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Originally published:

January 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 1

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Stories In This Edition

Province signals ALR changes

Winter wonderland

Growers support piece rates

High-priced harvest heading for sweet success

Editorial: A new start

Back Forty: The service economy steps away from the land

Viewpoint: Subsistence farming is a thing of the past, isn’t it?

Cherry growers see record crop losses in 2019

Agricultural impacts from new rail trail sought

Small farmers raise concerns about CanadaGap

BC food costs set to rise

Farmers’ institutes gather for second annual meeting

Foodlands trust initiative inches forward

Sidebar: Two proponents short-listed for Sandown farm

Shifting climate brings changes to vineyard practices

Bright future

Processing plant will cut transportation costs

Date change bolsters turnout at dairy meetings

BC Holstein set pace for Canada in 2019

Trade deals remain top issue

Dairy honours Jim Thompson

BC’s largest farm show kicks off new year

Pacific Ag Show keeps up with changing times

Sidebar: Ag innovation day

Sidebar: CannaTech West back for second year

Popular dairy tour will feature lots of variety

Sidebar: Dairy Expo continues at ag show

Bison could be key to climate change resilence

Research: Clay improves degradability of dairy feed

Consumers, producers need mutual understanding

Deep learning helps root out weeds

Langley farmers see beauty in small lots

Commission offers new guide for hog production

Young farmers are making global waves

Fatal sheep diseases are largely preventable

Labour of love keeps historic farm in family

Glyphosate may be safe, but its days are numbered

Woodshed: Susan embarks on her secret rendevous

Farm Story: The farm roars headlong into winter

Jude’s Kitchen: Comforting crockpot meals keep it simple

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

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Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

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Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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1 month ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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2 months ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 months ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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Bison could be key to climate change resilience

Research into heat-adapted cattle breeds leads back to bison

January 1, 2020 byTom Walker

MERRITT – How do you design a cow for the evolving Canadian climate?

That’s the question Thompson Rivers University associate professor John Church asked the BC Bison Association in late October, noting the estimated increase in global temperatures could see cattle regularly exposed to summer heat approaching 40°C.

Countering the effects of heat stress is a growing focus for North America’s cattle industry.

“We know that cattle will feed less and that will impact their average daily gain in high heat conditions, and it will also impact conception rates,” Church says. “What they are finding in Texas is that when cattle go through a big heat wave, it damages their gut linings permanently and they have to be on feed longer to get to finished size in the feedlot.”

Church says it takes a lot for cattle to die from heat, but 5,000 cattle perished from extreme heat in California in 2017. Research is on-going into heat-tolerant traits and breeds, as well as mitigation strategies such as shading and water cooling.

“But we still have the cold,” says Church, noting that winter temperatures can hit -40°C, the exact opposite of summer’s highs.

Cattle that perform well in hot climates, such as Brahmas, have light-coloured, thin coats that wouldn’t help them in the cold. Black Angus tolerate the cold, but their coat colour absorbs the heat in summer.

“We started to look at Canadian Speckle Park cattle,” says Church. “It’s a registered Canadian-developed breed that is known for producing well-marbled meat on a variety of forage. They are naturally polled, good calvers and are considered docile.”

But most important for Church, their coats range from black with light speckling, to nearly all white. Church wondered if the white coats would make them better-adapted to heat than Black Angus.

Church’s heat stress studies used a drone-mounted infrared thermal camera to fly over cattle and measure their surface temperature. The drone flew around the animals and sampled a variety of locations on the body.

The results, he says, were “shocking.”

On a 24°C day, Church says the Speckle Park were averaging 31.2°C while the Black Angus were 36.4°C.

“When we did all the stats, it was about a seven-degree Celsius difference between the two breeds of animals,” he says.

That’s due to the albedo effect, Church explains – the phenomenon on light-coloured surface reflecting more solar radiation than a dark surface.

In addition to studying Speckle Park, Church says he is working on his own breed, which he’s dubbed “Church’s Climate Master.” He is experimenting with Senepol, a very heat-tolerant breed from the Bahamas, and crossing them with Red Angus. He’s also looking at back-crossing Japanese Akaushi cattle with the Senepol.

But what does all this mean for bison producers?

Church notes that bison are naturally adapted to North America’s climate and its changes over the millennia.

“Bison have been in North America at least six million years and they have already survived a six-degree Celsius temperature warming according to archeological records,” he says.

Church wonders if the time is right to revive beefalo breeding, the bison-cattle crosses produced in the 1960s.

“I’ve read all the studies,” says Church. “The idea was you could take cattle and bison and cross them, and the hope was you would get something that was more adapted to the climate and a little easier to handle.”

It was a good idea that flopped, Church says.

“In fact, they got the worst of both,” he says. “They got cattle that were wild as shit to handle, just as bad as bison, and they weren’t very cold-tolerant.”

His recommendation is to boost bison numbers, and see them as a genuine alternative to cattle.

“We could just eat bison and give up cattle if it gets hot,” Church says. “I am convinced they can adapt better than our cows can.”

Some will argue that beef cattle have displaced bison from their rightful place in North America, but he notes that they’ve done more than that. While some estimates put the number of bison at 60-70 million “before we shot them all,” he says there are now about 120 million cows on the continent. It would be very hard to replace that large of a meat source with bison.

“And have you ever tried to milk one?” he asks with a chuckle. “I don’t think so, and that might be a problem.”

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