AI response in spotlight

BC’s poultry sector gathered as a whole for the first time since 2020 after three years of pandemic-related restrictions and uncertainties.

But another pandemic was in the spotlight at the March 2-3 conference, with highly pathogenic avian influenza figuring into the annual reports of all sector groups and the educational sessions.

Any way you slice it, the poultry industry has been hit hard by the latest outbreak, with nearly 3.7 million domestic birds affected on 103 premises in BC. Of these, 78 premises were commercial farms. While less than 1% of annual broiler production was impacted, 16 of the province’s 46 turkey farms were infected, affecting a third of annual production volume.

All told, the cleaning and disinfection fund maintained by the chicken, turkey and broiler hatching egg sectors will be exhausted, leading to discussions around fair compensation for the several affected farms that have yet to be paid for clean-up activities.

With fresh reports of cases in Eastern Canada pointing to the potential for a spring outbreak, growers are on high alert.

“The challenges are not over, the challenges will continue,” Farm Industry Review Board chair Peter Donkers told the BC Egg Marketing Board.

To this end, BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis announced preliminary details of a new farmed animal disease response program that aims to prepare livestock producers to respond to and recover from future disease outbreaks.

“Our government is developing a new and comprehensive program to help all of us prepare for and respond to animal disease outbreaks,” she told the conference’s closing gala. “The complete details are still being fine-tuned, but this is a $5 million investment in the sector aimed at reducing the spread of disease and improving animal welfare.”

She says funding will support business planning and training, equipment purchases needed to respond to an outbreak, and the development of business models that will address risks.

She promised the ministry’s support in making sure the new program meets the needs of both growers and their associations, which typically invest long hours in helping growers navigate permitting requirements and other paperwork associated with disease outbreaks.

Updated: 09 March 2023 3:22 pm

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Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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6 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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1 week ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.