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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Livestock groups ramp up security

Gaurav Maan

EU tightens shipping rules

New waste control rules kick in October 1

Dibs on ribs

Nip the buds

Climate woes are everyone’s responsibility

Viewpoint: Weighing in on the battle of the burgers

Ag counil defendes cannabis sector on odour

Feds announce compensation package for dairy

Potato harvest looks promising for BC growers

Motor Vehicle Act covers tractors

Province urges armyworm precautions

Feast for the eyes

Funding helps cherry growers court new buyers

Oregon hazelnut optimism inspires BC growers

Dairy tour showcases innovative farming

Minimize the risk of corn silage fires

Teachers receive valuable lessons about farming

Climate change concerns grapegrowers

Canada eyes clean vines network

Province extends deadline for meat consultation

Top seller

Winery upstart banks on ranch’s rich history

Sidebar: Room to grow

Market Musings: Rain creates haying challenges

Nechako win

Forage council ready for a changing climate

Armyworm warning

Soda Creek social highlights land-matching

Research: The symbiotic relationship in pregnancy

Sheep farmers have high hopes for cooperative

PNE lamb

AAFC seeks volunteer weather reporters

Land commission orders Gleaners off ALR

Tour highlights adaption

Maan Farms keeps the focus on family

Ceadrow Farm tops Chilliwack sheep show

Island Holstein show and sale reflects quality

4-H sale saves the bacon for ranching student

4-H sale at the PNE is the best part of summer

Success is in the bag for barley entrepreneurs

Simple steps help to overcome gas exposure

Blueberries find a home in wine at Baccata

Woodshed: Henderson backs off while Frank closes in

Volunteers harvest for FV charities

Nutritious autumn eats

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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

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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 waste control rules kick in October 1

Plan now for compliance, consultants say

September 1, 2019 byJackie Pearase

ARMSTRONG—Rules replacing the Agricultural Waste Control Regulation kick in October 1, but producers should take steps now to ensure they’re in compliance.

The province unveiled the Agricultural Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP) in February. Come October 1, producers need a risk assessment if they plan to apply manure or other nutrients to land located in a high-precipitation area during the shoulder season of February, March or October.

A risk assessment uses factors such as forecasted precipitation, soil type and slope to evaluate the risk of nutrient loss. The assessment will help farmers reduce the risk of contaminated runoff entering surface water.

Agricultural operations with five hectares (12 acres) or more also face deadlines for vulnerable aquifer recharge areas and phosphorus-affected areas coming into effect for different geographical regions. The deadlines trigger a need for some producers to complete a nutrient management plan (NMP) for the next growing season.

NMPs are required if the site has tested high for soil nitrate and phosphorus levels. Fourteen dairy operations in the Hullcar area, north of Armstrong, for example, are required to have NMPs this year.

According to the code, the areas of Cobble Hill, Langley, Abbotsford, Osoyoos, Grand Forks and Spallumcheen must complete an NMP as of July 15, 2020. (Complete details regarding affected regions and deadlines are available at [www.gov.bc.ca/Agricultural-Environmental-Management].

The code also has a list of requirements all producers must follow for treatment of wastewater, setbacks and soil testing for nitrogen and phosphorus.

“I strongly recommend that everybody start doing sampling and see where their results are coming back, and then they’ll know what they have to do down the road when they start having to decide whether they need to do a full nutrient plan themselves or have to bring a QP [qualified professional] in,” certified crop advisor Doug Macfarlane told a group of dairy farmers during a recent farm tour in the North Okanagan. “The sooner everybody sort of gets on and finds out where their fields are, the sooner they can get compliant with everything.”

Macfarlane says getting soil samples prior to October 15 is preferable because before that date the samples only need to be 12 inches whereas the depth goes to 24 inches afterwards because of the risk that fall precipitation may have pushed nutrients deeper.

BC Agriculture Council executive director Reg Ens said implementation of the AEMCoP is going as well as can be expected.

“Given that there’s a long implementation phase, which is what we worked for because we knew it was going to be a lot of change, it’s going pretty good,” he says.

BCAC is working with the province’s agriculture and environment ministries to relay appropriate information to member organizations and commodity groups.

“Agriculture has been tremendous in this process. I really want to give a shout-out to the Ministry of Agriculture,” he notes. “They’ve been working hard to help interpret and implement and put tools in place.”

BCAC’s multifaceted role in the code’s implementation is focused on getting practical information to producers and working with government ministries to ensure nothing is missed.

“There’s little pieces that come out as we dig into the details that people hadn’t thought of or got missed when the regulation was being developed,” says Ens. “We’re making sure those things get tracked and – we don’t decide those things – but making sure the correct people are working on it and getting those questions answered as quickly as possible.”

Macfarlane said having accurate records of farm practices will be key when a problem arises associated with contaminated runoff, even if a producer is not in a high-risk area.

“The Ministry of Environment started saying at the first meetings – and they’re really sticking to it – if something happens somewhere, they’re going to go out and get everybody’s nutrient management plans and find out who’s at fault,” he warns.

Macfarlane does not expect code implementation to be onerous or negatively affect yields.

“There’s been a number of people in the [North Okanagan] area growing crops the last three and four years, and some of them quite a few years longer, that are basically under the same regulations that are coming through now and their crops are really working very nicely,” he says.

Ens says farmers are overwhelmed by regulations but this is one that will benefit the industry.

“Having good environmental regulations is, I think, key for us as an industry,” he says. “We are an industry that relies on clean water, clean air and a healthy environment. That’s what we all want. So having good regulation is critical for us.”

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