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JUNE 2023
Vol. 109 Issue 6

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4 weeks 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

www.countrylifeinbc.com

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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Province’s peach supply down

August 24, 2022 byKate Ayers

Cold winter weather and the cooler spring have profoundly affected the BC peach crops, with some producers reporting little or no production this year.

“A couple of the early varieties had blossoms and got pollinated. So, we had peaches on three types, a very light crop, but they are all finished now,” says Jennay Oliver of Paynter’s Fruit Market in West Kelowna.

Oliver’s orchard typically has 10 varieties of peaches. This year, its white-fleshed peaches, Red Globe and Harrow Diamond varieties were the only ones to pull through the winter.

“Everything else was totally wiped out,” she says.

Oliver attributes her peach crop’s decimation to last year’s frosty temperatures, which were intensified by one 24-hour period of intense winds.

“A lot of people were writing it up to the cold spring, but all of our buds were already dead by the time spring came around,” she says. “We had a really cold spell in December when the trees weren’t quite ready.”

BC growers harvested 6,166 tons of peaches in 2019, according to Statistics Canada. But the crop has fallen over the past two years and last year’s harvest was just 5,522 tons.

This year is slightly better than last year, but Oliver hopes for better growing conditions next year.

“The heat dome last year was terrible. That 45° was burning fruit and stopping production. I don’t know which year has been worse actually,” Oliver says. “Last year I remember being like, ‘I hope there is not another season like this again,’ but then this year, I hope there’s not another season like this one. It’s not fun to lose a crop of anything.”

Hoffman Orchards in Kelowna and Peter’s Orchards in Vernon also sustained significant losses in peaches.

Based on claims from insured growers, the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food expects payouts will be on par with past years despite the significant losses.

“This year’s crop is significantly smaller than an average year and there have been 108 claims for peaches to date in 2022, about 20 more than an average year,” the ministry told Country Life in BC. “It is estimated about $450,000 will be paid out to insured peach growers in 2022, which is similar to an average year.”

Despite a lighter crop in the Okanagan, some areas still have some fruit for sale.

Paynter partners with a conventional farm in Osoyoos and an organic farm in Summerland, both of which reported hearty crops.

“It seems that everything north of Summerland has light crops but everything south of Summerland seem to have pretty good yields, at least the orchards we deal with,” Oliver says.

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