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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Perfect pruning

Open ears

Tough talk on animal activists

Peace, Cariboo top 2019 farm and ranch sales

Duckin’ a snow storm

Editorial: Change of heart

Back 40: Retirement is inevitable but less so for farmers

Viewpoint: Leading a decade of growth in organics

Banding together to attract domestic workers

Ag council helps avert seasonal worker delays

Dairy producers urged to polish public image

Snow day

New certification program launched for plant exporters

New executive director for COABC appointed

Ag Briefs: BC dairies push back on Class 7 proposal

Ag Briefs: Agri Innovation projects announced

Ag Briefs: Province selects Ruckle managers

Partnerships facilitate Langley learning farm

Feed BC program good in theory but has limitations

Opportunities and challenges

Halal demand rising in Western Canada

Trespass incident boosts public awareness

Sheep killings raise concerns in Lower Mainland

Pruning priorities different for FV grapegrowers

Farm plans offer new opportunities for rnachers

Number crunchers

Ranchers, foresters learn to share the road

Raise your claves so buyers play with a full deck

Boosting calf health starts before birth

Reseeding part of range restoration

Capacity crowd at Interior soils conference

Global blueberry growers look at substrate potential

Saving the peatlands

Blueberry breeding focuses on quality, exports

Research promises to help control SWD

Novel cherry trellising system saves money

Research: The effects of separating cows and calves

Farm News: Buckling down for winter conference season

Black walnuts are an option for water-logged land

Researcher provides deworming tips for sheep

Wasabi a hot option for wellness products

Technology key to tree fruit industry’s future

New broiler barn boosts comfort for birds

Woodshed Chronicles: Junkyard Frank’s plan is played to perfection

Give your marriage a relationship check-up

Bursary fund welcomes applications

Apple of your eye

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4 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

1 month 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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2 months ago

The scale of this year's avian flu outbreak now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004. An additional 13 commercial farms in the Fraser Valley have tested positive in the last week. To date, 49 commercial farms and 1.2 million birds have been impacted. CFIA is struggling to keep up with depopulation of sick birds. ... See MoreSee Less

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AI outbreak rivals 2004

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The scale of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004 that saw farms throughout the Fraser Valley depopulated. An additional 13 commercial…
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Commercial operations need to reevaluate their stocking densities and overall health and welfare of the animals within their systems if they are ever going to have a fighting chance against this virus.

Yup cause food shortage

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Farm plans offer new opportunities for ranchers

NOLA education day sheds light on EFPs, calf health, ecosystems

February 1, 2020 byTom Walker

VERNON – Winter weather chilled the turnout for the annual North Okanagan Livestock Association educational seminar in Vernon on January 15.

Just half the 80 people registered made it to the event.

“Some of our sponsors were not even able to make it,” says NOLA president Lani French. “The -20 temperatures and the poor road conditions kept people at home.”

Nevertheless, the show went on.

A networking lunch was followed by a screening of the film “Guardians of the Grasslands,” a short documentary on the vital role of cattle in conserving the ecosystem of the Prairies. The region’s grasslands are one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth, even more so than the Amazon rainforest. The film explains the importance of grazing, originally by bison and now by cattle, in sustaining the landscape’s health. It also explained the massive carbon sequestration role the grasslands provide.

While the film was shot in Alberta as a joint project between Ducks Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, French says the message also applies to BC grasslands.

“It’s a powerful film,” she says, tearing up.

Calf survival

Jeanette Perry from White Valley Veterinary Services in Lumby spoke about improving calf survival at birth, drawing on her experience teaching cattle medicine in Australia.

“Birth is a make or break time for cattle,” says Perry. “More than half of calf deaths occur in the first 24 hours.”

Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) regional advisor Pete Spencer gave an update on the program.

“Winter is the best time to get your environmental farm plan done,” he says. “Come April 1, when the program funding opens up, things get pretty crazy.”

Spencer is looking for new and interesting projects to fund this year. He notes there are 60 different areas the program supports.

“You can qualify for up to $70,000 cost-shared funding to improve your ranch sustainability,” he says.

Changes to the criteria for irrigation funding kept Spencer busy this past year.

“They have really opened up the requirements under irrigation,” says Spencer, noting that more commodities will be able to apply this year. “They have changed the awarding of project funding to a merit-based system.”

Applications are assessed on how using less water helps the environment.

“If you are saving water from the Kettle River, for example, you will be considered before someone who gets their water from a purveyor,” he explains.

Pivot irrigation systems have been a popular projects with program participants.

“Even though they are expensive, they save water,” says Spencer. “Pivots are a benefit, particularly when water is becoming more expensive and even running out in some areas.”

He adds that he is looking to work with BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative staff to develop a cost-benefit analysis for installing pivot systems.

Spencer points out that EFP pays producers for management plan development, including irrigation and nutrient management plans.

AEM Code support

EFP has a new work plan to support the Code of Practice for Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM Code) introduced last year, Spencer says. There is a basic amount of monitoring that is required for all operations that apply nutrients. Three high-risk locations require additional measures – areas with high rainfall, areas over vulnerable aquifers and phosphorus-affected areas.

“I don’t think the new regs are actually all that bad,” says Spencer. “I promote soil sampling anyway and the AEM Code says it must be done every three years.”

A summary document prepared by the BC Cattlemen’s Association is an excellent resource, Spencer notes. (It is available for viewing and download at [http://bit.do/BCCA-AEMCoP].)

The new dam safety plans the province requires can be costly if the dam is of significant size and potential consequence. Spencer recalls a rancher group that applied for EFP funding to assist with the development of a dam safety plan for their jointly owned dam.

“They shared the cost and, with funding, it was nearly free for them,” he says.

Shawn Wilson, a third-generation producer from Alberta, discussed some of the challenges in cattle industry markets as well as tips for a producer to increase the value of their animals at sale time.

“The best way to illustrate the cattle market is to look at a picture of a roller coaster,” says Wilson. “You need to know what works for your ranch program and have a plan.”

French notes there will not be an education seminar in 2021. NOLA will be focusing its energies on hosting the BC Cattlemen’s convention in Vernon.

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