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Country Life in BC 36 Dale Road Enderby, BC V0E 1V4


Vol. 105 No.1


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DAIRY FIRB


Wave of retirements sweeps through dairy associations 11 New chair for Farm Industry Review Board


CANNABIS ‘Green rush’ overwhelms Okanagan planning staff


14 19


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The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 JANUARY 2019 | Vol. 105 No. 1


Victoria tweaks ALR


rules Opposition questions changes


by PETER MITHAM


BC agriculture minister Lana Popham walks with Ocean Spray chair Peter Dhillon (right) and other cranberry growers during a tour in Richmond in October. Talking to growers one-on-one helps her stay fresh as Popham considers new initiatives to grow BC agriculture. Read some of her thoughts about the year ahead on page 7. BCMA PHOTO


Growing more with less water Ranch must allow anglers


by TOM WALKER VANCOUVER – BC Supreme


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Court has ruled in favour of the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club in its long- running battle with the Douglas Lake Cattle Co. over access to two lakes surrounded by private ranchland.


The decision has set off alarm bells at the BC Cattlemen’s Association, which says it should send a chill through private landowners. “There are certainly things


in this ruling that raise concerns for me, not as someone from the industry, but as a property owner,” says Kevin Boon, general manager of the BC Cattlemen’s Association. “The rationale behind it should make anybody who owns private land extremely nervous about what their rights really are.”


The anglers took issue with a gate Douglas Lake began locking in or about 1990 across what is known as Stoney Lake Road. The road crosses Douglas Lake’s


property and provides access to Stoney and Minnie lakes. Douglas Lake claimed that a number of factors, including a bypass road constructed in the 1970s, meant Stoney Lake Road was no longer a public road but a private one.


The ranch also claimed


that Crown grant records did not show access to Minnie Lake and that in order to access Stoney Lake, the public would have to trespass on private land.


See PUBLIC on next page o


VICTORIA – A first round of amendments to BC’s Agricultural Land Commission Act became law in December, to the joy of farmland advocates and concerns among many that it signalled a prelude to further regulation of agricultural activities in the province. Tabled in November as Bill 52, the legislation eliminates two zones for the ALR and tightens restrictions on fill activities. It also entrenches


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