Thursday - Nov. 7, 2024 - Milk prices dip, retail unlikely to change

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More information delivered to more people.

That's my solution for everything that plagues this world. Sometimes I question whether that prescription rests more on faith than evidence. But I can't shake it.

Before any policy or political beliefs I might harbour, I believe in democracy and the freedom of speech and information. Democracy—the making of decisions by a collective—requires the public to have information and be able to share it with one another. People will process that information in different ways, and sometimes they will make decisions that I (or you) consider to be misguided. It can be tempting to give up. But there's not really an alternative, is there? If you believe in democracy, (and if you don't, well, I dare you to come up with something better), you have to commit to it. You have to respect the choice of the collective.

Democracy is how we choose our leaders and hold them accountable for their successes or failures. But democracy is also a process, not a moment. It's the constant and ongoing commitment to collective decisions, and it's a commitment to ensuring that people have the information they need to make those choices.

Our societies and nations are only as strong as the facts upon which they are built. But in an era when algorithms dominate what you see and read, the challenge is ensuring that vital information travels beyond personal and political bubbles, and that it reaches people who might not normally seek it out.

How do we do that? I don't really know, even if it's my job to pretend like I do. I just keep plugging away. But I do think that we all need to make a determined effort to continue to build information bridges, rather than silos. That's tough to do, especially given how tech algorithms work. But I think it's possible.

If you want to support this information provider, you can become an FVC Insider member here. But just as important is sharing the facts you find useful (and accurate!) when you find them, whether they are from this publication or another. It’s not easy. But it’s part of what makes this worth doing.

– Tyler

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope (We have had to temporarily change our forecast links to the Weather Network due to a technical error.)

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

Plans for a new bus from Agassiz to Mission

Residents on the north side of the Fraser River might soon have a new way to travel to Mission or Agassiz.

A new bus route along Highway 7 between Agassiz and Mission could be operating as soon as 2026, if all goes to plan. The long-discussed route would serve several communities north of the Fraser River, including several First Nations, and connect them to Mission and places far beyond.

• Today, Grace G. writes about plans for a new bus route on Highway 7.

Related

Need to Know

🐓 There have been more cases of bird flu in BC this fall than there were last year, but poultry emergency officials say they have the capacity to continue containing outbreaks [Country Life in BC]

🚔 Abbotsford police are investigating after a parked truck was hit by several bullets last week [Fraser Valley Today]

⚰ A man who bit off a woman’s nose in 2007 has died of natural causes at an Abbotsford prison [CityNews]

🚒 A middle-of-the-night house fire in Agassiz last week injured one person; five others escaped unharmed [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🚫 The second phase of Mission’s 7th Avenue Greenway likely won’t move forward until plans for Mission’s new secondary school are approved [Mission Record]

🎄 Martini Film Studios will be converting its Aldergrove backlot into a holiday wonderland again this year [Langley Advance Times]

🎣 Cuts to enforcement personnel have left significant swaths of the Fraser River under-patrolled, and a poaching expert says that could negatively impact salmon runs [Chilliwack Progress]

🚴‍♀️ Tour de Cure will not return to its route between Cloverdale and Hope next year; participants have until Nov. 30 to get a refund on their registration fee [Hope Standard]

📸 CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to Robin Woolmer, who was the first person to identify yesterday’s new satellite Current Cam as one of the sandbar islands between Herrling Island and Agassiz. See the location here.

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

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SPONSORED BY CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Echo, the new spectacular!

ECHO follows a curious young woman named Future and her dog Ewai as they explore the symbiotic bond between humans and the animal kingdom. This stunning spectacle captivates audiences with breathtaking acrobatics and vibrant visuals, inviting them to celebrate the beauty of life and connection to nature.

The Agenda

Milk prices dip slightly, but consumers won’t get a discount

Dairy farmers will be getting paid ever so slightly less for their milk, the Canadian Dairy Commission has announced, but that decrease will likely have no effect on what consumers will pay at the store.

In an announcement at the beginning of November, the Dairy Commission said that farmgate prices for milk will decrease by 0.02%, or less than one cent per litre of milk. It will come into effect at the beginning of February. The average BC dairy farmer produces 1.8 million litres of milk a year. The farmgate price decrease would cost that average producer roughly $4,360. (The average is influenced by farms with very large herds. Many smaller dairy farms produce far less milk.)

Milk prices are reviewed each year, and change based on inflation and the cost of actually producing the milk (i.e. buying feed for the cows). Despite recent inflation, farm costs have declined over the year, which made a decrease in the price of milk reasonable, the commission said. In particular, the cost of feed has decreased significantly, which was a key factor in this year’s decision.

Although one might hope a farmgate price decrease will translate to cheaper dairy products at the grocery till, that likely won’t happen. Although manufacturers will pay a miniscule amount less for the milk they process, milk prices at the store also reflect other costs associated with labour, transportation, distribution, and packaging.

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🗓 Things to do this week/end

🎭 Narnia theatre: Prince Caspian comes to the Abbotsford Arts Centre from Friday, Nov. 8 to Sunday, Nov. 17. The stage adaption of CS Lewis' well-known novel will take audience members back to Narnia to defeat the evil King Miraz with Prince Caspian and the Pevensie children. Details and tickets online.

🐟 Salmon celebration: The Kilby Historic Site celebrates Harrison's Season of the Wild on Saturday, Nov. 9 and Sunday, Nov. 10. Taste salmon, tie a fish net, and hear fur trade stories. The weekend events will also include tours to the river’s edge for eagle viewing, weather depending. Details online.

🖱 Tech help: The Aldergrove Library hosts Tech Help for Seniors on each Friday from 1 to 3pm. Get one-on-one help with computer basics like mousing, internet searchings, and Microsoft Word; tablet basics like downloading apps, ebooks, and magazines; and the essentials of eReaders and laptops. Details online.

Want even more? Insider members get a comprehensive events listing every Thursday, plus a weekly Saturday round-up edition with behind-the-scenes content. Becoming a member costs less than $2 a week and helps support the ongoing production of The Current’s newsletters and in-depth journalism. Become a member here.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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