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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Wildfire response improves

Bad timing for election call

Hay there!

Food sales still reeling from the pandemic

Editorial: Restart, regenerate

Back 40: Anti-vax rhetoric is far worse than the cure

Viewpoint: Organic practices key to our collective well-being

Producers face unannounced welfare checks

Livestock feel the heat as forage dries up

Farmers take issue with water restrictions

Ag Briefs: Grape growers optimistic as harvest approaches

Ag Briefs: Greenhouse nursery specialist named

Feed BC connects producers with opportunities

Sidebar: Nutrition program continues

Growers welcome grocer code of conduct

Chicken growers address heat stress

Greenhouse growers undertake strategic plan

Turning manure into renewable energy

Sidebar: Biogas gets a boost with changes to regulations

Blueberry growers welcome higher berry prices

Ranchers, farmers on the wildfire frontlines

Sidebar: Water and fans keep cattle cool

Province halts livestock watering reg update

BC farm sales sets new monthly record

Mental wellness resources meet a growing need

Sidebar: Mental health resources

Saving the farm business hinges on planning

Hot potatoes

Farmers produce crops, and loads of plastic

Barnston Island farmers face uncertain future

Market garden rises from battle of the weeds

Sidebar: Oostenbrink’s tips for no-till vegetables

Research: Bumblebee declines not as dire as study states

A non-family succession plan that worked

Living plants are revolutionizing herb sales

Food hub readies for fall opening

Farm Story: Good help at the right time

Small-scale abattoir in the works for Island

Breeding better tasting beets

Woodshed Chronicles: Plans unfold for the ride of a lifetime

Young entrepreneur weaves new use for twine

Jude’s Kitchen: Simpler eats for a new, normal September

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1 month ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

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ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Producers face unannounced welfare checks

BC SPCA gets proactive after Excelsior hog farm protest

Poultry, cattle and hog producers have been put on notice that the BC SPCA will be undertaking a series of unannounced welfare checks, a move BC SPCA says is part of its mandate under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. FILE PHOTO

September 1, 2021 byPeter Mitham

NANAIMO – BC SPCA has put commercial livestock producers around the province on notice that it intends to launch unannounced inspections of their operations under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Six sectors have been chosen for the inspections, which will initially take place on Vancouver Island as part of a pilot program. BC SPCA notified industry in a letter dated June 23 that its inspectors would visit two growers from each of the beef, turkey, egg, broiler, hog and dairy sectors as part of the pilot.

“The letter was to put these industries on notice that we intended to conduct inspections pursuant to s.15.1 of the [Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] Act,” says Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer with the BC SPCA. “This inspection power was granted to the BC SPCA by the [BC] Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and was not something that the BC SPCA has lobbied government for. However, as the enforcement agency charged with enforcing the act, we felt it important that we do a sampling of these inspections.”

BC SPCA hoped to complete at least two inspections by the end of August. Agriculture ministry staff and a vet will accompany inspectors. Producers also have the option of requesting the presence of a representative from their industry association or vet during the inspection.

Producers will be asked to provide inspection records and animal welfare plans as required under their sector’s animal care programs. Producers can ask inspectors what concerns, if any, have been identified during the inspection, and can obtain a second opinion in response.

The inspections are limited to commercial growers registered with their respective commodity groups. Small-scale growers, who fall outside marketing regulations, are not included as part of the checks.

“We do not have the resources at the moment to be doing everything,” says Moriarty. “We picked the larger sectors, the ones that have had cases before.”

While both the Dairy Farmers of Canada ProAction initiative and the Chicken Farmers of Canada Animal Care program make use of third-party audits, Moriarty says the inspections are important because they provide independent third-party verification of animal welfare.

“This isn’t something we want to be doing … but we do feel there is a need for third-party auditing and so until that time happens, this was a very small sampling we were going to go forward with,” says Moriarty.

Unfairly targetted

While the inspections are legal, they’re also a departure from the standard complaint-driven investigations BC SPCA has conducted in the past. This has commercial farmers feeling unfairly targeted.

Producer groups met with BC SPCA compliance and enforcement staff on August 4 seeking answers. The meeting included representatives from the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the BC Farm Industry Review Board.

“Animal care is a priority for our livestock members, who seek to continuously refine and advance on-farm standards,” says Danielle Synotte, executive director of the BC Agriculture Council, which facilitated the meeting. “Our focus is on trying to ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of what the inspection process will look like prior to any inspections taking place. As such, industry representatives welcomed the opportunity to engage with the BC SPCA on their pilot proactive inspection initiative to see where they could best support the success of this pilot initiative.”

A collaborative approach was what BC Chicken Marketing Board chair Harvey Sasaki reported to chicken growers when they met later on August 4.

“Being that there are only two inspections per group, we don’t want to appear as not being cooperative as an industry,” says Sasaki. “While you may feel threatened by their request to inspect your operation, denial of access is really not an option.”

Details of all inspections, including denials of access, remain confidential. However, the proportion of farms that deny access to inspectors over the course of the pilot will be published in a report to the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

On edge

Despite the assurances, the inspections are the latest in a series of events that have put livestock producers on edge. A combination of initiatives, legal and otherwise, from animal rights groups have prompted several producers to tighten security. Regulated commodity groups have been a special focus because they maintain lists of members and keep records regarding producer compliance with codes of practice developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC).

The codes are developed by industry in partnership with stakeholders, including the SPCA, and are open for public comment prior to being finalized. BC recognizes the codes of practice under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act as the reference for what constitutes “reasonable and generally accepted practices of animal management” that do not cause animals distress.

But the April 2019 invasion of the Excelsior hog farm in Abbotsford highlights public concern, says Moriarty.

BC SPCA declined to press charges against Excelsior and several of the activists involved in the invasion now face charges of break and enter and mischief (the case is set for trial in June 2022), but Moriarty says it highlighted the need for proactive inspections.

“The general call for accountability and transparency within the farming industry [came] out of Excelsior, what happened there. Who are going into these barns that are closed?” she says. “We heard from the public, that they care about animal welfare in farmed animals, and we are the agency responsible for enforcement.”

Some industry members say this smacks of an agenda, especially given that smaller farms get a free pass.

“It is fair to say that SPCA has had a mandate to go after commercial farm activities,” says Abbotsford producer Ray Nickel, also a director of the BC Chicken Marketing Board and former president of the BC Poultry Association. “This isn’t just an innocent ‘We want to follow up on the Code of Practices here,’ or the [Prevention of] Cruelty to Animals Act. There is an underlying agenda, and I think it behoves the BC [Poultry Association] to take some concerted action on behalf of all the associations to put some pressure on the ministry because this isn’t over yet.”

Sasaki says the poultry industry will be following up with the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries regarding the inspections.

“Ultimately it is the Ministry of Agriculture that’s responsible for the legislation and regulations,” he notes.

 

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