A backyard flock near Kelowna is the latest to test positive for avian influenza, putting small-flock owners on high alert for this year’s highly pathogenic strain. A bulletin from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food on the evening of April 25 announced the positive result, which occurred in a flock of fewer than 100 …
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Bird flu hits Enderby farm
A broiler farm in the North Okanagan has been depopulated following the positive identification of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza on April 13. Preliminary tests at a lab in Burnaby returned positive results, and samples were sent to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency lab in Winnipeg for confirmation. (BC’s own Animal Health …
Chicken growers on watch for avian influenza
ABBOTSFORD – With pandemic restrictions lifting and demand for chicken stabilizing, BC poultry producers are renewing their focus on biosecurity to stave off some well-known infectious diseases affecting their birds. “Biosecurity continues to be a challenge for us,” BC Chicken Growers Association president Dale Krahn told growers at their annual general meeting in Abbotsford, March …
Irreparable harm, but no relief
The province’s ban on keeping mink has caused irreparable harm to producers, but BC Supreme Court has stopped short of awarding relief. In a decision rendered March 4 but only published April 8, Justice Carol Ross denied a request by the Canada Mink Breeders Association, British Columbia Mink Producers Association and six farms for an …
Ranchers face rangeland losses
Ranchers in areas hit hard by last year’s heat dome, wildfires and drought shouldn’t count on rushing out on their rangeland this summer, cautions a professional agrologist. Chris Wellman, a fence contractor and former range agrologist with the Vernon Forest District, says many herds may need to stick close to home this season pending an …
Labour shortage has abattoirs hogtied
SALMON ARM – A lack of skilled workers is squeezing meat processing capacity in BC, forcing some small and medium-sized livestock operations to book slaughter dates a year out – and even then, spots aren’t guaranteed. When their processor removed pig slaughter dates from its calendar, first-generation farmers Chelsea and James Keenan of Keenan Family …