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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Under one roof

Creating community in abundance

Farms to retain tax status

Armyworm keeps its distance this summer

Smile with your eyes

Fall back

Back 40: Finding what we need in a COVID-19 world

Viewpoint: Exports play a vital role in BC’s farm economy

Field days feeling the pinch of social distancing rules

Sidebar: Pacific Agriculture Show goes virtual

AgSafe makes changes to board structure

Makin’ hay

Metro Vancouver targets carbon-neutral future

Changes to land commission kick in this fall

Creston initiative keeps workers, town safe

Ag Briefs: Dairy industry selects new entrants

Ag Briefs: Top vet appointed

Ag Briefs: BC youth offer perspectives

Sheep producers told to bear with wildlife

Disease has sheep producers on defensive

Pandemic creates virtual season for 4-H clubs

Delta development puts agrihoods to the test

Three-tier system being floated for livestock watering

Short-term roller coaster for beef market

Beef prices up

Global outlook is bright for beef producers

Council supports efforts to improve water quality

New orchardist takes on key ministry role

Unprecedented rise in machine harvesting

Soft landings mean better blueberries

Province readers sprayer program for delivery

Wheat growers tap into heirloom grains

High-flying pans grounded by pandemic protocols

Farm Story: The right machine makes harvesting potatoes a breeze

Organic soil requirements need science, guesswork

Relay cropping checks all the boxes

Flower growers ponder COVID-19 impacts

Best practices must guide COVID-19 hiring

Woodshed: No place like home for Deborah and the dogs

Former caregiver brings donkey therapy to Island

No one leaves Abundance without a zucchini

Building community, building a future

Jude’s Kitchen: Harvest colours

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9 hours 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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5 days 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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Sheep producers told to bear with wildlife

Conservation officers encourage conflict avoidance

Donkeys, not dogs, work best to protect the flock from predators at Parry Bay Sheep Farm on Vancouver Island. PHOTO / PARRY BAY SHEEP FARM

September 1, 2020 byBy Barbara Johnstone Grimmer

METCHOSIN – A black bear has been killing sheep in the Metchosin area on Vancouver Island since July and unlike previous occasions, the BC Conservation Officer Service (COS) is stepping back and asking farmers to step up prevention efforts.

Twenty-one sheep from various farms have been killed to date. Ten of the bear kills were at John and Lorraine Buchanan’s Parry Bay Sheep Farm. An additional five sheep are missing.

“I believe four were chased into the ocean,” says John Buchanan. “One was found on the beach across the harbour. I don’t know yet how many of these will be paid for.”

Producers are eligible to receive compensation for most losses if it can be proven to the standard requirements for the provincial Livestock Protection Program.

Conservation officers have been called out to help but have not responded with assistance to remove the bear. The District of Metchosin sent a letter to the BC COS in mid-July and Metchosin mayor John Ranns was assured that conservation officers would dispatch dogs if a scent remained on the kill.

“Nobody has come out,” says Ranns.

A statement the BC Ministry of Environment provided Country Life in BC says the COS has been working with Metchosin farmers to minimize the number of sheep lost to bears and the number of bears killed.

“These strategies include educating farmers on best management practices regarding livestock, including installing an electric fence, locking up sheep in a barn overnight, regularly checking the condition of the herd and the use of livestock guardian dogs,” says the statement. “Proper livestock husbandry management is critical to help reduce predation and lessen livestock losses. If these practices are not followed, this can result in a wildlife conflict and the possible destruction of a bear that could have been prevented.”

The province says conservation officers have been active in Metchosin, responding to complaints and encouraging farmers to follow best practices to reduce conflicts.

“Conservation officers strongly encourage farmers to implement best practices to protect both livestock and wildlife,” the statement says. “Livestock management techniques are always encouraged to help prevent conflicts from happening in the first place.”

Donkey patrol

Buchanan has tried to comply with the recommendations, adding guardian donkeys to his flocks and electric fencing to some fields. He adds that guardian dogs would be difficult to manage in the semi-developed area of Metchosin.

“I do believe the donkeys help,” says Buchanan. “There was a cougar hanging around one field that had two small donkeys in it. That night it moved a couple of miles and killed a sheep with no donkeys present. When we had the kill and the lambs chased into the ocean in East Sooke, we moved a donkey out there. The pasture was large, and the bear came and killed one and took one away. We moved them to a smaller field and had no more problems. Now we have electric fencing there and the problem stopped.”

But the mitigation efforts aren’t cheap. Buchanan spent $2,000 to upgrade the fence and $500 on maintenance. The cost of three donkeys, feed and farrier is another $2,000. He figures it would be too expensive to electrify the entire 10 miles of fencing at all the holdings where he grazes sheep.

The Buchanans have the largest sheep flock on Vancouver Island, utilizing small leased pastures around the region, and providing infrastructure to the sheep community by running a small inspected abattoir.

“By far the biggest issue for me, though, is if we are pushed off pastures, that will reduce sheep numbers, and threaten the slaughterhouse and our ability to maintain the delivery of lamb to town. That is bad for the industry,” says Buchanan.

“On a brighter note,” he adds, “COVID-19 has increased our demand to a level that can maintain the business and allow me to buy when everybody has lambs.”

Traps better

The province’s statement adds that conservation officers rarely use tracking dogs when responding to bear conflicts, “as the circumstances in which they are effective are very limited and can pose additional safety risks to the public and officers. Live trapping using a variety of techniques is a much safer and effective option.”

The position the COS has taken has been frustrating for Ranns.

“Traps and snares have proven to not be effective in our community and run the risk of trapping bears that are not a problem,” says Ranns. “This is a problem that goes beyond the threat to our farming community. There is a concern for the public and our visitors who use our hiking trails, which are the main corridors that the bears use. These people are city people and not bear aware.”

Ranns is concerned that the bear will be back worse than ever in September, as he builds up fat stores for the winter.

Producers encountering predator kills of their flock are encouraged to call the Ministry of Environment RAPP Line for assistance at 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 on the TELUS Mobility network. To report a livestock predator loss, call 1-844-852-5788 and the Livestock Protection Program will provide verification and mitigation for cattle and sheep producers.

 

 

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