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Originally published:

APRIL 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 4

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Stories In This Edition

No right to roam

Making a difference

Big leap for farmland values

Province plans to overhaul meat licensing

Ready. Set. Grow!

Down to earth

Back 40: Right to farm takes on right to roam

Viewpoint: Salmon farm closures should raise alarm

Pandemic triggers massive cut to turkey quota

This one’s for you

Chicken growers wait for compensation details

Fruit growers demand a level playing field

BC Tree Fruits turns over a new leaf

Potato plantings reflect pandemic purchasing shifts

Ag Briefs: Surveillance continues for giant hornets

Ag Briefs: Framers market restrictions lifted

Ag Briefs: Top marks for food safety

Ag Briefs: Bee tech team

Richmond’s ag community mourns a leader

New round of funding available for Shuswap farms

New chair appointed to cranberry commission

Farmers cry foul over bird pressure in Delta

Viewpoint: Are soil organic carbon promises overstated?

Organic sector calls for greater extension services

Study sets baseline for soil organic carbon

Producers beef up support for Island cattle

Canada eyes negligible-risk BSE stats

Online dam safety workshops enjoy high attendance

Babysitter

Blueberry pruning should aim for balance

Research: Study casts new shadow on glyphosate use

BC adds seven food hubs to provincial network

College assignment sparks salsa business

Bev Whitta shares her passion for poultry farming

Farm Story: Mud: what separates winter from summer

Finding a better way to cool hot potatoes

Weed control in cranberries takes planning

Sidebar: Weed fighters

Six years of cranberry data goes online

Woodshed: Battlelines drawn when the bulldog bites back

Education centre showcases maple syrup production

Sidebar: Good food for kids

Catering to rising demand for local food

Jude’s Kitchen: High off the hog

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2 weeks 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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3 weeks 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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3 weeks 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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3 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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1 month ago

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Producers beef up support for Island cattle

New cattlemen’s association gains traction on the Island

Brad Chappell is the founding president of the Vancouver Island Cattlemen’s Association. SUBMITTED

April 1, 2021 byKate Ayers

COURTENAY – Vancouver Island beef producers have banded together to establish a regional affiliate of the BC Cattlemen’s Association.

Vancouver Island producers have been able to join the association in the past as individual members, but the new Vancouver Island Cattlemen’s Association will give the local industry official standing alongside 17 other regional organizations.

“We do have about 12 direct members, but it is difficult for them to have that same input or seat at the board table [as VICA will],” says BCCA general manager Kevin Boon.

Island producers had a cattlemen’s association in the 70s but beef cattle numbers dwindled to the point that members decided to dissolve the group. But the Vancouver Island herd is increasing and producers want a united voice when discussing the impact of government regulations on their businesses.

In December, a core group of 30 ranchers led by Brad Chappell of Heart of the Valley Farms in Courtenay met virtually to discuss the potential and logistics of forming a BCCA affiliate. Chappell serves as the association’s founding president until the association’s first election in the fall. The inaugural board has 11 members. Ken Ellison of Dellison Farms in the Cowichan Valley is vice-president while Graeme Fowler of G&C Farms in Comox is secretary and treasurer.

The lack of formal representation from Vancouver Island to the BCCA was what encouraged Ellison to support the new association.

“I realized I had no voice, so went to find out what I could do,” he says.

Ellison is concerned about government roadblocks and insufficient programs that affect his 140-head beef ranch.

“Wildlife damage has been a big issue on the Island. When you have a herd of between 50 and 90 elk on your property year-round, they tend to do some damage,” he says.

He is also concerned about access to groundwater.

“The Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations took away our water sources a few years back and my permits have still not been approved from 2017,” he says.

The lack of processing capacity, especially in the southern section of Vancouver Island, and farm-retail restrictions are other issues Ellison would like to see addressed at the provincial level.

“A lot of beef producers are doing great things here and there is more power in numbers,” he says.

While it has similarities to other regions within BC, “the Island is quite a bit different,” he says. “We need a voice and representation.”

VICA is in its initial stages, but the group plans to boost Island beef production and address barriers to entry for young producers.

“It’s important that we have access to programs that are run locally and managed provincially,” Chappell says.

The top item on VICA’s agenda is a BC Ferries livestock and agriculture action plan, says Chappell.

“BC Ferries has categorically changed and digressed the ability of Island agriculture to operate here with integration with the mainland. The corporation has driven up the cost of food here and lowered the amount of ag on the Island,” he says.

VICA also wants to work with the province to address water capacity and storage during the fall and winter months, improving water capacity for livestock, irrigation and forage production.

VICA offers three key benefits, says Chappell.

First, the organization will provide opportunities for ranchers to find cost savings within a producer association. Second, the organization will be able to advocate for producers, and advance causes provincially through the BCCA. Most important, VICA will be able to develop programs that meet local producers’ needs.

“Most ag programs (on Vancouver Island) are very broad,” says Chappell. “But if you have programs developed by ranchers for ranchers, you are far more likely to successfully distribute programs to people who need them. That would definitely encourage beef production.”

By early March, more than 130 ranchers expressed interest in joining VICA. For a $150 fee, VICA members gain representation on BCCA’s five committees: public affairs, Indigenous relations and affairs, land stewardship, environment and livestock industry protection.

“The time is right to come together and work as an industry that includes the whole province, so that we don’t have the Island separated,” says Boon. “There are some very unique things about production on the Island that we need to be aware of and advocate for those producers.”

 

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