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Originally published:

DECEMBER 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Ottawa dishes trade funds

I spy

New money for fruit growers

Regenerative ag tops Ag Days successes

Editorial: A winter’s tale

Back 40: Regenesis: the end of farming as we know it

Viewpoint: The challenges of BC ag industry advocacy

Senate report highlights the need for flood plans

More farms test postive for avian influenza

Ag Briefs: BC Turkey names executive director

Ag Briefs: Province rebrands short course

Ag Briefs: Growers Supply expands

Ag Briefs: Cattleliner accident

Economic outlook challenges farm margins

Farmer markets launch economic impact study

WALI delivers labour update to grapegrowers

Beekeepers abuzz about tech transfer program

New apple varieties may improve profits

UFV grows its berry research capacity

Bayer opens new canola seed production site

Island farmers identify challenges at summit

Consumer demand key to local food production

Comox Valley ag plan undergoes overhaul

Salt Spring Abattoir marks 10th anniversary

Ranchers undertake living lab project

Copper deficiency challenges BC bison productivity

Bison ranchers briefed on emergency protocols

SWBC hires a new program manager

Sidebar: How does certification benefit producers?

Better communcation markted wildfire season

Sidebar: Government extends extreme weather support

Retail partnerships add value to small farms’ production

Research: Researchers barcode bacteria to fight farting cattle

Young butchers make their mark

Farm Story: Shot nerves are the price of success this year

Reduced water use doesn’t hurt cherries

Woodshed: Kenneth explores the old Corbett farm

Family farm finds new markets by diversification

Jude’s Kitchen: Festive flatbreads, dips & spreads

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6 days 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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2 weeks 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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Economic outlook challenges farm margins

Cost pressures remain in play for producers

Producers are being urged to have business risk management plans in place – whether to weather the latest storm or the possibility of an economic downturn. MYRNA STARK LEADER

December 1, 2022 byKate Ayers

CHILLIWACK – The Bank of Canada’s attempts to curb inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes has raised the potential for an economic downturn next year.

On November 4, the federal government published its fall economic statement, which pointed to several risks to the economic outlook. In the report’s “downside scenario,” Canada would enter a “mild recession” in the first quarter of 2023 and the real gross domestic product for the year would drop 0.9%.

“It would be good to have a government that actually had a plan to get out of the recession and we do not have a government that is in any way coming up with a plan,” says Chilliwack chicken grower Dennis Flokstra, Lower Mainland director with the BC Chicken Marketing Board.

He plans to sharpen his pencil even further next year to try to pay off as much debt as possible and cut costs, no small feat this winter given the high cost of energy needed to heat his barns.

“We run a pretty tight ship; I’m not even sure where we would give a little bit,” he says. “We still have to supply heat to the birds, and we still have to treat them as good as we can.”

The higher costs eventually get passed on to consumers, which will be affected “big time” as producers’ costs get passed along. He hopes the province will move ahead with changes to how it collects the carbon tax from growers, giving them a break up front rather than requiring them to apply for a rebate.

While Flokstra is wary of the impact interest rates may have on the industry, he’s confident farmers can ride out a potential recession.

Indeed, the outlook is positive for agriculture’s ability to handle and recover from an economic slowdown.

“Our expectation is that most farm families would weather a recessionary environment, perhaps better than some industries or people working in consumer goods or other retail-based business that are less immune to recessionary pressures,” says Royal Bank of Canada’s national director of agriculture Ryan Riese.

“The demand for farmers’ products may change, to some degree. But we are working largely with fairly inelastic products where consumers do need to eat.’

But a recession isn’t a sure thing. Farm Credit Canada vice-president and chief economist JP Gervais notes that a recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in GDP.

Canada could simply see zero economic growth in back-to-back quarters, for example, not negative growth. This means the situation wouldn’t be labeled a recession.

“I don’t think it’s an automatic outcome or an assured outcome that we will get a recession,” Gervais says.

If there is a recession, Gervais says “a very, very strong labour market” means consumer spending may be a minor consideration.

While higher interest rates are expected to slow down consumer purchases, wages increased 5.4% over the last year and Gervais says that could help offset the impacts of a slowing economy.

For producers, the impact of an economic downturn will depend on whether the recession happens solely in the Canadian economy or is widespread in the global economy.

“If it was just a recession in Canada, I don’t think the impacts would be significant for farmers,” Gervais says. But a global economic recession could mean lower profitability for producers who buy and sell commodities on the global market.

“If we look at most of the commodities grown on Canadian farms, a lot of those commodities are tied to some extent, and in a lot of cases, to a really large extent, to world demand,” Gervais says.

Poultry and dairy are influenced by domestic factors because of supply management, but beef, pork, grains and oilseeds, and fruits and vegetables are all tied to the global market.

“So, if the world economy slows, demand for these commodities is going to weaken. Weaker demand means lower prices,” Gervais says.

In addition to an uncertain economic climate, producers continue to face unpredictability in terms of fertilizer price and availability due to the war in Ukraine.

Wages will continue to climb, too, Gervais predicts. BC’s minimum wage increased to $15.65 per hour on June 1, and the province’s average annual inflation rate will guide any increase announced in 2023.

To help weather the storm of uncertainty, producers should have business risk management plans.

These plans consider how interest rates, inflation and commodity and input prices, for example, impact bottom line and financial risk, Gervais says.

But producers do not need to navigate these waters alone.

“Anytime something like this happens, it’s a good reminder to put the pen to paper and sit down with those other people who are integral to your operation and map out where you want to go with your future,” says Riese.

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