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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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4 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

1 month 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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2 months ago

The scale of this year's avian flu outbreak now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004. An additional 13 commercial farms in the Fraser Valley have tested positive in the last week. To date, 49 commercial farms and 1.2 million birds have been impacted. CFIA is struggling to keep up with depopulation of sick birds. ... See MoreSee Less

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AI outbreak rivals 2004

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The scale of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004 that saw farms throughout the Fraser Valley depopulated. An additional 13 commercial…
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Commercial operations need to reevaluate their stocking densities and overall health and welfare of the animals within their systems if they are ever going to have a fighting chance against this virus.

Yup cause food shortage

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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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