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Originally published:

August 2018
Vol. 104 Issue 8

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Stories In This Edition

Shaved, showered and shampooed

New regs rolled out for pot growers

Egg farm decommissioned

Richmond cranberry grower honoured

Editorial: Ground for reform

Back Forty: Facing a tenuous future of feeding the world

OpEd: Wildlife federation’s audit request full of holes

Armyworm posing little risk this season

Letters: Dairy feeling price pressures

Abbotsford waits for clarity on ALR guidelines

Chicken quote to increase 20% by 2020

Dairy incentive days this fall

Aquilini seeks exclusion for former nursery

Business risks looms large at national meeting

Maple Ridge denies exclusion bid for dairy

Fire damage won’t delay blueberry shipments

Good weather marks return to normal conditions

Cherries set for near-record crop this season

Laser system has potential for bird control in crops

Hazelnut growers get replant funding

Gulf Islands farmers want rules respected

Young Agrarians push small-scale premium

Value pinned on local ecosystem services

Cash crunch threatens BC berry growers

Hop sector brewing a bright future

IPM for SWD a tall order, says crop consultant

Audit request takes aim at cattle ranchers

Forage action plan nears completion

Site C fund directors get to work

Abattoir recommendations delayed till fall

Research: Smart flowers have the tools to attract clever bees

Science should underpin colony management

Abbotsford tour puts spotlight on innovation

Summer fun at Stock Show

Business smarts needed for farm success

Wannabe: Signs of hope’s fulfilment

New day for Century Growers

Woodshed: Role playing turns up heat for Deborah

Seasonal pastime

Community is key crop for Kelowna farmers

Jude’s Kitchen: Crisp and cool entertaining

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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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Wildlife federation’s audit request full of holes

Viewpoint

July 29, 2018 byMike Gilson

BC auditor general Carol Bellringer has plenty on her plate. The current work plan for her office includes reports on the BC Utilities Commission, the management of the province’s capital assets and health promotion in schools. Her office is planning audits of drinking water, end-of-life care and the BC Liquor Distribution Branch.

She also receives hundreds of requests from individuals and organizations concerned about government operations. Some have merit; others do not.

The recent request by University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre on behalf of the BC Wildlife Federation is one that no rancher, let alone any right-minded person, could consider appropriate.

The request, submitted June 12, seeks “an audit and examination of cattle grazing leases on Crown land, and related issues.” BCWF appears to be concerned whether or not Crown lands are being used in British Columbians’ best interests and if the province is receiving the best bang for its buck. But a closer read of the request reveals that this isn’t BCWF’s main concern at all.

Rather, the audit request is the start of a campaign to erode private property rights and remove cattle from Crown land, a campaign based on selective facts that target:

• producers’ access to Crown land

• the public’s right to roam

• water quality

• greenhouse gas emissions

• fencing

• infrastructure costs and

• tenure pricing.

It amounts to a full-out attack on our way of life and our livelihood. BCWF insinuates that the cattle industry is not viable and accuses ranchers of “imposing unnecessary costs on BC taxpayers.” Unfortunately, the arguments leave out vast amounts of information.

It is worth noting at the outset that, concurrent with the audit request, BCWF is supporting ongoing legal action by the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club regarding access to private, deeded land held by Douglas Lake Cattle Co.

Under the direction of legal director Calvin Sandborn, the Environmental Law Centre has produced research supporting public access to privately owned lands, an issue championed by BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver, who has proposed “right to roam” legislation similar to what exists in parts of Europe. Such legislation would effectively erode BC rural property rights to the point that landowners will in essence become powerless to protect their interests.

The request also cites Weaver’s work regarding livestock contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. But according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), cattle account for just 9% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Singling out livestock producers for scrutiny is disingenuous. One can only take the context of these statements and how they are being presented as a personal attack on BC ranchers and all livestock producers.

The attack doesn’t end at access and greenhouse emissions, either. Sandborn believes livestock operations contaminate the province’s water, and served as special advisor to a review of the province’s handling of aquifer contamination in the Hullcar Valley. The audit request cites a 2012 report for the BC Forest Practices Board that found “pervasive non-compliance” with measures designed to protect riparian areas.

But highlighting an extreme bias on the part of BCWF is that the Forest Practices Board didn’t point to ranchers or even agriculture as the primary culprit when it comes to water quality. Ski resorts, recreational users, forestry activities as well as other forms of development, wildlife and even natural influences were mentioned. By identifying one factor without naming the others, BCWF representatives have over-simplified the issue to suit their agenda.

The allegedly poor financial benefit to the province seems a minor concern in light of these issues, but BCWF nevertheless rounds out its critique by saying taxpayers are subsidizing the ranching industry by providing cheap access to Crown land and covering maintenance and repair costs that tenure holders should be paying.

The bottom line seems to be that BCWF does not want cattle on Crown land. It is unfortunate that an organization that claims to be provincial in nature would attack a long-standing association of rural landowners, all in the name of fairness.

Rather than engage in meaningful constructive conversations with landowners and cattlemen, BCWF has chosen to attack the very type of people who they should be working closely together with. Stewardship of the land is a rancher’s top goal; raising livestock comes second. If we don’t look after the land, we aren’t going to be very successful at feeding a cow.

Many species of wildlife would also lose out. Ranches offer a safe haven from developed areas. Privately owned ranch land in British Columbia is one of the best ungulate nurseries we have. There are a lot of deer, elk and moose that take their first breath of air on someone’s deeded, private property.

Our ranch has always allowed hunting, with permission. We do not have any grazing leases, only deeded land along with range licences. Those range licences are freely open to the public, and always have been. Going forward, there will be a new policy when an individual asks permission to use our deeded land for hunting, hiking or whatever pastime they wish to pursue. They will now be asked if they are a BCWF member. If their answer is yes, then our answer to them will be NO.

The livestock industry is a major contributor to British Columbia’s economy and should not be the subject of an attack based on cherry-picked facts.

Mike Gilson operates Bear Valley Ranch southeast of Quesnel.

Country Life in BC welcomes guest editorials. If you have something you’d like to say, contact editor@countrylifeinbc.com for editorial guidelines. 

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