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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

CPR on ALR Track

Sea of greens

Farm properties rising

Genomics lab expands service to local growers

Editorial: Put farmers first

Back 40: Knowing when to pull back on extensions

Viewpoint: A watershed moment for BC farms

Egg producer questions support for local eggs

Milk consumption up among young minorities

Nutrient recovery system in third phase

North Saanich approves Sandown proprosal

Tsartlip acquire Woodwyn Farm with provincial help

Woodwynn Farm was first known as Mawuec

Pandemic was profitable for nursery growers

Researcher brings experience to sweet role

Consultant delivered practical advice

Tributes pour in for Island farmer Colin Springford

On-farm abattoir approved for Alberni Valley

Plans for a provincial weather network move forward

Feedlots under pressure with kill instability

If you go out in the woods today …

Round bale bounty

CFIA services get a funding boost

Help available for farm business succession

Sidebar: Considering all the options

Diversification helps farms prepare for challenges

Creston advocacy group continues push for food hub

Frind matches his love of data with grape production

Greenhouse sets example for others to follow

On-farm food networks wire farms for success

OK irrigation systems have a long history

Pemberton family farms beer with deep roots

When life gives you lemons

Personal money strategy as important as farm stragegy

Farm Story: Winter brings the distractions of technology

Well-designed vegetable coolers make for hot sales

Woodshed: Janice Newberry sets the record straight

Research: Plants can recognize attacking herbivores

Jude’s Kitchen: Super simple

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3 days ago

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details. ... See MoreSee Less

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details.
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2 weeks ago

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed. ... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the provinces deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.
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Sounds like 2 weeks to flatten the curve turning into 2 years.

USDA doing avian vax research, May 11 bio-docs to UN incl section on H5N8 w/wild bird spread. Found link to apparent pre-release on May 11 Geller Report. Good luck farmers.

3 weeks ago

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.” ... See MoreSee Less

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.”
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Killing our food chain. How do we know they are actually carrying a virus, look what's taking place with covid, is it real.

Ik kan niet zo goed Engels maar als ik het goed begrijp is bij jullie ook vogelgriep maar nog niet bij jullie

Any idea when this episode or bird flu might be over?

3 weeks ago

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions. ... See MoreSee Less

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions.
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4 weeks ago

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises. ... See MoreSee Less

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises.
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Greenhouse sets example for others to follow

Salmo venture helps extend season for market gardeners

Cali Olleck and son Atlin Carson stand in a sea of kale and other hardy greens growing in the family's Salmo greenhouse at Salix & Sedge, a market garden that has extended its season by tapping into the natural gas line running across its property. PHOTO SALIX & SEDGE

February 1, 2021 byTom Walker

SALMO – It’s -8°C and snowing in the central Kootenay town of Salmo, but inside the greenhouse at Salix and Sedge Farm, lettuce and arugula are growing in the soil.

“It’s not really growing, it’s more like being in a refrigerator,” clarifies Brendan Parsons who with his partner Cali Olleck owns the farm. “The low winter light and the temperature just above zero keep the plants alive, but mostly dormant, and we are able to harvest fresh lettuce through the winter.”

Parsons and Olleck are just finishing up their first complete year of running the greenhouse, built as an addition to their five-year old market garden. Rather than cram all their production into six months like other market gardeners, a greenhouse was a way to broaden their production window.

“We were looking to balance our workload over the course of the year and extend our season,” says Parsons. “We began by growing storage crops that we could sell during the winter and create some additional cash flow, and the greenhouse is a way to extend that and give us some work during the winter.”

The greenhouse also allows them to produce high-value crops out of season, a key element of their business plan.

Those greens were sown in September, and although the greenhouse gives the couple the technology to hold them through February, they were sold out by Christmas. Come March, they will be seeding tomatoes and cucumbers with an intercropping of greens.

“We will start harvesting the cucumbers in early May and the tomatoes will be ready in June,” says Parsons.

That’s early by any standard. By comparison, the cherry tomatoes they grew outside last year under high tunnels weren’t ready until August.

Parsons says the greenhouse revenue has allowed them to ease out of their off-farm jobs (Parsons worked as a carpenter, and Olleck was in forestry) and have a bit more time for their three-year old son as well as the skiing and climbing that drew them to the area in the first place.

“I was living in Nelson and Cali was going to school in Castlegar and we were looking to farm, but still stay attached to the outdoor community here,” he says.

The two are new farmers. Olleck completed a year at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s farm school in Richmond and Parsons did a gardening program at Linnaea Farm on Cortes Island prior to starting Salix and Sedge.

“But it would have been good to have spent time on a commercial farm to learn the business side of things,” says Parsons.

The farm initially had chickens, pigs and bees, but they have focused on vegetables over the last three years.

Their 20-acre property is tucked away on the west side of the Salmo River just outside of town. The name reflects the surrounding ecosystem. Salix is a genus of willow in the area and sedge is the primary perennial weed the farm has to deal with.

“Our soil is wonderful Salmo River bottom, but we have a lot of wetlands on our property,” explains Parsons. “We have been able to lease a neighbouring property that has the same great soil, but better drainage where we have our garden and greenhouse.”

The property sits on a natural gas mainline.

“The gas line was an important part of our decision to build the greenhouse, but I think that using propane would be a similar cost,” says Brendan.

The 120×35-foot greenhouse was manufactured in Quebec and engineered to withstand the snow load in Salmo. Two layers of polyethylene with air in between provide cover and some insulation.

“It sheds the snow really well, but I have to clear the snow from around the base with a blower attachment for my tractor,” explains Parsons. “We get so much [snow] here that it would impact the wall of the house if I didn’t clear it.”

Salmo itself is a small community, but it’s in a strategic location, being a half-hour drive from the three main towns in the central Kootenays. Their certified organic produce is available at grocers in Castlegar, Nelson and Trail, and at their farm stand.

“We don’t have a retail outlet in Salmo, but we are so close to town that people can ride their bikes or even walk to our farm store and we have enough of a range of vegetables to make it worth their trip,” says Parsons. “The local community has been really supportive of our farm, and more so this year. We have been able to sell out everything that we have grown.”

The greenhouse has been a steep learning curve.

“It’s only been our first year and I imagine that in five years we will look back and realize we have come a long way,” says Parsons.

Plant nutrition, pest and disease management as well as responding to shifting temperatures have all been new challenges. An outbreak of spider mites shortened their cucumber season.

“We need to develop a better IPM plan this year,” says Parsons, noting the lack of other greenhouses in the area to share ideas.

But that could change. Kootenay & Boundary Farm Advisors organized an early November tour of Salix and Sedge for 12 attendees who had a “commercial interest” in greenhouse production.

“They had some very in-depth discussion of the greenhouse business,” says KBFA coordinator Rachael Roussin.

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