BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative The impacts of climate change include hotter and drier summers, which means that wildfires are expected to become more frequent and intense. But ranchers can take steps to prepare for an emergency wildfire event and reduce risks to their operation. The following actions are extracted from the Workbook:… Keep Reading
Emma Holmes As many of you are aware, new Organic Certification Regulation came into effect in BC on September 1, 2018. The term “organic” is now a protected label within BC for agricultural products that have been produced or processed in BC and that can be assessed using the Canadian Organic Standard CAN/CGSB 32.310, 32.311… Keep Reading
Sproule & Sons Farm: Past to Present Neil and Jacqui Sproule with gratitude to Marjorie Harris Garnet and Charlotte Sproule bought a raw piece of land in Oyama in 1946. They built a small shack and started planting a few fruit trees. They also started their family, which eventually grew to five children, all raised… Keep Reading
Crop-Livestock Integration at Green Fire Farm DeLisa Lewis, PhD What do the North American Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the current global experiences of climate change have in common? Of course, both are understood as environmental disasters with humans as major contributors. But, if you answered with either ‘farmers’ or ‘soils,’ or more ideally,… Keep Reading
A Recipe for Success in Achieving Long Term Soil Conservation Saikat Kumar Basu Why Care for our Soils? Soil is an important constituent of both agriculture and forestry; unfortunately, it is taken for granted most of the time. It is a cheap, easily accessible or available global resource for which we have often forgotten to… Keep Reading
Tools for your Nutrient Management Toolkit Amy Norgaard, Dru Yates, & Emma Holmes Every year farmers align countless variables to produce healthy crops that make it to market. Crop planning. Bed prep. Transplanting. Irrigation. Weed management. Pest management. Harvest. Storage and transport. Typically, there is a sweet spot in terms of either quantity or timing… Keep Reading
Stacey Santos One snowy Sunday morning in Vernon, I found myself contemplating a selection of bolt guns. I listened as a panel of organic farmers explained their uses, their modifications, and the proper way to ensure an ethical death. You only have one chance to learn how to do it right and do it properly.… Keep Reading
Three case studies examine soil management practices in the face of climate change By Rachel Penner, BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative Improving soil health is one way producers can increase the resilience of their operations in the face of climate change. The BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative (CAI) has supported multiple… Keep Reading
Anna Helmer Would you mind if we talked about Biodynamic farming? There. That’s how you keep your readership small. Those of you still with me have fought through eye-glaze and eye-roll and have resisted page turn. You will notice that even I am struggling a bit to stay on topic, and if only you could… Keep Reading
Are We on the Brink of an Ecological Armageddon? Marjorie Harris BSc, IOIA V.O. The United Nations’ 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report identified that “biodiversity is an essential prerequisite for the maintenance of ecosystem services providing manifold benefits to human well-being.” How is Climate Change Impacting the Biodiversity of our Planet’s Ecosystem? Regional climate change hot… Keep Reading
