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Originally published:

September 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Breaking point

Summer lovin’

International exports climb

Moon shines among BC grape growers

Exodus

Back 40: The line of fire raises burning questions

Viewpoint: Targeted grazing could help FireSmart communities

Water curtailments squeeze forage production

Committee report recommends apple commission

Ag Briefs: BC Tree CEO takes leave of absence

Ag Briefs: Hargreaves to lead cranberries

Ag Briefs: New federal minister

Starling control program meets expectations

New society looks to protect property rights

Marketing board chooses new entrant finalists

New funding for First Nations agriculture

Grape growers strategize for recovery

Nex gen’ hops for today’s brewers

Grasslands take carbon storage underground

Farm Story: Crop flops admid potato perfection

Off-the-grid organic farm thrives on efficiency

XY Ranch celebrates 100 years in Peace

Too close for comfort

Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

Sidebar: Build on the public’s trust, not its criticism

Small-scale goat, sheep dairies approved

Wytincks honoured at national show

Sidebar: Best in Show goes to BC producer

Sustainable practices attract a following

Fungicide resistance of botrytis studied

Farmers urge a coordinated drought response

Peary-y nice

Woodshed: Water finds its level for Gladdie, and Kenneth

Cidery harvest opportunity from old orchard

New flavours for fall

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1 week 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 😊

2 weeks ago

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2 weeks 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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2 weeks 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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2 weeks 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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Marketing board chooses new entrant finalists

Organic stream added to meet growing consumer demand

Adrian and Kelsey Oosterhoff of Telkwa are among five producers shortlisted from a host of applications for the BC Milk Marketing Board’s New Entrant Program. SUBMITTED

September 13, 2023 byKate Ayers And Peter Mitham

ABBOTSFORD – The BC Milk Marketing Board has selected five producers to participate in this year’s New Entrant Program.

The board chose four producers from a shortlist of seven candidates selected by random draw earlier this year to enter conventional production. One producer was chosen to meet the demand for organic production out of a pool of 10 applicants, with a further three placed on a three-year waitlist.

“It was good to see such strong interest from potential new dairy entrants during these challenging times in the sector, as we grapple with rising costs and weather conditions. We are seeing moderate growth in organic dairy, so opened up a dedicated stream for the first time this year,” says BC Milk general manager Rob Delage. “The review committee identified one farm that can start right away and three others it recommended for a waitlist in the event additional organic production is needed in the coming years. We don’t have any immediate plans on that front but will wait to see how the market evolves.”

The successful candidates, who formally accepted the opportunity August 18, include conventional producers Adrian and Kelsey Oosterhoff of Telkwa; Jessie Weststrate of Delta; Melissa Schalin of Armstrong; Peter and Hertha Muller of Langley; and organic producer Brad Bennik of Langley.

The organic waitlist includes Scott Syme, Andrew Johnson and Jeremy Goosen.

Conventional producers will have until December 31, 2024, to start production and meet the requirements to receive incentive quota from BC Milk. The new entrant in the organic stream will have until September 1, 2026, to commence production.

Conventional producers receive 15 kg of Continuous Daily Quota (CDQ) at startup, plus up to 8 kg of matching CDQ provided on a 1:1 ratio basis during the 10 years of the program.

New entrants under the organic stream will receive an initial 19.5 kg Specialty Continuous Daily Quota (SCDQ) as well as up to 8 kg of matching SCDQ on a 1:1 ratio over the 10-year program. Additionally, organic candidates receive a 30% organic bonus on first-year matching quota purchases, bringing their total potential quota to 40.3 kg.

Family legacy

As a third-generation farmer, Adrian Oosterhoff and his wife Kelsey look forward to diversifying their operation and continuing the legacy of dairy farming in the family as new producers.

The path towards milking cows full-time has been more like a roller coaster, Oosterhoff says. He was raised on a dairy farm on Round Lake, about 10 kilometres southeast of Telkwa, but his father sold the farm in 2000, when Oosterhoff was 12. But then in 2012, his father started up the family dairy farm again and Oosterhoff came home to help with operations.

“For probably about five years, I was much more involved. I was taking on the cow nutrition part of it, did a lot of field work and milking,” Oosterhoff says. Then, his father was ready to retire from milking but Oosterhoff was not in a position to buy the cows and quota and they were sold.

A year later, in 2017, Oosterhoff bought the family farm and started a beef operation which now has about 120 cows under the name Lacroix Ranch, a slight change from his father’s Lacroix Acres. Returning to dairy was a long-term plan, but an initial bid in 2021 wasn’t successful.

This year’s success gives Oosterhoff a chance to continue work his grandfather started after World War II, originally raising broilers on the family homestead before entering dairy production.

Kelsey also comes from a farming family. She grew up on a beef and cash crop operation in the Bulkley Valley. She completed a degree in environmental science at UNBC and now works in the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.

“She had her own beef herd along with her dad’s and she always came back every summer [during university] and was very passionate about being involved,” Oosterhoff says. “That was kind of the start of our beef herd when we got married.”

The couple plan to run the beef and dairy operations side by side.

“We feel in our location that they complement each other quite well. We have a lot of non-arable land up here in the north,” Oosterhoff says, “and so we have access to a fair amount of grazing which works well for the beef and the dairy then would take most of the arable land right around the house here and the barnyard.”

However, the drought has greatly reduced forage production this year. In anticipation of being chosen as a finalist, the Oosterhoffs started securing feed early this year.

“We pretty much realized as soon as we started cutting our own crops that the yields were way down,” Oosterhoff says.

While the couple didn’t know for sure if they would eventually need to feed two herds, they were confident in their application and planned for success and reached out to forage producers from Telkwa to Prince George.

“We don’t want to go backwards on the hard work we’ve done in our growth so far,” Oosterhoff says. “It may be tough but we’re committed to growing and doing this for the long term.”

The Oosterhoffs plan to purchase the full 23 kilograms of quota and hope to be up and running by the end of November.

Oosterhoff has kept the dairy barn in good shape and has secured a new herd from a retiring dairy farmer in the region.

“What we’re looking forward to most is simply being at home and working with animals. We both absolutely love agriculture and we’re quite passionate about it,” he says.

Mullers come with dairy background

Finalists Peter Muller and his wife Hertha of Langley also grew up in the industry.

Peter’s parents had beef cows and horses in Cloverdale, and he often worked on his uncle’s dairy farm in Maple Ridge and aunt’s farm in Duncan. Hertha is from a dairy farm in Agassiz.

Muller is renting a dairy facility in Fort Langley, which he hopes to fill with 30 cows in the first year and work up to between 40 and 50 animals in the second year of operations. The couple, along with their three adult children and grandchildren, look forward to getting started in the dairy sector. Muller plans to be milking by the end of January 2024.

Bennik transitions from water buffalo to Jerseys

Organic stream finalist Brad Bennik is shifting from milking water buffalo to Jerseys, thanks to the New Entrant Program. The absence of supply management drew him towards water buffalo over a decade ago but supply management has drawn him back to dairy cattle.

With water buffalo, Bennik needed to do everything from scratch, including marketing and securing retailers. Now, he looks forward to a milk truck showing up, taking away not only his milk but his responsibility for marketing and selling the product.

Bennik milked water buffalo in Langley Township for 11 years but has now sold most of the milking herd and is renting a dairy barn on Barnston Island. Bennik is ready to start organic production by September 1, pending milk inspector approval.

“We hope to get the total 40.3 kilograms,” Bennik says. “I’m going to be milking mostly Jerseys because the facility I have secured is designed for 1960 Holsteins, not 2023 Holsteins.” The Jerseys’ smaller stature is a better fit for his barn.

Conventional finalists Schalin and Weststrate and were not available before deadline. Schalin mentioned that she was busy with barn renovations.

On Facebook, Weststrate wrote, “Well, my dreams just became reality. I was accepted into the New Entrant Program through the BC Milk Board. I’m so thankful to be able to start farming next year, and I’m even more thankful for everyone who’s helped guide me here.”

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