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Originally published:

November 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 11

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Stories In This Edition

Horse Power

Buy BC rollout in works

Hullcar report delayed

Breaking new ground

Perfecting the straight and narrow

Editorial: A new deal

The good, the bad, the disturbing: climate change Blueberry growers must rise above the competition

Vitala Foods cracks open free range egg market

Regulating the range

Winner! Winner

Sentence loosened for dairy worker

Farmers must take lead in building public trust

Food system confidence growing but costs still bite

Foodlands Trust initiative moves forward

Cost of record wildfires continues to rise

New range, new challenge

Peace grain yeilds good but drying needed

New hire for research

BC Tree Fruits singled out for excellence

Land commision to allow breweries on farmland

Greens seek limits on foreign ownership

Salmon farms work towards sustainability

Fruit growers stepping up replant lobby

Arctic apples make official debut

3 million pounds!

Cannabis hopes more than a pipe dream

More government regulation needed

Hop farm burns but demand fuels hope

Predators, politicians worry sheep producers

Mother Nature to blame for late cranberries

Hard work pays off for family business

Research breeds better bees for Vancouver Island

Persistence is the key to success: innovation

What investors want

Penicillium is an insidious Blue Meany for fruit growers

Collaboration key to extension programming

BC sheep breeders honoured with GenOvis awards

Good breeding, feeding are keys to strong replacement ewes

Next Generation

Strong appetite for female purebreds at fall sales

Range management strategies highlight symposium

Dairy sale average one of the best

Keremeos fair has ambitious plans for future

Leiutenant Governor honoured by 4-H BC

Wannabe

Woodshed: Henderson loses ground

Delicious diet foods

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4 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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Predators, politicans worry sheep producers

November 1, 2017 byBarbara Johnstone Grimmer//  Leave a Comment

VICTORIA – The annual meeting and symposium of the BC Sheep Federation (BCSF) in Central Saanich on September 29 began with a panel of long-time sheep producers from across the province discussing challenges facing the BC sheep industry.

BCSF president Valerie Moilliet Gerber sums up her view of challenges for the BC sheep industry in two words: predators and politicians.

Gerber has worked hard with other sheep producers to bring a wild predator compensation program to fruition but provincial elections and wildfires have delayed the program and her frustration is evident.

“Every turn, something else happens to slow us down,” says Gerber.

This summer there were losses all over the province to every type of predator. Gerber’s family lost 21 sheep to a wolf.

Metchosin abattoir operator John Buchanan of Parry Bay Sheep Farm also lists predators as a challenge.

The area where his sheep graze was long predator-free. While coyotes remain absent from Vancouver Island, bear and cougar attacks are up. Buchanan feels he’s at risk of being pushed off grazing areas. High feed costs on Vancouver Island mean access to grass is critical.

Predators aren’t Buchanan’s only concern.

As an abattoir operator, Buchanan faces challenges keeping his workers. A concern for local slaughter plants is seasonal fluctuations in demand for their services. Rather than lay off then rehire workers, Buchanan prefers to retain his workers and find year-round work for them. To do this, he depends on the support of local growers to keep the plant operating.

And his view on the price of lamb?

“Lamb will never be priced like chicken when it is so expensive to grow,” he says.

Saturna Island sheep producer and abattoir operator Jacques Campbell serves as director to the BC Association of Abattoirs (BCAA). Her farm was developed by her parents who were agriculture graduates from UBC. The slaughterhouse was built in 1958 and used for years before the meat regulations changed in 2007.

“This was a game-changer,” says Campbell. “Dad resisted, and I did the upgrades.”

Every time a grant became available, Campbell applied. She took a humane handling course, then became eligible to access funds to improve animal welfare and built a cattle kill-box. She trained to score lambs for the BC Premium Lamb program developed by BCSF and BCAA with a focus on food safety and ensuring local lamb was humanely handled and slaughtered, and traceable.

Campbell’s abattoir operates seasonally from June to January because feed is too expensive to lamb year-round and there is other work on the farm to do.

Lorea Tomsin, president of the Inter Island Sheep Breeders Association and BC director with the Canadian Sheep Breeders’ Association, commented on the year-long split in the Canadian Sheep Federation. Ontario and Alberta have withdrawn from the organization leaving just seven provinces represented by the national organization.

Tomsin emphasized the importance of a united national organization to speak for sheep producers on issues of national concern, including biosecurity, strong trade policies and the upcoming traceability regulations. It’s also important for the association to be able to serve as the industry’s ear to government.

Tomsin also touched on the value of lamb meat. She encouraged producers to price with confidence, knowing what their costs are and the work that goes into raising the animals.

“Don’t be shy to price lamb fairly – to you,” she says.

Bev Greenwell, president of the BC Purebred Sheep Breeders’ Association and editor of BC Sheep N’Ewes for the BC Sheep Federation, talked about the challenges on her ranch in Princeton.

Greenwell and her husband grow alfalfa-grass hay, have cattle and raise purebred Suffolks that they sell as breeding stock or custom slaughtered lambs. Raising and slaughtering the animals is a challenge, though, because feed, equipment and the abattoir are two hours away. Moreover, slaughter dates must be booked before the lambs are born.

Greenwell also mentions efforts to meet the challenge of aging farmers by using more mechanization for water and haying equipment. Greenwell has concerns about climate change, especially with recent droughts and wildfires. She was impacted this summer after a wet, warm spring encouraged a bolt of grass growth, then heat withered it into the perfect fuel for fires.

Combined with bighorn sheep, which often show up where they shouldn’t be, and sheep ranching in Princeton is clearly no picnic.

“Politics are intensified,” says Greenwell.

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