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MARCH 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 3

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1 week ago

The province remained short on details Thursday as it repeated an announcement it plans to invest $5 million in a new animal disease preparedness and response program. “This investment will provide BC farmers and ranchers with the support to plan and respond quicker and better to disease outbreaks,” said BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis, who was joined by MLAs from Langley East, Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent at Canadian Organic Feeds in Chilliwack.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #BCpoultry
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The province remained short on details Thursday as it repeated an announcement it plans to invest $5 million in a new animal disease preparedness and response program. “This investment will provide BC farmers and ranchers with the support to plan and respond quicker and better to disease outbreaks,” said BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis, who was joined by MLAs from Langley East, Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent at Canadian Organic Feeds in Chilliwack.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #BCpoultry
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Stay away from government programs

It's a killing program ..

1 week ago

With the stroke of a pen, BC has officially entered into a new agreement with the federal government that will see more than $140 million invested over the next five years in “strategic” agricultural initiatives. The money represents a 25% increase of about $29 million over the previous funding agreement, which ends on March 31. “This partnership will support our government’s focus on food security for all British Columbians while investing significantly in BC farmers, producers and processors,” says BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis. The agreement was signed earlier today, during federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s visit to the province. ... See MoreSee Less

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Bilateral agreement signed

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BC will see an additional $29 million over five years from the federal government when the new agricultural policy framework debuts April 1. A new bilateral agreement between the provincial and…
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1 week ago

BC farmers and producers have until June 30 to register for AgriStability, pay their fees and secure coverage under the program. AgriStability provides support to growers with large financial declines caused by production losses as a result of extreme weather, disease outbreak (such as avian influenza) and increased costs or declining market conditions. About 2,100 BC farmers enroll in the program annually. For more information or to enrol, visit www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #AgriStability
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BC farmers and producers have until June 30 to register for AgriStability, pay their fees and secure coverage under the program. AgriStability provides support to growers with large financial declines caused by production losses as a result of extreme weather, disease outbreak (such as avian influenza) and increased costs or declining market conditions. About 2,100 BC farmers enroll in the program annually. For more information or to enrol, visit www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #AgriStability
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2 weeks ago

A new provincial agricultural extension program is in the works, and hopes are high it heralds a fresh start for regional agricultural support in BC. Set to launch this spring, the program intends to increase engagement with producers, with a focus on climate mitigation, adaption and overall sustainability.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc
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Provincial extension service coming

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A new provincial extension service is in the works, an initiative applauded at an Agri-Extension and Research event organized by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and held at the BC Ministry of...
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2 weeks ago

A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior. “We have settled on a butcher hub with two components, a dedicated space for cut-and-wrap with Magnum Meats as the tenant and a value-added meat processing area with a smokehouse and sausage-making equipment available for daily rental," says Vicki Gee, who sits on the food hub committee. The story appears in our March edition and we've uploaded it to our website.

[Schweb Cattle Co photo]
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Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

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ROCK CREEK – A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior.
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Jessica Coburn you see this?

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Meat inspection budget tightens

March 11, 2020 byTom Walker

Abattoir operators have been put on notice that regular shifts for provincial meat inspectors must not exceed seven hours a day unless authorized by the province.

“I am asking that all slaughter establishment operators adhere strictly to the scheduled inspection services, which do not exceed seven hours per day,” Gavin Last, executive director of the province’s Food Safety and Inspection Branch, wrote in a letter to all provincially licensed slaughter plants on February 25.

The letter came a week after the February 18 provincial budget, which slashed $2.3 million in funding from the agriculture science and policy budget. The funding improves “public health protection and consumer and retail confidence in the safety of British Columbia’s meat, seafood, and agrifood products through inspection.”

Last’s letter caught industry by surprise.

Nova Woodbury, executive director of the BC Association of Abattoirs, and the association’s president, Bonnie Windsor of Johnston Meats in Chilliwack, said the ministry didn’t consult industry on the directive.

However, the association has been able to work with the province to address key issues the new policy raised. One example is in the case of an equipment breakdown that requires inspectors to stay longer than planned.

“Overtime in an unforeseen situation at a plant will be allowed, as will planned overtime, including weekends and holidays during busy seasons, with prior permission,” notes Woodbury.

Windsor, assistant plant manager at Johnston’s, is relieved that she will have time to work with her 120 union staff on eight-hour shifts to reschedule plant flows. However, the letter indicates that overtime can’t be taken for granted.

“Last has made it clear that plants need to stop considering overtime as a given,” she says.

Abattoirs are still waiting for the province to release recommendations on changes intended to strengthen the industry, despite two consultations since 2018 and a report on slaughter capacity in the province by a committee of the legislature.

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