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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 9

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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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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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