Latest news with #livestock
CBC
7 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Prime grazing land owned by province sitting unused, East Kootenay cattle ranchers say
Social Sharing The wind blows on a warm, sunny day as Morgan Dilts watches his cattle graze in a pasture near Elko, in southeastern B.C. The land on which they're standing is Crown land leased out to ranchers for exactly this purpose — for livestock to graze. "Our ranch does not exist without it," Dilts said. "And many, many ranches in B.C. are in the same boat." Ranchers in B.C.'s East Kootenay are concerned that provincially-owned grazing land is shrinking, making it difficult for new ranchers to get started and for long-term veterans to stay afloat. According to the province, grazing leases last 20 years. Rent varies, but the minimum annual cost is $675. Randy Reay, rancher and president of the Waldo Stockbreeders' Association, says about 90 per cent of the cattle in the region graze on Crown land. "We would not have a livestock industry here without those range tenures, and when they continue to shrink, it is almost impossible for us to increase our numbers," he said. Reay estimates there are only about one-third of the cattle that were once in that region. He said there are about a dozen grazing tenures sitting in limbo. There are about 37,000 animal unit months of grazing, but only about 33,000 are being used, he added. Animal unit months (AUMs) is the measurement for how much forage is needed to sustain an animal, in this case, a cow, for one month, according to the Government of Alberta. WATCH | Ranchers push for access to unused land: East Kootenay ranchers push for access to unused Crown land 2 days ago Cattle ranchers in B.C.'s Kootenay region are upset about land tenures sitting empty. They'd like to lease the large tracts of Crown land to graze their cattle. But as the CBC's Corey Bullock reports, the government has been slowly taking parcels offline since the late 1960s. Reay said that an unused 4,000 AUMs are "being sat on" by B.C.'s Ministry of Forests. He said he's raised the issue with anyone who will listen — MLAs, the regional district, ministers and even the premier. But nothing ever really changes, he said. Food security Without the province giving new leases to young ranchers, some fear the industry will peter out and warn that would be bad news for food security in B.C. Dilts said the only people who have been able to make a go of cattle ranching seem to be people who are born into it and inherit land. But for those who aren't part of a legacy ranching family, even if they can afford 100 acres and some cattle, it won't be enough, Dilts said. "If they buy a property, there's no range out there for them to put livestock on," he said. "A hundred acres doesn't graze enough livestock to feed to pay the bills. You could have a 20-year-old wanting to get into agriculture. They can't make it work. It's impossible." At a time when Canada is re-evaluating how self-sufficient we really are, Reay said the province can't really afford to be getting in the way of cattle ranching. "Certainly, we are not even close in the province of British Columbia to producing the amount of food that we consume," he said. Wildfire mitigation Grazing also helps prevent wildfire spread, something the province has become acutely aware of in the last 10 years, Dilts said. Grazing means cows are getting rid of old waste material that could fuel a wildfire. "The area that we're in is rural, but it's inhabited," he said. "It's very dangerous to have that land that was grazed at one time sit stagnant and not be grazed now with the hope that it doesn't harm somebody's livelihood and take out their homes, which we see every year now happening." Using grazing to mitigate wildfire risk isn't new — in 2023, Quesnel had goats graze on vegetation around certain trails to see how much it helped, and in 2020, cattle were used to graze Crown land south of Cranbrook to keep dry grass at bay. The Ministry of Forests said it is utilizing "targeted grazing" for wildfire mitigation, but did not specify where. Infrastructure In its email, the province said grazing land management takes into account a number of factors, including the number of livestock each piece of land can support. "This requires extensive field work to gather information, including the amount of food available to livestock and wildlife and consideration of ecological factors," the ministry said. It also looks at what infrastructure is available and whether it is sufficient — things like fences, corrals and water sources. But Dilts said the ministry should be taking care of its property and the infrastructure on it all the time to make sure that land is useful for people who want to lease it. "Each time one of these tenures that's been inactive for a long time is even looked at, that's one of the big factors of holding the whole program up," Dilts said. "It's like having a house, but because the tenants aren't in the house anymore, we're going to let it fall apart until we find some other tenant that'll take it over. It doesn't make any sense." The province said First Nations and wildlife considerations are also key when deciding to lease land to ranchers. Dilts hopes the province will see the benefits to leasing grazing land to cattle ranchers in the East Kootenay — and soon.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm
Deep in the mountains of Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, bordering Iran and Iraq, Kurdish livestock owners and farmers have gradually returned with their animals after decades of armed conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish army. "We've been coming here for a long time. Thirty years ago we used to come and go, but then we couldn't come. Now we just started to come again and to bring our animals as we want," said 57-year-old Selahattin Irinc, speaking Kurdish, while gently pressing his hand on a sheep's neck to keep it from moving during shearing. On July 11 a symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics -- part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and much of the international community, was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation. It took up arms in 1984. The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Alongside with several other men and women, Irinc practices animal husbandry in the grassy highlands at the foot of the Cilo Mountains and its Resko peak, which stands as the second-highest in the country with an altitude of 4,137 meters (13,572 feet). A place of scenic beauty, with waterfalls, glacial lakes and trekking routes, Cilo has gradually opened its roads over the past few years to shepherds and tourists alike as the armed conflict with PKK died down on the backdrop of peace negotiations. But the picturesque mountains had long been the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters who took advantage of the rough terrain to hide and strike. It left the Kurdish farmers often at odds with the army. "In the past we always had problems with the Turkish soldiers. They accused us of helping PKK fighters by feeding them things like milk and meat from our herd," another Kurdish livestock owner, who asked not to be named, told AFP, rejecting such claims. "Now it's calmer," he added. - 'Last generation' - Although the peace process brought more openness and ease to the region, tensions did not vanish overnight. Checkpoints remain present around the city of Hakkari, and also to the main access point to the trekking path leading to Cilo glacier, a major tourist attraction. "Life is quite good and it's very beautiful here. Tourists come and stay in the mountains for one or two days with their tents, food, water and so on," said farmer Mahir Irinc. But the mountains are a hard, demanding environment for those making a living in their imposing shadow, and the 37-year-old thinks his generation might be the last to do animal husbandry far away from the city. "I don't think a new generation will come after us. We will be happy if it does, but the young people nowadays don't want to raise animals, they just do whatever job is easier," he lamented. An open truck carrying more than a dozen Kurdish women made its way to another farm in the heart of the mountains, where sheep waited to be fed and milked. The livestock graze at the foot of the mountains for three to four months, while the weather is warm, before being brought back to the village. "We all work here. Mothers, sisters, our whole family. Normally I'm preparing for university, but today I was forced to come because my mother is sick," explained 22-year-old Hicran Denis. "I told my mother: don't do this anymore, because it's so tiring. But when you live in a village, livestock is the only work. There's nothing else," she said. ii/fo/giv/jhb Solve the daily Crossword
Zawya
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Zawya
Gondokoro equation of more people living on limited land creates tensions and calls for disarmament
In Gondokoro, some 25 kilometers east of the capital Juba, locals are concerned. An influx of livestock herders has increased competition for already scarce resources, particularly land, leading to tensions among residents, internally displaced persons and the pastoralists. 'Farms and crops have been destroyed and some of our animals stolen. It is still not safe for us to return to our homes,' says Sarah Gelerino, who lives nearby, across the Nile, after having been displaced in 2022. Lina Keji, a Gondokoro resident, adds that insecurity is not the only consequence of a larger local population. 'Our healthcare facilities have suffered from a shortage of medicines for months. Transporting a sick person to Juba, or to go there to buy medication, is very expensive, which means that walking is the only option for most of us,' she says. Government efforts to make cattle keepers from elsewhere go home mean that Gondokoro is currently a somewhat less violent place than it was a couple of years ago, but some problems do persist. Local cattle owner Achirin Mayar is blunt about it. 'In the past, we ran from lions. Now we flee from humans with guns. This must stop,' he says, referring to the proliferation of small arms that worries most people living here. To prevent a breakdown of law and order, they believe the government should disarm all civilians, without exceptions. Community director John Gabriel Ladu would welcome that but thinks that more is needed. 'Local authorities must engage with the feuding parties to resolve their differences, otherwise we won't have peace in the area,' he says. According to Captain Zakariya, the South Sudan People's Defence Forces have established checkpoints in strategic locations to better protect civilians. 'We would like community leaders and traditional chiefs to encourage displaced people to return home and start farming, and we are trying to make that safe.' Despite existing tensions, Lauro Ohiyu, who serves with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and was part of the delegation that visited Gondokoro, is optimistic. 'We were encouraged to see local authorities' consistent calls for people to return home. UNMISS and the UN family are committed to working with the State Government and partners to make this a safe place for everyone, not least for those who want to go back to where they used to live.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The National
11 hours ago
- General
- The National
Kurdish shepherds return to graze in peace after Turkish-PKK tensions calm
Deep in the mountains of Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, Kurdish livestock owners gradually return with their animals after decades of armed conflict PKK Turkey
RNZ News
16 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Dropping livestock numbers dominate red meat sector event
File photo. Photo: 123rf New Zealand red meat exports earned an extra $1.2 billion this year, due to good livestock pricing and tighter supplies. But the country's $10 billion red meat sector has raised the alarm that it was struggling to get the numbers of livestock through the meat works it needed to feed hungry international consumers. More than 300 red meat producers, processors and marketers gathered in Ōtautahi for the Red Meat Sector Conference on Tuesday. While import tariffs into key market the United States and subdued consumer demand in China were top of the agenda, the surity of livestock supply underpinned the sector's concerns for a resilient future. The latest figures from StatsNZ showed the national sheep flock and deer herd were continuing to decline. Industry group Beef and Lamb New Zealand's chairperson Kate Acland told the event, carbon farming on productive land under the Emissions Trading Scheme was driving the significant reduction in livestock numbers. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay speaking at the Red Meat Sector Conference in Christchurch on Tuesday. Photo: RNZ/Monique Steele "New Zealand currently faces over-capacity in the processing industry," she said. "We have more plants and more processing lines than we have livestock to sustain them efficiently and it risks getting worse. "The drop in stock numbers represents a lost opportunity. We owe it to farmers to face this challenge head on." She said greater collaboration among competing companies was a sensible strategic approach. "If we want a future-fit industry, we need to be bold about optimising capacity and about how we collaborate," she said. "The fall in stock numbers is particularly frustrating because at a time when there's strong demand globally and high export prices, our processors have not been able to capitalise on this. "Our exports would have been hundreds of millions higher if the supply had been there." The conference came during a time when the country's only farmer-owned red meat co-operative Alliance Group was preparing a case of private investment for its farmer-shareholders to vote on in the coming months. Alliance announced the decision to shut its historic Smithfield meat plant in Timaru in October, amid dropping livestock numbers, particularly breeding ewes, with 600 people losing their jobs. Farmers were getting record prices for beef, however they were driven in part by good demand amid tighter supplies. File photo. Photo:/File via CNN Newsource Furthermore, New Zealand imported a near-record volume of beef from Australia in June, as processors worked to secure greater volumes to match meat plant capacity. Meanwhile, Todd McClay, Minister for Agriculture and Trade and Investment, said the Government was working to "get Wellington out of farming" to enable primary sector growth, and bring value back to the farmgate. "We want to reduce regulation and cost on farm," he said. "I reckon it's a great time to be a farmer in New Zealand at the moment. "As there are challenges fronting up around the world, geopolitics, tariffs, protectionism, and so on, the world still needs high quality, safe food. "And you don't get higher quality of safer food anywhere in the world with a wonderful carbon footprint story to tell." He said the government invested in the $8 million Taste Pure Natire campaign with industry to strengthen red meat's position in China, to drive better returns for farmers and processors. StatsNZ figures showing sheep numbers dropped three percent in 2024 to 23.6 million sheep, while deer numbers dropped 4 percent between 2023 and 2024 to 709,000. However, the beef boom has kept stock numbers relatively stable rising one percent in the last year to 3.7 million beef cattle. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
