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Originally published:

September 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 9

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Stories In This Edition

BC faces another summer of fire

Heather takes the cake

ALR report confirms agenda

Organic labelling regulations kick in September 1

Editorial: Inside information

Back Forty: Quantum change in the barn and kitchen

OpEd: Civic elections important for agriculture

Armyworm infestation hits North Okanagan

New entrants face scrutiny, but no waitlist

Surprise quota increase for dairies

Carrot field day

National apple programs focus of OK meeting

Okanagan tree fruits grab international spotlight

Farmers put food hub on wish list

Farming matters

Potato trials reflect change in consumer tastes

Veterinary partnership aimrs to improve service

Ag Brief: New public trust manager planning workshops

Ag Brief: BCAC hires new environmental programs mgr

Ag Brief: Poultry specialist joins IAF

Ag Brief: Salmon farmers hire new executive director

Ag Brief: New island agrologist

Automation good investment for nursery

Hort show offering more educational opportunities

Grant harnesses opportunities for farming

Flood management requires collaboration

Rancher goes wireless to manage irrigation

Wildfire lessons learned, but still work to be done

National park reserve consultations to resume

BC youth prevail at Western Canadian Classic

Land trust for Metro Vancouver floated again

Cawston market garden looks to future

Summer Institute plants seeds of knowledge

Cariboo farm thrives with mentorship

Research: Genetic editing stops deadline pig virus

Ploughing championship in sight

Coop rentals connect urbanites with farming

Maple Ridge consults on backyard chickens

Organic pioneers reflect on growth, changes in sector

Hooked on 4-H

Fair time

Woodshed: Sweet-talkin’ Henderson makes vacation plans

Wannabe: Here’s to the ordinary

Feast of Fields

Jude’s Kitchen: September and birthday celebrations

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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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Wildfire lessons learned, but still work to be done

Scale of wildfires underscores need for clear communication

BC Wildfire Service photo

September 5, 2018 byPeter Mitham

VICTORIA – Workshops aimed at fireproofing BC farms and ranches seem to be working despite record-breaking fire seasons this year and last.

Cattle operations have been the farms the hardest hit by wildfires over the past two years, thanks in large part to their dependence on Crown tenures and forage resources. Ranches and farms from Alkali Lake to Agassiz have been impacted, making the need to prepare for wildfire an issue not limited to the Interior.

“It’s a continuing battle to protect family farms and ranches,” BC agriculture minister Lana Popham told media during a conference call August 22. “One of the things that we learned last year, which has been critically important to our response, is for producers to be registered in our Premises ID program.”

The program allows them to re-enter into evacuation zones and tend to their livestock, and has been working successfully this year. It was not only encouraged during last year’s wildfire season, but in workshops the BC Cattlemen’s Association supported to help farmers prepare for future seasons.

“[BCCA general manager] Kevin Boon was just an absolute all-star last year and continues to be this year, so making sure that those lines of communication work very quickly is definitely part of a more efficient response,” Popham said.

However, with this year’s fires affecting different areas of the province than last year, she said the learning curve continues as new areas receive first-hand experience of dealing with wildfire.

The back-to-back seasons have been a literal trial by fire for provincial emergency management personnel, nearly 4,000 of which have been deployed to fight the fires.

Recommendations of the independent report the province commissioned into handling of the devastating 2017 wildfire season emphasized the need for greater communication between crews and locals, and a greater receptiveness to local knowledge. While figures like Reg Steward continue to be invaluable in operations centres, it was often a different story on the ground.

Christine Coletta and husband Steve Lornie operate Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland and were among the vintners offering thanks to fire crews for their work battling the Mount Eneas blaze at the end of July.

The road to Okanagan Crush Pad’s vineyard in Garnet Valley was blocked for several days, but provincial emergency management crews allowed owners to access properties and assist with fire suppression.

“The local firefighters had knowledge of our land and what tools we had on hand that could help them mount a successful battle,” Coletta said. “If we had not been able to return to the property daily, we could not have managed the irrigation system which played a key role in soaking the perimeter of our land.”

The fire crews were also able to draw water from an irrigation pond at the vineyard to fight the fire.

A pass system the local fire department introduced midway through the blaze echoed troubles reported in various locations last year, however. Clear protocols and communications, a key recommendation in the review of last year’s fire season, didn’t seem to exist.

“It would have been good to have a system in place that everyone knew of in advance. Procedures seemed to change daily,” Coletta said.

She feels local government and citizens need to take wildfire preparedness as seriously as other forms of disaster, so that affected residents and businesses are more resilient during and after a disaster.

“Wildfires are our new reality,” she said. “Each town and region needs to really look at a solid wildfire plan and communicate that out to citizens in high-risk areas along the lines of what some cities do in the way of earthquake preparedness.”

Photo courtesy of BC Wildfire Service

 

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