Farming

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

 

File - Members of Communist Party of India shout slogans during a protest against farm laws in Mumbai, India Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, has said his government will withdraw the controversial farm laws that were met with year-long demonstrations from tens of thousands of farmers who said the laws will shatter their livelihoods. The drawn-out demonstrations have posed one of the biggest political challenges to Modi, who swept the polls for the second time in 2019. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

Bowing to protests, India’s prime minister agrees to repeal farm laws

Narendra Modi’s announcement in a national address comes ahead of elections early next year

 

Calf houses float in the flood waters in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

Thousands of animals, livestock have perished in B.C.’s historic flooding: Agriculture Minister

BCSPCA on standby to help farmers, livestock

 

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)
The pigs at Happy Herd Farm getting ready to eat their favourite snack (Aldergrove Star files)

Happy Herd Farm looking for volunteers

Animals at Aldergrove’s Happy Herd need pumpkin drop-off, Monday, Nov. 1.

The pigs at Happy Herd Farm getting ready to eat their favourite snack (Aldergrove Star files)
Dairy cows feed in a barn on a farm in eastern Ontario on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Abbotsford dairy farm has licence suspended amid allegations of animal abuse

BC SPCA is conducting an investigation after receiving video footage of ‘very serious instances’

Dairy cows feed in a barn on a farm in eastern Ontario on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
One of the baby kittens stolen from Aldor Acres (Facebook/Aldor Acres)

Kittens stolen from Aldergrove’s Aldor Acres

Two baby kittens stolen within a week

One of the baby kittens stolen from Aldor Acres (Facebook/Aldor Acres)
A sunflower being deseeded, for next years planting (Barb Pearson/Special to The Star)

Aldergrove women shedding light on seed saving

Last class on Sunday, Oct. 24, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

A sunflower being deseeded, for next years planting (Barb Pearson/Special to The Star)
Kensington Prairie Farm has 105 alpacas and 12 other kinds of animals. (Kensington Prairie Farm/Facebook)

Aldergrove farm selling pumpkins for a cause

100 per cent of all pumpkin proceeds goes to animal rescue initiatives

Kensington Prairie Farm has 105 alpacas and 12 other kinds of animals. (Kensington Prairie Farm/Facebook)
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)
The pigs at Aldergrove-based Happy Herd farm are looking for more tasty treats this pumpkin season. (Tiffany Akins/Aldergrove Star files)

Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary looking for tasty donation

Pumpkins aren’t only a pig favourite, donkeys, goats, and chickens love tasting the seasonal treat

The pigs at Aldergrove-based Happy Herd farm are looking for more tasty treats this pumpkin season. (Tiffany Akins/Aldergrove Star files)
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 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
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

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*
The trial date has been set for the four people charged with 21 combined counts of break and enter and criminal mischief in relation to a protest at an Abbotsford hog farm in 2019. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

Trial date set for activists linked to Abbotsford hog farm protest

The ‘Excelsior 4’ will head to trial on June 28, 2022, the four defendants face 21 combined charges

The trial date has been set for the four people charged with 21 combined counts of break and enter and criminal mischief in relation to a protest at an Abbotsford hog farm in 2019. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)
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)
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.
Langley East MLA Megan Dykeman, who operates a small specialty poultry farm, welcomed new B.C. regulations, announced Tuesday, that allow small beef, pork, and poultry producers to process and sell directly. (file)

New licensing for small beef, pork, and poultry producers hailed by Langley East MLA

Megan Dykeman, former Langley Farmers’ Institute chair, calls the changes ‘fantastic’

Langley East MLA Megan Dykeman, who operates a small specialty poultry farm, welcomed new B.C. regulations, announced Tuesday, that allow small beef, pork, and poultry producers to process and sell directly. (file)
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
The recent heat wave may have spared later variety of blueberries. (The News files)

Lower Mainland blueberry farmers hope heat hasn’t harmed later variety crops

Duke, the earliest variety, most affected by recent heat wave

The recent heat wave may have spared later variety of blueberries. (The News files)