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Current Issue:

JANUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 1

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Vancouver council has rejected a bid to subdivide some of its only land within the Agricultural Land Reserve. The 8-acre site at 7520 Balaclava Street is home to an unused horse paddock and the former Celtic Shipyards. Vancouver council chose not to forward the application to the Agricultural Land Commission because subdivision would create lots that were too small at a site with multiple environmental and geotechnical issues. The cultural significance of the site to the Musqueam First Nation was also a consideration. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

Vancouver council has rejected a bid to subdivide some of its only land within the Agricultural Land Reserve. The 8-acre site at 7520 Balaclava Street is home to an unused horse paddock and the former Celtic Shipyards. Vancouver council chose not to forward the application to the Agricultural Land Commission because subdivision would create lots that were too small at a site with multiple environmental and geotechnical issues. The cultural significance of the site to the Musqueam First Nation was also a consideration.
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Let’s hope someone with an Ag vision buys the property..

Seasonal workers continue to benefit from BC’s acclaimed publicly funded quarantine program, which covers the cost of meals and accommodations for incoming foreign workers during their mandatory self-isolation period. To date this year, 14 incoming workers have tested positive for COVID-19, with nine remaining in isolation and five cleared to work on BC farms. "Through this program, we have been able to help preserve our province’s food supply by ensuring local food continues to be grown and harvested throughout the pandemic,” the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries told Country Life in BC. "The program is regarded as best practice by other jurisdictions and the province is continuing with the self-isolation program for 2021 without significant changes." Subscribe to Country Life in BC at buff.ly/2ReiFur ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago

Seasonal workers continue to benefit from BC’s acclaimed publicly funded quarantine program, which covers the cost of meals and accommodations for incoming foreign workers during their mandatory self-isolation period. To date this year, 14 incoming workers have tested positive for COVID-19, with nine remaining in isolation and five cleared to work on BC farms. Through this program, we have been able to help preserve our province’s food supply by ensuring local food continues to be grown and harvested throughout the pandemic,” the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries told Country Life in BC. The program is regarded as best practice by other jurisdictions and the province is continuing with the self-isolation program for 2021 without significant changes. Subscribe to Country Life in BC at buff.ly/2ReiFur
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Federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has awarded $6 million to Vancouver-based Enterra Feed Corp. through the federal AgriInnovate program to develop a full-scale commercial facility north of Calgary for the production of insect-based feed ingredients. The new facility handles more than 130 tonnes of food waste per day and feeds it to the larvae of black soldier flies. The larvae are harvested and processed for use in feed products for poultry, pets and wild birds. The first of its kind in Canada, the facility ships products across North America as well as to the EU. Country Life in BC is the agricultural new source for BC's farmers and ranchers. ... See MoreSee Less

6 days ago

Federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has awarded $6 million to Vancouver-based Enterra Feed Corp. through the federal AgriInnovate program to develop a full-scale commercial facility north of Calgary for the production of insect-based feed ingredients. The new facility handles more than 130 tonnes of food waste per day and feeds it to the larvae of black soldier flies. The larvae are harvested and processed for use in feed products for poultry, pets and wild birds. The first of its kind in Canada, the facility ships products across North America as well as to the EU. Country Life in BC is the agricultural new source for BCs farmers and ranchers.
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Cammy Lockwood, great news for Enterra

CP Rail’s plans for a new logistics facility on 100 acres of farmland in Pitt Meadows is facing opposition from neighbours, who question the impact of the project on their community and local agriculture. Close to 100 residents questioned CP representatives in an online open house this week but received few definitive answers. The project is exempt from Agricultural Land Commission and local government approval. Results of a survey that closes today will be made public in March, with mitigation measures of the project provided this summer. Construction could begin in 2026 if federal authorities approve. Country Life in BC is the agricultural news source for BC's farmers and ranchers. buff.ly/2ReiFur ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

CP Rail’s plans for a new logistics facility on 100 acres of farmland in Pitt Meadows is facing opposition from neighbours, who question the impact of the project on their community and local agriculture. Close to 100 residents questioned CP representatives in an online open house this week but received few definitive answers. The project is exempt from Agricultural Land Commission and local government approval. Results of a survey that closes today will be made public in March, with mitigation measures of the project provided this summer. Construction could begin in 2026 if federal authorities approve. Country Life in BC is the agricultural news source for BCs farmers and ranchers. buff.ly/2ReiFur
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The BC Ministry of Agriculture has announced a new round of funding this week to support more community projects aimed at protecting the health and habitat of bees. The Bee BC program provides up to $5,000 to fund smaller-scale, community-based projects enhancing bee health throughout the province. Since launching in 2018, Bee BC has contributed almost $280,000 to 62 projects. The last round of 24 approved projects projects ranged from providing education in communities to planting bee-specific forage to using innovation and technology to help protect and ensure bee health in BC. The program is administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation. Check out the program guide for more information: buff.ly/3bCMzSW ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago

The BC Ministry of Agriculture has announced a new round of funding this week to support more community projects aimed at protecting the health and habitat of bees. The Bee BC program provides up to $5,000 to fund smaller-scale, community-based projects enhancing bee health throughout the province. Since launching in 2018, Bee BC has contributed almost $280,000 to 62 projects. The last round of 24 approved projects projects ranged from providing education in communities to planting bee-specific forage to using innovation and technology to help protect and ensure bee health in BC. The program is administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation. Check out the program guide for more information: https://buff.ly/3bCMzSW
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Growers, wineries welcome sustainability launch

Third-party audit essential for program’s credibility

Tantalus Vineyards general manager and wine maker David Paterson, left, Sustainable Winegrowing BC program manager Katie Pease and Tantalus vineyard manager and long-time SWBC board member Felix Egerer are happy to see the launch of a new initiative to recognize wine that meets sustainable standards. PHOTO / TOM WALKER

November 19, 2020 byTom Walker

KELOWNA – The first wines certified under a new made-in-BC sustainability program could be on shelves as early as next spring.

“We are excited to be finally launching our official certification process,” says Katie Pease, program manager for Sustainable Winegrowing BC (SWBC).

Originally scheduled to launch this past April, COVID-19 delayed the program’s launch until November 1. With the program up and running, BC vineyards and wineries are now able to apply for a third-party audit, receive certification and describe their wine as “made from grapes grown in a certified sustainable vineyard” or “made in a certified sustainable winery.”

Program development began more than 10 years ago, driven mostly by industry volunteers under the auspices of the BC Wine Grape Council. Since then, the council’s sustainability committee has drawn members from across the sector.

“We have representatives from the big players like Arterra and Andrew Peller, as well as medium-size wineries like Quails’ Gate and Hillside Estate, and a smattering of boutiques like Tantalus and Le Vieux Pin/La Stella,” Pease says.  Vineyard owners, consultants and Summerland Research and Development Centre scientists round out the membership.

“This group who developed SWBC really wanted to create both a profitable, environmentally friendly and socially just wine-growing region, that could see prosperity today,” says Pease. “Ten years ago, here in BC, as far as I can tell, it was a pretty small and select group of people who understood that line of thinking (planet, people, profit), but today, of course, I think much more so.”

Sustainability goals

Over the years, the committee has written sustainability goals and developed a self-assessment tool for both vineyards and wineries. Vineyard sustainability goals include management of the watershed, soil, irrigation, integrated pest management (IPM) and social equity. Winery goals include water and energy efficiency, waste management and climate action as well as social equity. To date, 68 vineyards and 37 of the province’s 280 grape wineries have completed the self-assessments.

Pease says it was always the committee’s aim to provide a formal audited certification. Organizations claim they are sustainable, but they need to be able to back it up.

“It is not just being able to say, ‘I conserve water because I use drip irrigation,’” she says. “It is taking the next step and saying, ‘What does that mean in comparison to an industry best practice of how much water you should be using?’”

Pease and the committee worked to develop outcomes with metrics that would back any claims made.

“I feel we are leading-edge in launching something newish in the certification industry,” she says. “Other certification programs still don’t collect data; they work more from a laundry list of

to-dos.”

Operations that have completed the self-assessments will be able to apply for an audit, Pease explains.

“What certification means different from just doing self-assessments, really, is that the self-assessment has been verified by a third party,” she says.

SWBC will run courses throughout the winter to help growers and wineries prepare for their audits, which will begin in the 2021 growing season.

Auditors come from the local agriculture industry, with experience in organic certification or environmental farm planning.

“We will train them to our standards and they will go out and do the verification,” says Pease. “They will have a pretty high level of knowledge of the content of the standards and they should be a resource as well.”

The auditor will visit the vineyard or winery and walk through each of the criteria within the standard, she explains.

“Some of the criteria will require documentation such as chemical, water or energy use, while some just require that the auditor see the process of how they do something, like store toxic chemicals,” says Pease.

The auditor makes the recommendation about how they do against the SWBC standards and SWBC will grant certification to those that measure up.

SWBC is designing a certification logo for members to use, and the BC Wine Grape Council will be developing a communications program, adds Pease.

“We work on a very slim budget and we are hoping to receive some grant funding which would allow us to give much more energy to the communications piece,” she says. “But it will be our members who really tell the story.”

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