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Originally published:

MAY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 5

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Stories In This Edition

Water licence angst

Green gold

Pandemic puts pinch on finances

Province to lift restrictions on second homes

Editorial: On the level

Back 40: Asian giant hornets aren’t welcome here

OpEd: Proposed meat regs a step in the right direction

Province plans pilot for new drought ratings

Sidebar: Universal

High snowpack limits drought

Jack Frost nips potential for huge cherry crop

Ag Briefs: Dog attacks put sheep producers on alert

Ag Briefs: Poultry scholarship established

Ag Briefs: BC Tree Fruits extends CEO contract

Letters: Build soil with carbon tax

Funding revived for local gov’t agriculture plans

Sidebar: Mission expands definition of accessory use agriculture

Record funding flowed through IAFBC last year

Lotsa tomatoes

AgSafe embraces new governance structure at AGM

ALR exclusion fails to win ag committee support

BC dairy industry sees steady demand

Dairy producers work to resolve quality issues

Tree fruit consultations off to flying start

Canada holds off Asian giant hornet restructions

Strawberry groewrs eye new varieties

Funding stopped up for raspberry replant

Beekeepers welcome technology transfer program

Island couple step up to revive local abattoir

Tech crucial to speed variety development

Research: Urban farms can contribute to food security

Building soil structure with organic compost

Locally grown asparagus fills a niche market

BC propagator awarded research grant

Understanding the methodology to farm financing

Seed bank continues legacy of seed-savers

New owners to extend Woodside Farm’s legacy

Ruckle Farm looks toward the future

Farm Story: Spring deliveries inspire the urge to get farming

Farmer-chef connections still paying off

Woodshed: Henderson between a rock and a hard place

Pandemic forces BC agricultural fairs to adapt

Jude’s Kitchen: Herbs & sprouts

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3 days ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
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1 week ago

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details. ... See MoreSee Less

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details.
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3 weeks ago

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed. ... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the provinces deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.
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Sounds like 2 weeks to flatten the curve turning into 2 years.

USDA doing avian vax research, May 11 bio-docs to UN incl section on H5N8 w/wild bird spread. Found link to apparent pre-release on May 11 Geller Report. Good luck farmers.

3 weeks ago

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.” ... See MoreSee Less

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.”
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Killing our food chain. How do we know they are actually carrying a virus, look what's taking place with covid, is it real.

Ik kan niet zo goed Engels maar als ik het goed begrijp is bij jullie ook vogelgriep maar nog niet bij jullie

Any idea when this episode or bird flu might be over?

4 weeks ago

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions. ... See MoreSee Less

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions.
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Canada holds off Asian giant hornet restrictions

Washington State moves to declare hornets a quarantine pest

Washington State is moving to declare Asian giant hornets a quarantine pest. While a delicacy in some parts of the world, the hornets are a threat to honey bees, a critical link in the food chain. BROOKLYN BUGS

May 1, 2021 byBarbara Johnstone Grimmer

ABBOTSFORD – Canada has yet to follow the lead of Washington State and move to declare Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) a quarantine pest.

On April 7, Washington officials filed for all species in the genus Vespa to be placed on the list of quarantined pests for the state. The hornets were first reported in Washington in 2019 and an active nest was destroyed last year near Blaine.

The proposed rule would prohibit the sale of any species as well as the movement or distribution of the unwanted pest throughout the state. Washington State Department of Agriculture inspectors would be able to control and limit entry to an area within 20 metres of an infested site to enable removal of the nest and all hornets.

A public hearing will be held in May with an intended adoption date soon after.

The proposed quarantine acknowledges the risk hornets pose to agricultural crops and pollinators, as well as to humans and livestock.

If the rule is approved, federally in the US, US-APHIS will take phytosanitary actions if a quarantine pest such as Asian giant hornet is detected in an imported shipment to mitigate the threat.

But the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has taken a different approach entirely.

CFIA issued a decision document in February 2020 stating it will not declare the Asian giant hornet a quarantine pest for Canada. This means there are no restrictions on the import or movement of any commodities that may contain the insect. It  does require permits for the deliberate importation of hornets.

CFIA intercepted Asian giant hornets entering the country in luggage in 2013. But in the case of the 2019 nest found in Nanaimo, CFIA says the hornets’ origin is unknown.

International and interstate shipping may aid in their distribution. Besides sightings relatively close to coastal shipping areas, sightings to date have been close to rail lines.

Genetic analysis reveals that the 2019 Nanaimo V. mandarinia are a close match with hornets originating in Japan, and the Washington State V. mandarinia are a close match with hornets in South Korea. This is indicative of separate introductions, possibly in marine cargo.

However, deliberate smuggling may also be a source of introduction since Asian giant hornet is a commodity and a delicacy. It is not known if any business imports live hornets in any life stages, but they are known to be bred in other areas of the world for a food and medicine source.

In 2010, V. orientalis was found in Washington. V. soror was identified in downtown Vancouver in 2019, and there were several detections of V. mandarinia in Washington and BC in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, V. crabro was also detected in BC and Oregon.

BC provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp says import controls are Ottawa’s call, but the provinces have urged the federal government to review its inspection protocols.

“If there is a component lacking, they will beef it up. This is an ongoing discussion that we have entertained with the federal government,” says van Westendorp.

Under the international phytosanitary system, countries that designate a quarantine pest must put measures in place to prevent the pest’s entry into the country and control the pest. However, CFIA’s decision document explains that uncertainties about how the pest is entering Canada make it difficult to regulate, let alone control its movement.

There were six confirmed reports of Asian giant hornets in BC last year and 31 confirmed reports of the pest in Washington State. All confirmed sightings in BC were the result of public surveillance.

Surveillance activities in BC will continue this year. Washington surveillance efforts have already drawn 118 potential sightings, but the majority are unverified or have proven false.

 

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