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Originally published:

September 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Bleak

Rising from the ashes

Foreign ownership on radar

Local knowledge & premise ID earn creditibility

Political overhaul targets major issues

Back to the future

Back Forty: Support can’t come soon enough

Viewpoint: Smartphones dial up new green revolution

Govt orders review of contaminated acquifer

Ag waste regs coming

Perfect attendance

BC-Washington collaborate on water mgmt

BC leads in organic consumption

Bracing for second flight of armyworm

Budget funding starts flowoing for genomics work

The “S” Team

Ag ministers sign new funding framework

Supply management takes hit

Delta land swap yields benefits

Consolidation strengthens ALR exclusion bid

Salt Spring facility gets big boost from local donor

Corn rootworm infesting FV crops

Kelowna farmers’ market gives new location a try

Compensetion sought for Clinton backburn

Fall promises volatility in cattle markets

Cattle feeders face certain uncertainties

Shave Shower Shampoo

Strong showing for Hereford Bonanza

Grain research helps address shifting conditions

FV, N OK dairies win at Chilliwack

Research: Breeding cows to beat the heat

Kootenay program aims to revive extension expertise

Beet trials target “seed sovereignty”

New hop debuts

Washington lab holds opportunities for grain growers

Sheep dog trials make comeback

Bear kills cause grief for Island sheep producers

Get it in writing

Celebrating 100 years: Eaglet FI

Managing risks, seizing opportunities

Naturally rich soil, low inputs support Kelowna garden

In celebration of thse who buy local

Woodshed: Ashley exercises power of persuasion

Jude’s Kitchen: Back-to-it Bites

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10 hours ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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5 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

2 months 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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Compensation sought for Clinton backburn debacle

September 1, 2017 byTamara Leigh

CLINTON – A group of producers is seeking compensation and an apology for damages caused when the BC Wildfire Service lost control of a prescribed burn on Hart Ridge Mountain, south of Clinton. The blaze quickly escalated and jumped Highway 97, threatening nearby ranches and homes and triggering evacuations and highway closures.

Greg Nyman speaks on behalf of the Cariboo & Thompson-Nicola Ranchers and Rural Property Owners group. He was on Hart Ridge Mountain with his cows when the fire started. After hearing that the wildfire centre was planning controlled burns on August 1, he got a permit to enter his range lease to try to move his cattle to safety.

“I was liaising with an agrologist from 100 Mile, and they gave me a four-hour window. I went up at about 8 and was supposed to be off the mountain at noon,” he says.

The prescribed burns were started while he was on the mountain, cutting off his planned exit and putting him and over 100 head of cattle in harm’s way. Nyman got off the mountain safely but had to leave his cattle behind. In the end, the fire completely burned his 7,000-hectare range unit.

“I haven’t found 30 head and I don’t know where they are. I am pretty sure they are gone,” says Nyman. “I don’t know what my losses are until I get my cows home. I don’t even know if our range unit will be viable or not. Might not have anywhere to turn out our cows, and then what? I’m not the only one.”

Nyman’s family has ranched south of Clinton since the 1960s. He took over in 1987 and has fought fires in the area off and on for close to 45 years. He is critical of the management approach they have taken.

“They’ve relied too much on backburns and too many of them have gone wrong,” he says. “It’s ineffective fire management. The way they use their resources and tools is not as effective as it used to be. Every year that the Liberals were in power, they cut funding, closed offices, cut staff. I don’t think we’re making progress; I think it’s getting worse.”

He’s quick to say that this is not a criticism of the frontline firefighters; it’s the management side that is ineffective.

“Communities need to be involved in fire management. There’s a total disconnect between the wildfire service and the communities, and they ignore our concerns,” says Nyman.

The group of ranchers and rural property owners started in the Clinton area and has expanded as they have been contacted by producers in other areas who are struggling with losses due to backburns.

“I spoke with a fellow out by Williams Lake who lost $1.5 million in timber that he was protecting on a backburn. There are so many stories like this,” says Nyman. “… Houses can be insured and rebuilt, but you can’t regrow a mature fir forest.”

The group would like an apology from government officials for the way Hart Ridge controlled burns were handled and for a general lack of consultation with local residents. They are also calling for compensation for livestock which are lost due to wildfires, as well as rural structures, woodlots, private timber, fields, grazing and fencing.

BC Wildfire Service says producers may qualify for compensation. According to a spokesperson, under the Wildfire Act, “people can be compensated for damage on private land for avoidable damage caused by fire control by government.”

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