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Originally published:

DECEMBER 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Catastrophic flooding

Wash out

Editorial: Rebuilding food security

Back 40: A farmer’s journey doesn’t always pay for itself

Viewpoint:

Dairy industry takes swift action on animal abuse

Producers urged to make emergency plans

Province sets agenda for tree fruit future

Ag Briefs: Province moves to shut down mink farms

Ag Briefs: Interior Opportunities

Ag Briefs: BCAC meetings bear fruit

Ag Briefs: Trade focus

North Okanagan ranchers brief on key issues

Sidebar: Strong retail, disappointing feeder prices

Frustration over ‘timber-centric’ range bill

Livestock protection program up for review

Honey producers get technology transfer program

Chicken squadron

Quality over quantity for blueberry pollination

New slaughter regs helpful but not enough

Sidebar: Changes welcome

Sheep producers have tough year

The old heave-ho

Grant revives Pacific field corn trials

Cannabis grower eyes mushroom production

New poinsettia varieties trialed in Abbotsford

Nursery sales stay brisk through pandemic

Job satisfaction has deep roots

Newcomers revitalize Lake Country orchard

Cariboo research looks to extend growing season

Full circle operation upcycles food waste

BC company specializes in bio control

Farm Story: Idyllic worlds have very little idleness in them

Blueberry farming is stress-busting for new chair

Research: To till or not to till? That’s actually not the question

Christmas tree growers face a grim future

Woodshed: An awkward encounter; a clever diversion

A century of dairy farming in Pitt Meadows

Jude’s Kitchen: Celebrate! Celebrate

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6 days ago

Farmland Advantage is receiving a $445,000 grant from the federal government. The program, the “brainchild” of Invermere cattle rancher Dave Zehnder, provides compensation to farmers for their conservation efforts to protect BC’s grasslands, riparian areas and wildlife habitat. The funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) and Priority Places programs, will be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas appeared in our March 2022 edition and you can view it at ... See MoreSee Less

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Rewarding farmers for enhancing riparian areas

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INVERMERE – Farmers and ranchers in the Columbia Valley will continue to see rewards for taking action to conserve and enhance important riparian areas on their farms. The Windermere District Farmer...
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2 weeks 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

2 months 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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Province sets agenda for tree fruit future

Steering committee recommends new agency to represent sector

The province is proposing a new agency to represent the entire tree fruit sector and another organization to represent just apple growers, among other changes intended to stabilize the industry. MYRNA STARK LEADER

December 1, 2021 byP

KELOWNA – The province released 19 recommendations on November 12 outlining a plan to stabilize BC’s troubled tree fruit sector, the culmination of a nine-month process launched in February at the annual convention of the BC Fruit Growers Association.

“BCFGA is supportive and observe that the government recommendations have taken account of difficult times in the apple sector as well as climate impacts over the last three years in the cherry sector,” says BCFGA general manager Glen Lucas. “The input and dedication of the steering committee members and the grower and organization input is very much appreciated.”

The recommendations fall into 15 groupings, including leadership, governance and direction; labour supply and housing challenges; extension services; marketing, sales and the power of retailers; increased use of innovation and technology; and addressing the impact of climate change.

The recommendations are part of a report that makes several modest proposals under the larger headings. These include the removal of all older varieties that deliver minimal returns to growers and a quality assurance program for fruit similar to the Vintners Quality Alliance program for wineries. A call for a higher farm income for properties to receive farm class status from BC Assessment also figure among the ideas.

But the top recommendation is the creation of a single agency to represent the entire tree fruit sector within the BC Agriculture Council and to government. The province says the agency’s governance should include both industry representatives and government-recommended independent members.

In parallel with this, the BCFGA would be “realigned” to focus on lobbying, while yet another organization would be created to represent apple growers “at the same level as cherries and grapes.”

But the realignment would not be a marginalization of the BCFGA, which has more than 400 members and until this year administered the provincial replant program and other key government initiatives.

“We look at it more as a roundtable,” says BCFGA president Pinder Dhaliwal, who farms in Oliver. “The idea of a new agency would be more of increasing communication amongst various people in the valley and industry.”

While the BCFGA will continue to represent its members, the new agency would facilitate a more holistic discussion regarding the tree fruit sector, similar to the advisory committee convened to draft the recommendations.

“I think they want to have at that table grape growers, some cherry representation, some BCFGA representation, government – Ministry of Agriculture – and marketers, packers to shed light and perhaps even retailers to get things going,” says Dhaliwal.

The stabilization recommendations reflect feedback gathered during 30 consultation sessions with more than 165 stakeholders between April and June. The advisory committee included representatives from BCFGA, the BC Cherry Association, New Tree Fruit Variety Development Council, Sterile Insect Release Program, BC Grape Growers’ Association and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Georgina Beyers, director of the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries’ industry development branch, and provincial tree fruit specialist Adrian Arts led the initiative.

The broad range of input is needed given that the challenges apple growers face, particularly low prices, have a ripple effect.

“People are pulling apples out and there’s two choices they have: either go into cherries or go into vineyards,” explains Dhaliwal. “It’s going to really upset the rhythm in those two industries in the short-term and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham says decisive action is needed because the sector continues to struggle despite having received more than $67 million in assistance from the province since 2017.

“We can all improve our effort, and our efforts are more meaningful when we work together,” she said in comments prefacing the report. “This plan will require commitment to the demanding work ahead and a dedicated approach and collaboration from industry and government.”

The recommendations now go to industry for consideration, pending implementation.

“A lot of those recommendations we agree with,” says Dhaliwal, who discussed the recommendations with BCFGA directors on November 18. “We just hope the government implements them. Some of them need to be implemented and worked on much faster and quicker, and some will take a little bit more time.”

BC Tree Fruits Cooperative strategic initiatives director Laurel Van Dam says the report brings together a number of long-standing recommendations, backing them up with a promise of concrete change.

“We all know the industry has been having some challenging times, and a step like this had to happen. Bringing those ideas together that will ultimately help move this business forward is a great step,” she says. “We’re very appreciative of the work that the ministry has done on the report. We congratulate and thank the ministry and all the staff and advisory group who worked on that.”

BCTF’s board was set to discuss the recommendations at its November 25 board meeting. Other groups, including the BC Cherry Association, are also studying the report prior to formalizing their responses.

The province would like implementation to begin sooner rather than later. It has promised to be “actively involved … alongside industry” in the implementation of the 19 recommendations.

“Goals will be set, and achievement progress will be monitored on a consistent, and specified basis,” it says.

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