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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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7 days 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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2 weeks 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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Unprecedented rise in machine harvesting

COVID-19 labour shortage accelerates mechanization trend among berry growers

Linda and Kerry Seale stand by the harvester used for picking berries at Blueberry Junction in Abbotsford. PHOTO / SARBMEET SINGH

September 1, 2020 bySarbmeet Singh

ABBOTSFORD – Blueberry growers have turned to mechanical harvesting in unprecedented numbers this year due to a shortage of labour and impacts of COVID-19.

While growers usually employ thousands of hand harvesters, this year saw hundreds of machines harvesting berries across the Fraser Valley.

Although farmers have been using machines for several years, many did so out of necessity this year rather than choice.

Sarbjit Kaur Gill from Prairie Fruit Farm in Chilliwack says he was forced to lease a berry harvester this season.

“We have Duke and Bluecrop varieties at our farm. Usually, we prefer first picking with hands while the second picking is performed with the machines. However, due to shortage of labour, we used a machine for the first picking as well,” he says. “I feel this was a very bad year for the farmers. Firstly, we couldn’t procure the machine and secondly, the wet condition of the field made operating it a challenge, causing us great financial loss.”

Rajinder Singh Lally, owner of Lally Farms in Abbotsford, believes mechanical harvesting is the future of berry picking.

“The delay in picking results in over-ripening of berries, which leads to a decline in price of the fruit. As there was a shortage of labour, we used three machines per farm to pick the fruit. From this experience, I feel that machines are a more cost-effective alternative and we are planning to purchase more machines in the coming years,” says Lally.

But the results don’t please everyone.

“I have been engaged in agriculture for 40 years. Last year, we used machines on less than 10% of our acreage but this year approximately 40% of our acreage was picked by machines. We deal in the fresh market but this year, I had to go for processing due to mechanized harvesting,” says one disappointed Abbotsford farmer, who did not want to be named.

Cost savings

Mechanized picking and hand picking each have their advantages, the chief one being cost.

While hand picking costs around 50 to 60 cents per pound, mechanical harvesting costs just 15 to 20 cents a pound. Hand picking is much slower in comparison to mechanized picking. On average, one picker can pick up to 400 pounds of berries whereas a machine can pick up to three acres in a day, or upwards of 60,000 pounds of berries.

Despite the apparent advantages, mechanized picking does have a downside. Machine-harvested berries are mostly used for processing and the prices for processed berries are much less compared to the fresh market.

“In the fresh market, blueberries can be sold at $1 to $2 per pound during the season. On the other hand, the processed berries can fetch up to 60 to 65 cents per pound only. While it saves the picking cost, there is a decline in the profits made from the mechanically harvested berry,” says Kerry Seale, from Blueberry Junction in Abbotsford. “We felt the labour pains during the previous years. So, we decided to grow some varieties that can be easily picked with machines.”

The labour issues associated with COVID-19 have more growers considering such moves this year.

“Due to CERB and COVID, there was a huge shortage of labour. Many farmers opted for mechanized picking this year,” says Anju Gill, executive director of the BC Blueberry Council. “In case of mechanized harvesting, prior arrangements like pruning are required well ahead of the harvesting. Due to lack of these arrangements, it led to ineffective picking by machines also. However, at the same time, there are some growers that grow berries for processing only and they always pick using the machines.”

Parm Bains, president of Westberry Farms in Abbotsford, says machines have been popular among farmers for several years as farmers looked to cut costs as production has grown and labour costs have risen.

“There has been a significant rise in the production and acres of blueberries in British Columbia during the last few decades. In the 80s, we had 20 million pounds of berries and last year we had over 200 million pounds,” says Bains. “Around 17,000 to 18,000 workers are needed but only around 6,000 pickers are available. More and more machines are coming to the market every year as farmers are trying to save money on picking side.”

The shortage of pickers was front-and-centre this year due to COVID-19, among other factors.

“Farmers struggled to pick berries,” says Bains. “Fields were wet. Besides labour, machines were also not available in time.”

While more berries went to processing, Bains says it’s difficult to gauge the impact on grower revenues.

“At this moment we are hoping for better prices in comparison to last year,” he says.

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