham promotes the government’s BuyBC food program in 2019. (B.C. government)

Money running out for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk in B.C. schools

‘Looking at ways to support this type of program,’ minister says

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham promotes the government’s BuyBC food program in 2019. (B.C. government)
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 an example of 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)
Cows from Creekside Dairy in Agassiz experienced 2021’s spring weather for the first time on Thursday, April 22, early in the morning. (Screenshot/Creekside Dairy)

VIDEO: B.C. cows react with joy to springtime pasture

Creekside Dairy spreads joy as their cows see their home fields for the first time since winter

Cows from Creekside Dairy in Agassiz experienced 2021’s spring weather for the first time on Thursday, April 22, early in the morning. (Screenshot/Creekside Dairy)
Meg Jordan of LEPS harvested fruit during the 2016 Langley Community Harvest. (LEPS)

Harvest for Langley community to start in June

LEPS is beginning its Community Harvest program this summer

  • Apr 2, 2021
Meg Jordan of LEPS harvested fruit during the 2016 Langley Community Harvest. (LEPS)