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Originally published:

September 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Bleak

Rising from the ashes

Foreign ownership on radar

Local knowledge & premise ID earn creditibility

Political overhaul targets major issues

Back to the future

Back Forty: Support can’t come soon enough

Viewpoint: Smartphones dial up new green revolution

Govt orders review of contaminated acquifer

Ag waste regs coming

Perfect attendance

BC-Washington collaborate on water mgmt

BC leads in organic consumption

Bracing for second flight of armyworm

Budget funding starts flowoing for genomics work

The “S” Team

Ag ministers sign new funding framework

Supply management takes hit

Delta land swap yields benefits

Consolidation strengthens ALR exclusion bid

Salt Spring facility gets big boost from local donor

Corn rootworm infesting FV crops

Kelowna farmers’ market gives new location a try

Compensetion sought for Clinton backburn

Fall promises volatility in cattle markets

Cattle feeders face certain uncertainties

Shave Shower Shampoo

Strong showing for Hereford Bonanza

Grain research helps address shifting conditions

FV, N OK dairies win at Chilliwack

Research: Breeding cows to beat the heat

Kootenay program aims to revive extension expertise

Beet trials target “seed sovereignty”

New hop debuts

Washington lab holds opportunities for grain growers

Sheep dog trials make comeback

Bear kills cause grief for Island sheep producers

Get it in writing

Celebrating 100 years: Eaglet FI

Managing risks, seizing opportunities

Naturally rich soil, low inputs support Kelowna garden

In celebration of thse who buy local

Woodshed: Ashley exercises power of persuasion

Jude’s Kitchen: Back-to-it Bites

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1 month ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
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1 month 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 months 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.

2 months 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?

2 months 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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Rising from the ashes

September 1, 2017 byTamara Leigh

KAMLOOPS – With a record wildfire season continuing to burn its way across the province, producers in affected areas are starting to take stock of the damage and plotting a path forward.

“There’s still a lot in the mix,” says Kevin Boon, executive director of the BC Cattlemen’s Association. “We can’t begin to get out on the burned range in a meaningful manner, so we have to wait for cattle to come in before we can assess the losses and injuries.”

While the fires displaced close to 50,000 people at their peak, animals typically at home on the range are returning underweight, often suffering burned hooves, blisters, smoke inhalation and lung damage. Hundreds more are unaccounted for.

“We’re not going to have an accurate count on our losses until the snow flies,” says Boon. “Some of these fires may not be out by spring. There’s a lot of work in front of wildfire services and our ranchers for the foreseeable future.”

The federal and provincial agriculture ministers met August 15 to discuss assistance through the AgriRecovery disaster assistance program. Collaboration between provincial ministry staff and BCCA led to a proposal being sent to Ottawa shortly after.

Speaking at Genome BC on August 15, federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay acknowledged the devastation wildfires had caused the agriculture industry in BC, and pointed to existing business risk management programs as options for producer supports.

“We’d be very open to applications and dealing with them as fast as possible,” he said, referring to the AgriRecovery program. “There’s a process that has to take place, and when that takes place, I can assure you that the government of Canada will be moving as quickly as possible.”

BC Minister of Agriculture, Lana Popham, is optimistic about increased support from Ottawa, and pointed to the announcement of $6 million from the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Forests for the replacement of highway fencing, in addition to the $2.2 million announced earlier this summer by the BC Ministry of Agriculture.

“Because it’s such a massive disaster, we just have to start in the areas that need it first, but I think that the cattlemen’s association is extremely happy with the support that we’re showing and the speed at which we’re responding.”

“The application will look at this year and next year’s needs,” explains Boon. “Things like feed and vet costs are expected to be covered, as well as some costs for getting some of the infrastructure in place for animal health and welfare needs like getting water supplies back into these places and rebuilding handing centres.”

Replacing irrigation infrastructure, assistance with transportation costs for feed, costs to reestablish breeding herds, and compensation for mortalities are all included in the proposal.

“We also put in some labour costs for rebuilding some of the private fences due to the extent of these fires and the amount of fencing lost,” he says, acknowledging that many of these fences were built over years, and rebuilding them right away will be physically and financially difficult. “We don’t know if that will be accepted or not, but we’re optimistic.”

Overall, Boon is pleased with the provincial government’s response.

“The staff have been absolutely amazing to work with. There are so many different aspects we’ve been dealing with, and they all have our best interest at heart,” he says. “Part of this will be post-fire recovery. We need to look at how we can make it so we can better adapt to the future, and make it worthwhile for these producers to re-establish their businesses.”

Big picture recovery

As the province looks at the longer-term recovery of the millions acres that have burned, there is an opportunity for consulting with groups who have interests on that land, including agriculture, forestry, mining and recreational interests to rebuild and replant strategically.

“In this and in every crisis we feel there’s an opportunity,” says Boon, pitching a landscape-level planning approach. “We’ve seen where irrigation, agriculture and hay has been a huge asset on stopping the movement of some of these fires. We should be doing some strategic planning on how to reestablish the grass and create protective greenspaces and rebuild our herds.”

Boon pitched the approach in a recent meeting with Delta MP Carla Qualtrough, who is overseeing federal recovery efforts for this year’s BC wildfires.

“When I started explaining some of our thoughts on proper placement of grass and trees, she was extremely interested,” he says. “We’re enthusiastic that we are being listened to. This is something that we start working on now. I think it will be extremely beneficial to us.”

However, it’s not something the ranching sector can do on its own.

“We need to be at the table as well as everybody else and plan this properly,” he says. “How are we going to plan with the stakeholders at the table providing input for that land for next 100 to 150 years and set out a plan for it? This is the future of our industry.”

With files from Peter Mitham

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