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Originally published:

January 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 1

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Stories In This Edition

Help wanted

Freight farm feeds local niche

Winter wallop

Dairy commits to healthier future

Marketing board reviewing dairy quota

Organic production set for a major boost

Weather patterns forcing change for FV farmers

Okanagan growth curve drains water supplies

Maple Ridge writing new soil deposit bylaw

Non-native stink bug poses threat to fruit growers

Arguments for wind power grow as hydro closes in

BC farm leaders make Top 50 list

Former politician awarded lifetime achievement

No surprise about pipeline

Food prices on the increase

Ag briefs

PAS aims for record attendance

Short course offers variety + sidebar

Innovation Expo makes debut

Dairy Expo starts with tour of nine FV dairies

Holstein assessements will establish benchmarks

Eto leaves BC Dairy

Incubator farm seeks to re-invirorate local seed industry

Islands Ag Show puts spotlight on Alberni Valley

Save the birds but share the cost

Nurseries seek fresh blood

BCLNA grows local markets

Comment sought on bison code

Corn and the battle with bugs

Starling control program renewed in Okanagan

Staring down the bottom line

Kootenay Food Producers Co-op goes non-profit

Got milk? Water buffalo dairy cultivates following

Born to teach

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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
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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.
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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.
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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.

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.”
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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?

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.
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Help wanted

January 1, 2017 byPeter Mitham

VANCOUVER – Demand for farm workers will hit 45,000 by 2025, up from approximately 43,300 in 2014, and while the increase doesn’t sound like a lot, an older, diminishing farm work force means there are a lot fewer people available than there was once was.

A recent report from the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) pegs the shortfall in workers at 11,200 by 2025, up from approximately 9,000 today. Statistics Canada, in turn, estimates BC’s farm workforce at just 27,500 in 2014, suggesting the gap between demand and available workers could be even bigger.

To address the shortfall, the province announced $43,500 for a BC agriculture-horticulture sector labour market partnership on December 6.

“It’s looking at the semi-skilled and skilled level – the manager and above,” BC Agriculture Council executive director Reg Ens explains. “We’ve had a problem with low-skilled for a long time, and there’s some things that we’ve been doing to meet that need, but now we’ve identified this semi-skilled/skilled [shortfall].”

BCAC and the BC Landscape and Nursery Association will administer the funds, which will assist in bringing together industry associations and employers to determine the horticulture sector’s key labour force challenges.

“It’s cultivating connections and looking for opportunities. Are there pools of under-employed people that we’re not attracting?” Ens says. “Do these under-employed people that are interested know where the opportunities are?”

The project is set to complete by March 15. It complements similar initiatives for the landscape and abattoir sectors.

No small task

But resolving the labour issue isn’t easy. The lack of workers who are both reliable and equipped with the skills to handle the unique challenges of farm work has been a perennial problem in BC.

While proximity to urban areas should ensure ready access to a large pool of labour, there’s also greater competition from other sectors for workers. Often, the alternatives also pay better and have more attractive working conditions than field work.

“There is not a simple way forward,” says Debra Hauer, project manager with CAHRC.

She notes that BC is already doing plenty of things right: many employers in the province have low turnover and there are more than the usual amount of training programs, both formal and informal, highlighting opportunities in the sector. These include everything from Agriculture in the Classroom programs to sector-specific initiatives such as the organic sector provides.

“There’s lots of groups doing interesting things in British Columbia,” she says.

While some sectors, such as dairy and poultry, have embraced automation and face a shortage of workers with appropriate skills, the backbone of the BC farm labour force is horticultural workers. Approximately 48% of farm workers are engaged in producing and harvesting fruits, vegetables, flowers and other products.

CAHRC says the fact that many of these jobs are seasonal in nature works against employers.

Since few of the positions are year-round, many operations find themselves forced to let workers go, and then scramble to rehire staff in subsequent seasons.

The temporary nature of the work also creates a highly mobile workforce. This has led to many hort operations turning to foreign workers.

CAHRC said the shortfall in 2014 was made up through 6,800 temporary foreign workers (TFWs) – and even then, there was still a need for approximately 3,000 more domestic workers. The labour shortfall costs the sector approximately $70 million annually, CAHRC says.

With the shortfall in domestic workers increasing over the next decade, there are growing efforts to make it easier for farmers to hire foreign help.

“This may include re-evaluating the effectiveness of Canada’s immigration programs in terms of meeting the needs of the agriculture sector,” writes the Conference Board of Canada in a recent briefing paper, produced with CAHRC’s support. “Without TFWs, we may face the prospect of a significant portion of Canada’s arable land lying fallow. That would be a tragedy.”

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