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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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1 month ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
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1 month 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 months 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 months 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?

2 months 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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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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