• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 2

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Country Life in BC, 36 Dale Road, Enderby, BC, V0E1V4. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

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

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

1 month ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
View Comments
  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

1 month 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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 1
  • Shares: 3
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

2 months 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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 9
  • Comments: 2

Comment on Facebook

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.

2 months 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.”
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 38
  • Comments: 3

Comment on Facebook

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?

2 months 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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 3
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Subscribe | Advertise

Help available for farm business succession

Land Matching program expands from property to businesses

“Grampa Pete” Amyoony, 80, shares smiles with Zavion Assemat. Until recently, Amyoony was uncertain about the future of his market garden and greenhouse business but Zavion’s parents now appear poised to take over. SUBMITTED PHOTO

February 1, 2021 byRonda Payne

DUNSTER – With the average age of BC farmers close to 60, retirement and farm succession is a looming issue for many operators.

Pete Amyoony, who has a small market garden and a 1,250-square-foot greenhouse on a 10-acre property in the small community of Dunster, understands what it’s like to be anxious about what the future holds.

He’s produced bedding plants and vegetables on the property since 1996, but in his mid-70s he began thinking about the future.

“I was sort of at my wit’s end,” he says. “I thought, I’ve got to do some kind of preparation and get ready for this transfer. I can’t spend five hours a day down on my knees transplanting. And I thought, I’ve got to find somebody to come here and help out or take over the place. I was in a real quandary.”

Now 80, Amyoony has nieces and nephews, but they are in Nova Scotia and have no interest in coming out west.

But 10 years ago, Yann Assemat was visiting from France and fell in love with the mountains around Dunster. He visited with Amyoony for a few months and worked on the farm. Over the years, he continued to come over from France through the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program and further explore the province. On one of these visits to BC, Assemat was touring Vancouver Island, met Katrina Agnew and got married.

“When Yann started saying, ‘Oh, I’d love to find a place around here but I don’t have much saved up,’ I said, ‘well, let’s talk about you taking over this place,’ and his eyes just lit up,” Amyoony says. “So what we’re working out is an agreement that I can stay as long as I want in my little home, which I still really love. I said, ‘Come on, let’s talk about it and see if we can make everybody winners here,’ and that’s what we’re doing.”

Home sweet home

Assemat and Agnew, originally from Prince George, and now their son Zavion, live in a yurt on the opposite side of the property from Amyoony. The couple operate the farm as Roots ‘N Thyme with Amyoony serving as “garden guru.”

“I have my privacy and they have theirs, but we share meals,” Amyoony says. “They’re here with the baby and I’m grandpa Pete.”

They also share the Internet. It’s not as good at his house, so Amyoony heads over to the yurt for better connectivity.

“They are family,” he says of Assemat and Agnew. “I’ve let them take over most of the garden space now. They added another half acre last year.”

Having someone lined up to take over his market garden gives Amyoony peace of mind, but working out the logistics of the transfer requires legal input. He’s grateful to have the support of Young Agrarians, which manages the provincial land-matching program. The program recently reached a milestone of matching 100 new farmers to 5,000 acres of land through 46 matches.

“The Young Agrarians program is just amazingly helpful in a case like this because they have legal advice and forms and that for making lease agreements, and purchase agreements and so on,” he says. “It’s really helping us. Saving us lawyer fees.”

Non-family transfer

Amyoony is lucky. He was able to find a successor on his own. For those who need assistance, the province of BC has the BC Land Matching Program, part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

BC Land Matching program manager Darcy Smith notes landowners participate in the program because they want to make sure their land remains farmed.

“The reality is that not everyone who wants to farm can afford to buy land,” she says. “And not everyone who can afford to buy land is a farmer themselves.”

Young Agrarians’ transition toolkit for non-family farm transfers – the program Amyoony is participating in – launched in November 2020.

“We facilitate conversations. There’s lots of detail involved as well as big picture vision stuff,” Smith says. “We’re going to help people figure out what their needs might be and then how they’re going to get resources to figure that out. Referrals to lawyers, or accountants or transition specialists. That’s where we see extra support being needed.”

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Co-ops’ importance highlighted

Leasing farmland a vital strategy for farmers

Previous Post: « Greenhouse sets example for others to follow
Next Post: Egg producer questions support for local eggs »

Reader Interactions

Copyright © 2022 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved