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Originally published:

NOVEMBER 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 11

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Stories In This Edition

Final inspection

Dry Season

Country Life in BC wins awards

Duncan feed mill sounds supply chain alarm

The great pumpkin

Editorial: The price of peace

Back 40: Pumpkins make great conversation starters

Viewpoint: The roots of the ALR point a way to its future

Producers look beyond 2021’s flood

No quick fix

Ag Briefs: Plant centre breaks ground

Ag Briefs: 4-H LEADer recognized

Ag Briefs: New child worker rules

Movement of poultry banned to curb AI threat

Sentencing of animal activists disappoints industry

Weather makes for easier harvest in Peace

Western dairy groups target processors

Funding supports First Nations’ food security

Replant report targets industry over orchards

New national soil study underway

Honey producers target growth with new study

Sweet reward

Hazelnut industry continues to thrive

Producers push for social welfare in organic standards

Sidebar: Compliance rate high

Garlic grower cuts the mustard – and pests

Extended fall improves outcome at corn trial

Forest planning pilot includes range values

Diversification keeps families on the farm

Farm Story: Rethinking the sales strategy could improve profits

Automation boosts market garden’s efficiency

Fallow deer rattle Mayne Island farmers

Best of the best

Winery stakes its hopes on sur echalas planting

Woodshed: “One sweet deal” too hard for Kenneth to resist

Rising input costs create challenges for direct sales

Sidebar: Provincial farmer-chef event returns

Jude’s Kitchen: Comfort comes from the oven

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

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Congratulations Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

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Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

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Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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1 month ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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2 months ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 months ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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Garlic grower cuts the mustard – and pests

Biofumigant attributes keep pests and fungi at bay

Kip and Michelle Cantrell shared their secret for suppressing soil-borne pests and diseases in garlic with other growers during a field day at their Creston farm. TRACEY FREDRICKSON

November 1, 2022 byTracey Fredrickson

CRESTON – British Columbia is one of Canada’s largest producers of garlic, a crop that is well suited to smaller farms since it does not require a great deal of land to support a profitable business.

Thistle Farm in Creston is an example of what can be achieved on just four acres with this much-in demand vegetable bulb. At a recent field day facilitated by the Kootenay & Boundary Farm Advisors and FarmFolk/CityFolk, farm owners Kip and Michelle Cantrell shared their success using mustard as a cover crop.

Where Thistle Farm differs from other local growers is its use of biofumigation, the suppression of soil-borne pests and diseases using plants that produce chemicals called glucosinolates. When glucosinolates come in contact with water and plant enzymes, they transform into another type of compound which gives mustard its biofumigation power. Mustard can deter many pests while preventing soil erosion and improving soil structure, provided a rigorous protocol is followed.

The Cantrells settled on their four-acre property in 2015 after working on farms across Canada, New Zealand and Australia for 15 years.

“We knew the science behind growing garlic,” says Kip, “but here on the Creston flats, the soil is fertile but fine like silk, and contains little organic matter. We adapted what we knew as we learned about the land, including building up the soil so that it drained better.”

He says they focused on garlic because it can be grown in a small area and sells well. It also doesn’t demand constant attention.

“There are times during the year where the crop requires little management,” he says. “This lets us do other things, such as making value-added products and some off-farm work in the winter.”

One of the farm’s early crops developed fusarium, a fungus that can live a long time in the soil and stops the flow of water and nutrients to the garlic bulb. To address the problem, the couple experimented with radish, oats, peas and buckwheat as cover crops, but had the greatest success with mustard, specifically the Caliente 199 strain which is bred for biofumigation due to its high levels of glucosinolates.

Incorporating mustard is a specific and time-sensitive procedure. It needs to be done before full bloom and before the mustard starts producing seeds, otherwise it can become a weed problem in the next season. Glucosinolate levels also go down quickly once mustard plants start producing seeds.

Initially the farm hired someone with a flail mower to incorporate the mustard into the soil. This year, the Cantrells purchased their own  flail mower.

“The blades are like small hammers attached to a long spinning shaft that rotates at high speed, resulting in extremely finely cut plant material,” Kip explains. “The mustard needs to be mowed and tilled within 15 minutes – we use two tractors to do this – then irrigated as soon as possible. It’s important to wait two weeks after incorporating the mustard before planting the next crop to ensure maximum benefits from the biofumigation process.

“By using biofumigation, we’ve been able to reduce our previous four-year rotation to three which makes our production more viable,” adds Kip. “Mustard requires just nine to 10 pounds per acre while an alternative such as fall rye requires 100 pounds per acre. Now other growers are contacting us for information on garlic growing practices and drying and storage systems.”

Thistle Farm also grows shallots, onions, beets and carrots which are sold at farmers markets in Creston, Cranbrook, Nelson and Trail. They also sell their fresh and value-added products such garlic grinders and garlic scape salt grinders at the farmgate. Its long-term plan is to grow the farm to 10 acres, with fresh garlic remaining the priority.

“You can never grow enough garlic,” says Kip.

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