Agriculture

The Canada-British Columbia Agri-Innovation Program is giving Chilliwack’s Dicklands Farms $165,000 to design and develop a low-emission dairy barn. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Chilliwack farm receives funding to develop low-emission dairy barn

Dicklands Farms is receiving $165,000 through the Canada-British Columbia Agri-Innovation Program

 

The Donaldson family of Bradner Farms has received the Century Farm Award from the provincial government. Sadly, Robert Donaldson (in the centre in the plaid shirt) passed away on Aug. 11. (Photo from Bradner Farms)

Abbotsford family honoured for more than 100 years of farming

Bradner Farms celebrates 4 generations of farming with provincial award

 

The Peach ice cream had become a major tourists attraction onto itself. But city staff awarded the license for the next three years to Alberta-based company. (The Peach Facebook) The Peach, on the shore of Okanagan Lake in Penticton, has become an iconic landmark of Penticton’s lakefront. (The Peach Facebook)

QUIZ: A celebration of the fruit harvest

In orchards around British Columbia, fruit pickers are hard at work

 

Isaac Bosma, 9, of Chilliwack shows his cow during a 4-H competition at the 150th annual Chilliwack Fair on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022 at Chilliwack Heritage Park. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

PHOTOS: Ringing in 150 years of the Chilliwack Fair

4-H competitions, live entertainment, piglets and more at historic fair in Chilliwack

Isaac Bosma, 9, of Chilliwack shows his cow during a 4-H competition at the 150th annual Chilliwack Fair on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022 at Chilliwack Heritage Park. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picks cherries at family farm owner Derek Lutz’s orchard in Summerland, B.C., Monday, July 18, 2022. The heat and wildfires in British Columbia last year combined with mild temperatures in the earlier months of 2022 have left fruit growers with a sour taste as farmers record a lighter than normal crop. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Trudeau tours B.C. cherry farm, where weather events have affected crop

Cherry crop about 30 to 40 per cent lower than normal year, and about two weeks behind

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picks cherries at family farm owner Derek Lutz’s orchard in Summerland, B.C., Monday, July 18, 2022. The heat and wildfires in British Columbia last year combined with mild temperatures in the earlier months of 2022 have left fruit growers with a sour taste as farmers record a lighter than normal crop. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough (centre-left) visited plant-based food manufacturer Big Mountain Foods 2 Ltd.’s production facility in her riding of Delta on July 7, 2022, the same day the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced the government was investing over $1.4 million in the company. (submitted photo)

Feds invests over $1.4 million in B.C. plant-based food producer

Big Mountain Foods 2 to add fully-automated robotic equipment, commercialize chickpea tofu

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough (centre-left) visited plant-based food manufacturer Big Mountain Foods 2 Ltd.’s production facility in her riding of Delta on July 7, 2022, the same day the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced the government was investing over $1.4 million in the company. (submitted photo)
Heppell’s Potato Farm land slated for industrial development is located on 38 Ave and 192 Street. (Sobia Moman photo)

Mayor, councillors serve notice of motion to help spare South Surrey farm from development

Efforts to save ‘little piece of California in B.C.’ laudable, but don’t go far enough, says farmer

Heppell’s Potato Farm land slated for industrial development is located on 38 Ave and 192 Street. (Sobia Moman photo)
The vending machines at Berry Bounty Farms holds room-temperature, refrigerated and frozen items. Here, Leanne Maljaars loads eggs into the machine. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

Chilliwack farm’s modern vending machine with freezer section brings convenience to customers

Machine at Berry Bounty Farms holds frozen, refrigerated, room-temperature food

The vending machines at Berry Bounty Farms holds room-temperature, refrigerated and frozen items. Here, Leanne Maljaars loads eggs into the machine. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
(Right to left) Nick Schafer, Amy Soranno and Roy Sasano’s trial begins on Monday (June 27). Geoff Regier (left) had all his charges dropped.

Abbotsford hog farm protesters going to trial on Monday

Trial for Roy Sasano, Nick Schafer and Amy Soranno scheduled for Abbotsford court

(Right to left) Nick Schafer, Amy Soranno and Roy Sasano’s trial begins on Monday (June 27). Geoff Regier (left) had all his charges dropped.
Left to right: Luke, David, Wellsley and Aimee Matlak in front of the robot. Patrick Penner / Mission Record

VIDEO: Milking robots help Nicomen Island dairy farmer spend more time with family

Automation making both farmer and cows happy

Left to right: Luke, David, Wellsley and Aimee Matlak in front of the robot. Patrick Penner / Mission Record
ACOC farm tour attendees make their way through Perpetual Vegetable Co.’s greenhouse area. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)

Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce farm tour returns to in-person

ACOC features four local farms with a focus on agricultural technology for 2022

ACOC farm tour attendees make their way through Perpetual Vegetable Co.’s greenhouse area. (Ben Lypka/Abbotsford News)
Angela Moore (left) shows visitors around her farm during the Ryder Lake Ramble on Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

PHOTOS: Farm animals, stunning scenery and more during Ryder Lake Ramble in Chilliwack

Annual self-guided tour of historic farming community saw folks visit from all over

Angela Moore (left) shows visitors around her farm during the Ryder Lake Ramble on Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)
Vancouver Island’s kelp forests have responded in a variety of ways, according to research out of the University of Victoria. Unsplash/contributed photo

B.C. kelp is in hot water, but science may help save our underwater rainforests

UVic study of Vancouver Island kelp forests could help map a future for them amidst climate change

Vancouver Island’s kelp forests have responded in a variety of ways, according to research out of the University of Victoria. Unsplash/contributed photo
A map showing the red area is the primary infection zone. This is from the Abbotsford infection notification. The Langley map hasn’t been released yet. (CFIA map)

Avian flu detected on Langley farm

Outbreaks have been sweeping the province

A map showing the red area is the primary infection zone. This is from the Abbotsford infection notification. The Langley map hasn’t been released yet. (CFIA map)
B.C. is investing another $12 million into the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program, and upping the weekly amount participants receive from $21 to $27. (Photo: BC Association of Farmers’ Markets)

B.C. upping access to farmers’ market coupon program with $12-million injection

Program provides low-income households, seniors, pregnant people with weekly coupons for local goods

B.C. is investing another $12 million into the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program, and upping the weekly amount participants receive from $21 to $27. (Photo: BC Association of Farmers’ Markets)
A drop of maple water drips out of a spile from a tree that was just tapped at the Vanier Museopark sugar bush in Ottawa on Saturday, March 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Maple syrup producers see climate change as a threat to industry’s future

Syrup producers are recording declining yields due to increasing global temperatures

A drop of maple water drips out of a spile from a tree that was just tapped at the Vanier Museopark sugar bush in Ottawa on Saturday, March 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The pickers lay down on a flatbed trailer to harvest asparagus. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)

Ripe for the picking: Creston’s iconic asparagus has late start due to cold spring

Sutcliffe Farms is the largest asparagus producer in the province

The pickers lay down on a flatbed trailer to harvest asparagus. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)
Due to the rising costs of fuel and fertilizer farmers like Tara Sawyer, pictured at her family’s farm near Acme, Alta., Tuesday, May 17, 2022, say this will be the most expensive crop in Canadian history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Stakes are high for farmers as 2022 crop shapes up to be Canada’s most expensive ever

Costs surge due to inflationary pressures, spiking energy costs, and the war in Ukraine

Due to the rising costs of fuel and fertilizer farmers like Tara Sawyer, pictured at her family’s farm near Acme, Alta., Tuesday, May 17, 2022, say this will be the most expensive crop in Canadian history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
If you are a producer and want your flock safe, follow the guidelines to avoid Avian Influenza or bird flu. (Angie Mindus/Black Press file)

Avian flu detected in birds at commercial farm in Abbotsford

This is the first case in the Fraser Valley as H5N1 virus spreads across province

If you are a producer and want your flock safe, follow the guidelines to avoid Avian Influenza or bird flu. (Angie Mindus/Black Press file)
A chicken looks in the barn at Honey Brook Farm in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., on Monday, April 18, 2022. The state Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of avian influenza in Lancaster County on Saturday. (Lindsey Shuey/Republican-Herald via AP)

Small flock in Comox Valley is B.C.’s 7th to test positive for avian influenza

All commercial poultry operators with more than 100 birds ordered to move flocks indoors

A chicken looks in the barn at Honey Brook Farm in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., on Monday, April 18, 2022. The state Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of avian influenza in Lancaster County on Saturday. (Lindsey Shuey/Republican-Herald via AP)