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Originally published:

MARCH 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 3

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Stories In This Edition

Lucky chickens

$227m rebuild fund

Glyphosate shortage looms

Province opens ALR to agritech development

Editorial: Divorced from the earth

Back 40: Broken supply chain weakens food system

Viewpoint: BC’s emergency response needs improvement

Building back better means avoiding past mistakes

Sidebar: Grand Forks initiative protects farms

Rural, urban areas prepare for extreme weather

Ag Briefs: Property owner appeals BC SPCA seizure

Ag Briefs: Province sued over mind ban

Farm income projected to reach new heights

Potato growers brace for higher input costs

Keeping cranberries cool a hot topic

Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

Sidebar: Farmers need not apply

Diversification drives growth of organic farm

Leadership skills can help farmers cope with disaster

Winter rainbow

Compost facilities facing pushback

Cheese leads the way as BC dairies seek capacity

Island yogurt producer boosting production

Grape growers prepare for climate change

The perfect solution for farmers on the go

Small-lot egg producer awarded quota

Sidebar: Future quota draws likely limited

Broiler health in spotlight for small-lot farmers

Pest data helps with management decisions

Research: Researchers discover a world of apple microbiomes

Farms meet the demand for local food

Better berry harvester meets growers’ needs

Farm Story: Spring demands the old heave-ho

Safety in the spotlight as farms recover

Woodshed: Henderson style has chins wagging

Chilliwack teams plow past the century mark

Jude’s Kitchen: Spring has sprung! Time to make bread!

 

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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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Province opens ALR to agritech development

Regulation change takes effect in August

SHELVES, NOT ROWS: Vertical farms are another way the province hopes to boost food security as it embraces regenerative agriculture and agritech. SUBMITTED

March 1, 2022 byPeter Mitham

ABBOTSFORD – Vertical farms will no longer have to seek permission from the Agricultural Land Commission to set up on protected farmland under a host of changes announced

February 20.

“We are making changes to support agritech and intensive crop production, like vertical farming, on the Agricultural Land Reserve,” BC agriculture minister Lana Popham said in a sparsely attended Saturday morning news conference on the Family Day long weekend. “Regulatory updates are needed to ensure there is clarity about which new innovative systems are allowed on the ALR.”

Popham said the move addresses a host of pressing issues, including food security, economic assistance to Abbotsford following the devastating November floods, and climate change.

“The future of farming and food production here in BC is one where we must consider all options,” says Popham, who considers vertical farms a natural extension of greenhouse systems. “Vertical farming will create even more opportunities to increase the food supply in the province, allowing farmers new options to produce more food year-round in more challenging climates.”

In addition to the rule change, the province is also pressing ahead with its Regenerative Agriculture and Agritech Network, an agritech concierge overseen by the BC Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation and an agritech centre of excellence.

The announcement makes good on a recommendation the BC Food Security Task Force made in January 2020 to open the ALR for agritech development. It proposed setting aside more than 28,400 acres of protected farmland for agritech and agri-industrial uses. Popham downplayed criticism at the time, but the new proposal goes a step further by greenlighting agritech ventures across the ALR.

The exact wording of the new regulation has not been released.

Richmond’s Harold Steves, who was instrumental in establishing the ALR in 1973, called out the province on Twitter.

“This #BCNDP Government has destroyed more farmland than all other governments combined since the #ALR saved farmland in 1973,” he says. “Just as we were getting resigned to the loss of 10,000 acres at #SiteC we are faced with the loss of more farmland to industry.”

Shaundehl Runka, a former land commissioner who served on the task force Popham set up in 2018 to recommend ways to revitalize the ALR, expressed frustration. She called out the original proposal to create an agri-industrial zone within the ALR, and the current proposal is no better.

“This is another thinly veiled excuse to use less expensive ALR land for a use that could be located elsewhere. It is no different than monster homes or other types of industrial activity locating on ALR land,” she says. “This is exactly the kind of land use pressure that led to the creation of the ALR.”

She wonders why the province isn’t creating opportunities for new farmers to secure land within the ALR.

“It is shocking to hear that government will be helping agri-tech industry to secure land in the ALR,” she says. “They could instead be helping young farmers enter the land market for agriculture or existing farmers to expand.”

Opposition agriculture critic and Delta South MLA Ian Paton echoed the concerns.

“God knows they’ve covered up enough prime farmland in Delta with greenhouses, which is almost the same as vertical farming. Instead of growing lettuce, they’re growing cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. But it’s all, basically, on a concrete floor,” he says.

Moreover, controlled-environment systems like greenhouses and vertical farms are typically beyond the means of new entrants, unless they’re extremely well capitalized.

“It’s cost-prohibitive,” he says. “There’s only 12 vertical farms in all of Canada. And why is that? This is something that people with suits and ties get into from downtown Vancouver, not conventional farmers.”

Changes to provincial regulations typically require a period of public feedback. However, Popham did not indicate any chance for public input. Instead, she said the change will take effect in August through an order-in-council.

Paton plans to challenge the rule change in the legislature.

 

 

 

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