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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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1 day 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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2 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.

2 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?

3 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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4 weeks ago

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises. ... See MoreSee Less

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises.
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New round of changes coming to land reserve

New rules follow Bill 15 even as anger over Bill 52 continues

October 2, 2019 byPeter Mitham

MERVILLE—The next round of changes coming to the Agricultural Land Reserve was announced September 19 as representatives from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Land Commission met with farmers in the first of six consultation sessions about how the province could support farmers.

Many of the more than 125 farmers, landowners and agriculture advocates who arrived at the community hall in Merville were angry with changes made under Bill 52, but Agricultural Land Commission CEO Kim Grout told the group even more changes are coming through regulations that will implement Bill 15. That bill provoked widespread criticism for moves to centralize decision-making and take away landowners’ right to deal with the commission directly.

“Bill 15 doesn’t have force and effect yet,” Grout told the meeting. “It requires regulations to bring it into force and effect, and we haven’t seen those yet.”

Those regulations will strengthen the commission’s mandate, remove the right of landowners to apply directly to the commission to exclude land from the Agricultural Land Reserve and require reconsideration requests be made within 90 days of a decision.

“The commissioners are going to be asked to give priority to protecting and enhancing the size, integrity and continuity of the ALR, and the use of that land for farming,” said Grout, providing an overview of what each change will entail.

With respect to shutting out landowners from the exclusion process, she said applications have always gone through local government first. Any application landowners filed via the commission’s website automatically went to the local government concerned before the ALC even saw it.

“Our part of the process isn’t triggered until local government sends it to us,” she said. “In the new order of how things will work, a private property owner won’t be able to go into the portal and initiate an application. It would go to local government for them to consider sending it to us. … [It’s] more of a broader, collaborative, community planning focus.”

The shorter timeline for reconsideration requests will bring ALC protocols in line with those of other government tribunals, which entertain reconsideration applications for 60 to 90 days after an initial decision. Also, the decisions must have had no previous request made regarding them, giving commission decisions a greater force and permanence.

“Reconsideration is part of the current process. The only change is the timeframe,” said Grout, soothingly.

Frustrated

But the angry and frustrated tone of the meeting underscored discontent with recent legislative changes. During a question-and-answer session that lasted nearly 90 minutes past the official end of the meeting, farmers voiced concerns that bills 52 and 15 had created uncertainty and confusion. Ham-handed government communication outreach to local government and farmers themselves hasn’t helped.

Many found out about the meeting in Merville at the last minute, even though it was supposed to launch a public consultation – recommended by last year’s committee report on revitalizing the ALR – on how government could improve its support of farmers. The information page, [http://engage.gov.bc.ca/supportingfarmers], was advertised on a flyer posted to social media by local MLA and meeting host Ronna-Rae Leonard but it didn’t go live until the consultation officially kicked off.

With slim, often negative margins, and a lot of wealth tied up in land their children will never be able to afford, many attendees said greater protection for farmland has limited their options and priced out new farmers.

“You failed,” one landowner bluntly told ALC chair Jennifer Dyson early in the meeting as she spoke about the need to make farmland available and affordable not just today but for future generations.

Another, Gene Ambrose of End of the Road Ranch near Qualicum Beach, cited statistics pointing to the tide of red ink facing farmers, and those looking to get into the business.

“If they get into farming, they’re going to lose money, most likely,” he said. “They’ll pull money from other sources; they’ll pull it from savings, and they’ll lose it. So why are we fighting to keep land prices down so they can do that? Why are we wanting to punish the next generation?”

Succession planning was an issue many speakers highlighted, noting that if farming doesn’t pay then they should be allowed to engage in other activities on their land to keep agriculture – at any scale – alive. Many wanted the right to a second home that could either generate rental income or accommodate multiple generations who might not work the farm directly but provide important supports in the form of expertise, childcare and similar assistance.

Options

James Mack, who represented the agriculture ministry at the meeting, said the new consultation process was a chance for government to consider such options.

“We felt we had to do something to stop what I call the run on the bank that was happening,” he said of the regulations implemented under Bill 52, which nixed second homes for family members. While a grandfathering period was subsequently announced that gives landowners until February 22, 2020 to secure approvals for a second home, Mack acknowledged that government could have done better.

“We realize that people got caught out in that decision,” he said. “We want to figure out what comes next.”

Many participants simply wanted the ability to make a living from their land, by farming if possible.

“If you want people to continue farming, please find ways to let people make money off the farm other than by farming,” said Ambrose.

Others said a more restrictive regime at the land commission would prompt them to take their activities underground and let the land commission come after them rather than let the commission disallow them up front. (Grout had earlier told the meeting that “the land commission is not out there looking for non-compliance,” noting that investigations are the result of complaints.)

Mack noted that the commission’s relationship with farmers was not healthy, and he pledged on behalf of the ministry to work for improvement.

“I know we’ve done a bunch of things wrong in the organization,” he said at the end of the meeting. “We are listening.”

The listening will continue at five meetings scheduled for October, including Delta (October 1), Dawson Creek (October 2), Prince George

(October 3), Kelowna (October 10) and Castlegar (October 30).

Comments gathered during the meeting will form the basis of a final report. A timeline for publication of the report has not been given.

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