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Originally published:

NOVEMBER 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 11

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Stories In This Edition

Ottawa delivers disaster support

Make ’em shine

Avian influenza returns

Okanagan egg producers eye expansion

Editorial: A sense of purpose

Back 40: Hayride reality is a head-shaker for visitors

Viewpoint: Narrow margins an industry-wide concern

Water license fight highlights need for change

Dairy producers not making from milk sales

Ag Briefs: Country Life in BC team wins national awards

Ag Briefs: BC farmland values flat

Ag Briefs: Poultry farm loses appeal

Letter: Thumbs up

Nursery sector pays tribute to Hedy Dyck

Beekeepers keep the emphasis on loal stock

Pollination blues discussed by beekeepers

Apple crop down, but quality up

KPU pursues year-round berry production

Record sale volumes shrink BC beef herd

Grizzly mitigation strategy in the works

Creston field day offers ‘bragging rights’

Sidebar: George Kepke Memorial Trophy honours farming history

Hazelnuts are an opportunity for Kootenay growers

Biocontrol for blight in blueberries promising

Aphids in cranberries under the microscope

Education program in Kootenays gets funding boost

Farm Story: Winter can’t come soon enough

BC pumpkins weigh in

Woodshed: Digger Dan(i) draws a winner in the water bet

Bursary open for journalism & ag related students

Jude’s Kitchen: Fresh bread tops the list of comfort food

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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.

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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.

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Congratulations!!!

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Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

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

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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1 month 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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2 months 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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2 months 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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Dairy producers not making money from milk sales

Real estate on the table as producers retrench

The future is not looking good for the dairy sector as inputs and land costs continue to erode any potential for profit. The sector is using a new cost of production study make its case to government."MYRNA STARK LEADER

November 1, 2023 byPeter Mitham

ABBOTSFORD – The final results of a cost of production survey BC’s dairy sector undertook last year has confirmed the sector’s dire straits.

Producers in BC are losing an average of 48 cents per kilogram of butterfat, a loss that rose to $4.19 per kg when off-farm revenue, cattle sales and other income is factored out.

Based on 2021 data from a select group of 27 of the province’s 469 dairy farmers, the losses have almost certainly increased over the past two years.

“It’s almost a perfect storm for dairies in BC at the moment, and that moment started probably three or four years ago when you think of trade deals that were signed internationally, then you start thinking of successive natural disasters that impacted dairies right across the province,” says BC Dairy general manager Jeremy Dunn. “Now we’ve got high inflation, high interest rates on top of that, and these are creating scenarios that are very challenging for our dairy farmers across BC.”

Production costs were highest in northern BC, at $28.10 per kg, and lowest in the Interior, at $17.33 per kg. The most significant input cost province-wide was feed, at 21% of expenses, followed by labour at 7%.

But in the Lower Mainland, home to 16 of the survey’s participants, land costs were a key factor.

“The really high cost of land coupled with the interest rates creates a much higher debt and payment burden, and capital burden, for producers here in the Lower Mainland,” says Dunn, noting that diversification opportunities are limited by the land base.

“A dairy farm has a more diversified revenue stream in some other parts of the country than you do in the Lower Mainland,” he says. “The close proximity to the market and a lot of those things have been helpful, but currently in the economic climate it’s those additional business streams that are helping dairies in some other parts of the country.”

This includes feed production, which many farmers in the Lower Mainland have to truck in, this year at some expense due primarily to fuel costs.

“The more you have to buy feed for your cattle, the more it’s eating into your margins,” Dunn says.

“There’s one dairy that we’ve sold barley to in the past and he plans to keep buying from up here,” says Maclcolm Odermatt, a grain producer near Baldonnel. “He trucks it all down, but with the price of fuel it’s pretty tough right now on him.”

A key hurdle for producers is cost recovery given the clout processors and retailers have in the market. While the farmgate price of milk is set by the Canadian Dairy Commission following an annual cost of production study, this year’s increase of 1.77% was vetoed by retailers, who said it ran counter to federal efforts to hold the line on grocery prices.

Dairy Farmers of Canada, which represents the provincial dairy groups in Ottawa, approved the request, which will up the pressure on BC producers.

Some are looking to sell assets while others may simply exit the sector. High interest rates means refinancing is more costly than two years ago, and revenue simply isn’t keeping up.

Gord Houweling, who spent 30 years dairy farming before joining BC Farm and Ranch Realty Corp., says the past two years have been “extremely challenging” for producers. But before selling out, most farmers will seek ways to pay down debt to reduce servicing costs.

“The bulk of farms that need to deleverage begin with small parcels of land if they have those,” he says.

While it’s tough to say there’s been an increase in such listings, BC Farm and Ranch has several dairies listed for sale while other producers have sold animals and quota and kept their land.

Dunn says the acute challenges facing producers in BC are being taken seriously by the Western Milk Pool, because of the ripple effects local hardship will have regionally.

“Cost of inputs are rising at a faster rate in BC than in some other parts of the country,” he says. “[We] are trying to create a climate where our producers can have more economic stability.”

In particular, the sector is asking government to carefully consider the financial impacts new policies will have on the sector.

“It is currently the top issue we are raising with the provincial government on a regular basis, to be very mindful of the business sustainability that dairy farmers are living in,” he says.

Since July 24, BC Dairy has met twice with provincial agriculture minister Pam Alexis on the issue as well as engaged ministry staff and MLAs from all parties regarding rising production costs.

 

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