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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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3 weeks 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.

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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

4 weeks 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🚜

4 weeks 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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4 weeks 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

4 weeks 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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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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