Brackendale Farmers' Institute

07/09/2023

04/15/2023

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DELIVERING PROGRAMS COMMITTED TO PROJECTS PROJECTS FACILITATED Who We Are The Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF) delivers programs and services to support a thriving agriculture and agri-food sector in British Columbia. With 25+ years of experience, IAF is recognized a...

11/29/2022

Student info for careers in agriculture.

Participate in our BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation and Agriculture in the Classroom Canada campaign for Canada ! Join people like BCAITC Chef and Maple Ridge Secondary School Chef Instructor, Trevor Randle, and help young people learn about careers in agriculture and food: https://www.bcaitc.ca/blog/canada-career-month-2022.

07/09/2022

Interesting idea - app to connect home growers and buyers.https://www.producer.com/news/app-focusing-on-food-security-wins-startup-competition/

The idea of connecting buyers and sellers of backyard garden produce resonated with the judges at the 24-hour Ag Tech Startup held during Canada’s Farm

07/05/2022

With over 9,300 women running farms and ranches across the province, we're proud to say B.C. leads the rest of Canada in percentage of female farm operators. Recently, Statistics Canada released new info from the Census of Agriculture that shows women now make up 39% of farm operators in B.C., a slight increase over 2016. The province also reported the largest proportion of female farm operators between the ages of 35 and 54.

Read our analysis here: https://bcac.ca/industry-news/media

07/04/2022

APPLY TODAY Applications Open Now Eligible farm businesses can apply for a maximum cost-shared funding amount within each BMP category over the 2022/23 and 2023/34 program years. The cost share ratio is 70/30 for all BMP categories, meaning that 70% of the eligible costs for approved projects can be...

06/09/2022

YA - rainy day blues - hang in there farmers!

06/05/2022

The Bee BC Program offers funding to enhance bee health throughout the province. The provincial program supports small scale regional/community-based projects to research, explore, field-test and share information about best management practices associated with bee health in British Columbia. The pr...

06/03/2022

District of Squamish - Hardwired for Adventure

06/02/2022

On June 8, join The Globe and Mail for a half-day event that will bring farmers, climate and technology experts together to discuss the ideas, investments and policies needed to continue to modernize Canadian agriculture in view of sustainability and food supply. To learn more and register, visit ww...

05/13/2022

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.

05/13/2022

Hello,

On behalf of Dr. Robert Cooper, Deputy Chief Veterinarian, please see the attached amended General Order (General Order AIV2022-06). This order amends General Order -04. Please feel free to distribute the attachments and information provided below to individuals you think should be aware of this Order.

Here is some key information on this order:
With this Order, the General Order requiring bird owners to not take their birds to commingling events (General Order -04) has been extended until 11:59 p.m. on June 19, 2022.
Bird owners must not take their birds to commingling events starting April 28, 2022 and ending at 11:59 p.m. on June 19, 2022.
This order applies province-wide to all backyard, small flock and commercial bird producers of poultry, domestic waterfowl, doves, and ratites. For the specific types of birds impacted, please review the order.
This order does not apply to zoos or the sale of newly hatched birds by hatcheries or other permanent retail locations.
Commingling events include poultry swaps, auctions, flea markets, bird shows, fairs, public displays or competitions where birds from multiple sources would be present. Protecting people and birds from avian influenza requires the cooperation and effort of everyone.

Questions about the General Order and movement restriction should be directed to the ministry at 604-855-8255. Support is available everyday from 8:30am to 4:30pm (PDT). More information about restrictions on bird movement can be found in the attached document (Prevention of AI through Bird Movement Control_2022-05-11).


Drew Bondar
Regional Agrologist, Metro Vancouver
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Phone: 778-666-0584
Cell: 604-226-7751
Email: [email protected]

05/12/2022

05/06/2022

Good news! To scale up seed production and processing in BC, the Province is investing $90,000 to:

🌱 support seed growers through seed-education workshops throughout BC
🌱 create a seed mentorship program and knowledge-transfer events
🌱 conduct seed trials to select breeds best suited to BC’s climate
🌱 continue seed-cleaning and processing services throughout BC using mobile seed-cleaning units
🌱 work with existing seed libraries to identify seed-storage capacity
🌱 develop a database of seed-exchange systems

Read the full release at: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022AF0030-000703

04/28/2022

Super important meeting for the folks up the valley to attend

District of Squamish - Hardwired for Adventure

04/27/2022

District of Squamish - Hardwired for Adventure

04/09/2022

Wool - a natural choice for sustainability.

A short documentary produced with HRH The Prince of Wales for the Campaign for Wool Against a background of misleading anti wool lobbying currently orchestr...

04/08/2022

The CFIA is reporting an outbreak of Avian Influenza on three farms in Alberta this morning. Although Alberta is a mountain range (or two) away, it serves as a reminder to BC poultry producers – regardless of size -- to be vigilant. A cataclysmic outbreak of avian influenza outbreak in the Fraser Valley in 2004 saw 17 million birds euthanized. The last outbreak in BC in 2014 was tempered by the adoption of biosecurity procedures in the aftermath of 2004 outbreak. A total of 13 poultry farms were affected and approximately 240,000 birds were destroyed. CFIA is urging owners of backyard flocks to be on the lookout for signs of disease, which can be spread by migrating birds, to reduce the risk of spread to commercial flocks. https://buff.ly/37xmvso

03/26/2022

Signs of bird flu

03/08/2022

Do you love sunflowers? Support Humanitarian Efforts for Ukraine
For the entire month of March, 100% sales of Westcoast Seeds sunflower seed packets will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.

Sunflower seeds are members of the family Asteraceae, which all form a composite head (capitulum) made of masses of simple flowers (florets) that each produce a seed if successfully pollinated. Sunflowers typically have between 1,000 to 1,400 florets, and potential seeds, per head. The capitulum is....

03/04/2022

Want to learn more about food production? UBC has online courses starting soon.https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/certificate/food-safety-management/

The Food Safety Management micro-courses provide you with career-building skills to meet the high demand for quality assurance experts.

02/26/2022

Vertical Farming on ALR land!

The provincial government is opening up the Agricultural Land Reserve to vertical farming. BC Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham made the announcement on Saturday morning and makes good on a recommendation by the BC Food Security Task Force to open the ALR for agritech development. It proposed setting aside more than 28,400 acres of protected farmland for agritech and agri-industrial uses.

https://conta.cc/3HeAMXa

01/21/2022

01/21/2022

It turns out sunflowers are more than just a pretty face: the ultraviolet colours of their flowers not only attract pollinators, but also help the plant regulate water loss, according to new UBC research. 🌻

Read more about how sunflowers’ invisible colours help them attract bees and adapt to drought.

http://ow.ly/N74550HytPs

01/13/2022

Join us for Native Bee Society of BC's third Annual General Meeting! https://www.bcnativebees.org/event-details/2021-annual-general-meeting

Great talks, updates on our last year, and the opportunity to elect our 2022 board - please consider running! https://www.bcnativebees.org/election

01/05/2022

District of Squamish - Hardwired for Adventure