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Originally published:

MAY 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 5

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Stories In This Edition

Caribou recovery plan has ranchers worried

What on earth?

Opposition slams ALC bill

Sidebar: Protection & pushback

Global rhubarb glut hits home for BC growers

Editorial: Truth in labelling

Back Forty: So you don’t believe in climate change

Viewpoint: Don’t blame the cows for global warming

Ag council’s lobbying efforts produce results

Learning a new skill

Foundation’s nest egg for funding projects increases

Greenhouse growers see rebound in acreage

Province will hold the line on piece rates

New CEO aims to kindle team spirit at co-op

Shrinking hog industry faces disease threats

FIRB decision prompts rethink of pricing scheme

Beekeepers see potential in technology transfer

AgSafe markes quarter century

Raspberries hit hard by harsh February

Good deal

Blueberry growers anxious for new varieties

Biological controls for pests in demand

Sidebar: Pesticides in play

Growers urged to focus on fresh

Westgen celebrates 75 years of excellence

Top seller was no-show at Holstein sale

Spring show attracts exhibitors from Quebec

Cheesemakers unite to grow niche market

Range use permits under greater scrutiny

Sidebar: Range use plans go digital

Market Musings: Top bulls sell for top dollar at spring sales

Grapegrowers share sustainability objectives

Grape specialist honoured for dedication

Hazelnut production expands across BC

Sidebar: Pest pressures

Supporters take to AITC’s Sips & Sprouts

Research: Cultured meat fails to impress researchers

UAVs undergo testing for pesticide delivery

Sustainability goes beyond saving farmland

Father and daughter roll with the last of the steel wheels

Woodshed: Susan Henderson is warming to country life

Farm initiative puts heart back in agriculture

Wannabe: Farming is more than just a job

Surplus, cull fruit finds new purpose as tasty snacks

Jude’s Kitchen: Special food for special moms

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3 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

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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

4 weeks 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🚜

4 weeks 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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4 weeks 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

4 weeks 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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Greenhouse growers see rebound in acreage

Potential shortfalls in natural gas capacity an increasing concern for sector

April 30, 2019 byPeter Mitham

SURREY – When an Enbridge pipeline that serves as a key source of natural gas to the Lower Mainland exploded near Prince George on October 9, greenhouse growers faced their worst energy crisis in more than a decade.

Natural gas prices were expected to hit $95 per gigajoule last fall, several times the peak of $13.50 per GJ seen in 2001. Many growers began rethinking how much crop they would be willing to grow in 2019 if the pipeline wasn’t fixed. Some considered scaling back acreage, cutting production to pare input costs.

“We came through okay this winter only because of the incredibly mild winter we had up until February,” Armand Vander Meulen of Vander Meulen Greenhouses in Abbotsford and president of the BC Greenhouse Growers Association told association members at their annual general meeting in Surrey on April 17.

But the situation could change at any time. Another pipeline explosion, or a reduction in capacity if another user claims volume, leaves the industry vulnerable to higher prices and disruption.

“What happened this past October made us realize our vulnerability to natural gas,” Vander Meulen said. “Our entire industry is held hostage by one single pipe that comes down from the North.”

Speaking last fall, Ken Fuhr, sales purchasing consultant at Independent Energy (BC) Consultants, said current flows barely service the Lower Mainland’s growing population, let alone industry demand. This could lead to increased supply interruptions in future, and higher energy costs.

This makes new capacity a critical issue for greenhouses. While greenhouses are a highly efficient means of producing food, a lack of energy has capped further expansion in Delta. Public resistance to new pipelines means additional energy supplies aren’t likely in the near future, either.

“We have to continue to remind the public of the need for oil and gas to produce our vegetables, and also then to translate that into convincing the government of the day to proceed with pipeline expansion,” Vander Meulen said in his president’s report. “I think it’s the only thing that we have as an option.”

Rebound

A significant piece of good news for the sector is that acreage is rebounding after a sharp decline last year as 96 acres of vegetable greenhouses – primarily sweet bell peppers – shifted to cannabis production.

The shift hurt revenues at both the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission and the greenhouse association, but things are looking up this year as new greenhouse vegetable acreage comes on stream.

Total acreage is set to increase to 766 acres, up from 748 acres last year, while levies are projected to be $434,232. While this is still short of the $465,504 received in 2017, it’s an improvement from $423,814 last year.

“The loss in revenue from our reduced area is definitely challenging for the organization,” remarked BC Greenhouse Growers Association treasurer Ray Van Marrewyk.

Projections by the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission indicate further improvement in 2020.

A week earlier, commission general manager Andre Solymosi said the addition of new greenhouse acreage this year should restore levies to levels seen in 2017.

Meanwhile, outreach continues to ensure the public understanding of what happens in greenhouses and the challenges growers face.

Guest speaker Pat Tonn, executive director of the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, discussed the fruits of the foundation’s work with a special thank you to the cooperation of greenhouse growers as both suppliers and partners of the program.

A partnership with the foundation saw school tours initiated last year as part of the BC Greenhouse Veggie Days promotion, which runs through the week ending May 4. This year, a total of 1,200 students will participate, up from 850 last year. Demand was great enough that an extra venue was required to accommodate everyone.

“We need to reach the public through their children,” Vander Meulen said.

“Hopefully, together we’re making a difference for agriculture,” Tonn told growers.

 

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