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Originally published:

JULY 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 7

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Stories In This Edition

Province expands slaughter licences
Mexico launches SAWP review
Blue streak
Ranchers troubled by inconsistencies in well licencing
Editorial: All together
Back 40: Canada Day is a time to celebrate diversity
Viewpoint: BC producers keep our local food system strong
Farmland advocates pan agritech plans
Follow the arrow
Letters: Biosolids project misguided
Small on-farm dairy processors raise concerns
Zoning bylaw limits urban farmers
Kelowna readies exclusion bid
Global market puts emphasis on top-quality fruit
Sidebar: Time to renew
Leaming confident fruit industry can rejuvenate
Book Club
Review of vegetable commission forges ahead
Ag Briefs: Record funding pledged for coupon program
Ag Brief: Province boosts online grants
Ag Brief: Organic matter regulation delayed
Kelowna couple sprouts successful business
Greens growers see need for support
Cattlemen host virtual annual meeting
Sidebar: Cattlemen change gears
Pandemic less challenging for small farms
Rainy day thoughts for pesticide applications
Drones hone in on crop water requirements
BC farms adapt chicken tractors to local conditions
Breeders pin a value on traits
Prototype is a Roomba for weed control
Research: Exploring the complexities of soil structure
Viewpoint: Isolation brings the world closer
Buds
Farm Story: Weeds make perfection an impossible dream
Cidermakers give fresh purpose to island orchards
Woodshed: Frank makes Susan’s deliberation easy
Veggie Days adapts to event restrictions
Jude’s Kitchen: Summer food in colour

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2 days ago

BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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BC Cattlemen’s Association members gathered in Cranbrook for their 97th AGM last week. BCCA president Werner Stump welcomed upwards of 300 ranchers as he signalled a change in tone with the association’s approach to government. “We are going to be a lot more blunt in our dealings with government as we fight for our livelihood,” Stump told his audience. The North American herd size remains down, and calf prices are expected to stay strong, says Brenna Grant from Canfax. “We could see $5.50 -$5.70 this fall for a 5(00) weight calves.” Duncan and Jane Barnett and family from Barnett Land and Livestock in 150 Mile House received the Ranch Sustainability Award, which recognized their riparian management and community involvement. From left to right, Clayton Loewen with Jane, Duncan and Lindsay Barnett.

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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Congratulations <3

Congratulations to Duncan, Jane, and all the rest of the Barnett family!

Congratulations Jane and Ducan! Sandra Andresen Hawkins

Congratulation Duncan & Jane!!

Congratulations Jane & Duncan 🥳

Congratulations Jane Trott Barnett and Duncan!!!

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3 days ago

Grapegrower Colleen Ingram, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association. “Given the devastation we have had over the last three years, I feel like this award should be given to the entire industry,” she says. Her story appears in the June edition of Country Life in BC, and we've also posted to our website.

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Industry champion named BC’s best grape grower

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KELOWNA – Colleen Ingram’s enthusiasm for collaboration within the BC wine industry is so great that when she was named 2024 Grower of the Year by the BC Grapegrowers Association, she wanted to sh...
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1 month ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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1 month ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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1 month ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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Ranchers troubled by inconsistencies in well licensing

Government fails to communicate options to well owners

A hawk takes a refreshing break from hunting and the heat, perched on an irrigation system in a farmer's field in Coldstream. PHOTO / FILE

July 7, 2020 byPeter Mitham

BEAVERDELL – An analysis of nearly 500 groundwater licences the province has issued under the Water Sustainability Act reveals sharp inconsistencies in what’s being required of owners.

Sandra Ryan and partner Bill Di Pasquale are small-scale forage producers in Beaverdell. They registered their well and this past March received a conditional groundwater licence for a withdrawal of about 67,640 cubic metres a year.

However, they were surprised to discover among the conditions of the licence a requirement to “install a flow meter or other measuring device” and “retain the flow/measurement records for inspection upon request.”

“When we applied for the licence (as an existing user), there was absolutely no notice that this would be a condition to subsequently use the water. We, along with everyone else, were only told there would be retroactive water rental fee(s),” says Ryan, whose preliminary research showed that a flow meter would be “prohibitively costly.”

“A four-inch recording meter, flanges and other installation materials is in the range of $4,000. This does not include hiring a mechanical contractor to do the installation. So, at a bare minimum, this is a $5,000-plus venture.”

Ryan, who studied law, began to investigate the matter. Reviewing 475 of the 1,080 groundwater licences issued through the end of May to existing well users since the Water Sustainability Act took effect in 2016, she found that not all users are required to install a meter. While well owners in the Victoria and Nanaimo water districts are the least likely to be asked to install a meter, she discovered a case in the Vernon water district where two licences with identical parameters were issued. One owner required to have a flow meter and the other was not.

According to the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, the conditions are at the discretion of the “statutory decision makers,” which in this case is usually the assistant water manager overseeing a given district.

“[They] have the discretion to add terms and conditions to the water licences, such as installing a flow meter. Once these terms and conditions have been met, then a final licence may be issued,” says FLNORD, which administers the application and licensing process.

Ryan also noted that one decision maker, who made 44 decisions of the 475 licences examined, always required the licensee to install a meter, irrespective of use or quantity. The minimum fee for a non-domestic water user is $50 a year, which amounts to a draw of up to 60,000 cubic metres a year. The decision maker required one licensee to install a flow meter for a licensed use of just 266 cubic metres a year.

“I fail to see how requiring a licensee to install a flow meter when they use 266 cubic metres of water/year for their livestock makes any sense whatsoever,” she said in a letter outlining her concerns to Ted White, comptroller of water rights for the province.

White replied, reiterating that any conditions attached to a licence, including the installation of a flow meter, was at the discretion of the assistant water manager. However, he said the province is open to making improvements.

“The Province is listening to user feedback on the system and is taking steps to make the process more user friendly and where it is challenging, FrontCounterBC staff are available to help,” he said.

Ryan has taken her concerns to the province’s environmental appeal board, a quasi-judicial body.

This is one option for licensees, says Mike Wei, an independent consultant who served as the province’s technical expert during development and implementation of the Water Sustainability Act and Groundwater Protection Regulation.

One reason for the inconsistencies between water districts is the discretion decision makers have, and the lack of a single standard for when to impose conditions or how to measure water use.

“There is no policy, that I am aware, regarding measuring and reporting and when to put it on a condition or not, and what is the acceptable measuring method. So each decision maker is kind of on their own,” he says.

One of the things his team looked at was alternative methods of estimating water use.

“Can you record time pump on, time pump off, and do that and, given how much you’re pumping, just calculate how much it is without buying additional infrastructure?”

This is an idea that appeals to the BC Cattlemen’s Association, which has taken a strong stand against water meters in discussions with government.

“We feel that there are other, less costly ways, to estimate that use,” says association assistant general manager Elaine Stovin, noting the province has no regulations governing measuring and reporting requirements. “What we’re saying is you don’t need a water meter to do that. You need a good relationship with the producer; you need to make a simple way for them to report that use.”

Good relationships will also encourage producers to embrace the new groundwater management regime, the intent of which Ryan generally supports. Requiring producers to measure water at some cost to themselves, and then not providing grants to assist with modernizing and upgrading equipment to achieve the goal of more efficient water use, doesn’t wash with her.

While some water districts have done a good job at letting producers know their options, Stovin says that’s clearly not the experience of most producers.

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