B.C. farmers say they're increasingly concerned about climate change and the impacts of extreme weather on food production in the province. People work on a farm as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers from ships sit idle in the distance at Global Container Terminals at Deltaport, in Delta, B.C., on Friday, July 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

By Derek Craddock

AG UPDATE

Agriculture Roundup – Aug. 28, 2023

Aug 28, 2023 | 12:29 PM

B.C. farmers say they’re increasingly concerned about climate change and the impacts of extreme weather on food production in the province.

The province’s farmers can grow fruit and vegetables that won’t grow in other parts of Canada, and B.C. also boasts Western Canada’s only major winery regions.

But in the last three years, B.C. farmers have suffered through drought, extreme heat, flooding and fires.

These disasters have resulted in crop failures, livestock losses and widespread damage to farmland and infrastructure.

Some farmers say they’re worried about what the coming years will bring, and add their industry will need increased government support to prepare for future natural disasters.

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Alberta’s agriculture industry is facing challenges due to dry spells in southern parts of the province, resulting in crop condition ratings well below recent averages in the crucial growing season.

This poses a significant downside risk for the industry. However, the province is proving to be resilient, in part driven by its sustained population growth, which has translated into strong employment gains.

Real GDP for the province is forecast to increase 2.7 per cent in 2023 and 1.9 per cent in 2024.

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Saskatchewan beekeepers are breathing a little easier this summer as they prepare to wrap up harvest.

Over the past couple of years, Varroa Mites destroyed a large quantity of bee colonies in the province, leaving beekeepers scrambling.

However this year, the pests are not as invasive as they were before according to the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Commission. They say many farms are harvesting this week and prepping for storing hives for the winter.

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The Nova Scotia government has announced a new provincial wilderness area in Guysborough County.

Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow said today that the Archibald Lake Wilderness Area covers nearly 700 hectares of old-growth forest, lakes and wetland.

The new wilderness area will include Archibald Lake, as well as McDonald and Rocky Lake, which feed into Archibald Brook, a tributary of St. Mary’s River.

The area is home to many species, including brook trout, Atlantic salmon, and the endangered mainland moose.