Farming

EMILI Managing Director, Jacqueline Keena, is photographed in the field at Innovation Farms, north of Winnipeg on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

How AI could help farming become more efficient and sustainable

Sensors can detect when plants need water or light and when they are ready for harvest

 

The majority of the wool is used for producing clothing or blankets after it’s been cleaned. The wool near the rear is turned into mulch. (Jessica R. Durling/News Bulletin)

For the shear joy: 75-year-old B.C. widow intends keep sheep farm going

Nanaimo woman extolls the holistic benefits of hobby farming in an increasingly urban society

 

A head of wheat amongst a crop near Cremona, Alta., Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Scientists on a quest for drought-resistant wheat, agriculture’s ‘Holy Grail’

It is a staple food for 35% of the world’s population, but requires more water than other crops

 

Okanagan fruit growers and farmers protested at the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative on Sexsmith Road in Kelowna on May 29, 2024. (Gary Barnes/Kelowna Capital News)

Growers and farmers protest at BC Tree Fruits Cooperative in Kelowna

They want the BCTFC to live up to promises following the expansion of a packing house in Oliver

Okanagan fruit growers and farmers protested at the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative on Sexsmith Road in Kelowna on May 29, 2024. (Gary Barnes/Kelowna Capital News)
Hundreds braved the rain to show up for the Stronger Together Rally in Osoyoos on May 28, calling for support for the agricultural industry. (Brennan Phillips/Western News)

‘We need to fight’: Farmers rally in Okanagan as BC NDP gather for retreat

The agricultural industry has faced years of climate disasters that have left them stretched thin

Hundreds braved the rain to show up for the Stronger Together Rally in Osoyoos on May 28, calling for support for the agricultural industry. (Brennan Phillips/Western News)
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists in Atlantic Canada are looking to develop a new breed of potato that is better adapted to the changing growing conditions brought on by climate change. Bourlaye Fofana, a research scientist at AAFC, is shown in an undated handout photo. Fofana leads a team in Charlottetown that has examined wild potato varieties that are native to the South American Andes and show potential to help develop a more drought-resistant potato. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Wild potato shows potential for developing drought-resistant crop: researcher

Commercial varieties of potatoes aren’t always resilient to disease and climate change

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists in Atlantic Canada are looking to develop a new breed of potato that is better adapted to the changing growing conditions brought on by climate change. Bourlaye Fofana, a research scientist at AAFC, is shown in an undated handout photo. Fofana leads a team in Charlottetown that has examined wild potato varieties that are native to the South American Andes and show potential to help develop a more drought-resistant potato. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Robin Herlinveaux still loves farming. The 72-year-old didn’t even hail from a farming family and, as a young man, had little inclination to make his living from the land, but he’s been at it for about 45 years now. (Tim Collins)

Vancouver Island farmer worries about the legacy of farming in B.C.

Rising land prices, combined with changing regulations, are driving farmers from the business

Robin Herlinveaux still loves farming. The 72-year-old didn’t even hail from a farming family and, as a young man, had little inclination to make his living from the land, but he’s been at it for about 45 years now. (Tim Collins)
Jennifer Deol of There and Back Again Farms in Kelowna is faced with significant crop loss after with yet another year of ‘unprecedented weather events’. (Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)

Okanagan farmer fears climate change will prune agriculture from family tree

Jennifer Deol of There and Back Again Farms worries that without a shift to sustainability, small-scale farming may be a thing of the past

Jennifer Deol of There and Back Again Farms in Kelowna is faced with significant crop loss after with yet another year of ‘unprecedented weather events’. (Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)
Pitt Meadows city council endorsed recommendations to adjust taxation for B.C. farmland to try and help reduce the amount of farmland that is currently vacant or unused. (Ridge Meadows Chamber of Commerce/Special to The News)

B.C. city says issue of unused farmland could be solved with 3 tax changes

Recommendations were sent off to UBCM and the LMLGA for further consideration

Pitt Meadows city council endorsed recommendations to adjust taxation for B.C. farmland to try and help reduce the amount of farmland that is currently vacant or unused. (Ridge Meadows Chamber of Commerce/Special to The News)
The federal government is cutting the amount of money small- and medium-sized businesses will be given from carbon pricing revenues so it can increase the amount of money rebated to rural families. A woman gasses up at a gas station in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Canada shifts carbon price rebates from small business to rural residents

Rebate programs for business tied specifically to investments they make in energy efficiencies

The federal government is cutting the amount of money small- and medium-sized businesses will be given from carbon pricing revenues so it can increase the amount of money rebated to rural families. A woman gasses up at a gas station in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Damaged brown buds from the limb of a tree, seen during the inspection at Wloka Farms (Photo by Molly Thurston)

-27 C cold snap wipes out B.C. orchard’s soft fruit supply

Creston’s Wloka Farms suffers a 100 per cent bud loss on soft fruit trees

Damaged brown buds from the limb of a tree, seen during the inspection at Wloka Farms (Photo by Molly Thurston)
Farmers block a highway, near Agen, southwestern France, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. French farmers have vowed to continue protesting and are maintaining traffic barricades on some of the country’s major roads. The government announced a series of measures Friday but the farmers say these do not fully address their demands. (AP Photo/Fred Scheiber)

French farmers aim to put Paris ‘under siege’ in tractor protest

Farmers pushing for better pay and protection against cheap imported alternatives

Farmers block a highway, near Agen, southwestern France, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. French farmers have vowed to continue protesting and are maintaining traffic barricades on some of the country’s major roads. The government announced a series of measures Friday but the farmers say these do not fully address their demands. (AP Photo/Fred Scheiber)
Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer spoke outside the Abbotsford Law Courts on Oct. 12, 2022 prior to their sentencing. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News)

Guilty verdicts stand for 2 Abbotsford hog-farm protesters

Amy Soranno and Nick Schafter now plan to appeal 30-day sentence

Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer spoke outside the Abbotsford Law Courts on Oct. 12, 2022 prior to their sentencing. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News)
Brad Hopcott (centre) and Travis Hopcott (centre-right) were one of the winners of the 2023 Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers award. (Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers/Special to The News)

B.C. family wins national farming award

The Hopcotts were named one of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers

Brad Hopcott (centre) and Travis Hopcott (centre-right) were one of the winners of the 2023 Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers award. (Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers/Special to The News)
Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer spoke outside the Abbotsford Law Courts prior to sentencing on Oct. 12, 2022. The pair have appealed their conviction related to the Excelsior Hog Farm. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News)

‘Trial judge erred’: Convicted B.C. hog farm activists appeal decision

Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer will have their case heard by 3 judges in the B.C. Court of Appeal on Nov. 23

Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer spoke outside the Abbotsford Law Courts prior to sentencing on Oct. 12, 2022. The pair have appealed their conviction related to the Excelsior Hog Farm. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News)
Snow-covered cattle stand in a pasture near Didsbury, Alta., Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. It could be a long, lean winter in cattle country, as drought-ravaged western Canadian ranchers struggle to secure enough feed to get their livestock through the cold months. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canadian ranchers brace for long, lean winter after droughts, soaring feed costs

As of Sept. 30, 72% of the country was considered either ‘abnormally dry’ or in ‘moderate to exceptional drought’

Snow-covered cattle stand in a pasture near Didsbury, Alta., Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. It could be a long, lean winter in cattle country, as drought-ravaged western Canadian ranchers struggle to secure enough feed to get their livestock through the cold months. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
People picked up free potatoes (as well as some squash and carrots) at the Sept. 17 Ugly Potato Day at the Heppell family farm in South Surrey and again on Saturday, Oct. 14, which was Ugly Produce Day. (Tricia Weel photo)

Even ugly potatoes need love: B.C. event shares free food with 3,500 people

Heppell’s Ugly Produce Day distributes vegetables too ugly to sell to those who want them

People picked up free potatoes (as well as some squash and carrots) at the Sept. 17 Ugly Potato Day at the Heppell family farm in South Surrey and again on Saturday, Oct. 14, which was Ugly Produce Day. (Tricia Weel photo)
Adult Western corn rootworms feasting on a corn plant. The insects, which are highly destructive to corn crops, were discovered in the North Okanagan and Shuswap for the first time in August 2023. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture photo)

Pest that devastates corn crops found at North Okanagan, Shuswap farms

The Western corn rootworm causes over $1 billion of damage to U.S. corn crops each year

Adult Western corn rootworms feasting on a corn plant. The insects, which are highly destructive to corn crops, were discovered in the North Okanagan and Shuswap for the first time in August 2023. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture photo)
An orchard worker picks Red Delicious apples from an Okanagan orchard. Many fruits in Canada are now ripening. (Black Press file photo)

QUIZ: Are you ready for the fruit harvest?

Agricultural workers are harvesting various fruit crops

An orchard worker picks Red Delicious apples from an Okanagan orchard. Many fruits in Canada are now ripening. (Black Press file photo)
B.C. farmers will once again be eligible to apply for funding through a joint federal-provincial program that helps producers adapt to climate change. The province announced Aug. 3, 2023 that $4 million will be available through the Beneficial Management Practices program, which aims to help farmers and ranchers throughout B.C. become more resilient and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment. (Pixabay)

B.C., Canada promise $4M to help farmers adapt to climate change, drought

Program aims to help producers with waste management, air-quality and emissions control

B.C. farmers will once again be eligible to apply for funding through a joint federal-provincial program that helps producers adapt to climate change. The province announced Aug. 3, 2023 that $4 million will be available through the Beneficial Management Practices program, which aims to help farmers and ranchers throughout B.C. become more resilient and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment. (Pixabay)