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September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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4 days ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
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Patti 😊

7 days ago

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7 days ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

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VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
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1 week ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

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Lake Country packing house sold

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BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
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Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

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1 week ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
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Livestock producers count losses

BC WILDFIRE SERVICE PHOTO

July 7, 2021 byPeter Mitham & Katie Ayers

Ranchers are on alert as more than 200 active wildfires burn across BC, many sparked following last week’s intense heat.

“We are moving into an unprecedented situation with fires. It’s 2017 on steroids in terms of fire activity. It’s so dry out there,” says BC Cattlemen’s Association general manager Kevin Boon.

Some ranchers have suffered losses from the current wildfires, and Boon is asking everyone to exercise caution when in the backcountry for either work or recreational purposes.

The province has also stepped in, banning campfires and open fires province-wide.

The province’s beef sector generally fared quite well during the heat wave, however.

“The cattle are out on range right now where they can get to … higher elevations where the temperatures are cooler,” Boon says. “They are also smart enough to know to sit in the shade and seek shelter in the trees during the day and graze at night. I think things are pretty good on the cattle front.”

Just as the fire activity was ramping up last week, the province urged livestock producers who had not yet registered with the province’s Premises ID program to do so. Premises ID allows provincial staff to assist in the rapid removal of livestock from areas under evacuation orders. Approximately two-thirds of producers have registered with the program.

The province says it has no numbers on livestock injuries and losses as a result of last week’s heat wave.

Broiler producers in the Fraser Valley lost approximately 20% of the birds they would normally ship to market last week, however.

“On the broiler side we’re about 400,000 lost. It’s very, very bad and devastating for the growers that lost them,” says Bill Vanderspek, executive director of the BC Chicken Marketing Board. “To put that in perspective, we produce approximately 2.2 million broilers a week here in BC, so we probably lost about 20% of one week’s production.”

Breeders, egg producers and turkey growers also saw loses from the heat wave, but Vanderspek said broiler producers saw the greatest losses because their birds tend to be younger and are bred to grow rapidly. These factors make them more vulnerable.

BC Egg Marketing Board executive director Katie Lowe said about 4% of BC laying hens fell victim to last week’s heat, primarily in the Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island. This amounts to more than 130,000 birds.

“The one thing we have going for us is new facilities with tunnel ventilation,” said Lowe. “Those systems seem to do very well.”

Growers with ventilation systems to protect their flocks can obtain heat prostration insurance, Vanderspek said. Many of his growers who lost birds will be filing claims.

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