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Originally published:

DECEMBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Abattoirs eye pandemic funding

Water fight

Turkey sales strengthen

Orchardists forge ahead following late-season freeze

Editorial: Back to the future

Back 40: Pandemic gives leaders a bosst, but what about farmers

Viewpoint: BC agriculture set to ead food conversations

Kamloops farmers push back on irrigation plan

Sidebar: A new tool for municipalities

ILT puts broiler farms on the defensive

Snowed under

Antimicrobial phase-out delayed

BC Tree Fruits makeover gets green light

Keremeos supply store closes

Province rethinks land matching pitch

Ag Briefs: Land commission appts announced

Ag Briefs: Blueberry council set for elections

Ag Briefs: Award honours young agrologist

Ag Briefs: Horticultural loss

Ag in the Classroom prepares for change

Beekeepers go virtual for 100th anniversary

Sidebar: Pandemic puts pause on bee research

Island farmers frustrated by ferry waits

Slaughter limitations forcing producers out

Livestock specialist has close ties to ranching

Cattle take lead in fire prevention efforts

New food hub planned for Salmon Arm

Passion and schooling pay off for young grower

Cleanfarms looks into ag plastic recycling program

Robotic strawberry picker on the horizon

Agritech venture aims to unite data management

Sidebar: Microsoft moves in

Up in smoke

New tool helps farmers avoid nutrient runoff

Peace region weather network expanded

Sidebar: Adaption network hosts webinar series

Tarps provide targeted alternative to cover crops

Orchardists making greater use of decisionaid system

Asian parasitoids come to the rescue of berry growers

Research: Keeping cows’ reproductive cycle on track

Agroforestry project makes farm viable

Young farmers encouraged to cultivate resilience

Farm Story: A change of season brings a change of mind

Universal broadband fund cheers farmers

Woodshed: New beginnings for Deborah and Susan

4-H members finish season at virtual Ag Expo

Jude’s Kitchen: Classic festive appies for the holidays

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1 week ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

2 weeks ago

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2 weeks ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
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2 weeks ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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2 weeks ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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Abattoirs eye pandemic funding

Recovery money could help relieve processing bottleneck

December 1, 2020 byBarbara Johnstone Grimmer

VICTORIA – A sudden influx of funding from the $90 million provincial Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program resulted in the submission of several abattoir applications to the rural economic recovery stream in October.

CERIP is providing fully funded provincial grants to support economic resilience, tourism, heritage and urban and rural economic development projects in communities impacted by COVID-19. Each application has a grant cap of $1 million. The deadline for applications was October 29.

Some applicants heard of the funding the week before the deadline and scrambled to get the necessary budget and supporting documents together at one of the busiest times of the year.

“The Small-Scale Meat Producers Association has applied for $1 million to build a Class A abattoir in the Nicola Valley through the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program. It is our understanding that details of the program were released on October 1 but this funding was brought to the attention of the SSMPA on October 20, nine days before the application deadline,” says SSMPA founder Julia Smith of Blue Sky Ranch in Merritt.

“Fortunately, we had already undertaken informal discussions with the Shackan Indian Band about working together to build such a facility and had recently completed a detailed business strategy, so we were able to put an extensive application together on short notice and obtain a Letter of Intent from the band,” she says. “In addition, we were able to garner over 50 letters of support from local farmers and ranchers, community members and affiliated associations and industries, as well as municipal, regional, provincial and federal government representatives.”

Consumer demand for local meat has been growing steadily, with demand boosted by the COVID-19 crisis. This represents an opportunity to revitalize rural economies through the growth and development of the small-scale meat industry and meets the conditions of the funding.

Many livestock producers ship to Alberta for finishing and processing in federal plants. Livestock producers find it a challenge to scale their businesses to a profitable size due to bottlenecks at the abattoirs.

The proposed Nicola Valley community abattoir would provide custom slaughter and cut and wrap services to local farmers and ranchers. It would be a government-inspected Class A facility able to provide a full range of services for red meat processing.

Producers are currently hamstrung by a serious lack of processing capacity.

“The proposed community abattoir would be a first-class facility that would produce the highest quality meat and value-added products for BC consumers while creating numerous employment opportunities for the local community,” says Smith. “It will also enable local farmers and ranchers to grow their businesses and create greater opportunities to maximize profit.

If successful, SSMPA hopes to begin construction on the facility in early 2021 with a goal of being operational in time for the busy fall/winter season. (The program requires projects to complete by March 31, 2023.)

Mobile abattoir proposed

Another funding application through the program is for a mobile abattoir that would serve Galiano, Mayne and Pender Islands. It would be multi-species and self-contained with potable water, a generator, processing area and cooler. If successful, the project will be a cooperative effort with farmers and farming groups on the southern Gulf Islands to increase employment, increase farm revenue, encourage increased livestock numbers and farm viability, and accelerate economic recovery and enhance regional food security.

While applicants believe the program is a step in the right direction, they also believe that regulatory changes and more support and opportunities such as this are needed to remove barriers and realize the industry’s potential throughout the province.

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