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Originally published:

November 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 11

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Stories In This Edition

Dairy pays price in new trade deal

USMCA uncorks wine sales

ALC crippled while province mulls revitalization

Editorial: Think Big

Back Forty: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride

Viewpoint: Antibiotics are important tools for producers

Farms scramble as thousands of jobs go unfilled

Farmers’ institutes set to meet in Vancouver

Poultry growers adjust to reduced antibiotic use

Traceability regulations expected next year

UFV consolidates two centres

Plowman in the making

Letters: Animal welfare monitored

Success starts with a solid business plan

Turkey growers look to boost markets

Dairy sale

Strawberry growers rank fruit quality highest

Westcoast Holsteins brings home the prizes

Cannabis raises new workplace concerns

Tasty!

Ag Briefs: Cannabis conference alongside PAS

Ag Briefs: First Nations farms funded

Ag Briefs: Cannabis grower breaks ground

Ag Briefs: harvest conflict results in fewer plow match competitors

Pilot project in Delta supports perennial crops

Uvic research seeks perfect picking time for wine grapes

Ag council wants to get farmers CHATting

Sidebar: Remember to CHAT

Fleeced

Buying stations gain ground

Snow joke

Triple Threat

Meat processing review fails to meet expectations

Livestock transport under scrutiny by activists

Ranching program grads ready for next field

Yields high as cranberry season runs late

Tour features multi-generation farms

Horse Power

Edible flowers show promise for BC growers

Retirement blossoms into flower nursery

Research: Sunflower pollen can help improve colony health

Woodshed: The countdown begins for Kenneth, Deborah

4-H BC: Funding helps advance initiatives

Wannabe: Choosing gratitude

Jude’s Kitchen: Roots and keepers

 

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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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Poultry growers adjust to reduced antibiotic use

Tighter management of feed, environment needed to ensure flock health

October 29, 2018 byPeter Mitham

ABBOTSFORD – Approximately 60,000 chickens roam Ray Nickel’s four-level barn in Abbotsford. The environment in the facility is computer-controlled, with air flow and temperature closely monitored to ensure the birds are comfortable and – more important – healthy. Close quarters mean that if one bird gets sick, all are vulnerable.

To further reduce the risk of disease and boost birds’ resistance, a regular dose of antibiotics is mixed into the feed as a preventive measure. Some consumers object to the practice and opt for birds raised without antibiotics (RWA), but the practice keeps mortalities in commercial flocks manageable. The average mortality rate in BC broiler flocks last year was 6.8% versus 7.8% for antibiotic-free flocks.

Growing concerns about antibiotic resistance were also prompting Health Canada to mandate tighter controls on drugs administered to flocks.

Poultry in Canada is free of drug residues at slaughter but growers took note of concerns and voluntarily began reducing antibiotic use in 2014. Preventative use of Category 1 antibiotics (those critical to protecting humans from diseases such as tuberculosis) ended in May 2014. The second phase is a ban on Category 2 antibiotics, such as penicillin, at the end of 2018. By the end of 2020, the preventative use of Category 3 antibiotics in poultry will be finished.

Steps by the poultry industry to reduce antibiotic use combined with new Health Canada regulations that come into effect December 1 governing over-the-counter medications for livestock are good news for socially conscious consumers but mean changes in how producers raise flocks.

“This is going to be a bit of a struggle,” says Nickel, a director of the BC Chicken Marketing Board. “We’ve become conditioned to using products to reduce the risk of having [bad] things happen. … [Now] the only time we will use those products is if the birds are actually going to get sick, and then we will use them for treatment purposes. It will require more due diligence by producers to monitor their flocks.”

Closer monitoring of birds isn’t the only thing Nickel and other farmers are going to be doing. They’re also going to be taking a leaf out of the RWA playbook and vaccinating flocks.

“Strategies around initial bird placement and how you start your flocks could be a factor,” says Nickel, who is already changing how he manages his flocks. “We know there are other things available to use besides some of the traditional medications, such as vaccine programs. … The wetter your litter is, the more opportunities there are for flock stress, so litter management is a big deal.”

Producers can’t do it alone, however.

“The feed companies are going to be playing a pretty integral part in this as well because of the way that they put their programs together,” says Nickel, noting that producers and nutritionists will have to work together to make sure birds are getting the feed they need to ensure proper gut health.

Mike Leslie, a nutritionist with Ritchie Smith Feeds Inc. in Abbotsford, expects feeds will be milled to match flocks.

“What we have to do now is pay more attention, make sure we’re delivering the right nutrition to the bird and not to the bugs,” he says. “You work with the producers to monitor how performance goes and adjust as needed.”

The preventative use of antibiotics usually targets clostridium bacteria, which can release toxins that cause necrotizing enteritis. Clostridium feeds off any excess nitrogen in the bird’s gut, meaning feed needs to be easily digestable so nutrients are fully taken up. Canola feed may be used less than other ingredients in the future, but ultimately it will depend on the circumstances of the particular flock.

“We’re looking at all sorts of gut health-type products to try to make things as smooth as possible … and reduce the likelihood of a disease,” says Leslie.

Many producers fear the potential for mortality rates to increase. Average mortalities for BC broilers rose when Category 1 antibiotics were withdrawn in 2014, although this was explained as a function of lower quota utilization. RWA flocks typically have higher average mortalities but Nickel points out that the past year has seen it occasionally drop below that of the industry as a whole.

Yet the industry as a whole consistently reports mortalities above the 5.4% target the Chicken Farmers of Canada’s animal care program specifies. Getting on target as the medicines on which producers have relied are phased out is going to take work.

“The management levels are going to be more intense,” says Nickel. “We have the highest standards on chicken in the world. Maintaining that is really important for producers. … This may end up costing more down the road, but I think that’s a fair trade-off.”

 

 

 

 

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