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FEBRUARY 2023
Vol. 108 Issue 2

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7 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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Quick action on allegations

November 3, 2021 byPeter Mitham

BC’s dairy industry took quick and decisive action last week against Cedar Valley Farms, an organic dairy in Abbotsford, following allegations of animal abuse.

BC Milk Marketing Board circulated a note to industry on October 27 saying that it had suspended the farm’s licence following the receipt of information from the BC SPCA “regarding violations of the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle.”

BC SPCA contacted industry organizations on October 25 following its own inspection of the farm the week before. The unannounced inspection was triggered by video footage provided by Animal Justice Canada showing what appears to be violations of the provincial Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act “and potentially the Criminal Code of Canada.

Delegated with enforcement powers under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, BC SPCA is conducting its own investigation alongside one by the marketing board.

“Adherence to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle is mandatory for all dairy farms in BC,” the board says in a statement. “We cannot overstate how important it is that all farms be held to a high standard for the handling of the animals in their care.”

The prompt action by industry reflects lessons from the 2014 case of Chilliwack Cattle Sales, says Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the BC Dairy Association.

“The biggest step that was taken is that, immediately, the milk licence was suspended so that milk can no longer go into the system and there’s a program in place to look after the animals,” he says. “We’re very supportive of the work that the BCMMB and the BC SPCA are doing in this particular situation.”

Seven years ago, Mercy for Animals activists shot undercover video at Chilliwack Cattle Sales of workers beating and mistreating cattle. The video was released to media, and a public storm erupted that prompted Saputo to refuse milk from the farm, prompting the marketing board to cease collection. Meanwhile, the farm’s owners, the Kooyman family, invited media to tour the operation to see conditions for themselves.

This time, the industry stopped shipments before the processor took action. The family has not spoken to media. So far, public outrage has been kept in check, though that could change as more details emerge. Animal Justice released some of the more than 300 clips that triggered the investigations to CTV on November 4.

A timeline for concluding the investigations at Cedar Valley has not been set.

In addition to having its dairy licence suspended, Cedar Valley’s organic certification is also in jeopardy as the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle forms part of the organic regulations.

Cedar Valley’s certifying body, Pro-Cert Organic Systems Ltd. has not commented on the matter. A revocation of its certification would depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigations.

The investigations could also lead to criminal charges.

“This is a high-priority investigation and we are building a very strong case to present to Crown counsel with a recommendation for charges,” the BC SPCA says.

Seven workers were ultimately charged in the Chilliwack Cattle Sales incident, while company principals Ken and Wesley Kooyman faced fines totalling $345,000 in a sentence the court designed to indicate that animal abuse was unacceptable.

Note: This item was updated November 5 to reflect the release of video footage on November 4.

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