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Originally published:

JULY 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 7

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Stories In This Edition

Breakfast on the Farm

Province blinks on ALR

Berry grower hit with fines

BC hop industry matures despite challenges

Smaller than small

Back 40: The ups (and downs) of sustainable agriculture

Viewpoint: Debate over cannabis underscores challenges

Dry weather ushers in provincewide drought

Giant bee-killing hornet identified in Vancouver

Weather ideal for early start to strawberries

Fresh BC strawberries …

FIRB sides with K&M on annualized production

Pricing remains on ongoing issue for poultry sector

Tree fruit competitiveness funds start to flow

Farmers institute members discuss ALR changes

Dairy association seeks general manager

Sitting down on the job

Online platform gives food a second chance

Armyworm comes back for a second helping

Cannabis genes key to long-term success

Twenty years of ambassadors reunite

Policy shifts top ranchers’ list of concerns

Winner! Winner!

Clifton Ranch aims for better beef, habitat

Sidebar: Ranch operations

Treaties create uncertainty for range users

Market Musings: Summertime slowdown

Do you know a horse …

Grazing targets fire prevention, suppression

Kestrel nestbox project will help control starlings

Sterile moth program heads south of the border

Young farmers served a heaving helping of surf ‘n turf

Research: Welfare, reproduction a complex relationship

Variety trials showcase fresh options

Sweet potato has promise for BC growers

Headway made on organic SWD controls

My turn!

The fine art of raising commercial poultry

Winfield couple banks on organic growth

Woodshed: Plans hatch while Kenneth plays golf

Breakfast on the Farm has lessons for everyone

Jude’s Kitchen: Healthy choices

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BC shoppers can once again expect above-average food price increases in 2020, according to the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. Nationally, food prices are set to rise 2% to 4%, on top of a 3.7% increase this year. But steady wage growth and a good economy mean BC grocery and restaurant prices will outpace the national average. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, a family of four spent $1,017 a month on groceries in 2017; a conservative estimate based on the Dalhousie University estimates means that same family is spending closer to $1,160 a month today — just a fraction of which returns to the farmer. Country Life is BC's agricultural news source. ... See MoreSee Less

1 day ago

BC shoppers can once again expect above-average food price increases in 2020, according to the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. Nationally, food prices are set to rise 2% to 4%, on top of a 3.7% increase this year. But steady wage growth and a good economy mean BC grocery and restaurant prices will outpace the national average. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, a family of four spent $1,017 a month on groceries in 2017; a conservative estimate based on the Dalhousie University estimates means that same family is spending closer to $1,160 a month today — just a fraction of which returns to the farmer. Country Life is BCs agricultural news source.
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So are producers going to see more money as well?

Why ?

This was reported at exactly, to the day, this time last year. Exactly the same “percentage” of hike as well,,,,, i smell a rat

"steady wage growth"???? What is your definition of "wage"?

That's what you people get if they elect socialists.

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BC farmers can look forward to better access to domestic and foreign markets, according to the throne speech that opened Parliament following October’s federal election. “[We] will remove additional barriers to domestic and international trade for businesses and farmers, continue with ambitious investments in infrastructure, and reduce red tape so that it is easier to create and run a start-up or small business,” said the speech. Dairy farmers can also expect to receive the first piece of compensation this month for market access granted under international trade agreements. A review of the rules governing online commerce is also in the works. Watch for more details in the new year in Country Life in BC, the agricultural news source for British Columbia since 1915. Subscribe: buff.ly/2JhvVYH ... See MoreSee Less

1 day ago

BC farmers can look forward to better access to domestic and foreign markets, according to the throne speech that opened Parliament following October’s federal election. “[We] will remove additional barriers to domestic and international trade for businesses and farmers, continue with ambitious investments in infrastructure, and reduce red tape so that it is easier to create and run a start-up or small business,” said the speech. Dairy farmers can also expect to receive the first piece of compensation this month for market access granted under international trade agreements. A review of the rules governing online commerce is also in the works. Watch for more details in the new year in Country Life in BC, the agricultural news source for British Columbia since 1915. Subscribe: https://buff.ly/2JhvVYH
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... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

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Secondary residences could be allowed on all properties in the Agricultural Land Reserve under changes the BC Ministry of Agriculture is considering. The details follow comments agriculture minister Lana Popham made to farmers’ institutes last Friday regarding changes her ministry is considering. Second homes such as mobile dwellings and carriage houses could be built without an application to the Agricultural Land Commission, though what say local government might have over the dwellings has yet to be determined. Whether or not the second homes could be permanent structures is also unclear. However, the ministry has confirmed that the proposed change would be for all ALR landowners, not just farmers, who it notes are allowed two, three or more residences with approval from the ALC. Country Life in BC is the agriculture news source for BC's farmers and ranchers. Sign up for free FARM NEWS UPDATES delivered weekly to your inbox. buff.ly/2H3dK8k ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

Secondary residences could be allowed on all properties in the Agricultural Land Reserve under changes the BC Ministry of Agriculture is considering. The details follow comments agriculture minister Lana Popham made to farmers’ institutes last Friday regarding changes her ministry is considering. Second homes such as mobile dwellings and carriage houses could be built without an application to the Agricultural Land Commission, though what say local government might have over the dwellings has yet to be determined. Whether or not the second homes could be permanent structures is also unclear. However, the ministry has confirmed that the proposed change would be for all ALR landowners, not just farmers, who it notes are allowed two, three or more residences with approval from the ALC. Country Life in BC is the agriculture news source for BCs farmers and ranchers. Sign up for free FARM NEWS UPDATES delivered weekly to your inbox. buff.ly/2H3dK8k
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We shouldn't need approval from the ALC to have those residences! The ALC SHOULD NOT be in the housing regulation business!!

The article reads "...the province is considering allowing all landowners, whether or not they farm, to build secondary residences in the ALR, providing owners first register the residences with the ALC. These include both mobile homes and carriage houses, though whether these could be permanent structures is unknown." This would be positive news for families or for farms who put staff housing on site. A lot of local governments still don't like the huge homes but should consider with applications square foot caps and how many generations/families are living together; and how one large home actually is more efficient in the long run, as a larger homes can serve as a multi-family dwelling (instead of a family having to fragment and build/buy separate smaller ones that are geographically separated). Also some families living in the ALR can't afford to purchase a separate piece of land or a separate home to live offsite or commute to the family farm, so I like this idea Lana Popham

Well, good news. Too late for Woodwynn farms. Will it stop three 12000 sq ft mansions from being built instead of just one?

Finally.......now maybe we can get our daughter moved onto our land

Excellent news

Harassing BC Farms is the GreeNDP’s last nail in the coffin. Big trouble next election.

A really bad idea.

one could only hope..

Jim Grieve

Gord Rockvam...

This is what I don't understand - "...farmers, who it notes are allowed two, three or more residences with approval from the ALC." If that is true, what is the fuss? Why open it up to ALC owners who are not farmers? I also do not understand why they use square footage instead of the footprint of the dwellings and infrastructure as a way to measure housing. Isn't it the actual land that needs protection? In that case, you could build up and it would decrease the amount of infrastructure needed. I also agree that not all ALC land is suitable for farming. Most of the ALC land was designated by a last minute fly-over. Nobody checked the quality of the soil. In fact, if you want to get really picky, why allow greenhouses with cement pads to be built on viable agricultural soil. They should be restricted to non-arable ALC land. Hats off to Popham for trying to deal with this complicated mess and for listening to the public.

They would save a lot of headache and money by just aloting a home site area and you can build what you want.

Government should stay out of farming

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Seven projects will receive nearly $210,000 in funding as part of the first disbursement from the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund, established in 2018 with $20 million to offset impacts from the construction of the Site C dam. The largest grant is $100,000 in support of BC Grain Producers Association projects assessing grain and oilseed varieties suitable to the Peace Region. The research is particularly important as growers wrestle with a changing and more variable climate, something that hit home this year as weather prevented growers from harvesting half the region’s grain crop. A variety of crop management and education initiatives also received funding. Applications are now being received for the 2020 awards, with $291,000 available for disbursement. ... See MoreSee Less

4 days ago

Seven projects will receive nearly $210,000 in funding as part of the first disbursement from the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund, established in 2018 with $20 million to offset impacts from the construction of the Site C dam. The largest grant is $100,000 in support of BC Grain Producers Association projects assessing grain and oilseed varieties suitable to the Peace Region. The research is particularly important as growers wrestle with a changing and more variable climate, something that hit home this year as weather prevented growers from harvesting half the region’s grain crop. A variety of crop management and education initiatives also received funding. Applications are now being received for the 2020 awards, with $291,000 available for disbursement.
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Province blinks on ALR

Small-lot farmers fight back

June 30, 2019 byPeter Mitham

VICTORIA—Growing criticism of the province’s efforts to tighten protection of the province’s Agricultural Land Reserve is prompting the province to backtrack on some of the new regulations.

A late-night bulletin the BC Ministry of Agriculture posted on June 18 indicates that rules governing second homes in the ALR would allow a grandfathering period.

“As the Province has continued to work on regulations to support Bill 52, the BC government has been listening to local governments and people living in the Agricultural Land Reserve,” the bulletin stated. “There will be more details to come in the next few weeks.”

The new rules stipulate that additional dwellings can only house workers, not immediate family members, drawing criticism from commercial and hobby farmers alike, as well as rural landowners caught unawares by the sudden change. The new rule took effect with implementation of the new Agricultural Land Use Regulation on February 22.

“In the old legislation it actually said that it didn’t need to just be for farm help, that it could be for immediate family,” explains Janet Thony, chair of District A Farmers Institute, an umbrella group representing farmers institutes on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast. “They’ve removed that and, to double-down on that, they’ve also decided that they get to adjudicate whether or not you’re enough of a farmer to require farm help. You don’t get to decide that, they do, the ALC [Agricultural Land Commission].”

The issue was the last straw for District A members, which watched cautiously as Bill 52 was passed last fall, eliminating two zones for the ALR as well as addressing fill and residential development. The raft of changes proposed in Bill 15 this spring came as a greater surprise, and complemented growing concern with the approach the province was taking.

Thony, as chair of Coombs Farmers Institute, a member of District A, wrote a letter to BC agriculture minister Lana Popham outlining six concerns with the legislation and requesting a meeting. (The legislation governing farmers institutes grants them direct access to the minister.) A meeting didn’t happen.

“There was a series of unfortunate responses from them that actually kept ramping up our concern and anger level,” she explains. “Because we were getting this extreme pushback, stonewalling and – really – misrepresentation, that’s when we went, ‘okay, where do we go from here?’”

The result was a public meeting in Nanoose Bay on June 17, and the following night, the ministry bulletin.

“I’m putting this out to clear the air and to make sure people know we are continuing to do the hard work necessary to help farmers farm and protect the ALR,” Popham posted to her Facebook account the next morning.

Country Life in BC requested an interview with the minister to discuss the changes, but was told she had nothing further to add to the pledge in the bulletin.

Thony wants to see the specifics.

“She keeps using the term ‘grandfathered,’ so the part we don’t like about that is, is she going to make some backroom deals with these immediately impacted people but still go ahead with the complete restriction on second dwellings? We don’t want anything to do with that,” she says.

Cannabis updated

The same regulation also changed the rules for cannabis.

An order in council last July allowed licensed producers to produce cannabis within the ALR under specific conditions: either in soil-based systems, or structures designated for crop production when government signed the order in council.

But the wording of the new regulation gave municipalities the power to regulate cannabis production, save the forms that were explicitly allowed by the order in council.

“There has been no change made to the Province’s cannabis policy since the original policy framework announced in July 2018,” agriculture ministry staff told Country Life in BC at the end of May.

But the new wording effectively backtracked on the order in council, allowing all forms of cannabis production within the ALR except where prohibited by local governments. This ran counter to initial recommendations of the advisory committee the agriculture minister appointed last year to guide the revitalization of the ALC and ALR.

Those recommendations included “an immediate moratorium on all non-soil bound cannabis production and facilities in the ALR pending provincial-level analysis of impacts” and giving the ALC authority “to establish rules/criteria for cannabis production throughout the ALR” and to “permit cannabis production in the ALR only through application to the ALC.”

Delta South MLA and BC Liberal agricultural critic Ian Paton, who lives in a second residence on his family’s farm and attended the District A meeting on June 17, said the new regulations created “a real mess” for farmers and property owners across the province that’s starting to be felt.

Paton says everyone from large agri-tourism operators such as wineries down to small-scale farmers and charitable ventures such as the Fraser Valley Gleaners have been caught in the province’s zealous protection of the ALR.

“It’s a mess, complete mess right now,” he says. “They’re taking so much heat, … they’re saying well, oops, give us [some] time where we’re going to work on coming up with an idea to allow for some grandfathering. Obviously, they’re backtracking. The heat is on.”

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