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Originally published:

September 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Bleak

Rising from the ashes

Foreign ownership on radar

Local knowledge & premise ID earn creditibility

Political overhaul targets major issues

Back to the future

Back Forty: Support can’t come soon enough

Viewpoint: Smartphones dial up new green revolution

Govt orders review of contaminated acquifer

Ag waste regs coming

Perfect attendance

BC-Washington collaborate on water mgmt

BC leads in organic consumption

Bracing for second flight of armyworm

Budget funding starts flowoing for genomics work

The “S” Team

Ag ministers sign new funding framework

Supply management takes hit

Delta land swap yields benefits

Consolidation strengthens ALR exclusion bid

Salt Spring facility gets big boost from local donor

Corn rootworm infesting FV crops

Kelowna farmers’ market gives new location a try

Compensetion sought for Clinton backburn

Fall promises volatility in cattle markets

Cattle feeders face certain uncertainties

Shave Shower Shampoo

Strong showing for Hereford Bonanza

Grain research helps address shifting conditions

FV, N OK dairies win at Chilliwack

Research: Breeding cows to beat the heat

Kootenay program aims to revive extension expertise

Beet trials target “seed sovereignty”

New hop debuts

Washington lab holds opportunities for grain growers

Sheep dog trials make comeback

Bear kills cause grief for Island sheep producers

Get it in writing

Celebrating 100 years: Eaglet FI

Managing risks, seizing opportunities

Naturally rich soil, low inputs support Kelowna garden

In celebration of thse who buy local

Woodshed: Ashley exercises power of persuasion

Jude’s Kitchen: Back-to-it Bites

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10 hours ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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5 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

2 months 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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Beet trials target “seed sovereignty”

September 1, 2017 byPeter Mitham

VANCOUVER – Visitors to the UBC Farm market on July 22 received a taste of the latest selections in the BC Seed Trials, a province-wide program that hopes to lay the foundation for the production of seed suited to the province’s different growing regions.

While the curiosity and qualms of many visitors were audible around the kiosk where samples were being doled out, the diversity of opinion was exactly what co-ordinator Chris Thoreau wanted. The more people who participated in the taste test, the better the range of feedback he would have regarding consumer experience of the root vegetable that can be served pickled, roasted, chipped or – as unlikely as it sounds – in ice cream.

“The tasting events are a great way for us to engage the public in research that can easily just remain in the field with only the researcher seeing the results,” Thoreau said. “I had the chance to ask several people why they were attending the event and it was interesting to hear how many people said they simply just love beets! We were also able to observe how tasting participants engaged with each other as they tasted and discussed the beets.”

The varieties on trial were all gold-coloured, some with pronounced striping. They included traditional varieties such as Burpee’s Golden to newer selections including Badger Torch. All were open-seeded, because the focus of the BC Seed Security program is to identify varieties that give growers greater control over production. Seed from the varieties is intended to be saved, ideally weaning growers from dependence on corporate seed purveyors.

Right now, most seed-saving is done by small companies supplying backyard gardeners. Commercial growers tend to source seed from the large commercial seed producers offering affordable, reliable, disease-free seed.

“You can’t tell the quality of the seed till you’ve grown your crop,” Thoreau said. This means commercial growers tend to stick with mass-produced seed they can trust, often from outside their own region.

All told, 212 scorecards were received, up from 150 last year. The cards asked participants to rank raw and cooked samples of the eight varieties on trial according to four traits: appearance, sweetness, earthiness and metallic characters or bitterness. Collation and analysis of the information will take place over the summer, and the results are posted periodically at [www.bcseedtrials.ca/trials-results/].

Beet-infused dishes

In addition to the formal taste test, chef Rob Cleland of the Ash Street Bistro in Vancouver served up a sparkling beet-infused beverage, beet tortellini and beet ice cream dusted with ginger-beet sprinkles. The dishes were designed to show market visitors just what was possible with beets beyond pickles.

Planting at UBC took place May 8 and the roots were harvested July 13.

Besides the plot at UBC Farm, the trial varieties were planted at farms on Gabriola Island, Saanich, Ladysmith, Prince George and Quesnel. All varieties are numbered, and the numbers are specific to each farm, ensuring that growers are blind to what they’re growing.

This year’s seed trials included carrots as well as 33 varieties of leeks. Last year, kale and spinach were tested alongside beets. Kale and other brassicae have been the most successful crops to date in the seed trials, showing a particular zest for BC conditions.

The selections are planted three times over at each location to rule out variations in local site conditions.

Thoreau showed visitors the UBC Seed Hub, a planting of several species designed to illustrate how seed production could be part of a working farm. Typically a challenging endeavour, Thoreau said many growers also find seed production alluring.

“People are really drawn to seed production,” he said. “Once they get it into their blood, they can’t get rid of it.”

While seed production is big business in Washington state, Thoreau would like to increase opportunities for BC growers. Ideally, he would like to see BC pursue seed sovereignty with the same enthusiasm directed towards food sovereignty.

His own zeal isn’t in question: flies are pollinators of carrots and rather than source maggots from the US, Thoreau placed hunks of raw meat in the isolation structure built to protect seed-yielding carrot plants from potential cross-pollination by their cousin, Queen Anne’s Lace. The meat gave rise to a far larger fly population than he ever expected.

But if fly production is easy, seed production for commercial vegetable producers is not. Selecting viable seeds for the local climate is the first step; ramping up production is quite another. The sheer scale of production required to produce millions of tiny seeds for growers requires hundreds of acres, not the fractions currently used for the trial program.

“I think it’s a little more than people expected,” he conceded.

This means commercial growers will be dependent on the big supply companies for the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, organic growers like Lydia Ryall of Cropthorne Farm in Delta sees value in the trials.

She sources her seed commercially, simply because sources of BC-tailored seed are non-existent. She hasn’t had the choice to date but having seed suited to local conditions has its advantages.

“Sometimes our seed is grown in one specific place in the world or one specific farm and if there are issues, then some years we don’t have access to a certain variety,” Ryall said. “So, if there’s more places that are growing some of these mainstay varieties that market farms use, then that’s a positive.”

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