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Originally published:

MAY 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 5

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Stories In This Edition

Rapid response

Worker health crisis

Spring melt floods Cariboo

Foreign Labour an essential service for fruit growers

Editorial: Watershed moments

Back Forty: COVID-19 will be a reality check for many

Viewpoint: Register now, question later to keep water rights

COVID-19 has varied impact on poultry sector

Social distancing

Honey producers keep focus on research

Beekeepers stung about import issues

Sidebar: Advocating for technology transfer

Farmland values facing headwinds

IAFBC defers major decisions

BCAC focuses on public trust with lower budget

AgSafe governance set for a shake-up

COVID-19 leads to oversupply of dairy

BC Fairs positive as large events banned

Peace growers facing multiple challenges

Co-op considers four-way fix at crossroads

Surprise audits to double

Co-op focuses on cutting costs, increasing sales

Volatility from plant shutdowns could hit BC

Island farmers renew request for local abattoir

Meat processing capacity stable despite closures

Direct marketing saves producers’ bacon

Small producers ride the online sales wave

Farm equipment dealers keep sale smoving

Strawberry growers pin survival on levies

Sidebar: Blueberry and raspberry AGMs postponed

Raspberry growers target fresh market, quality

Apple soda breaks ground in saturated market

Chilliwack family cracks open direct sales

EFB-resistant trees not out of the woods

Distillery shows resilience as it adapts to market

Home gardeners overwhelm seed companies

Sidebar: Commercial seed supply affected

Research: Viruses pursue unique strategies to evolve

Moisture sensors are not created equal

Woodshed: Kenneth gives new meaning to social isoluation

Farmers’ markets go online as channels shift

Farm Story: Pandemic forces a hard pivot to stay in the game

Cheesemaker adapts to coronavirus restrictions

Jude’s Kitchen: Stay-healty food in uneasy times

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2 days ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

#BCAg
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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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3 days ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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1 month 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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1 month 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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1 month 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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Chilliwack family cracks open direct sales

The Egg Shack expands to roadside sales

May 1, 2020 byJackie Pearase

CHILLIWACK – A foray into farmgate egg sales using an automated, cashless vending machine is proving advantageous for Brightside Poultry in Chilliwack.

Richard and Jacqueline Boer have the first farm in North America to use the egg vending machine, made by Roesler Vending in Germany.

Launched last September, the option to buy local, organic free-range eggs by tap, debit or credit from a machine has increased in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in social distancing and no-touch transactions.

“The virus has been good to our on-farm vending business. I think we’re one of the few types of businesses that are able to say that,” notes Jacqueline Boer. “We were selling only about 1% from the farm gate but right now we’re up to about 15%.”

She says that on March 15, as panic buying set in after BC began restricting public gatherings, they sold 50% of the eggs in their barn.

Brightside is located on Evans Road, and the Boers always wanted to capitalize on the large volume of traffic that passes by their third-generation farm.

“We’ve always wanted to market what we’re producing from the farm gate,” Boer says. “We chose not to go the dairy route because we don’t want to process dairy. But because there’s so much less processing involved with eggs, this is our chance to get our feet wet in retailing.”

In addition to eggs, the farm sustains a dairy operation started in the 1950s and the Boers added broilers in 2013 after winning the new entrant broiler quota lottery.

The couple purchased a layer quota in 2016, added 4,000 laying hens to the farm in 2017 and currently have a flock of about 7,500 birds. A new barn constructed in 2019 has room for up to 16,000 birds.

In November 2018, they went to EuroTier, a trade show for livestock producers in Hanover, Germany, to purchase equipment for the new barn. They looked at several types of vending machines, widely used for hot and cold products in Europe, and ended up purchasing one.

The machine can be configured to accommodate different-sized items. The Boers sell dozens, double-dozens and flats from The Egg Shack, located in the new barn that is purposely cooled for the eggs.

Boer says they did not intend on selling products other than eggs from the vending machine but that may change if consumer demand for local food continues after the pandemic and grows.

“Our perspective has changed through this COVID thing; we may look at some other options down the road. It wasn’t really our intent when we set up,” she says. “There’s a renewed level of public trust with farmers right now. Two months ago, the public didn’t trust us and now, all of a sudden, we’re a pillar in the community, providing fresh local food.”

The machine was a significant investment and the Boers applied for and received partial funding from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership through the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

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