A restoration company vehicle sits in a flooded field at Abbotsford, B.C. on Nov. 30, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

British Columbia braces for more heavy rain

Ottawa | Reuters — British Columbia is facing more heavy rains as the province tries to recover from massive floods and mudslides, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth told reporters on Tuesday. Farnworth said crews were working to shore up dikes and dams, adding some roads would be closed protectively. Flooding over Nov. 14-16 in Canada’s

Regenerative dairy farmers Henry Nyhof (left to right), Sean Smith and Paul Kernaleguen with conference organizer Ryan Boyd.

Dairy farmers well positioned for regenerative ag, producers say

BALANCES | Increased grazing has seen decreases in butterfat but overall increases in cows’ health, reduced input costs

Canadian dairy farmers may be among the best positioned to take up regenerative farming practices, said producers during a panel discussion at the 2021 Regenerative Ag Conference, held in Brandon Nov. 15 to 17. Supply management means a steady income which can give farmers more confidence to take risks, said Sean Smith, a dairy farmer near Minnedosa. Fairly small herds


Parts of the Trans Canada Highway at Abbotsford, B.C. remain submerged in flood waters on Nov. 19, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

Repair work on B.C. rail lines expected for days yet

CP expects to resume service 'mid-week;' some highways open only for essential travel

Canada’s big two railways expect repair work to continue into at least next week before service can resume through storm-battered areas of British Columbia to export terminals at Vancouver. Both railways, along with several major B.C. highways, have been shut this week due to damage from flooding and landslides spurred by a major multi-day storm



Thousands in B.C. still stranded by flood waters

'We are not out of this by a long shot'

Abbotsford | Reuters — Rescuers and workers in British Columbia were still trying to reach 18,000 people stranded on Thursday after floods and mudslides destroyed roads, houses and bridges in what could be the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history. Receding flood waters were helping rescue efforts, but the downpour blocked off entire towns

Do you know what it costs to make a batch of cookies lately? A popular meal-kit company took a look at exactly that. So, where does Canada stack up compared with countries around the world, and why?

Editorial: Cookie context

The folks at HelloFresh, a meal-kit company, probably didn’t intend to wade into the latest dairy debate in Canada when they released their global Christmas Cookie Price Index Study this week. The company compared the cost of ingredients — flour, eggs, butter, sugar and baking powder to bake a standard batch of Christmas cookies in


File photo of containers at a seaport in Jakarta. (Leolintang/iStock/Getty Images)

APEC ministers call for curbs on farm, fuel, fishing subsidies

Washington/Wellington | Reuters — Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers on Tuesday pledged to sustain the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic while pursuing talks to curb subsidies for fisheries and agriculture at a forthcoming World Trade Organization meeting. The ministers from the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries said in a communique issued after

Southwestern Alberta MP John Barlow, shown here at a parade in 2016, is again the federal Conservatives’ agriculture critic. (JohnBarlowMP.ca)

Conservatives’ Barlow to return as federal ag critic

NDP, Bloc incumbent critics to return

A former agriculture critic for the federal opposition Conservatives will again handle the file when the House of Commons resumes sitting in two weeks. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole on Tuesday named John Barlow, MP for the southwestern Alberta riding of Foothills, as shadow minister for agriculture, agri-food and food security. As ag critic, Barlow replaces


Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

Beef cattle producers ‘encouraged’ by new CPTPP applicants

U.K., China, Taiwan seek memberships; no additional dairy, feather access on table

With their exports on an upswing, the organization for Canada’s beef cattle producers says it’s “encouraged to see other countries’ interest” in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association on Oct. 18 noted the official applications to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) from the United Kingdom, China and

Sea surface temperature anomalies over the Pacific Ocean in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Oct. 13, 2021. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Another La Nina winter predicted

Polar vortex to chill Prairies, more snow further east, AccuWeather says

Data compiled by a U.S. federal weather forecasting agency show La Nina conditions have developed over the central Pacific Ocean and are likely to linger through February. And La Nina, in turn, is expected to produce hard cold snaps over the Prairies, above-normal precipitation over southern British Columbia and relatively mild temperatures with more snow