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Originally published:

MARCH 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 3

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Stories In This Edition

The right cut

Health labs to be rebuilt

Kale acreage on fast track

Province makes bid to protect Surrey farmland

Editorial: Collective wisdom

Back 40: Full-time, part-time, or time well spent?

Viewpoint: A lifetime of safe farming is never an accident

Farmers question regenerative ag agenda

Growers flood back to Tradex for ag show

Ag Briefs: Spring bird migration raise fears of AI’s return

Ag Briefs: TJ Schur to lead IAF

Trust lacking between well owners, province

Champions of agriculture

Future uncertain for new varieties council

Here’s looking at you

Council takes delinquent growers to court

Extension service hopes for stronger supports

Blueberry growers focus on qualify

Researchers home in on emerging blueberry viruses

Viticulture show draws record attendance

Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

Snug as bugs

Ducks Unlimited pilot helps ranch manage water

Livestock response unit called into action

Farmland Advantage funding extended

Sidebar: Watershed moment

Soil carbon only part of the green equation

Sidebar: Organic compost a government priority

Filling a market for fresh corn in Chase

On-farm trials address nutrient challenges

Automation is revolutionizing dairy farming

UBC research advances dairy herd health

Farm Story: As winter fades into spring, mud follows

Preparing for a  low-emissions future

Show time

Dead canopies from last year concern growers

Woodshed: Problems stack up for Kenneth at the new farm

BC-made mushroom innovation in the works

Jude’s Kitchen: Irish spring fun in the kitchen

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1 week ago

The province remained short on details Thursday as it repeated an announcement it plans to invest $5 million in a new animal disease preparedness and response program. “This investment will provide BC farmers and ranchers with the support to plan and respond quicker and better to disease outbreaks,” said BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis, who was joined by MLAs from Langley East, Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent at Canadian Organic Feeds in Chilliwack.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #BCpoultry
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The province remained short on details Thursday as it repeated an announcement it plans to invest $5 million in a new animal disease preparedness and response program. “This investment will provide BC farmers and ranchers with the support to plan and respond quicker and better to disease outbreaks,” said BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis, who was joined by MLAs from Langley East, Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent at Canadian Organic Feeds in Chilliwack.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #BCpoultry
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Stay away from government programs

It's a killing program ..

1 week ago

With the stroke of a pen, BC has officially entered into a new agreement with the federal government that will see more than $140 million invested over the next five years in “strategic” agricultural initiatives. The money represents a 25% increase of about $29 million over the previous funding agreement, which ends on March 31. “This partnership will support our government’s focus on food security for all British Columbians while investing significantly in BC farmers, producers and processors,” says BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis. The agreement was signed earlier today, during federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s visit to the province. ... See MoreSee Less

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Bilateral agreement signed

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BC will see an additional $29 million over five years from the federal government when the new agricultural policy framework debuts April 1. A new bilateral agreement between the provincial and…
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1 week ago

BC farmers and producers have until June 30 to register for AgriStability, pay their fees and secure coverage under the program. AgriStability provides support to growers with large financial declines caused by production losses as a result of extreme weather, disease outbreak (such as avian influenza) and increased costs or declining market conditions. About 2,100 BC farmers enroll in the program annually. For more information or to enrol, visit www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #AgriStability
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BC farmers and producers have until June 30 to register for AgriStability, pay their fees and secure coverage under the program. AgriStability provides support to growers with large financial declines caused by production losses as a result of extreme weather, disease outbreak (such as avian influenza) and increased costs or declining market conditions. About 2,100 BC farmers enroll in the program annually. For more information or to enrol, visit www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #AgriStability
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2 weeks ago

A new provincial agricultural extension program is in the works, and hopes are high it heralds a fresh start for regional agricultural support in BC. Set to launch this spring, the program intends to increase engagement with producers, with a focus on climate mitigation, adaption and overall sustainability.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc
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Provincial extension service coming

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A new provincial extension service is in the works, an initiative applauded at an Agri-Extension and Research event organized by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and held at the BC Ministry of...
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2 weeks ago

A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior. “We have settled on a butcher hub with two components, a dedicated space for cut-and-wrap with Magnum Meats as the tenant and a value-added meat processing area with a smokehouse and sausage-making equipment available for daily rental," says Vicki Gee, who sits on the food hub committee. The story appears in our March edition and we've uploaded it to our website.

[Schweb Cattle Co photo]
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Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

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ROCK CREEK – A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior.
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Jessica Coburn you see this?

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Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

Processing facility will support the region’s growing sector

SNUG AS BUGS A cow-calf pair at Schweb Cattle Co. in Salmon Arm settle in to a freshly bedded outdoor pen on a sunny day in early February. SCHWEB CATTLE CO.

March 1, 2023 byTom Walker

ROCK CREEK – A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior.

“There have been a lot of changes since we first began discussions in the spring of 2020,” says Vicki Gee, who was formerly involved with the project as a Kootenay Boundary Regional District area rep and now serves as a volunteer with the food hub committee. “There were challenges with our original site, changes in potential clients and increased construction costs.”

The original site in Rock Creek next to the Riverside Centre wasn’t compatible with other property uses, Gee explains.

The Kootenay Boundary Regional District came to the rescue by purchasing a nine-acre property 10 km to the east and leasing one acre for the food hub.

“But it’s in the ALR and we had to apply for non-farm use,” Gee says. “We are still waiting to receive approval.”

Organizers expect that approval to come through this spring and are busy with finalizing a business plan and construction details.

“We had originally planned to have bakery facilities as part of the food hub, but those businesses have changed their plans,” says Gee. “We have settled on a butcher hub with two components, a dedicated space for cut-and-wrap with Magnum Meats as the tenant and a value-added meat processing area with a smokehouse and sausage-making equipment available for daily rental.”

While construction details are yet to be finalized, Gee says that they are considering a steel-frame building.

“Steel-framed buildings are relatively inexpensive. We can build the shell and develop areas inside as we need them. Services can be run down from the ceiling, and we could expand the building length if we needed more room,” Gee notes.

A not-for-profit society, Boundary Community Ventures Association, has been established to build and manage the food hub, which will be exclusively dedicated to processing.

“We have decided against any retail sales at the location,” Gee explains. “Local retailers already have that expertise and we don’t want to be competing with them. The purpose of food hubs is to be able to sell into retail and institutional markets, not just local or farmers markets.”

As a member of the BC Food Hub Network, the project received initial start-up funding in addition to the support from the regional district for the location. Support has also come from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior, Boundary Economic Development Services, and Kootenay Boundary Regional District’s Area E gas tax.

Further support from KBRD’s economic development services division will fund a food testing lab as well as a half-time economic development manager for developing the project.

A lot has changed in the three years since the first community meeting for the hub.

Back then, Magnum Meats was the only meat processing facility along Hwy 3 from Osoyoos to Creston. Over the past year, Farmhouse Butchery opened a cut-and-wrap shop in Westbridge about 20 km away, and has since added an inspected abattoir to process its own animals. Granby Meat Co. is a new butcher shop that’s opened in Grand Forks, about 70 km east of Rock Creek.

Magnum Meats did not respond to requests for comment prior to deadline, but Dean Maynard of Farmhouse Butchery says government’s support of a facility for one of his competitors doesn’t sit well.

“Government and private working together, how fair is that?“ Maynard asks. “Why would they not support both our businesses?”

The three-year wait has changed producers’ plans as well.

Eric Moes was looking to organize a co-op to run the original facility.

“I’ve had to pivot my business plan completely,” he says from Little Fork Ranch in Greenwood. “We are doing more commercial cattle feeding and less direct meat sales. We simply couldn’t wait for the hub to get going.”

There was talk of a Boundary-area beef brand as well.

“That is something we are continuing to look into,” says Gee. “We had originally thought about grass-fed and finished, but that may not have the mainstream appeal that we want.”

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