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Originally published:

JANUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 1

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Stories In This Edition

Full moon rising

New year, new era

Insurance premiums soar

Popham looks forward to a new term

Editorial: New openings

Back 40: New farmers are a crop worth growing

Viewpoint: Let’s get real about mental wellness on the farm

Trade issues, pandemic dog dairy producers

Dairy associations pull through challenging year

Second wave of pandemic hits close to home

Grain producers mark one of their worst harvests

Grower takes issue with groundwater limits

Grape phylloxera found on Vancouver Island

Pioneering entomologist remembered

Leasing farmland a vital strategy for farmers

Raspberry growers tackle new pest challenge

Province comes through with replant money

Pacific Ag Show embraces the digital realm

Berries, berries and more berries

Sidebar: Short course continues to educate growers

Green shoots on the vegetable front

Gala closes out opening day

Ag innovation day

The show must go on

CannaTech West returns

Optimism follows on the heels of 2020’s challenges

Rotational grazing improves soil health

Taking the guesswork out of herd management

Research: Highly sensitive pigs help solve soybean allergies

Bill Awmack honoured with leadership award

Farmers put electric tractors to the test

Kootenay farm advisors resume field days

Kelowna school embraces new container farm

Farm Story: Winter is a good time to problem-solve

Farm women encouraged to take a stand

Woodshed: Breaking the good (and not so good) news

Uncertainty prevails for BC fairs in new year

Jude’s Kitchen: Leftovers re-imagined make tasty meals

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2 days ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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3 days ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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1 month ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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1 month ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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1 month ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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New year, new era

Trade woes could improve

Clear skies made for a spectacular view of the full moon rising over the ridge of Mount Cheam in Chilliwack at the end of November. Above-average precipitation in the Fraser Valley kept local fields green as December approached, while other areas of the province saw the first storms of winter descend. PHOTO / JANIS STARK

January 1, 2021 byPeter Mitham

BURNABY – A new administration in the US this month is raising hopes for fewer trade hassles in the months ahead.

“I expect more predictability and more following the rules,” federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau told farm media last month regarding the new US administration.

She had previously announced that Canada would not make additional concessions on market access in future trade negotiations as part of an announcement that a total of $4.3 billion would be paid to dairy producers by 2024 for concessions granted to the EU and trading partners around the Pacific.

However, the pledges came as US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer launched the first enforcement action under CUSMA, the successor to NAFTA, over the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) under which Canada grants domestic dairy processors allocations of 14 types of imported dairy products.

“Canada’s measures violate its commitments and harm US dairy farmers and producers,” Lighthizer says. “We are disappointed that Canada’s policies have made this first ever enforcement action under the USMCA necessary to ensure compliance with the agreement.”

Lighthizer issued a letter December 9 demanding consultations with Canada, threatening to escalate the matter to a dispute settlement panel if those consultations are not successful.

However, the US dairy industry has yet to take full advantage of what they’ve got.

During the BC Milk Marketing Board’s fall producer meeting on November 25, board vice-chair Tom Hoogendoorn reported that butter and milk powder were the most common products arriving from the US, at 22% and 9.5% of allocations, respectively. All other categories saw fill rates of less than 3%; no US fluid milk entered Canada.

“I guess their distribution channels aren’t really set up yet to bring all their product in,” Hoogendoorn speculated.

Dairy Farmers of Canada, which objected to implementation of CUSMA on July 1 before the end of the last dairy year, dismissed the move as mere politics. (Lighthizer is a political appointee; president-elect Joe Biden has nominated Katherine Tai to be his successor in the new administration.

“TRQ allocations by the federal government are consistent with the terms of the agreement,” says DFC CEO Jacques Lefebvre. “Anyone who reads the text of CUSMA would see this, but the outgoing administration may feel that, by taking this approach, it will endear itself with family-owned dairy farms in the US.”

Other products have also been in the crosshairs of the outgoing administration. Raspberries, blueberries and greenhouse vegetables have all been the target of sabre-rattling. Southern US blueberry growers formed a new lobbying alliance on December 16 to address the question of imports; while Peru and Mexico were the targets, rather than Canada, the pressure on producers in Canada is clear.

Hoogendoorn says strong domestic support is producers’ greatest asset. When consumers have a choice, they’ll buy local over imports.

“We do know that the public really wants Canadian, domestic milk,” he says. “That’s our ace in the hole.”

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