BC Egg Marketing Board chair Gunta Vitins has been appointed vice-chair of the BC Farm Industry Review Board, succeeding Al Sakalauskas, who succeeds her at the egg board. The two traded places November 1, with the appointments lasting for a term of two years. BC FIRB chair Peter Donkers welcomed Vitins to the board, noting …
BC Chicken Marketing Board
Avian influenza threat looms
The latest date for a case of avian influenza during a winter outbreak in BC is February 19, chicken producers were told at their latest general meeting last month. With that date fast approaching, the lack of cases since January 22 has been good news for poultry growers. But that’s no reason to relax, Woody …
Economic outlook challenges farm margins
CHILLIWACK – The Bank of Canada’s attempts to curb inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes has raised the potential for an economic downturn next year. On November 4, the federal government published its fall economic statement, which pointed to several risks to the economic outlook. In the report’s “downside scenario,” Canada would enter a “mild …
CFIA simplifies AI protocols
Turkeys have accounted for more than half the commercial farms testing positive in this year’s AI outbreaks in BC, with two farms testing positive this fall on the heels of others earlier this year. The highly pathogenic nature of this year’s outbreak means it can spike a grower’s hopes within days, making early diagnosis key …
Disaster relief deadline passes
Fresh landslides in the Nicola Valley last week underscored the ongoing impacts of last year’s extreme weather as the deadline for applications to the federal-provincial AgriRecovery program unveiled in response to last November’s catastrophic mudslides and flooding approached. But just a fraction of the $228 million allocated to the 2021 Flood Recovery Program for Food …
Chicken growers on watch for avian influenza
ABBOTSFORD – With pandemic restrictions lifting and demand for chicken stabilizing, BC poultry producers are renewing their focus on biosecurity to stave off some well-known infectious diseases affecting their birds. “Biosecurity continues to be a challenge for us,” BC Chicken Growers Association president Dale Krahn told growers at their annual general meeting in Abbotsford, March …