B.C. farmers concerned with water protection order

Sep 06, 2023

Farmers In the lower Salmon River and Bessette Creek area are not allowed to irrigate

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

B.C. producers are concerned about how a government order could affect their crops and livestock.

Farmers gathered at the Westwold Community Hall on Sept. 2 to speak with community reps and provincial MLAs about the provincial government’s water protection order and highlight its unfairness.

“Why in their wisdom did they decide that berries and fruit are more important than beef or livestock?” a dairy farmer said during the meeting, the Vernon Morning Star reported.

The order from the provincial government came on Aug. 16 in response to the drought and its effects on low water levels.

The fish population protection order states that, in order to protect chinook populations, “approximately 398 surface and groundwater licence holders in the lower Salmon River and Bessette Creek area must stop using water for forage crops, which include grass for hay, alfalfa and forage corn.”

The order does not, however, apply to “water diverted and used for non-forage crops, such as market vegetables, livestock watering or domestic purposes.”

The order is in effect until at least Sept. 30. And those defying the order risk receiving a fine.

One B.C. farmer is holding a meeting with members of the local ag community.

The meeting will take place Sept. 9 at Steve Robinson’s family business, Pitt Meadows Plumbing (20142 113B Ave.) at 9:30 a.m.

The ag community needs to be united when speaking with lawmakers on this issue.

“A large number of us here are trying to get in front of this problem,” he said, the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News reported.

Anyone seeking information about the upcoming meeting can send an email to sara@pittmeadows.net.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.