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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2023
Vol. 108 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Ghosted

Dairy farmers on the brink

Groundwater showdown

Finding success in succession planning

Editorial: The great repricing

Back 40: Government priorities are asking a lot

Viewpoint: Does farming need to be a full-time job?

Frozen out

Sidebar: Pruning it right

Letters: Program delivery, advocacy have separate roles

Wild weather continues to hammer dairies

Ag Briefs: Province hires two new assistant deputy ministers

Ag Briefs: BC Milk opens organic stream

Ag Briefs: ALC eyes Heppell property for inclusion

Building not land value bumps farm assessments

Province scrambles to register farm employees

Growers contest compensation formula for AI

Funding available for Langley landowners

Potato crop takes a hit but set to rebound in 2023

Low snowpack worrisome for producers

Prescribed burns part of the three-year study in the Peace

Farmgate abattoirs shut out of insurance

Sidebar: Survey explores insurance coverage

Ranch used as part of treaty settlement

Climate-resilient cattle take shape at TRU

Japanese beetle continues to spread

Field trial shows alternative to traditional crops

On-farm storage helps boost profitability

Market garden powered by solar energy

Farmers need to prioritize mental wellness

Scholarship takes chefs on tours of BC farms

Farm Story: Of things we would be lost without

Sheep producer expands wool market

Sidebar: How M.ovi impacts wild sheep

Fernie grocer stocks only local products

Woodshed: Kenneth’s rescue is touch and go

New map app educates public about BC farms

Snacks for your sweeties

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2 days ago

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.

#BCAg
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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

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

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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3 days 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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1 month 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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1 month 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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1 month ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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Market garden powered by solar energy

Off-grid farming shows what’s possible in the East Kootenays

No electricity? No problem for Harold Tichenor of Sunpower Farm in Skookumchuk, north of Cranbrook. With his wife, Jessica, he has embraced living and farming off the grid. SUBMITTED

February 1, 2023 byTracey Fredrickson

SKOOKUMCHUK – Jessica and Harold Tichenor have renovated several properties over the years, developing their building and gardening skills to where they could tackle extremely challenging projects. At a point in their lives when most farmers are thinking about retirement, they bought an off-grid property in the East Kootenays that turned out to be one of their most ambitious – and rewarding – adventures.

For several years, the couple divided their time between their permanent residence on Bowen Island and a property they developed in Rexford, Montana, one of the oldest Amish settlements in the state. They were strongly influenced by their Amish neighbours’ approach to farming, which avoids using motorized mechanical equipment and incorporates traditional methods to plan, raise and harvest products.

“We had a good-size garden and I was encouraged to consider growing for farmers markets, but I couldn’t do that in Montana because I was not a US citizen,” Jessica says.

In 2005, the Tichenors, then in their late 50s, set their sights on the Kootenays as the location for their next project. They purchased a 230-acre parcel in the town of Skookumchuk, a small rural community north of Cranbrook in the Rocky Mountain Trench, abundant with rivers and lakes. The land had been cleared in 1910 and sat undeveloped for years.

“Our philosophy is If you want to be a successful grower, grow where no one else is growing,” says Jessica. Skookumchuk met that criteria with less than 100 residents and not much more than a convenience store, RV park and campground.

Jessica describes the land when they purchased it as “total wilderness,” forest and bottom land with approximately 4,200 feet of frontage on Tamarack Lake. “It was so beautiful and private, accessible from a driveway almost a mile long. We thought living here would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Like the prospectors that came to the area to pan for gold in the 1800s, they jumped in to see what they could accomplish with the gem they had found.

They lived in a log cabin with a small solar energy system for several summers, eventually building a house and shop and expanding the array of solar panels. When the house was complete, they turned their focus to creating a sizeable market garden and named the property Sunpower Farm.

An eighth of an acre was initially devoted to the garden, which required significant soil amendments. Seventy acres of the property consisted of receded lakebed with seven feet of sandy loam topsoil.

“At first, we couldn’t even grow lettuce there,” Jessica recalls. “When we started spreading certified organic alfalfa hay in the fall, the soil quality improved every year. Today we have deep black soil that drains well and protects the seeds through the winter. We’ve expanded the garden so many times it’s unbelievable.”

Sunpower is best known for its garlic. It produced 5,000 bulbs last year. It also grows potatoes, onions, corn, peas, beans, lettuces, beets, carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, raspberries and strawberries. When the garden was expanded to its current size of 0.75 acres, they planted apple, pear and sour cherry trees. In addition to the Cranbrook Farmers Market, the farm sells to Grace Café & Preserving in Kimberley, and Mortella’s restaurant in Cranbrook. A grocery store and private customers on Bowen Island take much of what is left over at the end of the season.

Experimental farm

In addition to Sunpower’s success as a market garden, what really distinguishes it from other farms in the Kootenays is its use of solar power and non-mechanized equipment to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

“I considered the property an experimental farm,” says Harold. “We felt it could be developed into a substantial operation, but it was going to cost over $80,000 to put in electricity. We built the original small-scale solar system at about half that cost.”

The system was installed on the farm shop, which is oriented to maximize the sunlight the system receives. The shop also contains the equipment needed to convert light into power.

“On the upper floor are the control systems and a battery bank which provides about three days of energy to carry us through in cloudy weather. We use a propane generator during long stretches of cloudy days in the fall.”

With his interest in alternative energy, Harold began researching tilling and mowing equipment that did not use gas. He found a series of Elec-Trak all-electric garden tractor equipment made by General Electric in the early 1970s in response to the energy crisis of the time. The equipment is still available and in use today by a following of tractor and electric vehicle enthusiasts. Harold and Jessica bought two Elec-Traks so that when one was charging, the other could be used to keep the work going.

They have a small electric truck for bringing in crops from the garden and use a propane-powered gas range to prepare the bread and cookies Jessica makes and sells along with produce at the Cranbrook market.

“Other than the cost of the Elec-Traks themselves, we use little electricity,” says Harold. “That keeps our hydro-carbon output low and reduces infrastructure expenses.”

“The electric mowers only have a few moving parts so keeping them operating is easy,” he adds. “I might replace brushes and some bearings every two to three years and replace the batteries every five years. The battery technology ensures they will run for three hours. That’s about as much time as I want to spend on certain tasks anyway.”

Sunpower’s irrigation system is also adapted to the site.

“Summers in the Skookumchuk area are blazing hot and 42-degree days are common,” Jessica points out. “We placed the garden next to Tamarack Creek which flows into Tamarack Lake. We have a water diversion tank above the house and garden so that all our water comes from the creek with more than adequate pressure. To minimize water use, we use mostly drip lines, eliminating the need for pumps.”

The Tichenors, now in their 70s, have long followed the principles of author Jean-Martin Fortier, renowned for his low-tech, high-yield production methods, and English horticulturalist Charles Dowding’s

no-dig and organic soil management techniques.

They are adamant that market gardening benefits the health of older people.

“Even now in our 70s, we are very fit, largely because the garden work stretches and strengthens all the muscles in the body,” says Jessica, who has a nursing degree. “The social aspect of participating at the farmers market and providing good food for others also contributes to our healthy lifestyle.”

Despite the challenges of developing the farm from scratch, they have no regrets.

“We feel we’ve defied the odds as to what can be accomplished on this property and it has given back to us in so many ways,” Jessica says.

 

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