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Originally published:

OCTOBER 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 10

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Stories In This Edition

ALC cracks down

Pat Jasper …

Bill will rein in activists

BC considers making premises ID mandatory

Bin there, done that

Unsung heroes

The Back Forty: It’s time government changed its narrative

Viewpoint: Banning plastic bags ignores reality

New round of changes coming to land reserve

Hullcar farmers file first NMP plans under new code

Classy champion

Most farmers support Daylight Savings Time

South Vancouver food hub to connect farmers

Egg-splaining

Dunn leaps to dairy sector

UBCO study looks at context for climate change

City Beet harvests profits from urban gardens

Forage trial presents options for producers

Growers step up to continue corn silage trials

Density key to efficient, healthy silage storage

Weather affecting corn trials

Bumper crop pushes down blueberry prices

Valley has protential to be an agritech hub

Ministry working on land use inventory

Join initiatives a priority for feeders

Best of the best

Canadian beef herd sinks to 30-year low

Familiar challenges face fourth-generation rancher

No-till seeding showcased at field day

Market Musings: Grass-fed cattle come to market with big gains

Blight-resistant trees focus of hazelnut field day

Replant, pest support for hazelnut growers

Bright berries

New packing line can handle BC’s pear crop

Mission Hilll aims to be fully organic by 2021

Research: Clean cud promotes dental health in ruminants

Remote market supports growth of local growers

Farm groups exploring food hub opportunities

Zoom! Zoom!

Chilliwack farms hopping with insects

Livestock still a main attraction at annual fair

PNE agriculture auction keeps on giving

4-H skills still key despite changes in farming

Thousands converge on Westham Island

Woodshed: Vacation time invites all kinds of cover-ups

Kootenay grower shoots forward with microgreens

Jude’s Kitchen: Harvest local

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4 days ago

A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural Land Commission hosted in Langley Monday night regarding a proposal to include 305 acres controlled by the federal government in the Agricultural Land Reserve. More than 76,000 people have signed an online petition asking municipal and provincial governments to protect the land from development, and for the federal government to grant a long-term lease to the Heppells. Read more in this morning's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. conta.cc/3XYXw6k ... See MoreSee Less

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Your weekly farm news update

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The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 January 25 2023 Surrey ALR inclusion cheered A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural L
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Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

1 month ago

Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand this season and prices remain comparable to last year. But the number of tree farms has decreased dramatically over the past five years and the province will increasingly need to look elsewhere if it wants to meet local demand. More in this week's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christmas trees in demand

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Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand, with high quality trees making it to market. “The market is good. We’ll probably outdo last year and last year was one of our best years…
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2 months ago

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall. ... See MoreSee Less

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall.
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Avian influenza virus can be killed by chlorine at no higher a concentration than is present in drinking water, so unless farms are using untreated groundwater in their barns I don't see how it could be a source of transmission. www.researchgate.net/publication/5594208_Chlorine_Inactivation_of_Highly_Pathogenic_Avian_Influen...

2 months ago

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall. ... See MoreSee Less

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall.Image attachment
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Goes to show how far-removed our current government is from the agricultural sector. To put someone in this position who has no farming background is a slap in the face to all of our hard-working producers.

Going to be a heck of a learning curve. Helping the agricultural community recover from the biggest natural disasters in history, handling the avian influenza outbreak that is threatening our poultry industry, dealing with a crisis in meat processing, managing ongoing threats from climate change, supporting producers who are facing unprecedented inflation in an industry with very slim margins to begin with..... to name a few of the challenges our new Minister will have to face all with one of the lowest budgets of any ministry. I wish her the best of luck but I hope she's got a lot of support around her.

Best of wishes in your new position

Congrats to Pam, cool to see a Fraser Valley based ag minister but also so sad to see Lana reassigned . I have no doubt she will do an amazing job in her new role.

Will be missed by #meiernation

Bryce Rashleigh

Nooooooo!

Lana did a shit job and now we have a minister with no farming background at all. Aren’t we lucky..

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2 months ago

The scale of this year's avian flu outbreak now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004. An additional 13 commercial farms in the Fraser Valley have tested positive in the last week. To date, 49 commercial farms and 1.2 million birds have been impacted. CFIA is struggling to keep up with depopulation of sick birds. ... See MoreSee Less

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AI outbreak rivals 2004

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The scale of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004 that saw farms throughout the Fraser Valley depopulated. An additional 13 commercial…
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Commercial operations need to reevaluate their stocking densities and overall health and welfare of the animals within their systems if they are ever going to have a fighting chance against this virus.

Yup cause food shortage

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Ministry working on land use inventory

Mapping project lays foundation for future water management

BC Ministry of Agriculture photo

October 2, 2019 byAngela Abrahao

WILLIAMS LAKE—Producers used to keeping an eye out for suspicious activity were on alert in the Cariboo this summer when an unfamiliar vehicle bearing Alberta plates was spotted with a crew claiming to be working for the BC Ministry of Agriculture.

But all was well: the vehicle was indeed carrying a team of consultants whose work had been announced on social media by agriculture minister Lana Popham and distributed by ministry staff to stakeholders in the area. The crew was charged with conducting an Agricultural Land Use Inventory (ALUI) in the Cariboo as part of efforts to develop an agricultural water demand model (AWDM) for the region.

The inventory’s goal is to define the amount of actively farmed land in the region, provide a benchmark for monitoring land use change, identify land use trends for areas with historic ALUIs and assist land use planning including official community plans and Crown land use planning. ALUIs have been completed for the areas of south Cariboo, Lac La Hache and Green Lake.

The AWDM will enable the examination of water management alternatives that consider future land use changes, define potential impacts of climate change and identify appropriate adaptation strategies and inform future water storage modelling projects.

The agriculture ministry is using orthophoto satellite imagery to get an accurate representation of land surfaces.

The crew working in the Cariboo region this summer were verifying the orthophoto images for accuracy against what actually exists – that the images match up with the reality on the ground.

When paired with Statscan data, consultants will be able to confirm the location, crop, irrigation type and verify use for each land parcel in the region. This information is then run through the agricultural water demand model that will be used to determine how much water is needed on agricultural land and to look at changes in climate conditions and to assess future demand for water.

The main objective of the project is to have accurate information to be shared with local municipalities and regional districts so that they can make decisions about how to adapt and plan for climate change.

“The ALUI and AWDM is key information when local governments and other partners/agencies plan for agriculture,” explains Cariboo Chilcotin Coast regional agrologist Nicole Pressey. “With the changing climate and its potential impacts on food production in the region, resources such as the AWDM, the ALUI, the Climate Action Initiative’s Livestock Surface Water and Cariboo Pest projects and beneficial management practices through the Environmental Farm Plan can help producers, food processors, local governments and partners prepare for the change, and be resilient in the face of change.”

The project is especially important in the Cariboo for producers planning their livestock water use. The ministry hopes it will help private owners to think about water use, storage and management plans. Producers in the region are acutely aware of water use and there are parallel initiatives involving water projects happening in the Cariboo region. The Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association has engaged in several livestock surface water projects in recent years in partnership with the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative.

“Although the funding for the livestock surface water project water developments applies to public land, it is important that all producers are aware of the work so they are aware of the tools necessary to be resilient in the face of change,” explains Pressey. “People cannot control the change, but they can control how they prepare for it.”

 

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