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Originally published:

DECEMBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Abattoirs eye pandemic funding

Water fight

Turkey sales strengthen

Orchardists forge ahead following late-season freeze

Editorial: Back to the future

Back 40: Pandemic gives leaders a bosst, but what about farmers

Viewpoint: BC agriculture set to ead food conversations

Kamloops farmers push back on irrigation plan

Sidebar: A new tool for municipalities

ILT puts broiler farms on the defensive

Snowed under

Antimicrobial phase-out delayed

BC Tree Fruits makeover gets green light

Keremeos supply store closes

Province rethinks land matching pitch

Ag Briefs: Land commission appts announced

Ag Briefs: Blueberry council set for elections

Ag Briefs: Award honours young agrologist

Ag Briefs: Horticultural loss

Ag in the Classroom prepares for change

Beekeepers go virtual for 100th anniversary

Sidebar: Pandemic puts pause on bee research

Island farmers frustrated by ferry waits

Slaughter limitations forcing producers out

Livestock specialist has close ties to ranching

Cattle take lead in fire prevention efforts

New food hub planned for Salmon Arm

Passion and schooling pay off for young grower

Cleanfarms looks into ag plastic recycling program

Robotic strawberry picker on the horizon

Agritech venture aims to unite data management

Sidebar: Microsoft moves in

Up in smoke

New tool helps farmers avoid nutrient runoff

Peace region weather network expanded

Sidebar: Adaption network hosts webinar series

Tarps provide targeted alternative to cover crops

Orchardists making greater use of decisionaid system

Asian parasitoids come to the rescue of berry growers

Research: Keeping cows’ reproductive cycle on track

Agroforestry project makes farm viable

Young farmers encouraged to cultivate resilience

Farm Story: A change of season brings a change of mind

Universal broadband fund cheers farmers

Woodshed: New beginnings for Deborah and Susan

4-H members finish season at virtual Ag Expo

Jude’s Kitchen: Classic festive appies for the holidays

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24 hours ago

Fecal coliform levels in the streams and watercourses that flow through Langley has been an issue for decades. The Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) has received $97,000 from the federal government to work with property owners to help them reduce their impact on water quality and the environment, and ensure their properties are in compliance with the Agriculture Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP). The story is in the February edition of Country Life in BC. Subscribe today bit.ly/3RIKms9/.

#BCAg #aemcop
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Fecal coliform levels in the streams and watercourses that flow through Langley has been an issue for decades. The Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) has received $97,000 from the federal government to work with property owners to help them reduce their impact on water quality and the environment, and ensure their properties are in compliance with the Agriculture Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP). The story is in the February edition of Country Life in BC. Subscribe today https://bit.ly/3RIKms9/.

#BCAg #AEMCoP
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2 days ago

BC dairy farmers are feeling the pinch and some in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. It's our cover story in the February edition of Country Life in BC.

bit.ly/3JGgk6B

#bcagriculture #bcdairy
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BC dairy farmers are feeling the pinch and some in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. Its our cover story in the February edition of Country Life in BC.

https://bit.ly/3JGgk6B

#bcagriculture #bcdairy
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So much pressure being put on the dairy industry from the US. It’s hard to keep the lobbying at bay. Canadian dairy should supply Canadian tables and the farmers who provide it should be paid what they are worth. There is no such thing as cheap food

Farm Management is key. It can't all be blamed on the government.

Just been watching NZ TV news and the price of food. Most complaining about the price of dairy products due to the fact that domestic prices are high with most production being exported. No supply management.

I really don't understand the concern here. The article literally says 30-40 of 600 BC dairy farms (that's less than 1%) are experiencing financial pressure, likely due to being somewhat overleveraged. Sounds like just some mismanagement rather than a broad policy failure is the cause here.

Whole Food Plant Based eating ...oat milk coconut milk Almond milk soy milk etc

Noooooooo. That’s exactly what this LIB/NDP party wants. They want everyone to cave in to their knees. Don’t do it. It’ll be the end.

A lot of this is government squeeze. Be hungry and compliant!

The government is the eternal enemy of humanity.

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1 week ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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2 weeks 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

2 months 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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New food hub planned for Salmon Arm

Project will give local producers an opportunity to expand

Former COABC executive director Jen Gamble has created a business plan and is expected to follow through on the creation of a province-backed food hub in Salmon Arm which would allow local producers to expand and add value to their products. PHOTO / SUBMITTED

December 1, 2020 byJackie Pearase

SALMON ARM – A food hub in Salmon Arm will provide much-needed processing opportunities to producers in the Shuswap-Okanagan.

In mid-September, the BC Ministry of Agriculture announced $500,000 toward the creation of a food hub in the community.

“The province’s processing sector is seeing success all over BC and we are supporting farmers and food and beverage producers who want to take their products to the next level,” says BC Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham.

The idea for a food hub started two years ago with a feasibility study done by the Salmon Arm Economic Development Society. The study included consultation with local producers and processors to determine the need and demand for such a facility.

SAEDS economic development manager Lana Fitt says they are well aware gaps in the local food processing infrastructure are a barrier to new business development and expansion of existing food producers.

“The ability for them to access shared equipment and shared knowledge and shared space for that initial food production was definitely on our radar for some time before we proceeded with the food hub feasibility project,” she notes.

Salmon Arm mayor Alan Harrison says the facility fits nicely with the city’s efforts around food security.

“This is exactly one of the ingredients that you need in order to process local foods and be able to look after your own area,” Harrison says. “That’s our goal, to have that anchor, the food hub, and then have smaller producers be able to process their products and serve them locally.”

Jen Gamble was the consultant for the food hub’s subsequent business plan and is scheduled to be hired as the food hub’s executive director.

She says providing producers with the means to scale up production and build their businesses will certainly enhance local food security.

“It will allow people that, right now, are creating solutions for themselves that are maybe not the most convenient to adjust and hopefully have something that works very well for them,” she says.

Elderberry Grove owners Jed Wiebe and Louise Lecouffe currently process their syrup, juice and shrub – a beverage made with the syrup, apple cider vinegar and honey – in a small rented kitchen.

Wiebe says the current arrangement is working for now.

“If the scale of our production gets any bigger, it will be too small. And that’s the plan; we grow every year,” he says.

The recent announcement halted their plans to construct a commercial kitchen.

“This is a lot smarter economically and also for the environment: why make two facilities when one can be shared?” asks Wiebe. “If it opens next year, we want to at least try it out and see if it works for us.”

Fitt expects a wide variety of foods, beverages and value-added products to be processed at the facility.

“It’s definitely a multi-use facility so we’ve all kinds of ideas and opportunities coming from this,” she says. “It’s quite diverse in terms of what could be offered in the space.”

Selection of a site was expected in late October. Fitt says the site needs to have the potential to expand.

“We’re hopefully looking to grow the space and offer more services and more activities, more support programs in the space over time,” explains Fitt.

Business development services will be provided through local partnerships with the Salmon Arm Innovation Centre, Shuswap Launch-a-Preneur Program, Community Futures Shuswap and Okanagan College.

“We see that as being a key component of the food hub going forward. Not just the physical space and the equipment but actually the training and support to get that new product to market successfully,” notes Fitt. “Those partners we see as playing a very important role in providing that ongoing support service to businesses either as they’re launching or through growth phases.”

Once space is leased, Gamble will get to work on sourcing equipment, engaging and educating potential food hub users and the public, communicating with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Interior Health Authority, and monitoring construction.

Gamble says the hub will serve the entire Columbia Shuswap Regional District as well as some neighbouring communities within the Okanagan.

“It’s such a great area for agriculture that it’s a really solid base to build on.”

The goal is to secure an anchor tenant that will ensure year-round operation of the facility to make it financially viable within a two-year timeframe.

“That anchor tenant will help secure and provide stability for the hub and smaller people coming in,” she adds.

Gamble doesn’t expect to have the capacity immediately to serve large dairies in the area but there are many small to medium producers and processors that could benefit from the food hub.

“People like that will hopefully be able to hop right in and make this a piece of their operation that facilitates the business functioning better and allows them to stay a little more local,” she says. “In the end, I think it will build a really strong network and community around our food system here in the Shuswap.”

This is the fifth food hub established in BC supported by the BC Food Hub Network and Ministry of Agriculture. There are operating food hubs in Vancouver, Surrey and Port Alberni. A food hub is scheduled to open soon in Quesnel. The Salmon Arm food hub is scheduled to open in 2021.

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