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Originally published:

OCTOBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 10

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Stories In This Edition

BC Beef set to launch

All in the Family

Peace leads farmland sales

Second residences allowed in ALR until July 2021

Ready for the season

Editorial: Turkey run

Back 40: Some things about farming never change

Viewpoint: Growing craft beer sector built on community connections

BC Tree Fruits prepares to sell assets, apples

Sidebar: No quick fix

Cherry growers slammed by record losses

Pickers – and choosers

Animal rights activists land in court

Meat producers frustrated by consultations

A2 milk launch aimed at lactose-intolerant

Ag Briefs: Northern Health signs on with FeedBC

Ag Briefs: Cranberry outlook brightens

Ag Briefs: Agriculture nabs recovery funding

Ag Briefs: North Okanagan reaches farmers

Pandemic delays review of anti-dumping order

Potato field day showcases new varieties

Province tightens rules for employers

Peace grain growers gather bitter harvest

Learning to do

Vancouver Island grain harvest looks promising

Slaughter waste receives fresh funding

Ranchers threaten litigation over treaty negotiations

Sweet sale

Sidebar: Rancers seek compensation for Chilcotin land losses

Ardill Ranch receives Century Farm award

Sidebar: The long haul

Research: Regenerative ranching counters climate change

A new generation keeps the family greenhouse growing

Hazelnut growers on the lookout for invasive stink bug

New president for BC Hazelnut

First-gen farmers plot a vision for success

New research director puts people first

Reflective tarps piloted in FV blubeberries

Speciality mushroom growers come into their own

Seeking insights

Dairy success is about attention to detail

Woodshed: To Rocky’s end, and flirting with danger

Green bean trials target large grower needs

Farm Story: There’s plenty to put the dynamite in the family dynamic

AITC rolls out virtual options for teachers

Jude’s Kitchen: Brunch for a bunch

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3 days 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 weeks 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.

3 weeks 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?

3 weeks 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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4 weeks ago

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises. ... See MoreSee Less

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises.
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Meat producers frustrated by consultations

Action, not talk, needed from province, say small growers

Julia Smith of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association says the time for consultation is over and the province should act quickly to implement changes aimed at modernizing rural slaughter practices. PHOTO / SUBMITTED

October 1, 2020 byTom Walker

MERRITT – BC meat producers are frustrated that the province is spending more time studying how to help them than getting on with acting on its findings.

The BC Ministry of Agriculture released an intentions paper September 14 aimed at modernizing rural slaughter practices, but Julia Smith of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association says the government doesn’t seem to realize the urgency of the situation.

“The intentions paper talks about undertaking a risk assessment project to support development options for rural meat production,” says Smith. “It’s too late for that now. Many operations simply cannot survive another round of consultations.”

Smith says the slaughter and cut and wrap capacity in BC is facing a serious crisis that will only accelerate in the coming months. Abattoirs are already cancelling bookings that were made months ago, she says, and producers are being left with literally nowhere to process their animals legally.

“The government has an opportunity here to provide relief and oversight during a global pandemic that could be a catalyst for long-lasting, progressive change in the future,” she notes.

But the government already knows that. It first began talking with the industry back in 2016. There were numerous consultations and a standing committee of the legislature delivered a report on the situation in 2018.

Nova Woodbury, executive director of the BC Association of Abattoirs, says her members are tired of saying the same things.

“I have 10 Word documents open right now that are past submissions I have made to the ministry and I am trying to consolidate them into yet again another response,” she said.

This is the worst time of the year to try and talk to the industry, Smith adds.

“September is not the time of year to initiate meaningful consultation with the farmers and ranchers,” she says. “Implement some emergency measures now and continue to consult through the winter to hammer out more permanent changes for the spring.”

Overall, the intentions the province outlines are good and reflect what many in the industry have been saying. They include increasing the standards of inspection for class D and E plants to more closely align their uninspected slaughter practices with those of inspected class A and B processors.

“This paper provides the support the industry has been asking for and gives reassurance to members of the public that food safety and animal welfare standards are going to be enforced,” says Woodbury.

The paper follows the province’s decision in August to consolidate all meat inspection in the province under the agriculture ministry’s Meat Inspection Branch, a change effective December 1. (While the branch oversaw inspections at class A and B plants, D and E facilities were under the BC Ministry of Health.)

The intentions paper focuses on four key areas: public health and safety, innovation, regulatory efficiency and strengthening the provincial food supply.

Public health and safety is where improving oversight, increasing inspections and updating codes of practice for D and E facilities fall.

Virtual inspections, post mortem inspections and third-party involvement in inspections is part of innovation. The framework for D and E processors could also be updated.

Regulatory efficiency will be addressed by working with FrontCounter BC to improve the licensing process.

Aiming to strengthen the provincial food supply, the government acknowledges that demand is increasing for local meat. But that isn’t a new or unexpected issue, Smith points out.

“We were already struggling to meet the growing demand long before COVID hit,” she says. “A resilient and diverse local food supply chain isn’t something we should have just in case the ‘real’ food supply chain breaks down. It should be the norm and we need appropriate infrastructure and regulations that reflect this.”

The deadline for public feedback is November 16*. The province promises to begin making regulatory and policy changes by the end of the year.

Woodbury hopes there is money for the government to follow through. She notes that the meat inspection branch moved to cut costs last year by mandating restrictions on overtime.

Smith urges the province to use taxpayers’ dollars wisely.

“Instead of spending money on more consultation, spend it to support abattoirs to expand, local butchers to expand, and new people to open slaughter and butcher facilities,” she says.

With the province announcing $1.5 billion in funding last month for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith believes there’s no better time for action.

“If we were ever going to make something happen quickly, it is now,” she says.

[The deadline for feedback was extended to November 16 after this story went to press.]

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