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Originally published:

MARCH 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 3

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Stories In This Edition

The right cut

Health labs to be rebuilt

Kale acreage on fast track

Province makes bid to protect Surrey farmland

Editorial: Collective wisdom

Back 40: Full-time, part-time, or time well spent?

Viewpoint: A lifetime of safe farming is never an accident

Farmers question regenerative ag agenda

Growers flood back to Tradex for ag show

Ag Briefs: Spring bird migration raise fears of AI’s return

Ag Briefs: TJ Schur to lead IAF

Trust lacking between well owners, province

Champions of agriculture

Future uncertain for new varieties council

Here’s looking at you

Council takes delinquent growers to court

Extension service hopes for stronger supports

Blueberry growers focus on qualify

Researchers home in on emerging blueberry viruses

Viticulture show draws record attendance

Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

Snug as bugs

Ducks Unlimited pilot helps ranch manage water

Livestock response unit called into action

Farmland Advantage funding extended

Sidebar: Watershed moment

Soil carbon only part of the green equation

Sidebar: Organic compost a government priority

Filling a market for fresh corn in Chase

On-farm trials address nutrient challenges

Automation is revolutionizing dairy farming

UBC research advances dairy herd health

Farm Story: As winter fades into spring, mud follows

Preparing for a  low-emissions future

Show time

Dead canopies from last year concern growers

Woodshed: Problems stack up for Kenneth at the new farm

BC-made mushroom innovation in the works

Jude’s Kitchen: Irish spring fun in the kitchen

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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 Duncan and Jane Trott Barnett Well deserved recognition

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

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Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

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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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Kale acreage on fast track

Fruit and vegetable revenues increase

March 1, 2023 byPeter Mitham

DELTA – Kale was the fastest-growing vegetable in BC by acreage in 2022, according to Statistics Canada data that shows field vegetable acreage in the province is on the decline.

BC growers tended 13,146 acres of vegetables in 2022, according to Statscan’s annual report on fruit and vegetable acreage, released February 16 (potatoes and greenhouse crops are considered separately). This was down 7% from a year earlier and 4% from the five-year average.

But within those numbers, kale took top-spot as the fastest-growing crop, with acreage rising 55% versus 2021 and 36% over the five-year average to 149 acres.

The rise of kale is part of greater interest in leafy greens, with lettuce ranking second among the fastest-growing vegetables by acreage. Growers devoted 598 acres to lettuce in 2022, up 45% from 2021 and 20% higher than the five-year average.

The strength of leafy greens relates not only to a favourable climate but also market opportunities.

The province’s most lucrative crops on a per-acre basis are spinach, at $28,051 per acre, followed by kale at $21,932 per acre.

Its fast-growing counterpart, lettuce, generated farmgate receipts of nearly $9.5 million for growers last year, or more than $15,855 an acre. This puts it ahead of the top-grossing crop in BC, cabbage, which generated farmgate receipts of $13.6 million last year, or $13,953 per acre.

The appeal has large growers like Quebec-based VegPro expanding lettuce production in the Okanagan to serve regional markets and compete against product from California. Lettuce also commands a premium at farmers markets, prompting many smaller growers to plant what can be a year-round crop in many of the province’s more temperate regions, providing steady cash flow.

But leafy greens remain small potatoes when it comes to the province’s major field vegetables.

Potatoes are large enough to warrant their own report, with 5,200 acres planted last year. Challenging conditions last spring cut seeding by 1,100 acres from a year earlier, and a similar story played out for sweet corn, the second most-planted field vegetable by area with 1,858 acres in 2022. This was down 21% from the five-year average, but nevertheless gave it a dominant position over other veggies.

Peas, primarily a processing crop, ranked second with 1,370 acres, up 16% from a year earlier and 28% over the five-year average.

With few exceptions, growers of all vegetables saw better prices last year, with farmgate receipts totalling $119.9 million, up 10% from a year earlier. This marked a sharp increase from the five-year average, pointing to the effects of higher input costs and inflationary pressures on what growers had to charge.

Higher revenues for fruit

Statscan delivered similarly good news with respect to BC fruit production. All crops except apples and blueberries saw farmgate revenues increase last year, for total receipts of $454.7 million. Blueberries accounted for the largest share, with $156.6 million in sales despite a 1% drop in production. Sweet cherries ranked second, with more than $80 million in sales while grapes came in third with nearly $75 million in sales despite a 7% decrease in tonnage.

But the fastest-growing crops were raspberries and pears, crops that have both seen significant investment in recent years geared towards renewal and greater efficiencies.

Raspberries saw marketed production rise 45% to 5,290 tons for a 50% increase in farmgate receipts to $17.2 million. In a promising sign, revenues were up 9% over the five-year average even as production remained 14% below the five-year average. This points to plenty of room for the sector to catch up as provincial replant funding supports the ongoing renewal of fields following years of poor weather and discouraging returns.

Kelowna-based Day’s Century Growers investment in a state-of-the-art packing line in 2019 gave it the capacity to handle all the pears grown in BC, and Statscan’s numbers point to a parallel increase of pear production in the province.

Pear tonnage increased 17% last year to 5,107 tons. While this was down 3% from the five-year average, farmgate revenues rose 25% to $5.95 million, indicating a higher price per ton.

Despite strong revenue growth, just two crops saw a significant increase in bearing acreage last year. Sweet cherries increased 7% to 5,623 acres, and raspberries increased 6% to 1,925 acres.

 

 

 

 

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