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Originally published:

JULY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 7

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Stories In This Edition

BCAC shifts to advocacy

Farms keep tax status

Hot stuff

Too much red tape leaves farmers frustrated

Editorial O’Canada

Back 40: High land prices limit farming opportunities

Viewpoint: Agriculture should be more than seasonal work

Farmers struggle to get insurance coverage

New milk board chair

$12 million allocated to fight invasive species

Ag Briefs: Pitt Meadows mitigation proposal by CP Rail

Ag Briefs: Agassiz land exlclusion refused

Ag Briefs: BC Ag Expo resumes

Letters: No place for farmed salmon

Farmers say new policy statement devalues ag

Farm status elusive for regenerative agriculture

Maple Ridge farmers feel unsupported

Water, land issues remain a priority for BC ranchers

A moo-ving experience

Water licensing process needs streamlining

Canada ‘negligible risk’ for BSE

Grizzly bear encounters on the increase

Cherry crop coming on strong across BC

BC Tree Fruits relaunches field service

GHG emissions twice as high as estimates

Group EFPs protect sensitive ecological areas

Flower growers see sky-high demand

Tulips in bloom

Grant helps local project establish provincial targets

Programs add value to Kootenay agriculture

Growers hit hard by blueberry scorch virus

Research: Genetic research may help manage pig virus

Squaring off against the carrot rust fly

Farm Story: Bike-riding sightseers are hitting the road again

Written plans set the tone for farm families, workers

Woodshed Chronicles: Eunice plans a graduation to remember

Kettle Valley farmers get more time to grow

Jude’s Kitchen: Mid-summer barbecues make cooking easy

 

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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 Cattleâ...
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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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BCAC shifts to advocacy

Council stepping back from program delivery

BC Agriculture Council executive director Danielle Synotte

July 1, 2021 byPeter Mitham

ABBOTSFORD – One of the biggest organizational shifts in BC agriculture since the 1990s will see the BC Agriculture Council focus on being an advocate for industry and exit the business of program delivery.

“BCAC’s core role is that of an advocacy organization,” says Reg Ens, who will be stepping down as executive director of BCAC at the end of this month as part of the shift. “How do we use the resources that the industry has invested in us to best help the industry? That’s back to being the voice for the industry – an advocate for the industry.”

BCAC represents 28 farm organizations in the province, filling the void left by the collapse of the BC Federation of Agriculture in 1997. However, through ARDCorp (BC Agriculture Research & Development Corp.), it has also administered government funding for the Environmental Farm Plan program and BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative.

Program delivery also traces its roots back to the late 1990s, when governments saw the value in industry-led organizations delivering funding on their behalf. Rather than a handout, it was seen as a hand up, with farm organizations trusted to allocate the money wisely. Now, an emphasis on accountability means program delivery contracts have tighter terms.

“Historically, there was some value governments saw in supporting associations, farm organizations, to have that capacity,” says Ens of program delivery. “Some of that spinoff value just isn’t what it used to be.”

The result is a refocusing of the council’s energy on advocacy for farmers, while program delivery will move to a dedicated third-party organization. BCAC has recommended the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC for the role.

“We would like to transition those over to IAF, with the teams intact,” explains Ens. “They have the structure. They’re set up for program delivery.”

Indeed, investments over the past 18 months have allowed IAF to handle a record volume of funding in 2020. It has been actively seeking to expand its offerings, and chair Jack De Wit believes taking over ARDCorp’s responsibilities makes sense.

“We made some major changes in technology so I think we’re very capable of taking on the business,” he says, noting that IAF – unlike BCAC – is not an advocacy organization. “We don’t lobby government. … It makes sense for BCAC to focus on advocacy and not on programs.”

ARDCorp will continue to exist in the event it’s needed to run programs on an ad hoc basis, but BCAC will refocus its efforts on advocating for good programs rather than delivering them.

New leadership

Ens, for his part, will hand the reins of BCAC to Danielle Synotte, currently the council’s director of communications and stakeholder engagement. The two will work closely in the coming weeks and months to ensure a seamless transition of leadership.

One of Synotte’s first major projects will be overseeing development of a new five-year strategic plan for BCAC. Development of the plan was a catalyst for Ens’ decision to step down after 12 years as executive director.

“I realized I didn’t see myself being here in three to five years, so then the next question is, if I’m not going to be here for the next five years, do I help steer the strategic plan or do I make room for the next person to lead the strategic plan?” he explains. “I decided on the latter.”

Ens won’t be going far away, however. He’ll be stepping into a newly created position with another BCAC subsidiary, the Western Agriculture Labour Initiative.

Ens says the new role with WALI will refocus him on business management. This was an area in which he was actively engaged while at MNP, where he spent 12 years prior to joining BCAC. It’s also something the farm labour file needs more than ever.

An action plan will be developed over the next nine months that will allow WALI to expand from not only being a first point of call for farm labour issues but also a source of support with respect to both foreign and domestic labour.

“We have to invest some serious time in that to help the industry, help farmers, help employers, help workers, too,” he says.

The aim is for WALI to do primary triage on all labour issues in the farm sector, including analysis of issues. This will ensure labour issues receive focused attention while supporting BCAC’s efforts to advocate on specific files.

“If we can move all the labour issues into a single desk, that should free up  [Danielle’s] role a little bit more,” says Ens. “When it gets to the point where we need someone to advocate for industry, that would get handed over to BCAC and they would do the advocacy work.”

Synotte looks forward to the simpler, more focused mandate for BCAC. With a background in business administration, she spent eight years with the City of Abbotsford, eventually serving as economic development coordinator. She joined BCAC in 2017 and looks forward to advancing its voice for members both within BC and nationally as a member of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

“We really want to focus on that value proposition to our membership, that BCAC is advocating effectively,” she says.

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