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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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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

Congratulations!

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

Congratulations Duncan and Jane!!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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2 weeks 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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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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