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Originally published:

October 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 10

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Stories In This Edition

Sheep thrills

Farm employers on edge

Right-to-farm case upheld

Snow puts the brakes on Peace grain harvest

Editorial: The hands that feed us

Back Forty: Saving farmland fruitless without water

Op Ed: US could learn a thing (or two) from Canada

Piece-rate study sets stage for payday changes

Photo: Day at the Farm

Berry growers report decent growing season

FIRB posed to set live BC chicken prices – again

BCYAF grants support key 4-H initiatives

Cherry growers hit hardest by wildfire smoke

Ag Briefs: Winner

Ag Briefs: Right to Farm Act review cancelled

Local governments can’t undermine ALR rules

Winfield grower has ambitious cannabis plans

Province funds land-matching program

BC Fresh expands to meet national demand

Challenging year fails to daunt new producer

Corn trials focus on lower heat units for BC

When the right thing turns out to be wrong

Wildfires prompt local response planning

Mixer-feeder offers all-in-one feeding option

Non-traditional forage mixtures promising

Small farmers network targets knowledge gap

Hazelnut renewal enters second phase

Research: Scratch that itch

Partners announced for farmers’ market trail

FV land limitations means higher density

Fair lives up to its farm roots

Pumpkin growers use crop to reach out to public

Wannabe Farmer: The usual gives plenty of cause for thanks

Woodshed: Wishful thinking as Caribbean holiday nears

Jude’s Kitchen: Fall heralds heartier meals, yummy appies

 

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1 month ago

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production; repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: buff.ly/3sVRF4G
... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the Canada-BC Flood Recovery for Food Security Program deadline from June 1 to Aug. 31. The program helps farmers cover uninsured expenses caused by damages in the November 2021 floods, including cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal shelters, and water and waste systems; returning flood-affected land and buildings to a safe state for agricultural production;  repairing uninsurable essential farm infrastructure; repairing structures such as livestock-containment fences; renting temporary production facilities; installing drainage ditches and land-stabilization materials; animal welfare activities such as replacing feed, transporting livestock, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
replacing perennial plants not grown for sale. Program criteria and application forms are available online: https://buff.ly/3sVRF4G
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1 month ago

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details. ... See MoreSee Less

A turkey farm in West Abbotsford is the second commercial poultry flock to tested positive for avian influenza since the initial case was reported in Enderby on April 13. CFIA announced the case May 19, but has yet to define the control zone. Ray Nickel of the BC Poultry Association says more than 50 farms are in the vicinity of the infected premises, meaning control measures — including movement controls — will have a significant impact on the industry. The supply of birds moving into the country from US hatcheries will also be affected, compounding the host of supply chain issues growers have been dealing with over the past year. A story in our June issue will provide further details.
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2 months ago

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the province's deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed. ... See MoreSee Less

The province has extended the order requiring regulated commercial poultry operations to keep their birds indoors through June 13. Originally set to expire this Friday, the order was extended after a careful review by the provinces deputy chief veterinarian. Poultry at seven premises, all but one of them backyard flocks, have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza since April 13. The order allows small-scale producers to continue pasturing their birds outdoors provided biosecurity protocols developed by the Small-Scale Meat producers Association are followed.
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Sounds like 2 weeks to flatten the curve turning into 2 years.

USDA doing avian vax research, May 11 bio-docs to UN incl section on H5N8 w/wild bird spread. Found link to apparent pre-release on May 11 Geller Report. Good luck farmers.

2 months ago

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.” ... See MoreSee Less

Two more small flocks in BC have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The latest cases are in Richmond and Kelowna. CFIA is in the process of determining a control zone around the property in Richmond, the first report in the Fraser Valley of the H5N1 strain of the virus among poultry. Speaking to Country Life in BC this week, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said CFIA staff are working diligently to address outbreaks, and she encourages small flock owners to do the same. While commercial farms have tightened biosecurity measures, owners of small flocks have greater freedom. “Some smaller ones don’t necessarily have these measures in place,” Bibeau says. “They should also be extremely careful, because if we have a case in a backyard flock ... it could have an impact on bigger commercial installations.”
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Killing our food chain. How do we know they are actually carrying a virus, look what's taking place with covid, is it real.

Ik kan niet zo goed Engels maar als ik het goed begrijp is bij jullie ook vogelgriep maar nog niet bij jullie

Any idea when this episode or bird flu might be over?

2 months ago

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions. ... See MoreSee Less

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC welcomed its first new members in 20 years at its AGM on April 27. The BC Blueberry Council, BC Cherry Association, BC Cranberry Marketing Commission, BC Food & Beverage Association, BC Meats and Organic BC were approved as members, bringing the IAFBC’s membership to 15 farm and food organizations. IAFBC is also growing in responsibility, managing a record $8.3 million in funding from six funding agencies and developing new programs to support the agriculture sector including Farmland Advantage and Agricultural Climate Solutions.
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Wildfires prompt local response planning

Bulkley Valley residents prepare for the inevitable after the worst fire season on record

October 2, 2018 byDan Mesec

SMITHERS – As wildfires in BC’s Central Interior seared the land and sent homesteaders, farmers and ranchers scrambling to evacuate animals, their neighbours to the northwest sprang into action.

It didn’t take long for rural residents in the Bulkley Valley to open their pastures to anyone who needed it to house livestock or provide much-needed hay and grain to animals displaced by the fires.

The events also proved that many were unprepared for the ferocity of what is now the worst wildfire season in BC history.

With that in mind, many rural residents are now facing the grim prospect that intense wildfires are a fact of life and preparations for next season have already begun. Soon after the first evacuation notices went out near François Lake and Fraser Lake, the Northwest Forest Fire Support Network (NWFFSN) launched to support those displaced by the fires and tend to evacuated livestock.

“I remember watching the forest fire scene in the Bambi movie as a kid and wondering ‘what are the animals behind the fences going to do?’ said Deanna Bell, a Houston resident who grew up on a farm. “So a group of us got together to see what we could do to help. We started a Facebook page and a GoFundMe account and ended up on Global News and a bunch of newspapers and have already paid out nearly $25,000. Every cent of that money has gone towards the animals, or towards the feed or people hauling feed.”

Bell says they are trying to help as many people as possible and have already organized dozens of shipments of feed and found temporary housing for animals from as far away as Telegraph Creek. Although they’ve been successful in helping locate and provide animal feed and hay for several weeks, the challenge now is equipping farmers and ranchers for the winter. It’s not an easy task.

“People’s fences are burnt, their pasture is burnt, their hay is burnt; I asked one lady, who’s got 30 horses, what they will need for hay for the winter,” Bell said. “She needs 210 bales of hay at 1,200 pounds a piece. If you do the math, that’s $18,900. That’s for one producer.”

Although Bell says it’s going to be tough to ensure every farm and ranch has what they need to take care of their animals over the winter, she and other members of the NWFFSN are prepared to help.

In communities like Houston, Hazelton and Smithers, people are pulling together to relocate animals, load trailers full of hay headed east and

co-ordinate with the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako to ensure those who need support get it.

The aggressiveness of the 2018 wildfire season has alarmed many in the region.

About 200 kilometres west of Burns Lake in the Bulkley Valley, where smoke lingered for a few days but never experienced the brunt of the fires, many ranchers and farmers are worried about the years to come and wonder how they will protect their lands after hearing about the devastation just a couple hundred kilometres away.

“With the fires this summer, everyone in rural areas is really spooked,” said Monty Bassett, a former rancher near Smithers. “Because we are in between municipalities and so spread out, it’s a low priority for the government. So we came up with the idea of starting some kind of fire response unit.”

Bassett and about 20 other ranchers and farmers outside Smithers in Driftwood, are holding meetings in preparation for how they’ll work together to develop an effective first-response unit to ensure if fires do make it to the Bulkley Valley, they don’t get out of control before the BC Wildfire Service can respond.

Equipment and access to resources like training, hoses and water pumps are just some of the plans they hope to bring up once they meet with government officials later this fall. One idea that seems to be gaining traction with the community is utilizing an old water tanker as a would-be fire truck to put out potential brush fires before they become a major problem.

“When you have these monster fires and they can send ash kilometres away, I think it’s time we start protecting ourselves,” said Bassett. “Years ago, there was a barn fire and a bunch of us ran to put it out. After the fire we thought the community should have a centralized fire truck. I think it’s time to revitalize that idea, as we’re all assuming these wildfires will just continue.”

 

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Marie-Claude Bibeau

BC producers hit hard by 2018 wildfires eligible for AgriStability relief

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