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Originally published:

DECEMBER 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Parties unite on trespass legislation

Protesters rally at Ag Day

Got milk?

Peace faces worst grain harvest in 30+years

Editorial: Light in darkness

Back Forty: The West is packing its bags. Does Ottawa care?

Farmers’ passion for the land is strong

Ranchers voice ALR concerns at public meetings

Chefs, farmers foster new relationships

Sidebar: VFM Direct shuts down

Summerland grower steps up as co-op president

Recommendations from report nearly fully implemented

Food and beverage innovation centre launched

Japanese beetle control an industry priority

Langley farmers launch local farmers’ institute

BC agritech attracting major partners

New dam safety information flows

Bee-utiful

No-till takes centre stage at field day

Students showcase on-farm research projects

Emergency plans top agenda for bison ranchers

Rad

Regulatory issues top concerns for cattlemen

Processing adds value to Cowichan farm

Mentorship network helps new farmers

Research: Gene-editing eliminates horns in dariy bulls

Preserving owl, bat habitat is good for farming

Sidebar: Better bait

Seed app helps producers grow research data

Cannabis class wins high marks at BC fairs

Cannabis growers square off against diseases, pests

Pear-fect

Sidebar: Breaking the mold

Fine-tune feeding for healthier lambs

Farm Story: Performance anxiety knows no boundaries

Island AgSafe consultant changes gears

Woodshed: Intrigue deepens as barn repairs take shape

Century Farm award honours historic milestone

Jude’s Kitchen: So much to celebrate

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3 days 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 weeks 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.

3 weeks 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?

3 weeks 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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4 weeks ago

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises. ... See MoreSee Less

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises.
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No-till takes centre stage at field day

Untilled soils are healthier, have greater biodiversity

Catherine Tarasoff, left, and Rachael Roussin demonstrate an infiltrometer that measures how long it takes the soil to absorb water. TOM WALKER PHOTO

December 1, 2019 byTom Walker

ROCK CREEK – West Kootenay farmers had a field day in the hills above Rock Creek on September 10.

“We had an opportunity to view both informal and formal field trials that the farmers are developing,” says Rachael Roussin, coordinator of the Kootenay and Boundary Farm Advisors, which organized the event. “But these field days also make a space for conversation among the farmers.”

The first stop was at Doug and Erica Fossen’s cattle ranch. Classic curious farmers, the Fossens are always looking to improve the efficiency of their ranch.

This has made Doug is a fan of zero-till, the practice of seeding each year’s crop through the stubble of last year’s.

Benefits include less compaction and healthier soils because there’s no loss of organic matter or microbes.

“We’ve had spots, like on our calving grounds, where the soil was so compact we couldn’t grow anything,” he explains. “We have been zero-tilling for probably 20 years now, and those areas are not compacted anymore and the soil is getting stronger.”

Less time on the tractor also saves on the gas bill.

“We are always looking for ways to reduce our fuel bill,” he adds.

The Fossens showed a field planted to corn and intercropped with clover. The aim was to have some clover left behind for fall grazing after the corn was cut for silage. The clover was not as successful as he had hoped, however.

“My timing was a bit off, and the seeder I am using is really old,” he says. “But there should be some clover roots to stabilize the hillside soil in the spring and the new growth could give some early grazing.”

He also shared tips on growing and harvesting corn silage and corn grazing.

“I got good yields on my corn, around 7.5 tons of dry matter per acre,” he says. “I had more than I needed for silage so I left two fields for the cows to graze in December.”

He grazed an eight-acre field two years ago and he believes he got the equivalent yield in the field as if he had harvested it.

“I am hoping that each 13-acre field with about 400 cows will last 15 to 17 days,” says Fossen. “So, hopefully, we can get an extra month of grazing past when we would normally have to start feeding.”

But it’s good to have a back-up plan, he says.

“We have enough silage out in the pit to feed if everything goes wrong and it is just an ugly experiment for the neighbours to talk about,” he chuckles.

Radish rescue

Over 100 years of dry-land farming in the Rock Creek sunshine have left the grain and forage fields on Jamie Haynes’ ranch pretty compact. When it does rain, the dense soils are less able to absorb the moisture.

“After talking to the Fossens, I have transitioned to no-till methods to increase organic matter and reduce soil compaction,” explains Haynes.

A grant from the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative’s Farm Adaptation Innovator program helped Haynes conduct an on-farm research project to see if he could improve soil function by interplanting tillage radishes while maintaining a satisfactory forage yield.

“We wanted to see if the radishes would help with water infiltration so when it does rain, the water will go in further and last longer,” explains Roussin.

Half a 60-acre field was planted with spring rye, oats and peas, and tillage radish, while the other half had no radish. Roussin coordinated the trial and Catherine Tarasoff, of Thompson Rivers University, and Agrowest Consulting provided support for research design and standardized measurements.

Tarasoff says the radishes served two purposes.

Radishes have long roots that are able to punch through the hardpan layer of soil, she explains. When the roots rot in the fall, they leave a kind of tube in the soil that allows water infiltration as well as adds organic matter.

“We found that [infiltration] where the radishes had been planted was almost twice that of the control area,” says Tarasoff. “But it’s not a silver bullet. That hardpan has taken years to build so it will take a number of plantings of radishes to break it up.”

The yields in both plots were comparable.

“We found that the yields on both the rye, oats and peas alone and the radish mix were very similar,” says Tarasoff.

However, radish planting reduced weed growth.

“The radish plantings had only half as many weeds and a more consistent yield,” she says.

That’s good for the long-term health of the field, Tarsoff points out.

“If the weeds are choked out, they will have less to seed the next year,” she says.

Low risk

On-farm research doesn’t require a lot of risk, Tarasoff notes.

“You can start with an acre just to see if something works,” she says. “And you always need an adjacent plot without the experiment so that you can compare

results.”

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