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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2022
Vol. 108 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

Grain prices hit chicken growers

Farmers helping farmers

Groundwater deadline firm

IAFBC takes over environmental programs

Editorial: Spring shadows

Back 40: Old tractors pull loads of memories

Viewpoint: Animal agriculture is in the crosshairs

Dairy farmers assured recovery funding on its way

BC SPCA hits pause

Soaring fertilizer prices add to cost pressures

Higher milk prices, costs raise stakes at retail

Growers face recertification challenges

Ag Briefs: Omicron forces rescheduling of ag shows

Ag Briefs: Sumas Prairie farmers sue government

Ag Briefs: BC Tree sells another property

Weather deals another blow to berry growers

Cherry growers assessing winter damage

Grape growers grapple with cold damage

Sidebar: Grape bud hardiness index

Farmers face delays from lab closures

Forage council sets sights on growth

Farmers step up in emergency operations

The birds come first at B Jack

Ranchers waiting for federal fencing funds

Integrated control strategy keeps predators at bay

Sidebar: By the numbers

Peace producers work to expand meat processing

BC goats to benefit from genetics investment

Robson Valley family realizes its dreams

Creamery builds a taste for local connections

Research: Scientists learn how plants respond to heat stress

Blueberry growers on the hunt for pollination options

Viewpoint: Diversity, equity, inclusion is an ongoing process

Farm Story: Positive results arent always sensational

Sweet

Woodshed: Clay makes his intentions known to Ashley

FCC gives 4-H clubs a financial boost

Jude’s Kitchen: For your sweetie

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4 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

1 month 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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2 months ago

The scale of this year's avian flu outbreak now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004. An additional 13 commercial farms in the Fraser Valley have tested positive in the last week. To date, 49 commercial farms and 1.2 million birds have been impacted. CFIA is struggling to keep up with depopulation of sick birds. ... See MoreSee Less

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AI outbreak rivals 2004

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The scale of this year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza now rivals the massive outbreak of 2004 that saw farms throughout the Fraser Valley depopulated. An additional 13 commercial…
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Commercial operations need to reevaluate their stocking densities and overall health and welfare of the animals within their systems if they are ever going to have a fighting chance against this virus.

Yup cause food shortage

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Soaring fertilizer prices add to cost pressures

Close management will have several benefits this year

Global demand and production constraints are contributing to a substantial increase in the price of fertilizer this year. FILE PHOTO

February 1, 2022 byPeter Mitham

ENDERBY – Higher costs for fertilizer and other inputs are forcing BC producers to pay closer attention to where they spend their money this year.

Statistics Canada’s industrial price index pegs the price of chemical fertilizer at 225.7 in November, up from 97 a year earlier. That’s a 133% increase, with the sharpest rise happening since September. The increases have been driven by global demand and production constraints, including in Canada.

“We are seeing what in the industry we’d call a tightness in the supply chain on nitrogen fertilizer in particular,” says Ken Clancy, president and CEO of Okanagan Fertilizer Ltd., which operates bulk blending plants in Enderby and Williams Lake. “Everything that we’re hearing from North American producers is that they’re sold well into April and May already.”

This isn’t the first shortage Clancy has encountered in his 30-year career. The past decade has seen two major price spikes, one about seven years ago and the other during the financial crisis of 2008-2009.

But this year, a truck shortage is further complicating supply issues.

“It’s been extremely difficult for us to get trucks lined up, and either ship product into our fertilizer plants or to ship product out,” he says. “The whole supply situation is really, really complicated and difficult right now.”

The challenges were flagged in a presentation Christophe LaFougère, who oversees the dairy practice of international consulting and market research firm Gira Food, made to the BC Dairy Association, January 19.

Nitrogen fertilizers depend on natural gas, and soaring gas prices in Europe have prompted at least one major producer to shut down production. Others have scaled back output until gas prices fall back to reasonable levels.

“The major fertilizer producers have reduced, by around 40%, their fertilizer production, not to mention those who have closed their plants,” he says, noting that this could reduce forage production and in turn milk yields. “We tend to think there will be a problem with fertilizer this year, and that would mean we could see a slow reduction … in the yield per cow.”

Clancy doesn’t expect BC producers to scale back, however. Despite a doubling in prices and backlogged orders, fertilizer remains a better deal than feed.

“We haven’t seen a lot of reduced demand because of the high prices,” he says of fertilizer use. “It’s still economic to do it, even with these high prices on fertilizer, because the price increases on the commodities that they’re growing more than offset the prices on fertilizer.”

However, many may take a second look at how they use inputs.

“This is a good year for farmers to be managing their crop production and their fertilizer use quite intensively,” says Clyde Graham, executive vice-president of Fertilizer Canada, a national trade association with 50 member companies across Canada.

The association encourages farmers to use the right source of fertilizer at the right rate, the right time and the right place to get the biggest bang for their buck.

“Working with a certified crop advisor is important to get the best value out of every dollar spent on fertilizer,” adds Graham.

Strategic use of synthetic fertilizers is also an important element of environmental management, he says. Using less also means more for the industry as a whole.

Clancy says fertilizer suppliers are working to ensure domestic fertilizer supplies keep moving. While most of Canada’s phosphate fertilizers are imported, Canada is typically a net exporter of potash and nitrogen fertilizers.

“[Companies] are doing their level best to make sure that farmers get the quantities and the types of fertilizer that they need for spring seeding,” he says. “It’s really important that growers, as soon as they can, provide their agro-retailer with information about the kind of crops they’re growing … so they can plan for servicing their needs.”

Clancy, for his part, doesn’t expect any of his customers will be short this year.

“I do think we will be able to meet the needs of all our customers here this year. It’ll be a little bit more hair-pulling, a little bit more complicated,” he says. “Having said that, we’re still a couple of months away from spring.”

 

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