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Originally published:

May 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 5

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Stories In This Edition

Fraser Valley bee shortage overstated

Still waiting: ag waste regs

Cannabis shift delivers hit to vegetable sector

Peter’s legacy

Editorial: The straight dope

Back Forty: Our best friend deserves greater recognitiontory

Overheard: Farmers should embrace First Nations model

Change is coming, fast and furious

Foundation effective in fueling ag projects

New meat producer association launched

Sidebar: On board

Traceability regs to include animal movement

Report recommends FN approval on tenures

Province urged to regulate farmhouse size

Dairy group highlights industry needs on tour

Ottawa plays hardball with Agassiz leases

IAF showcases innovative ag projects

Neonics in water not from farm operations

Potato growers need to exploit opportunities

Spuds in tubs

Vegetable commission optimistic

Sidebar: Variety update

MacAulay grilled over farm labour issues

Apiarists want pollination income to count

Sidebar: BCHPA launches pollinator health study

Raspberry growers increase board size

Popham meets with berry growers

Hazelnut growers flush with optimism

Ranchers schooled in disaster preparation

Westgen eyes beef semen sales for growth

Big prize money draws big entries

Holstein auction sets new sale benchmark

North 40 bull tops Vanderhoof sale

Reclaiming market share in a global economy

Day-neutrals show promise for strawberry fields

Weather skews results in Peace variety trials

Salal berries have market potential

Vole control in blueberries

Wannabe: When tragedy brings us together

Watchful eye

Woodshed Chronicles: Henderson masterminds an apology

Jude’s Kitchen: Celebrate May with beef on the ‘barbie’

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7 days 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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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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New meat producer association launched

Group will give united voice to small-scale livestock farmers seeking slaughter capacity

April 30, 2018 byMyrna Stark Leader

MERRITT – Small-scale meat producers across BC are banding together to form a new association representing farmers and ranchers who raise meat outside of the conventional system.

The Small-Scale Meat Producers Association was founded by primary producers and their supporters following several months of online Facebook discussions that garnered the interest of about 75 ranchers and farmers. The online group was started by Julia Smith of Blue Sky Ranch in Merritt, which produces pork.

“Through our online discussions about the state of services for small meat producers who are facing real challenges when it comes to abattoir services and availability, we decided the best way to have a stronger voice was to form an association,” Smith explains.

In March, the group began the process of registering as a non-profit society in BC.

The efforts coincided with a BC Ministry of Agriculture consultation launched March 20 aimed at supporting rural slaughter capacity. Small abattoirs and other stakeholders were asked for feedback and suggestions on how to improve rural abattoir licensing in BC, which many small producers have identified as an issue. The consultations were slated to conclude by April 30.

The province asked current and former holders of abattoirs with D and E licences to describe their experiences with administration, licensing, operations and food safety. Presenters had an opportunity to discuss ideas that could enhance local slaughter capacity throughout the province.

Class D licence holders are allowed to slaughter up to 11,340 kilograms (25,000 pounds) of their own or other people’s animals per year for direct sale to consumers or to food businesses such as restaurants and meat shops in the region the meat was produced. They must also operate in one of the 10 regional districts that have been designated as rural remote areas: Central Coast, Kitimat-Stikine, Mount Waddington, Northern Rockies, Powell River, Skeena-Queen Charlotte, Squamish-Lillooet, Stikine, Strathcona (mainland and Discovery Islands portion only) and Sunshine Coast.

Class E licence holders may slaughter up to 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) of their own animals for direct sale to consumers only in the area the meat was produced.

There are currently 19 D-class licence holders and 27 E-class licence holders in BC.

The ministry promised to also gather input from key stakeholders, including the BC Association of Abattoirs, the BC Cattlemen’s Association, and regional health authorities.

“It’s positive they want to consult but I wrote to the department because I wanted their consultation to be broadened to include those of us in the production side who are concerned,” says Smith. “If you’re growing animals, you need some place to have them processed and right now, capacity at local abattoirs and butcher shops doesn’t exist, which means you should have an opportunity to provide input.”

Throughout April, the new association will be consulting with its members specifically to provide the ministry with broader industry feedback for consideration.

Jim Ross of Havesome Hogs in Slocan Park is the regional representative for the Central Kootenays. Ross began raising sheep and hogs 12 years ago.

Ross, who also works as an IT consultant, has an E-class licence that allows him to slaughter on the farm but today he sends most of the carcasses to expert butchers for cutting prior to direct sale to customers.

He has easy access to butchers who cut, process and wrap his meat but like many farmers with E licences, the 10,000-pound limit doesn’t allow him to make a living growing food. If he wants to sell to a retailer or restaurant and follow current regulations, he must haul his live animals more than two hours away, investing in equipment and time he doesn’t have for no additional profit.

“I don’t discount the work done by abattoirs, but feel hauling animals for over two hours is against my values and how my animals deserve to be treated,” he said.

Ross is no stranger to fighting the ministry, which previously refused to renew his licence on the grounds he could use a newly established portable abattoir just down the road. After he supplied a letter from that operator saying that he won’t be able to deal with Ross’s animals, the ministry renewed his licence.

But there’s a catch: he can’t hold his E licence and use the abattoir down the road under current regulations. This is why he supports the new association.

“I’ve swam against the current for eight years. It’s a lot of work and you don’t accomplish anything. It’s easy to ignore Jim Ross and his concerns, but it’s harder to ignore an association with many members,” Ross says.

In addition to a stronger lobby, he says joining forces with other small-scale meat producers enables the sharing of information and ideas across the province.

It also stands to ensure everyone, both large and small-scale producers, are playing by the same rules.

“For every legal licence, I estimate there are at least 10 selling meat on the black market and their customers don’t report them because they want the meat,” says Ross. “One of the challenges is how the government will bring these folks into the tent so all producers and consumers are protected in the event something goes wrong. I support all farmers but would rather we played by the same rules.”

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham says BC’s meat inspection system is being addressed as part of the “Feed BC” element of her mandate.

Small-scale meat producers who would like to be involved can join the association at [www.smallscalemeat.ca] or [smallscalemeat@gmail.com].

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