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JUNE 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 6

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4 weeks ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

www.countrylifeinbc.com

ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Fruit volumes down, quality up

Adrian Arts / Myrna Stark Leader photo

July 20, 2022 byKate Ayers

Okanagan tree fruit producers are seeing some light – and heat – at the end of the tunnel as high summer reaches its peak.

“We’ve been seeing what I would [call] challenging growing conditions for apples even in the Okanagan this year. It has been very cold, very dry and then very wet,” says Adrian Arts, provincial tree fruit specialist and owner of Kamla Orchards in Summerland.

Conditions have meant greater disease pressure but vigilant producers are seeing high-quality fruit.

“We are definitely lighter than expected on crops across the board. Everything is down this year but having said that … the cherries look phenomenal,” he says.

The market is responding well to the large fruit size, sugar content and flavour, Arts says.

“The returns right now are extremely solid for cherry producers. We did have some rain, which is always a challenge, but it looks like we have a good two to three weeks of potential dry weather,” he says.

Warm temperatures will further improve the sugar content, Arts adds.

Apple crops in the Okanagan, Creston and Similkameen areas vary. Some blocks do not have any fruit and others have smaller apple crops with larger fruit, Arts says. The latter situation could present producers with better market access and returns, he adds.

Some apple growers are dealing with scab and fire blight, while others were hit by hail.

Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse founder Kristen Needham Jordan in Saanichton on Vancouver Island has found that her apple orchard is two weeks behind. Aside from a significant tent caterpillar infestation, pest and disease pressure has been low.

“Thankfully, right now the apples that are set on the trees look good and we have started to do some summer thinning to make sure branches aren’t bearing too much fruit,” she says.

The farm has 60 varieties of cider apples plus a handful of plum, peach and pear trees.

While the apples are faring well, Needham Jordan noted that the peach trees did not pollinate and aren’t bearing any fruit.

On the nursery side, Josh Brown of Similkameen Nurseries is dealing with aphids.

“This year has been a particularly tough year for aphids. I’ve never seen so many in my life,” Brown says. “It’s probably costed us between $5,000 and $10,000 in the last three weeks to remediate the aphids.”

To protect his trees, he’s been spraying every five to seven days for the past month, then pruning off aphid damage and reselecting leaders.

Brown estimates it will cost him an additional $10,000 to $30,000 in costs this year to maintain the high standards he sets for his trees.

 

 

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