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Originally published:

MARCH 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 3

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Stories In This Edition

Going solo

Perfect sleeper

Province pares ag budget

Government slow to act on trespass legislation

Seeing is bee-lieving

Editorial – The old normal

Back Forty – Biosecurity no stranger to Canadian farmers

Viewpoint – Food trends challenge farmers to keep pace

Fruit growers grapple with third year of losses

Sidebar: Ambrosia and the future

Provincial task force charts a path forward

Cutting edge

Second health authority signs on to FeedBC

Sold-out gala honours the best of agriculture

Island farm takes long view on climate change

Broader mandate boosts hort memberships

Islands show puts emphasis on small-lot farming

Ag initiatives lack support across regions

Got her goat

Strong dairy demand underpins bright future

Farm groups weigh in on climate change

Wine grape council charts R&D priorities

Institute forms action plan

New round of traceability funding available

Island farmers briefed on new ag waste regs

Robotic milkers make life easier for dairy farmers

Selective grazing provides options to fertilizers

Cariboo cattlemen take steps with 20-year plan

Wildfire risk increases need for preparation

Small-lot ranchers can benefit from certification

Celebration

New toolkit aids with farm flood preparation

Hazelnut research focuses on water use

Sheep at risk next to popular island trail

Good nutrition makes for a good future

Cater to chefs

Sidebar: Sage advice

Research: Bumblees prefer low-fat, low-sugar diet

Agroforestry entrepreneurs need to plan ahead

Where milk really comes from

Value-added marketing critical to success

Growing degree days not just for tree fruits

Farm Story: Duck antics provide late winter amusement

Good ditches are critical for good drainage

Accounting, entrepreneurship for small farms

Land to Table forum focuses on food access

New location for Langley’s spring break Farm Camp

You are the farm’s most important asset

Woodshed: The jig is up for Junkyard Frank’s love scheme

Jude’s Kitchen: Spring for greens

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1 month ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

www.countrylifeinbc.com

ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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New round of traceability funding available

Successful applicants can receive up to $16,000 per year for projects

March 4, 2020 byDavid Schmidt

ABBOTSFORD – Applications are now being accepted for the next round of funding for the BC traceability adoption and livestock tag reader rebate programs.

Part of the federal-provincial Canadian Agricultural Program (CAP), the programs provide funding for software, hardware and training for farmers and agribusinesses to adopt traceability programs.

“Traceability is the ability to track a product one step forward or one step back,” program manager Jen McIntyre of PWC told Fraser Valley members of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors, February 20.

The traceability adoption program is available to individual producers, transporters, packagers, harvesters, warehouses, importers, processors, and distributors and exporters of seafood and agri-food products. A third program, the traceability value chain program, will be introduced later this year to fund applications from sector organizations and multi-farm or multi-business groups.

To be eligible, applicants must be a legal entity (i.e., have a business number) operating in BC and, in the case of livestock producers, have a valid BC premises ID. Applicants are limited to a maximum of $16,000 per year.

Applicants can apply in multiple years but second, third, fourth or fifth year applications will only be approved if there is sufficient money available.

“Our priority is for first-year applicants,” McIntyre says.

Since it began in 2018, the program has handed out about $1.75 million.

“We approved 60-70 applications last year,” McIntyre said, adding “we rarely decline a project.” The 2019 program was initially oversubscribed, but an additional allocation of $313,500 in November allowed it to fully fund all of last year’s successful applicants.

McIntyre would not disclose how much funding is available for 2020, saying only that until April 30, one quarter of the funding is reserved for the livestock tag reader program and another one quarter for applications from the seafood sector.

Eligible costs include RFID scanners, label printers, dedicated computers and traceability software. Added this year are on-site databases and web servers. Multi-use mobile devices, e.g., tablets, have also been added this year but will only receive 50% funding. Consultant fees and training are eligible but must not exceed one quarter of the total project cost. Ongoing support and maintenance are not covered.

That may be inadequate, says Minty Gadhock, one of the consultants who review project applications.

“The reason many traceability projects fail is because of inadequate support.”

McIntyre stressed the program only covers costs incurred after a project has been approved. Gadhock called that another shortfall as initial consultations to determine what might be required are therefore not covered.

McIntyre says software development is not included in the traceability adoption program but will be in the traceability value chain program when it is rolled out later this year.

Program guides, a self-assessment guide and detailed application forms are available online at [bctraceability.ca].

McIntyre promises a quick response to any applications.

“We try to send out an approval letter within 10 days.”

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