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Originally published:

SEPTEMBER 2020
Vol. 106 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

Under one roof

Creating community in abundance

Farms to retain tax status

Armyworm keeps its distance this summer

Smile with your eyes

Fall back

Back 40: Finding what we need in a COVID-19 world

Viewpoint: Exports play a vital role in BC’s farm economy

Field days feeling the pinch of social distancing rules

Sidebar: Pacific Agriculture Show goes virtual

AgSafe makes changes to board structure

Makin’ hay

Metro Vancouver targets carbon-neutral future

Changes to land commission kick in this fall

Creston initiative keeps workers, town safe

Ag Briefs: Dairy industry selects new entrants

Ag Briefs: Top vet appointed

Ag Briefs: BC youth offer perspectives

Sheep producers told to bear with wildlife

Disease has sheep producers on defensive

Pandemic creates virtual season for 4-H clubs

Delta development puts agrihoods to the test

Three-tier system being floated for livestock watering

Short-term roller coaster for beef market

Beef prices up

Global outlook is bright for beef producers

Council supports efforts to improve water quality

New orchardist takes on key ministry role

Unprecedented rise in machine harvesting

Soft landings mean better blueberries

Province readers sprayer program for delivery

Wheat growers tap into heirloom grains

High-flying pans grounded by pandemic protocols

Farm Story: The right machine makes harvesting potatoes a breeze

Organic soil requirements need science, guesswork

Relay cropping checks all the boxes

Flower growers ponder COVID-19 impacts

Best practices must guide COVID-19 hiring

Woodshed: No place like home for Deborah and the dogs

Former caregiver brings donkey therapy to Island

No one leaves Abundance without a zucchini

Building community, building a future

Jude’s Kitchen: Harvest colours

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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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Under one roof

Ag ministry to oversee abattoir inspections

Donkeys, not dogs, work best to protect the flock from predators at Parry Bay Sheep Farm on Vancouver Island. PHOTO / PARRY BAY SHEEP FARM

September 1, 2020 byTom Walker

VICTORIA – The BC Ministry of Agriculture is taking over meat inspection in the province on December 1, consolidating oversight of the sector.

“Effective December 1, 2020, all slaughter activity licensed under the Meat Inspection Regulation for class A, B, D, and E meat slaughter licenses will now be regulated under the Ministry of Agriculture,” the province announced August 19.

“It’s about time,” says Nova Woodbury, executive director of the BC Association of Abattoirs. “It’s good news. We have been calling for more accountability and more oversight of D and E licences for a long time now. Having licensing and oversight of all slaughter facilities in BC being provided by the Ministry of Agriculture will be a benefit to all those involved in meat processing.”

A and B slaughter facilities are currently under the agriculture ministry. A provincial meat inspector observes the processing of every animal.

D and E plants, which are only allowed in 13 designated regions of the province, have been overseen by the regional health authorities and have no minimum inspection requirements other than a site inspection to obtain their licence.

Meat from D and E facilities can only be sold within the regional district where it was processed, and must carry a “Not Government Inspected. For sale only in the Regional District of ____” label.

The change also pleases Julia Smith of the Small Scale Meat Processors Association.

“This is something pretty much everybody involved in the meat industry agreed needed to happen,” she says.

The report of the province’s Select Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fish and Food, published in September 2018, called for the agriculture ministry to look for ways, “to expand current meat inspection and enforcement services.” A second recommendation required “the Ministry of Agriculture (or their designate) to increase resources to enable engagement with Class D and E licensed facilities to ensure increased inspections at those facilities, including slaughter.”

The latest government announcement lacked details, promising an intentions paper this fall. But it did recognize a number of benefits to moving all authority under the agriculture ministry, including new economic opportunities, strengthening the resiliency of the BC food system, streamlining administration of licenses, improving consistency in the administration of D and E licences throughout the province and increasing the frequency of inspections to ensure food safety and animal welfare are maintained.

“More inspections is a key,” says Woodbury, noting that some regional health authorities fail to inspect D and E plants even once a year.

She would also like to see the inspections review actual slaughter practices to ensure operators are slaughtering animals correctly.

The BC Association of Abattoirs looks forward to hearing details of the changes that will occur, particularly those related to “streamlining licensing to reduce administrative burdens.”

“We are interested to know if some of these changes will apply to the inspected Class A and B abattoirs to encourage more of them to open throughout the province,” she says.

Smith is optimistic that the changes will create opportunities.

“We are hoping that bringing everybody under the Ministry of Agriculture will remove the regional restrictions on sale and broaden the market opportunities for small processors,” she says. “Meat that is safe to eat in the Thompson Nicola region should be safe to eat in Squamish.”

But the current capacity situation across the industry worries Smith.

“We are disappointed with the pace at which this is happening and there is a real urgency now,” she says, noting that the province began discussion of D and E facilities in spring 2018. “All levels of processing in the province are running flat out.”

Farmers bought and raised more animals this year because of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic while others kept animals back to finish for themselves, she explains.

“There is a tremendous number of animals that are market-ready this fall,” she says. “I am begging for spring processing dates for my own animals already.”

The glut of animals will end up being processed some way, says Smith.

“We really hope that it will be in a facility with the proper oversight,” she says.

Regional health authorities retain responsibility for new Class D licences until December 1, but the agriculture ministry does not expect the transition in oversight to have any impact on licences in process.

 

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