• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

February 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 2

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Country Life in BC, 36 Dale Road, Enderby, BC, V0E1V4. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Stories In This Edition

Joy Ride!

Critics urge licence delay

ALR committee files report

Cannabis drives drop in Delta farm assessments

Editorial: Party and province

Back Forty: You can’t get apps on that

Viewpoint: Annual assessments a chance to take stock

Staff reorganization targets leaner fruit co-op

Preliminary hearing in high-profile poultry abuse

Growers pin hopes on Columbia River update

Survey keeps national park reserve in spotlight

Political engagement headlines dairy meeting

World milk prices take blame for shifting returns

Patience is a virtue

Ag Briefs: Sasaki appointed new head of chicken board

Ag Briefs: Ottawa invests in dairy sector

AB: Piece rates, taxes increase

AB: AITC focuses on growth

Capital Region considers compensation cuts

Letters: Protect farmland from cannabis production

Letters: Dog owners need to accept responsibility

Letters: The beef about climate change

Cadillac’ of aviaries will reduce labour costs

Berry growers face new import requirements

Open house reveals secrets of diagnostics lab

Cannabis propagation industry sprouting in BC

Sidebar: Deep roots

FCC targets women with new business program

Agreement sets stage for fish farm phase-out

Grazing, forage and water top list at town hall

Ranchers reassured regarding bovine TB cases

Digging into soil nutrition at education day

Microgreen grower attracts far-flung following

Science of cannabis takes centre stage

Blueberry growers hone use of box liners

Ostrich industry takes flight with big plans

Tunnels boost fruit quality, add to berry season

Big bucks being spent to protect bee health

Sidebar: Province boosts funding

Mystery bee disease studied

Direct-marketing opportunities have potential

Research: Preventing soft scald in apples

Regional food system is the new focus of group’s efforts

Wannabe: Growers deserve our love

Woodshed: A performance Kenneth can’t afford to miss

Jude’s Kitchen: Happy new year, my sweet Valentine

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

7 days 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

Link thumbnail

Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

buff.ly

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...
View Comments
  • Likes: 1
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 weeks 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

Link thumbnail

Your weekly farm news update

web-extract.constantcontact.com

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
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

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

Link thumbnail

Christmas trees in demand

buff.ly

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…
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

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
View Comments
  • Likes: 10
  • Shares: 8
  • Comments: 8

Comment on Facebook

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..

View more comments

Subscribe | Advertise

Capital Region considers compensation cuts

Public supports payments for livestock losses to unidentified dogs

January 29, 2019 byBarbara Johnstone Grimmer

VICTORIA – A backlash from farmers has stalled a proposal to amend the Capital Regional District (CRD) animal control bylaw to eliminate compensation for livestock killed by unidentified dogs.

“I received a lot of feedback from the farm community,” says Mike Hicks, director for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area who originally proposed the amendment. “I was taken to the slaughterhouse instead of the lambs, for once.”

Hicks originally stated that the policy was old and he did not think Juan de Fuca taxpayers should be paying for sheep killed on Salt Spring Island.

But he discovered that constituents want the CRD to compensate farmers for losses from dog attacks, citing food security and the importance in supporting agriculture. The pushback led the CRD to refer the amendment to staff hours before directors met on January 9.

Reports of the proposed bylaw change were shared widely on social media, leading Hicks to call John Buchanan of Parry Bay Farm in Metchosin. Buchanan and his wife Lorraine have a large sheep flock grazing in several municipalities besides Metchosin, including Central Saanich, Sooke, Highlands and View Royal. Buchanan filed a compensation claim this year but it covers only some of his losses.

“Dogs often are not seen,” says Buchanan. “If they aren’t stopped, they will do it again, and can push you off grazing land, reducing the area where we can graze. We use marginal lands, not suited to crops.”

Buchanan added that the argument that insurance can replace compensation is not true in many cases, given that dog attacks on sheep may occur more than once and are hard to prevent, so insurance companies may cancel policies if too many claims are made.

The proposed amendment surprised Saturna Island sheep producer Jacques Campbell, the district’s former Southern Gulf Islands director and Inter Island Sheep Breeders’ director to the BC Sheep Federation.

“I am stunned,” he says. “The licensing came into effect in 1980, and our dog Meg had the first tag. Since then, we have had many dogs for which we purchase licences each year. Currently, I have four working dogs, all with paid-up licences. We have done this knowing that it is an insurance policy in protection of our sheep and cattle.”

Licensing works in five ways, he explains.

“Dog owners are encouraged to control their dogs, the CRD can secure marauding dogs, the CRD can secure unlicensed dogs, the CRD can assist in securing compensation by identifying a dog and owner, and as a last resort, if the dog can’t be identified, the CRD can pay compensation,” he says.

CRD staff are developing alternatives for electoral areas and municipalities that want to continue compensating farmers. Over the past 15 years, there have been 10 claims averaging $400 apiece, though the more recent claims have run $1,000 to $4,500.

The directors of the electoral areas of Salt Spring Island and Southern Gulf Islands, Gary Holman and Dave Howe, both support compensation for farmers.

Mayor John Ranns of Metchosin is supportive of keeping compensation in the bylaw, because it provides an incentive for the CRD to find dogs that attack livestock. Farmers are only compensated by the CRD for dogs that are unidentified. If a dog is licensed, the farmer must go to the dog’s owner and request compensation directly.

Ranns is serving his eighth term as mayor of Metchosin and regional director, and is the only bonafide farmer currently on the CRD board. He recalls that one reason the CRD took over animal control services from the SPCA years ago was to improve support to farmers through better dog control, and to provide compensation to farmers from the dog licence fees.

CRD Bylaw and Animal Care Services provides animal control to Sidney, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Colwood, View Royal, Langford, Metchosin, Highlands, Sooke, and the three electoral areas. Saanich has its own animal control services, and Victoria, Esquimalt and Oak Bay use Victoria Animal Control Services.

Metchosin, Sooke and Highlands are the three municipalities which have contracts with the CRD to provide compensation along with the three electoral areas.

Buchanan and Hicks believe one alternative could be a regional pooled fund from all 13 municipalities and three electoral areas for compensating farmers throughout the region.

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Predators, politicans worry sheep producers

Previous Post: « Microgreen grower attracts far-flung following
Next Post: Growers pin hopes on Columbia River update »

Copyright © 2023 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved