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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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1 day ago

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details. ... See MoreSee Less

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details.
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2 weeks ago

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed. ... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the provinces deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.
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Sounds like 2 weeks to flatten the curve turning into 2 years.

USDA doing avian vax research, May 11 bio-docs to UN incl section on H5N8 w/wild bird spread. Found link to apparent pre-release on May 11 Geller Report. Good luck farmers.

2 weeks ago

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.” ... See MoreSee Less

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.”
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Killing our food chain. How do we know they are actually carrying a virus, look what's taking place with covid, is it real.

Ik kan niet zo goed Engels maar als ik het goed begrijp is bij jullie ook vogelgriep maar nog niet bij jullie

Any idea when this episode or bird flu might be over?

3 weeks ago

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions. ... See MoreSee Less

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions.
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4 weeks ago

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises. ... See MoreSee Less

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises.
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Corn rootworm infesting Fraser Valley crops

September 1, 2017 byRonda Payne

ABBOTSFORD – BC farmers have been spared from the damaging effects of corn rootworm. That is, until last year, when the beetles were first discovered in sweet corn in the Fraser Valley.

BC Ministry of Agriculture entomologist Tracey Hueppelsheuser says damage from the pest can be substantial. Both the larvae and adult beetles cause damage.

“They call it the billion- dollar bug in the Midwest, so it’s significant,” she says.

Damage has been seen primarily in the central Fraser Valley on both sides of the river but Hueppelsheuser and others continue to be watchful throughout the province.

“[The beetles] have mandibles and they actually like pollen so they do seek out flowers and pollinating plant parts. They like silks of corn and they can actually prevent the cob fill in corn as a result of their feeding,” she notes.

“The other thing the beetles do is feed on the leaf tissues and they eat the top surface of the leaves, so all the green tissue, and then they just leave the outer bottom layer of the corn leaf,” she says. “The leaves start to look bleached and white.”

Dairy farmer Sid Stoker of Fraser Edge Farms in Deroche has the beetle in his forage corn but, fortunately, not in massive quantities.

“The guy who does my custom planting … he said, ‘we’re just checking the field to see who has it and who doesn’t,’” Stoker says. “All we had was the beetles. Didn’t see worms; it’s past that stage.”

He does have some of the bleaching in his field.

Hueppelsheuser notes beetles were first spotted in fields this summer on July 24. The pests’ appearance ramped up quickly after that. Some growers were able to spray but she feels late planting put the corn at greater risk.

“The first sprays went on in early August and would have been just one application in a few select fields,” she says. “Some corn would have been too tall to get the sprayer in.”

Hueppelsheuser says Sevin (carbaryl) is approved for corn rootworm.

“More significant damage is from the larvae, which occurs in June and July,” she says. “So we’re seeing the beetles now and it’s really obvious … but the larvae damage is now going to be something significant.”

Eggs of the beetle overwinter, then as they hatch in early to mid-June, they feed on corn roots, destroying the brace roots. This causes corn to tip, possibly grow upright after tipping, or look like it has been hit by drought. Fields have looked patchy, Hueppelsheuser says, depending upon where the greatest quantities of the pest are.

“Some growers are just trying to keep their corn watered and as vigorous as possible even though they know their roots have been compromised,” she says. “I think people are probably going to have to consider cutting their fields a bit earlier.”

The task will be to prevent potentially increased damage next season. The primary method of control is crop rotation.

“Corn is the primary host, though there can be some survival on some grass species … this beetle just really needs corn to survive,” Hueppelsheuser says.

“An excellent way to manage the corn rootworm is to not give them corn back in that field next year … The really weak link in this insect is that it’s really reliant on corn. Rotation is the number one and best tool for control of corn rootworm.”

If rotation is planned, a crop needs to be found to ensure tonnage for cows without corn. If rotation is impossible, traited corn is another option.

“The corn hybrids that they choose to grow [in the midwest] are ones that have the Bt genetics, so they make the corn toxic to the larvae,” she says. “I’ve talked to the corn seed dealers and they have pulled a little bit of the seed to growers who experienced challenges with corn rootworm last year and I’ve seen some of those fields and they look great. They’re clearly resistant to the beetles.”

She feels growers who experienced corn rootworm need to consider the hybrid varieties of corn seed.

“We probably will [rotate] for that reason,” Stoker says. “We’ll be looking into [traited corn] – at least there’s that option.”

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