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Originally published:

MAY 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 5

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Stories In This Edition

Greening up

On red alert

Ag show pivots to in person

Four options floated for flood mitigation

Sidebar: Four options; a lot at stake

Editorial: An enviable position

Back 40: A quarter century of gratitude and appreciation

Op Ed: Will food security be rooted in soil or software?

Province doubles vet school seats with funding

Ag council caps a year of changes, challenges

Thank you

Ag Briefs: Court offers no relief for mink farmers

Ag Briefs: Grape crop short and sweet

Ag Briefs: Gala winners

Vegetable sales remain strong

Vertical farms face regulation

Dahr steps down as AgSafe BC chair

Packers protest apple marketing commission

Egg farmers urged to register for compensation

Third round of replant money for raspberries

Raspberry prices show promise

Apiarists fear heavy winter losses

Sidebar: Genome BC partners with IAF to deliver new program

Strawberry levy to increase

Welcome back!

Thinking twice about digital marketing

Sidebar: Digital tips for farm marketers

Ranchers facing rangeland losses

Strong demand but uncertain feed outlook for beef

Farm News: The kids are alright

Blueberries need more than honeybees

Forum highlights made-in-BC ag innovation

Double-checking

Big data poses challenges and opportunities

Tiptoeing through the tulips

Business planning turns risks into opportunities

Three-fold growth marks hazelnut sector’s recovery

OrganicBC undertakes structural review

Growth surges in specialty mushrooms

Sidebar: Mushroome xports take top spot

Chilliwack plowing match marks its centennial

Woodshed: Kenneth’s encounter with nature goes sideways

Research: Research shows lack of data on butter hardness

Jude’s: Brunch for special people

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1 week ago

The province remained short on details Thursday as it repeated an announcement it plans to invest $5 million in a new animal disease preparedness and response program. “This investment will provide BC farmers and ranchers with the support to plan and respond quicker and better to disease outbreaks,” said BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis, who was joined by MLAs from Langley East, Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent at Canadian Organic Feeds in Chilliwack.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #BCpoultry
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The province remained short on details Thursday as it repeated an announcement it plans to invest $5 million in a new animal disease preparedness and response program. “This investment will provide BC farmers and ranchers with the support to plan and respond quicker and better to disease outbreaks,” said BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis, who was joined by MLAs from Langley East, Chilliwack and Chilliwack-Kent at Canadian Organic Feeds in Chilliwack.

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #BCpoultry
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Stay away from government programs

It's a killing program ..

1 week ago

With the stroke of a pen, BC has officially entered into a new agreement with the federal government that will see more than $140 million invested over the next five years in “strategic” agricultural initiatives. The money represents a 25% increase of about $29 million over the previous funding agreement, which ends on March 31. “This partnership will support our government’s focus on food security for all British Columbians while investing significantly in BC farmers, producers and processors,” says BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis. The agreement was signed earlier today, during federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s visit to the province. ... See MoreSee Less

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Bilateral agreement signed

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BC will see an additional $29 million over five years from the federal government when the new agricultural policy framework debuts April 1. A new bilateral agreement between the provincial and…
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1 week ago

BC farmers and producers have until June 30 to register for AgriStability, pay their fees and secure coverage under the program. AgriStability provides support to growers with large financial declines caused by production losses as a result of extreme weather, disease outbreak (such as avian influenza) and increased costs or declining market conditions. About 2,100 BC farmers enroll in the program annually. For more information or to enrol, visit www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #AgriStability
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BC farmers and producers have until June 30 to register for AgriStability, pay their fees and secure coverage under the program. AgriStability provides support to growers with large financial declines caused by production losses as a result of extreme weather, disease outbreak (such as avian influenza) and increased costs or declining market conditions. About 2,100 BC farmers enroll in the program annually. For more information or to enrol, visit www.gov.bc.ca/AgriStability

#BCAg #countrylifeinbc #AgriStability
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2 weeks ago

A new provincial agricultural extension program is in the works, and hopes are high it heralds a fresh start for regional agricultural support in BC. Set to launch this spring, the program intends to increase engagement with producers, with a focus on climate mitigation, adaption and overall sustainability.

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Provincial extension service coming

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A new provincial extension service is in the works, an initiative applauded at an Agri-Extension and Research event organized by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and held at the BC Ministry of...
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2 weeks ago

A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior. “We have settled on a butcher hub with two components, a dedicated space for cut-and-wrap with Magnum Meats as the tenant and a value-added meat processing area with a smokehouse and sausage-making equipment available for daily rental," says Vicki Gee, who sits on the food hub committee. The story appears in our March edition and we've uploaded it to our website.

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Butcher hub moves ahead after three years

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ROCK CREEK – A planned food hub in the Kootenay Boundary region could be a reality this fall after three years of planning, supporting local meat processing capacity in the southern Interior.
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Jessica Coburn you see this?

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Ranchers facing rangeland losses

Crown land significantly impacted by wildfires

Fire can benefit soils but it still takes time to recover, something BC ranchers with Crown range don’t have as they struggle to place cows this year. FILE

May 1, 2022 byKate Ayers

WESTWOLD – Ranchers in areas hit hard by last year’s heat dome, wildfires and drought shouldn’t count on rushing out on their rangeland this summer, cautions a professional agrologist.

Chris Wellman, a fence contractor and former range agrologist with the Vernon Forest District, says many herds may need to stick close to home this season pending an assessment of range conditions. “The problem with this whole thing about grazing now is that all the Ministry [of Forests] infrastructure has been taken out – all the pasture boundaries, the fencing, the water developments – [they] have been compromised because of the fires,” he says. “As far as getting cattle into these areas, it’s virtually impossible. You could do electric fencing, but the terrain doesn’t lend itself to that.”

Fires can benefit soils by returning nutrients and reducing future fire loads. However, they also leave soils susceptible to erosion.

“The soil has no structure at this time. It needs snow-press, it needs a year or two to establish and really get structure back in the soil,” says Wellman.

Pasture conditions depend on the severity of the wildfires in each area. The province may require that some ranchers take acreage out of their grazing rotations to allow the land to recover.

“I would think that you would be very lucky in these heavily impacted areas if there’s any grazing at all,” says Wellman.

Westwold rancher Russell Clemitson considers himself lucky to have grazing options. Even though 85% of his range was touched by wildfire last year, he will be allowed to turn out cattle, albeit a bit later than normal.

“They did a fire intensity analysis on it, and they said around 30% was blacked out. So, severely burnt and the soil is burnt and everything,” says Clemitson. “And then around 40% was moderately burnt and the rest of it was lightly burnt.”

As it stands, he has just enough feed for his 350 cows until the beginning of June, which is when he would typically put his herd on grass.

“Between the drought and flooding last fall, there is no feed available in BC to purchase. And if it is, it’s so overpriced that you can’t afford to buy it now,” he says.

Fortunately, after meetings with the BC Ministry of Forests and local First Nations, his cattle will be able to return to Crown lands further into June.

“Usually, they don’t let you go back for anywhere between one to four years.  They don’t like to see cattle back on these ranges [after fires],” says Clemitson. “I tried to explain to them that without summer range, five generations of ranching come to an end. … We don’t have any options.”

On one of his ranges, cattle can return at full stock with stringent management practices and he will delay turnout by up to two weeks.

“My other range also has a deferred turnout day to the middle of June rather than the beginning of the month, providing the grass is ready,” he says. To promote rangeland recovery, Clemitson will reduce his stocking rate to 60% of normal. “So, I still need to find a home for some cattle but I’m going to take 60% over 0%,” he says.

Ministry help

The impacts of reduced grazing options aren’t lost on ministry staff. Wellman says they have been doing everything they can to accommodate ranchers through the winter and know a difficult season lies ahead.

“[They’re] trying to find them programs, help them with hay or find other pastures that are vacant or other Crown tenures that are vacant. They are scrambling. It’s chaos,” he says. “It’s a really horrible situation that we’re put in. The Ministry of Forests is absolutely sweating every night trying to figure out how they’re going to help these guys. Those people are run ragged right now.”

In Clemitson’s case, the ministry is using electric fence units to keep cattle away from the blacked-out areas and off highways.

“We solely rely on the Crown ranges to keep our operations alive. I’m thankful that they’re letting us go back out there right afterwards. We are very thankful for the understanding and cooperation,” says Clemitson.

Wellman fears for large ranches that are short on feed and depend on grazing leases to feed their herds. If they can’t access their leases, that will effectively shut them off from natural feed and force them to buy forage. Some may choose to sell.

“Being put in this type of position – I wouldn’t want to be in their place,” says Wellman, who grew up on a ranch and knows the business first-hand. “It’s crazy. Some of these guys run substantial numbers. How are they going to feed these animals during the summer? Hopefully it rains all summer long or we’re going to be in trouble.”

At Lazy L Ranch in Merritt, the Lytton fire jumped the highway and affected the backside of one of the operation’s range units. The fire damage was minimal, but ranch co-owner Haley Rutherford is more concerned about drought for the upcoming season.

“We’ve already had to open up a couple little ponds that were dammed up to get some water flowing down the ditches to water stock,” she says. “Usually, we take some seasonal custom grazing cattle and we’re probably not going to do that this year.”

Rutherford and her family run 400 cows on over 3,000 deeded acres.

“The regular lack of water and drought is going to hurt us more than the fires did,” she says. And Rutherford is not convinced the province will accommodate upcoming water needs for livestock producers. For her to create off-site year-round watering, the government will require that she reallocate irrigation water to livestock watering and acquire alternate-use registration on their water licence.

“I don’t think they’re going to give anyone more water than what they’ve already got. There is no drought-proofing from that perspective,” says Rutherford.

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