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Originally published:

JULY 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 7

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Stories In This Edition

Province expands slaughter licences
Mexico launches SAWP review
Blue streak
Ranchers troubled by inconsistencies in well licencing
Editorial: All together
Back 40: Canada Day is a time to celebrate diversity
Viewpoint: BC producers keep our local food system strong
Farmland advocates pan agritech plans
Follow the arrow
Letters: Biosolids project misguided
Small on-farm dairy processors raise concerns
Zoning bylaw limits urban farmers
Kelowna readies exclusion bid
Global market puts emphasis on top-quality fruit
Sidebar: Time to renew
Leaming confident fruit industry can rejuvenate
Book Club
Review of vegetable commission forges ahead
Ag Briefs: Record funding pledged for coupon program
Ag Brief: Province boosts online grants
Ag Brief: Organic matter regulation delayed
Kelowna couple sprouts successful business
Greens growers see need for support
Cattlemen host virtual annual meeting
Sidebar: Cattlemen change gears
Pandemic less challenging for small farms
Rainy day thoughts for pesticide applications
Drones hone in on crop water requirements
BC farms adapt chicken tractors to local conditions
Breeders pin a value on traits
Prototype is a Roomba for weed control
Research: Exploring the complexities of soil structure
Viewpoint: Isolation brings the world closer
Buds
Farm Story: Weeds make perfection an impossible dream
Cidermakers give fresh purpose to island orchards
Woodshed: Frank makes Susan’s deliberation easy
Veggie Days adapts to event restrictions
Jude’s Kitchen: Summer food in colour

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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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Cidermakers give fresh purpose to island orchards

Close to 100 varieties of apples gathered for farmstead cider

Matthew Vasilev and Katie Selbee are ready to open a tasting room at Twin Island Cider on Pender Island as COVID-19 sanctions start to lift. PHOTO / SUBMITTED

July 7, 2020 byBarbara Johnstone Grimmer

PENDER ISLAND – Katie Selbee and Matthew Vasilev of Twin Island Cider on Pender Island have a business as unique and authentic as the cider they produce, taking apples from century-old orchards on the Gulf Islands and fermenting them traditionally with naturally occurring yeasts in their farm-based cidery. They started just four years ago after three years of planning and preparation.

“It is a shared dream, and a more viable option than starting a veggie farm,” says Vasilev.

Selbee is a graduate of the UBC Farm Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture. She followed it with a year growing mixed vegetables on an urban farm with other program graduates, running the farm’s CSA (community- supported agriculture) program. She also completed an orchard internship at UBC Farm.

It was at UBC Farm where the two met. Vasilev had experience making cider and had also worked in organic farming and food distribution in both Montreal and Vancouver.

“We were both drawn to the close-knit community and the social and environmental justice aspects of small organic farming,” says Selbee.

They toured cideries in BC, Washington and the UK. They talked to cider makers. They also started making cider from the Vasilev family’s orchard on Pender Island. They preferred the traditional style of natural fermentation.

“The traditional, or hobby style, is the best cider in the world,” says Vasilev.

They realized that the way they wanted to make cider, however, was labour intensive and risky.

“It is hard to scale up, but it is authentic,” explains Vasilev, “You have to do it yourself. Use simple tools and simple methods.”

The pair soon partnered with cider-lovers Sandra MacPherson and Noel Hall who had recently purchased farmland with a neglected old homestead and orchard on Pender Island.

“Within three months, we were rolling,” says Vasilev. “We were starting from the ground up, every skill, every aspect.”

They learned from the orchard and cider community, making valuable contacts, and learning the necessary skills. They collected scion wood of cider apple varieties from various sources.

Year zero was all about grafting and planting 1,300 cider-variety trees, including Yarlington Mill, Dabinett and Chisel Jersey for a two-acre orchard, and rehabilitating heritage orchards. The first cider batches were blends of Gulf Island and Okanagan apples with a goal of 7,000 litres.

They soon honed their skills to harvest and process 32,000 pounds of fruit from 30 orchards. Last year, 60,000 pounds of fruit from 48 properties on North and South Pender, Mayne and Saturna islands were harvested. Vasilev estimates the fruit included 70 to 100 varieties of apples.

Seventeen orchards were pruned last year. This valuable service alone has given Selbee and Vasilev access to a range of orchards for each harvest. The under-utilized old orchards have also received a fresh purpose.

“The older trees that have been neglected produce more phenolics, which is important in cider quality,” says Vasilev. “They are dry farmed, which is a great legacy.”

Total control

Every aspect of production, marketing and sales is kept in-house. They work to keep it enjoyable, small and creative.

“We do all the milling/pressing ourselves at the cidery with the help of family and a couple of part-time helpers,” says Selbee. “We use a traditional rack and cloth press. It’s very labour and time-intensive but worth the amount of control it gives us over the final product.”

“There is no slow time; we work year-round and do it all,” says Vasilev.

This attention to detail and hands-on approach to the work has made it a challenge to stay on top of the two-acre orchard they originally planted. The leases of the old orchards have distracted them, and the new trees struggled with a canker and a less-than-perfect site. This year, the plan is to expand with more two-year old trees in a sunnier spot.

But it is perhaps their non-farming skills that give them the edge: Vasilev has a degree in history from McGill, and Selbee graduated in honours English from UBC, and she is a talented artist as well. These skills have brought the historical importance of the land, traditional fermentation methods, and heritage orchards to the forefront.

“It’s neat to do everything in-house from harvesting to bottling to design,” says Selbee.

They have a large garden, and last year used their garage to host a farm store for the Pender Growers Collective, a group of small-scale and backyard growers.

“Our values are embedded in what we do,” says Vasilev.

Vasilev credits Selbee with pushing new ideas, such as presenting cider like wine which can command a higher price.

They are looking for ways to diversify into related products such as apple cider vinegar, but they also want to maintain their authenticity.

Plans have been tempered by COVID-19, but some changes made last fall made the shift easier. A cider club sends subscribers a shipment of selected batches of cider to their door, and the online ordering system has been useful with the tasting room closed.

“We used to have 50% to 60% of our sales from the tasting room, and it has been closed three months now,” says Vasilev. “COVID has strengthened our customer base. It boosted online sales.”

The other 50% of sales is from restaurant and liquor stores. Both have decreased as well during the pandemic, but Vasilev remains optimistic. They are lucky, he says, because alcohol remains in high demand even in times of crisis.

Like many small businesses, Twin Island Cider applied for and received a $40,000 loan from the Canada Emergency Business Account but it was not eligible for funding under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.

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