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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Grain prices hit chicken growers

Farmers helping farmers

Groundwater deadline firm

IAFBC takes over environmental programs

Editorial: Spring shadows

Back 40: Old tractors pull loads of memories

Viewpoint: Animal agriculture is in the crosshairs

Dairy farmers assured recovery funding on its way

BC SPCA hits pause

Soaring fertilizer prices add to cost pressures

Higher milk prices, costs raise stakes at retail

Growers face recertification challenges

Ag Briefs: Omicron forces rescheduling of ag shows

Ag Briefs: Sumas Prairie farmers sue government

Ag Briefs: BC Tree sells another property

Weather deals another blow to berry growers

Cherry growers assessing winter damage

Grape growers grapple with cold damage

Sidebar: Grape bud hardiness index

Farmers face delays from lab closures

Forage council sets sights on growth

Farmers step up in emergency operations

The birds come first at B Jack

Ranchers waiting for federal fencing funds

Integrated control strategy keeps predators at bay

Sidebar: By the numbers

Peace producers work to expand meat processing

BC goats to benefit from genetics investment

Robson Valley family realizes its dreams

Creamery builds a taste for local connections

Research: Scientists learn how plants respond to heat stress

Blueberry growers on the hunt for pollination options

Viewpoint: Diversity, equity, inclusion is an ongoing process

Farm Story: Positive results arent always sensational

Sweet

Woodshed: Clay makes his intentions known to Ashley

FCC gives 4-H clubs a financial boost

Jude’s Kitchen: For your sweetie

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24 hours ago

Fecal coliform levels in the streams and watercourses that flow through Langley has been an issue for decades. The Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) has received $97,000 from the federal government to work with property owners to help them reduce their impact on water quality and the environment, and ensure their properties are in compliance with the Agriculture Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP). The story is in the February edition of Country Life in BC. Subscribe today bit.ly/3RIKms9/.

#BCAg #aemcop
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Fecal coliform levels in the streams and watercourses that flow through Langley has been an issue for decades. The Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) has received $97,000 from the federal government to work with property owners to help them reduce their impact on water quality and the environment, and ensure their properties are in compliance with the Agriculture Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP). The story is in the February edition of Country Life in BC. Subscribe today https://bit.ly/3RIKms9/.

#BCAg #AEMCoP
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2 days ago

BC dairy farmers are feeling the pinch and some in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. It's our cover story in the February edition of Country Life in BC.

bit.ly/3JGgk6B

#bcagriculture #bcdairy
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BC dairy farmers are feeling the pinch and some in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. Its our cover story in the February edition of Country Life in BC.

https://bit.ly/3JGgk6B

#bcagriculture #bcdairy
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So much pressure being put on the dairy industry from the US. It’s hard to keep the lobbying at bay. Canadian dairy should supply Canadian tables and the farmers who provide it should be paid what they are worth. There is no such thing as cheap food

Farm Management is key. It can't all be blamed on the government.

Just been watching NZ TV news and the price of food. Most complaining about the price of dairy products due to the fact that domestic prices are high with most production being exported. No supply management.

I really don't understand the concern here. The article literally says 30-40 of 600 BC dairy farms (that's less than 1%) are experiencing financial pressure, likely due to being somewhat overleveraged. Sounds like just some mismanagement rather than a broad policy failure is the cause here.

Whole Food Plant Based eating ...oat milk coconut milk Almond milk soy milk etc

Noooooooo. That’s exactly what this LIB/NDP party wants. They want everyone to cave in to their knees. Don’t do it. It’ll be the end.

A lot of this is government squeeze. Be hungry and compliant!

The government is the eternal enemy of humanity.

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1 week 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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Groundwater deadline firm

Users who don’t apply will lose historic rights

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February 1, 2022 byPeter Mitham

VICTORIA – The province is holding fast on a March 1 deadline for existing, non-domestic groundwater users to apply for a licence despite a low response rate.

Staff from the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operations and Rural Development have been making the rounds of farm meetings since last fall, with the result that 4,455 applications are now in the hands of government. A total of 1,654 decisions have been made.

With existing users set to lose their water rights if they don’t apply by March 1, calls are growing for the province to extend the deadline for a final time to ensure users maintain legal access to groundwater and their historic water rights.

“With only one in five historical groundwater users having applied for continued use, there are thousands of farmers, ranchers, and small business owners currently at risk of losing their access to groundwater,” BC Liberals interim leader Shirley Bond said in December in a statement backed by the BC Green party leader Sonia Furstenau.

The province expects 20,000 wells to seek licences, of which approximately 8,000 are for agricultural uses. While farmers and ranchers have a relatively high application rate, many are frustrated by an application process many growers find don’t reflect their circumstances.

A key issue is licensing to crop, a change in practice that some well owners feel binds their rights to what they’re producing now. They fear this could prevent them from accessing water in the future if a new crop or management practice requires more water.

Oliver grape grower Hans Buchler has contested the practice. He says concessions have been granted to grape growers, allowing them to claim extra water for cover crops used in vineyard management.

But he says other growers haven’t been so lucky.

“This allowance has not been extended to any of the other perennial row crops that do or can grow cover crops in the alleyways,” he says.

This underscores the inequity inherent in the new licensing system, he adds.

The province continues to urge growers to apply for a licence to their existing use, however, saying the details can be worked out later. Growers who don’t file an application by March 1 will lose their historic access to water, and be treated as new users. They’ll have to undergo a more rigorous application process, and may wind up with a smaller allocation than they would have had they secured a licence based on their historical priority.

The new licensing regime took effect in 2016. It aimed to entrench a first in time, first in right system in the province by having historic rights registered and given priority over new users. All users are also charged a fee for the use of groundwater based on volume. This fee is payable by existing users from 2016, regardless of when a licence application is made.

The province encouraged existing non-domestic groundwater users to apply with the promise of a waiver for the application fee, which starts at $250. But low uptake has resulted in three extensions of the deadline. A year ago, the province told producers there would be no further extensions.

During the first two years, more than 2,100 existing-use applications were filed. The volume plateaued in 2020 at approximately 4,000. The past 18 months have seen just 450 new applications made, with the greatest increase taking place since outreach ramped up last fall.

—With files from Tom Walker

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