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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2023
Vol. 108 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Ghosted

Dairy farmers on the brink

Groundwater showdown

Finding success in succession planning

Editorial: The great repricing

Back 40: Government priorities are asking a lot

Viewpoint: Does farming need to be a full-time job?

Frozen out

Sidebar: Pruning it right

Letters: Program delivery, advocacy have separate roles

Wild weather continues to hammer dairies

Ag Briefs: Province hires two new assistant deputy ministers

Ag Briefs: BC Milk opens organic stream

Ag Briefs: ALC eyes Heppell property for inclusion

Building not land value bumps farm assessments

Province scrambles to register farm employees

Growers contest compensation formula for AI

Funding available for Langley landowners

Potato crop takes a hit but set to rebound in 2023

Low snowpack worrisome for producers

Prescribed burns part of the three-year study in the Peace

Farmgate abattoirs shut out of insurance

Sidebar: Survey explores insurance coverage

Ranch used as part of treaty settlement

Climate-resilient cattle take shape at TRU

Japanese beetle continues to spread

Field trial shows alternative to traditional crops

On-farm storage helps boost profitability

Market garden powered by solar energy

Farmers need to prioritize mental wellness

Scholarship takes chefs on tours of BC farms

Farm Story: Of things we would be lost without

Sheep producer expands wool market

Sidebar: How M.ovi impacts wild sheep

Fernie grocer stocks only local products

Woodshed: Kenneth’s rescue is touch and go

New map app educates public about BC farms

Snacks for your sweeties

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1 day ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

3 days ago

... See MoreSee Less

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3 days ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
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4 days ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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5 days ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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Farmgate abattoirs shut out of insurance

Insurers don’t understand new licensing regime, industry

Aaron and Pam Tjepkema were turned down by several insurers for their farmgate abattoir before finally securing coverage from BFL Canada. Dozens of other producers aren't so lucky. FACEBOOK

February 1, 2023 byTom Walker

FORT ST. JOHN – Dozens of new producers granted

on-farm meat processing licences since the province overhauled its meat inspection regime in fall 2021  now face hurdles securing insurance coverage.

“When we looked into getting coverage for a Farmgate Plus licence for poultry, I was given a hard ‘no,’” says Pam Tjepkema of Peace Vale Farm and Meat Shop in Fort St. John.

Peace Vale is a licensed butcher that provides cut-and-wrap for the Tjepkema’s own farm-raised beef as well as that of neighbouring producers.

“We have an abattoir in our area and we are happy continuing to use it for our beef, but we were considering raising chickens and would want to process them ourselves,” she says.

Tjepkema spoke to a number of insurers before securing what she considered the best possible coverage from Crystal Piggott, an account executive with BFL Canada in Salmon Arm.

“She was able to give us coverage for our butcher shop and all of the farm together, but not for a farmgate licence,” Tjepkema says.

Country Life in BC spoke to a number of farmgate licence holders across the province who have been unable to obtain coverage.

“I’m not sure that any of the farmgate businesses really have insurance,” says Julia Smith, executive director of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association. “They may think that they have coverage, but when they really study their policy, I am worried that they do not have the coverage they think.”

It’s not for lack of trying.

“We’ve been ghosted,” is how one long-time South Coast licensee described the frustration of dealing with insurance companies (the producer asked for anonymity as the operation’s lease could be jeopardized by a lack of insurance). “We would initiate a conversation and they just wouldn’t get back to us, which is odd, because an insurance company is usually all over you to get your business.”

The government has moved to bring more regulation to the industry and open up more opportunities for processing, but a lack of insurance is creating issues for producers.

“This is critical and can’t be ignored. We need some support,” the South Coast licensee says. “The government has taken steps to make us more legal. We should be insurable. Bungee-jumping and zip-line companies are, but we have been unable to obtain even partial coverage for either our house, our buildings or for the inventory of meat that we keep on site when we explain that we have a Farmgate licence for on-farm processing.”

Insurance hasn’t been a problem for one government-inspected facility.

“We were able to get coverage when we opened our slaughter plant to go with our cut-and-wrap this fall,” says Dean Maynard, co-owner of Farmhouse Butchery in Westbridge. “The fact that you have a government inspector on site at all times really makes a difference.”

Piggott says government inspection is key.

“If a producer gets the slaughter done at a provincially inspected facility, we are able to put together coverage for the farm and an on-site butcher shop,” she says. “But we have a concern with on-farm slaughter, whether they may be taking in other animals besides their own, and also the disposal of the processing waste.”

But insurers may not fully understand the new licensing system, and producers say it’s government’s job to explain it.

“We didn’t put together a full package to support our request for poultry farmgate coverage as we are pretty busy,” says Tjepkema. “There is an opportunity for the government to explain to the insurance industry what the farmgate licence requires, including the SlaughterSafe course, the development of a food safety plan, standard operating procedures, and a minimum of a yearly inspection.”

SSMPA is working to fill the gap, Smith says.

“We are working with different insurance companies to explain the system to them and try to see if we can build a group plan for our members,” she explains. “But we also hope that the government will move towards more virtual inspection services. They’ve talked about it, our members are in favour of it, and it could help with insurance coverage.”

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