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Postmaster, Please returnUndeliverable labels to:Country Life in BC1120 East 13th AveVancouver, BC V5T 2M1CANADA POSTESPOST CANADAPostage paid Port payéPublications Mail Post-publications40012122Vol. 101 No. 7Dairy Cattle care code now has the force of law behind it 13Research Advances in controlling spotted wing Drosophila 25Drought Ranchers concerned over availability of winter feed 31Lifein BCThe agricultural news source inBritish Columbia since 1915Vol. 101 No. 7 • August 2015Weather woesby DAVID SCHMIDT & RONDA PAYNEABBOTSFORD – The rst fresh BC blueberriescould be heading to China in August afterCanada and China reached an agreement onprotocols during a trade mission to China inJune.Flanked by BC Minister of Agriculture NormLetnick and representatives of the BC BlueberryCouncil (BCBC), Abbotsford MP and Minister ofInternational Trade Ed Fast announced theagreement at Westberry Farms in Abbotsford,June 24.Noting blueberries have become Canada’slargest fruit export in terms of both dollars andvolume, Fast called it a “great day forAbbotsford and a great day for Canada.”BCBC executive director Debbie Etsell callsthe agreement a milestone. “We started working on it … nine years ago,”she explains. “This is a fruit that will be in highdemand in China and therefore this is goodnews for our growers. It’s a win/win situation forall of us.”It’s been a long road and one that requiredpatience because Canada can only negotiateone fruit at a time with China and cherries madeit into the queue a few weeks beforeblueberries.“It wasn’t until recently, when you could seethat cherries were going to get fresh marketaccess, that China engaged with Canada onblueberries,” Etsell notes.Chinese inspectors are expected to visit BC inPlease see “2015 EXPORTS” page 3YCOUNTRY1-888-770-7333Quality Seeds ... where quality counts!YOUR COMPLETESEED SOURCEby DAVID SCHMIDTABBOTSFORD – A warm, early springfollowed by an early summer heat wave iscreating havoc for BC farmers andranchers, particularly those in the SouthCoast unaccustomed to extended periodsof extreme heat and dryness.The situation is so severe, the BCgovernment has given Vancouver Island,the Gulf Islands and the Lower Fraserareas a Level 4 drought rating, the highestrating available.“Further declines in stream, lake andaquifer levels could lead to watershortages and aect people, industry suchas agriculture, wildlife, and sh stocks. Allwater users are urged to maximize theirwater conservation eorts,” the Ministry ofForests, Lands and Natural ResourceOperations said in a July 15 media release.The Level 4 drought advisory allowsregional water managers to takeadditional regulatory actions.Groundwater usage is not restricted butanyone dependent on surface watercould face temporary suspension of theirwater approvals or water licences.Although reservoirs in MetroVancouver (MV) are at or near all-timelows for this time of year, MV had not yetimplemented all the restrictions availableto it at press time. The government notesusers within municipalities and regionaldistricts backed by reservoir storage areless vulnerable to water supply shortagesthan water users served by smallersystems from streams, lakes and wells, butis encouraging all water users to observelocal conservation bylaws to prolongwater supplies and maintain ows for shand ecosystems.“We’re asking everyone in drought level2 or higher to voluntarily reduce waterusage by 20%,” BC Minister of AgricultureNorm Letnick said, urging farmers to“concentrate water on high-value crops.” Although he insists “lawn sprinklingand car washes” will be curtailed longbefore agriculture is aected, he notescommercial greenhouses and other largeagricultural water users could berestricted if the drought persists.Because the South Coast usually getsplenty of spring and summer rain, manycrop producers have not botheredinstalling irrigation. Many of those whohave irrigation use drip systems. BecausePlease see “TONNAGE” page 2Early spring, no rain, summer heat promptsLevel 4 drought advisories, plummeting yieldsChina opens its doors to BC blueberriesOne for the record booksFirst year North Okanagan Beef Club member Cooper Clemitson, 10,parades her 4-H steer, Benny, around the pen during the OkanaganStock Show sale in Armstrong, July 10. It was a record breaking sale,with steers selling between $6000 and $8000, making it the highestselling steer sale in at least 34 years. (Cathy Glover photo)IRRIGATION LTD1-888-675-7999www.watertecna.comPROVINCE WIDE DELIVERYPROVINCE WIDE DELIVERY• DIESEL & PTO PUMPS• PVC & ALUMINUM PIPE• HARD HOSE IRRIGATION REELS• DRIP IRRIGATION• CENTRE PIVOTS• SAE AIRBLAST SPRAYERSGrowing morewith less water
they are intended to beextremely ecient atdelivering water only to whereit is needed (i.e. the root zoneof the crop), most do not havethe capacity to cope withsevere drought conditions. “Drip irrigation issupplemental irrigation,” notesBCMA berry specialist MarkSweeney. “Our systems are notdesigned to deliver irrigationfor two months straight.”This year’s early springadvanced most crops at leastthree weeks.“The strawberry season wasvery early and very quick,”reports Bill Zylmans of Delta.“We started picking May 18and nished June 22. I havenever started or nished thatearly.”The president of the BCPotato and Vegetable GrowersAssociation says potatoes arealso suering. “Potatoeswithout irrigation, especiallythose in Sumas Prairie, arestruggling. Mother Nature is sodierent this year. There’s noTONNAGE DOWN; OTHER FARMERS SIMPLY PLOW CROPS UNDER From page 1Country Life in BC • August 20152textbook you can look into.”“You can’t farm the way younormally do,” adds Delta eldcrop grower Danny Sherrell.Zylmans has neverexperienced such a smalltuber but that may be ablessing in disguise. “As a seedpotato grower, having smallertubers may actually be goodfor me as the experts aretelling growers to plant withsmaller potatoes.”“It’s unbelievable how dry itis,” Sherrell says. “If you don’thave water, you’re in trouble.”Even if you have water, itmay not help. Sherrell notesthe 45-acre eld of peas heharvested in early July yieldedless than half a tonne per acre,compared to a usual yield ofthree tonnes per acre, eventhough it was “double-irrigated.” “Even very good crops areonly yielding two tonnes peracre,” he says.Sweeney says raspberriessuered from both winterdamage going in and extremeheat during harvest. “Raspberries don’t like itover 25°C,” he says.“Production is down at least30% this year.” Sweeney also expects lowerblueberry yields although heexpects it will not drop asmuch as in raspberries orstrawberries becauseblueberry plants had time to“acclimatize” before cominginto production. Although allberries maintained theirquality, they have not beensizing up so that is also puttinga damper on overall weightand volume.While the crops suffer inthe heat, pests appear tothrive in it.“The number of SWD’s(spotted wing drosophila) inour traps are at record highs,”Sweeney notes, adding hot,dry, dusty conditions alsofavour mites.Because the spring was notonly earlier but also drier thannormal, some crops did noteven get started. Organic dairyproducer Nicholas Janssens ofSurrey plowed down a 60-acreeld of “weeds” in early July,giving up on the grain crop hewas trying to grow aftergetting “only 20%germination.” It is still too early to tellwhat eect the heat is havingon some crops.“At this point, it’s become alot about dierent areas,” saysAlexis Arthur of ThunderSeeds, one of the area’s mainforage corn seed suppliers.“Chilliwack looks hard hitbut Abbotsford elds appearto have less stress.”Although the heat hasresulted in more growth, shesays the eventual yielddepends on whether theplants had access to moistureat pollination.“This is a year when yourhigh-value crop needs a drink,”Arthur says. “If there’s nomoisture in the ground atpollination, the plant can’t llthe cob. You will have lovely,tall corn but low yield.”She adds that growers whoirrigate after pollination will bedisappointed in the results.“The plant should have hadwater for two weeks previousto pollination. The success agrower will have all comesdown to when the previousmoisture came.”by PETER MITHAMCHILLIWACK – While theprovince touts hundreds ofthousands worth ofinvestments in innovativeresearch and tens ofthousands in matching fundsfor industry promotions,farmers are telling OppositionMLAs that there’s moreVictoria could be doing tosupport the sector.During the nal session ofthe Opposition StandingCommittee for Agriculture andFood in Chilliwack in mid June,speaker after speaker toldMLAs Lana Popham, VickiHuntington and Robin Austinthat BC agriculture may not begoing away, but funding has.“Presenters came, and that’sone of the things that many ofthem made very clear to us,”Popham told Country Life in BC.“Government is makingannouncements now, basicallysaying, ‘We’re supportingagriculture more than ever,’but people on the ground inthe agriculture communityknow that it’s not true.”The budget for the BCMinistry of Agriculture haslong been a contentious pointfor the BC Fruit Growers’Association, which hashighlighted the steady declinein funding through the years.But when former presidentJeet Dukhia called for renewedfunding early last year, he wasrebued.Lowest budget in Canada“We now have the lowestbudget for agriculture in thecountry, lower even thanNewfoundland,” Dukhia toldmedia last year, noting theministry’s budget had fallenfrom between $130 millionand $140 million in the mid1990s to approximately $70million in the 2013-2014 scalyear.Then-agriculture ministerPat Pimm rejected the claim,arguing funding was closer to$80 million, up 16% over theprevious year.All well and good, but asPopham noted in a statementreleased after the committeesession, “there are realproblems, too.”“We had a presenter withyears of federal experiencedescribe the BC government’slevel of support for agricultureas one of the worst in thecountry. That’s not an enviableposition to be in,” she said.Of course, the issue isn’tnew.Speaking with Country Lifein BC a decade ago, BCMinister of Agriculture andLands Pat Bell said BC neededto redevelop agriculturalextension services.“The government hasbasically gotten out ofextension for quite sometime,” he said. “I think that isproblematic.”While recent models offunding have put the onus onindustry to match governmentfunds, Bell was sceptical that itcould either fund or deliverthose services by itself.However, he said his ownhands were tied.“I don’t have a big pot ofmoney that I can go to.”More practicalWhile advocates forfarmland preservation andmaintaining a viable sectoroften want government to domore to watch overagriculture, farmers toldPopham and her colleaguesthat their concerns are muchmore practical.Opposition committeemembers heard presentationsand calls for action onsuccession planning, smallbusiness tax credits foragriculture, herdshareprograms, a long-termprovincial agrifoods strategyand concern regarding theerosion of post-secondaryagricultural education in BC.Younger farmers alsoexpressed concern regardingbarriers to entering theindustry.This fall, having met inWilliams Lake and Courtenayprior to Chilliwack, thecommittee will move on toVancouver, Kelowna, andCranbrook before producing areport with recommendationsfor the sector this fall.The initiative is one of therst since the provinceundertook a series of openmeetings for the BCAgriculture Plan in 2007, aninitiative that established atrajectory for governmentpolicy that has yet to fullyreach its destination.The ndings of theOpposition committeepromise to serve as a check-inwith producers regarding thefruits of that labour –something Victoria itself hasn’tdone.“Giving the agriculturecommunity a chance to beheard is dangerous forgovernment, because thenyou actually need to hear thefacts,” Popham says. “They’reso thankful that there’s anopportunity to have acommittee like that, whichgovernment should beinvolved in.NDP standing committeefinds support for ag laggingwww.tractorparts4sale.caABBOTSFORD, BCBus. 604/807-2391Fax. 604/854-6708 email: sales@tractorparts4sale.caWe accept Interact, Visa and Mastercard JD 2130 2WD CAB, 3385 HRS, HYD PTO, HYD TWO SPEED, 540 PTO, TWO REMOTES ................................................................... $9,200 INTERNATIONAL 384 2WD, 3 POINT W/540 PTO, GOOD RUBBER .. 4,900INTERNATIONAL B414 2WD, INDUST LOADER, 3 POINT, 540 PTO... 5,500NH 676 MANURE SPREADER, TANDEM WALKING BEAM AXLE ......... 5,500FORD/NH TS110 4X4, CAB, LOADER, 90 PTO HP, 4500 HRS, PS, TRANS-MECH SHUTTLE, 3 REMOTES, 540-1000 PTO . 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August 2015 • Country Life in BC 32015 EXPORTS WILL BE LIMITED From page 1early August to conduct a “scientic audit” to ensurepackers are meeting their requirements for, amongother things, packaging, temporary storage andcooling. “We expect (the inspectors) to release some berriesfor shipment while they’re here,” Etsell says, butanticipates this year’s exports to China to be limited.Because the industry received the protocols solate, she believes few suppliers will be able to meetthe requirements this year. She also notes this year’sseason is so much earlier and shorter than in the past.“The Dukes are already pretty well done,” she saidin mid-July and the Bluecrop (still the main varietygrown in BC) are expected to have a much smallercrop. “Some years, we can have four to six picks o aBluecrop eld but this year most will have only threepicks.” That harvest will likely be completed by theend of August. Later varieties like Elliott and Auroracould extend into September but they represent onlya small fraction of BC plantings.As a result, Etsell expects full market access willonly begin in 2016, noting cherries also had a oneyear delay before gaining full access to China. The Chinese demand is bolstered not only byknowledge of how healthy blueberries are but thequality of berries grown in BC. The Chinese value the “romance of where we growit and how we grow it,” she adds. “It’s grown naturally;you’ve got mountains and you’ve got fresh cleanwater. Just that imagery is very important in China.”Etsell says growers are excited about theagreement and some have even been contacteddirectly from China asking for product. She notes BCis ahead of the US in accessing the Chinese market.“[Growers] know this is something good for them,”she notes.For Etsell, the biggest concern is quality. Thispressure will grow if ocean shipping is established inaddition to air.“There is a demand to ship by sea,” she notes. “Ithink it’s going to be something of the future. Someof the buyers are requesting it.”Cherry growers ship by sea and have noted Chile’spractices for ocean bound produce. Andre Bailey,president of Creston’s Global Fruit Ltd., estimatesmost cherry growers ship about 90% of their cropsoverseas and spoke about best practices at the 2015Pacic Agriculture Show. “Our concern is that we get our best quality goingthere,” Etsell says. “We can have the fruit picked in theeld and in China within 24 hours” if shipping by air.She acknowledges some varieties ship better thanothers and that the Chinese market has certainexpectations of their fruit.“They like it big and they like it sweet,” she says.“I’ve seen the quality of cherry that comes out ofBritish Columbia [for China], and how big it is… andit’s going to be no dierent for us.”Etsell feels the Chinese market could eventuallyrepresent 50 million pounds. Since that is still just a third of BC’s crop, shediscounts consumer concerns the agreement maycause a shortage of blueberries domestically. “Don’t worry,” she says. “We have enoughblueberries.”Thumbs up to China. Celebrating a historic agreement allowing fresh BC blueberries into China, June 24, werefrom left to right, Rajinder Lally of Lally Farms, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Doug Bing, BC Minister ofAgriculture Norm Letnick, Parm Bains of Westberry Farms, Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast, BCBlueberry Council executive director Debbie Etsell and president Jason Smith and Satwinder and Simran Bains ofWestberry. (David Schmidt photo)A little more. A whole lot more.Model 822IQtModel 824/240 hpModel 826IQtModel 828/280hpFor a little more than the competion, you can get a lot more tractor.Dealer NameAddress and Contact InformationFendt is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation. ª"($0$PSQPSBUJPOt'5$+#@&RVJQNFOU-JTUJOH@)BMGwww.avenuemachinery.caABBOTSFORD 1.888.283.3276KELOWNA 1.800.680.0233VERNON 1.800.551.6411Tractor Financing available:Lease at 0% interest for 36 monthsIncludes 3 years full maintenanceon parts and labour,plus 3 years full warranty coverageJOIN US ON A TOUR OF THEFENDT FACTORY &ATTEND THE WORLD FAMOUSAGRITECHNICA SHOWIN HANOVER, GERMANY. With the purchase or pre-order commitment of any new Fendt tractor fromAugust 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015, Avenue Machinery will accompany youon a trip to Germany with Agco Corporation, all expenses paid. Your trip willinclude a tour of Fendt’s tractor factory, attendance to Agritechnica, shoppingand walk-around Oberammergau, hotels, transfers, meals and much more. Contact your Avenue salesmen for details on this great opportunity to see thefuture of agriculture technologies and leave the details to us.FREE TRIPTO GERMANY!Trip scheduled forNOVEMBER 4-11, 2015.Act now to secure your seaton this fun trip!
2015 is turning out to be a year of records formany parts of BC. Record low spring rainfallcoupled with weeks of searing heat have createdwide-spread drought conditions. Temperatures onthe last weekend of June toppled records all overthe province. Kamloops set a daily record that wentback to 1896; Nanaimo broke a record from1892and Cranbrook saw the highest temperature,regardless of month since records began in 1901.Piggyback all of this onto a record low snowpackfor Vancouver Island and the South Coast and youhave critically low water levels in many streams,rivers and lakes.Irony rulesOn July 15, the provincial government declared aLevel 4 drought rating for the South Coast andLower Fraser areas. (California is currently in aprotracted Level 4 drought.) Ironically, somefarmland now experiencing drought conditions wasunder eight feet of water last December when thenow absent snowpack fell as record rainfall.Most of the prairies are in the same boat. Withthe exception of a band across southern Manitoba,south of Brandon and Winnipeg, extending into theextreme south east corner of Saskatchewan and aswath in the Alberta Peace region running parallelto the BC border, drought conditions exist. Pastureshave dried up and there is a growing resignationthat even if rains do come, it is too late to salvagecrops in many areas. Inventories adjustedThe reality of the situation is starting to showup at livestock auctions as farmers and rancherssize up their depleted feed supplies and adjusttheir inventory accordingly. Many of the animalsmoving to market are cows and heifers which willput the brakes on the anticipated beef herdexpansion. Cattle prices are still at record levelsbut increased market cattle numbers seemdestined to run hard aground on low andexpensive feed supplies. An above average corn crop in the US couldrelieve the feed shortage but given the fallingCanadian dollar, US corn will be expensive forCanadian buyers and Canadian cattle will be cheapfor American buyers. Canadian cattle feeders will have to nd moremargin if they are to buy US corn. That margin willlikely have to come from lower cattle prices. Oncethe price of US corn has worked this bit of magic,there should be considerable interest from cattlebuyers south of the border. Hay and silage is already in short supply in thedriest areas of BC. The absence of spring rainfallreduced yields on some unirrigated land by asmuch as two thirds and the possibility of a secondcut withered in the record setting heat wave. Thesame decisions prairie stockmen are making nowwill happen on many BC farms in the next fewmonths. The eect those decisions will have onrecord cattle prices remains to be seen.There is an old adage that says records are madeto be broken. A hottest day or a driest monthwouldn’t normally be a particular cause for concernbut 2015 seems destined to set a record for the yearwith the most records: smallest snowpack, leastrainfall, weeks of record temperatures, record lowlevels in lakes and rivers and, very likely, record highcosts for ghting wildres. Four years of California droughtThe troubling aspect of so many record weatherextremes is that they are happening simultaneouslyand they are part of a bigger picture. The climate ischanging (remember the oods in Alberta in Juneof 2013?) and is becoming increasinglyunpredictable. California is now into the fourth yearof drought and Lake Mead, Arizona is at its lowestlevel since 1937 (when it was lling) and is stillfalling. The US has traditionally been divided into eastand west by the 100th meridian. Average annualrainfall east of the meridian exceeds 20 inches. Tothe west, it is less than 20 inches, and the land washistorically deemed unt for farming withoutirrigation. The 100th meridian runs just west of Brandon.Let’s hope 2015 isn’t a sign of what a changingclimate has in store for us.Editor & Publisher Peter WildingPhone: 604/871-0001 • Fax: 604/871-0003E-mail: countrylifeinbc@shaw.ca • Web: countrylifeinbc.comAssociate Editor David SchmidtPhone: 604-793-9193E-mail: davidschmidt@shaw.caAdvertising Sales & Marketing Cathy GloverPhone: 604/328-3814E-mail: cathyglover@telus.netProduction Ass’t: Ann Morris • Senior Researcher: Phil “Mr Lehey” GordonCOUNTRYLifeAdvertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, that portionof the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance forsignature will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at theapplicable rate.In the event of a typographical error which advertises goods or services at a wrong price, suchgoods or services need not be sold at the advertised price. Advertising is an offer to sell, and maybe withdrawn at any time. All advertising is accepted subject to publisher’s approval.All of Country Life in British Columbia’s content is covered by Canadian copyright law.Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writer and not necessarily those ofCountry Life in British Columbia.Letters are welcome, though they may be edited in the interest of brevity before publication.All errors brought to our attention will be corrected.The agricultural news sourcein British Columbia since 1915Published monthly byCountry Life 2000 Ltd.Vol. 101 No. 7August 2015in B.C.1120 East 13th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 2M1 Publication Mail Agreement: 0399159 GST Reg. No: 86878 7375 Subscriptions: $18.90/year • $33.60/2 years • $37.80/3 yearsAll prices incl GSTRecords are made to be broken – but like this?The Back 40BOB COLLINSCountry Life in BC • August 20154“The lack of prolonged droughts during the past 150 years is an aberration,”write Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam in their book The West withoutWater: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us aboutTomorrow (University of California, 2013). “In the past two millennia, suchdroughts, some of which lasted several decades, occurred at intervals of 50 to90 years.”However, water policy in North America has typically assumed abundance,largely unchallenged in what the authors describe as the wettest century ofthe past 1,300 years. The benefits of abundant water – from cheaphydropower to irrigation to daily showers – are largely taken for granted, notonly in Ingram’s and Malamud-Roam’s home state of California but across theWest, including BC.A fourth dry year in California and declarations of severe drought in parts ofOregon, Washington State and BC have done much to raise public awarenessof the issues the West Coast faces.Yet, we continue to take water for granted, an attitude Pope Franciscondemned this summer as a kind of wilful ignorance that keeps us fromseeing the big picture.“Water continues to be wasted, not only in the developed world but also indeveloping countries which possess it in abundance,” he writes. “There is littleawareness of the seriousness of such behaviour.”Higher food prices are one consequence we’ll all face.But is anyone listening to the warnings?Metro Vancouver reservoir levels dropped to record low levels through Julyas Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson flew off to discuss environmentalissues with the pope.Meanwhile, more than a hundred new wildfires erupted that same week,the consequence of forests dry enough to be reckoned kindling by lightning,careless smokers and campers.Victoria has been largely powerless to stop the flames, which havedisrupted farming operations and threatened ranchers and fruit growers.Premier Christy Clark has gone so far as to blame the faceless boogeyman ofclimate change for the woes, as good an admission as any that she can’t stoplightning, conjure rain or make every BC resident follow best environmentalpractices.But she was quick to bow to public concern over corporate access togroundwater, pledging to review the licensing rates large corporate users willbegin paying next year to tap the province’s aquifers. Any changes, of course,stand to impact farmers who rely on groundwater for irrigation, often ingreater quantities than any bottling plant requires.Yet no one really knows how much groundwater exists in the province,making it impossible to price licenses accurately. Meanwhile, surface water – a visible resource easier to monitor thangroundwater – is in short supply in many areas of the province. Once again,bureaucrats have been unable to indicate when they might limit access forirrigation, even though agriculture minister Norm Letnick said this option is onthe table and farmers – who can see stream levels falling and hear the cries ofconservationists – are getting anxious.Rather than bowing to popular fears regarding water supplies, the provinceneeds to show leadership in order to navigate what – regardless of cause – isshaping up to be one of the driest seasons in the province’s history.It needs to tell farmers what to expect in dry years, and take steps to ensurefarms have the water needed to produce food which other regions may notbe able to supply.Blaming climate change isn’t good enough; without water, we’re strandedup a very rocky creek.Dry times ahead
Jeff Rubin, the former chiefeconomist for CIBC WorldMarkets turned bestsellingauthor, knows all aboutadaptation.His first book, Why YourWorld Is About To Get A WholeLot Smaller, grabbedinternational attention withpredictions that world oilprices would climb to morethan $200 a barrel by 2012,forcing a rethink of almostevery economic driver inindustrialized nations.Well, that didn’t happen.On the contrary, oil priceshave dropped soprecipitously that furtherdevelopment of Canada’scontroversial oilsands, onwhich the Harpergovernment has staked thiscountry’s economic growth,makes questionable sense.Pressing needBut far from suffering acrisis in confidence in hiscrystal ball gazing abilities,Rubin’s latest book, TheCarbon Bubble, takes a sharpturn. He predicts a pressingneed to address climatechange will drive worldpowers to reduce carbonenergy consumption toavoid the catastrophiceffects of rising sea levels,droughts and volatileweather.Instead of reducedconsumption driven by cost,there will now be reducedconsumption driven bygovernments and industryembracing the climatechange imperative, coupledwith the rising efficiency ofgreen energy alternatives.“Carbon budget”In order to avoidexceeding the 2° C thresholdin global temperatureincrease theIntergovernmental Panel onClimate Change says wouldoverwhelm the globalcommunity’s capacity toadjust, the globe’s “carbonbudget” must not exceed2,900 gigatonnes of CO2emissions. The clock on thatstarted ticking at the dawn ofthe Industrial Revolution 250years ago. To date, the worldhas emitted about 1,900 GTof CO2, leaving room forabout 1,000 GT.Human-made emissionsare currently running atabout 37 GT a year, whichleaves 27 years before wereach that carbon threshold.Rubin suggests we can buytime, perhaps doubling thetime frame, if carbonemissions were cut in half.But at this point, the world’scarbon emissions areaccelerating, which puts uson a rather discouragingtrajectory.“If emissions keep growingat their current pace, we areon target for ... a nearly 4° risein average globaltemperature,” he says. “Weshould be moving as fast aswe can towards a carbon-freefuture.”Governments do right thing?Rubin’s hypothesis is thateventually governments willchoose to do the right thingand there will be a quantumincrease in use of carbon-freefuels.Where does that leaveCanada, which has staked itseconomic future onbecoming an energysuperpower in the traditionalsense? In a word, behind.This is where the CarbonBubble gets interesting froma farmer’s perspective. Rubincites NASA data mapping outhow a 2° C to 4° C rise inaverage global temperaturewould affect the planet’ssurface.Canadian hot spotsWestern Canada is one ofthe “hot spots,” a region thatcould see as much as a 100%change in its ecosystem.Average temperatures havealready risen at roughlydouble the global averageover the past 50 years, andthat is expected to continueor accelerate.“That prospect, coupledwith Canada’s abundantfreshwater supply, makes itan ideal candidate to becomeone of the world’s futurebreadbaskets,” Rubin says. “Infact, Canada is one of onlyfive out of 163 countries thathave all the requisitecharacteristics to significantlyboost agriculturalproduction.”The Prairies should see alonger growing season andmore heat units, whichexplains why major seed-producing companies areviewing the region as thenew Corn Belt for NorthAmerica.He sees that as a doublewin for producers – addingvalue to their production aswell as setting the stage for asharp increase in farmlandvalues.And there’s more. “Risingtemperatures and droughtshould reduce corn yieldsand hence production in theUS Midwest, with some primegrowing areas becomingunsuitable for corncultivation.Windfall for PrairiesAny reduction in the USsupply would put upwardpressure on prices, creatingan even bigger windfall forPrairie producers. UnderRubin’s scenario, the BC wineindustry will enjoy a similartransition.In his view, water exportedas food will be a morevaluable contributor to theCanadian economy thancarbon-based fuels in thefuture, a hypothesis thatappears supported by thelong-standing drought inCalifornia. He also notes thatfood prices – althoughvolatile – have notplummeted in the sameInvestors should put food high on their shopping listChanging weather patterns could make agriculture a bigger economic driver than energyAugust 2015 • Country Life in BC 5ViewpointLAURA RANCEfashion as othercommodities. “If you want toinvest in a sector with pricingpower, food should be highon your shopping list,” Rubinsays.Rubin says Canada standsa higher chance of becomingan agricultural superpowerthan it ever had of becomingan energy superpower.But before you take outthat loan to buy morefarmland, remember, he’sbeen wrong before. And hisoutlook is based on worldleadership workingcohesively to reduce theworld’s greenhouse gascontributions – a propositionthat is completely at oddswith Canada’s nationaleconomic strategy.Laura Rance is editor ofManitoba Co-operatorIAIN SUTHERLAND, P.AgAGRICULTURE MANAGER604-504-4978604-751-0292iain.sutherland@bmo.comSTEVE SACCOMANOSENIOR AGRICULTURE MANAGER604-504-4976604-703-5161steve.saccomano@bmo.comLANA DUECKDIRECTOR OFAGRICULTURAL MARKETS604-504-4980lana.dueck@bmo.comLYNN LASHUK, P.AgMANAGERAGRICULTURE250-979-7827lynn.lashuk@bmo.comABBOTSFORDRandy Lam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-504-4626Rick Tilitzky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-504-4970Satpal Gill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-504-4975Trish Booy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-504-4647James Wieler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-504-4635CHILLIWACKBrian Schurmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-793-7256David Fuerst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-793-7274CLOVERDALEIgor Koblizka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-574-6885John Howard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-574-6855COURTENAYCaroline Neumann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-703-5330DUNCANRyan Wettlaufer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-715-2705HANEY / PITT MEADOWSAngie Edmonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-466-3551NORTH OKANAGANTeri Kopp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-838-5820KELOWNAShelley Holitzki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-979-1078CRESTON / CRANBROOKChristine Dayman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-426-1179PRINCE GEORGE / NORTHAnte Cirko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-612-3030QUESNEL Robin Madison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-565-8699WILLIAMS LAKEDarlene Campbell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-305-6828Financing the future of agriculture. We’re here to help.Join us MONDAY AUGUST 24 at Westwood Plateaufor the 7th annual BMO SACCOMANIACSCHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT forPacific Autism Family CentreDowntown Realty4007 - 32nd Street, Vernon, BC V1T 5P2Toll Free: 1-800-434-9122www.royallegpage.caPAT DUGGANFarm | Ranch | ResidentialBus: 250/545-5371 (24 hr) Cell: 250/308-0938email: patduggan@royallepage.ca“Farmers helping farmers with their real estate needs”www.OkLandBuyers.caBUILD YOUR DREAM HOME!95 acres of farmland w/approx half mile of Shuswap River frontage at south end ofMara Lake. This park-like property awaits your dream home. Large open fields withtreed areas, easy access to the sandy river shore. Great recreation property at afraction of the cost of lake front property. Rent out the farmland and enjoy thebeach. Elevations surveyed for potential building sites. MLS® 10095416 $798,000
Country Life in BC • August 20156Site C court challenges persistOpponents to controversial Peace dam call projectunnecessary; Bullock says it’s a “sin against humanity”by PETER MITHAMFORT ST JOHN – The province is set tosacrice 31,500 acres of farmland in the PeaceRiver Valley with its granting BC Hydroauthorization in early July for construction ofthe controversial Site C project near Fort StJohn.Decision makers reporting to Forests, Landsand Natural Resource Operations ministerSteve Thomson, former executive director ofthe BC Agriculture Council, approved 24authorizations under various statutes on July 7,the rst wave of multiple authorizations the$8.8-billion project will require.But the authorizations aren’t dauntingopponents, who continue to ght a project theprovince groomed for success throughmodications to the required assessmentprocesses.“There’s a lot of good things happeningnow, in our perspective,” says Ken Boon, a graingrower at Bear Flat just west of Fort St John andpresident of the Peace Valley LandownerAssociation (PVLA).The primary one for Boon is MetroVancouver’s call for a two-year moratorium onconstruction of the dam, issued just four daysbefore the authorizations. The project is alsothe subject of a PVLA petition, which comesbefore Federal Court in Vancouver the week ofJuly 20. The court will hear two other actionsthat week that First Nations in BC and Albertahave launched regarding the project.BC Supreme Court dismissed a PVLAchallenge of the project on July 2 but it has veother judgments to le on actions opponentshave launched, including one from Treaty 8First Nations.And of course, Boon isn’t ruling out anappeal of the dismissal of his own group’s case.“We still have the option to appeal and wemay do so. We’re looking at our options,” hesays.While Boon acknowledges government hasevery right to proceed with the project, hedoesn’t believe it’s won a mandate from thepublic to do so. The number of lawsuits, andthe potential for endless appeals, also makes itunwise (in his opinion) for the project toproceed.“It’s basically in the premier’s lap right nowto make the right move but if the governmentdecides not to, I’m sure there’ll be more[lawsuits] coming at them,” he says. “I totallyunderstand that it is totally legal for thegovernment to start construction because theydo actually have an environmental assessmentcerticate for the project. But is it wise to? Byno means.”Opponents claim the project is unnecessary.While the government touts its ability togenerate sucient power for a half-millionhomes, a 2007 report for BC Hydro suggeststhat conservation measures would free upsucient power to meet demand.The joint panel charged with reviewing theproject came to a similar conclusion.“The panel concludes that the proponenthas not fully demonstrated the need for theproject on the timetable set forth,” its reportsaid.However, the power is integral to PremierChristy Clark’s vision for a liqueed natural gassector in the province – a claim thatproponents of alternative energy projects inthe region reject.Site C “is a project that belongs in the lastcentury” and is “too little, too late,” saysJuergen Puetter, president and CEO of Victoria-based Aeolis Wind Power Corp., which has hadto defer some of the dozen wind energyprojects it has planned for the Peace.Energy vs foodAnd while the project is touted asgenerating power for a half-million homes, theland it’s taking out of production has thepotential to supply just as many with food.That point led Richard Bullock, terminated aschair of the province’s Agricultural LandCommission in May, to describe the plannedooding of farmland for the dam a “sin againsthumanity.”Boon’s situation puts a face on the sin’simpact.“If Site C went ahead, the eld that we justnished baling up yesterday would be under100 feet of water,” he told Country Life in BC inearly July.Also aected would be 40 acres he plantedto oats this year and an 18-acre tract he leasesto a market gardener. A campground he runs,his home – in short, every aspect of his life – willbe disrupted by the dam project.It’s making him as adamant as those aectedby dams built under the 50-year old ColumbiaRiver Treaty were to ght the project. While thelawsuits may buy opponents time, the prepwork authorized in July will serve as a reminderof what lies ahead.“It doesn’t matter who wins; there’s going tobe appeals and it’s going to drag on,” Boonsays of the court challenges. “I think they’re ayear away or more from getting into anythingthat’s going to aect landowners or farmland.”The eld that Arleneand Ken Boon baledlast month would beunder 100 feet ofwater once thereservoir for the Site Cdam is in place.(Photo courtesy ofcommonsensecanadian.ca){£äÊ£ÌÊ-ÌÀiiÌ]ÊÞ`i]Ê7ÊnÓÈ{ÊÊUÊÊwww.FarmersEquip.com888-855-4981Tractors You Can Rely OnBrush CutterRototillerFinish MowerSpray Tank with Spray Bar & WandOffers end 8/31/15; taxes, freight, setup and delivery charges may increase the overall price of a machine. 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August 2015 • Country Life in BC 7Farm marketer in trainingHay now!! There’s something about a eld full of neatly lined bales that inspires creativity in young minds.In this case, Janel van Dongen suggested to her uncle, Ross Springford of Springford Farm in Nanoose Bay,that she and her family could re-arrange his hay bales to spell out the words “Springford Farm” as a way topromote the on-farm store. She later shortened it to simply FARM after realizing just how many bales wouldbe required to spell out the full name! (Peter van Dongen photo)by PETER MITHAMDELTA – Plans to power a LNG (liqueed naturalgas) project in Delta have galvanized opposition tothe potential loss of another slice of farmland in oneof the province’s most fertile agriculturalcommunities.The power arm of FortisBC has approachedlandowners in Delta regarding the alignment of aright-of-way for a 230 kilovolt transmission line thatwould run approximately 7.5 kilometres from a BCHydro substation to the company’s natural gasfacility in the Tilbury industrial area.Other farms carved up, tooBut to do so, it would need to run across severalfarm properties, many of which were also carved upby construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road.“It would have signicant impact on many of ouroperations,” says Nancy Chong, who growsblueberries on a 65-acre parcel where Fortis wantsto access a 10-acre strip.The proposed alignment of the power line followsthe expropriation of a ve-acre slice for the SouthFraser Perimeter Road. Two other expropriations inher father’s lifetime bring the total lost over the pastcentury to 84 acres.“A lot of us were already impacted by the SouthFraser Perimeter Road and that hasn’t been resolvedyet, and now we’re going to be possibly impactedagain – on the same piece of property,” she says.“I’m still trying to recover from the SFPR taking and ifFortis goes through our farm, I’ve lost yields, I’ve lostplants, I’ve lost land – one thing after another.”Delta farmersraise red flagover Fortis plansPlease see “MISCOMMUNICATION” page 9Energy giant wants to run 230 kilovolttransmission line through several farmswww.caliberequipment.caCALIBER EQUIPMENT LTD.34511 VYE RD . ABBOTSFORD604/864-2273CLAAS VOLTOTeddersSTORE HOURSMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8-5SATURDAY, 8-12Closed SundaysTRACTORSJD 8320 TRACTOR MFD WITH DUALS, POWERSHIFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALL FOR DETAILSTILLAGEIH 470 18' DISK HARROW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,500JD 1750 PLANTER 6 ROW WITH LIQUID FERT. AND CHEMICAL BOXES . . . . . . . . . 27,500JOHN DEERE 3600 PLOW, 5 BOTTOM, DRAWBAR PULL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,100HAY TOOLSCLAAS 75T TEDDER 6 BASKET 24.5’, EXCELLENT CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,900CLAAS 870T TEDDER 28.5’ HYD. FOLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALL FOR DETAILSCLAAS 8700 SELF PROPELLED MOWER TRIPLE DECK MOWER . . . . . CALL FOR DETAILSCLAAS PU300HD 10’ PICKUP, EXCELLENT CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,800CLAAS PU300HD 10' GRASS PICKUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8,900FELLA 4000 4 BASKET ROTARY RAKE, 40’ RAKING WIDTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29,900NH 315 SMALL SQUARE BALER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALL FOR DETAILSPZ FANEX 730 6 BASKET 24’ TEDDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,900New MAX SPREAD spreading concept on Volto Tedders
Country Life in BC • August 20158Neither Can This Box This box contains 100% premium B.C. beef and features all of the *essential data elements needed to support Meadow Valley Meat’s strong commitment to product traceability and food safety. This box also offers Peace of mind. That’s because its contents are backed by a fully implemented traceability system that enables Allan and his team to quickly and accurately capture the movement of every product they pur-chase, process, package and sell with little more than a click of a button. Cost-shared funding provided by the Growing Forward 2 Traceability Adoption Program (TAP) helped fund components of this system. Of course, behind every winning box stands a human champion. Allan, on behalf of backyard BBQ lovers everywhere, thank you for your commit-ment to local agriculture, food safety and traceability. You are a #TraceabilityChampion. * Essential data elements vary according to business type & product sold. Self-assess the traceability of your operation for free at ARDCorp.ca Allan Les #TraceabilityChampion Meadow Valley Meats Ralph Van Dalfsen #EFPChampion Trinity Dairies Ltd. Visit ARDCorp.ca Are you the best you can be? Find out at ARDCorp.ca Improvement funding is available to address on-farm food safety, traceability improvements & environmental risks. This Smile Can’t Hide...This Smile Can’t Hide...This Smile Can’t Hide... Ralph reduced his water use.Ralph reduced his water use.No Charge | Confidential | No ObligationNo Charge | Confidential | No ObligationRalph Van DalfsenProud BC Dairy FarmerEnderby, BCRalph Van DalfsenProud BC Dairy FarmerEnderby, BCAre you the best you can be?Improvement funding is available to identify and addresson-farm food safety, tracebability and environmental risk.Allan LesMeadow Valley MeatsChilliwack, BCYou’re looking at a champion.Allan's box is a winner. It won an award for best box design in2014. Moreover, it contains 100% premium B.C. beef and features all of the *essential data elements needed to supportMeadow Valley Meats' strong commitment to product traceabilityand food safety. The data on this box is backed by a fully implemented traceability system, components of which were purchased with cost shared funding provided by GrowingForward 2 as part of the Traceability Adoption Program (TAP). Of course, behind every winning box stands a human champion.Allan, thank-you for your commitment to local agriculture, foodsafety and traceability.* Essential data elements vary according to business type & product sold. Self-assess the traceability of your operation for free at ARDCorp.caFunding for the above programs is provided by Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 9The water table in Delta is akey issue underlying manyfarmers’ concerns.Drainage issues becameworse following the highwayconstruction when anirrigation channel – intendedas compensation for theeects of the highway – wasbuilt that allowed seepage.This raised the water table,rather than channellingmoisture.“It was never perfect in therst place, but now they’vereally done a number on it,”Chong says. “Water is seepingthrough to my plants andkilling my plants. I reallyquestion whether we’ll stayviable.”Stray voltageStray voltage is the issue atthe Hamming dairy farm,which has a milking herd of200 cows and had to ght BCHydro to x the damage donewhen a new power line wasput through to service theexpanding Tilbury industrialarea in 2000.“The voltage actually runsthrough the water table,”Perry Hamming explains.“[And] with that much powerrunning by, not that far o theback of our barns (and ourbarns are all metal) … we’reconcerned that we’ll end upwith stray voltage.”The fertility andproductivity of the herdsuered 15 years ago, andHamming wants to avoid arepeat.“If they go down 72nd(Street), there’s already apower line right of way, andDelta has also oered themanother way around by RiverRoad. So we’re asking [Fortis]to consider a dierent way.”Hamming, like Chong, sawhis family’s farm reduced bythe South Fraser PerimeterRoad and if Fortis puts its linethrough it could be left withjust 82 acres rather than the96 it had a decade ago.Delta Farmers Institute (DFI)is aware of the issue andadvocating on behalf ofmembers, requesting a federalimpact assessment.However, the federalgovernment is deferring tothe province.Offsetting interestsGovernment’s lack ofleadership – especially indefence of agriculture, asector the province proudlyshowcases in export markets –infuriates Chong, who sayssuccessful sectors shouldn’thave to ght against eachanother to do business.“We have nothing againstLNG, but what they’reproposing to do shouldn’t beat the expense of agriculture,”MISCOMMUNICATION From page 7she says. “It’s one businessagainst another and we’re theones that get hit.”No confirmed need nowTrevor Boudreau, aspokesperson for FortisBC,appreciates growers’ concernsbut notes that there’s noconrmed need for the powerline at this point.While landowners wereapproached via mail in earlyMay and one consultationsession has been held,consultations remain in thepreliminary phase and anapplication to expand theTilbury plant to serve exportmarkets hasn’t yet been led.“Right now, we’re justhaving some very, very earlyconversations with locallandowners,” Boudreau says.“We miscommunicated somestu to local farmers aboutwhere we are in the project,[but] we haven’t made adecision on any furtherinvestments or expansion.”Regulators need to approveThe expansion plans hingeon approval from HawaiiElectric Co., which is lookingto natural gas to fuel its diesel-burning power stations.Ideally, this would occur by2019, but regulators both inHawaii and BC need toapprove the plans.In the meantime, Fortis islaying the groundwork so itcan take advantage of anyconrmed opportunity. “We have identied apotential route and we wantto start talking to peopleabout their thoughts on that,”Boudreau says, adding, “We’veheard some pretty resounding‘no’s, particularly from acouple of farmers. Now we’retaking all that feedback backand we’re looking at potentialother routes that will decreaselandowner impacts.”Hamming, for his part, saysFortis “seemed responsive” inits meeting with landowners,but Chong is more skeptical.“One of the guys called …to say that they are looking atother options but nopromises,” she says. “I’llbelieve it when I see it.”Seal of approvalFraser Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart and agriculture minister Norm Letnick, at left, were on hand topresent a cheque for $87,000 to BC 4-H executive director Kevin Rothwell (to the right of horsewith white hat) during a stop at the Nicola Ranch near Merritt in July. The province has signed anew ten-year memorandum of understanding with BC 4-H to help engage youth with careers inagriculture. (Photo courtesy of BC 4-H)The New Holland FP230 and FP240 forage harvesters provide best-in-class capacity and chop quality –that’s a SMART value for your dollar. A rugged 1000-rpm driveline matches today’s high horsepower tractors—up to 250 hp for the FP230, and up to 300 hp for the FP240. The massive 12-knife cutterhead swallows the biggest windrows or heavy tonnage corn crop while producing a uniform length of cut-from 3/16”, to 1-5/16” (with 4 knives). Many more New Holland features improve your productivity. BIG CAPACITY, UNIFORM CHOP.© 2014 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates.• Easy knife sharpening and shearbar setting adjustment• Optional CropPro™ on-board crop processor improves feed digestibility while saving time and additional expense• Metalert® III metal detector protects your livestock and your machine (standard on the FP240, optional on the FP230)MachineryLimitedROLLINSRCHILLIWACK • 1.800.242.9737 | 44725 Yale Road West • 604.792.1301LANGLEY • 1.800.665.9060 | 21869 - 56th Avenue • 604.533.0048
Country Life in BC • August 201510Opponents allegeduplicity over gov’tforestation activitiesby PETER MITHAMVANDERHOOF – Ranchersin northern BC aredemanding greaterprotection for BC farmlanddespite a pledge by a UKconglomerate to ceaseplanting trees on protectedagricultural land as part of acarbon oset program.Defenders claim propertiesReckitt Benckiser Group hasacquired for tree planting aremarginal tracts that had failedto nd buyers, but that missesthe point says Jerry Petersen,a rancher in Vanderhoof whoalso serves as local areadirector for the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District.“When this land is takenout of agriculture, it hurts oureconomy,” he told CountryLife in BC, noting that evenmarginal land can beused for forageproduction. “Theproduction of hay inour area supplies feedfor the livestock; theless amount of feedyou’ve got, the lesslivestock can be raisedin the area.”Approximately 50people from FraserLake to Quesnel,including Petersen,attended a publicmeeting in PrinceGeorge on June 26 todiscuss the impacts ofReckitt Benckiser’sforestation activities.The companyproduces a range ofconsumer goods from Durexcondoms to French’s mustard.With predictions of hay shortages, a carbon oset initiative by a foreign corporation to plant trees on“marginal” land in the ALR continues to infuriate ranchers and opposition leaders. (Liz Twan le photo)Trees for Change aims toplant 10 million trees at sitesaround the world to oset theenvironmental impacts of itsactivities.7 million treesIt claims to have plantedmore than seven million treesto date under the programbut the scale of its activities inBC received little attentionuntil earlier this year whenreports began surfacing thatthe company was outbiddingfarmers for parcels and NDPagriculture critic LanaPopham took up the cause.The province’s agricultureministry initially downplayedthe concerns, noting treeplanting for carbon osetsrequired registering a long-term covenant on parcels andsuch covenants required theapproval of the province’sAgriculture Land Commission.Such approvals hadn’t beensought and ministry staestimated that a mere 1,500hectares of the 4.7 millionhectares within theAgricultural Land Reserve hadbeen planted to trees.BC agriculture ministerNorm Letnick subsequentlytold Country Life in BC that anew sta estimate put theactual gure at closer to10,000 hectares, though eventhis gure varied in mediareports. Regardless, few of theplantings had receivedapproval from the landcommission and none ofthose Reckitt Benckiserinitiated as part of Trees forChange.The attention garnered bythe heightened scrutiny andensuing discussions with theprovince led Reckitt Benckiserto announce in late June thatit would review its forestationpractices in BC.No new land purchase offers“[Reckitt Benckiser] is in theprocess of reviewing theirTrees for Change Programmeto ensure that it is meeting itsobjectives and to buildsupport with localcommunities andstakeholders,” Letnick said ina statement expressingappreciation for the move. “Iam especially pleased to hearthat in conducting theirreview, they will not make anynew oers to purchase landnor will they prepare existinglands, buy seed or plant newtrees.”Petersen isn’t putting muchstock in the pledge.“That doesn’t really meananything,” he says. “Backabout ve years ago, whenthey rst purchased land inthe regional district, webecame concerned. TheMatsqui Ag-RepairAbbotsford, BC604-826-3281Noble Tractor & EquipmentArmstrong, BC250-546-3141Noble Tractor & EquipmentKamloops, BC250-851-3101Huber Farm EquipmentPrince George, BC250-560-5431KuhnNor thAmerica.comGF 102 / GF 1002 SERIES ROTARY TEDDERSr'ZENWUKXG&KIK&TKXG®EQWRNGTURTQXKFGNQYOCKPVGPCPEGCPFNQPINKHGr4GFWEGFT[KPIVKOGYKVJCU[OOGVTKECNVKPGUCPFUVGGRRKVEJCPINGUr*[FTCWNKEHQNFKPIHQTGCU[VTCPURQTVCVKQPDGVYGGPYQTMCPFHKGNFr/WNVKRNGQRVKQPUCPFCFLWUVOGPVUCNNQYHQTVGFFKPIKPXCTKQWUETQREQPFKVKQPUOQFGNUHTQOsVGFFKPIYKFVJU+08'56+037#.+6;®DRY WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHTSee “MORATORIUM” page 11“We depend on Californiaand Mexico and elsewhere fora lot of our food. And that canstop overnight. Theyʼre notgoing to send food to us if theyneed it. And with the droughtand weather changes, thosetrucks could stop rolling toBritish Columbia.”Vanderhoof rancher Jerry Petersen
MORATORIUM From page 10August 2015 • Country Life in BC 11Livestock driving fresh investment in BC agby PETER MITHAMVANCOUVER – Statistics Canada hasrevamped and released its annual surveyof capital expenditures by public andprivate corporations in Canada, andagriculture investment continues totrend north in BC.Capital spending by farm businesseswill rise for the fourth straight year,following a dip in 2011 on the heels ofthe nancial crisis. While investmentplateaued in the aftermath of therecession, it has now recovered its mojoand will reach $248.7 million in 2015.The tally represents investment in newbuildings, equipment and machinery,and excludes spending on repairs, whichtypically add an additional $150 millionannually to expenditures.Spending in 2015 will benet fromincreased investment by livestockoperators, which are forecast to spend$143.5 million – up from an estimated$134.2 million in 2014.Many livestock operations benetfrom supply management, includingpoultry, which has seen farmers investsignicantly in new construction over thepast year. Crop producers, meanwhile, arescaling back investment from theestimated $109.6 million spent in 2014 to$105.2 million this year.The decline is the rst in ve years fornon-livestock producers, which haveinvested steadily in their operations sincethe recession while animal producerslanguished. Greenhouses for vegetablesand development in the Peace Riverregion were largely responsible forinvestments in crop operations.However, the overall upswing ininvestment reects the solid state of BCfarm economy.Agriculture and Agri-food Canadaanalysts forecast the market receipts ofBC farms to top $3 billion this year. Thiswww.hlaattachents.com1.866.567.4162Ideal for high speed tractors our new line of ROAD FLEXrunning gear use suspension blocks to help eliminate bumps and vibrations when traveling down the road or through the field. ROAD FLEX suspension not only reduces the stress from towing heavy loads but also provides increased stabilityto Horst wagons. In addition Road Flex suspension providesindependent four wheel suspension which eliminates the need for rocking bolsters. SMOOTH TRAVEL ROAD FLEX WAGONSThe HLA High-Dump Bucket increases the limited reach of skid loaders providing up to 48 inches of dump-out height. Making the HLA High-Dump Bucket the ideal tool for loading TMR mixers and manure spreaders.By moving our hydraulics to the outside of the bucket we’ve made them easier to service. This also provides a flat bottom inside the bucket to allow easy clean-out and all without having to sacrifice capacity.regional district actually calledtheir head oce in Englandand asked them what theirintentions were and whatthey were planning on doing.And they said they weren’tplanning on expanding at allanymore; that what they’ddone was it. And that was veyears ago. So I don’t put muchweight in the moratorium.”Limit foreign ownershipPetersen hopes a privatemember’s bill Popham putbefore the legislature torestrict the practice and limitthe amount of farmlandforeigners can buy willprompt Victoria to helptighten controls. (Letnick hastold Country Life in BC thatland commissioners already“have the tools, withcompliance and enforcement,to take action if they sowish.”)However, the fundamentalissue for Petersen is theprovince’s willingness toprioritize agriculture onagricultural land. He believes tree plantingshould be done on landdeforested by logging, themountain pine beetle and re(which has consumed 1.5million hectares in the pastve years); however, hedoesn’t put much stock inforestation for carbonsequestration, citing a reportregional district sta preparedciting its ineectiveness.“It just doesn’t show thatthis has any eect ongreenhouse gasses,” he says.“The whole program is a farcebecause it just isn’t doingwhat they say it’s doing.”Forage strategy lackingCultivating land reaps theprovince more benets, hesays, especially as the WestCoast faces a drought ofhistoric proportions. While theprovince lacks a foragestrategy, that doesn’t meanland isn’t needed to supporthay production for BClivestock and the livelihoodsof the farmers who tendthem.While the Fraser Valley isthe province’s salad bowl, thegrasslands of the Interiornourish the cattle that yieldburgers and steaks that goalong with those greens.“We depend on Californiaand Mexico and elsewhere fora lot of our food. And that canstop overnight,” Petersensays. “They’re not going tosend food to us if they needit. And with the drought andweather changes, those truckscould stop rolling to BritishColumbia. We’ve got to takeall this into consideration andprotect our farmland andpromote agriculture.”New capital investment in B.C. farms2006-2015 ($ millions)Year Crops Livestock Total2006 67.1 84.7 151.82007 77.5 139.8 217.32008 79.1 142.6 221.72009 93.3 140.1 233.42010 93.3 140.1 233.42011 96.2 129.3 225.52012 102.7 127.4 230.12013 108.0 123.6 231.620141109.6 134.2 243.820152105.2 143.5 248.71preliminary 2forecastSource: Statistics Canadapromises to put total net income back inthe black after two years of red ink,putting growers in a stronger position forfresh investment.
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already audited over 20 farms.His ndings are reported toboth the BCMMB board andthe Animal Welfare InspectionReview committee, whichincludes a UBC animal welfareprofessor and the BCMA chiefveterinarian. If deciencies arefound, the board will requireon-farm improvements tomeet the code and conductfollow-up inspections until allissues are resolved. Producers found to be non-compliant will be ineligible toreceive the milk quality bonus,buy or sell quota, participatein a credit transfer, receiveincentive days or a generalallotment of new quota.Ingratta says the board wouldalso notify the SPCA “if there(is) a situation of severe non-compliance or suspectedanimal cruelty.”He notes the board plans tocombine its program with theproAction Initiative when it isready to implement.The BCMMB has alsocreated an Animal WelfarePolicy Working Group whichincludes representatives ofBCMA, SPCA, UBC, BCDA andthe BC Dairy Council(processors). August 2015 • Country Life in BC 13by DAVID SCHMIDTSURREY – The NationalCode of Practice for the Careand Handling of Dairy Cattle(Dairy Code) has beenmandatory on BC dairy farmssince October but now it hasthe force of law behind it.BC agriculture ministerNorm Letnick announced thegovernment’s action at the BCSPCA Surrey branch, July 8.Giving the Dairy Code theforce of law gives the BC SPCAthe ability to recommendcharges under the act. Aconviction could result in ane of up to $75,000 and upto two years in jail.“BC now has the toughestpenalties in Canada,” Letnicksays. BC SPCA chief preventionand enforcement ocerMarcie Moriarty called thegovernment action “a dreamcome true,” saying “the bestresponse” has come out of“the worst behavior.”That was documented in aMercy For Animals video ofanimal abuse at ChilliwackCattle, released in June 2014.The BC SPCA hasrecommended charges ofanimal cruelty against theeight people identied in thevideo (who were immediatelyred) but no charges have yetbeen laid in that case.BC Dairy Associationexecutive director Dave Etosays the industry has workedclosely with the BC Ministry ofAgriculture (BCMA), the SPCA,Dairy Farmers of Canada(DFC), the BC Milk MarketingBoard (BCMMB) andproducers over the past yearto implement the dairy code.“The BCMA has beensupportive, patient andpersistent,” he said.proAction adoptedLess than a week later attheir annual meeting inVancouver, DFC ociallyadopted their proActionInitiative (PAI). Animal welfare,as dened by the Dairy Code,will be the rst of the fourremaining PAI components(which also includetraceability, biosecurity andenvironmental standards) tobe rolled out across thecountry. “Dairy farmers areinnovative and forward-looking,” says DFC presidentWally Smith, a VancouverIsland dairyman. “They realizethere is a need to address themodern-day consumers whohave expectations about howtheir food is produced. WithproAction, farmers areproactively demonstratingthat they share the samevalues as consumers and theyrespect high standards forquality, with care for animalsand environment.”Based in large part onresearch conducted at theUniversity of BC DairyEducation and ResearchCentre, the Dairy Codeoutlines standards of care andpractices for owners andemployees on dairy farmsacross Canada. It denesaccepted managementpractices for animal handling,feed and water, housing,health and welfaremanagement, and husbandry.“Judges now havestandards they can look at”when assessing cases ofcruelty towards dairy animals,”Letnick notes, adding heexpects the dairy code to “setthe groundwork” for theadoption of codes of practicein other animal agriculturesectors. The BCMMB neither waitedfor the government to adoptthe code nor for DFC toapprove PAI before taking itsown action.“The code has beenmandatory in our milkregulation since last fall,”BCMMB executive directorBob Ingratta says, “and wehave been auditing producerssince March.”There are three types ofaudits: complaint-driven, risk-based farm inspections, andrandom. By the end of June,an independent inspector hadSunninghill Holsteins in Grindrod oers a rare sight in today’s dairybarns: a young calf suckling its mother. (David Schmidt photo)Dairy code now enforcibleSurge in organic milk demandprompts new quota exchangeby DAVID SCHMIDTABBOTSFORD – Not only is the demand fororganic milk continuing to increaseexponentially but the BC Milk Marketing Boardhas now given its rst sign that organic milkproduction is coming of age in this province.BCMMB executive director Bob Ingrattareports the organic industry grew by 20.2% inthe 2013-14 dairy year and that growth showsno signs of stopping.In the 2014-15 dairy year, set to end July 31,the board oered quarterly “sleeves” of 8 to12%. The sleeves give organic milk producersthe opportunity to exceed their quotaallocation in any given quarter up to theamount of the sleeve. A producer may,however, only participate in a sleeve to thepercentage of the sleeve they produced in theprevious quarter, i.e., if they produced 97% oftheir sleeve in one quarter, they would beallowed to produce 97% of the next quarter’ssleeve. They must also indicate their intent inwriting before a quarter begins.In June, the board announced a dramaticjump in the size of the sleeve for the rstquarter of 2015-16. From August 1 to October31, organic producers may exceed their quotaby up to 23%, subject to the conditions notedabove. This is the second largest sleeve theboard has ever oered and may be too largefor most producers to ll.The large sleeve is the result of bothincreased demand and one or two producerschoosing to exit the industry. That has resultedin the board’s rst-ever organic quotaexchange, August 7. Certied organicproducers have until August 4 to submit bidsfor any or all of the 12.65 kg per day of specialtyCDQ (organic continuous daily quota) available.The initial price has been set at $44,000 perkg. If all available quota has not been bid for onany exchange, it will be cancelled and rerun atsuccessively lower prices.“Our starting price is the same as it is now onthe conventional quota exchange but we havestressed to the seller that we have no idea whatorganic quota will sell for as this is our rst everorganic quota exchange,” Ingratta says.The board is also looking for additionalorganic producers and inviting existingconventional producers to add their name tothe Organic Expression of Interest List. Producerswho are accepted and successfully make thetransition to certied organic production willreceive a 20% one-time incentive quota (to amaximum of 13.7 kg per day).Ingratta notes that while organic milkdemand may be skyrocketing, it still representsonly a tiny fraction of BC’s overall milkproduction, adding conventional production isalso increasing. 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Country Life in BC • August 201514by DAVID SCHMIDTVICTORIA – Federal,provincial and territorialagriculture ministersdiscussed many topics butcame up with few concreteactions during their annualmeeting in mid-July.“It was a great meetingwith some excellentconversations,” BC Minister ofAgriculture Norm Letnick saidupon his return from PrinceEdward Island.Supply management andtrade topped the agenda,with all ministers mouthingtheir support for both supplymanagement and the Trans-Pacic Partnership (TPP) andother ongoing tradenegotiations.No assuranceDespite the platitudes,Agriculture and Agri-FoodMinister Gerry Ritz refused toprovide any real assurance toproducers. Asked for hisresponse to a resolutionunanimously passed at theDairy Farmers of Canadaannual meeting (held at thesame time as the federal-provincial ministers meeting)calling for no concessionsregarding supplymanagement in a TPPagreement, he would only say“we do not negotiate inpublic.” Letnick indicated BC’ssupport for supplymanagement both at themeeting and in a letter hesent Ritz just prior stressingthe importance of the supply-managed sector to thisprovince.“If we lost that foundation,we would lose a lot of oursmaller farmers and a lot ofthe people who sell to them,”he states, saying the 2004avian u outbreak illustratedits benets. It showed howloss of poultry productiondevastated the local economyand how having the supplymanagement system in place“helped industry recover morequickly.”Supports negotiationsDespite that, Letnick isunequivocal in his support oftrade negotiations, pointingout “we are a trading nation.Half of BC’s agrifoodproduction is exported out ofprovince. Half ($3 billion)goes to the rest of Canada, $2billion to the US and $1billion to the rest of theworld.”To that end, ministersagreed to new rules allowingwineries in one province toship direct to consumers inanother province.“That is very important toBC,” Letnick says.The ministers notedagriculture contributes over$100 billion to Canada’seconomy, representing closeto 7% of GDP and one in eightjobs.Other discussions involvedfood safety, bee health,transportation and foodtampering. The last issue wasapropos as the host province,PEI, recently experienced acase of needles inserted intopotatoes.“Malicious acts will not betolerated,” Ritz told a mediaconference following themeeting, saying the new SafeFood for Canadians Act allowsthe Canadian Food InspectionAgency to take enforcementaction against anyonetampering with or eventhreatening to tamper withfood products. Ministers won’t commit to protecting supply management: trade“Perpetrators will besubject to a jail term of up to18 months and ne of up to$500,000 for a rst oence,”Ritz stated. The ministers reviewedGrowing Forward 2 (GFII),rearming the importance ofinnovation, competitivenessand market development, andthe need to facilitatedevelopment of new industry-led products to managebusiness risks. They also began “high-level” discussions on GFIII.“We want to expand GFIII toapply the criteria to food moregenerally,” Letnick states,saying that would allow it toinclude aquaculture. Ministers also agreed onthe need to rearmagriculture’s social licence.“We need to link arms withindustry to help educateconsumers,” Ritz said. “Wealready have expertise thereby making use of the heads ofthe industry round tables.”As a start, the ministersinvited chairs of the beef,grain, horticulture, specialcrops, food processing andindustrial bioproduct ValueChain Roundtables toparticipate in a discussion ontheir priority issues and howto better engage the public.View over 100 listings of farm properties atwww.bcfarmandranch.comBC FARM & RANCHREALTY CORP.Buying or Selling a Farm or Acreage?GORD HOUWELINGCell: 604/793-8660GREG WALTONCell: 604/864-1610Toll free 1-888-852-AGRI (2474)Call BC’s First and OnlyReal Estate Office commited 100% to Agriculture!ProfessionalServicesHelping industry build & implement practical & sustainable programs & publications To see past projects and potential scope of services visit www.qfirst.ca Ph: 604-309-3509 E: qfirst@telus.net For more information or to pursue an idea contact: Annette Moore B.Sc.(Agr), M.Sc., P.Ag. 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Agri-jobs.caOur business is helping your business GROW, since 1974.Connecting employers with the right employee!Contact us to nd out how we can fill your position:Looking for HELP on your farm?DustinStadnykCPA-CAChrisHendersonBBA, CPA-CANathalieMerrillCPA, CMATOLL FREE 1-888-818-FARM | www.farmtax.comExpert farm taxation advice:• Purchase and sale of farms• Transfer of farms to children• Government subsidy programs• Preparation of farm tax returns• Use of $813,600 Capital Gains ExemptionsApproved consultants for Government funding through BC Farm Business Advisory Services ProgramARMSTRONG 250-546-8665 | LUMBY 250-547-2118 | ENDERBY 250-838-7337Editor,Re: “Hatchers cautionedagainst complacency” by DavidSchmidt, June 2015A point of clarication.Schmidt writes near the end ofthe article, in regards to“longer-term uncertaintiesand new realities ... Second isthe need for an auditableanimal care program.Greydaus admits it issomething “we don’t want”and which will “cost us,” butinsists it is critical since“people with a camera can do(and have done) a lot ofdamage.”It’s not people withcameras who have donedamage. It’s animal crueltyand inhumane conditions thathave done the damage andpeople with cameras merelyrecorded it. Gillian ButlerNanaimoOce 604-736-3831 Fax 604-736-8745Farming isn’t like most businesses. We understand thatyour insurance coverage MUST be tailored to meet yourunique requirements. With a combined 8 generations offarming between us, we understand your needs as afarmer. Contact our farm specialists to inquire about yourfarm insurance today.Rollie Embree 604-690-3152 rollieembree@dccnet.comSean Buhr 604-916-4027 sean.buhr@jmins.comLettersAnimal crueltyis the culprit,not someonewith a camera
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 15High density apple orchards like this Ambrosia onecould be more susceptible to sun damage in a summerthat is creating challenges for farmers all over theprovince. (Judie Steeves le photo)by JUDIE STEEVESKELOWNA – The Okanagan’s extreme heat andearly spring this growing season has apple growersconcerned about sun scald already showing up onfruit.Sun-burned fruit shows up as an orange colour onthe skin but it is more than cosmetic, explains HankMarkgraf, grower services manager for the BC TreeFruit Co-op.It also aects maturity so fruit with sun scald willbe culled, he warns. What looks like just colour onthe skin turns into deeper brown spots in storage,often sunken.Ironically, Markgraf notes it is the growers whohave been innovative and replanted to higher-density walls of fruit, pruned to open them up tosunlight, who are most vulnerable to damage fromthis year’s record-breaking high temperatures.He says there were similar conditions in 1987when a lot of fruit was lost to sun damage.Growers have been putting on sun-blockers suchas calcium to help protect fruit such as apples andpears, he notes.He is hopeful earlier maturing of all varieties offruit due to an earlier spring will help by allowingapples to be picked early enough. The challenge willbe in being able to leave fruit on long enough tobenet from the cooler nights of late summer, whichhelps apples to colour up.Tree fruits are all about two weeks earlier thannormal this year, with a hot June, instead of thenormal rainy weather that is typical of that month.Spring’s warm weather allowed the apples to sizeup well, he notes.Other fruit, such as cherries, are also susceptible tosun burn but generally there is more leaf cover toprotect them.In fact, all soft fruit has benetted from the earlyseason and hot weather, he says, so it is sizing upwell and the quality has been good.Growers have had to pick cherries earlier in theday when temperatures are at their coolest to ensuregood quality is maintained and labour, he adds, hasbeen a hardship this year, with the season so muchearlier than normal.BC Cherry Association president Sukhpaul Bal ofKelowna agrees the early season caught everyone oguard. He says he had arranged months ahead oftime for seasonal workers to arrive in the country intime for a normal picking season but they were twoweeks later than he needed this year.He was lucky he had workers planting anadditional 50 acres in young cherry trees this year sothey were able to continue working when the cropon his mature 50 acres of fruit began to ripen,picking them for his packing facility to process formarket.Although he says quality is excellent, with verylarge, rm fruit that is particularly avourful, he hasconcerns that extreme heat can cause trees to gointo survival mode, ripening fruit as secondary, so itsuers.If that happens, size and softness can be aproblem, he says.Oliver cherry grower Greg Norton says the heatwas very helpful at generating sugars in this year’sfruit, but he did notice a bit of sun-burning.Overall, fruit has been great quality, he says,noting the infrequent rain has been a real help atmaintaining high quality, as it can cause splitting offruit.“Our expectations were exceeded in every block offruit,” he notes, adding, “And they’re nice and crunchy.”Hot, dry weather favours orchard cropsThe biggest challenge for soft fruit growers hasbeen the high numbers of Spotted Wing Drosophilathis year, due to the mild winter and early spring.Markgraf agrees, noting there is also a possibilityof more generations of that new invasive pest of softfruits, in addition to the possibility of a thirdgeneration of leafroller and codling moth.“It’s a gamble every year, growing fruit. We have towork with what Mother Nature hands us.” No excuse not to!EEEEEEmmmmmmmpppppttttttyyyyyyyy PPPPPPPPeeeeeeeessssttttttttiiiiiiiiccccciiiiidddddeeeeeee CCCCCoooooonnnnnnttttaaaaiiinnnnnnneeeeerrrr RRRReeeeccccyyyyyyyyyyyyccccccllliiiinnnnggggggggggg PPPrroooogggrraaaammm>>>>>>>#1Only rinsed containers can be recycled #2Helps keep collection sites clean#3Use all the chemicals you purchase #4Keeps collection sites safe for workers#5Maintain your farm’s good reputation FFFFFFooooorrrrrr mmmmmooooooorrrrrrrreeeee iiiiinnnnnffffffooooorrrrrrrrmmmmmmaaaaaatttttttiiiiiiiioooooonnnnnnn oooooorrrrr ttttoooo fifififififinnnnnnnddddd aaaaa ccccccoooooollllllllleeeeccccccttttttiiiooooonnnnnn ssssiiitttteee nnnnnneeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrrr yyyyyyoooouuuuuu vvviiiissssiiiiiitttcccllleeeaannfffaaarrmmmmmmss..ccaattt{{{{{{{Now, take your empty fertilizer containers along for the ride!
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August 2015 • Country Life in BC 17Neighbours volunteerhelp to evacuate sheepVancouver Island fire was next doorHow many of us have hadthis flash through our minds?A fire burning out of control.How do we get our animalsout? How quickly can we doit? Where do we put them?Imagined panic; mentalrehearsals of how to cope(often not fully thoughtthrough); or the head-in-the-sand approach, takingcomfort in believing “it willnot happen to us.”But both wildfires andaccidental barn fires dohappen. The dry spring andsummer so far have lead totinder dry conditions andthere appears no end in sight.Add wind, and a spark on thebrown grass can take off intoa blaze of fire in minutes. Thishappened to Flo Watson fromLadysmith on VancouverIsland. A fire, thought to havebeen ignited by a spark froma farmer using haymakingequipment near the Nanaimoairport mushroomed into afull blaze in about 20 minutes.Firemen from five districtsrushed in to help. Firefighterswere sending planes off,releasing red blasts of fireretardant over the July 2blaze before Flo even realizedSheep farmer Flo Watson had to evacuate her sheep quickly when a wild re broke out next to herfarm in Ladysmith. (Photo courtesy of Flo Watson)The 3PH Box Scraper by MK Martin provides both small and large property owners with affordable options for grading with their line of box scrapers.For more information on grading, scraping and leveling products contact MK Martin.These rugged land movers come in a range of sizes from 8 to 12 feet and feature a variety of options ensuring the right con-figuration for your needs.This two in one combination of leveling and scraping makes short work of your grading and leveling jobs. Available mounts for skid loaders and 3PH.Note: Models may not be exactly as shown.Expertise like ours – is RareCUSTOM SLAUGHTER SERVICES PROVIDEDPROVINCIALLY INSPECTED ABATTOIR BC#34PROUD 4-H SPONSOR and CARCASS CLASSPROCESSORfor the PNE 2015ashiq@meadowvalleymeats.com604/465-4752 (ext 105)fax 604/465-474418315 FORD ROADPITT MEADOWS, BC V3Y 1Z1• BEEF• VEAL• BISON • LAMB • GOAT • DEERMEADOW VALLEY MEATSwhat was going on. “It was right beside where Ilive,” she recalls. “Myneighbours came over withtheir horse trailer and said,“Flo, do you want to get thesheep and take them over toour place?” “I was so lucky. I have mysheep trained to come at thesound of a bell. When Irang that bell, they allcame running and wegot them (as well astwo young GreatPyrhennese puppies)loaded right away.They were such a help.“I could not get thechickens in as they are nottrained to the bell and werescattered around the fields,but they all survived,” sheadds.She pointed to her fieldwhere the firemen put thebladder (a 300 or so galloninflatable rubber tank or biground rubber doughnut) fromwhich the fire fighting planespull in replacement water andfire retardant. Another tankertransports water constantly toand from the water source torefill it . Doug Woods, a firefighterwho lives nearby, clarifiedthat the biggest problem iffire breaks out on farms istransport.“You might have 20minutes to get them all out, “he says. “How many farms cando that?”Flo was fortunate. The fastWool GatheringsJO SLEIGHThe BC Wildre Service has published a paper on farmprotection: • Owners should have an evacuation plan for livestock ifthreatened by re. If you do not have a safe area on yourproperty, make and conrm transportation and feedingarrangements in advance .• If possible prepare and maintain fuel-reduced areaswhere stock can be moved and held during a re, like aplowed or heavily grazed eld, best located away fromtreed areas and to the leeward side of your property . • If possible, protect feed resources as they may be theonly feed available after a large re.• As a last resort, if unable to move livestock and as long asthere is no danger to people or vehicle trac, theyadvise cutting fences and turning the animals loose totake their chances with the re.They note horses and cattle fare relatively well in res,while pigs, sheep and poultry are more vulnerable, oftensuccumbing to heat stress even before the re arrives.Smoke inhalation is a major killer, too.Planning ahead toavert farm disasterchanging winds which madethe path of the fire sounpredictable and difficult tomanage worked in her favourand her farm was saved.NEWS & INFORMATION YOU NEED to GROW!SUBSCRIBE TODAYSEE PAGE 42 FOR ALL THE DETAILSThe agricultural news source inBritish Columbia since 1915COUNTRYLifein BC
Country Life in BC • August 201518Province seeks inputon climate initiativeNo clarity on ag water restrictionsby PETER MITHAMVANCOUVER – VancouverIsland, the Gulf Islands andLower Fraser regions havenowhere to go but dryfollowing a Level 4 droughtrating from the province.But despite stern warningsfrom the Ministry of Forests,Lands and Natural ResourceOperations that conditions,“could lead to water shortagesand aect people, industrysuch as agriculture, wildlifeand sh stocks,” withcommercial greenhouses andother farms requiring largequantities of water being therst to feel the eects, noone’s saying what the triggerfor those cut-os could be.“It would be inappropriatefor the ministry to speculateon if/when irrigationrestrictions could be put intoplace,” said Greig Bethel, apublic aairs ocer for the BCMinistry of Forests, Lands andNatural Resource Operationswhen asked what mighttrigger limits on farmers’access to surface water.While the province hasannounced recreational sheryclosures on Vancouver Island,a report prepared for thefederal Department ofFisheries and Oceans (DFO)following the last majordrought in 2003 noted,“Determining what theminimum ows for sh shouldbe in a particular streamduring dierent species lifecycles is a complex task andgovernment scientists in BCare in the process ofdeveloping an acceptablemethodology to do this.”It seems the methodology isstill under development, as noone Country Life in BC contactedcould say what might trigger aclosure. DFO referred questionsto the province, and theprovince indicated that accessis at the discretion of provincialwater managers.“Angling closures areenabled through the BritishColumbia Sport FishingRegulations of the federalFisheries Act,” according toinformation Bethel provided.“Provincial water managersmay exercise their authority totemporarily suspend short-term water permits orindustrial water licences inaected watersheds.”by TAMARA LEIGHVICTORIA – The provincialgovernment is developing anew climate action plan and isasking British Columbians fortheir input on the ideas,values and priorities. The Climate Action Plan,rst released in 2008, put theprovince on the path tomeeting interim greenhousegas emission reduction goals.The Climate Leadership Plan isbeing positioned as the planto move towards the long-term goal of reducing annualgreenhouse gas emissionsfrom the current 62 milliontonnes to 13 million tonnes by2050. “BC’s new ClimateLeadership Plan will inuencehow British Columbians willwork, travel and live fordecades to come. That’s whyit’s important we hear fromyou now, before governmentmakes decisions on nextsteps,” says Minister ofEnvironment Mary Pollack.A discussion paperavailable online sets theframework for input on theprinciples and goals of theplan, as well as four priorityareas: how we live, travel,work and what we value. TheClimate Leadership Plandiscussion paper and publicinput survey are available at[www.engage.gov.bc.ca/climateleadership] until August 17.Very little agricultureA review of the discussiondocument reveals very littlethat directly addressesagriculture and food aspriorities, further underliningthe importance of industryparticipation in this process.The BC Agriculture & FoodClimate Action Initiative waspart of the agricultureindustry’s response to theClimate Action Plan. Since2008, the initiative hasdeveloped climate changeadaptation strategies for veagricultural regions across theprovince, identifying priorityimpact areas and actions toensure the continued viabilityof agriculture in a changingclimate. Last year, the initiativeexpanded, providing federal-provincial Growing Forward 2funding to farm-leveladaptation projects throughthe Farm AdaptationInnovator Program.“The collaborative andinclusive nature of this workhas brought togetherindustry, local and provincialgovernments, and allowed theagriculture industry to set itsown plan and act on climateimpact priorities,” says AllenJames, chair of ARDCorp andthe BCAC Climate Action andRenewable Energy committee.“Following through on thisagricultural adaptation work iscritical.”This is the rst of twoopportunities for publicparticipation in the processover the next six months.After reviewing discussionpaper submissions and theClimate Leadership Team’srecommendations,government will release adraft Climate Leadership Planin December. BritishColumbians will have achance to review the draftplan and will be asked toprovide comment on specicpolicies and actions regardingclimate change.Government will releasethe nal Climate LeadershipPlan in March 2016.VALLEY¿FARM¿DRAINAGE31205 DEWDNEY TRUNK RD. MISSION Phone: 604/462-7213www.valleyfarmdrainage.com Fax: 604/462-7215Open Trenching • Trenchless • Sub-IrrigationLaser Equipped • Irrigation Mainlinesdrainage isour specialtyCALL FOR AN ESTIMATELARRY604.209.5523TROY604.209.5524TRI-WAYFARMSLASER LEVELLING LTD.IMPROVEDDRAINAGEUNIFORMGERMINATIONUNIFORMIRRIGATIONFAST,ACCURATESURVEYINGINCREASECROPYIELDS Wine marketing consultant and producer Christine Coletta of Okanagan Crush Pad joined theEtsell family for the grand opening of Singletree Winery in Abbotsford, June 26. Proudlydisplaying a “singletree,” a gift from Coletta were, from left to right, Garnet Etsell, Coletta,Andrew Etsell, Laura Preckel, Debbie and Nathan Etsell. Singletree is the most recent addition tothe ever-increasing number of Fraser Valley wineries. “The Fraser Valley wine industry today iswhere the Okanagan wine industry was 25 years ago,” Garnet said. (David Schmidt photo)
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 19By DAVID SCHMIDTABBOTSFORD – The BC Ministry ofEnvironment is inviting comments on itsproposed new Agricultural Waste ControlRegulation.The MoE initiated the review in 2009, issuingits rst policy intentions paper in 2012. Aworking group of MoE and BC Ministry ofAgriculture (BCMA) sta and BC AgricultureCouncil representatives have been meetingregularly since then to rene the proposals,leading to a second policy intentions paper atthe beginning of July.That paper is now available for review andpublic comment at the AWCR website:[http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/waste-management/industrial-waste/industrial-waste/agriculture/awcr-review-2nd-policy-paper_july-2-2015.pdf]. New frameworkThe MoE expects the new policy frameworkto include updated policy, a revised regulation,guidelines, fact sheets and a listing ofbenecial management practices.It identies the main concerns as “surfacewater, groundwater and air quality – andenvironmentally sound agricultural practices.”It lists the goals of the new regulation are to • enhance and improve water and air quality• provide regulatory certainty• facilitate appropriate and benecial use ofmanure, agricultural byproducts and othernutrient sources• ensure manure and other nutrient sourcesand materials are properly stored and used.The new proposed regulation wouldprohibit direct discharges into watercourses orgroundwater, excepting manure depositeddirectly from grazing animals. It would provideclearer directions regarding manure and otherwaste storage, including required correctivemeasures where problems are identied.Requirements would dier depending on therisk involved. The risk assessment wouldconsider location, climate, weather conditionsand the type of farming operation or activity.“High risk areas include areas with highannual or seasonal rainfall, vulnerable aquifersand regionally-dened sensitive receivingenvironments or areas,” the documents state.It says high riskconditions wouldconsider the degree ofslope towards awatercourse, windyconditions, stormevents and intenserainfall periods.The regulationproposes to prohibitthe storage or use ofany o-farmdemolition andconstruction woodwaste and any woodproducts treated withglue, paint orpreservatives. It proposes to reduce themaximum time for temporary eld storage ofwaste in high-risk areas to seven months fromthe current nine month limit and introducesminimum setback from watercourses andgroundwater sources for burial of mortalities.The public is invited to comment on theproposals by August 31.BCAC executive director Reg Ens says thecouncil has been reviewing the paper but doesnot expect to make any detailed comments onthe proposals. He notes the working group includesrepresentatives from all agricultural sectorsand has been meeting regularly with MoE sta.“We will meet with M0E at the end ofSeptember after they have reviewed the publiccomments,” Ens says. “We’re happy they’relistening to us. Hopefully, we can educate andcollaborate with them on the details which stillconcern us.”Council monitoring feedbackon ag waste regulationby PETER MITHAMVANCOUVER – A secondtranche of funding will helpBC farmers’ markets raisetheir profile, and theimportance of supportinglocal producers this summer.Speaking at the weeklyWednesday market outsidePacific Central Station indowntown Vancouver, BCMinister of Agriculture NormLetnick announced $47,135in funding from theprovince’s three-year-old BuyLocal program to support amonth-long promotionalcampaign the BC Associationof Farmers’ Markets plannedfor July.Almost 100KThe funds match $40,000from the BCAFM and a $7,000contribution from Vancity,bringing the total value ofthe investment to more than$94,000.“This initiative bringsincreased public attention tobuying local,” says BCAFMpresident Jon Bell. “It’s agreat program with far-reaching benefits.”The marketing campaign,“Meet My Market,”encourages market-goers toshare their experiences onsocial media and to fill out aballot for a three-day prizegetaway to the Okanaganwhen they bring a friend totheir favourite local market. Atotal of 67 markets areparticipating in the initiative,from Chemainus to Fort St.James.Letnick says that engagingmarket visitors andencouraging people tosupport local farmerstranslates into moreknowledge about agriculture,as well as dollars in thepockets of farmers to helpkeep land in production.Letnick, dressed head-to-toein black and looking everyinch like a cross betweenJohnny Cash and Stompin’Tom Connors with his low-rise Stetson, said somemarket visitors may even beso enthused as to want totake up farming themselves.Consumer supportThe funding follows on$85,000 in Buy Local fundinggranted in 2013 thatsupported a social mediacampaign during the 2014season to build awareness offarmers markets as well as“preference and demand” forBC agrifood products.Farmers markets are seen as alocus for consumer supportof farmers, ranking highly inconsumer surveys when itcomes to positiveassociations with agriculture.The campaign last yearreceived $50,000 fromVancity, as well as $35,000from the BCAFM.Smaller rounds of funding,totalling $30,000, haveflowed to market operators inWhite Rock and Vernon tosupport awareness of theiractivities. All told, Buy Localhas doled out $6 million infunding since 2012 to engageand support the purchase ofBC agrifood products.New funding raises awareness for farmers’ marketsReg EnsAg minister Norm Letnick announces more money for farmersmarkets. (Peter MItham photo)s&IELDTESTEDTILLAGEEQUIPMENTs-ODELHAS/ILBATHBACKTOBACKTAPEREDROLLERBEARINGSMOUNTEDINHEAVYDUCTILECASTHOUSINGCW$UOCONESEALS"EARINGSOPERATEINA7GEAROILFORCONSTANTLUBRICATIONsvXvNOTCHEDDISCBLADESFRONTANDREARvSPACINGsvHEATTREATEDALLOYSTEELGANGSHAFTSs,XvPLY(WYIMPTIRESONBOLTHUBSsvXvHYDRAULICCYLINDERGROUPHOSESTIPSDEPTHSEGMENTSs3INGLE7IDTHSs$OUBLE7IDE#3, 7491 - 49 Ave., Red Deer, AB. T4P 1N11-888-500-2646 403-347-2646www.kelloughent.comSeries 225Single and Doublewide Offset DiscSINGLE OFFSET DISCNow available from ROLLINS MACHINERY CHILLIWACK | LANGLEYjeffmc@shaw.ca250-616-6427 or 250-758-8454 ISLAND FARMERS:List your equipment for salefor FREE! 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Country Life in BC • August 201520by TOM WALKERKELOWNA – “Hello, RonForest B-C-F-Jay, bonjour.” He answers his blue toothear piece in two languages,listens, nods briey anddisconnects. “That guy wants 20 thinnersfor Friday. Where am I goingto get 20 thinners by Friday?”he shrugs. It’s going to be atough day for Ron Forest,labour relations co-ordinatorfor the BC Fruit GrowersAssociation (BCFGA).That’s his ocial title, buthe wears the hats of on-the-job-trainer, translator, traveland accommodationconsultant, counselor,surrogate parent and friend.He works to nd picking stafor fruit growers in theOkanagan, Similkameen andCreston. He would be awonderful asset to any highschool. He really likes youngpeople.BCFGA estimates there areup to 1000 itinerate pickers inBC’s fruit growing valleysevery year, but they don’tkeep track.“I think I’ve placed between500 and 600 pickers so far thisyear,” Forest says. “There arestill lots of kids coming intothe valley. The cherries have ripenedearly, Forest points out. Tocompound that problem, latervarieties are coming on aswell. “It’s all bunched together,”he says. “Right now, I have 15 to 20pickers coming into the valleyevery day, but it would bebetter if I had 30 or 40.”Forest says the youngpickers are mostly fromQuebec but there are kidsfrom Ontario and Alberta aswell. European travelers andAustralians also takeadvantage of temporary workvisas. They fall into groups.Some are agro tourists on avacation. “I’ve got hippies, I’ve gotpunks, I’ve got students,” heexplains. Some of the seriouspickers start out planting treesin the north in April and maketheir way south.“I use social media a lot,”says Forest. “Through thewinter, I will connect with over6,000 people, answeringquestions about working hereand telling them where to goto nd jobs.”Lapins swarmingIn Jal Dahliwal’s orchard,Lapin cherries swarm thebranches in thick deep-redOn the hunt for pickersSourcing and managing cherry pickers more than full time jobclusters. “I’d love to pick here,” saysForest. “I could really makesome money.” Pickers are paid $5.00 a boxand serious workers will llmore than 50 boxes a day.They start after 4 am andsometimes pick through thenight to avoid the heat.Alvin is a young man fromQuebec whose grin is nearlyas big as his dreadlock hair.He’s been picking for sevenseasons. “When I rst met him, Iasked if he really wanted tolearn,” says Forest. “He cameup to our place in Wineld (hiswife manages an orchardthere) and worked for us andnow he works all over,including down in theAustralia.”As we leave the cherryorchard, it starts to rain. “Too dangerous to beclimbing ladders,” says Forest.And the pickers head back totheir camp. The tent colony inthe back corner of the orchardranges from North Facemountaineering shelters toCanadian Tire specials. Thereare washrooms, showers andcooking facilities. It’s not likethe ocial SAWPrequirements, but the pickersdon’t pay to stay.So where will he ndpickers?Ten years ago, the city ofOliver organized and built anunocial pickers campgroundPickers like Alvin, from Quebec, can make good money pickingcherries in OK orchards – especially in a year when the cherries arebig and rm. This is the seventh year he’s spent the summer pickingin BC. He heads to Australia to pick as well. (Tom Walker photo)Let’s talk about COR todayFARSHA.BC.CA | 1.877.533.1789AGRI CULTURESafePROTECTYOUR TOMORROWSeatbelts save lives!Seatbelts save lives!Paid in part byMark Driediger, CFP, Senior Wealth AdvisorAssante Financial Management Ltd.101 – 33386 South, Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC V2S 2B5 (604) 859-4890 | www.MarkDriediger.comInsurance products and services are provided through Assante Estate and Insurance Services Inc. United Financial is a division of CI Private Counsel LP. Please visit www.assante.com/legal.jsp or contact Assante at 1-800-268-3200 for information with respect to important legal and regulatory disclosures relating to this notice.• Holistic Financial Planning • Intergenerational Farm Transfer• Wealth Management Solutions• Investment Planning• Tax Planning• Estate Services• Insurance Planning• Retirement & Income PlanningOur SpecialtiesYour Farm. Your Family. Your Future.Succession Expertise for Generations8476 DEROCHE LANDING ROAD, DEROCHEGreat hobby farm with 7.34 perimiter fenced acres, gated drive. 3 bed home incl updated vinyl windows & granite counters. Income suite & detached cabin. 4 stall livestock barn plus 2 low 20x100’ barns for chickens, ducks or? and 18’X40’ detached workshop/garage w/220 wiring, oil pit. Room to garden, apple trees & tree nursery. Minutes east of downtown Mission. MLS®F1445139 $699,900WheelerCheamServing Mission, Abbotsford And The Central Fraser ValleyPat: 604-302-6174pat@patvale.comDeb: 604-302-5348deb@patvale.com33174 FIRST AVE, MISSIONknown as Loose Bay. It’s up inthe hills above Oliver, awayfrom main trac and it’s not aBC Parks campground. It’s aplace for the kids to come andstay when they rst arrive,Forest explains. “I can meet them and linethem up with a job and thenthey move into the orchards.”Ron also visits the hostels inKelowna regularly as well asthe Francophone Center andFriendship SocietyRon is giving me a tour andhe doesn’t stop to talk withanyone but on our way backdown the hill we spot a talllanky young man in a tie die T-shirt, jean cut os and sturdywork boots. He is walking intotown wearing a pack andcarrying a small travel guitarcase.No construction, thanksRon pulls over and Zachclimbs in. He says he’s fromOntario and just completed atwo year construction diplomabut it’s not for him. He’sheading to Oregon to visitfriends. “When do you need to bein Oregon?” Ron asks. Not fortwo weeks, it turns out. Hewants to be sure that hemakes it on time. “Do you want some work?”Ron asks. “I can get you aweek’s work picking cherries.” Zach is not sure. Ron is veryeasy going but persuasive. “All you’ll need is a bucketand a harness. I see you havegood boots. I can drive youdown to Growers Supply andset you up and then take youto the orchard and give you apicking lesson.”Zach plunks down a creditcard for the $30.00 bucket andharness and as we drive backto Jal’s orchard, Ron makes acall. “Ive got one.”Ron spends a good 45minutes in the orchard withZach showing him how toplace the ladder, climb safely,pick eciently and survive inthe picking milieu. “Always watch your boxes.Put them together in oneplace so you know that theyare yours,” he cautions. “I’mPlease see “HUNTER” page 21
Tel: 604.852.4001Email: admin@prinsgreenhouses.comPrins Greenhouses38900 No. 4 RoadAbbotsford, B.C. V3G 2G2ConstructionSystemsSupplies38900 No. 4 Road . Abbotsford604.852.4001info@prinsgreenhouses.comwww.prinsgreenhouses.comAugust 2015 • Country Life in BC 21HUNTER From page 20Farm Credit Canada enables business management skilldevelopment through resources such as this column, andinformation and learning events available across Canada.Letting go allows you to focus on what ‘moves the yardsticks’Owners need to think like CEO’s, not micro-managersIf you’re of a certain age,you have to shake your headwhen you reect on howmuch farming has changed injust one generation.But what about you? Howmuch have you changed? Areyou still the hands-on guy whomakes all the decisions in abusiness that has grown ten-or twenty-fold since youstarted out?Mark Pickard has beenthere, done that, and movedon.“In every entrepreneur’slifecycle, there’s a time formicro-management,” says thefounder and president ofInfraReady Products. “But asyou mature, you recognizethere are people who can dosome of those jobs muchbetter than you. That’s whenyou stop working in thebusiness and start working onit.”But there’s a twist here – it’snot about letting go, butgetting back to what droveyou when you were startingout.Didn’t stray too farPickard is a great exampleof that. He’s a farm boy fromCrane Valley, SK who followedhis dad’s advice to get aneducation and do somethingelse. But he didn’t stray far.He got a degree in appliedmicrobiology and foodCapital IdeasGLENN CHEATERscience, an MBA, and a jobwith Saskatchewan WheatPool.He then convinced thecompany to explore thepotential of infraredtechnology, a process thatinactivates enzymes and pre-cooks grain, which lowersmicrobial levels, extends shelflife, and reduces cooking time.That was two decades ago.Today, the Saskatooncompany[www.infrareadyproducts.com]annually sells more than threemillion kilograms of foodingredient products (nearly300 in all) to 100 customers,including top global foodcompanies. And Pickard wasthe guy who made it happen.He spotted the marketopportunity. He foundinvestors to take the SWPincubator private. He was thescience guy, the businessleader, and anything else heneeded to be in a companythat started with just twoemployees.It was a journey, and unlessyou’ve lived it, it’s hard tounderstand why letting go isso tough.But as the years rolled by,Pickard realized he wasspending much of his time“putting out the res of theday.” Then he looked at thebright people he’d hired andwondered why they couldn’tdo a lot of that stu if he gavethem the chance.The answer, of course, isthey could. But before Pickardhanded over some of hisauthority, he had to askhimself some questions.“OK, so you’ve got thisbusiness established. What is itthat you want to accomplish?What are the long-term goalsthat really matter to you? Whatis it that you wanted to be?”He calls this “moving intothe goals and dreams phase.”And that’s where the twistcomes in.Letting goLetting go allowed Pickardto once again focus on whatdrove him as a young man –the potential of foodtechnology. Today, he says hespends two-thirds of his timeon product and businessdevelopment – the things“that move the yardsticks.”What will move theyardsticks on your farm? Is itbeing hands-on-everythingand not giving the nextgeneration a chance to runwhat has become a multi-million-dollar operation? That’s not Pickard’s advice.Today’s farms are bigbusinesses, he says, and theirowners need to think likeCEOs, not micro-managers.His denition of that role issimple and concise: “Havedreams, set the goals, andthen be the champion.”How do you do that? Thinkback. Isn’t that what you didwhen you started out withthat little farm and hardly anymoney?And if this great bigenterprise you’ve built isgoing to prosper a generationfrom now, can you reallyaord to just focus on theday-to-day?“If you’re doing the samething today that you weredoing 20 years ago, you’reprobably fortunate to be inbusiness,” says Pickard. “Mostof us have to keep changingin order to stay in business.”Mark Pickard“Serving British Columbia proudly since 1946”MachineryLimitedCOMMITTED TO AGRICULTURE in the FRASER VALLEYwww.rollinsmachinery.caAUTHORIZED DEALERKVERNELANDSUPREMEROLLINSRTRACTORSFORD 6640 1994 4WD, SIDE MOWER, 4800 HRS (CNS502) ........... 20,000FORD 6640 1994 2WD, CAB (U30091) ........................................... 14,900KUBOTA L4630 4WD, 2005, 2600 HRS, 39 PTO HP, CAB, AC (U30107) ............................................................................ 19,800MF 2210 4WD, 2000, 4400 HRS, ROPS, LOADER, 49 PTO (U30106) 14,900NH 60-865 4WD, CAB, NARROW, 60 HP, 2,725 HRS (U02176) ....... 17,500QUALITY USED EQUIPMENTALLIED SNOW BLOWER 60”, 3 PH, LIKE NEW, 2010 (U30959) ..... 1,500FELLA RAKE TS631 HYD (U30956) ................................................ SOLD!JD 348 SQUARE BALER 1985, PTO DRIVEN (U30992) ....................... 7,900LOEWEN MIXER WAGON 1995 GOOD WORKING CONDITION, 54O RPM PTO (U30993) ................................................................... 11,500NH H7330 DISCBINE MOWER, FLAIL CONDITIONER, STD TONGUE, 10’4” CUT (U31005) ......................................................................... 14,500NH FX25 HARVESTER 4WD, 1998, 2100 CUTTERHEAD HRS, NEARLY NEW 346 WINDROW PU, 4 ROW CORNHEAD, W/KERNEL PROCESSOR & METALLERT, (U30841) .................................................................. 89,000FX28 HARVESTER 2001, GRASSHEAD, 2001, 2300 CUTTERHEAD HOURS,4WD, 360 NR 4-ROW CORNHEAD, 365W15 GRASSHEAD (U30749) 120,000DEMO! KVERNELAND 4332CT 3.2 M DISC MOWER, FLAIL CONDITIONER (N30445) ......................................................... SOLD!TAARUP 4032 DISC MOWER, GOOD CONDITION (CNS571) .......... 13,000WALLENSTEIN GX900 BACKHOE W/15” BUCKET (CNS504) ........... 6,500CHILLIWACK • 1.800.242.9737 | 44725 Yale Road West • 604.792.1301LANGLEY • 1.800.665.9060 | 21869 - 56th Avenue • 604.533.0048just saying.” As Ron drives me back intotown, he talks a bit about hisbackground. He’s picked,planted trees and managedteams on internationalmissions. He’s worked in theUS, Mexico and SouthAmerica. He picks Okanaganwine grapes in the fall. “I can make around $5,000in 25 days,” he says. “It paysfor my trip in the winter.”Back in Oliver, I see atripped-out Toyota withstickers from rock climbingmeccas and expensiveoutdoor clothing companies.Across the street, an agingrusty Honda has several stripsof duct tape holding the trunkclosed. Both cars have Quebeclicense plates. “I’m going hunting,” saysRon as he drops me o.“Hunting for pickers.”
.DPORRSVō.HORZQDō$EERWVIRUGō/DQJOH\ōItems may not be exactly as shown, accessories & attachments cost extra. Taxes, set-up, delivery, freight, and preparation charges not included. Prices are based on the US exchange are subject to change. A documentation fee of up to $250 will be applied on all finance offerings. Additional fees may apply. Programs and prices subject to change without notice. See dealer for full details some restrictions apply. Offer valid from March 1, 2015 until August 31, 2015. Financing on approved John Deere Financial credit only. For purchases on your Multi-use Account. Offer is unconditionally interest free for the first 360 days. After the 360 day period, for eligible purchases of goods and services: 1) a minimum monthly payment of 2.5% of the original amount financed is required; and 2) finance charges will begin to accrue immediately on amount financed at 17.9% per annum. Minimum purchase amount may be required. A statement of account will be provided monthly. Representative Amount Financed: $10,000, at 17.9% APR, monthly payment is $250 for 62 months, total obligation is $15,500, cost of borrowing is $0. Semi-annual payments and cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed and down payment. MSRP cash price based on highest priced product in series: is $17,383. Cost of borrowing is based on Representative Amount Financed and not MSRP cash price. In the event you default on this or any John Deere Financial Multi-use Account transaction, interest on all outstanding balances on your Multi-use Account (including on this and all other Special Terms transactions on your Multi-use Account) will begin to accrue immediately at 19.75% APR/AIR from the date of default until paid in full, and you will be required to make monthly payments on your Multi-use Account equal to 2.5% (personal use) of the original amounts financed plus interest. 0% APR purchase financing for 4 years on new John Deere Select Hay Tools. Down payment may be required. Representative Amount Financed: $50,000, at 0% APR, semi-annual payment is $6,250 for 4 years, total obligation is $50,000, cost of borrowing is $0. Semi-annual payments/ cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed/ down payment. MSRP cash price based on highest priced product in series: $75,087 (includes $50 documentation fee). Cost of borrowing based on Representative Amount Financed * Offer valid from May 1, 2015 until August 31, 2015. Minimum finance amount may be required; representative amount does not guarantee offer applies. The charge for amounts past due is 24% per annum. Additional dealer fees may apply. Financing on approved John Deere Financial credit only. See dealer for details. Limited time offer which may not be combined with other offers. Discounts or other incentives may be available for cash purchases. By selecting the purchase financing offer, consumers may be foregoing such discounts and incentives which may result in a higher effective interest rate. 0% APR purchase financing for 60 months on sele ct new John Deere Tractor. Down payment may be required. Representative Amount Financed: $50,000, at 0% APR, monthly payment is $833.33 for 60 months, total obligation is $50,000, cost of borrowing is $0. Monthly payments/cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed/down payment. MSRP cash price based on highest priced product in series: $80,186 (includes $50 documentation fee). Cost of borrowing based on Representative Amount ± Valid from March 3, 2015 until August 31 2015. Minimum finance amount may be required; representative amount does not guarantee offer applies. The charge for amounts past due is 24% per annum. Additional dealer fees may apply. Financing on approved John Deere Financial credit only. See dealer for details. Limited time offer which may not be combined with other offers. Discounts or other incentives may be available for cash purchases. By selecting the purchase financing offer, consumers may be foregoing such discounts and incentives which may result in a higher effective interest rate. Before operating or riding, always refer to the safety and operating information on the vehicle and in the operator’s manual.Our Abbotsford Location is Moving to Chilliwack early this Fall! So to lighten our load, we are offering Clearout Prices! Visit our new store at 44158 Progress Way in Chilliwack, BC once we open! Join us during our Drive Green Event! Get entered to win a John Deere 3032E with D160 Loader & a Frontier RC2060 Rotary Cutter! PLUS get a coupon for $500 off the purchase of any new 1-6 Series Tractor!Going On at all PCE Locations Aug 24-30 2015! SAVE $500!S240 Lawn Tractor12 Months No Payment or Interest!1023E Tractor & D120 Loadert)1t8%t$ZMJOEFS%JFTFMt)ZESPTUBUJD5SBOTt.JE3FBS150Retail $18,445On Sale $14,999RSX GatorōNPKō2QGHPDQG7UXH:'ō+3ōFF9WZLQō(),ō,QGHSHQGHQWVXVSHQVLRQ56;6SRUWZ)2;VKRFNV%ORZRXWSULFHRIRQO\OHIW 56;7UDLOZZLQFK%ORZRXWSULFHRI6DYHRYHURetail $3462 On Sale $29990% for 60 Monthsō+3ō$XWRPDWLF7UDQVPLVVLRQō&DVWLURQIURQWD[OHōLQFK0RZHUō/DUJHWXUIIULHQGO\WLUHVō.DZDVDNL9WZLQHQJLQHō\HDUZDUUDQW\EDVHGRQWKHSXUFKDVHRIRUPRUH-RKQ'HHUHRU)URQWLHULPSOHPHQWV)URQWLHUER[EODGHLVRSWLRQDOCountry Life in BC • August 201522
TRACTORS! TRACTORS! TRACTORS!TRACTORS! TRACTORS! TRACTORS!HAY AND FORAGE!ROUND BALERS!ROUND BALERS!$7,900JD 3970 PULL TYPE FORAGE HARVESTER, METAL DETECTOR, 7FT GRASS PICKUP #388920U1$19,500NH BR780A RD BALER, 07, MEGAWIDE, TWINE,SURFACE WRAP, C/W CHEMICAL APPLICATOR #433273U1$15,500JD 935 MOCO 11FT, 6INCH ROLL CONDITIONING #324143U2$13,900HAYBUSTER 2650 BALE PROCESSOR #036690U1$25,500JD 5320N , O/S, MFWD, JD 521 LOADER, 2 SCV, 55PTO HP #516914U1$17,500JD 5400N, CAB WITH A/C, 2WD, 60PTO, 12/12 TRANS, 2 SCV, #641791U2$38,000JD 6320L, OPEN STATION, MFWD, LOADER WITH 3RD FUNCTION 80 PTO HP #664862U1$19,500JD 530 MOCO, 9FT 9 INCH IMPELLER CONDITIONER #537403U1$33,900CASE IH DC163 MOWER CONDITIONER, 16FT, STEEL ROLLS, SWIVEL HITCH, MID PIVOT$3,000FORD 3000, OPEN STATION, 2WD #436355U1$8,900IHC, 684, O/S LOADER, 2WD, 69HP #636707U1$32,500MF 5455, O/S, LOADER, MFWD, POWER-REVERSER, 80 PTO HP #618154U1$12,900MF1540 OPEN STATION, MFWD, REVERSER 40HP 1570HRS #618154U2$32,500MF 4270 OPEN STATION, MFWD REVERSER, LOADER, 100PTO #604041U1$49,000FELLA SM911 (12) & SM310 (11) TRIPLE MOWERS 27FT, 3IN #290580U200Check out all our quality pre-owned equipment at www.prairiecoastequipment.comToll Free 1-877-553-3373Kamloops 250.573.4412ps 412Kelowna250.765.9765a765Abbotsford604.864.98441-ord844Langley604.530.46446HOI3URSHOOHG6SUD\HUIWERRP%RRP7UDF3UR;HQRQ+,'+\G7UHDG$GMXVW*6PRQLWRUWRUWRU$175,000# L444390$29,9002SHQ6WDWLRQ0):'372+3+RXUV#5642623U1$14,500KUBOTA MX5000, OPEN STATION, 2WD LOADER, 289 HOURS #040590U1$42,900MCCORMICK T100MAX, OPEN STATION, MFWD, LOADER, 295 HOURS #591522U12XU$EERWVIRUGORFDWLRQLV0RYLQJWR&KLOOLZDFNWKLV)DOO6RWROLJKWHQWKHORDGZHDUHKDYLQJDQDJHG,QYHQWRU\6DOH9LVLWXVLQVWRUHWRFKHFNRXWDOOWKHJUHDWVDYLQJVJOHN DEERE 4830 MF 5455&DE7UDFWRU0):',97'LVSOD\7LUHV+/RDGHU*XLGDQFH5HDG\6&9$169,900# 625202U1$46,500#636323U1JOHN DEERE 7260RJOHN DEERE 64202SHQ6WDWLRQ0):'372+3/RDGHU&DE7UDFWRU0):'%RPIRUG%RRP)DLO0RZHU $39,900#623585U1$79,900#09798701JOHN DEERE 6330KUBOTA M108X&DE7UDFWRU0):'7UDQVPLVVLRQ6&9372+3$21,900#641791U1$109,900#526587U1JOHN DEERE 5420N JOHN DEERE 66503UHPLXP&DE7UDFWRU0):'Z6XVSHQVLRQ$XWR4XDG7UDQV/RDGHU372+36HOI3URSHOOHG+DUYHVWHU+3.HUQHO3URFHVVRU$3835:$+UV/RQJ6SRXWAugust 2015 • Country Life in BC 23
Country Life in BC • August 201524by LINDSAY CHUNGCOURTENAY – Innovationcomes in many forms, andduring the Islands AgricultureShow Conference inCourtenay earlier this year,Tamara Leigh, a freelancejournalist who writes forCountry Life in BC and is thepresident of the BC FarmWriters Association,showcased some of theinnovation she has seen in herwork and travels. Leigh gave apresentation on Innovationsin Island Agriculture, oeringperspectives on howinnovation and collaborationis keeping agriculture a strongcontributor to Islandeconomies and communities.“I have the best job in theworld, in my opinion, and thatis that I tell the story ofagriculture and I get to do itfor a whole bunch of dierentorganizations,” she said.Leigh, who lives onVancouver Island, works as afreelance writer for variouspublications and also workswith the InvestmentAgriculture Foundation ofBritish Columbia and on theBC Agriculture and ClimateAction Initiative, which isworking with farmers and localgovernment to formadaptation strategies fordealing with climate change.“There are so many goodstories in agriculture, and it’sreally exciting,” she said.Late last year, Leighundertook “the most epic roadtrip” to look at innovations inisland agriculture. First, she travelled to theUnited Kingdom with theInternational Federation ofAgriculture Journalists; theywere primarily based inScotland but also spent sometime around London,specically looking atinnovations and challenges offarming on a very large island.From there, she travelled toPrince Edward Island with theCanadian Farm WritersFederation.“When you look at thosethree islands in terms ofnumbers … They’re in no wayparallel to each other, but theydo face similar challenges interms of market access, interms of dealing with limitedresources and in terms ofaspiring to self-suciency,”she said.While she was on PrinceEdward Island, Leigh met theBernard family who runBarnyard Organic in Freetown. “(Mark and Sally) were the2012 Atlantic CanadaIsland hopping reveals common ground for innovationOutstanding Young Farmers,”she said. “Their initial visioncoming out of agriculturecollege was to get into organiclivestock production, which issomething that I hear a lothere. And they did – they havesome pasture-raised chickens,and they’re into small-scalepork production. But whatthey found was an opportunityand need to feed theirlivestock, and access toorganic feed for livestock onPrince Edward Island wasprohibitively expensive, andnobody was doing it. And sotheir primary business isactually focusing on certiedorganic grain and oilseedproduction. “They’re farming on 550acres of what used to beconventional potato land, andthey’re running a grain-cleaning facility, soybean-roasting operation and theyhave a federally-inspectedfeed mill now so they can dothe certied organic feed forthe industry that they reallywant to see on Prince EdwardIsland, which is organiclivestock production. Whattruly is innovative can betaking that step backwardsand building the foundationfor the industry that you reallybelieve in.”During her presentation,Leigh spoke about theimportance of value chaincollaboration.“The other piece ofinnovation is it always takespartnership,” she said.So Leigh was reallyinterested in learning aboutRoss Mitchell, a young farmerin northern Scotland.“He’s roughly at the samelatitude as Fort St. John and atthat latitude, he grows softfruits; he grows blueberries,strawberries, raspberries andsweet cherries, all under high-poly tunnels, which is radicallycool,” she said. “He was the2009 Soft Fruit Grower of theYear, and he started 10 yearsago with four acres of u-pickTamara Leighstrawberries. It’s a hugedevelopment in what he’sdone.”Leigh pointed to this as agreat example of value-chaincollaboration because Marksand Spencer, one of thepremier food retailers in theUnited Kingdom, haspartnered with Mitchell tomove forward the supply oflocal fruit. They have partiallyfunded variety trials forblueberries, and they havefunded packaging innovationthat extends the shelf life ofthe fruit when it goes tomarket. They asked him to doa 16-acre experiment bringingsweet cherries into high-polytunnel production, whichnobody had done before thathe or Leigh was aware of, sheexplained. During her presentation,Leigh also highlighted thecreation of innovation hubs inPrince Edward Island andScotland.She says BC does havesome innovation hubs. Forexample, there is the BCAgriculture Research Networkout of the University of theFraser Valley Centre forExcellence in Agriculture.Leigh says it is bringingtogether all of the major BCuniversities engaged inagricultural research andgiving it a home. She thinksthis is what BC needs to startnurturing a culture ofinnovation. As well, VancouverIsland University is workingtowards creating theCowichan Centre forAgriculture, Aquaculture andFood Security/Sustainability,which is currently indevelopment in the CowichanValley.Leigh believes thatVancouver Island needs a hubfor innovation and research toserve the entire Islandagricultural industry and tohelp it move forward.“Pretty much everycommunity on VancouverIsland has an Agriculture AreaPlan that aects priorities.Many of those require trainingor research,” she said. “To beable to get our resourcestogether to economize, butalso to really get a richunderstanding of the diversityof Vancouver Island, we doneed that hub for innovationand research to cometogether. “I think that increasingly, aswe look at these examples inPrince Edward Island andScotland and in the plans forVancouver Island University,that shared services model,the multiple levels ofpartnerships is absolutelyessential in moving thesethings forward.”See our complete inventory atFarmersEquip.comLYNDEN, WASHINGTON888-855-4981PRICES IN US DOLLARS2008 CASE IH PUMA 195 16SP POWERSHIFT, LX770LOADER, NICE TIRES, 80%TREAD FE#22554$120,0002012 MAGNUM 290 FE#19120 POWERSHIFT,4 SETS REMOTES, BUDDY SEAT, REAR DUALS $149,950RICHARDTON 8020DUMP WAGON, 100 GAL SPRAYTANK, GOOD CYLINDERS,NICE SHAPE FE#22527 $10,500VOLVO L50B WHEEL LOADER1500 HRS ON REMAN MOTOR,BKT/FORKS, HYD QUICKCHANGE BUCKET, GOOD TIRES,FE#20050$39,9502008 NH TRACK LOADERLOW PRO 72” BUCKET, PILOT CONTROLS, 740 HRSFE #16080$24,950Vancouver Island, PEI, UK faceunique but similar challenges
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 25Insects are a major problemfor farmers worldwide,destroying some 40% ofglobal agricultural production. In BC, the spotted wingDrosophila (Drosophilasuzukii), native to SoutheastAsia, is a serious fruit y pestthat rst appeared in theprovince in 2009 and is nowwidespread in the fruitgrowing regions on the Coastand in the Interior. Globally, ithas now spread to soft fruitproducing regionsthroughout Asia, NorthAmerica and Europe. Most fruit ies infestoverripe, fallen or decayingfruit so they are not a threat toa marketable product. Not sothe Drosophila. This y takesits aim at soft and thin-skinned fruits like blueberriesas well as blackberries,strawberries, cherries,peaches, apricots and plums.Eggs laid inside fruitThe y lays its eggs insidethe ripening fruit beforeharvest. When the larvaeemerge, they feed on the fruitand breathe through thepinprick holes where the adulthad penetrated the fruit. Notonly is the fruit damaged bythe larvae but it is vulnerableto infection such as brown rot,costing the industry millionsin annual crop damage. In BC, one to three or moreinsecticide applications areneeded for crops that haveevidence of Drosophila. However, new research atthe University of California,Riverside (UCR), is showingpromise for the developmentof a safe, eective repellentfor the pest. Scientists haveidentied Butyl anthranilate(BA), a pleasant-smellingchemical compoundproduced naturally in tinyamounts in fruits. In labexperiments using coatedblueberries, they found BAactually wards o Drosophila.The nding, whenextrapolated to otheragricultural pests, couldprovide a strategy forcontrolling the pest,increasing productivity andsignicantly improving thefarmer’s bottom line.“Toxic insecticides are oftenrisky to use directly on fruits,especially when they are closeto being harvested,” saysAnandasankar Ray, anassociate professor ofentomology and the directorof the Center forDisease VectorResearch at UCR,whose lab performedthe research project.“A safe and aordablerepellent such as BAcould provideprotection and reduce use oftoxic chemicals.”Interesting experimentRay and graduate studentChristine Krause Pham testedtwo bowls of fresh, ripeblueberries. BA was applied toberries in one bowl andsolvent to berries in thesecond (control) bowl. Thebowls were placed in a glasschamber and exposed to thefruit y for a week. Theexperiment was repeated onsubsequent weeks withvariations of BAconcentrations. They found aclear dose-dependentdecrease in the number oflarvae and pupae emergingfrom the BA treatedblueberries.“We saw decreases afteronly a single treatment,” saysPham, lead author of theresearch paper. “We sawsubstantial decreases at 2.5%(concentration) of BA andnearly complete protection atthe 10% concentration,strongly indicating that insectrepellents with good safetyproles can be useful toreduce fruit damage duringripening.”According to the UCR pressrelease written by IqbalPittalwala, BA smells likegrapes and is often used as aavour and fragrancecomponent. It is approved asa food additive for humanconsumption. Attracted to ripening fruit“Most flies are attracted torotting fruit,” Ray explains.“D. suzukii, however, isspecialized in that it isattracted to ripening fruit.What makes BA especiallyappealing is that not onlydoes it repel D. suzukii, but italso reduces the flies’ desireto lay eggs. There is goodpotential in the future todevelop brand newstrategies for reducing cropdamage using repellents likeResearch promising in purgeof the D. suzukii scourgeA sustainable approach to controlling Spotted Wing DrosophilaBA. From previous studies wehave done in the lab, wehave hundreds of suchcompounds to explore andtest.”Natural repellents oerpromise for a variety ofapplications. They are safe,inexpensive and can protectnot only agricultural producefrom pests but people andlivestock from biting insects. Last year, the UCR Oce ofTechnologyCommercialization helped Raylaunch Sensorygen Inc.around the BA technologyand have led a patent on thetechnology reported in theresearch paper.The research was publishedlast month in Scientic Reports,an online and open-accessNature publication.Researchers say there is a safe, eective repellent that is showingpromise in SWD control and that could lead to further studies inmore natural repellents.ZZZORHZHQZHOGLQJFRP1(: 0DQXUH6SUHDGHUGXDOSXPSVODUJHIORWDWLRQWLUHVKHDY\GXW\VWXGD[OHSUHYDFOLJKWVKRVHIURQW PDQGRRU8VHG,PS*DOORQ7DQGHP$[OH0DQXUH6SUHDGHU/ )ORWDWLRQ7LUHV:DOO\SXPSUHDUERRP5(%8,/7+RUL]RQWDO)HHG0L[HU5(%8,/7+RUL]RQWDO)HHG0L[HU5(%8,/7+RUL]RQWDO)HHG0L[HUIW +3 0DQXUH$JLWDWRUIW +3 0DQXUH$JLWDWRUͩͦͧ͡SO\SO\/ SO\/SO\/SO\SO\/ SO\/ SO\/ SO\62/'ResearchMARGARET EVANS
by PETER MITHAMCOBBLE HILL – Opponents are continuing to ghtplans by a Vancouver Island farm to reshape itsproperty to improve its agricultural capabilities,arguing that the project needs furtherenvironmental assessment.Balme Ayr Farms Ltd. of Cobble Hill seeks to leveland recontour a 70-acre parcel located across IslandHighway from its home farm, boosting forageproduction for the farm’s herd of 115 dairy cattleand yielding revenue from production of aggregatefrom the rock underlying the current landscape.Balme Ayr owners Oliver and Shelley Balme planto launch the project this fall, with the blessing ofboth the province’s Agricultural Land Commission(ALC) and the Ministry of Energy Mines, whichoversees aggregate extraction.But the plans have met sti opposition from boththe Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) andneighbours, who claim the project will havesignicant negative eects on the environment andlocal farm operations such as Venturi-SchulzeVineyards.Opponents successfully quashed plans for theBalmes to process aggregate on site, challengingthe CVRD’s authority to issue a temporary usepermit for aggregate processing at the farm.Blunt opposition at a directors’ meeting lastsummer, and subsequent legal opinions, nixed thepossibility of a permit because the CVRD’s planningdocuments didn’t give it explicit authority in thematter. The move means the Balmes must now havethe aggregate trucked to Duncan for processing,increasing truck trac and doubling the anticipatedlife of the project.Now, a petition led on behalf of Talia McKenzieby lawyer David Perry of Stewart & Co. seeks anenvironmental assessment of the project, arguingthat both the ALC and CVRDfailed to require one beforeallowing the project.The action is backed by $8,920from West Coast EnvironmentalLaw – not a party to the action –which argues that Balme Ayrworked inconsistencies in reviewrequirements betweengovernment ministries to avoidtriggering a review.“Whereas the ALC applicationwas for the removal of 4 millionm3 of gravel over a period of 15years, the Notice of Work to theMinistry was for the removal of7.5 million tonnes of gravel overan expected 30 years, double thetime frame considered by theALC. Why the discrepancy?”commentary by West CoastEnvironmental Law published inJune asks. “According to a letterfrom Balme Ayr Farm’s expertagrologist to the ALC (which weobtained through a Freedom ofInformation request), the 15-yeargure is the correct one, and thegures given to the Ministry of Energy and Mines area ‘work-around’ to avoid the requirement of anenvironmental assessment.”FrustratedHowever, Shelley Balme notes that there is noinconsistency at all – the volumes concerned are thesame – save in the time line for the project, whichhad to be extended to accommodate the farm’sinability to process gravel onsite.The latest petition frustratesthe Balmes, who decided torecontour their land in responseto some practical obstacles: theloss of tenancy on a moreaccessible parcel. By upgradingthe parcel on the opposite sideof Island Highway, it willbecome more attractive to farmdespite becoming more dicultto access following highwayamendments in 2006.Shelley Balme wishesneighbours would accept theregulators’ decisions and theproject’s exemption fromreview.“‘No means no,’ and thesepeople have had a letter fromthe [BC] EnvironmentalAssessment Oce telling themour proposal is not a reviewableproject and will not be subjectto an environmentalassessment,” she told CountryLife in BC. “The fact of the matteris it is not under the ALC or CVRD’s jurisdiction to doso.”Grace Jackson, a Vancouver lawyer working withPerry on the petition, said a hearing will likely takeplace in mid November. By that time, the Balmeshope to have shovels in the ground as permitted byprovincial regulators.Country Life in BC • August 201526Dairy farm continues to face opposition to gravel extraction: IslandBlunt opposition at adirectorsʼ meeting lastsummer ... nixed thepossibility of a permitbecause the CVRDʼsplanning documents didnʼtgive it explicit authority inthe matter. The movemeans the Balmes mustnow have the aggregatetrucked to Duncan forprocessing, increasingtruck traffic and doublingthe anticipated life of theproject.
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 27Dairy Farmers of Canada reach agreement on proActionby DAVID SCHMIDTVANCOUVER – DairyFarmers of Canada (DFC) hasapproved the nal fourmodules of its proActionInitiative: animal care,traceability, biosecurity andenvironment. DFC delegatesput their stamp of approval onthe program at their annualmeeting in Vancouver, July 14-15.Over 97% of Canadian dairyfarms have already beenvalidated under the CanadianQuality Milk (CQM) program,the rst of proAction’s sixcomponents to be rolled out.It has now been fullyrecognized by the CanadianFood Inspection Agency.The Animal Care program isalready mandatory in BC andseveral other provinces andwill be rolled into proActionover the next year.Implementation of thetraceability module will alsobegin this fall. The biosecurityand environment modules arebeing drafted and a combinedon-farm pilot is scheduled tobegin in January. DFC hascreated a new proActionwebsite to provideinformation and progressreports on each module.“With proAction, we areworking to demonstrate tocustomers how we use bestpractices on our farms –whether that be food safety,good animal care practices orresponsible environmentalstewardship,” says DFCpresident Wally Smith, aVancouver Island dairyman.Millions invested in qualityDFC says dairymen havealready invested over $75million to improve milk qualityand expects them to investanother $200 million in futureyears to fully implementproAction on their farms. It isalso asking the federalgovernment to help fund theimplementation as partialmitigation for giving away17,700 tonnes of cheeseaccess in the ComprehensiveEconomic and TradeAgreement (CETA) withEurope.With proAction a done deal,delegates turned theirattention to free trade and theTrans Pacic Partnership inparticular. They unanimouslyinsisted “that the governmentand all Canadianparliamentarians make nodairy sector concessions in theTPP negotiations.”“Free trade agreements areon top of the priorities list forour federal government; so ithas become our top priorityto defend our system,” Smithsaid in his president’s address.“Canada’s supplymanagement system hascome under re bothdomestically andinternationally. (The voices)are unmistakably gettinglouder and more frequent –but mostly misleading,unbalanced and prejudiced.”Public outreachTo counter that, DFClaunched a public outreachcampaign in May to tellconsumers just how much theCanadian dairy sectorcontributes to the country’seconomic and social well-being. Called the “Milkle-Down Eect,” the campaignincludes a website, print ads,radio and TV spots. “We have videos of theimpact of trade negotiationson your farms,” new DFCexecutive director CarolineEmond told producers, addingthe campaign “remindsCanadians supplymanagement is good forfarmers, processors andconsumers.”DFC points out dairy is oneof the top two agriculturalindustries in seven Canadianprovinces, providing 215,000jobs and contributing almost$19 billion annually toCanada’s GDP and $3.6 billionper year in taxes to all levels ofgovernment. Although Canadian electedocials and sta repeatedlypromise to “defend andprotect” supply management,Smith said the CETAagreement “demonstrates itwill not be left alone.“Government must nevertrade away the sustainableeconomic driver ofunsubsidized supplymanagement to participate inthe unsustainable,uneconomic model ofsubsidized deregulated worldtrade,” he insisted.Farmers could nd outwhether government hasheeded those words as soonas the end of July. “The (TPP) negotiations arevery advanced,” Agricultureand Agri-Food Canadadirector general of tradeagreements and negotiationsFrédéric Seppey told them.“Work on the rules is almostnished and only a few keyissues remain.”Trade ministers from the 12participating countries inwhat Seppey calls “the mostsignicant trade initiativeunderway in the world” are tomeet in Hawaii at the end ofJuly in hopes of concludingthe agreement. “If we don’tconclude in the near future,the initiative will losemomentum.” He said the governmenthas told its negotiators to“come up with somethingwhich protects supplymanagement and allows allother agricultural sectors tothrive.”Seppey suggested that ispossible, claiming “I have notheard any country call for anend to supply management.These negotiations are aboutmarket access, not changingpolicies.”He and Smith both stressedCanada “will sign” the TPPwhether or not supplymanagement is protectedsince Canada relies on trade inagriculture.“Canada is the world’s fthlargest food exporter andsixth largest food importer,”Seppey pointed out. Ittherefore needs theagreement to “ensureincreased market access tomajor markets.”Address level of importsMarket access, but inreverse, was the subject of asecond resolution passed byDFC delegates. It called on theCanadian government to “useall means available to addressthe high levels of imports thatare disrupting the stability ofthe Canadian supplymanagement system.”The resolution noted milk,milk protein concentrate anddairy product imports arereaching record levels andnow represent eight to tenper cent of domesticconsumption. Delegates also endorsedSmith’s continued leadership.He was elected to a third termas president, successfullyfending o a rare challengefrom Quebec Milk Producerspresident and DFC vice-president Bruno Letendre.Letendre called for DFC towork more closely withprocessors, claiming therelationship betweenproducers and processors hasbeen “deteriorating.” He alsocalled for the creation of asingle milk pool in Canada,something Smith’s homeprovince of BC, in particular,continues to resist.After losing his bid for thepresidency, Letendrepromised to remain on theDFC executive “at least untilApril.” Delegates endorse Wally Smith for third term as presidentNatural gas supplymanagementcascadiaenergy.caVanc: 604-687-6663VanIsl: 250-704-4443Wally SmithFrédéric SeppeyMONDAYS 11 AM STARTSLAUGHTER, FEEDER & MISC LIVESTOCKWEDNESDAYS 1 PM START DAIRY & SLAUGHTERMONDAY, AUGUST 10MONDAY, AUGUST 31MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14YOUR COMPLETE MARKETING OUTLETABBOTSFORD • 604/864-2381 • 604/855-7895FEEDER SALESMcCLARYSTOCKYARDS LTD.BC’s best cow market for over 40 years!34559 MCCLARY AVENUE . 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August 2015 • Country Life in BC 29City folk associate communitygardening with agricultureby PETER MITHAMVANCOUVER – WhenToronto consulting rmStrategic Counsel surveyedCanadians for Agriculture andAgri-food Canada last year, itfound “community gardens”among the terms respondentsmost positively associated withagriculture.However, the results of a2013 survey of householdsacross the country by StatisticsCanada suggests that home-grown produce is more likelyto happen when people ownsingle-detached homes withyards – something in short(and diminishing) supply incities like Vancouver.Statistics Canada found that57% of households in Canadagrew some kind of fruit, herb,vegetable or ower forpersonal use in the 12 monthsprior to the survey.BC residents ranked fourthin the country for homeproduction, with 59% ofhouseholds working the soil insome manner, well behindManitoba’s green-thumbedhouseholds at 68% and thewell-known agrarian provincesof Prince Edward Island andSaskatchewan at 63% and 62%,respectively.But the majority of homegrowers use yard space, withjust 4% using the communitygardens that cities across thecountry have established tosatisfy residents’ earthyimpulses. Similarly,homeowners wereapproximately twice as activegrowers as renters, at 65%versus 34%.Those statistics pose achallenge for Vancouver,where the number of singlefamily homes fell byapproximately 900 unitsbetween 2006 and 2011 andcontinues to drop as the citydensies key residentialneighbourhoods traditionallyhome to such housing.“Here’s the dilemma as wecreate badly needed density –think Cambie Street – singlefamily homes disappear,”condo marketer Bob Rennietold the Urban DevelopmentInstitute in Vancouver this pastMay. “It’s not just that we won’tmake another, we’re losing.And as we want more density,we’ll lose more single-familyhomes.”While multifamily housingreplaces houses with yards, thebalconies that accompanymany of the units are lessfavoured spots for gardens,with just 30% of householdsemploying them.Sadhu Johnston, deputy citymanager for Vancouver andthe city’s designatedspokesperson regardingcommunity gardens, wasn’tavailable for comment butHeather Pritchard ofFarmFolk/CityFolk saidVancouver’s loss of single-family properties underscoresthe need for the city to createmore community gardens.“The local food movementhas really taken hold,particularly in BC,” saysPritchard, a founder of GloriousOrganics Co-op in Aldergrove,who oversees farm programsfor FarmFolk/CityFolk. “We leadthe way in terms of bothorganic production andconsciousness of local food,and purchasing locally and, tome, growing your own foodcomes out of that as well, andsupports it.”Vancouver hasapproximately 4,200community garden plots atmore than 75 sites around thecity, and aims to achieve a totalof 5,000 gardens by 2020.But the loss of the detachedhomes with the yard spacethat home growers favourmakes urban agriculture apursuit of the urban gentryrather than somethingeveryone can do.“It’s a privilege; it’s notsomething that everybody canaccess, which is then why it’sso important to havecommunity garden space,” shesays. “The small percentage ofcommunity gardening that’sgoing on does not reect theinterest.”Not all community gardens are created equal. This one, at the busyintersection of Main Street and Terminal Avenue in Vancouver, ishome to fruit trees. (Peter Mitham photo)www.tubeline.ca 1.888.856.6613Built with smaller operations in mind, the Nitro 375RS is constructed with top grade materials to handle real day-to-day farming. With standard features including robust apron chains, hungry vertical beaters, and an adjustable guillotine end gate, you can rest assured that the Nitro 375RS will not only provide the consistent spread you’ll need, but also limit your time in the field. Contact Tubeline for more information on the Nitro 375RS or other models.140’ X 242’ CATTLE BARN -MITCHELL, ONEECI15151-S02“THE CATTLE ARE VERY CONTENT”1-877-849-9049www.wecover.netThe cattle are very content in our new We Cover barn. We attribute this to the natural light provided by the fabric roof. The result is an increase in the performance of the cattle. We chose We Cover over other structures because of its durability, ease of maintenance and their customer service. Te.
Country Life in BC • August 201530The new styleof productivityAll your equipment needs.All one conVenIent place!We know that your time as a farmer is precious. Thats why at Matsqui At Re-pair we make sure to carry the highest quality products from the lines of: Deutz-Fahr, Kuhn, McCormick, Kioti and McHale! www.matsquiagrepair.com34856 Harris rd, abbotsford bC | 604-826-3281by PETER MITHAMVANCOUVER – Vancouverhas yet to develop licensingfor urban farm operationswhich remain largelyunregulated within city limits,save where they have thecity’s express blessing.But across the GeorgiaStrait in Victoria, zoningregulations are preventing arooftop garden piloted byFort Properties Ltd. atop abuilding it owns at Fort andBlanshard streets fromsupplying local restaurants.Jayne Bradbury, of family-run Fort Properties, says theby PETER MITHAMThe restoration of connections between communities andfood production has been on the upswing for the past decade,both through agriculture awareness initiatives and resortdevelopments that place people among verdant vineyards.Now, that trend is taking an even more radical step forwardas developers seek to eliminate the buer zones manymunicipalities worked hard to implement to ensure cordialrelations between farmers and their urban neighbours.A decade ago, provincial and municipal sta werecongratulating themselves on having established setbacks tomitigate concerns regarding everything from propane cannonsand light emissions from greenhouses. Negotiating the urban-rural fringe was all the rage and – to quote Robert Frost – goodfences made good neighbours.But as Sean Hodgins, president of Tsawwassen’s CenturyGroup, which is set to start construction of the 950-homeSouthlands community in South Delta next year, told a meetingof the Urban Land Institute in Vancouver recently, it’s time tobreak down some of the barriers.Showing an image of a windbreak to the audience of civicocials, architects, planners and developers, Hodgins said thewindbreak – and the fence it rose up through – may have beena good idea at one time but hardly a solid solution to thetensions between land uses.“What if instead of isolating or buering agriculture, wecould design a community around food and agriculture?” heasked. “That was a political line between where housing couldhappen and where agriculture would happen, and the thingabout political lines is that they always fail – they always getchanged over time.”Hodgins suggested that a community amenity such as arecreational trail or a community garden could oer a softer,yet less exible line between competing land uses becausecommunities feel pride in amenities.“It is used by the community [and] it becomes a thick edgethat will never fail because the community will ght for it,” hesaid. This is the vision for Southlands, which will have a marketsquare at the heart of a community, on a 535-acre tract of landof which 80% will be preserved for agriculture and green space.“The market square is really designed to be that nexus pointbetween the community – which is also around the marketsquare – but connected to the land,” he said, outlining hisvision of “a community where there’s food and agriculture atmany levels of the community.”A small market garden will be part of the community, whilewalking paths through the development will feature fruit treesto which members of the community can help themselves.city requires agriculturalzoning for the space if itsupplies produce to thirdparties such as localrestaurants.Bradbury says eorts areunderway to convinceVictoria sta to allow theproject, known as Topsoil.The project follows lastyear’s conversion of a formerparking lot to a communitycourtyard by Fort inpartnership with OughtredCoee & Tea and the FoodEco District Society.Approximately 100 squarefeet of garden space plannedfor the former parking lotaimed to supply localrestaurants including Be Love,La Taquisa and Chorizo & Co.with culinary herbs and otherproduce.Alison Meyer, assistantdirector, developmentservices for Victoria, sayszoning regulations aim tolimit conicts betweenvarious property uses.While urban agriculture is apermitted home occupationso long as produce is sold o-site, as well as a permitted usein manufacturing zones,accommodating it withindense downtownenvironments where uses mixpotentially presents greaterchallenges.However, Meyer notes thedevelopment of long-termpolicies for food security andboulevard gardening,including an inventory of city-owned land for foodproduction, is one of the city’sstrategic goals for 2015.Bylaw prevents urban farmingUrban/rural buffer zonesare counter-productiveONE, TWO & THREE YEARSUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE. See our ad on page 42 for rates!It’s your business.And you need to keep up date on the news andevents that affect you and your farm operation.It’s what we have been doing for almost a century!Subscribe today!COUNTRYLifein BCThe Agricultural News Source inBritish Columbia since 1915CORRECTIONSWe apologize for incorrectly identifying David Schmidtas the photographer of the photo of Lindsay Babineauand Pat Tonn on page 15 in our July issue. The photo wasin fact taken by Emma Sweeney. The story with the headline: Province has no plans toupdate forage strategy (page 3, July 2015): The dateline inthis story was incorrectly identied as Telkwa. It shouldhave read Vancouver.
availability of range. In mid-July, there were over 250 resburning across the province,consuming trees and all thegrass beneath them.New normal?In the midst of it all,producers wonder if theseconditions may be the newnormal for BC’s summers.Climate models predict hotter,drier summers, greater pestpressure and increasingwildre risk, and the CaribooCattlemen’s Association haveprojects underway to addresssome of these issues with thesupport of the BC Agriculture& Food Climate ActionInitiative. The Wildre Preparednessand Mitigation Planning andResources project is a pilot todevelop individual andcollaborative farm plans forproducers facing wildre risk.The process helps identify therisks, gaps and concerns forproducers, as well as aninventory of availableresources. This work isintended to help improve remitigation, preparedness andrecovery, and help improvecommunications between remanagement and responseagencies and the agricultureAugust 2015 • Country Life in BC 31What a dierence irrigation can make – especially in an unseasonably dry year like this is shaping upto be. Even with irrigation, BC ranchers are worried there will be a feed shortage this winter and arealready starting to market cattle. (Liz Twan le photo)Please see “TIMELY” page 43by TAMARA LEIGHKAMLOOPS – Severedrought conditions in manyparts of the province arethreatening forage crops andbaking pastures. In a yearwhere beef prices are goingup across North America, BCranchers are left wondering ifthey’ll be able to feed theirstock.“We are at a point wherethe prices are up and it waslooking like there wasopportunity to expand, thenthis drought hit and it’s goingto go backwards,” says KevinBoon, executive director ofthe BC Cattlemen’sAssociation. “We areanticipating some cattle willbe sold because of thedrought.”On July 23, the federalgovernment announced itwas expanding the list ofregions in BC where livestockproducers would be eligiblefor tax relief to help themcope with drought conditionsand feed shortages. The listnow includes much ofVancouver Island, the FraserValley, the Kootenays,Okanagan-Similkameen,Columbia Shuswap andThompson Nicola in additionto the Cariboo. A detailed listof prescribed regions isavailable on the governmentwebsite [www.agri.gc.ca]. Defer sale proceedsLivestock producers inthose regions who are facingfeed shortages can defer aportion of their 2015 saleproceeds of breedinglivestock for one year in orderto help replenish that stock inthe following year. Proceedsfrom deferred sales are thenincluded as part of theproducer’s income in the nexttax year, when those proceedsmay be at least partially osetby the cost of replacing theirbreeding animals.To defer income, thebreeding herd must havebeen reduced by at least 15%.If this is the case, 30% ofincome from net sales canthen be deferred. In caseswhere the herd declines by30% or more, 90% of incomefrom net sales can bedeferred. Eligible producerscan request the tax deferralwhen ling their 2015 incometax returns.BC agriculture ministerNorm Letnick was quick toacknowledge the federalsupport, saying “Theunprecedented hot and dryweather brings the immediatechallenges of heat and water,and the longer term impactsof more expensive, and harderto nd cattle feed, and theannouncement made today isone tool to help ranchersbetter prepare for it.”Not much hay availableFinding feed is shaping upto be a major concern forfarmers. Local forageproduction is suering withheat and water restrictions,and there is precious little hayavailable to import from thePrairies this year. “Not only is there ashortage of feed at home butchances of getting feed fromelsewhere is quicklydiminishing, and prices arerising,” says Boon, noting hayprices have doubled in thelast year. “It’s shaping up to bethe perfect storm to aect usdetrimentally throughout thenext year because that’s ourwinter feed supply.”Producers may choose tosend their stock south to feedand nish, or reduce theirherds. “We anticipate that themajor hit will come to thecow/calf producer who has towork with what they’re given,”says Boon.Cuyler Human runs acow/calf operation with hisfather in Riske Creek nearWilliams Lake. He has beenworking through achallenging year betweendrought and pests. “The continuing dry, hotDrought conditions have ranchers worried about winter feedweather combined withgrasshoppers has been quitedevastating to parts of ouroperation. Pastures in earlyJune looked okay consideringthe dry weather, but then thegrasshoppers came andliterally ate anything green,”says Human. They have managed bymoving dierent groups ofcows and yearlings topastures that are usuallyreserved for fall grazing, butlost grazing days in the fallmeans more hay will beneeded to feed through thewinter. Herds likely culled“It seems that hay is in shortsupply this year, and what isavailable will be quiteexpensive,” he says. “I expectranchers will be culling theirherds fairly hard this fall,sending more cows to the salebecause they just won’t haveenough feed, are unable tosource o ranch feed, or thecost of the feed will beprohibitive.”Increased wildre risk is alsoramping up pressure on theCan VBP is a trusted national producer-driven program to verify on-farm food safety practices. Being part of this program demonstrates that you are following industry-sanctioned standards. New to VBP: biosecurity resources and workshops. Both are simple, practical and field proven. Contact us today to learn more about this opportunity. Helping build trust through responsible food production. Canada’s Verified Beef Production Program Ph: 1-866-398-2848 Email: VBP@cattlemen.bc.ca www.cattlemen.bc.ca/vbp.htm www.bchereford.ca Aug 22 - Nechako Valley Exhibition, Hereford Mark Of Excellence Show, Vanderhoof, BC Sept 4 - BCHA AGM, Prestige Hotel & Conference Centre, Vernon, BC Sept 5 - IPE, Hereford Mark Of Excellence Show, Armstrong, BC Sept 12 - West Coast Hereford Club, Hereford Mark Of Excellence Show, Aldergove, BC Sept 17 - 20 - Richardson Ranch 6th Annual Online Sale, www.richardsonranch.ca Sept 26 - Pacific Invitational All Breed Female Sale, BC Livestock Co-op, Williams Lake, BC Oct 3 - Yellowhead Breeders Field Day at Copper-T Ranch, Fraser Lake, BC BCHA President: 604-582-3499 BCHA Secretary: 250-699-6466 Visit for details
Country Life in BC • August 201532New campaign urges consumersto Buy Local nursery plantsBC wine industry mulls shakeup to appellationsby PETER MITHAMKELOWNA – BC grapesaren’t the only things gettinga little extra colour thissummer. BC winemakers are hopingto add a little more localcolour to the province’ssystem of appellations,formally known as“geographical indications”(GIs).Right now, there are sevendesignated GIs: one coveringthe province as a whole; vefor the Fraser Valley,Okanagan Valley, SimilkameenVallery, Vancouver Island andGulf Islands; and a seventh,formally established just thisyear, for the Golden MileBench in the southernOkanagan. But three days before thegovernment announced itsapproval of the Golden MileBench at the end of March, itannounced the launch of theBC Wine Task Group, a 15-member assemblage backedwith federal and provincialdollars that aims to revampthe appellation system.“All producers of qualitywine are proud of where theirwines come from and theywant to talk about it on theirlabels,” explains Ezra Cipes,CEO of Summerhill Pyramidby DAVID SCHMIDTLANGLEY – The BC Landscape and NurseryAssociation is using a spring plant auction andBuy Local funding to develop a new PlantSomething BC program.“We are now developing a logo and will belaunching the program at Canwest inSeptember,” program co-ordinator AlisonDouble told growers and retailers at theircombined meeting in Langley, June 22.Scheduled for September 9-10, Canwest ismoving to the Abbotsford Tradex this year.The added space means Canwest not only hasroom for more exhibits but can also oer anexpanded education program and outdoorequipment demos.“We have already surpassed last year’snumber of exhibitors,” Canwest managerKaren DeJong reported, adding she expectsthe new venue will attract “a new, refreshedaudience.”The Plant Something program began in2010 and now includes 16 US states. BC will bethe rst Canadian province to adopt theprogram which involves all segments of theindustry: growers, retailers and landscapers.“Our aim is to increase your value of sales by2.5%,” Double said, noting it is centred on aPlant Something BC website with both abusiness-to-business database and a databaseof retailers and landscapers for consumers. Itwill be promoted through social media,billboards, truck wraps and point of salematerials.“Many people are already buying local fortheir food. We want them to Buy Local for theirplants as well,” Double said.Because it will be exclusive to BCLNAmembers, she hopes it will also increase theassociation’s membership. Althoughscheduled to end next May, she believes theprogram could lead to long-term strategicpartnerships.Achieving an increase may be dicult as theindustry is coming o one of its best springs inyears.Both Miles Hunter of Hunter’s GardenCentres in Vancouver and Surrey and RenataTriveri of Grow & Gather in Maple Ridgereported increased sales.“We sold out of roses and fruit trees,” Triverisaid, with Hunter adding they also sold “lots ofsmall fruits.”Despite that, Hunter noted “we’re still justgetting back to where we were in 2009/10.”Brent Mooney of Golden Spruce Nurseries inLangley, who markets primarily to landscapers,noted that not only were his sales up “doubledigits” but margins were better.“We’re seeing more demand for larger trees(one to two trees per truck). Our duds areplants in four-inch pots.”Most credited the great, (and early) springweather. Even though his sales, too, were“great,” Jonathan Klinck of Atlasta Tree Nurseryin Chilliwack noted everything has a downside.“This spring was tough for bare root treesbecause the dormant season was so short. Weneed more winter,” he said.While BC enjoyed a balmy spring, the samewas not true in eastern Canada and the US.However, that did not hamper his sales, saidGord Mathies of Cannor Nurseries inChilliwack.“We’re an export nursery,” he noted, addingthat “considering how the weather was backeast, they were taking a lot of product.”Despite the optimism, Hunter cautionedgrowers not to rely on continued salesincreases. “Don’t produce more just becauseyou sold more this year.”He also told growers to insist their retailers notsell their products for less than they’re worth.“There are big box retailers selling for morethan we are.”Winery in Kelowna, who chairsthe task group.Right now, wineriesregistered with the BC WineAuthority (BCWA) –approximately 160 of the 240grape wineries in the province– are limited to the ocialterms to designate wheretheir wines originate.Wineries can releasevineyard-designated wines solong as these fall within one ofthe recognized GIs, but theycan’t proclaim the wine asbeing from the NaramataBench.Rights to the GIs are heldby the government so no oneelse can use the designationsto describe their wines either,but catching transgressors isdriven by complaints becausethere’s no monitoring system.The result, Cipes says, is asystem in need of reform.“All those label claims arecompletely unregulatedcurrently,” he explains. “And Ithink there’s an issue therethat, as an industry, I’m gladwe’re looking at.”Others seem to be glad,too.A survey that Vancouver-based consulting rm HoweGroup conducted in the latterhalf of June on behalf of thetask group garnered 849responses from industry andindividuals.Survey said:The survey sought opinionsfrom stakeholders regardingthe current state of theprovince’s appellationregulations, as well as theaudits designed to back uplabel claims. Views on thevalue of the long-standing BCVintners’ Quality Alliance(VQA) designation – which isprimarily concerned withquality rather than wine origin– were also sought.The survey followed aseries of town hall meetingswith producers that tookplace in the Okanagan Valley,in the neighbouringSimilkameen, on VancouverIsland, and elsewhere.However, the survey put thequestion of change to theindustry as a whole, as well asconsumers.“We are delighted with theenthusiastic response fromwineries of all sizes, as well asgrape growers, wine sellers,the restaurant and hospitalitysectors, and consumers,”Cipes said in a statement onthe survey’s conclusion.The task group met toreview the survey responsesin mid July and will draftrecommendations forsubmission to the BCWA atthe end of September.Those recommendationswill conclude its work, leavingit to the BCWA to draftproposals based on therecommendations that willthen go to an industry vote.Based on the course of pastplebiscites, any changes likelywould not occur before 2016.CIDC Check-offBCID Fund9WorkBeef atCheck-offCheck-offCIDC 9Ch9f9heck-of9at9W9Beef 9ork9WoFundCI-D FundBCID Producer Check-Off Supports Beef Industry Projects.www.cattlefund.net | 1-877-688-2333
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 33by RONDA PAYNEABBOTSFORD – Any farmer,organic or conventional, willagree weeds are the enemyand an expensive one at that.They give pests a home, robcrops of nutrients andwelcome disease.Unfortunately, there is nopublic “weed squad” availableand ridding elds of weeds ismore than a full time job. Chickweed, lamb’s quartersor buttercups. Once aparticularly persistent weedtakes hold, it can be nearimpossible to be rid of it.These types of weeds willseem like child’s play,however, if yellow nutsedgemakes its way onto the farm. Tim Miller of WashingtonState University in MountVernon spoke at the 2015Pacic Agriculture Showabout the invasive weedwhich now holds the dubioustitle of worst weed in theworld. Its cousin, purplenutsedge, fortunately hasn’tmade its way to BC as it is atropical variety. Small comfortif yellow nutsedge is in theelds.“If you don’t have it, don’tget it,” Miller said at the startof his presentation. “It’s agame changer.”Upon rst glance, nutsedgelooks like grass, but as itgrows, the V-shaped stem andsimilarly shaped leaves of palegreen set it apart. Stems arepith lled and the plantreproduces from basal bulbsand rhizome tubers. Tuberswill start to grow about fourto six weeks after the shootsemerge which happens inearly growing seasons (June)as it is stimulated by highlevels of nitrogen and longerdays.There are no good seasonswhen you have nutsedge asshorter days stimulate tuberproduction with up to 7,000tubers forming in just oneyear from a single plant. Those unlucky enough tond it in the eld will benetfrom Miller’s sting approach offrequent tilling and spraying.“Every three weeks till.Infrequent tilling is not good,”he said. “Or spray, then waitone week, then till.”Constantly cutting theweed back will reduce tubergrowth and gradually expirethe plant’s energy.Although tubers canlast three or moreyears, getting on topof it early is thebest case scenario.Planting smallgrains and doing so inrotation will also helpby competingwith nutsedge’snutrient demands.“If you can knock itdown in year one, youwill be way ahead,” saidMiller. “If I had just a smallamount of it, I would handdig that thing every singleday.”Miller would dig itwith a clean spadethough, as he points tothe ability for theweed to movearound oncultivation andother farmequipment. Keep the enemyat bay. Learn torecognize yellownutsedge in the earlystages and prevent itfrom stealing time betterspent elsewhere. Hit yellow nutsedge hard, or pay the priceby TAMARA LEIGHSAANICH – A VancouverIsland investor andentrepreneur is bucking thetrend and working to get a 10-acre property in CentralSaanich included in theAgricultural Land Reserve.Valerie Lindholm and herhusband, Mark, havepurchased the former IslandView Golf Centre with theintent of establishing it as aworking farm.“If we don’t have water andwe don’t have land, webasically have nothing,” saysLindholm. “My father saidyou’re not really building forthis generation or the next.Once you change that land,put something on it, that’s it;it’s gone. Regardless of whatwe are going to do with itnow, to get it back to the landbank is really vital.”This year, Lindholm is busyharvesting golf balls from theold driving range andconsulting with area farmersto determine what crops willbe best suited to the location. “We are going to look at itand see if this is the rightplace to grow barley,” shesays, but is also entertainingoptions for fruit trees andother edibles. “I am veryinexperienced with fruit, but Iwould like to have apple treesalong the sides of theproperty and we are lookingahead to climate changeimpacts and trends for otheroptions.” When asked about theaordability of agriculturalland at $145,000 per acre,Lindholm points to the frontof the property.“That’s why we have tohave something else on thatproperty besides just theland,” she says.The top three acres of theproperty features a 70-carparking lot, miniature golfcourse, decorative gardens,spring-fed pond, a largehouse and out buildings.While the driving range eldwill be planted, plans toexpand one of the buildingsfor a distillery are also in theworks. “I am not experiencedfarmer; I’m a business person.To have a land bank, that kindof asset goes beyond justmoney,” Lindholm explains.“What I know is that I eatseveral times a day, and Idrink. I look at themarketplace and say that’s asure bet.”“I’m at a point in my lifewhere I want to do somethingthat I’ll be proud of. If it’s not agood use of my money, Ibetter start growing somekale. I don’t know what willhappen, but I looked at it andthought this could be good.”Island golf centre to return to ALRTim Miller®Puma® tractors provide the right size and power for a wide variety of livestock and mixed crop operations. From mower conditioner, baler or loader work to pulling mid-size row crop tools, Puma tractors deliver the precise power you need for peak efciency and fuel economy. Now add in the CVT transmission, AFS precision, and SCR-only emission compliant engines and you’ve got an agile, easy to operate tractor that can keep up with your demands while keeping you comfortable even when your workday extends past dark.Case IH is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or afliates. CNH Industrial Capital is a trademark in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or afliates. www.caseih.comSEE US TODAY! OFFER ENDS SEPTEMBER 30, 2015.**For commercial use only. Customer participation subject to credit qualication and approval by CNH Industrial Capital America LLC or CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd. See your participating Case IH dealer for details and eligibility requirements. Down payment may be required. Offer good through September 30, 2015. Not all customers or applicants may qualify for this rate or term. CNH Industrial Capital America LLC or CNH Industrial Capital Canada Ltd. standard terms and conditions will apply. Canada Example: The interest rate will be 0.00% per annum for 36 months followed by a customer qualied rate of 4.99% per annum for 24 months. Total contract term is 60 months. 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Country Life in BC • August 201534Tim and Flo Rempel’s “smallest farm in the country” was the rstchicken farm to be SPCA-certied 13 years ago. (Ronda Payne photo)Small farms with big ideasAbbotsford farm tour puts spotlight on smaller growersby RONDA PAYNEABBOTSFORD – TheAbbotsford Chamber ofCommerce hosted its annualfarm tour earlier this summerfeaturing relatively smallfarming operations, but eachwith unique approaches andbig followings. Arina Onnink’s fatherstarted Onnink’s BlueberryFarm in the 1980s aftercoming here from Holland.When he passed away a littlemore than two years ago,Arina began putting her 18acres of blueberries morermly on the map. “We grow six dierentkinds of blueberries, so we goall the way to September,”she told the tour. Blue Crop,Reka, Brigitta, Draper,Northlands and Duke makeup the varieties on site andthe berries are kept safe frombirds through the use ofhawks. “We are one of the fewfarms that doesn’t usecannons,” noted Onnink.The farm also makes use ofunique opportunities. Onninkallows a number of post-secondary institutions tocome throughout the year toperform bee research,integrated pest managementand eld studies. Wildowerswere planted this year toprovide additional habitat forthe bees.Berries are picked twice bymachine and twice by handeach season. Pickers weargloves, says Onnink, as she isextremely concerned aboutfood safety. Computerizedlaser-scanning sorters alongwith human sorting ensureblueberries sold as Grade Aare top quality. Any imperfectblueberries are quicklyincorporated into one ofOnnink’s value-addedproducts: blueberry iced tea,blueberry bon-bons,blueberry baking and evenblueberry coee, all sold atthe farm’s winter boutique.“I don’t want to throwanything away,” says Onnink.“I want to be sustainable.”Smallest farm ...Just a few miles down theroad on what Tim Rempeldescribes as “the smallestfarm in farm country,” isRockweld Farm. This one-and-a-half acre SPCA-certiedchicken farm is a family (plusone employee) operation. “We started doing chickenjust to get farm status,”explains Rempel. But as the industrychanged, so did Rempel’sapproach. He had beenchicken is air-chilled ratherthan water chilled so there isless weight lost due tomoisture loss during cooking. Rockweld makes as muchuse of the birds as possible.From raw meat for dog foodto chicken feet, manyproducts sell out more quicklythan one might expect. “Growing birds in smallquantities for the BCMarketing Board is notprotable,” Rempel maintains.“The growers in Canada andBC are great growers andproduce a great product; wejust decided to self-market.”Six years and countingSince 2009, Lepp FarmMarket has been welcomingcustomers to their store onHwy 11 between Mission andAbbotsford. According toCharlotte Lepp, local productis important to the family.“In summer time, if we canget it local, we will get it local,”she says. “About 75 to 85% islocal in the summer.”All meat products sold inthe market are BC-raised,including Angus beef andLepp’s own chickens and pork. In a growing season as dryand early as this year, MikeLepp used a laying mulchprocess for his ground cropsand as a result, has found theneed for herbicides hasdropped dramatically. Hegrows next to the market aswell as on the Sumas ats. “Strawberries, beans andcukes have been moved outthere,” he explained to tourguests. “Pumpkins, squashes,gourds and corn are here. “We are continually ndingways to be more ecient.”Eleven acres, six varietalsSingletree Winery is ownedby Garnet and Debbie Etsell.Their son, Andrew, runs thewinery and has takenhorticultural classes toincrease his wine expertise.Eleven acres are planted withsix varietals of grapes.“We don’t irrigate becauseit’s a heavy clay soil,” Andrewexplained. “It holds a lot ofnutrients. The rst two yearswas learning to have theweeds to take up some ofthose nutrients.”Abbotsford farms helpcontribute more than $1.8billion to the local economyand employ more than 11,300people. Although there aremany large operations, thereare some smaller sized farmsdoing big things. raising laying hens, broilersand chick stock forcommercial growers beforeevolving into the currentbusiness. Not sold in retail locations,Rockweld birds are availableon the farm and through 14farmers’ markets. “We have customers fromHope to Squamish,” he notes. While the birds at Rockwelddon’t go outside and thusdon’t qualify for certiedorganic status, they are fedcertied organic feed andRempel was the rst SPCA-certied chicken farm 13 yearsago. The barns (one built in1880) have natural windowlight and are free-range withtwice as much square footageas a traditional barn,according to Rempel. Theoperation raises about 15,000birds a year selectively chosenfrom their ocks, which runthree to four weeks apart,when their size is right ratherthan by day of age. “We go in and collect themat the size we’re looking for,”explains Rempel. “We use alow protein [feed] and wedon’t rush the birds.”The majority of birds arecut and cryovac-packaged inBPA-free plastic, but there arealso whole birds and eggsavailable at the farm. 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August 2015 • Country Life in BC 35Black bear conicts were up this spring and could escalate this fall.Stories by PETER MITHAMFORT ST JOHN – An earlyend to their hibernationboosted black bear conictswith ranchers this spring andconservation ocers arewarning that conicts mayincrease as another winterapproaches.Province-wide, calls toconservation ocersregarding black bears were upnearly 30% in February/Marchthis year, and totalled morethan in any of the previousfour years.While the total number ofpredator attacks on livestockin the Omineca-Peace region– which includes some of BC’skey ranching areas – wasn’tup, bears accounted for nearlyhalf the incidents.“The attacks are pretty wellconsistent with any otheryear; it’s just a dierentprole,” says Mark West,conservation ocerresponsible for the Omineca-Peace regions. “Bears aremore so than wolves, forexample.”While the province’ssnowpack was low andshouldn’t have adverselyaected the natural prey oflarge predators, West saysbears are opportunisticfeeders that gravitate towhat’s available. Calves arefair game and while moosecalves are a natural option,they’ll go for beef calves ifthey’re available.The early emergence ofbears this year coincided withcalving season and – from thebears’ perspective – breakfast.And, for bears coveringground in search of a mate,the opportunities toencounter calves was thatmuch greater this spring.While bear attacks onlivestock have since dialledback, bear reports havehistorically increased later inthe season as bears preparefor the winter. Black bear callsto the BC Conservation OcerService peaked last year inSeptember with 3,469 reports.This year, bears not onlyemerged early but favourableweather accelerated thegrowing season for bothcultivated fruit and wildberries. Several species werematuring three to four weeksearly in the Lower Mainland,and on some west-facingslopes, dessicating on thestem in the heat wave thatsmashed temperature recordsthe rst week of July.This raises the prospect ofbears and other wildlifeturning to cultivated fruit forthe succulent, high-energyfood they need to get by.“If the berries have all driedup, then they come down intothe low lying areas and that’swhere the population is,” Westsays.But if bears have plaguedranchers, cherry growers havegotten o lightly.Terry Myroniuk, anOkanagan conservation ocerbased in Kelowna, says therehasn’t been an increase inconicts with black bears thisseason.“We haven’t had anyabnormal conict at thisstage,” he told Country Life inBC. “Maybe when the grapescome in, later. Traditionally,the timing of the grapes andthe bear’s hyperphagia[fattening] period tend to gohand in hand.”But there’s no clear sense,based on activity to date, ofwhat could happen. There’seven a chance that with anaccelerated growing season,farmers could see fewerconicts if quick harvestsleave bears looking elsewherefor food.“If they’re signicantlyearlier, then it’s possible thecrops could come in ahead ofthat [hyperphagia] period,which would potentiallyreduce the conict,” Myroniuksays.Orchardists who want to stay on goodterms with bears during harvest need to keeptheir plantings clean and closed by installingsolid electric fencing and picking up fallenfruit.While a number of tools from bird ares tobear bangers and rubber bullets will dissuadebears from entering an orchard, the BC TreeFruit Production Guide [www.bctfpg.ca] notes“Properly constructed electric fencing is theonly proven eective method for protectingorchards from bears.” An electried wire gatewill serve to discourage clambering into theorchard.On the other hand, bears have personalitiesand “angry as a bear” has roots in reality. Afact sheet from the BC Ministry of Agricultureencourages producers to attract bears to anelectric fence so they’ll receive a shock andleave the area but immediately cautions “thatsome bears, upon receiving a shock, willbecome enraged and ‘attack’ the fencetearing it apart.”Bears go through or under the wire Other bears are persistent. “It is said that ifthe bears nose gets through the wires, thebear is through,” notes the ministry fact sheet.“They also may crawl under.” To avoid either scenario, the provincerecommends spacing wires no more thanseven inches apart and, ideally, six inches, witha four-inch space at the bottom of the fence.A mat of woven wire to ground the bearwhen it touches the fence will prove eectivein amplifying the impression the shock makes.Predator attacks boost danger for ranchers, orchardistsElectric fencing should deter angry bearsBC ANGUSTom DeWaal . President . 250.960.0022Jack Brown . Field Man . 604.816.3764Jill Savage . Secretary . 250.679-2813www.bcangus.caBritish Columbia Angus AssociationHELPWANTED!BC Angus is looking for anew Secretary/Treasurer.VISIT OUR WEBSITE ORCONTACT JILL SAVAGEFOR MORE INFORMATION.Watch for our Rancher-Endorsed Calf Sale dates in SeptemberAugust 27-30 Buckley Valley Exhibition (Gold Show)September 2 IPE, Armstrong (Gold Show)September 25 BC Angus AGM, Williams LakeSept 26 Pacic Invitational All Breed Sale, Williams LakeGET WITH THE PROGRAM!SEEDSTOCK SALES | EVENTS British Columbia Angus AssociationGET WITH THE PROGRAM!SEEDSTOCK SALES | EVENTS AUGUST IS SPECIAL YEARLING SALE MONTH AUGUST IS SPECIAL YEARLING SALE MONTHTTop Quality Early Yearling Sales in BCTHC KAMLOOPSPSPS Aug 11, 18 & 252525 ug1500g0000-,8&5,g00-2000 head5add 50000-000 hea02yearlingsadheaagsgs WILLIAMS LAKEKEKE SAugust 272727 Aug1500Aug0000-ust 227guAug00--2000 headadadad 50000-000 hea02yearlingsadheaagsgs OK FALLSLS OK FALLLSAugust 17LS17 Aug200Aug0000-ust 117guAug00--300 head dd 20000-00 head03yearlingsd headdgsgs team VANDERHOOFOF August 14 & 2828228 August1500gust0000-14 & 228tgust00--2000 head8adad 50000-000 hea02yearlingsadheaagsgs General Manager Williams Lakek ke Vanderhoofof General Manager KEVIN JOHNSON Williams Lakkke WILF SMITH VanderhooAL SMITH hooofH KEVIN JOHNSON250.961.1970NSON77 N NSON7070 WILF SMITH 250.398.0813 AL SMITHH 250.570.214343434 www.teamaucƟonsales.com ww
Country Life in BC • August 201536United Flower Growers undergoes reorganizationby DAVID SCHMIDTBURNABY – The UnitedFlower Growers Co-operativeAssociation has been split intotwo entities. The co-op’s 82members voted in favour ofthe reorganization in Octoberbut it took over six monthsbefore the courts approvedthe “plan of arrangement.” “It’s not simple to transitiona BC co-op into a BCcorporation,” notes UFGexecutive director Bob Pringle.Under the reorganization,the UFGCA has been split intoa new co-op which willcontinue to run the Dutchauction the co-op was createdon over a half-century ago,and a new UFG-incorporatedcompany which will own thereal estate the auction sits onas well as all the other “non-co-operative” businesses UFGis involved in.Supply businessThat includes an importbusiness for importing owersnot grown here, a supplybusiness supplying such hardgoods as sleeves, paper, boxesand glass, and a wholesalebusiness which packages andships products to Washington,Alberta, Saskatchewan andManitoba.Pringle stresses thereorganization is not due toany nancial issues. In fact, hesays, “we’re having one of ourbest years ever.”He notes the spring wasexcellent for ower growers.“Anytime we haveprolonged sunny weather onselling weekends from April toJune, we’re going to have avery good year. Flowers growbetter and people buy more.”Stress from South AmericaHe says gerberas, spraymums, lilies, eld sunowersand hydrangeas are “seeingstrength” while alstromeriagrowers are under stress fromSouth American imports.Instead, the reorganizationensures the people whocreated the value in thecompany are able to realize it.“Our real estate and otherbusinesses are very valuable,”Pringle explains. “Under theold UFG co-op structure, if youretired or sold your farm youhad to forfeit yourmembership.”As a result, retiringmembers were losing theworth they had built up, ineect giving the business tothe people who remained.Although the auction stillgenerates about $30 millionUnited Flower Growers weekly auction has not experienced the decline felt at Dutch auctionsoverseas. Even so, revenues are at and UFG is restructuring as part of a long-term strategy tomitigate any future declines. (Photo courtesy of UFG)per year while the ancillarybusinesses generate about$20 million, auction revenue isstatic or declining while therevenues of the otherbusinesses are increasing.Overall, sales up“Dutch auctions in Japanand Europe have beendeclining although our saleshave been at this year.However, our other sales areup so overall we’re up,”Pringle says. “Part of ourreorganization is a long-termstrategy to allow the auctionto decline.”Instead of putting all ormost of their product throughthe auction as in the past,most of UFG’s largest growersnow sell most of their productdirect to retailers.UFGCA vice-chair StanVander Waal of RainbowGreenhouses recently statedhe only puts about 1% of hisproduction through theauction. However, he alsopointed out that 1% is “a lotmore than 30% of ourproduction was when westarted.”While the auction declines,UFG’s business inconsolidating plants fromdierent growers is increasing.“Buyers can buy dierentproducts from dierentgrowers without having to gofrom grower to grower. Weput all the plants together andco-ordinate the deliveries,”Pringle says.UFG split into new co-op and incorporated companywhich will own real estate and other businesseswww.JAYLOR.com | 800.809.8224Contact your Local Dealer for a Demo Today...SquareCut AugerRapidDischargeProcessing KnivesUndercarriageOptions Mixer LevelShaker BoxNEW 5000 SERIESIsland Tractor&Supply Ltd.North IslandTractorAvenueMachinery Corp.AvenueMachinery Corp.Duncan, BC250.746.1755Courtenay, BC250.334.0801Abbotsford, BC604.864.2665Vernon, BC250.545.3355
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 37Ranchers stay put, fearfulof leaving fate in chargeCattlemen AGM more accessiblewith inclusive education segment“Summer time / And ‘thelivin is easy’ / Fish are jumpin’/ And the cotton is high”These are the openinglyrics of a George Gershwinsong (1934) that has becomea jazz standard over 25,000dierent recordings. It’s oftendescribed as “without a doubt... one of the nest songs thecomposer ever wrote.”I have prefaced this columnwith those lyrics in the past,as they always seemed to sumup the easy rhythms of life insummertime, but the songdoesn’t hold true of late.It is summertime but formany agricultural operationsin BC, life ain’t easy. There isno peace of mind. Mostproducers, in fact, aresomewhat fearful as they livethrough yet another hot, dry,windy summer. There is anever-lurking fear of wildre,the threat elevated byfrequent thunder andlightning storms, campersand smokers. A singlewayward spark, landing in thetinderbox that Mother Naturehas wrought can instantlyignite an inferno.So, at a time when cattleproducers should be contentfarming, range-checking theherd, perhaps straying a bitfrom home to spend a day atthe lake or to take a mini-vacation (contemplating,perhaps, upcoming protablefall sales), most are, instead,staying put, fearful ofleaving fate in charge.Already on full alert,they now face yetanother enemy –another force of natureintroduced by drought,attacking on a secondaryank. There is an explosion inthe population ofgrasshoppers, clouds ofwhom are now devouringvast amounts of forage andfeed crops.There is no doubt, summerjust ain’t like it used to be anddrought-related issues areprovince wide. One TV newsitem as we headed to pressfeatured a Lower Mainlandturf company forced to lay ofull-time employees due tolow sales directly attributableto water restrictions. Poorsods!New ring-scaleIn the market place on July23, BC Livestock in WilliamsLake held the rst cattle saleusing their newly installedring-scale. Nine hundred headon oer were run through thesystem. A few glitches led tosome delays; they now haveseveral weeks to iron out thekinks.Butcher bulls traded well,ranging from 155.00 to173.00. D1-D2 cows sold from115.00 to 135.00. A liner loadfrom Douglas Lake Cattle Co.,Alkali Lake division (41 headaveraging 1394 lbs.) brought134.25 while a group of 12heiferettes averaging 1192lbs. sold at 168.00. Steers weighing between700 and 799 lbs. traded froma high of 297.50 to an averageof 283.58 while their femalecounterparts in the sameweight class averaged 260.26and a high of 265.50. Lighter steers (400 to 499Serving B.C. Agriculture1771-10th Ave. Salmon Arm103-1889 Springeld Rd. Kelowna2565 Main St. West Kelowna34633 Vye Rd. Abbotsford1970 Keating Cross Rd. Sannich5410 T.C.H. Duncan1-1227 Island Hwy. Nanaimo587 Alberni Hwy. ParksvilleSince 1919Eligibility Requirements• Schedule 2 Highways, Schedule 1 Highways, and Railway Corridors.Secondary (sideroad) paved routes may also be considered.• Must be a livestock producer.• Fence must be part of an existing fencing system to contain livestock.Application forms available at:http://www.cattlemen.bc.ca/fencing.htmCall TOLL FREE 1.866.398.2848 to have an application mailed to you.Application DeadlineSeptember 30, 2015 for consideration for the 2016 construction year.NOW accepting applications for theProvincial Livestock Fencing Programalong travel corridorsProvincial Livestock Fencing Programlbs.) averaged 331.88, with ahigh of 349.50. The sameweight heifers brought a highof 336.00 and averaged321.59. The number of cattleexpected at this sale wasnearer the 600 to 700 headmark. The drought conditionsare apparently forcing earliersales for some producersalready. Grass is already inshort supply, which will resultin lower summer weight gainson the grass cattle returningto fall markets.ConcentrationAttention to detail paid o for North Okanagan Beef Club member Trinity Marshall at theOkanagan Stock Show steer sale in Armstrong, July 10. Her Charolais-cross steer sold for $6.75 apound to Tony’s Tire in Enderby, topping the sale and netting this 14-year-old a cool $8200 for hereorts. Club leader Trudy Schweb says it was the “craziest steer sale” ever! (Cathy Glover photo)Market MusingsLIZ TWANby DAVID SCHMIDTMERRITT – In recent years,the BC Cattlemen’sAssociation has alwaysincluded an “education”component in its annualmeeting. In the past, that“education” has been aimedat its own members.This year, however,organizers of the conferencein Merritt decided to take thatconcept a step further. First,they invited local high schoollm students, who were notfrom ranching families, toresearch the history ofranching in the Nicola Valleyand interview several arearanchers and make a shortvideo of what they learned.The resulting video wasshown during the openingceremonies, May 21, towidespread applause from theranchers.The next day, 100elementary students werebused to the Memorial Arenato tour the BCCA trade show.They were given a series ofquestions which were to beanswered by sta at eight ofthe booths, such as the BIXS(Beef InfoExchange System)and BC Hereford Associationbooths, in a form of ascavenger hunt.“I was amazed at how littleeven rural kids know aboutranching,” says Canada Beefmedia spokespersonAnnemarie Pedersen, who co-ordinated the event withHaley Rutherford.On Saturday, the public wasinvited to tour the trade showwhich is normally only opento conference attendees.NEWS & INFORMATION YOU NEED to GROW!SUBSCRIBE TODAYSEE PAGE 42 FOR ALL THE DETAILSThe agricultural news source inBritish Columbia since 1915COUNTRYLifein BC
Country Life in BC • August 201538by DAVID SCHMIDTABBOTSFORD – After celebrating its 100thanniversary in Canada last year, BC 4-H hadanother 100th anniversary celebration June28.That day, over 100 friends and familygathered in Agassiz to mark Ken and DebbieSchwaerzle’s combined 100 years in 4-H.“I don’t know of any other couple who canmatch our record,” Ken said.He began his involvement in 4-H at age 12in the early 1960’s while Debbie followed a fewyears later. In fact, it was 4-H which broughtthem together over three decades ago. Debbiewas competing in a 4-H showmanship classwhich Ken was judging, and the two havebeen inseparable almost ever since. The Schwaerzles have led the AgassizRainbow 4-H Club for over 35 years and have along history in local, district, regional andprovincial 4-H councils.“It’s outstanding mentors like Ken andDebbie which make 4-H such a valuableprogram,” current Agassiz Rainbow 4-H Clubpresident Hallie Bryant said, noting theirdynasty encompasses their children andgrandchildren.“I commend their dedication to youngpeople and to agriculture,” added Chilliwack-Hope MLA Laurie Throness.BC 4-H executive director Kevin Rothwellsaid BC 4-H is recognizing the Schwaerzleslong-standing involvement with a donation tothe Canadian 4-H Museum in their name.He noted that thanks to the dedication ofhundreds of volunteers, like the Schwaerzles,BC 4-H is enjoying a resurgence.“We now have over 2,400 members which isup ve percent in the last year alone.”BC 4-H honours family for100 years of participationCream of the cropThis historic O’Keefe Ranch in Vernon was host to this year’s BC 4-H senior communicationsnalists in early July. Morgan Meir (back row, left) will be heading to the Royal Winter Fair inToronto in November after judges placed him rst in the public speaking competition whileMeghan McGillvray and Sara Kate Smith (back row, 5th and 6th from left) were the topdemonstration team, winning a cash prize of $600. (Photo courtesy of BC 4-H)While 4-H celebrates 100years in Canada, Ken andDebbie Schwaerzle ofAgassiz celebrated a100-year 4-H anniversaryof their own. On June 28,they were joined by over100 friends and currentand past 4-H membersto celebrate a combined100 years in 4-H. Onhand for the historicevent were BC 4-Hpresident Al DeJong, left,and BC 4-H executivedirector Kevin Rothwell,right. David Schmidt photo)Van Der Wal Equipment (1989) Ltd.23390 RIVER ROAD, MAPLE RIDGE, BC V2W 1B6 P604/463-3681 | vanderwaleq.com We service all makes!SMOOTH. NIMBLE.Be ready for ANYthing!Quality Pre-Owned Tractors & EquipmentDesigned for heavy conditions.The Kverneland NG-S 101 is a heavy duty power harrow forall kinds of operations in all types of soil conditions. Robustlydesigned with the Kverneland heavy-duty trough design andQuick-Fit tines this power harrow is the right alternative forlarge farms and farm contractors. AGCO ALLIS 5650 4X4 LDR . . . . . . 18,500AGCO ALLIS 5650 4X4 LOADER . . 18,500DUETZ ALLIS 6265 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,500GASPARDO PLANTER 4 ROW . . . 35,000KVERNELAND PX100 PLOW . . . . . 39,500KVERNELAND 339 MOWER . . . . . . 12,500MF 135 2WD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALLMF 245 2WD W/LOADER . . . . . . . . . 7,500MF 285 4X4 LOADER . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALLMF 285 2WD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALLMF 2615 4WD LOADER, LOW HRS 29,500MECHANICAL TRANSPLANTER 5000 . 21,500MILL CREEK 57 SPREADER . . . . . . . CALLMISC VEGETABLE EQUIP . . . . . . . . CALLNEW HOLLAND TM150 . . . . . . . . . 47,000NH 1033 BALE WAGON . . . . . . . . . . 7,000RINIERI TRL150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,500SLIMLINE 200 GAL SPRAYER . . . . . CALLSUNFLOWER 7232 23 FT HARROW 17,500MISC TEDDERS & RAKES . . . . . . . . CALLwww.dutchbunning.comManufactured byAnd flexes its muscle for HEAVY lifting.Our new Massey Ferguson® 4600 Series mid-range tractorcombines muscle and maneuverability for loader work. Its powershuttle transmission lets you go forward to reverse and backwithout clutching. Just another example of how we’re using global innovation to help you farm your world.The World’s Most Durable Manure Spreader3 YEARLimited WarrantyMade inCanada• Best warranty and service in the business • Strongest floor chain & drive system available • Unique design allows consistent wide spread pattern;eliminates clumping right through entire load • Heavy duty fully welded construction throughout theframe and box – toughest in the industry• Consistently and evenly spreads just about everything!
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 39by DAVID SCHMIDTARMSTRONG – With over650 breakfasts served, the rstBreakfast on the Farm atRiverbreeze Farms inArmstrong, July 18, was anunqualied success.Although set to start at 9am, visitors began lining up atleast half an hour early, eagerto get their hands on abreakfast of sausages, eggsand pancakes and tour themodern dairy farm.Riverbreeze milks 150 cowsusing three DeLaval roboticmilkers and grows corn andother forages to feed them.Visitors had a chance to watchthe robotic milkers, see theopen freestall barn, look at thecalves, even tour the croplands on a haywagon. Theycould get an ice cream conefrom D Dutchman Dairy, watchmilking demonstrations at theBC Mobile Dairy Classroom,tour the BC Chicken GrowersAssociation educational barnand visit displays from the BCDairy Association, BCCattlemen’s Association andother industry groups. “We started talking aboutdoing this two years ago andstarted planning in thewinter,” says Kamloops-Okanagan Dairymen’sAssociation president HenryBremer. “There’s a gap betweenurban and rural and it’s up tofarmers to narrow that gap,”he says, adding “there’snothing like standing in abarn watching the cows togive you an appreciation youcan’t get any other way.”Although Riverbreezeowner Tom Boeve, Ralph vanDalfsen (Trinity Dairies) andErika Davidson (JNJ Dairy)were the primary organizers,the event enjoyedtremendous support from theentire North Okanagan dairyfraternity.“Everyone got behind this,”Boeve said.More than 30 producervolunteers were easilyidentied by their bright blueT-shirts identifying them as“proud to be a BC dairyfarmer.” They wereaugmented by over a dozenvolunteers from the BC DairyAssociation, local banks andagri-suppliers who wore greenvolunteer t-shirts.“Instead of asking fordonations, we asked forsupport and we sure got it,”Bremer said, singling out thesupport of the NorthOkanagan Regional Districtand the BC Dairy Associationin particular. Everyone who came leftsuitably impressed. In fact,organizers noted one visitorwas an environmentalist whocame expecting to nd issuesbut instead left with newappreciation for the dairyindustry. “She told us she foundabsolutely nothing to concernher,” one volunteer said. “If wecan convince just one personof how responsible we are asNorth OK dairy fraternity stages successful breakfast on the farmAbove, the BC Dairy Mobile Classroom was one of the many popular exhibits at Breakfast on the Farmat Riverbreeze Farms, July 18. At left below, backed by their herd, Curtis, John and June DeDood ofSunninghill Holsteins pose for BC Farm Writers in their new barn in Grindrod. (David Schmidt photos)farmers, the event is worth it.”An Armstrong towncouncilor was just asimpressed, telling organizers“this is a great thing you’redoing for our community.”Dairy Farmers of Canadaexecutive director CarolineEmond said open farms arethe “only way we can educatethe public about what we do,”noting dairymen in Ontarioand Quebec are also openingtheir doors to the public. Infact, there were 11 open farmsthroughout Ontario, June 27.Another three were set toopen their gates in July andAugust.That is something BC DairyAssociation director ofproducer relations andcommunications TrevorHargreaves is hoping toduplicate in this province. “Iam looking at today’s event asa template,” he said. “Nextyear, I hope to have openfarms in each of our ve maindairy regions.”CHILLIWACK 44160 Yale Road West 1.800.663.2615LETHBRIDGE 511 - 41 Street North 1.877.663.2615www.southerndrip.comView our catalogue online:www.southerndrip.comIntelligent Water Solutions,QĆOWUDWRU3RWDEOH:DWHUDQG6HSWLF7DQNVï 1RFUDQHUHTXLUHGOLJKWZHLJKWSODVWLFFRQVWUXFWLRQï &DQEHLQVWDOOHGZLWKëWRëRIFRYHUï &DQEHSXPSHGGU\ï 1RVSHFLDOLQVWDOODWLRQEDFNĆOORUZDWHUĆOOLQJSURFHGXUHV3RWDEOH7DQNVï Potable water storageï Rainwater harvesting6HSWLF7DQNVï On-site Wastewater Treatment:HDOVRFDUU\DIXOOOLQHRIGULQNLQJZDWHUDQGVHSWLFSURGXFWVNSF/ANSI-61&HUWLĆHG)RUPotable UseAll proceeds go to 4-H BC youth development programs. Register now! At www.bc4h.bc.ca September 25, 2015 Chilliwack Golf & Country Club Chilliwack, BC Thanks to our dinner sponsor: FORE-H! 2nd Annual 4-H British Columbia Charity Golf Classic Don’t forget to purchase your 4-H BC Gator LoƩery Ɵckets from your local 4-H club! Draw date: October 30, 2015 Contact Kevin Rothwell for more informaƟon Phone: 1 866 776 0373 Email: manager@bc4h.bc.ca Enjoy 18 holes of Texas Scramble golf along with “PuƩ for Ron” puƫng contest in memory of Ron Brunelle, golf cart, dinner and chances to win $5,000 cash provided by Investors Group and hole in-one prize from PrairieCoast Equipment. Include a 4-H’er on your team for a chance to win tablets for your team! Tablets are sponsored by Mahindra.
Country Life in BC • August 201540When we left o last time,Deborah had nally admittedto herself that the jig was up –her marriage to Henderson wasover, for a variety of reasons.She had come to this realizationwhen she had some time toherself in Tiny’s shop, nding acarving which said “Follow yourhaert.” Despite having herdoubts about performing in theLil Abner play, she nally saidshe would. Rural Redemption(part 63) continues ...Deborah wasn’t homewhen Ashley and Christopherarrived at home after school.Christopher was changed ando to Newt’s to check up onhis heifer ten minutes later. Hewas no sooner out the doorwhen the phone rang. Ashleyglanced at the caller ID.“Hi, Grandma.”“Ashley? I’m glad I’vecaught you. I wasn’t sure whattime you got home fromschool.”“You’ve got great timing,Grandma. We just got home.You’ll have to settle for me,though. Chris is gone andMom’s not here. Daddy’s goneback to Victoria. ”“Well, that’s ne. It was youI was hoping to catch. How’syour horse?” Ashley began thankingSusan and praising Ripley forve minutes.“He’s just such an amazinghorse, Grandma. You need tosee him to believe it. Thankyou so much. ”“What about your otherhorse?” asked Susan.“Rocket? I’m not surewhat’s happening with him.He ate up the stalls Daddybuilt in the barn. He’s stayingnext door at Mr. Pullman’s fornow. Mrs. Fitzpatrick says he’stoo old for riding anymore.Mr. Pullman said the man whosold him probably saw Daddycoming. Whatever thatmeans.”Susan said she supposedthat Kenneth would guresomething out, then shiftedgears away from horses. “I’ve been thinking aboutthe conversation you and IHenderson finds out that what goes around, comes aroundhad at Christmas. How areyour Mom and Dad gettingalong?Ashley let out a long sigh. “I don’t know Grandma. Nottoo good, I think. Daddy tookMom out to Long Beach forNew Year’s but I’m notsure he really wantedto. I don’t think Momhad a very good timeand as soon as they gothome, Daddy wentback to work. He isn’tnice to her sometimes and I’mworried about her.”“I’m sorry, honey. I’mworried, too. How long has itbeen since they’ve been on areal holiday together?”“Nearly two years, I think.”“Do you think if I came tosee that horse of yours onSpring Break, you and Chrisand I could manage whileyour Mom and Dad wentaway for a real holiday?”“We totally could! I wouldlove it if you came to stay withus. I’ve got so much to showyou here.” Ashley reined in herenthusiasm. “I don’t know if Daddywould even go.”“Leave your father to me.Let’s keep this to ourselves fornow and I’ll start makingarrangements.”* * *Kenneth Hendersonreturned to an empty oce inVictoria. Janice wasn’t due toreturn until the followingweek and she wasn’tanswering his texts or voicemails. He’d driven past herbuilding twice but there wasno response when he rang atthe entry. The day after he!returned, there was secretaryin the oce when he arrived. “Good morning, Mr.Henderson. My name is EricaSwift.”“Good morning. I wasn’texpecting Janice Newberry tobe here.”“Ms. Newberry has be re-assigned. I’ll be here for thetime being”“Re-assigned where?”“I’m sorry, sir. That ispersonal information. You’llhave to ask Ms. Newberry.”“She’s not answering any ofher calls,” said Kenneth.Erica Swift raised her arms,cupped her palms and staredat Kenneth Henderson forseveral seconds. “Not my concern, I’m afraid.You’ll have to take it up withMs. Newberry. If you checkyour email, you’ll nd that youhave an appointment with Mr.Grimwood in 20 minutes.”“Who’s Grimwood andwhat is the meeting about?”“Mr. Grimwood is from theminister’s oce and I am notprivy to the subject of hismeetings.”Henderson retreated to hisoce unnerved by EricaSwift’s cold demeanour.Fifteen minutes later, sheushered a serious-lookingman into the oce andintroduced them to oneanother and left. The doorclosed behind her with anominous thunk.“I’m afraid I don’t knowwhat this is about. I won’t beable to discuss anything untilI’ve had meetings with mynew sta,” said Kenneth.Grimwood smiled wryly. “I’m not here to discussanything. I’m here to brief youabout what will happen in thisoce.”Kenneth bristled. “Does Linderman knowyou’re here?”“No,” said Grimwood. “Ivery much doubt that Mr.Linderman has the faintestidea that I’m here.”“Well, perhaps you shouldget him to tell YOU what willbe happening in this oce.Linderman and I have anunderstanding.”“You really are out of theloop, Mr. Henderson. Mr.Linderman has resigned.There is a very good chancehe will be facing charges. If Iwere you I wouldn’t hitch mywagon to an agreement withMr. Linderman. I’ll do that foryou if you’re not happy withhow this is going to work. “Firstly, you are not goingto be the co-chair of anything.Secondly, you will function asa special advisor. You willprovide an internal review ofthe nal ndings of this oce.You will not provide input orcriticism. You will publiclyconcur with ndings if you areinstructed to. If that’s not toyour liking, you can sign aprivacy agreement and resignright now for personalreasons. Either way there willbe a generous remuneration.If you don’t agree to one orthe other, you’ll be under thebus with Linderman beforethe day is over. The ministerwould prefer that you remainon board as a valued memberof the review team.”“I’ll need to see the privacyagreement,” said Kenneth,trying to buy some time toconsider the consequences.“I don’t think you have timefor that. You’ve got anotherve minutes to pull the triggerone way or another. What’syour pleasure?”Kenneth agreed to remainas a special advisor.“Excellent,” said Grimwood.“The minister will be verypleased. Any questions?”“Could I have Ms. Newberryre-assigned to this oce?”“Ms. Newberry has beenvoluntarily re-assigned to aposition better suited to herskill set. Ms. Swift will berunning your oce.Everything in and out will passthrough her. That shouldmake it easy for you toconcentrate on your reviewduties.”Grimwood rose to leaveand turned when he reachedthe door.“I’ll give your regards to Mr.Linderman when I see himnext.”To be continued ...12:6(59,1*7+()5$6(59$//(<:H·YHEHHQSURXGO\IDPLO\RZQHGDQGRSHUDWHGVLQFHRSHQLQJLQ$QGZLWKWZREOHQGLQJSODQWVZH·UHRQHRI%&·VODUJHVWGLVWULEXWRUVRIJUDQXODUOLTXLGDQGIROLDUIHUWLOL]HUV2XUEX\LQJSRZHUDQGSUR[LPLW\WRWKH)UDVHU9DOOH\PDNHVXVWKHORJLFDOFKRLFHIRUWUXFNORDGVKLSPHQWV2.$1$*$1)(57,/,=(5/7'www.canadianorganicfeeds.comFOR QUALITYCERTIFIEDORGANICFEEDS FOR BAGGED or BULK ORDERS:Darren JansenGeneral Manager604/794-3701organicfeeds@gmail.comCUSTOM ORDERSCertified to Canadian National StandardsThe WoodshedChroniclesBOB COLLINSRecipes for great summertime cooking!If you’ve enjoyed Jude’s Kitchen in Country Life in BC,you will enjoy a compilation of Judie’s recipes in Jude’s Kitchen.With a focus on fresh, local ingredients,Judie’s cookbookwill become a staple in your kitchen!Visit www.judiesteeves.com to orderor ask at your favourite bookseller!Jude's Kitchen by Judie SteevesAN OKANAGAN INSTITUTE CULINARIA BOOK288 pages, photographs and colour plates throughout, 8x10 inches, paperback, $35NEWS & INFORMATIONYOU NEED to GROW.SUBSCRIBE TODAY!SEE PAGE 42 FOR ALLTHE INFO.WWW.COUNTRYLIFEINBC.COMThe agricultural news source inBritish Columbia since 1915COUNTRYLifein BC
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 41The summer ofhoping for rain andthe end of the firesIt’s been said and oft quoted “it never rains but itpours”. At this point, either or preferably both those optionswould be welcome because as I write, vast tracts ofWestern Canada are engulfed in ames. Thousands offolks have been evacuated, houses have been destroyedand across three provinces, the skies are lled with smokeand ash. I can’t help but think of the 1980 eruption of Mount St.Helens. During that natural disaster, we lived closeenough to experience “ash-snow” that resulted in ourhaving towash ourvehicle twoor threetimes aday; we’recurrentlyexperiencing a bit of fallout but the greatest danger is re– multiple res in fact, that are raging out of control. Inaddition to the haze that turned our moon blood red andpainted our blue skies an eerie shade of brown, there isthe ever present danger of individuals who derive astrange sort of pleasure from the act of arson. I can’t even imagine the emotions that ood the heartsand minds of those who have had to leave their homes tothe fury of ames. Though I live mere minutes from theshores of the Pacic Ocean, the description “rain forestcountry” has become more a memory than a reality. Special thanks to those men and women who have putthemselves in the face of danger so that these infernoscan be brought under control. And nally, there are nowords to express our thanks to Johnnie Phare, who paidthe ultimate price for the safety of others. Specialthoughts go out to his family, his ancé and thecommunity of re ghters who responded to the need toprotect areas of the Lower Sunshine Coast. Johnnie paidthe ultimate price and there are no words to express themagnitude of that loss nor the extent of our gratitude forhis service.Diligent and dedicatedI penned those words several weeks ago and it is withrelief that I can say the situation has or is in the process ofchanging, at least in some areas. Drought still rules inmany parts but thanks to the diligence of most citizensand the dedicated service of those re-ghters from BCand across the country, even greater devastation has beenaverted.On a much happier note, I’ve just returned from a visitwith our son and his wife who have re-located back to thePrairies. Traipsing down dirt streets took me back a fewdecades; being greeted by or waved to by total strangersreminded me of why I remain a “wannabe” farmer. I’m not sure if it’s the innate need to depend on oneanother or the nature of those who chose to work theland but whatever the reason, there’s just something veryspecial about a farming community. As newcomers to thecommunity, our kids were immediately greeted byneighbours who oered to help with everything fromunloading their moving van to rototilling a neglectedgarden plot to hauling and working in a load of manure.Their garden is ourishing now and so are they.As I sign o for another month, I look forward to theprospect of a few items in particular: a good harvest,backyard and otherwise, rain (avoiding harvest time, ofcourse) and continued neighbourliness in everycommunity. As Steve Goodier says, “None of us lives inisolation. We’re in it together. And some conict along theway is inevitable. But our highest priority, when all is saidand done, has to be commitment to each other – stickingtogether.” May your crops and gardens thrive, your friendshipsdeepen and your rain gauge be full!Scholarship awards announcedfor outstanding BC 4-H membersPost-secondary support increased thanks to new sponsorsby GINA HAAMBUCKERSVERNON – Twenty-twooutstanding 4-H membershave been awardedscholarships through the BC4-H program and it’s generoussponsors. The worthyrecipients are headed forpost-secondary education indisciplines ranging fromagriculture to psychology,music and lm. The overall amountawarded in scholarships thisyear is $55,500, up 12% overlast year, thanks to newscholarship donors SaanichFruit Growers AssociationEndowment Fund and MNP.They join long timescholarship sponsors: theCherno Family Foundation,BC Youth in AgricultureFoundation, Western Producer,Wim and Annie ZylmansAgriculture Memorial, BCAgriculture in the Classroom,4-H British ColumbiaFoundation, Mutual Fire andBC Young Farmers. “4-H has given these youthsome excellent life skills; it’sgratifying to see such atalented group headed tocollege and university and weare pleased to be able to helpnancially thanks to ourgenerous sponsors,” says BC4-H manager Kevin Rothwell.SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTSCherno Family FoundationScholarships ($5000 renewableover two years) • Meghan McGillivray(Bachelor of Science,University of BritishColumbia)• Victoria Hergott (Bachelor ofScience, University of theFraser Valley)• Sarah Douglas (Bachelor ofScience, University of theFraser Valley)Cherno Family FoundationScholarships ($1000 renewableover two years)• Jessica Elvedahl (Associate ofArts Degree/Psychology,Camosun College)• Maddison Tebbutt (Bachelorof Fine Arts (Film), Universityof British Columbia -Okanagan Campus)• Hallie Bryant (Bachelor ofArts/Humanities, Universityof Victoria)• Megan Edgeley (LicensedPractical Nurse, VancouverIsland University)• William James (Faculty ofSocial Sciences, University ofVictoria)BC Youth in AgricultureFoundation Scholarships($2000 each) • Marissa Campbell (AnimalScience & Technology,Lakeland College)• Jordyn Brook (Bachelor ofScience/Veterinary,Thompson Rivers University)BC Young FarmersScholarship ($500) • Courtney Rankin (Pre-Veterinary Medicine, TrinityWestern University)Wim & Annie ZylmansAgriculture Memorial FundScholarship ($500) • Tyson Ringdal (Agricultural &BioResources, University ofSaskatchewan)BC Agriculture in theClassroom FoundationScholarship ($1000)• Indigo Johnson (Bachelor ofArts & Science, QuestUniversity Canada)4-H BC FoundationScholarship - Value of $500 • Lauren Kozol(Communications, TrinityWestern University)Mutual Fire InsuranceScholarships ($1000 each) • Cassi Sauer (Bachelor ofScience, Simon FraserUniversity)• Belle White (Arts &Humanities, University ofVictoria)The Western ProducerScholarship ($1000) • Mackenzie Schuurman(Animal Health Technology,Lakeland College)Saanich Fruit Growers’Association Scholarship ($2000)• Rachel Goddard(Science/Chemistry,University of Victoria)Saanich Fruit Growers’Association Scholarships ($1000each) • Clif Clemotte (Bachelor ofArts/Music, Vancouver IslandUniversity)• Kevin Sokolan (Bachelor ofManagement, University ofBritish Columbia - OkanaganCampus)Meyers Norris PennyScholarships ($1000 each) • Kayla Stump (Commerce,University of Calgary)• Elizabeth Froc (Commerce,University of BritishColumbia)A Wannabe FarmerLINDA WEGNER
It’s the dog days ofsummer, sliding inevitablyinto the shorter days of fall asAugust comes to an end, soenjoy the deck, patio or yardwhile you can.There’s nothing like eating‘al fresco’ or outdoors, tostimulate the appetite, and abrunch outside is a great wayto entertain at this time ofyear.This is also the best time ofyear to serve fresh, localproducts on your deck orpatio, with a sea of lettuce andother greens at their peak,root vegetables such ascarrots and onions alreadybursting with avour, andberries and tree fruits sweetand juicy right from the bushor tree.Accompanied by localproteins such as eggs, lamb,poultry, beef, pork, sh andseafood, BC’s diverse fruitsand vegetables will shine inthe sun while you entertainguests.Outdoor entertaining is myfavourite because it’s rusticand casual, and clean up canbe a breeze. I’m all aboutthose features. I love to cook,but cleanup – not so much.Don’t hesitate to make use ofthe fun and colourfuldisposable plates, cups andutensils that are available atthe dollar store, and useedible containers, orcompostable ones, toserve food in.Make a fruit salad in ahollowed-outwatermelon; serveappies in hollows insmall tomatoes orpeppers and concentrate onnger food instead of dishesrequiring knives and forks andspoons.Such st food is also perfectfor school lunches, which we’llhave to think about again asAugust winds down.Think pancakes, crepes ortortillas for wrapping pieces ofcold meat, cheese andvegetables in for a change atlunchtime. And, they can berolled into pretty cones ofsalmon lling or cheese andcucumber for an outdoorbrunch as well.Eggs are one of the mostexible ingredients aroundwhen it comes to dierentways of serving them and it’srelatively easy to augmenttheir goodness with a fewextra vegetables and herbsbefore they land in alunchbox or st.Muns are another goodvehicle for hiding extragoodness for the kids to taketo school or have as an after-school snack – or forourselves!Revel in the last days ofsummer while you eat local.These are yummy and they can be eaten hot, warm or cold for a quick, nutritious snack orlunch-box treat.4 c. (1 l) kale 1/2 lb. (227 g) mushrooms Salt and pepper, to taste2 green onions 1 tsp. (5 ml) fresh tarragon Dab of butter1/4 c. (60 ml) feta 8 eggs1/4 c. (60 ml) fresh parmesan 1/3 c. (75 ml) milkPre-heat oven to 350 F.Trim kale leaves from stems and chop nely. Discard tough stems.Mince green onions, keeping white parts separate to use rst.Crumble feta and grate parmesan.Chop mushrooms nely and mince tarragon.Beat eggs in a bowl with milk, adding freshly-ground black pepper and salt, to taste.Melt a dab of butter in a large frypan and add the white part of the green onion. Stir for amoment, then add the chopped mushrooms, cooking for a few minutes until they brown. Stir inkale and cook until wilted.Stir in green part of green onions and tarragon and remove from heat.Divide amongst 12 greased mun cups.Divide egg mixture amongst the 12 mun cups, pouring over the greens and mushrooms.Country Life in BC • August 201542Summer brunchon the patioKale frittatas with mushrooms make a good lunch-box treat. (Judie Steeves photo)Jude’s KitchenJUDIE STEEVESPlease see “YOU SAY FRITTATA” page 43I was worried they’d find somethingMammograms save lives. Make an appointment, not an excuse. Get expert advice and share your stories atgohave1.comMini Kale Frittatas with MushroomsPlease mail your application to1120 East 13th Ave Vancouver, BC V5T 2M1 604.871.0001SUBSCRIBE TODAY!SUBSCRIBE TODAY!The agricultural news source inBritish Columbia since 1915COUNTRYLifeYin BCNAMEADDRESSCITYPOSTAL CODETEL FAXEMAILo NEW o RENEWAL | o 1 YEAR ($18.90) o 2 YEAR ($33.60) o 3 YEAR ($37.80) (Prices include GST | Cheque or money order only please)NEWS & INFORMATION YOU NEED!
August 2015 • Country Life in BC 43YOU SAY FRITTATA From page 42TIMELY PROJECTS From page 31NAME ____________________________________________OLD ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________________________________PHONE ____________________________________________NEW ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________________________PHONE ____________________________________________COUNTRYLifein BCCanada Post will not deliver yourCountry Life in B.C. if they change yourpostal code, your street name and/oraddress. If your address changes,please fill out the form below and mailor fax it to us, or use email. Thank you!1120 East 13th AveVancouver, B.C. V5T 2M1Email: countrylifeinbc@shaw.caPhone 604/871-0001 • Fax: 604/871-0003Aug 15CHANGE OFADDRESS?Lola!Top with the two types of cheese, dividing it evenly amongst the 12 frittatas.Bake until the edges are set, about 10 or 12 minutes, then remove and turn on the broiler inthe oven, cooking the frittatas for a further two or three minutes, or until pued and beginningto brown.Let cool for a few minutes on a rack before serving.Super Sunny MunsThese muns are packed with fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains and protein, yet despitehow good they are for you, everyone always raves about how good they taste.Make lots because people always come back for more. The recipe doubles well.There are so many ways this recipe can be varied it’s hard to keep up. They’re great as abreakfast on the run, a snack or light lunch to take along wherever you go.Try using the locally-grown, little blue Coronation grapes available at fruit stands and in storesin September. I freeze them in the fall for adding to muns and loaves all winter. Delicious.1 c. (250 ml) whole wheat our 1/2 c. (125 ml) grated carrot 1/6 c. (40 ml) chocolate chips1/3 c.(75 ml) brown sugar 1/2 c. (125 ml) grapes or apple 2 eggs1 tsp. (5 ml) baking soda 1/2 mashed banana 1/2 c. oil1 tsp. (5 ml) cinnamon 1/6 c. (40 ml) sunower seedsPre-heat oven to 375 F. Grease 12 mun cups.Mix the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl, and add carrots, chopped or gratedapples, other fruit, seeds and chips.Beat eggs in a smaller bowl and add oil.Stir wet and dry ingredients together until just moistened and spoon into mun cups.Bake for 15-20 minutes.Super Sunny Muffinssector. “These projects shine a light on the needfor a proactive approach to changes to ourweather,” says Human, who has been closelyinvolved in the process of developing a theCariboo Region Climate Adaptation Strategysince the beginning. “The wildre project isvery timely on a year like this where we areseeing many ranchers aected on private landas well as on our ranges.” “The signicance of dams is alsohighlighted in a year like this where preciouswater sources are becoming depleted. Itshould show government the value inagricultural dams to our environment as awhole. Water is the lifeblood of the agriculturecommunity,” he adds, referring to two otherprojects underway.The Livestock Water Assessment andOptions project is mapping areas in the regionthat are seeing reduced surface wateravailability or that may become vulnerablewith climate change. A separate project to complete aninventory and assessment of agriculturallysignicant dams in the Cariboo region will becompleted this fall. Dams provide criticalinfrastructure for water storage for agriculture,while providing ecological and recreationalbenets to other users.The Climate Action Initiative is currentlysupported by the BC Agricultural Research &Development Corporation and the InvestmentAgriculture Foundation of BC with fundingprovided by Agriculture & Agri-Food Canadaand the BC Ministry of Agriculture throughGrowing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.HAY FOR SALEFARM LEASE WANTEDRENTAL SUITECLASSIFIEDDEADLINE FOR SEPTEMBER 2015 ISSUE: AUGUST 22NEW/USED EQUIPMENT25 words or less, minimum $10 plus GST • Each additional word: $0.25DISPLAY CLASSIFIED: $20 plus GST per column inch1120 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver V5T 2M1 • Phone: 604/871-0001 • Fax: 604/871-0003E-mail: countrylifeinbc@shaw.ca • Web: www.countrylifeinbc.comEMPLOYMENTFOR SALELOOKING FOR A JOB?NEED EMPLOYEES?WWW. AGRI-LABOURPOOL.COM604-823-6222SINCE 1974NEW POLYETHYLENE TANKS OF ALLshapes & sizes for septic and waterstorage. 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Call 250/567-2607.CASH FOR BATTERIESDON’T THROW AWAYTHOSE OLD BATTERIESTHEY ARE WORTH MONEY!We recycle all types of batteries, lead acid toforklift industrials ... and the best part is wepay you cash on the spot.Will buy yourscrap forklifts, too!David at 778/668-4890Quick Cash 4 BatteriesFARM REAL ESTATE FOR SALE125 ACRES OF PRIME AGRICULTURALland in the Armstrong BC area, heart of theOkanagan Valley. Call Don Gilowski250/260-0828 or emaildongilowski@gmail.comDowntown Realty Ltd Vernon.13.5 ACRE HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE orchardin Vernon. Newer house with endless viewsof lake and city. Call Don Gilowski250/260-0828 or emaildongilowski@gmail.comDowntown Realty Ltd VernonFARM LEASE WANTED5 YEARSNursery production company seeks5 year lease on 5-15 acre parcel inAbbotsford.Land must be well drained withaccess to year-round irrigation(well water or ditch).Must be free of rockClay based soil preferred.Call 778/549-1676DeBOER’S USEDTRACTORS & EQUIPMENTGRINDROD, BCJD 2750 mfwd sl ldr 22,500JD 6400 mfwd cab sl ldr 49,000JD 6410 mfwd cab sl ldr 54,000JD 4240 cab 3pt hitch 18,500JD 1120 dsl ldr rb canopy 11,500JD 1120 dsl ldr 10,500JD 1830 dsl ldr 60hp 10,500JD 735 MoCo center pivot 11.5 cut 14,500JD 220 disk 19 ft W center fold 14,500JD 220 disk 20 ft W center foldnew blades 16,500JD 900 7 shank sub soiler 3 pt 5,000Kvernland 4X16 plow 3 pt 3,250JD 6400 MFWD w/ldr 29,500JAY LOR Tub grinder #3425,425 cf, premium unit 25,000JD 6300 MFWD cab sl ldr, 3650 hrs 45,000Ed DeBoer • 250/838-7362cell 250/833-6699Curt DeBoer • 250/838-9612cell 250/804-61471000 LITRE OVAL FRAME, fuel tank c/wstand, filter, new hose and nozzle $ 300.604/796-3437.1 X BEDROOM RENTAL SUITE. 1200 sq ftsuite with (18x12) master bedroom. 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