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Originally published:

February 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Chilliwack dairy fined for allowing “culture of abuse”

Well licensing deadline extended

Collaborative effort on dairy safety

Dairy vs eggs in OYF competition

Walking the talk

Richmond exempts agri-tourism from rental ban

Chilliwack farm sales surged in fall 2016

Changes on tap for Sunshine Coast brewer

Ag Brief: Carrots to cattle conference puts focus on profits

Ag Brief: CFIA seeks input on transport of livestock

Ag Brief: Beirnes joins Summerland Varieties Corp

Ag Brief: BC Tree Fruits picks CEO

Chicken growers ready to battle over pricing

Operating at a loss for a good cause: MMP

Residence “farming-chick”

Milk board ups dairy quota

Quota subject to new tax rules

Succession isn’t easy

Million dollar winners

GMO resolution fueling debate in Bulkley Valley

Sidebar: RDBN ag committee turns one

FarmFolk CityFolk to protect farmland

Lower than normal snowpack

Fruit plant gets $1 million load

Big picture, big change

Non-browning apples ready to test market

Council steps up fight against invasive knotweed

Island Pastures Beef seeks expansion to meet demand

Slaughterhouse rules: not so tricky

Keeping it sustainable: Springford Farm

Sidebar: Free range and responsible

Sustainable agriculture takes lead from nature

Soil probes dig into water management issues

Sparkling wines shine in diverse BC regions

Changing direction: Langley

Sustainable Ag Tour

Canada celebrates ag day

Knockout punch eludes researchers in wireworm battle

Wireworm victory needs more than silver bullet

Canada’s Mediterranean living up to its name

BC welcomes new scientists

Good things come in small packages: Lowlines

New Societies Act will impact BC farm groups

Blessed are the cheesemakers

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4 days ago

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details. ... See MoreSee Less

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details.
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2 weeks ago

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed. ... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the provinces deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.
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Sounds like 2 weeks to flatten the curve turning into 2 years.

USDA doing avian vax research, May 11 bio-docs to UN incl section on H5N8 w/wild bird spread. Found link to apparent pre-release on May 11 Geller Report. Good luck farmers.

3 weeks ago

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.” ... See MoreSee Less

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.”
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Killing our food chain. How do we know they are actually carrying a virus, look what's taking place with covid, is it real.

Ik kan niet zo goed Engels maar als ik het goed begrijp is bij jullie ook vogelgriep maar nog niet bij jullie

Any idea when this episode or bird flu might be over?

3 weeks ago

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions. ... See MoreSee Less

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions.
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4 weeks ago

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises. ... See MoreSee Less

A second BC flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the province reported this evening, April 25. The small backyard flock of chicken and ducks near Kelowna has fewer than 100 birds and is relatively isolated. This is the second backyard flock to be suspected of high-path avian influenza in the past week. The other, on Vancouver Island, was found to be AI-free. Amanda Brittain, chief information officer with the BC Poultry Association’s emergency operations centre, says the latest case is of minimal concern to industry because there are no commercial flocks within 12km of the premises.
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Richmond exempts agri-tourism from rental ban

February 1, 2017 byPeter Mitham

City wants better definitions on basis for limits on housing size, use

RICHMOND – Richmond is banning short-term rentals in the city but agri-tourism operations are exempt – for now.

City councillors voted January 9 to ban short-term rentals in response to a growing number of public complaints, which increased four-fold from 26 in 2015 to more than 100 in 2016.

“The decision we made [January 9] was that we would to go ahead with prohibition of short-term rentals, but there are exceptions to that. One of them is for agri-tourism and another one, the main one, is for bed and breakfasts,” mayor Malcom Brodie told Country Life in BC.

Short-term rentals have increased in number thanks to the increasing popularity of AirBnB and other online homeshare sites, which listed 1,586 properties in Richmond when staff checked in November 2016.

The city needs to define the various categories of accommodation so that they’re simple to regulate.

“They’re fairly modestly defined at this point, so we expect that there are going to be more bylaws and regulations which will define those terms and what exactly that means,” Brodie says.

Monster houses

A key point to define is when a primary residence becomes primarily tourist accommodation.

With applications for residences of more than 40,000 square feet on farmland acreages, some of which are now listed on AirBnB, the perennial issue of monster homes has once again reared its head.

The mansions are not only out of proportion with the rest of the landscape, many also receive farm tax status if the properties yield $2,500 in farm products. This is what’s happening with many Lower Mainland properties, according to an investigation by the Globe and Mail, which found that properties worth as much as $16.7 million were paying as little as $400 in property taxes.

The same investigation found that some property owners are building residences with a view to operating them as visitor accommodation – hotels, in a word – a prohibited use of farmland.

The circumstance outrages Richmond councillor Carol Day, who told Country Life in BC that the city regularly receives applications to build homes of 20,000 and 30,000 square feet and more. City staff report that one application proposed a 41,000-square-foot home with 21 bedrooms.

It was rejected, like many others, but without municipal limits, the tide of applications continues.

Richmond claims it’s been “progressive in managing dwelling units” in the ALR through the use of setbacks originally adopted in 1994. Council in Delta imposed limits on farm residences in 2006, requiring they be no more than 3,552 square feet on lots less than 20 acres and 5,005 square feet on anything larger.

Between 2010 and 2015, the average floor area of houses on Richmond’s ALR parcels rose from 7,329 square feet to 12,087 square feet – a 65% increase.

“People have these huge homes, and it’s one thing if they want a big residence for themselves; it’s a different thing if they want it as a hotel for tourists and strangers,” Brodie says.

Constructing a big home doesn’t necessarily mean an owner is going to run a guesthouse. Richmond attempted to limit farmhouse size in 2010 but drew fire from South Asian residents who often have homes designed so multiple generations can live together.

Nor does Brodie see the harm in having people over, if owners have the room.

“If a few people want to go to a farmhouse and be there for the night, I don’t know that that’s such a problem,” he says. “Where the problem comes in is where somebody has a house with 20,000 square feet and they want to do that – basically, a hotel in the farmland.”

The province, for its part, has refused to intervene. A bylaw standard the BC Ministry of Agriculture issued in 2011 suggests a maximum residential footprint of 22,000 square feet. The principal farm residence should have a maximum floor area of 5,400 square feet.

Richmond’s planning committee considered a staff report on January 20 that outlined four options for limiting residences within the Agricultural Land Reserve. Two options reflected the BC Ministry of Agriculture standard and two reflected the tighter limits Delta imposes.

Sources in the field told Country Life in BC the proof would be in practice, suggesting that the city hasn’t yet been able to keep on top of infractions when it comes to farm residences.

However, this is why the city needs solid definitions, Brodie said – though he isn’t ruling out hiring more enforcement staff, too.

“We want staff to come up with more rigour around the bylaws for better definitions and to make for more cost-effective enforcement possibilities,” he says. “We’ll probably get some extra manpower in terms of bylaw officers to help us, at least in the short run.”

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