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Originally published:

December 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Province tightens rules in ALR

Farming isn’t what it used to be

Ag waste reg “nearly” ready

Sidebar: New commissioners

Proposed foreign worker registry raises concerns

Fall harvest

Editorial: ‘Tis the season

Back Forty: Time to address climate change head-on

Viewpoint: Ottawa needs to stop milking dairy sector

Sweet times for BC honey producers

Public trust key as grade designation clarified

Apiarists wary as new prescription rules kick in

Pipeline explosion creates uncertainty

Farmers, chefs cook up deals at networking event

Ag Briefs: Safe Food regs require producer registration

Ag Briefs: Reus receives recognition

Keeping the end in mind

Heppell’s Potato Corp

US milk offered for sale in Canada

Volatile blend price hitting home for dairy sector

Landowners see development as only solution

Good soil makes good drinks even better

DNA analysis opens doors in hop renaissance

Tour builds trust between foodies, farmers

New entrant egg producer has long-term goals

Farmers, ranchers grapple with climate change

Drought results in record low water flows

BC ranchers face mounting regulations

Seaweed finds a home on the range

Co-op model recommended for beef plant

Farm market banks on relationship-building

Tour showcases local farm entrepreneurs

Young farmers share experiences at Farm Fest

Research: The complexity of colours

Nutsedge demands strong, decisive response

Wool classifying can add value to sheep flocks

Print remains top media choice for producers

Sidebar: Canadians read more

Communication key to four-way success

Cannabis shows mainstream retail potential

Nurseries change up offerings to stay relevant

Irrigation protocols critical for greenhouses

Producers need to think like retailers

Organic farmer values food education

Wannabe: The greatest gift is friendship

Ag in the Classroom

Woodshed: A present for Deborah sparks inquisition

Jude’s Kitchen: Celebration food

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4 weeks ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

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ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Ag waste reg “nearly” done

Groundwater licencing continues to crawl

November 28, 2018 byDavid Schmidt

ABBOTSFORD – The BC Ministry of Environment plans to implement the new agricultural waste control regulation over several years, the ministry’s clean technologies director Chris Jenkins and hazardous waste senior policy specialist Mike Schwalb told the Mainland Milk Producers Association at its fall meeting in Abbotsford, October 24.

Review of the regulation, originally adopted in 1992 and last amended in 2008, began in October 2009. Jenkins told producers the new regulation aim for better clarity and enforceability, protect high-risk areas and better fit modern agricultural practices. She said the amendments are “nearly finished” and she expects them to come into force in February.

Nutrient management plans (NMPs) are a key component of the new regulation but they will be phased in over time.

“Farmers in the Hullcar Valley will need to create and implement them right away; other livestock and poultry producers will need them starting in 2021 and all other farmers will have to have them in 2024,” Schwalb said.

Initially, the NMPs will only cover nitrates but phosphorus will be added starting in 2025.

Farmers located above aquifers will have to do both post-harvest nitrate and phosphorus soil testing every one to three years, Schwalb said. Those requirements will start in 2021 for farmers above the Abbotsford/Sumas, Aldergrove, Fort Langley and Hoppington aquifers. They will start a year later in Chilliwack, Agassiz and Seabird Island.

Starting in 2022, farmers will be prohibited from spreading manure in November, December and January and will have to do risk assessments if they want to spread in October, February or March. Schwalb said the risk assessments will be similar to those already required in Whatcom County.

Farmers still using earthen manure storage will have to do a leak assessment by 2021 and add a liner by 2029.

The new regulation also limits field storage of poultry manure to just seven months (nine months is currently permitted) and requires a setback of three metres from watercourses for above-ground manure spreading and 1.5 metres for injection systems.

Although the BC Ministry of Agriculture will provide guidance and tools to help farmers meet the new requirements, the environment ministry will dedicate staff to enforce the new regulation.

Groundwater licences

Farmers can only hope implementation of the new waste control regulation will be smoother than implementation of groundwater licensing.

The province required groundwater users to license their wells as of February 29, 2016. It has given them until March 1, 2019 to do so in order to recognize their “first-in-time, first-in-right” priority usage. This is an extension from the previous deadline of December 31, 2018.

After one producer noted he had applied in November 2016 and had yet to receive his licence, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operations and Rural Development authorization specialist Tara Despault acknowledged the approval process is proving to be extremely slow.

As of November 13, the province had received 2,644 licence applications from existing groundwater users but had only granted 278 licences, ministry communications director Vivian Thomas told Country Life in BC.

However, Despault insisted this should not stop farmers from starting the process.

“If you are an existing user, file your application and keep using your water,” she said.

New users, however, need a licence before digging a new well. Despault said those applications are getting priority attention. She says the ministry has a new-use turnaround time of 140 days but the facts seem to belie that.

Thomas notes the ministry has received 366 licence applications for new groundwater use but has only granted 100 of those licences.

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Funding will help farmers address nutrient runoff

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New waste control rules kick in October 1

Manure spreading

Ten-year plan

Province releases waste control regulation

Hullcar report delayed

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