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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 9

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3 weeks ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

www.countrylifeinbc.com

ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

4 weeks ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

4 weeks ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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4 weeks ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

4 weeks ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Milk board picks new entrant finalists

Finalists have until end of 2023 to be up and running

John and Candice Riemersma are one of three finalists chosen by the BC Milk Marketing Board for its New Entrant Program. SUBMITTED

September 1, 2022 byKate Ayers

ARMSTRONG – The idea of seeing their children grow up to pursue dairy farming as a viable career was John and Candice Riemersma’s core motivation in applying for the BC Milk Marketing Board’s New Entrant Program.

It also won the couple a spot among the three families selected as finalists in this year’s program, which the board announced on July 21.

John is a second-generation producer who grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Agassiz with parents Pier and Fennalies and brother Simon.

While he enjoyed working on the family’s farm, John had another passion: sport. So, in 1995 at the age of 18, he left the farm to attend Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan. John played varsity volleyball and completed a degree in sports administration. He also met his future wife Candice and after graduating the couple moved to Alberta where John completed a Bachelor of Arts and Kinesiology degree at the University of Lethbridge, and Candice achieved a Bachelor of Education.

Back home in Agassiz, his parents sold the original farm and moved to Armstrong to start another dairy operation in 2010.

Two years later, John and Candice planned to make a short visit to Armstrong to help Pier and Fennalies transition the farm to Simon. The couple and their four children – Cash, 14, Mila, 11, Lucy, 9, Remington, 6 – have been helping on the farm ever since.

While John and Candice had a long-term vision for themselves in the world of athletics, their family and the farming lifestyle have brought the couple back into the dairy sector.

“The coaching world is pretty tough,” John says. “You’re gone lots and away from the whole family. So, we decided to come to the farm thinking that we can farm together as a family and have our kids involved.”

Working hard, seeing the job through and overcoming adversity are some experiences the Riemersmas bring to the table.

“Sport, team and training experiences prepare you very much for many things in life. As much as it seems very different from agriculture, there are a lot of correlations,” Candice says.

“One good parallel is that it takes a lot of time to have success. You’re going to have more failures along the way and with the failures, people can quit, or they can see them as opportunities to learn and grow.”

The couple currently lease buildings and land from John’s parents and look forward to fulfilling the 31 kilograms of quota offered through the NEP. For now, they are absorbing as much knowledge as possible.

Throughout the application and interview process, the couple have toured multiple farms and asked a lot of questions.

Overall, the family is excited to get going on this new endeavour.

“I think Canada’s history of generational farms is so amazing and I think we are losing it really quickly,” Candice says. “The possibilities of my children being able to take over or grow, expand, diversify, whatever they want to do, is super important to us.”

The other two finalists also bring family experience in the dairy industry to their plans.

Douglas Groenendjik, a third-generation farmer from Chemainus, looks forward to starting an operation in the Cowichan Valley.

“I’m quite excited to give it my best go. I learned a lot from my parents, and my parents are great dairy farmers themselves, but I want to see what I can do by myself with their mentorship and other people in the industry’s mentorship,” Groenendjik says.

Michael and Gina Haambuckers look to turn their dream into a reality in the Fraser Valley. Michael has worked in the genetics industry for the last decade and Gina works as a herdsperson on her parent’s 65-head dairy in Agassiz.

The couple are most looking forward to “going through the process of building something for ourselves,” Michael says.

The new entrants have until December 31, 2023, to start production, qualify for the program and receive incentive quota from the board.

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