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Originally published:

OCTOBER 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 10

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Stories In This Edition

Feeling the heat on water

Good grapes

Province funds hazelnuts

Farmers left in lurch by risk-averse insurers

Fresh marketing

Editorial: A familiar problem

Back 40: Climate change action depends on political will

Viewpoint: UN Food Systems Summit sets an ambiguous agenda

Province falls short on dam safety oversight

All the elements

Orchard industry awaits government report

Sidebar: Competitiveness fund on hold

Ag Briefs: Collins wins gold for food security column

Ag Briefs: Agrologist and sector champion dies

Ag Briefs: Kelowna approves land exclusion

Ag Briefs: BC on watch for hornets

Province begins wildfire recovery payments

Beef sector sees strong demand

Thanks for the support

BC-bred females sell well in fall production sale

Sheep producers monitoring for bluetongue

Columbia River Treaty impacts reviewed

Summer weather takes toll on OK fruit

Cheesemakers felt the heat this summer

Housing rules continue to challenge farmers

National plant health lab gets new director

All’s gourd – pumpkins not squashed by heat

Female ranchers excited for mentorship opportunities

Island project establishes baseline for bugs

Show me the money!

Corn trial provides options for changing climate

High heat, low pest pressure test corn plantings

Research: Breeding a better, more nutritious apple

4-H BC: 4-H event helps develop future community leaders

Farm Story: Carrots offer a peaceful break

Plow match perseveres despite pandemic

Woodshed: There’s more than truck trouble with Delta Faye

Mesh covers control vegetable pests

Jude’s Kitchen: Fall weather calls for cool comfort food

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4 days 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

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Your weekly farm news update

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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
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Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

1 month 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

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Christmas trees in demand

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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…
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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.
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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
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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..

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2 months ago

The scale of this year's avian flu outbreak now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004. An additional 13 commercial farms in the Fraser Valley have tested positive in the last week. To date, 49 commercial farms and 1.2 million birds have been impacted. CFIA is struggling to keep up with depopulation of sick birds. ... See MoreSee Less

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AI outbreak rivals 2004

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The scale of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004 that saw farms throughout the Fraser Valley depopulated. An additional 13 commercial…
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Commercial operations need to reevaluate their stocking densities and overall health and welfare of the animals within their systems if they are ever going to have a fighting chance against this virus.

Yup cause food shortage

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Cheesemakers felt the heat this summer

Reduced milk yields created challenges meeting demand

October 1, 2021 byKate Ayers

DUNCAN – Keeping their animals cool and fields productive were challenges for many dairy farmers this summer, but those with processing facilities in their operations also struggled to ensure adequate milk production.

Dairy and artisan cheese producers on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland took a double hit as the heat stressed their animals and cooling equipment laboured to keep products from spoiling.

“The drought has affected our pasture. Our irrigation water tends to run out a lot sooner than it did 10 years ago. Right now, we’re on water restrictions, which reduces the amount of grass the animals have,” says Cory Spencer, co-owner of Duncan’s Haltwhistle Cheese Co. “When we had that extreme heat of 42°C, that put a lot of stress on the animals and milk production dropped because they didn’t want to eat. We noticed about a 50% drop in production during that time, but we saw it bounce back once it cooled down again.”

Haltwhistle sources milk from 100 goats on its farm and produces cow’s milk cheese with fluid milk from nearby Balme Ayr Farm.

The heat also put pressure on the compressors that keep the aging rooms cool, adds Spencer.

“They were working quite hard just to keep up. They aren’t really designed to work in those temperatures,” he says.

Spencer and partner Kirsten Thorarinson were forced to close their cheese shop for two days during the heatwave.

Dana Dinn of The Farm House Natural Cheeses in Agassiz also noticed a dip in production. The business produces handmade artisan cheeses and specialties from both cows and goats. Its

on-farm shop sells cheeses, butter, Greek-style yogurt, buttermilk and bottled fluid milk.

“This summer has definitely been quite the feat for us here, both on the farm and within our cheese plant. Keeping our cows and goats comfortable and well-hydrated in the heat is a full-time job in itself. The stress of the heat often causes a dip in milk production, which means less available product for our customers,” says Dinn. “Our cheese caves and refrigeration systems were all working overtime through the last heat wave, and young ripening cheese in particular is very sensitive to temperature and environmental changes. We’ve lost some cheese to the heat, that’s for sure.”

Farm House Natural Cheeses also cancelled participation in several farmers markets during the summer because the fridges in its market trucks were not equipped to handle excessive temperatures.

“All in all, it’s been hard, and we unfortunately have experienced a lot of loss,” says Dinn.

Some operations made it through the heat and drought relatively unscathed.

Resilience

Nancy Gourlay, co-founder of Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and Morningstar Farm in Parksville, credits sustainable production practices with the operation’s resilience through this summer’s challenging conditions.

The farm’s pasture management maintained sufficient forage production for the herd, even without a third cut.

“We have always believed in the environmental benefits of permanent grass pastures, both as a carbon sink and for resilience in the case of drought. While other farmers across the West were waiting for that moment when they could get on their fields with equipment and get seed into the ground – then wait for rain – we were happily watching our grass grow,” says Gourlay. “Responsible forest, vegetation and soil management will be key to agricultural sustainability in our neck of the woods.”

Continuing that legacy will be Albert Gorter and Chelsea Enns and their young son, who purchased the farm and cheese business this summer after managing Gorter’s parents’ dairy farm in Manitoba.

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