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Originally published:

June 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 6

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Stories In This Edition

A Taste of Spring

Flooding wallops southern interior

Ottawa wires CAP cash

Minimum wage hike squeezes farm margins

Editorial: The new democracy

Back Forty: Horgan on receiving end of pipeline challenge

Viewpoint: BC has led country in national check-off support

New chair appointed to land commission

Richmond expands farmhouse provisions

Demand for land drives farmland values higher

Biosolids raise a stink with neighbours

Rising wine sales boost demand for red grapes

Game-changer on dividend splitting

Mushroom merger

Wildfire, flood review has First Nations focus

Sidebar: Snapshot of recommendations

Labour tops issues as hothouse growers meet

Growers on look-out for activists

Antimicrobial lockdown

Ag briefs: Island farmers on lookout for armyworm

Ag briefs: AgSafe elects new chair

Ag briefs: No flood of licences

Ag briefs: Direct delivery

Hops revival gains traction with feds

Wildfire top concern of grape growers

Sidebar: Preparing for fires in the Okanagan

Nuffield scholars

Two studies promise to ensure slaughter capacity

Sidebar: Consultation schedule

Oversight sought

Bumper crop of invasive weeds after wildfires

Elk sights have producers concerned

Guichon heads back to life on the ranch

Research: Grazing cattle the sustainable way

Farmers markets focus on cultivating trust

Veggie days open house

Co-ops offer values-based alternatives

Region focuses on boosting local food usage

Bonus coupon

Growing opportunity

Garden City project breaks sustainable ground

Weevils pose challenges

Protecting pollinators key for crop yields

Wannabe: Keeping up with the times

Young farmers turn on, tune in and download

Woodshed: Kenneth has another go at the Massey

4-H BC thanks partners for their support

Jude’s Kitchen: Co-op food

 

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3 days 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 week 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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3 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?

4 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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Minimum wage hike squeezes farm margins

Workers will have to work harder to pay for increase

June 1, 2018 bySean Hitrec

DELTA – Growers are taking a closer look at pay structures as minimum wage hikes take effect this month.

As promised during last spring’s election campaign, the BC NDP plan to raise the minimum wage to $15.20 an hour over the next four years. The first of four minimum wage increases took effect June 1, lifting the minimum wage to $12.65 an hour from $11.35. On January 1, 2019, all piece-rate minimums will jump 11.5%. Additional increases to the minimum piece rate are also on the table.

Different labour laws and lower costs in Mexico and the US keep fruit and vegetable prices in check at Canada’s supermarkets, but they also set the price for local farms. Combined with a new payroll tax replacing MSP premiums starting next year, rising labour costs are set to put fresh pressure on producers’ margins.

BC greenhouse growers are one group that has taken a hit from cost increases in the last few years.

“It’s impossible for our industry to pass these higher operating costs onto consumers except through market mechanisms that are beyond our control,” Peter Cummings told the BC Greenhouse Growers Association at its annual meeting in April.

Cummings, who stepped down as chair at the meeting, said carbon taxes along with minimum wage increases will be very difficult for the greenhouse industry to deal with.

“The farmers are the ones that get the shaft,” says Westcoast Vegetables Ltd. COO Ron Van Marrewyk.

His greenhouses in Delta pay workers incentive bonuses on top of wages to pick efficiently. Because of the minimum wage increase, he says his workers will receive smaller bonuses.

“Our incentive bonus is changing, too,” he says. “If you want that same type of bonus, we’re going to have to ask you to work faster.”

BC Federation of Labour president Irene Lanzinger, who for years has been pushing for a $15 minimum wage in BC, recognises the strain it puts on farm owners. However, she says just because other countries can charge less in Canada’s markets due to looser labour regulation, does not make it right for workers in Canada to live on poverty wages. She emphasizes that the minimum wage will remain below the poverty level until just below $15 per hour.

“We cannot participate in the race to the bottom,” she says. “It is still incumbent upon us to set minimum standards here for workers – employment standards that mean that workers are not exploited in British Columbia.”

Other greenhouses are going to absorb the cost directly into their profits.

“It comes from our bottom line. If the cost of labour goes up, there’s less profit, simple,” says Sunnyside Greenhouses Ltd. owner Jos Moerman. “For us, it’s so important to have the same people coming back every day and every year because they know what to do.”

Farms that pay workers a piece rate based on how much they pick have about a year longer to prepare.

In a letter to Country Life in BC, BC Minister of Labour Harry Bains clarified why the BC piece rate increase is lagging behind the minimum wage hike. Bains notes the Fair Wage Commission’s recommendation in April was a 15% increase to all piece rates as well as a requirement for all workers to make at least minimum wage starting this June.

“However, we recognized that this level of increase, particularly during the current growing season, would put undue strain on farmers. So we instead took a more measured and moderate approach – with an 11.5% increase to piece rates as of January 1, 2019 to give farmers more time to adjust,” he says. “And because the commission also noted in their report that there were significant information gaps on the piece rate system, we went back to the commission asking that further study be done with the help of a subject-matter expert so that we can fully understand the complexities of this unique and 40-year-old system before making fundamental changes to how it functions.”

Piece-rate pay systems are common in the production of fruit and berries. BC Fruit Growers’ Association general manager Glen Lucas says his members are in a similar situation to greenhouses, with most prices set by imported product. However, they are relieved the minimum wage jump is not happening all at once and the piece-rate hike isn’t until January.

“We’re very pleased that the government said they would take a second look at the Fair Wage Commission, and recognised that the impacts might be a lot broader than the narrow scope that the Fair Wage Commission was looking at,” he says.

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