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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Livestock groups ramp up security

Gaurav Maan

EU tightens shipping rules

New waste control rules kick in October 1

Dibs on ribs

Nip the buds

Climate woes are everyone’s responsibility

Viewpoint: Weighing in on the battle of the burgers

Ag counil defendes cannabis sector on odour

Feds announce compensation package for dairy

Potato harvest looks promising for BC growers

Motor Vehicle Act covers tractors

Province urges armyworm precautions

Feast for the eyes

Funding helps cherry growers court new buyers

Oregon hazelnut optimism inspires BC growers

Dairy tour showcases innovative farming

Minimize the risk of corn silage fires

Teachers receive valuable lessons about farming

Climate change concerns grapegrowers

Canada eyes clean vines network

Province extends deadline for meat consultation

Top seller

Winery upstart banks on ranch’s rich history

Sidebar: Room to grow

Market Musings: Rain creates haying challenges

Nechako win

Forage council ready for a changing climate

Armyworm warning

Soda Creek social highlights land-matching

Research: The symbiotic relationship in pregnancy

Sheep farmers have high hopes for cooperative

PNE lamb

AAFC seeks volunteer weather reporters

Land commission orders Gleaners off ALR

Tour highlights adaption

Maan Farms keeps the focus on family

Ceadrow Farm tops Chilliwack sheep show

Island Holstein show and sale reflects quality

4-H sale saves the bacon for ranching student

4-H sale at the PNE is the best part of summer

Success is in the bag for barley entrepreneurs

Simple steps help to overcome gas exposure

Blueberries find a home in wine at Baccata

Woodshed: Henderson backs off while Frank closes in

Volunteers harvest for FV charities

Nutritious autumn eats

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10 hours 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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5 days 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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2 months ago

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall. ... See MoreSee Less

Another four poultry flocks in the Fraser Valley have tested positive for avian influenza over the weekend -- 15 in the last week alone. There are 60 farms currently under quarantine in BC, more than any other province in Canada and three times that of Alberta, which ranks second. Officials maintain the virus is being spread by dust and groundwater and not farm-to-farm transmission. No farms in the Interior have tested positive this fall.
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Avian influenza virus can be killed by chlorine at no higher a concentration than is present in drinking water, so unless farms are using untreated groundwater in their barns I don't see how it could be a source of transmission. www.researchgate.net/publication/5594208_Chlorine_Inactivation_of_Highly_Pathogenic_Avian_Influen...

2 months ago

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall. ... See MoreSee Less

In a surprise move, Lana Popham -- hailed at the recent BC Dairy Industry Conference as a key ally of the agriculture sector -- has been replaced by Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis as part of a cabinet overhaul today by new BC premier David Eby. Popham will now oversee Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The two ministers worked closely together following the atmospheric river events last fall.Image attachment
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Goes to show how far-removed our current government is from the agricultural sector. To put someone in this position who has no farming background is a slap in the face to all of our hard-working producers.

Going to be a heck of a learning curve. Helping the agricultural community recover from the biggest natural disasters in history, handling the avian influenza outbreak that is threatening our poultry industry, dealing with a crisis in meat processing, managing ongoing threats from climate change, supporting producers who are facing unprecedented inflation in an industry with very slim margins to begin with..... to name a few of the challenges our new Minister will have to face all with one of the lowest budgets of any ministry. I wish her the best of luck but I hope she's got a lot of support around her.

Best of wishes in your new position

Congrats to Pam, cool to see a Fraser Valley based ag minister but also so sad to see Lana reassigned . I have no doubt she will do an amazing job in her new role.

Will be missed by #meiernation

Bryce Rashleigh

Nooooooo!

Lana did a shit job and now we have a minister with no farming background at all. Aren’t we lucky..

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Oregon hazelnut optimism inspires BC growers

New varieties put a damper on EFB angst

September 3, 2019 byBarbara Johnstone Grimmer

ALBANY, OR—Close to 900 hazelnut growers attended the annual Nut Growers Society of Oregon, Washington & BC (NGS) summer tour in Albany, Oregon on July 31. The event included a bus tour, seminars and a trade show that attracted growers from all three jurisdictions, including members of the BC Hazelnut Growers Association (BCHGA).

The highlight was a tour of Wayne Chambers’ orchard, which has the oldest field-grown examples of the Eastern Filbert Blight-resistant varieties developed at Oregon State University.

Chambers has worked closely with OSU since graduating in 1963, the same year that he married his wife Joann and started his hazelnut orchard. Early on, Chambers and OSU worked together on field-testing the results of the hazelnut breeding programs at OSU, starting with scion grafting.

“Wayne’s willingness to provide test plots for OSU has paved the way for us,” says NGS president Christy Cook.

Some EFB-resistant varieties in his orchard are 14 years old. Chambers’ farm has tested 150 varieties in on-farm trials, growing them to maturity. This allows for long-term study and extends the research capacity of OSU, which removes trees after 10 years of evaluation.

“OSU has been saving our bacon; we wouldn’t be able to stay in business if it wasn’t for Oregon State,” says Chambers.

Attention to detail

OSU orchard crops extension specialist Nik Wiman and senior faculty research assistant of the OSU hazelnut breeding program, David Smith, described the various research plots and trees at Chambers’ orchard. Although some varieties in this orchard are susceptible to EFB, diligent pruning and spraying has kept the disease at bay.

“Freedom from disease due to attention to detail,” explains Smith.

The tour also included Paul Kuehne’s new 170-acre orchard, drip-irrigated and drained by soil type. Yamhill, Wepster, York and McDonald varieties were planted using a GPS grid in a 20×10 diamond using an auger. Tree covers are used initially to protect trees from herbicides and sun scald, but after the first year they are removed and the trunks painted with white latex paint.

“Mice were a problem, and suckers are hard to control with covers,” says Kuehne, “Covers help and hurt, so we use them for a bit when they are most useful.”

Bacterial blight has been observed in the new orchard, with York and McDonald most affected at 25% and 10%, respectively. Wepster and Yamhill are more resistant to blight, with only 1% to 2% of trees affected. As a result, Kuehne had the main trees infected cut out and allowed the suckers to grow back. These were treated with two applications of copper spray in the fall.

Tour

The tour drove through Cascade Foods, a hazelnut processing facility in Albany, just down the road from the 100-year-old Groshong orchards with Hall’s Giant hazelnuts, some on Turkish rootstock.

Education sessions included an organic growers roundtable on pest management, pesticide management, water rights and a demonstration of soil erosion prevention through cover cropping and residue management.

The event included a trade show with over 100 exhibitors, including equipment distributors, processors, extension resources, irrigation companies, plant suppliers and more.

Manager at Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board and NGS director Polly Owen, namesake for the new “Polly-O” hazelnut variety, says EFB resistance breeding will continue, as well as working on other challenges and opportunities for the industry.

“We are seeing more people in hazelnuts, more leading-edge technology and sophistication,” says Owen, who is not alone in her optimism.

Hazelnut growers from BC who attended included both new and established growers and processors. The maturity of the hazelnut industry in Oregon and the opportunities for growth were apparent to BC growers.

“BC hazelnuts are in demand,” says Cornel Van Maren of Chilliwack, who has a new 20-acre orchard.

“It is great to see how much extension support there is in the US,” says Niels Jorgensen of Campbell River, who is preparing his land for planting.

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