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Originally published:

January 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 1

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Stories In This Edition

Help wanted

Freight farm feeds local niche

Winter wallop

Dairy commits to healthier future

Marketing board reviewing dairy quota

Organic production set for a major boost

Weather patterns forcing change for FV farmers

Okanagan growth curve drains water supplies

Maple Ridge writing new soil deposit bylaw

Non-native stink bug poses threat to fruit growers

Arguments for wind power grow as hydro closes in

BC farm leaders make Top 50 list

Former politician awarded lifetime achievement

No surprise about pipeline

Food prices on the increase

Ag briefs

PAS aims for record attendance

Short course offers variety + sidebar

Innovation Expo makes debut

Dairy Expo starts with tour of nine FV dairies

Holstein assessements will establish benchmarks

Eto leaves BC Dairy

Incubator farm seeks to re-invirorate local seed industry

Islands Ag Show puts spotlight on Alberni Valley

Save the birds but share the cost

Nurseries seek fresh blood

BCLNA grows local markets

Comment sought on bison code

Corn and the battle with bugs

Starling control program renewed in Okanagan

Staring down the bottom line

Kootenay Food Producers Co-op goes non-profit

Got milk? Water buffalo dairy cultivates following

Born to teach

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1 month ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
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1 month ago

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details. ... See MoreSee Less

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details.
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2 months ago

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed. ... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the provinces deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.
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Sounds like 2 weeks to flatten the curve turning into 2 years.

USDA doing avian vax research, May 11 bio-docs to UN incl section on H5N8 w/wild bird spread. Found link to apparent pre-release on May 11 Geller Report. Good luck farmers.

2 months ago

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.” ... See MoreSee Less

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.”
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Killing our food chain. How do we know they are actually carrying a virus, look what's taking place with covid, is it real.

Ik kan niet zo goed Engels maar als ik het goed begrijp is bij jullie ook vogelgriep maar nog niet bij jullie

Any idea when this episode or bird flu might be over?

2 months ago

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions. ... See MoreSee Less

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions.
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Marketing board reviewing dairy quota

January 1, 2017 byDavid Schmidt

VANCOUVER – The BC Milk Marketing Board is beginning another review of its quota and solids-non-fat policies, producers were told at the BCMMB annual meeting and producer meeting in Vancouver on December 2. The review is intended to address production shortages and an unhealthy butterfat to solids-non-fat ratio.

BCMMB member Jeremy Wiebe noted 15,000 to 20,000 kgs of butterfat “fall off the table” each month due to underproduction. He added the production is not lost completely as “we give it back to you in incentive days.”

BCMMB member Tom Hoogendoorn admitted incentive days are a “stop-gap” measure and a more permanent solution is required.

BCMMB member Dick Klein Geltink said the Farm Industry Review Board-mandated review could take up to a year to complete but producers indicated they want action much sooner.

“We need to get milk to market today, not a year from now,” one producer said, clearly reflecting the mood of the entire audience.

Backward step

Stan van Keulen, an often outspoken critic of BCMMB quota policies, said the board needs to go back to approaches used in the 1970s and 80s.

“We didn’t make the system fair (in those days); we made the system produce to the market. We need to allow those producers who can produce the milk to produce the milk.”

Several producers suggested the board look at other ways to allocate quotas rather than the pro rata system it currently uses. They pointed out that some producers do not have the cows, buildings and/or equipment to produce the extra 7% allocation they were given in 2016 and are therefore swapping it out or just not producing it.

They suggested farmers who do not produce the additional allocation should not receive future allocations. They stressed that selling the extra quota is not an option as the 10-10-10 LIFO (Last-In, First Out) assessment means sellers lose all the quota they have received in the past year.

“10-10-10 stifles the movement of quota,” one producer said in a comment reflecting the views of most producers. They encouraged the board to ask FIRB to change the assessment to a First-In, First-Out basis (which would reduce withholdings on most partial sales to the base 10%) or a system based on the average age of a producer’s quota holdings.

Organic quota

Another option is to extend the system currently used to allocate organic quota to the entire system. Organic producers are given a “sleeve” each quarter. Those who produce the full sleeve in a quarter then receive a portion of that sleeve in the form of a quota allocation in the following quarter.

That has worked well in the organic sector which saw 11% growth in the past year. That growth allowed the BCMMB to add four new organic producers in the past dairy year and bring in four more new organic producers this dairy year.

Producers noted it should work just as well in the conventional market, which has also been experiencing a huge increase in demand. However, it would not work at all should the situation change and markets shrink in future.

Butterfat

Producers also discussed what to do about butterfat, since that is where all the demand is coming from. Many urged the board to change its component pricing to put more money on butterfat and less on protein so producers will be encouraged to produce milk more suited to current market demands.

That seemed to resonate with the board, with Hoogendoorn noting “producers respond to financial incentives. community and more attractive as well,” she adds.

While there are hundreds of Freight Farms operating in the United States, Bright Greens Canada is the only one in BC, and one of a very small number across Canada. Knott sees a lot of potential for shipping container-based for the Prairie winters and more remote and northern communities where fresh produce is expensive when it’s available at all.

“It makes a lot of sense to grow these types of very perishable greens in this setting instead of trying to grow them in Mexico and put them on a truck and have them sit on the truck for three weeks until they get here,” she says. “I think as we build the business and expand what we’re doing, it’s going to offer something worthwhile to our community and help make us more self-sufficient in producing better quality food.”elp.

“This may include re-evaluating the effectiveness of Canada’s immigration programs in terms of meeting the needs of the agriculture sector,” writes the Conference Board of Canada in a recent briefing paper, produced with CAHRC’s support. “Without TFWs, we may face the prospect of a significant portion of Canada’s arable land lying fallow. That would be a tragedy.”

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