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Current Issue:

JANUARY 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 1

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9 hours ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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5 days ago

A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural Land Commission hosted in Langley Monday night regarding a proposal to include 305 acres controlled by the federal government in the Agricultural Land Reserve. More than 76,000 people have signed an online petition asking municipal and provincial governments to protect the land from development, and for the federal government to grant a long-term lease to the Heppells. Read more in this morning's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. conta.cc/3XYXw6k ... See MoreSee Less

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Your weekly farm news update

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The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 January 25 2023 Surrey ALR inclusion cheered A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural L
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Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

2 months ago

Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand this season and prices remain comparable to last year. But the number of tree farms has decreased dramatically over the past five years and the province will increasingly need to look elsewhere if it wants to meet local demand. More in this week's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christmas trees in demand

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Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand, with high quality trees making it to market. “The market is good. We’ll probably outdo last year and last year was one of our best years…
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2 months ago

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall. ... See MoreSee Less

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall.
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Avian influenza virus can be killed by chlorine at no higher a concentration than is present in drinking water, so unless farms are using untreated groundwater in their barns I don't see how it could be a source of transmission. www.researchgate.net/publication/5594208_Chlorine_Inactivation_of_Highly_Pathogenic_Avian_Influen...

2 months ago

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall. ... See MoreSee Less

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall.Image attachment
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Goes to show how far-removed our current government is from the agricultural sector. To put someone in this position who has no farming background is a slap in the face to all of our hard-working producers.

Going to be a heck of a learning curve. Helping the agricultural community recover from the biggest natural disasters in history, handling the avian influenza outbreak that is threatening our poultry industry, dealing with a crisis in meat processing, managing ongoing threats from climate change, supporting producers who are facing unprecedented inflation in an industry with very slim margins to begin with..... to name a few of the challenges our new Minister will have to face all with one of the lowest budgets of any ministry. I wish her the best of luck but I hope she's got a lot of support around her.

Best of wishes in your new position

Congrats to Pam, cool to see a Fraser Valley based ag minister but also so sad to see Lana reassigned . I have no doubt she will do an amazing job in her new role.

Will be missed by #meiernation

Bryce Rashleigh

Nooooooo!

Lana did a shit job and now we have a minister with no farming background at all. Aren’t we lucky..

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Let’s get real about mental wellness on the farm

Personal tragedy becomes a lifeline of hope as tough conversations become mainstream

January 1, 2021 byMyrna Stark Leader

Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture industry continues to demonstrate resilience and reliability. It’s on my 2021 agenda to continue to talk about this achievement publicly to continue to educate those outside agriculture, but I’m also marking the beginning of a new year celebrating the growing normalization of talking openly about mental health within agriculture.

Like many of you, this fall I attended agricultural conferences and meetings online. It’s not the same as meeting in-person, which I love, but these gatherings enable me to continue sharing stories with you in Country Life in BC. A number of the events contained a mental wellness component. Anxiety, depression and even suicide within the agriculture community are being talked about openly. Here’s an example.

As a board member of the BC Farm Writers Association and its representative to the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, I participated in an online fireside chat last month with federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. My question: what is her message is to those who target the beef sector for its contributions to climate change?

One of the first things she said was, “I worry about the mental health of those in the meat sector.” She went on to say farmers are essential to society and that she wants to put more emphasis on building increased public pride and trust in Canadian farmers across sectors. She mentioned producers’ strong dedication to their work, to sustaining the land as well as their commitment to continuous improvement and technology adoption. It wasn’t exactly the direct answer I was hoping for, but that was secondary.

Hearing an agriculture minister use the words “mental health” in a conversation with about 40 agricultural journalists and writers made me smile. Why? Because the topic is personal.

January 10, 2021 marks 26 years since my dad died by suicide. On dad’s side of my family, mental unwellness – depression – goes back several generations. Although dad, who I loved dearly, never farmed, he was raised in a farming community in Saskatchewan. His father took up grain farming when he retired from operating the town’s general store.

Getting through my grief involved attending a group called Survivors of Suicide. It was for people like me who’d lost someone in this very different way. My mom and I hated why we needed this group, but it was a godsend. We weren’t alone. Others had been on a similar journey.

Although that was 26 years ago, something struck me then that still remains. The facilitator, a most compassionate woman, shared suicide statistics. She strongly believed the number was underreported. One of her reasons was the number of rural deaths that are classified as accidental. She mentioned farm accidents, as well as those who just happened to drive into a moving train.

I never researched her theory, but as a television reporter at the time, it seemed plausible to me. While society acknowledged pressures on producers, the impact of those pressures on mental health was rarely if ever discussed. Anxiety, depression and suicide weren’t part of mainstream conversation.

Since then, whenever someone openly acknowledges or speaks the words “mental wellness” or “mental health,” I consider it a big win. Talking openly about an issue is the first sign of positive change.

The Advancing Women in Agriculture conference last month, with about 700 registrants, also featured two mental health testimonial sessions.

A mother and daughter spoke about learning to live with the younger’s on-going anxiety saying “those facing physical exhaustion or mental health challenges don’t often hold up an ‘I need help’ sign.” One tip offered was for the person struggling to start using a set phrase such as, “That’s all I have for you today,” to indicate their emotional or mental exhaustion to others. In all my years, I’d never heard this before. It’s great advice.

Additionally, conference speakers suggested journaling, taking time each day to note moments of gratitude or joy, and using apps like Headspace, Calm, Happify, Breathe and Lifeworks to aid mental wellness. Keynote speaker Michelle Cederberg said agricultural women know how to “get sh*t done” but too often say “I haven’t even had time to pee.” She told the audience that statement shouldn’t be a sign of achievement but rather a physical and mental health warning. Another speaker shared his attempted suicide story. The big positive in this is how it inspires and gives courage to others to share their journey and ask for help.

While I’ve never attempted self-harm, there’ve been times where the thought crossed my mind, always in the midst of one of my bouts of depression. I’ve had a few, in my 20s and following the birth of one of my kids in my 30s. I like to say I’ve carried on the family illness. Luckily, I found a medication that works. And now I’m also able to notice when I’m not feeling myself and take action.

Each time I share my experience, most people share their own direct or closely-related experience right back. In talking openly, I always hope the negative stigma associated with mental health is destroyed. The illness doesn’t discriminate by commodity, income level, age, nationality or sex.

So, if at the beginning of this new year, when everyday farming pressures are coupled with the pressures of living in a pandemic, if you aren’t feeling yourself, be brave. Tell someone. You‘re not weak, crazy, or seeking attention. Most of all, you are not alone.

And if you see someone who is not themselves, have the courage to say, “I’ve noticed you don’t seem like yourself lately. I care about you. Are you thinking about hurting yourself?”

You won’t be giving them a suggestion. You’ll be creating an opening that could be their lifeline.

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