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Originally published:

APRIL 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 4

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Stories In This Edition

No right to roam

Making a difference

Big leap for farmland values

Province plans to overhaul meat licensing

Ready. Set. Grow!

Down to earth

Back 40: Right to farm takes on right to roam

Viewpoint: Salmon farm closures should raise alarm

Pandemic triggers massive cut to turkey quota

This one’s for you

Chicken growers wait for compensation details

Fruit growers demand a level playing field

BC Tree Fruits turns over a new leaf

Potato plantings reflect pandemic purchasing shifts

Ag Briefs: Surveillance continues for giant hornets

Ag Briefs: Framers market restrictions lifted

Ag Briefs: Top marks for food safety

Ag Briefs: Bee tech team

Richmond’s ag community mourns a leader

New round of funding available for Shuswap farms

New chair appointed to cranberry commission

Farmers cry foul over bird pressure in Delta

Viewpoint: Are soil organic carbon promises overstated?

Organic sector calls for greater extension services

Study sets baseline for soil organic carbon

Producers beef up support for Island cattle

Canada eyes negligible-risk BSE stats

Online dam safety workshops enjoy high attendance

Babysitter

Blueberry pruning should aim for balance

Research: Study casts new shadow on glyphosate use

BC adds seven food hubs to provincial network

College assignment sparks salsa business

Bev Whitta shares her passion for poultry farming

Farm Story: Mud: what separates winter from summer

Finding a better way to cool hot potatoes

Weed control in cranberries takes planning

Sidebar: Weed fighters

Six years of cranberry data goes online

Woodshed: Battlelines drawn when the bulldog bites back

Education centre showcases maple syrup production

Sidebar: Good food for kids

Catering to rising demand for local food

Jude’s Kitchen: High off the hog

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2 weeks 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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3 weeks 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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3 weeks 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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3 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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1 month ago

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No right to roam

Douglas Lake wins appeal on trespass challenge

[Douglas Lake Ranch image]

April 1, 2021 byTom Walker

VANCOUVER – The BC Court of Appeal has sided with Douglas Lake Cattle Co., overturning an earlier ruling granting recreational fishers access to Minnie and Stoney Lakes.

The new judgment also firmly rejects claims of any public right to cross private lands to access Crown property in BC, often termed “right to roam.”

This case has been followed closely by the BC Cattlemen’s Association whose members are often impacted by the public trespassing on their private land.

“We are, of course, very happy with this decision,” says BCCA assistant general manager Elaine Stovin. “[But] this case is important to all farmers and anyone who owns land.”

Stovin says that it’s frustrating that the popular press has frequently framed the issue as a David-and-Goliath story with recreational users being pitted against US real estate and sports magnate Stanley Kroenke.

“It’s not just about the largest ranch in British Columbia. We have many members who have small holdings and all farmers have issues with liability, environmental responsibility, fire danger and biosecurity when people trespass on their land,” she says.

BC Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves ruled in 2018 that Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club members could access two lakes situated within the Douglas Lake Ranch northeast of Merritt. Groves found that there was evidence of both public road and historic trail access to the lakes, which are Crown waters, and ruled that DLCC could not restrict fishermen from using the lakes.

DLCC appealed.

On March 5, BC appeals court Justice Peter Willcock ruled that the trail was not a public right of way, and that the public road did not reach the shore of either lake.

BCCA was granted intervenor status in the case and presented on two parts of this issue. The first consideration was whether the public can cross flooded private land against the wishes of the private landowner in order to access ‘public’ bodies of water for recreational purposes.

“This was in reference to the Trespass Act,” explains Stovin. “The BC act is the only one in Canada that specifically mentions trespass on flooded lands.” Justice Willcock agreed and deemed the flooded land to be owned by DLCC, not the province.

“In my view, by issuing a fishing licence, regulating fishing or managing water resources, the Province does not exercise such control over activities on flooded lands as to be an occupier of those lands as that term is defined in the Trespass Act,” he wrote in his decision.

The second issue was whether or not a public right existed to cross private land to access the Crown waters of the lake on account of a “common law right of access”

“This is the ‘right to roam’ concept that people talk about which has never previously been recognized in British Columbia legislation,” says Stovin. “There were two private member bills introduced in the BC legislature in 2017 but neither went past first reading.”

Willcock’s judgment says the popular notion of a “right to roam” in BC has no legal basis, even if – as in the Douglas Lake case – it’s to access a lake on land reserved to the Crown for the benefit of the public.

“In my view, while this argument may attract considerable public support, it has no support in our law,” Willcock writes. “Unlike other jurisdictions, British Columbia does not have public access legislation.”

The result was a victory for Douglas Lake.

“In conclusion, it is my opinion that DLCC is entitled to restrict access to Minnie Lake and Stoney Lake and the Club has no statutory or common law right to cross DLCC’s property, whether it is flooded or not, to access the lakes.”

In his 2018 ruling, Groves also ruled that DLCC should pay the costs of the trial, particularly because the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club was acting “in the public interest.”

Willcock reversed that decision and ordered each party to pay their own costs of the 2018 trial. Since Douglas Lake had “substantially” won the appeal, Willcock also ordered the club to pay the full costs of the appeal.

However, the matter is not over. The Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club is reportedly planning to take its fight to the Supreme Court of Canada

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