Learning From Italy’s Thriving Agriculture Co-operatives By Chris Bodnar Over two weeks in June, I had the opportunity to join other farmers and a group of Vancity Credit Union staff on a study tour in Bologna, Italy. The focus of the tour was the agricultural co-operative sector. The Bologna region is unique because of its… Keep Reading
Cait Murphy It’s early on a Friday morning and Matthew and his mother Ali have just spent 30 minutes driving to Tsawwassen. They drive this way every week for an opportunity that Ali has described as life-changing. The opportunity? Farmwork. Taller than any of the staff he works with, it would be easy to assume… Keep Reading
Michael Ekers and Charles Levkoe Originally published by Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario in Ecological Farming in Ontario, Volume 37, Issue 2. This is part 2 of a 4 part series on research into unpaid farm labour. While the research was conducted with farms in Ontario, much of the findings likely carry over to BC.… Keep Reading
Editor’s note: We’re taking a detour from the usual Organic Standards focus of Footnotes to explore the inspiration that can strike while working in the field. A farmer’s life is more than physical labour and paperwork—spending so much time in the natural world opens a window into art for many, including Cathie Allen, who wrote… Keep Reading
Michael Ekers and Charles Levkoe Originally published by Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario in Ecological Farming in Ontario, Volume 36, Issue 5. While the research was conducted with farms in Ontario, much of the findings likely carry over to BC. There are increasing numbers of interns, apprentices, and volunteers working on small- and medium sized… Keep Reading
Robyn Bunn, Elise Hjalmarson and Christine Mettler, collective members of Radical Action with Migrants in Agriculture (RAMA) Okanagan. RAMA is a volunteer, grassroots collective of community organizers that work to address the disenfranchisement and injustices faced by seasonal agricultural workers in the Okanagan. The Invisible ‘Foreign’ Labour in ‘Local’ Food [the boss] only sees [us]… Keep Reading
Rob Borsato with thanks to Marjorie Harris Growing a Local Food Movement in the Cariboo It was the “back to the land” movement of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s that nudged, on separate paths, Cathie Allen and Rob Borsato to the Cariboo. Together, in 1985 they purchased 105 acres of mostly timbered bench land above… Keep Reading
Keeley Nixon Seeds ordered? Check. Planting calendar set? Check. Staff hired? Check. Conflict resolution preparedness in place? Wait, what?! Though it’s often overlooked in the sheer onslaught of too-much-to-do-not-enough-time of daily farm life, collaborative communication practice can be one of our strongest tools,.Think you’ve got this covered? Remember back to the hardest moments of last… Keep Reading
Lucy Sharatt In March 2015, Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) got approval for its GM non-browning Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples in both Canada and the United States. The US government also just announced approval of the GM Fuji, and a GM Gala is coming next. After having said in August 2016 that 1,000-1,200, 40-pound… Keep Reading
Bob McCoubrey A Succession Planning Story After more than 35 years of growing tree fruits and vegetables on our small farm in Lake Country, it was time to think about retirement. Our joints were telling us to ease up on the physical work and our son and daughter had moved on to other towns and… Keep Reading
