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Originally published:

NOVEMBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 11

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Stories In This Edition

Apple returns raise alarm

Ottawa urged to fulfil promises

Snow job

New government faces old issues in next term

Caught in the act

Editorial: Time for action

Back 40: Finding the perks in a pandemic world

Viewpoint: Changing times require a flexible vision

Invasive hornet nest destroyed south of Langley

Country Life in BC wins a record eight national awards

US launches investigation into blueberries

Hog producers face changes to code of practice

Growers, wineries welcome sustainability launch

Sustainability program delivers value to industry

Ag Briefs: Ag sector claims $8.5 billion economic impact

Ag Briefs: Farm worker protection funded

Ag Briefs: Autumn calf prices down

Grant programs encourage Indigenous ag projects

Range issues dominate NOLA meeting

Sidebar: BCV Cattlemen critique water intentions

BC Beef plant in Falkland ready to process this month

Winter warning

Corn trial results help make better planting decisions

Sidebar: Sweet results

New barn promises better egg production

ALR co-founder, defender embraces retirement

Seed sppliers seeing sustained demand as 2021 orders begin

Research: Breeding crops for the future means looking backwards

Straight ahead

Potatoes head for record-breaking harvest

Weather posed challenges for garlic growers

Garlic groewrs employ mixed marketing strategies

Association aims to foster collaboration

Demand boosts interest in older cider apples

Evans Farms marks a century of ranching

Farm Story: Nominees announced for seasonal awards

Bursary winner plants roots in Cawston

Provincial Winter Fair hosts live 4-H events

Woodshed: Janice Newberry bids farewell to love-sick Henderson

Where there’s a will, there’s gotta be a way

Jude’s Kitchen: Autumn Eats

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4 days 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

1 month 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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2 months ago

The scale of this year's avian flu outbreak now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004. An additional 13 commercial farms in the Fraser Valley have tested positive in the last week. To date, 49 commercial farms and 1.2 million birds have been impacted. CFIA is struggling to keep up with depopulation of sick birds. ... See MoreSee Less

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AI outbreak rivals 2004

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The scale of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004 that saw farms throughout the Fraser Valley depopulated. An additional 13 commercial…
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Commercial operations need to reevaluate their stocking densities and overall health and welfare of the animals within their systems if they are ever going to have a fighting chance against this virus.

Yup cause food shortage

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Apple returns raise alarm

Growers threaten to quit

November 1, 2020 bySarbmeet Singh & Peter Mitham

KELOWNA – Okanagan apple growers say ongoing low returns and rising input costs have pushed them to the verge of quitting the industry.

“The financial returns of apple growers have been steadily declining for the past three years,” says Pinder Dhaliwal, an apple grower in Oliver and president of the BC Fruit Growers Association. “On average, apple growers are getting 12 cents per pound for their produce. However, it cost growers 30 cents per pound. Under such a scenario, it is very difficult for the farmers to survive.”

The data shows that Ambrosia apples have been hit hardest. Returns dropped from 34 cents a pound in 2016 to only 13 cents a pound in 2019. Similarly, Spartans returned 15 cents a pound in 2016 but farmers received just 2 cents a pound in 2019.

Growers say the main reasons for declining returns are competition from Washington growers and a lack of support from retailers.

“The common practice of retailers buying apples from other countries is a major reason for the drop in prices in BC,” said Amarjit Singh Lalli, a Kelowna grower with 20 acres.

Lalli backed a late resolution at the BCFGA annual convention last winter seeking immediate, short-term financial support from the province for losses in 2019, and urging anti-dumping duties against US apples among other measures.

Competition from Washington, the largest producer of apples in North America, remains an ongoing issue.

“Apple production in British Columbia reduced to 70,300 tons in 2019 from 155,000 tons in 1964. In contrast, apple production in Washington increased to 2,746,000 [tons] in comparison to 465,000 in 1964,” says BCFGA general manager Glen Lucas

He says the Columbia River Treaty, ratified in 1964 and now being renegotiated by Canada and the US, delivered a stable supply of irrigation water to Washington State, allowing production there to expand significantly at the expense of BC growers.

Growers would like to see a renegotiated treaty compensate them for benefits that Washington growers have received under the treaty. BCFGA has asked government to consider an annual allocation in the range of $9.25 million.

Apple dumping

Dumping of apples is also a concern. Growers won an anti-dumping case against Red Delicious apples in 1995. The decision resulted in five years of duties, but those ended in 2000. However, some would like to see ongoing monitoring of imports.

“There should be proper checking at the border to avoid any dumping of apples,” says Lalli.

The low cost of imports has helped boost retailers’ margins on apples, which have increased more than 75% since 2016 to $1.48 a pound.

“It is only the producers that are facing the heat. If we look at the figures, retail returns continuously increased while growers continue to face the losses,” says Lucas.

Packing houses also have a role to play, says Lalli, one of the more than 350 growers who ship to the BC Tree Fruits Co-operative.

“Another reason behind the low returns are the expenses of packing,” he says.

BC Tree Fruits has been working to cut packing costs this year. A governance report the co-op received in February urged it to improve fruit quality, setting minimum standards rather than accepting whatever growers delivered. By accepting better fruit, it could cut handling and disposal costs, improving its margins and the returns growers receive.

This year, an incentive program reduced the volume of low-value fruit the co-op received, benefitting growers.

Better returns will improve farmers’ livelihoods, but also make farming more rewarding. This hasn’t been the case for apple growers in recent years.

Nirmal Singh, who has 14 acres of apples, says persistent low returns over the past several years have been frustrating.

“Survival is very difficult. Leave aside the profit – we are not even getting the input costs,” he says.

To raise awareness of the issue, growers have taken several steps to make their concerns heard. They’ve met with the province’s agriculture minister, most recently this past February, and on October 10 the BCFGA sold apples at 12 cents a pound at the Kelowna Farmers and Crafters Market to raise public awareness. The association called it the “BC Apples Farewell Tour,” indicating that apple growers are being forced to quit apple growing.

Apple growers believe the BC government’s contribution to agricultural support programs is the lowest in Canada, and Canada’s support level is below any other developed nation.

Talwinder Singh Bassi, a grower in Oliver, says it’s high time government made policies that put food security first.

“As farmers are facing losses, they will be forced to quit agriculture. Emphasis should be laid on selling of local food first,” he says.

A statement from the BCFGA says that producers are squeezing every penny they can to increase efficiency, and the packing industry is also seeking to improve returns to growers, but government also has a role to play. While the province has devoted significant effort to strengthening farmland protection, it also needs to protect farmers.

“On one hand, efforts and announcements are being made to save the Agriculture Land Reserve, but on the other hand, nothing substantial has been done for the growers,” says Dhaliwal. “A cash subsidy of seven cents per pound was given to [Washington] apple growers during August this year. This kind of support should also be provided to BC apple growers.”

While some growers will give up growing altogether as a result of low returns, others are looking at new crops.

“Many farmers have shifted from apples to cherries in the Okanagan Valley,” says Lalli, who is sticking with apples but replacing Red Delicious with Honeycrisp. “I am working on changing the varieties to survive and get better returns.”

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