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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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6 days ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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2 weeks 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

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Your weekly farm news update

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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
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Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

2 months 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

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Christmas trees in demand

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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…
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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.
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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
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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..

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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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