Agriculture

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’

 

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

 

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

 

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)
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)
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)