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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 9

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1 month ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

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ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Bert Miles remembered

Burnaby Lake Greenhouses GM wasn’t afraid to shake things up

Former ALC commissioner and IAF chair Bert Miles is being remembered for his sharp mind and business acumen as well as his dedication to family. SUBMITTED

September 1, 2022 bySandra Tretick

VANDERHOOF – Former Burnaby Lake Greenhouses general manager Bert Miles died on July 28. He was 80.

Miles, an accountant by profession, was noted as much for his ability to shake up the status quo as he was for his financial expertise and service to the agriculture community.

Born in Vancouver and raised in Langley, Miles didn’t farm himself. But in 1981, after positions at Pacific Brewers Distributor, Royal City Canning and other BC food processors, he joined Burnaby Lake Greenhouses. He worked alongside owners the van der Ende family as controller and general manager until his retirement in 2009.

During the 1980s, the company’s sales increased seven-fold and Miles’ business acumen was key in overseeing the relocation and expansion of the business to a new 2 million-square-foot production facility, the most advanced and automated at the time in North America.

Herb van der Ende, who initially hired Miles, also credits him with spearheading the development of a retirement community on their former greenhouse site in Surrey, pushing through the rezoning and helping with financing.

“Bert made it possible to do a lot of things,” says van der Ende, who has long retired from his roles as president and chairman of the board, but remains a director. “Without Bert that wouldn’t have happened. It was a big project.”

Miles made a lasting impression on van der Ende, serving as a great sounding board and becoming very close to the family through the years.

“Bert had a great overall view of the industry because his background wasn’t specifically agriculture, it was always the financial side,” he says. “He was my advisor all the years when I was in a senior position in the company and made it possible for me to do a lot of things. He was more than a business GM. I could always count on him there.”

Retirement from Burnaby Lake didn’t stop Miles, but it did give him more time to pursue other interests, including consulting and agriculture service.

Through H.A. Miles Ag Consulting, he specialized in farm business management and strategic planning. He served four years as a commissioner with the Agricultural Land Commission, chaired the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF) and the BC Horticultural Council, and served as a director of the BC Agricultural Research & Development Corp. (ARDCorp) and the Small- Scale Food Processors Association.

Fellow IAF directors Alistair Johnston and current chair Jack DeWit recall working with Miles and becoming friends.

“He was a breath of fresh air,” says Johnston, a former food manufacturer and now a consultant to the sector. “He didn’t shirk away from offering a balanced and considered opinion. I had huge respect for what he brought to the table.”

“He was definitely very passionate about agriculture,” adds DeWit. “He was very supportive of all of agriculture in BC whether small lot or the bigger farms. He knew the business and he wanted to make a difference. He was stubborn in his own way. If he believed in something he pushed it.”

Miles spent 12 years on the IAF board, originally representing the post-farmgate sector and returning after a five-year hiatus to represent the greenhouse, floriculture and nursery sectors.

His commitment to community service extended beyond agriculture. Miles chaired Surrey Metro Savings Credit Union and the Certified Management Accountants Society of BC. He also served as a director of Credit Union Central of BC.

Miles was predeceased by his first wife Pauline in 2011, following 46 years of marriage. He is survived by his two sons, Bradford (Pat) and David (Raquel), four grandchildren and his second wife, Bette Jean Crews, whom he married in 2018.

David Miles described his father as “a pretty amazing person.”

“[He wasn’t] just a great dad and awesome grandfather dedicated to family and friends but also an important thread in the fabric of the community and organizations where he served,” he says.

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