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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Perfect pruning

Open ears

Tough talk on animal activists

Peace, Cariboo top 2019 farm and ranch sales

Duckin’ a snow storm

Editorial: Change of heart

Back 40: Retirement is inevitable but less so for farmers

Viewpoint: Leading a decade of growth in organics

Banding together to attract domestic workers

Ag council helps avert seasonal worker delays

Dairy producers urged to polish public image

Snow day

New certification program launched for plant exporters

New executive director for COABC appointed

Ag Briefs: BC dairies push back on Class 7 proposal

Ag Briefs: Agri Innovation projects announced

Ag Briefs: Province selects Ruckle managers

Partnerships facilitate Langley learning farm

Feed BC program good in theory but has limitations

Opportunities and challenges

Halal demand rising in Western Canada

Trespass incident boosts public awareness

Sheep killings raise concerns in Lower Mainland

Pruning priorities different for FV grapegrowers

Farm plans offer new opportunities for rnachers

Number crunchers

Ranchers, foresters learn to share the road

Raise your claves so buyers play with a full deck

Boosting calf health starts before birth

Reseeding part of range restoration

Capacity crowd at Interior soils conference

Global blueberry growers look at substrate potential

Saving the peatlands

Blueberry breeding focuses on quality, exports

Research promises to help control SWD

Novel cherry trellising system saves money

Research: The effects of separating cows and calves

Farm News: Buckling down for winter conference season

Black walnuts are an option for water-logged land

Researcher provides deworming tips for sheep

Wasabi a hot option for wellness products

Technology key to tree fruit industry’s future

New broiler barn boosts comfort for birds

Woodshed Chronicles: Junkyard Frank’s plan is played to perfection

Give your marriage a relationship check-up

Bursary fund welcomes applications

Apple of your eye

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1 day ago

Fecal coliform levels in the streams and watercourses that flow through Langley has been an issue for decades. The Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) has received $97,000 from the federal government to work with property owners to help them reduce their impact on water quality and the environment, and ensure their properties are in compliance with the Agriculture Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP). The story is in the February edition of Country Life in BC. Subscribe today bit.ly/3RIKms9/.

#BCAg #aemcop
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Fecal coliform levels in the streams and watercourses that flow through Langley has been an issue for decades. The Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) has received $97,000 from the federal government to work with property owners to help them reduce their impact on water quality and the environment, and ensure their properties are in compliance with the Agriculture Environmental Management Code of Practice (AEMCoP). The story is in the February edition of Country Life in BC. Subscribe today https://bit.ly/3RIKms9/.

#BCAg #AEMCoP
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2 days ago

BC dairy farmers are feeling the pinch and some in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. It's our cover story in the February edition of Country Life in BC.

bit.ly/3JGgk6B

#bcagriculture #bcdairy
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BC dairy farmers are feeling the pinch and some in the Fraser Valley are considering selling as narrow margins get tighter and high financing costs complicate succession plans. Its our cover story in the February edition of Country Life in BC.

https://bit.ly/3JGgk6B

#bcagriculture #bcdairy
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So much pressure being put on the dairy industry from the US. It’s hard to keep the lobbying at bay. Canadian dairy should supply Canadian tables and the farmers who provide it should be paid what they are worth. There is no such thing as cheap food

Farm Management is key. It can't all be blamed on the government.

Just been watching NZ TV news and the price of food. Most complaining about the price of dairy products due to the fact that domestic prices are high with most production being exported. No supply management.

I really don't understand the concern here. The article literally says 30-40 of 600 BC dairy farms (that's less than 1%) are experiencing financial pressure, likely due to being somewhat overleveraged. Sounds like just some mismanagement rather than a broad policy failure is the cause here.

Whole Food Plant Based eating ...oat milk coconut milk Almond milk soy milk etc

Noooooooo. That’s exactly what this LIB/NDP party wants. They want everyone to cave in to their knees. Don’t do it. It’ll be the end.

A lot of this is government squeeze. Be hungry and compliant!

The government is the eternal enemy of humanity.

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1 week ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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2 weeks ago

A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural Land Commission hosted in Langley Monday night regarding a proposal to include 305 acres controlled by the federal government in the Agricultural Land Reserve. More than 76,000 people have signed an online petition asking municipal and provincial governments to protect the land from development, and for the federal government to grant a long-term lease to the Heppells. Read more in this morning's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. conta.cc/3XYXw6k ... See MoreSee Less

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Your weekly farm news update

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The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 January 25 2023 Surrey ALR inclusion cheered A standing-room only crowd of more than 250 people attended a public hearing the Agricultural L
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Mike Manion Pitt Meadows City Councillor

2 months ago

Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand this season and prices remain comparable to last year. But the number of tree farms has decreased dramatically over the past five years and the province will increasingly need to look elsewhere if it wants to meet local demand. More in this week's Farm News Update from Country Life in BC. ... See MoreSee Less

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Christmas trees in demand

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Christmas tree growers in BC are seeing strong demand, with high quality trees making it to market. “The market is good. We’ll probably outdo last year and last year was one of our best years…
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Open ears

ALR housing consultation underway

February 1, 2020 byPeter Mitham

VICTORIA – The grandfathering period for secondary residences in the Agricultural Land Reserve for immediate family has been extended until the end of the year as the province commences yet another consultation with farmers.

The province moved to grandfather secondary homes for family in the ALR last July, recognizing that people had been taken unawares by new regulations under Bill 52 that took effect February 22, 2019.

“We’ve listened and have given people a bit more time to get their permits in place,” BC agriculture minister Lana Popham said at the time.

The grandfathering period gave landowners until February 22, 2020 “to obtain all the required permits and authorizations to place a manufactured home for immediate family on their property.”

Now, that deadline has been extended once more, until December 31, while the province launches a new consultation to guide its next steps. The new consultation, which runs until April 17, follows a public engagement last fall that included eight public meetings, several bilateral sessions with stakeholder groups and an online survey completed by 1,832 people.

The process led Popham to announce last November that her staff was considering letting landowners in the ALR have a second home without the need for the Agricultural Land Commission’s permission.

The new consultation will garner feedback on that possibility.

“Under the proposal, a small secondary residence would be available for farm-workers, family members or anyone else, provided there is local government approval,” says Popham.

An intentions paper released as part of the consultation indicates that those small residences won’t be limited to manufactured homes, as under the previous iteration of the regulations. Instead, they could include garden suites, guest houses, carriage suites or units above an existing building.

The new options won’t affect the maximum size of the principal residence, limiting the total residential floorspace for family members to 5,382 square feet (500 square metres).

In addition, the ALC will remain the decision-maker for additional residences for farm use in the ALR. “Any new permitted secondary residences should be registered with the ALC for long-term land-use planning purposes,” the province states.

Unlike last fall’s consultation, and the work of the nine-member advisory committee Popham appointed in 2018 to suggest ways to revitalize the ALR, the current engagement process will take place entirely via

e-mail. An online survey has not been established, nor are any public meetings scheduled. People are asked to provide feedback to [ALR_ALCrevitalization@gov.

bc.ca].

The province says the intentions paper was drafted with input from the Union of BC Municipalities, the ALC and the BC Agriculture Council (in that order), and responds to feedback received during both last fall’s consultations as well as the advisory committee’s work.

A 14-page summary report of last fall’s discussions highlighted the importance of having additional residences on farm properties, both for economic as well as personal reasons.

“The engagement process highlighted that there are economic benefits to multi-generational farming operations, and that having a secondary residence can be an important part of an overall farming succession plan,” the report states.

In terms of size, the report notes that those who participated in the engagement process – 51% of whom were farmers – generally supported limiting principal residences within the ALR to 500 square metres.

“Others expressed the need for secondary dwellings for situations they felt may not be considered ‘farm use’ by the ALC. This included various housing purposes such as for aging farmers, seasonal farm workers, multiple families who wish farm the land together, as well as for supplementary income through rentals,” the report continued in a summary of feedback specifically regarding provisions for secondary residences. “Confusion and frustration were expressed regarding the requirement that manufactured homes receive approval from the ALC as these houses were not viewed as negatively affecting farm land.”

To bridge the divide between limiting development and allowing a degree of flexibility, many people supported the idea of a home plate, “whereby there is a maximum percentage or area of the land that can be covered with hard surfacing, which can be used to build whatever the land owner feels necessary to farm.”

The initial response to the formal proposal was favourable, but cautious.

Meghan McPherson, a Comox Valley landowner caught out by the regulation change last February, has spent the past year rallying critics of what the government’s been doing. She welcomed the intentions paper, but noted that it’s not the final word on the matter.

“The modular extension will provide relief to many families still caught by the changes brought in from Bill 52,” says. “It will interesting to see how the policy work on residential flexibility will unfold. Nothing is set in stone yet, but things seem to be moving in a positive direction. I strongly encourage people to continue to engage in the process.”

While the new announcement extends a grandfathering period intended to accommodate those caught by its own policies, Popham couldn’t help but take a swipe at the BC Liberals.

“We recognize that rules by the previous government do not reflect the needs of British Columbians and as a result, we are proposing to allow more flexibility for small secondary residences,” she says.

That doesn’t sit well with Delta South MLA Ian Paton, co-critic for agriculture with the opposition Liberals. He says the proposal is a case of back-tracking by the current government on changes that weren’t well thought-out in the first place.

“We’ve seen it before,” he said, speaking from Prince George where meetings with producers highlighted ongoing fallout from recent changes to the regulations governing the ALC and ALR.

“It’s another NDP move where they dream up these bills and policies and regulations, then there’s a massive outcry from the farming community and they backtrack.”

 

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