Where Organic Matter Matters Darcy Smith More than 40 years in, Keith Boulter still calls his farm a “work in progress.” Sweet Haven Farm was born from a deep respect for the land and the soil, and that’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed over the years. The grain, hay, and forage farm… Keep Reading
Stacey Santos Drought, heatwaves, wildfires, and other climate-related challenges are taking a heavy toll on farmers in BC, including at Blue Sky Ranch in the Nicola Valley. There, farmer Julia Smith is working hard to keep a healthy pasture in the face of climate change by following the principles of rotational grazing: having the right… Keep Reading
Jessica Chiartas The Organic Science Cluster 4 (OSC4) is a national initiative aimed at advancing organic agriculture and enhancing the sustainability of Canadian agriculture through cutting-edge research and innovation. Funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s AgriScience Program and contributions from over 80 funding partners, OSC4 leverages public-private partnership to drive collaboration amongst researchers (10 universities… Keep Reading
BC Living Lab Sets Sights on Increasing Forage Quality Stacey Santos Nicomen Farm sprawls over 350 acres on Nicomen Island, nestled between the farming community of Deroche, BC and the fertile Fraser River. Ripe for agriculture, this region grows diverse commodities, including Nicomen Farm’s three main streams of revenue: producing grass-fed milk from 120 cows… Keep Reading
The Miracle Place Darcy Smith From one Kalala to another, Karnail Sidhu crossed continents and decades to bring Kalala Organic Estate Winery to life. The winery’s name honours the village in Punjab, India, where he was born. Kalala means “miracle place,” says Karnail. “My birthplace has a little legend about how it got its name.… Keep Reading
Chris Bodnar When parts of the province experienced catastrophic flooding in November of 2021, we witnessed an incredible mobilization of resources in the agricultural sector to navigate the disaster as well as to rebuild. At the same time, we also witnessed the unequal impact of the event on different populations. Very few Indigenous communities are… Keep Reading
International Collaboration Towards Climate Resilience Valerie Zimmermann The Agroecological Transitions for Climate Resilience in British Columbia (BC) research project is working to support BC farmers and the BC farming industry to improve resilience to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather. Climate resilience in farming involves not only producing food for the province, but… Keep Reading
Andrew Bennett How resilient is your farm to the boom and bust of water extremes, and how can you improve? For many, the first thought is better irrigation equipment. The main reason farms call me is for water plans to get funding for upgrades. You know the problems: patchworks of old mismatched nozzles, pipes that… Keep Reading
Reflections on Farmer Mental Health By Alys Ford Fourteen years ago, during our first season of commercial farming I made a pretty classic rookie mistake. I planted many hundreds of feet of tatsoi, with the intention of growing it to full size as a bunched green to substitute for the spinach that, at the time,… Keep Reading
The Coffee Company that Wants Us All to be on Level Ground Darcy Smith Can coffee be sustainable? If you have ever asked this question about your morning cuppa, you are not alone. It’s a question Stacey Toews, co-founder of Level Ground Coffee Roasters, gets all the time. People “feel helpless in the global machine,”… Keep Reading
