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Originally published:

JUNE 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 6

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Stories In This Edition

Bracing for CUSMA

Blossoming hopes

Ottawa comes under fire

ALR complaints rise, investigations on hold

Editorial: Shifting promises

Back 40: Timing perfect to advance slaughter initiatives

Viewpoint: Finding the right balance in times of stress

Berries look good amid COVID-19 concerns

Sidebar: Pollination shapes up

Poultry and hops a winning combination

Ag Briefs: Producers mourn rising young abattoir operator

AB: BC Veg eyes strategic plan

AB: Wage hike compounds challenges

AB: Former ALC chair Erik Karlsen dies

Provincial disaster assistance ‘isn’t working’

Growers plan ahead as potatoes find markets

BCTF introduces grower incentives to boost quality

Agritourism gets creative in midst of COVID-19

Biosolids project halter following harassment

Rethinking the concept for mobile abattoirs

Ranchers brand gov’t support inadequate

Dairy reduces energy costs with solar power

Ingratte heads dairy commission

Research: Dairy housing a matter of perspective

Grower harvests near-perfect Honeyscrisps

Making the shift from table to wine grapes

Abattoir meets needs of Gulf Islands farmers

Sidebar: Community spirit

Strenthenging on-farm food safety protocols

Sidebar: On-farm practices for a pandemic

Farm News: Taking refuge in The Lab

4-H sales adapt amid COVID-19 restrictions

Leafrollers can be a potential crop contaminant

Silicon control of fungal issues trialed

Not all farmers’ markets are thriving

Woodshed: Desperate times call for chivalrous measures

Flower power

Jude’s Kitchen: Home cookin’

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7 days ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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2 weeks ago

A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural Land Commission hosted in Langley Monday night regarding a proposal to include 305 acres controlled by the federal government in the Agricultural Land Reserve. More than 76,000 people have signed an online petition asking municipal and provincial governments to protect the land from development, and for the federal government to grant a long-term lease to the Heppells. Read more in this morning's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. conta.cc/3XYXw6k ... See MoreSee Less

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Your weekly farm news update

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The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 January 25 2023 Surrey ALR inclusion cheered A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural L
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Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

2 months ago

Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand this season and prices remain comparable to last year. But the number of tree farms has decreased dramatically over the past five years and the province will increasingly need to look elsewhere if it wants to meet local demand. More in this week's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christmas trees in demand

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Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand, with high quality trees making it to market. “The market is good. We’ll probably outdo last year and last year was one of our best years…
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2 months ago

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall. ... See MoreSee Less

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall.
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Avian influenza virus can be killed by chlorine at no higher a concentration than is present in drinking water, so unless farms are using untreated groundwater in their barns I don't see how it could be a source of transmission. www.researchgate.net/publication/5594208_Chlorine_Inactivation_of_Highly_Pathogenic_Avian_Influen...

2 months ago

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall. ... See MoreSee Less

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall.Image attachment
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Goes to show how far-removed our current government is from the agricultural sector. To put someone in this position who has no farming background is a slap in the face to all of our hard-working producers.

Going to be a heck of a learning curve. Helping the agricultural community recover from the biggest natural disasters in history, handling the avian influenza outbreak that is threatening our poultry industry, dealing with a crisis in meat processing, managing ongoing threats from climate change, supporting producers who are facing unprecedented inflation in an industry with very slim margins to begin with..... to name a few of the challenges our new Minister will have to face all with one of the lowest budgets of any ministry. I wish her the best of luck but I hope she's got a lot of support around her.

Best of wishes in your new position

Congrats to Pam, cool to see a Fraser Valley based ag minister but also so sad to see Lana reassigned . I have no doubt she will do an amazing job in her new role.

Will be missed by #meiernation

Bryce Rashleigh

Nooooooo!

Lana did a shit job and now we have a minister with no farming background at all. Aren’t we lucky..

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4-H sales adapt amid COVID-19 restrictions

Clubs explore online sales and other options

June 1, 2020 byJackie Pearase

ARMSTRONG – True to their club motto, “Learn to Do by Doing,” 4-H club members across BC are finding new ways to market their animal projects when traditional means are unavailable.

Physical distancing rules in place banning events of more than 50 people and the cancellation of most fall fairs featuring 4-H auction sales have pushed 4-H leaders to think outside the box.

Organizers of the Okanagan 4-H Stock Show in Armstrong are going ahead with the planned sale date of July 11 but with an online format.

Interior Provincial Exhibition 4-H director Ted Steiger says 4-H members will create short descriptions of their animals for an online catalogue used for the week-long auction from July 4-11.

“It’s basically our only option at this point,” he notes. “Until they relax the rules somewhat … it’s our best option.”

Restrictions in place this fall will dictate the format of the 4-H sale typically held at the IPE.

“As far as the IPE sale goes, we’re still throwing some ideas out on that one,” Steiger says. “There will be some sort of an auction for those kids.”

The cancellation of the Pacific National Exhibition has Lower Mainland 4-H groups considering the online route as well.

Abbotsford 4-H key leader Heather Schmidt says not having the PNE to market animals is a reminder that creative thinking is a useful skill for farmers.

“The marketing is part of agriculture so it may be an opportunity for the kids to have to be a bit more creative in how they market their project,” Schmidt says. “In my mind, the selling of the project is the icing on the cake. The cake is really the whole year of the kids working together and learning how raise their animals well. Marketing is a part of that.”

PNE agriculture manager Christie Kerr is polling 4-H clubs in early June to determine if there is enough interest and resources to provide an online auction in lieu of the auction at the fair.

“It’s a whole new world for us. We are working to see what we can do to engage

4-H and support them in any way we can,” says Kerr. “There has never been a year that we haven’t been here to support 4-H, in particular the auction.”

She expects the auction to have fewer hogs as some swine clubs opted out of a project this year.

“Within our club, probably only half of the members were able to get hogs because of the sharing of property. A lot of pig clubs’ members have their pigs at one farm and with social distancing, they’re just not able to do that right now,” she explains.

Provincial Winter Fair organizers in Kamloops are making a final decision on their event on July 1.

“We’re definitely not going ahead with a full-scale fair,” says 4-H and open beef division representative Carole Gillis. “There is enthusiasm for some kind of an event. But there are also people who have said, ‘No matter what, we are not attending fairs this year.’”

With a 50-acre site to work with, organizers are hoping that something can be worked out with Interior Health for an outdoor event.

Any kind of on-site event would include safety measures in line with health guidelines, with the 4-H auction streamed live for telephone and electronic bidding.

Alternatively, a digital event will be offered with 4-H webinars in July and digital marketing for the sale in late September.

“Either way, we will have an auction of 4-H projects and open projects for anybody who wants to enter,” Gillis stresses. “We think it’s really important for kids not to lose the year and to have that connection to the fair.”

South End key leader Heidi Meier says the Williams Lake and District 4-H Council is currently monitoring the situation. The council hopes restrictions will be lifted in time for its annual show and sale at the Williams Lake Stockyards on August 6-10.

“If the council is unable to proceed in person, an alternate sale format will be presented,” Meier adds. “It is our greatest hope that the community members will continue to support their local 4-H members by purchasing members’ projects in whatever form is rolled out.”

Kamloops District 4-H key leader Ron McGivern says it is imperative that 4-H stock sales continue despite present circumstances.

“This has been a particularly challenging year for our 4-H members, our future leaders in agriculture,” he says. “We cannot have the challenges of this year stifle our members who really need to experience the successes of agriculture.”

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