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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2019
Vol. 105 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Livestock groups ramp up security

Gaurav Maan

EU tightens shipping rules

New waste control rules kick in October 1

Dibs on ribs

Nip the buds

Climate woes are everyone’s responsibility

Viewpoint: Weighing in on the battle of the burgers

Ag counil defendes cannabis sector on odour

Feds announce compensation package for dairy

Potato harvest looks promising for BC growers

Motor Vehicle Act covers tractors

Province urges armyworm precautions

Feast for the eyes

Funding helps cherry growers court new buyers

Oregon hazelnut optimism inspires BC growers

Dairy tour showcases innovative farming

Minimize the risk of corn silage fires

Teachers receive valuable lessons about farming

Climate change concerns grapegrowers

Canada eyes clean vines network

Province extends deadline for meat consultation

Top seller

Winery upstart banks on ranch’s rich history

Sidebar: Room to grow

Market Musings: Rain creates haying challenges

Nechako win

Forage council ready for a changing climate

Armyworm warning

Soda Creek social highlights land-matching

Research: The symbiotic relationship in pregnancy

Sheep farmers have high hopes for cooperative

PNE lamb

AAFC seeks volunteer weather reporters

Land commission orders Gleaners off ALR

Tour highlights adaption

Maan Farms keeps the focus on family

Ceadrow Farm tops Chilliwack sheep show

Island Holstein show and sale reflects quality

4-H sale saves the bacon for ranching student

4-H sale at the PNE is the best part of summer

Success is in the bag for barley entrepreneurs

Simple steps help to overcome gas exposure

Blueberries find a home in wine at Baccata

Woodshed: Henderson backs off while Frank closes in

Volunteers harvest for FV charities

Nutritious autumn eats

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1 month ago

It’s been four years since the last tulip festival was held in Abbotsford, but this year’s event promises to be an even bigger spectacle than ever. Spanning 27 acres along Marion Road, Lakeland Flowers will display more than 70 varieties of the spring blossom, including fringe tulips and double tulips, the first of six months of flower festivals hosted by the farm. Writer Sandra Tretick spoke with Lakeland Flowers owner Nick Warmerdam this spring to find out how the floods on Sumas Prairie in 2021 have had an impact on his business plan as he transitions from wholesale cut flower grower to agri-tourism. We've posted the story to our website this month. It's a good read.

#CLBC #countrylifeinbc #tulipfestival
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Tulip grower makes the shift to agritourism

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ABBOTSFORD – On a bright sunny day in early April, Nick Warmerdam points out his office window at No. 4 and Marion roads to a spot about half a kilometre away across the Trans-Canada Highway.
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Omg 🥹 Jared Huston let’s go pls

1 month ago

Farming, like any other job.. only you punch in at age 5 and never punch out 🚜 ... See MoreSee Less

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Easton Roseboom Levi Roseboom🚜

1 month ago

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is allocating $15 million to be administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC. for a perennial crop replant program benefitting tree fruit, hazelnut, berry and grape growers. The program aims to cover 100% of plant removal costs and 75% of replanting costs. Funds are also available for sector development. The new program replaces a suite of sector-specific replant programs and recognizes the importance of sector adaptation in the face of market, disease and weather challenges.
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1 month ago

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year. ... See MoreSee Less

Just a week after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials revoked the last primary control zones established in the Fraser Valley to control last fall’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a new detection on April 29 at a commercial premises in Chilliwack underscored the risk of a spring wave. This is the first new detection since January 22, also in Chilliwack, and brings to 104 the number of premises affected since the current outbreak began April 13, 2022. The disease has impacted 3.7 million birds in BC over the past year.
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Any other details for FVN and chillTV please? radiodon11@gmail.com

1 month ago

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agriculture's interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry. ... See MoreSee Less

The province is contributing $3.2 million for upgrades to the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford that was overwhelmed during the November 2021 flooding on Sumas Prairie, part of a collaborative approach to flood mitigation in the region. During a press conference at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices in Abbotsford today, the province said a collaborative approach that includes First Nations is needed as Abbotsford pursues a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy due to the potential impacts on Indigenous lands. Agricultures interests will be represented by technical teams within the agriculture ministry.
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I sure hope part of that money is to educate the people in charge of the pumps and drainage system! They just relayed on computers and weren’t even physically monitoring the water levels. I’ve lived in the Fraser Valley my whole life and the old guys managing that system know how to do it. The new generation just sit behind computer screens and don’t physically watch the water levels. That system works very well when you do it right. The Fraser river levels are very important. The system is designed to drain the Sumas Canal (the part that runs thru the valley) into the Fraser. When they let it get backed up it put pressure on the dyke and the weak part burst. Simple science. And yes, the dykes need to be worked on too. Abbotsford has not been maintaining properly for years.

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Soda Creek social highlights land-matching

Young Agrarians expands northward with new hire

September 1, 2019 byAngela Abrahao

SODA CREEK—Puddle Produce Farm owner and operator Brianna van de Wijngaard partnered with Young Agrarians to host the first Cariboo land social on August 11. The event included a farm tour, potluck social and a discussion of farming on leased land. The gathering was designed to provide an overview of the Young Agrarians’ land matching program which recently hired Jolene Swain to oversee its work in central and northern BC. Twelve attendees from different backgrounds made the trip out to the farm.

Van de Wijngaard’s farm is situated on a 74-acre property on the lower benches above the Fraser River. Starting as an urban farmer in Williams Lake in 2013, she originally leased small residential plots in exchange for veggies, but the business needed a location to grow into. She relocated to Soda Creek in 2016.

“[It] wasn’t so much the cost of land that was prohibitive, it was finding the right place,” she says of her experience. “It took time. Places that were for sale just weren’t right; finding a good fit was the difficult part. If anyone was looking for land, I would certainly recommend that they look at the leasing option because that just opens up so many more doors for you as far as finding a suitable piece of property.”

Van de Wijngaard found an ally through word of mouth in property owner Ric Dürfeld. Dürfeld’s property was previously a market garden and had the infrastructure van de Wijngaard needed. Dürfeld and van de Wijngaard came to an agreement that would allow Puddle Produce Farm to operate under a long-term lease.

Although the land matching program did not exist in the area at the time, van de Wijngaard and Dürfeld consulted with Young Agrarians provincial land matcher Darcy Smith who advised them about the process and provided a lease agreement template.

“Young Agrarians helped us identify the intent and small details we didn’t think of,” says Dürfeld. “It’s important there is a good understanding. We have an agreement that if not everything is written in, we still have a good path forward to make sure that there is a continued respectful understanding and sharing.”

Van de Wijngaard agrees.

“Our agreement laid out in detail how we would approach infrastructure additions or anything added to the property. When you first move to a place you think about how you will set it up so that it’s not permanent,” she says. “Beyond that, I didn’t really know how to negotiate those kinds of things. It helped me to know what my responsibilities were going forward with regards to any investments I would make, how to handle that and how to discuss it with the land owner.”

Soda Creek is known for being a productive growing area and van de Wijngaard has built a hugely productive farm on 1.5 acres in the three years she has leased the site from Dürfeld. She grows a mix of vegetables and microgreens and is transitioning the farm to organic production. Van de Wijngaard runs her 40-plus member CSA box program, farmers market and retail sales operation with two additional seasonal gardeners.

Land matching

Young Agrarians have done a tremendous amount of work to match farmers with landowners. The event at Puddle Produce Farm is one of several similar events around the province. Swain hopes to add to the growing list of those interested in land matching. Socials such as the one in Soda Creek help show how the process could work and lets those interested know where to turn for support.

Many new entrants to farming find leasing attractive, because it requires a smaller financial commitment than purchasing land, especially given that BC has some of the most expensive farmland in Canada. Meanwhile, landowners are looking for opportunities to keep land in production while navigating the challenges of retirement, succession and diversification.

“There is just such great value in land that can provide food,” says Dürfeld, who remembers Sunday drives out to Soda Creek as a kid. “When we grew up, most of the houses had a backyard with a big vegetable garden. If it was flat enough in the winter, it was the skating rink. Those same back alleys now are full of RVs and toys. Our lifestyles and focus in life has changed. It is important not just for young people, but for people who understand those values to share and try to maintain the integrity of some of this amazing land that we are a part of.”

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