• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

January 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 1

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Country Life in BC, 36 Dale Road, Enderby, BC, V0E1V4. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Stories In This Edition

Province signals ALR changes

Winter wonderland

Growers support piece rates

High-priced harvest heading for sweet success

Editorial: A new start

Back Forty: The service economy steps away from the land

Viewpoint: Subsistence farming is a thing of the past, isn’t it?

Cherry growers see record crop losses in 2019

Agricultural impacts from new rail trail sought

Small farmers raise concerns about CanadaGap

BC food costs set to rise

Farmers’ institutes gather for second annual meeting

Foodlands trust initiative inches forward

Sidebar: Two proponents short-listed for Sandown farm

Shifting climate brings changes to vineyard practices

Bright future

Processing plant will cut transportation costs

Date change bolsters turnout at dairy meetings

BC Holstein set pace for Canada in 2019

Trade deals remain top issue

Dairy honours Jim Thompson

BC’s largest farm show kicks off new year

Pacific Ag Show keeps up with changing times

Sidebar: Ag innovation day

Sidebar: CannaTech West back for second year

Popular dairy tour will feature lots of variety

Sidebar: Dairy Expo continues at ag show

Bison could be key to climate change resilence

Research: Clay improves degradability of dairy feed

Consumers, producers need mutual understanding

Deep learning helps root out weeds

Langley farmers see beauty in small lots

Commission offers new guide for hog production

Young farmers are making global waves

Fatal sheep diseases are largely preventable

Labour of love keeps historic farm in family

Glyphosate may be safe, but its days are numbered

Woodshed: Susan embarks on her secret rendevous

Farm Story: The farm roars headlong into winter

Jude’s Kitchen: Comforting crockpot meals keep it simple

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

1 day 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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 2
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 9
  • Comments: 2

Comment on Facebook

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 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.”
View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 38
  • Comments: 3

Comment on Facebook

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 3
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

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.
View Comments
  • Likes: 6
  • Shares: 15
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

drive.google.com/file/d/1F7SC3xgs4YD-cgK3eoZemHaTdYe3cUj6/view?usp=sharing

Subscribe | Advertise

Small farmers raise concerns about CanadaGAP

Record-keeping isn’t as onerous as it seems, says specialist

January 1, 2020 byTom Walker

VERNON – Government efforts to provide greater assurances of food safety are creating apprehension among smaller farmers regarding the additional work they will face in order to satisfy customer requirements.

Randy Irwin, corporate retail operations manager with Vernon-based Nature’s Fare Market, sums up the situation well.

“The problem with CanadaGAP is that it is government-supported but not government-operated,” he says. “And it’s not mandatory, but increasingly that is the direction it appears to be going.”

The increased emphasis on safety doesn’t sit well with Wolfe Wessel of Green Croft Gardens in Grindrod.

“Does that mean I haven’t produced any safe food for the past 30 years?” he asks. “I’m a little offended.”

Wessel, a mixed vegetable farmer, says that the amount of detailed paper work required to achieve CanadaGAP certification – about an hour each day – is simply not worth the effort unless he increases his prices. And that’s not feasible.

“There is a certain point where people will not pay more,” he says. “They will give up and go to Wal-Mart and buy a Chinese carrot.”

Wessel has sold to Nature’s Fare in the past, but he’s not sure he will be able to continue.

Nature’s Fare promotes organic, local and community. With locations across the Okanagan and the Lower Mainland, it’s in a position to source from smaller local growers.

“Local organic growers are our lifeline,” says Irwin. “We have a mandate in our produce department to source local first, regardless of the price.”

The formula has worked for the company since its founding 25 years ago, but the recent purchase of the company by Buy-Low Foods, part of the Jim Pattison Group, may bring changes.

While the company has always required its organic produce to be certified, it’s still developing a policy for CanadaGAP.

“We are currently engaging a dialogue with all of our stakeholders as we assess CanadaGAP and the other certifications which our local growers are currently involved with. We wish to continue to foster the long-standing relationships we have built with our local partners and ensure our customers have access to the very best local organic produce.”

Too detailed

John Hofer, who runs Wise Earth Farms in Kelowna with his partner Brenda Paterson, says they won’t be embracing CanadaGAP.

Wise Earth produces 35 different vegetables through the growing season. Hofer says CanadaGAP requires detailed records for each vegetable as well as each variety.

“We supply rainbow carrots as well as regular carrots, and each type requires a different set of record-keeping,” he notes.

Wise Earth could scale back the number of crops it grows, but that isn’t its business model.

Hofer says CanadaGAP is a step towards European standards that allow for maximum traceability. That’s not a bad thing, but he doesn’t think it should put undue constraints on small farmers like himself and Wessel. They shouldn’t be forced to act like large-volume, commodity producers.

“Our farmers’ market customers know us for the variety of produce that we sell,” says Hofer.

He plans to focus more on small independent stores in the Kelowna area.

“I get it if your produce is going to end up in Ontario,” he says. “But our vegetables never leave the Okanagan. … We are seeking out those that want to support local.”

BC Ministry of Agriculture food safety specialist Elsie Friesen is the province’s key trainer and a strong advocate for the program. She says CanadaGAP doesn’t necessarily limit what small producers can do.

“Ultimately, yes, the fewer the crops (or the same family of crops) makes it easier,” she says. “However, it is only the very specific items for specific crops that differ that need the extra attention.”

She said specific practices such as pesticide sprays on particular crops or fields will require separate documentation, but that’s understandable from a traceability standpoint.

“It makes it easier to do inventory accounting, and ensuring the correct pesticide was sprayed as per label requirements,” she explains.

She emphasized that growers can choose the form of record-keeping that suits them.

“It is up to the producer to decide how to keep records, as long as records are kept by which the auditor can trace the product from seeding to spraying to harvesting, and transportation to buyer,” she says.

And growers don’t have to use the forms that are provided.

“If you have an invoice from the supplier that lists the specific chemical that you purchased, you could write a spray record on the back of the invoice and a harvest date and that would be acceptable to the auditor,”  she says.

“Growers need to come out to workshops,” says Friesen, who will discuss CanadaGAP at the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford at the end of January. “And they should come more than once.”

 

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

The perfect solution for farmers on the go

CanadaGAP expands options

CanadaGAP participation drops

New round of traceability funding available

BC considers making premises ID mandatory

Sheep

New year, new funding

Traceability regulations expected next year

Sheep

Traceability regs to include animal movement

Previous Post: « Processing plant will cut transportation costs
Next Post: Cherry growers see record crop losses in 2019 »

Reader Interactions

Copyright © 2022 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved