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Originally published:

April 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 4

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Stories In This Edition

Study puts FV flooding costs at $1 billion

Provincial budget disappoints

Clock ticking for ogranic growers to get certified

Editorial: Po-tay-to, po-tah-to

Back Forty: It’s our responsibility to set the record straight

Public trust needs to be built, not lost

Saputo seeks damages over tainted milk

Letters: Water, not wells

Monster home debate ramps up

Province kicks in funding for acquifer troubles

Chicken growers unable to keep up with demand

Hatching egg producers urged to foster relationships

Egg producer face shortened timeline on cage-free birds

BC agriculture investment set to drop

Birds of a feather

Fruit wineries unite to form new association

Tough times for turkey growers

Thanks a million

Ag Briefs: Marketing board parts compnay with CEO

Bridge wins land commission support

What’s at stake

Cranberry prices bottoming out

Blossoming markets face growing pains

Sidebar: Tips for market success

Honey producers talk trade, farm status

Strawberry growers debate promotions strategy

Sidebar: Research priorities

Good prices may face market headwinds

Respectable start to bull sales

Sunshine Coast fights for brewers to locate on farmland

AI training hits the road

Move to protect wild sheep will affect producers

Farm folds

Strengthening our relations with land, food, people

Fast growing broccoli skips the cold phase

What’s the problem with a few deer

Worm counts, made easy

Cherry growers look for export efficiencies

Rising from the ashes

Small and large dairies showcase modern systems

Carrots to cattle on menu at Smither event

Sunshine Coast farm goes full boar with heritage breeds

4-H: New year for 4-H members underway

Wannabe: Don’t ever give up

Woodshed: Henderson has troubles passing the buck

Jude’s Kitchen: Graze green and light; it’s Spring!

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1 month ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

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ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Clock ticking for organic certification

April 1, 2017 byTamara Leigh

NANAIMO – There are few events as diverse as the Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC) conference each year. Large and small-scale farmers spanning the spectrum of different crops, livestock, regions and experience, they are connected by a commitment to organic production systems. With the theme of ‘Relationships in Transition: Land, Livestock, Waterways and Community,’ this year’s conference in Nanaimo, February 24-26, covered topics ranging from perspectives on indigenous food systems to succession planning, traceability and pasturing chickens.

One of the most significant transitions discussed at the conference was the province’s new mandatory organic standard, which comes into force in September 2018. The BC Ministry of Agriculture is supposed to be leading outreach to industry about the regulation while COABC is focusing on providing the tools and information that producers need to make the transition.

“Our biggest priority needs to be on communication with all parties impacted by this change, and all parties involved,” says COABC president Carmen Wakeling. “We need to support producers interested in transitioning to become certified organic. Those who are not interested need to understand that they will no longer be able to use the word organic.”

The Food and Agricultural Products Classification Act was introduced in February 2016 and passed in December. The new regulations seek to increase clarity for consumers after seven years of confusion around the term organic. The confusion was created by a loophole that allowed food to be sold as organic within BC without having to be certified under a provincial or national certification program.

BC’s organic industry has pushed for clarification and the new regulations have been welcomed by COABC. Under the new regulations, uncertified producers marketing food as “organic” will face the possibility of penalties, including a $350 fine. The regulations come into effect in September 2018, allowing time for interested growers to make the transition.

COABC is encouraging their members to mentor growers interested in getting certified. COABC has also been developing the Organic Online System, an online database that will help new entrants achieve certified organic status. The tool is expected to save farmers time by providing a more efficient and streamlined process and will also be used as a source for gathering comprehensive statistics on BC’s organic sector.

While the online tool is being developed, COABC is working closely with the certifying bodies to make sure they have what they need to manage increased demand leading up to the September 2018 deadline.

“We want them to be able to succeed in the onslaught of certification applications we’re expecting. They need to have resources and knowledge to be able to manage that,” says Wakeling. “We don’t have a lot of time before the regulations come into effect and it can take one to three years to get certified. Producers need to consider decisions sooner than later. If they leave it to the last minute, they might get stuck without enough time to make the transition.”

Growers interested in transitioning to organic can find resources on the COABC website [www.coabc.ca].

Public trust

One of the other transitions that was not on the program but still came up at the conference was the issue of public trust. The COABC board has decided not to pay the BC Agriculture Council’s special member levy for a public trust campaign.

“One of the main reasons we have decided against it as organic producers is that we have built our organic principles around transparency and communication with consumers and feel we don’t need to invest further in it alongside a group with such diversity,” says Wakeling. “We always have the guiding principles of organics behind us, and that’s what we’ll stay true to.”

Despite COABC’s decision not to support the initiative, Wakeling stills sees value in the work, albeit from a slightly different point of view.

“Public trust is a good thing to pursue. It’s very much about consumer confidence with food, and it’s important to work continuously on improvements and transparency in our food system,” she says. “I accept that people in the sector want to improve, and I hope that’s what this work will bring – long-term improvement to the environmental practices and social practices in agriculture.

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