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Originally published:

December 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 12

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Stories In This Edition

Province tightens rules in ALR

Farming isn’t what it used to be

Ag waste reg “nearly” ready

Sidebar: New commissioners

Proposed foreign worker registry raises concerns

Fall harvest

Editorial: ‘Tis the season

Back Forty: Time to address climate change head-on

Viewpoint: Ottawa needs to stop milking dairy sector

Sweet times for BC honey producers

Public trust key as grade designation clarified

Apiarists wary as new prescription rules kick in

Pipeline explosion creates uncertainty

Farmers, chefs cook up deals at networking event

Ag Briefs: Safe Food regs require producer registration

Ag Briefs: Reus receives recognition

Keeping the end in mind

Heppell’s Potato Corp

US milk offered for sale in Canada

Volatile blend price hitting home for dairy sector

Landowners see development as only solution

Good soil makes good drinks even better

DNA analysis opens doors in hop renaissance

Tour builds trust between foodies, farmers

New entrant egg producer has long-term goals

Farmers, ranchers grapple with climate change

Drought results in record low water flows

BC ranchers face mounting regulations

Seaweed finds a home on the range

Co-op model recommended for beef plant

Farm market banks on relationship-building

Tour showcases local farm entrepreneurs

Young farmers share experiences at Farm Fest

Research: The complexity of colours

Nutsedge demands strong, decisive response

Wool classifying can add value to sheep flocks

Print remains top media choice for producers

Sidebar: Canadians read more

Communication key to four-way success

Cannabis shows mainstream retail potential

Nurseries change up offerings to stay relevant

Irrigation protocols critical for greenhouses

Producers need to think like retailers

Organic farmer values food education

Wannabe: The greatest gift is friendship

Ag in the Classroom

Woodshed: A present for Deborah sparks inquisition

Jude’s Kitchen: Celebration food

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10 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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Tour builds trust between foodies, farmers

Okanagan farms give a fresh perspective on agriculture

November 28, 2018 byJackie Pearase

GRINDROD – A farm tour aimed at food influencers did more than open eyes, it changed minds.

A group including chefs, food bloggers, nutritionists and dietitians toured three North Okanagan farms October 23 with agriculture industry representatives for a behind-the-scenes look at the farms. The tour was a chance to taste local products and ask questions about food production and farm practices.

We Heart Local, an initiative of the BC Agriculture Council launched in 2014, hosted the tour in partnership with Buy BC: Eat Drink Local, the province’s two-year-old initiative with the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association. The tour aimed to create connections between consumers and BC’s agriculture community.

“We are working to build consumers’ confidence that the food purchased from local producers is safe and very high quality,” explains BCAC community trust manager Becky Parker. “We conducted pre- and post-surveys with the participants and found that 89% found the tour to be an effective way to learn more about farming and the food system.”

The surveys showed that participants’ level of trust in agricultural practices increased after the tour. For example, tour participants all agreed that farmers produce safe, high-quality food and that they care about the animals they raise versus 70% before the tour. All participants also agreed that farmers are transparent about production practices, versus just 10% before the tour.

There was also greater agreement that farmers are environmentally conscious, with 78% of tour participants believing this compared to 10% before.

The tour started at Okanagan Riverbend Poultry in Grindrod, a free range and soon-to-be organic and SPCA-certified chicken layer barn.

The quality of the eggs produced and the health of the 3,300 chickens were topmost concerns for tour participants.

Owner Jared de Dood explained his three-tier aviary system that gives the birds space to run, fly, roost and eat with access to the outdoors, a system that has resulted in daily production of about 3,100 eggs since he started his first flock in May.

“When I came here, the very first day, I packed six eggs out of 3,300 birds that were placed in there,” de Dood says.

He opened his books detailing his daily, weekly and monthly reporting requirements; showed the barn’s computer systems that help monitor bird health, lights, feeding and more; and explained how eggs are collected and packed for grading.

“What you’re seeing is eggs coming from the farm to the grocery store within four to seven days. That’s how fresh our products are,” he notes.

A look inside the aviary revealed quiet, content birds which quickly adapted to the visitors.

A delicious lunch next door at Farmer John’s Market, operated by Jared’s parents, John and June de Dood, featured a starter, entree and dessert created with ingredients sourced from Okanagan farms that wowed the group and sparked a deeper interest in local products.

Lunch was also an opportunity for everyone to see the de Dood’s state-of-the-art robotic dairy, Sunninghill Holsteins.

A short drive to Mara brought the group to 60 acres of blueberries at Madalea Farms, where owner AJ Stobbe explained how the fruit helped diversify his family’s dairy farm and filled a need for local berries in the North Okanagan.

“I have pretty good success going into a store with Okanagan blueberries and they’re pretty excited about the merchandise,” Stobbe says. “It’s been so fun because a lot of the stores are saying, ‘There’s local blueberries? How come we didn’t know about you? Yes, bring some.’”

He explained the need to use foreign workers to meet labour requirements, blueberries’ growth cycle and answered questions about the use of chemicals in plant health.

“This year we didn’t spray a single insecticide. We spray some fungicide and we spray a fair amount of fertilizer to keep the plants healthy and we give the plants enough nutrients to fend off insects themselves,” Stobbe explains. “In our school of thought, we can’t go organic because we need to feed the plant.”

A stop at Serene Lea Farms, the Stobbe family’s 200-head dairy, followed.

Stobbe outlined the milking process, described the geothermal system that uses heat from the milk for heating and cooling the farm and stressed the importance of nutritionally balanced rations for his herd.

“We’re a little bit different here. We have a grain mill so we make our own calf grain. I balance it with my nutritionist; I’m always tweaking it a little bit,” he says.

The birth of a calf aided by Stobbe and his father Abe highlighted this part of the tour and gave everyone a first-hand example of the care provided by farmers to their animals.

A cheese tasting, courtesy of cheesemaker Sandra Proulx, wrapped up the afternoon.

Proulx, long-time cheesemaker at Terroir Cheese in Armstrong, purchased the business six months ago. She brought along her two Brie-style cheeses: Goaty Cow and Mt. Ida, and provided lots of delicious recipe ideas.

Proulx plans to open a new facility in Kaleden next summer where she can produce a full line of cheeses and do retail sales.

Sysco Kelowna corporate chef Brent Durec says Sysco organizes a Vancouver tour each year featuring many large producers but local connections are just as important.

“We want to support local farmers and offer a wider product to the customer,” he says. “It’s always interesting finding the different farms and products.”

Kelowna Yacht Club executive sous chef Jeff Burns said Sysco’s ability to pick up fresh product from farmers and deliver it to other customers along the route creates more food possibilities for restaurants.

“We use Sysco a lot so the more local product they can get, the more we can highlight that,” says Burns. “It’s a good way to understand the local side of food. … I’m very interested to see the diversification being used by local farmers.”

October’s tour was the second We Heart Local organized this year. The first tour in May included a visit to a greenhouse and a dairy farm in Delta.

Plans are taking shape for additional tours in 2019.

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