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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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2 days ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

#BCAg
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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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3 days ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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1 month 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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1 month 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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1 month 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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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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