By Stacey Santos Spray Creek Ranch, located in Northern St’at’imc Territory near Lillooet, BC, has operated as a cattle ranch since the 1880s. Over the past decade, Tristan Banwell and his partner Aubyn have managed the land and transformed it from a traditional cow-calf operation to a diversified, regenerative organic farm with cattle, sheep, pigs,… Keep Reading
By Julia Smith There is an insurance crisis in the small-scale farm industry in BC. Access to insurance was listed as one of the top challenges for producers in the Small-Scale Meat Producers (SSMPA) Industry Survey Report, published in 2022. The market to insure diversified farms is slim and almost completely non-existent for farm businesses… Keep Reading
Ready for Growth, Small-Scale Meat Producers are Limited by Access to Processing By Julia Smith The Small-Scale Meat Producers Association recently completed a province-wide survey of the small-scale meat producing sector in which we heard from 708 operations representing 2,110 producers across all 27 regional districts of the province. Eighteen respondents reported being certified organic,… Keep Reading
By Ava Reeve Drive down any rural road in this province and you’re sure to pass cattle on the range, a flock of sheep, or mobile pens for pastured poultry. Small-scale livestock production has a long tradition in BC, and has been reinvigorated in recent years with practices such as rotational grazing and regenerative agriculture… Keep Reading
Empowering the Human Micronutrient Supply Chain from the Soil Up Marjorie Harris I have long accepted that the saying “Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants, Healthy people” fully explained the human nutrient supply chain. Turns out, this is not entirely accurate. In fact, the mineral requirements for healthy plants, animals, and people are quite different. During organic… Keep Reading
Anna Helmer We have no cattle on the farm this year. This is not an ideal situation for a biodynamic farmer. Rudolph Steiner’s lectures are specifically reverent about the bovine influence. Very simply, their manure is important, and their manner is to be admired. We never set up as ranchers, but the two cows were… Keep Reading
The Lasser Legacy: Raising Healthy, Nutritious, Environmentally-Friendly Cattle Jolene Swain Charlie Lasser’s plan was to retire at 100. Just three weeks short of his 89th birthday, he’s been considering extending that to 110—there’s so much to learn and so much knowledge to share when it comes to raising cattle, and he’s just not quite finished.Farming… Keep Reading
Improving Poultry Rations to Accommodate Natural Behaviours & Strengthen Supply Chains Marjorie Harris COR Section 6.4: Livestock feed 6.4.3 – Specific livestock rations shall take the following into account: j) poultry and pigs shall be given vegetable matter other than grain; k) poultry shall be fed daily… Why did the chicken cross the road? To… Keep Reading
Tristan Banwell How did I come to be involved in the 2020 Review of the Canadian Organic Standards from my organic outpost near little old Lillooet? Well, Anne Macey talked me into it, of course. By email. She’s very charming and persuasive, even in text. I am glad she did recruit me, because I now realize… Keep Reading
Photos and text by Michael Marrapese In 2018 Fraser Common Farm Co-operative—home of Glorious Organics—undertook a year long on-farm research project to explore how small farms could adapt to climate change. Seeing the changes in seasonal rainfall, climate predictions by Environment Canada, and new ground water regulations from the provincial government, the cooperative could see… Keep Reading
