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Originally published:

NOVEMBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 11

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Stories In This Edition

Apple returns raise alarm

Ottawa urged to fulfil promises

Snow job

New government faces old issues in next term

Caught in the act

Editorial: Time for action

Back 40: Finding the perks in a pandemic world

Viewpoint: Changing times require a flexible vision

Invasive hornet nest destroyed south of Langley

Country Life in BC wins a record eight national awards

US launches investigation into blueberries

Hog producers face changes to code of practice

Growers, wineries welcome sustainability launch

Sustainability program delivers value to industry

Ag Briefs: Ag sector claims $8.5 billion economic impact

Ag Briefs: Farm worker protection funded

Ag Briefs: Autumn calf prices down

Grant programs encourage Indigenous ag projects

Range issues dominate NOLA meeting

Sidebar: BCV Cattlemen critique water intentions

BC Beef plant in Falkland ready to process this month

Winter warning

Corn trial results help make better planting decisions

Sidebar: Sweet results

New barn promises better egg production

ALR co-founder, defender embraces retirement

Seed sppliers seeing sustained demand as 2021 orders begin

Research: Breeding crops for the future means looking backwards

Straight ahead

Potatoes head for record-breaking harvest

Weather posed challenges for garlic growers

Garlic groewrs employ mixed marketing strategies

Association aims to foster collaboration

Demand boosts interest in older cider apples

Evans Farms marks a century of ranching

Farm Story: Nominees announced for seasonal awards

Bursary winner plants roots in Cawston

Provincial Winter Fair hosts live 4-H events

Woodshed: Janice Newberry bids farewell to love-sick Henderson

Where there’s a will, there’s gotta be a way

Jude’s Kitchen: Autumn Eats

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1 month ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

www.countrylifeinbc.com

ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Hog producers face changes to code of practice

Animal welfare concerns driving shift to group housing

Hog producers could been given a five-year extension to convert their hog barns to group housing by the National Farm Animal Care Council but the BC SPCA is calling for an immediate end to confined housing. FILE PHOTO

November 1, 2020 byRichard Rolke

ABBOTSFORD – BC’s pork producers insist they are committed to high standards of care for livestock even in the face of a cash crunch.

The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) has proposed amendments to the codes of practice for the care and handling of pigs.

“It’s changing the way pigs are housed,” says Jack DeWit, president of the BC Pork Producers Association (BCPPA).

If adopted, the amendments would provide a five-year extension for pork producers to transition gestating mother pigs from stalls to group housing.

The extension until 2029 is partially based on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector, but DeWit suggests there’s another critical factor influencing the proposed delay.

“Farmers have had a tough few years financially, and they haven’t had the ability to convert barns [to group housing],” he says. “The infrastructure is tired. Barns are old and producers are not willing to spend dollars on conversion.”

One of BC’s largest producers shifted to group housing but DeWit anticipates some of the 13 or 14 large commercial farmers in the province could leave the business rather than change housing arrangements.

“If there are no extra returns from the marketplace, producers will make decisions accordingly,” says DeWit, who raised pigs for 40 years.

NFACC brings together stakeholders to develop codes of practice for the care and handling of farm animals while also creating a process for the development of animal care assessment programs and providing a forum for open dialogue on farm animal welfare.

In response to the proposed amendments to the codes of practice, the BC SPCA is calling for an end to confinement housing and an “expeditious transition” to group housing.

“One third of sows in Canada are now housed in groups, demonstrating an important step forward for their welfare. However, two-thirds of farms have yet to make these changes,” says the SPCA in a September 25 media release.

Humane Canada represented BC SPCA on the code development committee. SPCA urges farmers to convert to group housing immediately and to commit themselves to learning the new animal management skills required for group housing, “recognizing that a generation of animal care skills has been lost while farms have been using stalls.”

SPCA also calls on the Canadian Pork Council to report on progress annually, as well as farm compliance, and to eliminate the “loophole allowing farmers to continue keeping their pigs in stalls simply by providing ‘periodic exercise.’” It wants government to fund the transition to group housing and for grocery retailers to honour a commitment to source fresh pork from sows raised in groups.

“BC SPCA is also calling for the creation of an independent, third-party inspection and auditing system for BC farms to ensure the codes of practice, currently self-regulated by industry, are upheld and implemented,” the association says in its media release.

NFACC’s proposed amendments are open for public comment until November 19.

“We encourage all Canadians to express their views during the public comment period on the pig code,” says the SPCA.

But DeWit, who sits on the Canadian Pork Council, is adamant that producers are committed to evolving operations and humane conditions for their livestock.

“Farmers know their animals and farms. They know how their animals behave. There will be a learning curve (with facility conversion) but farmers are people who love their animals,” he says.

More information on the proposed amendments to the codes of practice for the care and handling of pigs can be found at [www.nfacc.ca/ codes-of-practice/pigs].

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