• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

OCTOBER 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 10

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Country Life in BC, 36 Dale Road, Enderby, BC, V0E1V4. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Stories In This Edition

Feeling the heat on water

Good grapes

Province funds hazelnuts

Farmers left in lurch by risk-averse insurers

Fresh marketing

Editorial: A familiar problem

Back 40: Climate change action depends on political will

Viewpoint: UN Food Systems Summit sets an ambiguous agenda

Province falls short on dam safety oversight

All the elements

Orchard industry awaits government report

Sidebar: Competitiveness fund on hold

Ag Briefs: Collins wins gold for food security column

Ag Briefs: Agrologist and sector champion dies

Ag Briefs: Kelowna approves land exclusion

Ag Briefs: BC on watch for hornets

Province begins wildfire recovery payments

Beef sector sees strong demand

Thanks for the support

BC-bred females sell well in fall production sale

Sheep producers monitoring for bluetongue

Columbia River Treaty impacts reviewed

Summer weather takes toll on OK fruit

Cheesemakers felt the heat this summer

Housing rules continue to challenge farmers

National plant health lab gets new director

All’s gourd – pumpkins not squashed by heat

Female ranchers excited for mentorship opportunities

Island project establishes baseline for bugs

Show me the money!

Corn trial provides options for changing climate

High heat, low pest pressure test corn plantings

Research: Breeding a better, more nutritious apple

4-H BC: 4-H event helps develop future community leaders

Farm Story: Carrots offer a peaceful break

Plow match perseveres despite pandemic

Woodshed: There’s more than truck trouble with Delta Faye

Mesh covers control vegetable pests

Jude’s Kitchen: Fall weather calls for cool comfort food

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

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

Link thumbnail

Your weekly farm news update

web-extract.constantcontact.com

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
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

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

Link thumbnail

Christmas trees in demand

buff.ly

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…
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

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
View Comments
  • Likes: 10
  • Shares: 8
  • Comments: 8

Comment on Facebook

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..

View more comments

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

Link thumbnail

AI outbreak rivals 2004

buff.ly

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…
View Comments
  • Likes: 3
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 2

Comment on Facebook

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

Subscribe | Advertise

Female ranchers excited for mentorship opportunities

Select beef industry stakeholders set to participate in Cattlemen’s Young Leaders initiative

Julia Flinton, with daughter Eilidh Sellars, grew up on a Cariboo ranch and studied ag business at the University of Saskatchewan. SUBMITTED

October 1, 2021 byKate Ayers

WILLIAMS LAKE – Three young BC beef leaders look forward to learning from their peers and mentors as part of this year’s Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Mentorship Program organized by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Julia Flinton from Williams Lake, Janine Rubin of Rose Prairie and Amanda Miller from Lumby are among 16 finalists for the 2021-2022 edition of the nine-month program.

Flinton grew up on a small family farm in the Cariboo and studied agricultural business at the University of Saskatchewan while also playing amateur hockey.

“I came home after that and got right back into the ag side of things because I missed out on it for so long because of hockey. Now I help my dad run the same farm I grew up on,” she says.

Her father now operates the ranch in partnership with his neighbor, running 100-head of cow-calf pairs. Meanwhile, her husband’s mother operates the 150 Mile Ranch owned by the Williams Lake First Nation. She helps there, too.

Flinton’s involvement in the beef sector goes beyond the two ranches.

“I also did 4-H growing up and we started a 4-H club for the Williams Lake First Nation,” she says. “We just completed our first year. There were only six members at the start and then there were 20 members by the end of the year. We had projects in beef, swine and sheep.”

A third-generation rancher, she looks forward to absorbing everything the mentorship experience has to offer.

“I’ve been involved in the cattle industry but … my only exposure is from small town and family connections, so I think it will be a great opportunity to broaden my horizons beyond the Cariboo,” she says.

Perfect timing

For Janine Rubin, a second-generation farmer, the program’s timing could not have been better.

“My dad first told Me about this program when I was super-young and studying agriculture at Olds College in Alberta. I had known about it for a long time, but I was busy with school and never applied,” she says. “But then this winter I was on maternity leave from my job at the [BC] Ministry of Agriculture as a program representative on the insurance side of things. I was so excited to fill out the application and send it in.”

Rubin grew up on a 150-head commercial purebred Red Angus cow-calf operation in Rose Prairie and was a 4-H member for four years.

While Rubin felt well prepared for the competition, which had 23 semi-finalists, she was pleasantly surprised to make it to the finals.

“I knew some friends from school who applied but it took them a couple years to get in because it’s such a competitive program. So, when I made top 16, I was really surprised,” she says. “It’s such an honour to be picked and I want to thank the sponsors and organizers. I’m happy for everyone who’s involved. I’m grateful to be selected.”

While she has extensive experience in crop and livestock insurance, Rubin hopes to be paired with a mentor knowledgeable about cattle marketing.

She also hopes to fine-tune her skills as a sector advocate and expand her network in the industry.

“I want to be an advocate for the industry and let my passion show for the cattle industry,” she says.

She, along with her husband and young daughter, looks forward to one day applying her mentorship experience as ranchers. The family currently lives in Fort St. John and aspire to start their own ranch.

“[We] hope to move back to the country soon and become producers ourselves,” says Rubin.

For now, she enjoys lending a hand on her parent’s ranch, helping with calving, vaccinations and other tasks around the farm.

Policy background

Amanda Miller grew up on a small family ranch and hopes to apply her schooling and career skills to her mentorship experience. She spent her childhood ranching, which led her to pursue education in natural resource management and rangeland ecology.

“I have a strong background in policy and I want to work on policy solutions to help maintain the competitiveness and economic viability of the beef industry,” she says. “I did my undergrad in the natural resource program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and then I went onto the University of Alberta and got a graduate degree in rangeland and wildlife resources,” Miller says.

Miller has been a professional agrologist since 2016 and is the owner and founder of Palouse Rangeland Consulting in Lumby.

Through the CYL Program, she hopes to grow her network and delve further into policy.

“I would really like to gain more knowledge of the beef sector and the challenges and opportunities that are in the realm of policy and advocacy,” Miller says. “Having an understanding of the current state of different policy challenges that the industry faces, would be beneficial. As well as learning where I can provide positive change.”

She is also interested in conservation issues.

“I come from an ecology perspective, so I look forward to further exploring the relationships between a vibrant beef industry and grassland conservation outcomes because they are so intrinsically tied,” she explains.

Three-quarters of this year’s finalists are female, which shows promise for diverse involvement in the Canadian beef sector moving forward.

“Women have always been heavily involved in this [industry] and now with social change, we are seeing a lot more diversity within the cattle industry and more inclusion of different people who offer valuable viewpoints and perspectives,” says Miller. “A place has been made in the beef industry for women and we are excited to take part.”

The finalists participated in a day-long virtual competition on August 30 to vie for their spots in this year’s initiative. Following judged roundtable discussions on a variety of industry topics, 16 finalists from across the country were chosen, and each participant will receive a $2,000 travel budget and be paired with an industry leader later this fall.

The 2019 and 2020 program BC participants Kate Barnet, Andrea van Iterson and Laura Code graduated at the end of September. Since 2010, the CYL program has facilitated mentorship for over 120 graduates.

The CYL Mentorship Program is led by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to provide young people aged between 18 and 35 with industry-specific training and mentorship opportunities. Participants network and travel and as a mentee, gain skills that allow them to succeed in the Canadian beef industry.

 

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Beef export markets grow

Ranchers watching bluetongue outbreak

Drought puts focus on livestock nutrition

Wildfires spark emergency declaration

Beef impact bumps up

Canada at “negligible risk” for BSE

Farmer-chef connections still paying off

Producers beef up support for Island cattle

Strong fundamentals for beef market

Province updates watering intentions

Cattle industry seeks cash

Plant closures a crisis for cattlemen

Previous Post: « New licences, new inspections
Next Post: Cheesemakers felt the heat this summer »

Reader Interactions

Copyright © 2023 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved