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Originally published:

MAY 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 5

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Stories In This Edition

Caribou recovery plan has ranchers worried

What on earth?

Opposition slams ALC bill

Sidebar: Protection & pushback

Global rhubarb glut hits home for BC growers

Editorial: Truth in labelling

Back Forty: So you don’t believe in climate change

Viewpoint: Don’t blame the cows for global warming

Ag council’s lobbying efforts produce results

Learning a new skill

Foundation’s nest egg for funding projects increases

Greenhouse growers see rebound in acreage

Province will hold the line on piece rates

New CEO aims to kindle team spirit at co-op

Shrinking hog industry faces disease threats

FIRB decision prompts rethink of pricing scheme

Beekeepers see potential in technology transfer

AgSafe markes quarter century

Raspberries hit hard by harsh February

Good deal

Blueberry growers anxious for new varieties

Biological controls for pests in demand

Sidebar: Pesticides in play

Growers urged to focus on fresh

Westgen celebrates 75 years of excellence

Top seller was no-show at Holstein sale

Spring show attracts exhibitors from Quebec

Cheesemakers unite to grow niche market

Range use permits under greater scrutiny

Sidebar: Range use plans go digital

Market Musings: Top bulls sell for top dollar at spring sales

Grapegrowers share sustainability objectives

Grape specialist honoured for dedication

Hazelnut production expands across BC

Sidebar: Pest pressures

Supporters take to AITC’s Sips & Sprouts

Research: Cultured meat fails to impress researchers

UAVs undergo testing for pesticide delivery

Sustainability goes beyond saving farmland

Father and daughter roll with the last of the steel wheels

Woodshed: Susan Henderson is warming to country life

Farm initiative puts heart back in agriculture

Wannabe: Farming is more than just a job

Surplus, cull fruit finds new purpose as tasty snacks

Jude’s Kitchen: Special food for special moms

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1 month ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
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1 month 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 months 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 months 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?

2 months 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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Farm initiative puts heart back in agriculture

Gift of land helps Kelowna church fulfill its social purpose

April 30, 2019 byMyrna Stark Leader

KELOWNA – A 22.5-acre piece of land in the Lower Mission neighbourhood of Kelowna, one of the city’s best farming areas, is fulfilling the wishes of longtime owners Gordon and Helen Ziegler.

In 2013, Gordon wanted to give the property to a community organization on the condition that it be used to benefit the community for at least 20 years, whether as social housing for seniors or people recovering from addictions, or to enhance food security. A call for proposals attracted 16 submissions. Trinity Baptist Church, a large congregation known for community outreach, was the successful applicant.

While the property sits in the Agricultural Land Reserve, Ziegler also donated three other pieces of land the church could sell to create an endowment fund to help develop and run the farm once the scope of the project was defined. These included two other unproductive ALR parcels totalling 25 acres in the Ellison area as well as a vacant commercial lot in Alberta.

The church received Helen’s Acres in September 2015 and began building fences and installing irrigation with a view to converting it from a vacant field to a vegetable farm. Now, the 20 acres is valued at about $3.5 million. It yielded 60,000 pounds of potatoes and more than 40,000 pounds of other vegetables last year.

Guided by a five-year business plan, Helen’s Acres serves three purposes.

“It’s building community, it’s educating young people on farming techniques and it’s growing nutritious food for people in need,” says Darcy Smith, who formerly taught business courses at Okanagan College and recently retired as Trinity’s executive pastor. He now manages the business side of the farm as well as the endowment fund established with proceeds from the sale of the other three parcels.

He says approximately 90 church volunteers helped operate the farm last year, prepping the soil, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting and cleaning up. Other help came from community groups and businesses looking for ways to give back, including local sports teams, support groups such as Freedom’s Door and Teen Challenge, credit union Valley First and Telus.

About 90% of what they grow goes to the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank. The remaining 10% is sold at the church to raise funds to continue the work at the farm, including funding a full-time seasonal farm manager to help coordinate and take care of the crop and manage who is on the land.

“We give them the first fruits,” says church member Stephen Eng, who oversees the actual production side of the farm. “Usually when you think of food going to the food bank, it’s the seconds. We harvest from the field and ship right to the food bank.”

New experience

Eng first heard about the land at a church meeting after he and his wife moved from Victoria to Kelowna to be closer to their grandchildren. His sales job at Evergro, a division of Nutrien Ag Solutions (Canada) Inc., moved with him. With a UBC plant science degree and agriculture background, he believes he was brought to the region to share his experience and help others learn about farming and growing on the well-drained sandy loam soils at Helen’s.

“It’s not about buying a carrot-planting machine, it’s about traditional planting and harvesting and working in community to do that,” says Eng. “We’ve concentrated on the needs of the food bank. They need potatoes, so we’ll grow more this year. Their ask is 700 pounds a week. We’re also experimenting growing carrots and 5,000 onions.”

This summer, they’ll harvest strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb and asparagus planted last year. The more they get to know the land, the more opportunities they see, including the potential for greenhouses. There are two wells on the property and they have a licence to use water from the nearby irrigation channel, so water isn’t an issue.

“The food bank has asked us to try cauliflower and broccoli and some melons, so we need to figure that out,” adds Eng. “It’s limitless what we can grow, but we need to focus on growing things that are worthwhile for the people who need the food.”

They won’t grow fruit trees because the food bank already receives plenty of fruit.

“Some of this is also figuring out how to best use the volunteer labour force,” says Eng.

“On the community side, we’re partnering with organizations that have like-minded values so we [can] continue to [increase] the amount of planted land and the produce we can grow,” adds Smith.

Partners include groups like Mamas for Mamas, a national non-profit dedicated to helping mothers in crisis and low-income families. Last year, Mamas for Mamas volunteers tended to 50 chickens in the farm’s coop, yielding about 900 eggs a month. Egg production was split 50/50 between the group and the farm foundation. This year, plans call for a new coop to house 100 chickens.

Ozanam, a men’s recovery house, is using the farm to teach skills to its residents. An activity group for men, the Okanagan Men’s Shed, will be using a workshop on the property in 2019.

Both Smith and Eng say the farm is faith in action. Things like irrigation lines, seeds, plants and equipment are donated.

“We’ve also invested over $500,000 in the land, including renovation of the house and shop on the property,” says Smith. “We have tenants in the house, which also helps to fund the costs of the farm.”

Additionally, they’ve leased five acres to a for-profit organic vegetable producer, Unearthed Fine Veggies and Herbs, operated by Jordan Marr. Although the church’s portion of the property isn’t certified organic, Eng says they’re using as many organic practices as they can.

Helen’s Acres also hosted the Central Okanagan Farm Society’s farm incubator program for three years, now on hiatus. The program gave a headstart to Simon Answerth of Kelowna’s Lightfoot Farm, and the church plans to continue offering incubator plots on its own this year. The property could accommodate as many as nine quarter-acre plots in the future if the pilot goes well.

Two people have signed on to date, and the church is hoping for a third. Eng will provide some basic training to help the fledgling farmers take flight.

“I taught a course for six years at the University of Fraser Valley called ‘Sustainable, Holistic Agriculture’ so I’m going to use some of that,” says Eng. “The other thing Darcy and I talked about is trying to be mentors to them in-season as well, not only for this group but for others on the land. There’s a huge difference between looking after the garden in your backyard to expanding to a quarter acre.”

Work will be underway this year to see what grants are available to support the farm’s activities, which have operated at a loss for the past three years. All going well, this year will finally see the farming operation break even.

But even more important, both men see Helen’s Acres as a way to give heart to commercial agriculture.

“There’s a place for commercial agriculture and there’s a place for someone who’s doing a couple acres and there’s a place for community places like ours,” says Eng.

“There’s a connection to the land and to helping people and there’s an educational aspect. Most people don’t know where food comes from. We have tours and bring youth here,” says Smith. “It’s about awareness and heart.”

 

 

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