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Originally published:

JANUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 1

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Stories In This Edition

Full moon rising

New year, new era

Insurance premiums soar

Popham looks forward to a new term

Editorial: New openings

Back 40: New farmers are a crop worth growing

Viewpoint: Let’s get real about mental wellness on the farm

Trade issues, pandemic dog dairy producers

Dairy associations pull through challenging year

Second wave of pandemic hits close to home

Grain producers mark one of their worst harvests

Grower takes issue with groundwater limits

Grape phylloxera found on Vancouver Island

Pioneering entomologist remembered

Leasing farmland a vital strategy for farmers

Raspberry growers tackle new pest challenge

Province comes through with replant money

Pacific Ag Show embraces the digital realm

Berries, berries and more berries

Sidebar: Short course continues to educate growers

Green shoots on the vegetable front

Gala closes out opening day

Ag innovation day

The show must go on

CannaTech West returns

Optimism follows on the heels of 2020’s challenges

Rotational grazing improves soil health

Taking the guesswork out of herd management

Research: Highly sensitive pigs help solve soybean allergies

Bill Awmack honoured with leadership award

Farmers put electric tractors to the test

Kootenay farm advisors resume field days

Kelowna school embraces new container farm

Farm Story: Winter is a good time to problem-solve

Farm women encouraged to take a stand

Woodshed: Breaking the good (and not so good) news

Uncertainty prevails for BC fairs in new year

Jude’s Kitchen: Leftovers re-imagined make tasty meals

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9 hours 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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5 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

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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Farm women encouraged to make their stand

Self-confidence, good boundaries key to success

Financial advisor Sherry Watty says women need to continue to educate themselves and not let anyone tell them they can’t do something. They need to follow their passion, she says. PHOTO / SUBMITTED

January 5, 2021 byMyrna Stark Leader

CALGARY – More than 75,000 farm operators in Canada are women – about a third of all farm operators in the country – but they’re seldom speakers at farm leadership conferences and relatively few attend such events.

“It became apparent there was a strong need for women in every sector to hear and learn from the experience of successful women,” says Iris Meck, owner of Iris Meck Communications in Calgary.

Six years ago, after bringing a group of farm women together, Meck launched the Advancing Women in Agriculture conferences to help grow leadership skills among farm women. Eleven conferences later, she’s still targeting women engaged in activities from farming to finance and food processing.

This year’s event, held online November 24 and 25 in partnership with Glacier Farm Media, attracted more than 700 registrants. Speakers ranged from young women relatively new to agriculture to successful entrepreneurs from across Canada, Australia and the UK.

While there’s no shortage of issues facing women in the industry, from lack of rural childcare to challenges accessing financing, a persistent issue is the barriers they face even as they take on leadership positions in family businesses.

Sherry Watty, a financial advisor and owner of Watty Insurance Services Ltd. in Abbotsford, discovered that first-hand when she relocated her office from northern Alberta in 2017. A male colleague told her, “You know Sherry, Abbotsford is a community where women don’t sell farm insurance.” Although she didn’t believe the comment was ill-intended, it was off-putting. She became determined to prove him wrong.

“The first day on the job I had seven new team members and felt like a fish out of water. I sat in my office and told myself, ‘Sherry you’ve got this,’” says Watty.

She studied dairy terminology so she would know how to work with local farmers in her new community, and paid farmers visits. She asked questions and soaked up the answers. She leveraged the knowledge to offer to re-examine farmers’ current policies from a risk management perspective. The approach helped her stand out. Soon, in the community she was hearing, “Hey, I’ve heard about you,” spoken in a positive light.

Watty encourages women to continue to educate themselves and not let anyone tell them they can’t do something and to follow their passion.

Taking a stand

Cherie Copithorne-Barnes, CEO of CL Ranches Ltd. near Cochrane, Alberta, encouraged women to stand up for what they believe and address misperceptions of agriculture and agricultural practices. When trees encroached on her pasture, she met some public disapproval of her plans to fell some of the them to maintain the boundary.

Some claimed the stand of trees was historic and needed protection. But as she took the ranch through the official approval process and explained that the stand had only been on the ranch for a hundred years, she was able to proceed. Today, some of the opponents now enjoy walking the newly cleared land.

“The agriculture community needs to reach out to politicians and others locally to keep them informed and educated about agricultural practices and why they are important,” says Copithorne-Barnes. “Don’t be afraid to stand up and say what needs to be said.”

Sheryl Wallace, corporate vice-president, risk management with Cargill Inc., dared women to reach their fullest potential and talk more about their accomplishments.

“As women, we assume that our work speaks for itself. We struggle with balancing being humble and also sharing our achievements. Find creative ways to share your success,” said Wallace who’s has had career ups and downs but learned to be more confident. “Don’t rely on someone to tap you on the shoulder to say you’re CEO material; just believe it and step up.”

Vicki Brisson was raised on a dairy farm in Ontario and currently serves on the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, convened by federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau last year.

Brisson stresses the importance of developing and reaching out to a personal support network. Women need to help other women advance in the industry and promote diversity within the sector. They also need to be collaborators in building a new paradigm of leadership rather than competing with men or each other.

This can give them a sense of the unique value they bring to the table.

“Women, in general, don’t value themselves as highly as men, which leads us to take on more and more responsibility without asking for adequate compensation, which can lead to burnout,” says Shelby Corey of 4-H Saskatchewan.

Corey explained how she factored in her labour costs when pricing her beef. Instead of being positive, the move garnered criticism from producers who didn’t like her pricing strategy. She did it anyway, explaining that her consumers understand.

“We need to know our value and negotiate that. We bring a different value to the table and it’s needed … Know when to use your voice to ask for help or to say no. Speak up when you need to step down from some roles,” advises Corey.

Brisson warned that women need to stop wearing busy like a badge of honour.

“I thought that if I enjoyed my job, I could abandon all my other passions … and I lost myself,” she says. “It’s when I set strict boundaries on how I spend my time that I get the most done.”

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