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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

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 weeks 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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2 weeks ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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2 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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4 weeks ago

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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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