B.C. Launches New Program To Help Farms Whether Extreme Weather

Jul 21, 2022

Farmers in British Columbia now have access to a new pilot program to help them weather proof their farms to survive extreme weather, a July 15 news release said.

The Extreme Weather Preparedness for Agriculture program will support as much as $1.5 million in projects this year to help farmers conduct risk assessments and make infrastructure upgrades on their farms, the release said. Eligible applicants can access as much as $35,000 each in cost-shared funding for the first intake.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen the extreme impacts of climate-related weather events on our farming communities, and we are taking action to support farmers and ranchers with climate-change adaptation tools and projects,” Lana Popham, B.C. minister of agriculture and food said in the release. “Agriculture and being able to feed British Columbians is intricately tied to climate change, and by taking increased steps to focus on how we can best prepare for and mitigate future climate impacts, we will be able to better protect the livelihoods of our food producers while strengthening our food security and food economy.”

Examples of projects eligible for funding include:

FireSmart Critical Infrastructure assessments
farm building retrofits for wildfire preparedness
improved on-farm fuel storage and well protection for flood preparedness
reconfiguration of high-value feed storage for flood preparedness
farm building retrofits to improve cooling during extreme heat
enhanced watering and shade to mitigate crop and livestock heat stress
infrastructure improvements to support tree and berry canopy cooling as well as shade and heat protection for harvested fruit, berry or vegetable crops

The program is open to farm and ranch businesses throughout B.C., with applications initially being accepted between July 25 to Aug. 15, 2022. It’s anticipated the program will continue in 2023 and 2024, with the potential for adjustments based on experiences in the pilot year, the release noted. Funding for the 2022 pilot intake will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

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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.