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Peace Edition
Regional Newsletter
December 2025
Feature of the month:
- Bale Grazing and Soil Moisture: What B.C. Peace Region Producers Have Learned
Upcoming Events:
- Dec 9: Communication Skills for Land Sharing (Online)
- Dec 9: Invasive Species in Agriculture Four-Part Webinar Series
- Dec 16: Interpreting Your Soil Test Report
Drought and Wildfire Preparedness:
- Why is FireSmart the best defense against wildfires?
Programs and funding opportunities:
- New SlaughterRight Online Training Course
- Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program (AWP) Stream 1
- The BC Agri-Business Planning Program (ABPP)
- Free Livestock Water Quality Testing
- BC Producer Survey on New Technologies
Business Risk Management Programs:
- Production Insurance
- AgriStability
Resources:
- Livestock Drought Management series
- Livestock Water Quality
- BC Agriculture Educational Videos
- Agriculture Research Summaries
Bale Grazing and Soil Moisture
Josh Stobbe and Rob Larson are two livestock farmers located in the B.C. Peace Region. With the help of the Peace River Forage Association of B.C. they integrated bale grazing onto their farms to grow drought resilience by increasing soil water infiltration and retention.
Learn more about their experiences by watching this video: Long-term Bale Grazing and Soil Moisture: What B.C. Peace Region Producers Have Learned
Or read about the benefits of bale grazing with this Factsheet: how bale grazing can enhance soil water holding capacity (PDF, 929 KB)
Communication Skills for Land Sharing (Online)
Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Time: 07:00 - 08:30 PM PT
Location: Online – a Zoom meeting link will be sent to registered participants.
Communication can make or break a land sharing relationship: good communication can build community and create mutually beneficial arrangements, while poor communication can cause an agreement to fall apart.
In this online webinar, hosted by the B.C. Land Matching Program team, you’ll learn how to: practice self-awareness, listen effectively, raise and discuss issues, and move towards solutions. You’ll leave the webinar prepared to communicate effectively in day-to-day life, during initial lease negotiations and land sharing, and in situations where conflict may arise.
The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, with additional support from Columbia Basin Trust, Bullitt Foundation, Cowichan Valley Regional District, and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.
Invasive Species in Agriculture Four-Part Webinar Series
Date: December 9, 2025
Time: 07:00 - 08:00 PM
Location: Online
Discover the newest pest issues affecting farms across British Columbia, and learn practical steps to detect, respond, and prevent their spread on your operation.
Join Tracy Hueppelsheuser, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, for this free online webinar on Dec 9, 7–8 pm.
Register today and stay prepared for emerging pest challenges in B.C.’s diverse agricultural systems.
Interpreting Your Soil Test Report
Date: December 16, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST
Location: Zoom (workshop link upon registration)
The Ministry of Agriculture & Food invites you to register for their upcoming Virtual Workshop: Interpreting Your Soil Test.
If you have a soil test report but aren’t sure what it means, join the Ministry of Agriculture & Food for a virtual hands-on workshop to help you decode soil test results and learn how to use them for better crop, fertilizer, and land management decisions.
To get the most out of the workshop, please bring along your test results. Even if you have not received your test results or you did not submit one, you are still welcome to attend!
Please register by clicking on the link below!
Once you register, you will receive the link to join the virtual workshop. Please contact events02@vgnresources.ca or clared@vgnresources.ca if you do not
Why is FireSmart the best defense against wildfires?
FireSmart focuses on practical changes within 30 meters of a structure—with the greatest priority on the structure itself and the immediate 1.5 meters around it— to reduce the chances of a structure igniting.
Did you know that embers are the leading cause of structure ignition? FireSmart addresses the root causes of structure ignition, including embers that can travel kilometers ahead of a wildfire.
Watch ‘Farmers talk FireSmart’ or apply now (button below) for a FireSmart BC Farm & Ranch Assessment.
Take control and make your property a wildfire-resilient operation to protect your people, animals, and livelihood.
New SlaughterRight Online Training Course
This online course replaces the previous paper-based SlaughterSafe training and remains a mandatory requirement for all Farmgate and Farmgate Plus slaughter establishment licence applicants.
The online SlaughterRight course improves accessibility and convenience for producers, especially those in rural and remote areas.
The online format ensures consistent delivery and offers flexibility for learners to complete the training at their own pace and is a green alternative to the former paper-based approach.
The course focuses on regulations and best practices that govern critical food safety points in the slaughter process and reinforces awareness of regulated animal welfare practices. Completion of this training is required to obtain or renew a licence. A certificate of completion is generated upon successful completion of the training.
The official launch date for the SlaughterRight online course was November 17, 2025. We encourage you to review the updated information on the SlaughterRight webpage, which is available.
Please contact the Meat Inspection Program at bcmeatinspection@gov.bc.ca with any questions about accessing the new course.
Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program (AWP) Stream 1
Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program (AWP) is accepting funding applications until December 18 at 4pm PST under Stream 1 (Producer Projects).
Stream 1: Producer Projects
Stream 1 provides cost-shared funding support for large-scale water infrastructure projects led by producers with a focus on water storage and conveyance system improvements.
For more information on Stream 1 including a list of eligible activities and eligible applicants, please visit the links below:
Prospective applicants with questions are encouraged to reach out to IAF by email (awp@iafbc.ca) or by phone (250) 940-6150 and (or) book a 10-minute appointment (completed by phone) with an IAF staff member.
The BC Agri-Business Planning Program (ABPP) is open!
The ABPP is now open for applications! Funding is available under two streams:
- Stream 1: Agri-business skills and leadership development
Funding up to 70% to a maximum contribution of $2,000
- Stream 2: Business planning, preparedness, and disaster recovery
Funding up to $7500 for individual business
Program funding will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants until the application deadline on 4:30 pm on December 08, 2025, or the funding has been fully allocated.
FREE Livestock Water Quality Testing
When stock water appears abundant and water quality has been consistent in previous years, it’s easy to focus on other things. However, don’t overlook water testing.
Poor quality stock water can lead to reproductive inefficiency, poor gains, disease, and in extreme circumstances, death. Even when water supplies appear abundant, stock water may contain high levels of sodium, sulphates or other compounds that lead to toxicity.
Water quality can be especially variable in surface water sources, such as dugouts, ponds or dams, and weather doesn’t necessarily need to be hot and dry to warrant regular testing. It’s also important to monitor well water conditions. Quality in well water can change quickly, even if wells have had suitable water in the past. Precipitation levels in the previous years, groundwater recharge, runoff conditions, evaporation levels and adjacent land use can all impact water quality both short-term and long-term.
Concerned about Water Quality for livestock?
The BC Cattlemen’s Association and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food have partnered on a project to help livestock producers test their water, free of cost. This project makes it convenient to check for unhealthy levels of dissolved solids in the water, and can assist producers with obtaining a complete water analysis, if necessary.
Free test kits are available at the Dawson Creek Veterinary Clinic
Contact the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association for more information on the program. Call 250-573-3611 or email water@cattlemen.bc.ca
BC Producer Survey on New Technologies
We invite you to take part in a short survey for a research project led by Royal Roads University and the University of the Fraser Valley. This survey looks at how fruit and vegetable farmers in BC are using or may be interested in using different types of farming technology. This includes digital tools, controlled environment agriculture systems, and agri-genomics. Your response will be used to improve farming policies, tools, and support programs for BC farmers.
The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. Your answers will be kept private. Names or any other personal identifiers will not be collected. When reporting on the outcomes of the study, the results will be aggregated and not linked to any individual. Participants will be entered into a raffle for an assortment of gift cards with a total value of $1,800.
Production Insurance
Insurance and Income Protection Programs are an important part of a farmer’s overall risk management strategy. AgriStability and Production Insurance work together to provide the best coverage for producers.
Production Insurance helps producers manage their risk of crop losses caused by hail, spring frost, excessive rain, drought, flooding and other extreme weather events.
In British Columbia, Production Insurance is available for:
Need Help? Production Insurance Representatives are available to help with the application and renewal process.
- Phone: 1-888-332-3352 toll-free
- ProductionInsurance.Kelowna@gov.bc.ca
- Visit: www.gov.bc.ca/CropInsurance
AgriStability
AgriStability helps stabilize farm income by managing the risk of large income declines. The AgriStability program is based on the income and expenses of individual farms.
AgriStability offers enhanced benefits for 2025:
- increased compensation rate to 90% (on income declines greater than 30%)
- provides up to 75% for early payments
- maximum payment limit increased to $6 million
Upcoming AgriStability deadlines
December 31:
- 2025 Enrollment fee deadline (with penalty) – last chance to ensure coverage is in place for the 2025 year!
- 2024 Statement A Submission Deadline (with penalty) - the supplemental page must be completed for you to be eligible.
- Individuals: Supplemental page is Page 7 of the Statement A (T1273)
- Corporations: Supplemental page is Page 5 of the Statement A (1373-E) Corporations can easily submit Statement A details using our online form.
Staff are available to answer questions and help with the enrollment process.
- Phone: 1-877-343-2767 toll-free. Support is available in English and Punjabi.
- Email: AgriStability@gov.bc.ca
- Visit: www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability
Livestock Drought Management Series
What if your hay barn could save you thousands every year? Learn how strategic investments in forage and feed infrastructure can pay off for decades in Article 7 of the Livestock Drought Management Series.
AgriServiceBC Agriculture Educational Videos
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has been working with industry experts and organizations to produce a series of short videos on a wide range of topics for agriculture producers and food processors. This is one of the features we have added to improve our AgriServiceBC website and make it more informative and accessible to support other resources such as production guides, factsheets, workshops, and funding programs.
Some topics covered in the short videos produced so far include:
- interpreting soil tests
- In field soil structure evaluation
- installing and maintaining hedgerows
- implementing innovative weed control technologies
- on-farm demonstration research trials
- water salinity monitoring
You can find all of the completed videos on our AgriServiceBC Agriculture Educational Videos page. This project is on-going, so watch for the new videos as they are released!
Agriculture research summaries
Read short summaries of agricultural studies tailored to B.C. farmers and producers.
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