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September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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4 days 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 😊

6 days ago

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7 days 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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1 week 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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1 week 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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BC’s chief veterinarian highlights key animal diseases

BC's chief veterinarian Dr Theresa Burns

April 12, 2023 byKate Ayers

Dr. Theresa Burns outlined three main diseases that impact or could cause issues in BC’s livestock and poultry sectors at a Centre for Organizational Governance in Agriculture webinar this week.

For the poultry sector, it’s no surprise that avian influenza is an ongoing concern.

Over the last year, the province has recorded 130 detections of AI, Burns says. About 10% of infections have been in smaller flocks with the balance being in the commercial sector.

“We have an early warning system for avian influenza virus in our wild birds and that’s been in place in the Ministry of Agriculture for quite some time,” Burns says.

The ministry is looking to use sediment analysis in ponds as a tool to detect and prepare for AI variants.

In the dairy sector, Salmonella Dublin can cause herd health issues. Infected adult cattle can experience abortion, mastitis or pneumonia. Calf losses can occur at six months of age. Ministry veterinarians are keeping tabs on the risk factors of the bacteria and are developing and validating diagnostic and risk assessment tools.

A closer look at laboratory submissions showed that the bacteria is more prevalent than expected.

“We were very surprised to see it in about a third of our dairy farms and that’s much higher than we’d anticipated,” Burns says, noting that funding through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership will support research. “We’re probably going to be working with the dairy sector to determine if there’s something more that we should be doing collectively to look at Salmonella Dublin and limit its impact.”

For all livestock sectors, the Asian longhorned tick could pose a health risk.

The tick was introduced to the Eastern US and has quickly spread to Southern Ontario.

“A female does not need to breed to produce offspring. So, they have a really strong capacity to increase in numbers rapidly,” Burns says.

While the tick has yet to be discovered in BC, analyses show that areas in Southern BC are ideal for tick establishment.

“Our biggest risk is potentially long-distance movement either on migratory birds because it will attach to birds or on pets or cattle or horses that are moving across North America,” Burns says.

Burns has been working as the ministry’s chief vet since September 2022 at the Plant and Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford. Planning is ongoing for a new laboratory but due to the scale and scope, Burns predicts a physical building is between five and eight years away.

 

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