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Postmaster, Please return Undeliverable labels to: Country Life in BC 36 Dale Road Enderby, BC V0E 1V4CANADA POSTES POST CANADA Postage paid Port payé Publications Mail Post-Publications 40012122Vol. 108 No. 7The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 JULY 2022 | Vol. 108 No. 7POULTRY Biosecurity rules limit bird flu outbreaks 3 FRUIT New extension initiatives for orchard sector 17 GROWING Slocan market garden finds its sweet spot 25KATE AYERS ABBOTSFORD – Three increases this year to the Bank of Canada’s overnight lending rate are raising nancing costs for farmers. The central bank’s benchmark rate increased to 1.5% on June 1, six times what it was at the start of the year. Prior to the rst increase in March, the benchmark rate had been 0.25% since March 27, 2020. Higher interest rates typically aim to cool ination, but they also boost borrowing costs. Unfortunately, producers vulnerable to higher borrowing costs have limited options for mitigating the impacts at this point in the season, says Farm Credit Canada chief economist J.P. Gervais. “There is not a whole lot that you can do beyond what you would already be expected to do,” says Gervais, encouraging farmers to “continuously evaluate the return on applying fertilizer, maximizing yields.” The impact of rising interest rates depends on farmers’ mix of short-term and long-term debts. “You have short-term operating loans, which many farmers would have to use for buying their inputs and getting their crops. And then, of course, you’ve got more intermediate loans like machinery loans and then long-term [loans] like mortgages for land and other larger investments,” says James Vercammen, a professor with a joint appointment between Tristin Bouwman, left, and Tyler Heppell say the 220 acres the Heppell family farms in Surrey’s Campbell Heights is irreplaceable. It’s one of the rst to be seeded and the rst to supply the BC market with potatoes, carrots and cabbage. They’re petitioning the federal government to work with the province to include the land in the province’s Agricultural Land Reserve to maintain its agricultural integrity. RONDA PAYNEBorrowing costs risingSee FEELING on next page o1-888-770-7333 Quality Seeds ... where quality counts!YOUR BC SEED SOURCEPETER MITHAM SURREY – This spring’s cool, wet weather has made it dicult for farmers to get on elds across the Lower Mainland, particularly in low-lying areas of Delta and on Sumas Prairie. But in Campbell Heights, the Heppell family was seeding its 220 acres in early March – a little bit later than usual, but earlier than most others. Good drainage and a warm microclimate makes it among the rst elds seeded in Canada each year and the See NO on next page oGood land at riskOttawa’s plan for Surrey farmland raises alarmSaving farmland
FEELING the pinch nfrom page 1NO land like it nfrom page 12 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCUBC's Sauder School of Business and the faculty of Land and Food Systems. “The operating loans would be most sensitive to the Bank of Canada changing rates.” “Rising interest rates in agriculture doesn’t usually mean good news,” Vercammen says. “Most farmers are net borrowers, and they are going to feel a pinch either from existing debt or it will impact their investments.” While the impacts of rising interest rates vary by sector, Gervais encourages producers to evaluate their nancial risk and risk exposure. This is particularly true for livestock producers, where rst to supply the BC market with potatoes, carrots and cabbage. This puts it at the forefront of the local supply; without it, the marketing window for imported vegetables would be longer. “It is integral to Western Canada’s food production, in that it pushes back Mexico and California product,” says Wes Heppell, whose family has farmed the land since 1974. Heppell farms a total of 650 acres, the majority of it on Sumas Prairie. Wet conditions this year meant that even in mid-June, equipment was getting stuck. That wasn’t the case in Campbell Heights, which makes it unique for the Lower Mainland, if not Canada. “There is no other land like it in Canada,” he says. “We’ve looked all over the province – the Interior, everywhere – and you just cannot nd what we have here.” But the future of the site, which totals about 300 acres including forested land, is in jeopardy. Declared surplus by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in 2016, it’s been farmed on a year-to-year lease ever since. Public Works and Government Services Canada began preparing for disposition of the property last year. This summer, Crown corporations, provincial and municipal governments and First Nations will be asked to express interest in the property prior to it being oered to private buyers. “This could be the last season that the land is producing before it gets put into a trajectory of disappearing from agriculture, as we understand it,” says Tristin Bouwman, crop manager with Heppell and vice-president with the Surrey Farmers Institute, who has been working to raise awareness of the potential loss of the land. Bouwman has launched a petition on Change.org calling on Ottawa to work with the province to include the property within the Agricultural Land Reserve and urging Surrey to amend its ocial community plan to designate the land for farming and greenspace. “Are we prepared to take the most resilient, fertile land and pave it over?” he asks. “If this piece is lost, there’s nothing that could replace this land’s productive capacity.” A leading option for the land – if local First Nations don’t express interest in it – is industrial space. The property lies within the Campbell Heights area, a key source of industrial land for Metro Vancouver, which claims the tightest industrial market in North America with virtually no space available unless it’s built. Unlike a smaller tract on the south side of Campbell Heights, also in line for development, it doesn’t need rezoning. “Since about 2000, it’s been in the ocial community plan for industrial development,” Bouwman says. “We’re moving towards that now, and it’s the time that people have to be heard as to whether or not this critical piece of land should be lost forever.” There’s growing momentum to save the land. Dozens of politicians from all levels of government have toured the property in recent weeks, just as the rst nugget potatoes headed to local stores – the rst of close to 50 million servings the land will produce this year. With a civic election looming this fall, Surrey mayor Doug McCallum has oered to purchase the site. “If the federal government were to make this property available to the City of Surrey, I would ensure an oer would be made,” he said in a statement, June 21. “If successful, I would pledge that the property would remain as farmland so it can produce harvest after harvest for generations to come.” Bouwman hopes the candidates who run in this fall’s civic election will stand up for the land. "We think decision-makers at all levels of government should come out in support of the local food supply and protect this land by committing to amend municipal plans and by including the land in the ALR,” he says. The BC Agriculture Council supports the inclusion of the land in the ALR, saying the collaboration of the federal and provincial governments would send a strong message. “If these lands are recognized as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve, it would send a powerful signal that agriculture is valued in British Columbia and that dierent levels of government can cooperate eectively to ensure our communities’ food security,” BCAC executive director Danielle Synotte said in a statement. The public is watching, Bouwman says. “This is an issue that is a public issue, that whenever they hear about it, really cares, because it’s about the future of our food,” he says. “We’ve learned in the last two years how vulnerable supply chains are. We’ve learned the importance of domestic supply. To lose this piece of land would be a signicant blow to our local food production.” Patrick is an experienced portfolio manager that brings a focused 昀nancial and estate planning team to clients to ensure the best and most effective investment decisions are made now and in the future. The RBC Wealth Management investment and planning program provides income security and tax minimization in the context of a holistic 昀nancial plan and road map for each client.margins are tight because feed prices have increased faster than livestock prices. “If you are in a very tight situation to begin with, and you were exposed to some nancial risk in the sense of higher interest rates, it’s not necessarily good news,” he says. “Those businesses will see their margins being tighter and that should lead them to scale back on maybe some inputs going forward.” The story is a bit dierent for crop producers. “For grains and oilseeds, if you look at protability, I think they still have very good margins. Yes, inputs are higher, but overall prices are really, really good,” Gervais says. “The expectation is that if we get some good yields, revenues will be okay.” Producers who feel vulnerable to rapidly increasing interest rates can look at nancing options that oer a xed rate. While xed rates have already started to move up, Gervais has noticed a “denite trend towards xed rates” among farm borrowers. “More and more businesses that borrow money are locking in rates for the long term,” he says, a shift that began in the last quarter of 2021 and rst quarter of 2022. The good news is that the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate has yet to reach 1.75%, which it was March 1, 2020, before the pandemic hit. But that’s likely to change July 13. This would push the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate past 2% and towards 3% – a level not seen since 2008. However, Gervais is more modest in his expectations, anticipating a steady increase in rates at the current pace. “We expect three additional 50-basis point increases in the second half of the year, starting in July,” Gervais says. “In the short term, it only aects those who are exposed to variable rates, but long-term, it sends a signal that higher borrowing costs are coming, and businesses need to evaluate the exposure they have.” www.tractorparts4sale.caABBOTSFORD, BC Bus. 604/807-2391 email: tractorparts4sale@shaw.caWe accept Interact, Visa and Mastercard BRILLION CULTIPACKER 14 FT WIDE, GOOD CONDITION . . . . . . . 6,500 FORD 7000 2WD OPEN ST 83HP 540 PTO GD COND . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000 VICON PS602 FERTILIZER SPREADER, 3 PT, 1,000 KG CAPACITY . . 2,200 MASHIO CM4500 14’ PWR HARROW W/ROLLER GD COND. . . . 14,000 FELLA TS1601 ROTARY RAKE, 3 PT HITCH, TWIN ROTOR, 25 FT WORKING WIDTH, GOOD CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,500 YANMAR FX42D 2WD OPEN STATION, 42HP PSHIFT TRANS, 4 SPEED PTO. 2961 HRS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,500 NH 256 ROLLARBAR 10 FT SIDE DELIVERY RAKE, GROUND DRIVEN, PULL TYPE, GOOD CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,200 JOHN DEERE HD BALE CONVEYOR 40FT ON ADJ FRAME WITH AXLE, PTO DRIVEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,200 NEW REPLACEMENT PARTS for MOST TRACTORS & FARM IMPLEMENTSGD Repair LtdTractor/Equipment Repair Mobile Service Available
WITH OVER 29 YEARS OF EXPERIENCEWe oer our clients the best service there is in the real estate industry ensuring there are no unanswered questions or concerns.COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 3As lockdowns continue for commercial poultry ocks in an effort to reduce the risk of avian inuenza, backyard birds do not face the same restrictions and that has raised the ire of some poultry producers. MYRNA STARK LEADERBiosecurity rules limit bird flu outbreaksRestrictions, permit requirements could last until AugustPETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – The province is indenitely extending an order that keeps chickens and turkeys indoors despite the success of biosecurity protocols in limiting the impact of avian inuenza on the BC poultry sector. The majority of properties reporting cases have been home to small ocks, with just four commercial operations depopulated: three turkey farms in the Fraser Valley and a broiler farm in Enderby. Amanda Brittain, chief information ocer with the BC Poultry Association emergency operations centre (EOC) set up to address the outbreak, says none of this year’s infections have been the result of transfer between farms. “All of the AI infections in BC this year have been from wild bird incursion, not farm-to-farm transfer. This means that our biosecurity program is working!” she says. “We thank all farmers for practising good biosecurity protocols, which we believe has played a role in minimizing the number of infections in our province.” This year’s tally is a third less than the 240,000 birds lost during the 2014-2015 outbreak. “The industry did an exceptionally good job in terms of enhancing and ensuring that their biosecurity was top-notch in terms of protecting animals and protecting that food supply chain,” says Craig Klemmer, principal economist with Farm Credit Canada. “We did a very, very good job, and something that Canadian agriculture, Canadian poultry producers, should be extremely proud of.” But the battle isn’t over yet. Most control zones are set to be in place for most of the summer, and Brittain says the EOC is taking the prospect of a fall outbreak seriously. Just two of the control zones the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has established since April have been revoked. The other 16 could last until mid-August, or longer if CFIA believes there’s an ongoing threat to ocks. Producers located within control zones require permits for to move birds, bird tissue or manure. Suppliers to the sector and anyone carrying birds through a control zone also require permits. The paperwork amounts to a signicant burden. “It’s permitting all the time. It means you need permit if you’re in that primary control zone to move anything on and o the farm. You need it for all live bird movement,” Woody Siemens, executive director with the BC Chicken Marketing Board, told growers on June 15. “It’s a ton of paperwork.” Siemens said sta at the various marketing boards were putting in long hours on evenings and weekends to keep the permits owing, and asked that producers be patient. “The paperwork is frustrating for everybody, [us] included,” he says. Just how long this year’s outbreak could last is anyone’s guess. Cool, damp weather favours the disease, and Siemens says he was continuing to receive reports daily of potential infections. This is much later than usual. Originally, the province required commercial producers to keep their ocks indoors until May 13, by which time it expected the risk from migrating waterfowl would be over. But additional outbreaks prompted an extension until June 13, when it was extended indenitely for chicken, egg and turkey producers. “We never know how many more are out there. I would love to say it’s slowing down, but we certainly haven’t seen it slow down yet,” Siemens told chicken producers. “We’re not out of it yet.” Growers were told to expect permit requirements to be in place until further notice. While biosecurity measures have kept commercial ocks safe, small ocks have drawn the ire of some producers who see a double-standard. A producer in the Fraser Valley control zone told the June 15 meeting that a small laying ock on the property next to his broiler barn was let out the same day as the province told commercial producers to keep their ocks indoors indenitely. This didn’t make sense to him, but he was told he wasn't alone; similar situations exist around the province. Christina Forbes, livestock industry specialist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, acknowledged producers’ concerns but said small-lot ocks don’t face the same restrictions as commercial ocks. “Within the quarantine zone, I’m not aware of any rule that makes people have to keep them inside,” she says. FiXaTion CloverFrosty CloverCrimson CloverDC Red CloverHybrid CloverWinter PeasFall RyeHybrid Fall RyeWinter Wheat1.800.282.7856 Find out more at terraseco.comFiXaTion CloverFrosty CloverCrimson CloverDC Red CloverHybrid CloverWinter PeasFall RyeHybrid Fall RyeWinter WheatTerra Seed Corp Healthy Soil with COVER CROPS
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Publication Mail Agreement: 0399159 . GST Reg. No. 86878 7375 . Subscriptions: $2/issue . $18.90/year . $33.60/2 years . $37.80/3 years incl GSTThe agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 Vol.108 No. 7 . JULY 2022Published monthly by Country Life 2000 Ltd. www.countrylifeinbc.comPublisher Cathy Glover 604-328-3814 . publisher@countrylifeinbc.com Editor Emeritus David Schmidt Associate Editor Peter Mitham news@countrylifeinbc.com Advertising Sales & Marketing Cathy Glover sales@countrylifeinbc.com Production Designer Tina Rezansoff You’re awfully quiet, PWIn 1906, an 18-year-old Scottish immigrant named Jimmy Milne set out from Edmonton with a team of horses and a wagon full of hand tools and household goods in search of a homestead. He settled a quarter section 80 miles north in a spot that he named Colinton when there were enough neighbours to justify postal service. Hardship, to be overcome by hard work, was the simple homestead reality. The dominant technology of the day was steam-powered transportation, but a rail line to Colinton was still six years away. Until then, young Jimmy spent summers farming and winters hauling sleighloads of freight from Edmonton to the nearby town of Athabasca. It was tough sledding, in more ways than one, relieved only by church services on Sunday and books when there was time to read. Turn the clock ahead 75 years and Jimmy Milne is 35 years retired from farming and lives on 10 seaside acres near Duncan on Vancouver Island. He is living in a new reality. The horse in the little eld behind his house belongs to one of his granddaughters and will never be harnessed. Driving to church each Sunday, he still compares the comfort and convenience of his automobile to the sleigh of his homestead days. He is still a regular reader, but the radio is an equally reliable habit. There are electric lights, a telephone and central heating in his house. Though he doesn’t have a television, nearly everyone else does. People travel between continents in hours. Some have been to the moon and back. He still grows and saves most of his vegetables, but his lone milk cow is long gone. On the dairy farm nearby, 100 hp tractors achieve the inconceivable in a matter of hours and cows are milked by the hundreds. Mix in the discovery of antibiotics, replicable nuclear fusion, three wars, a 10-year economic depression and a tripling of human population to his lived experience. Jimmy lived 97 years. At the time of his passing, it was roundly conceded as unlikely that another generation would see as much change. That sentiment may have been premature. Jimmy died 38 years ago, before the World Wide Web, before computers became a household item, and before the cell phone in nearly every pocket could make and distribute digital video and sound recordings around the world instantly, access and display a near limitless database, determine its precise latitude and longitude, allow goods to be viewed, reviewed, ordered, paid for and shipped instantly. Travelling salesmen have been replaced by telemarketers and web ads. Kodak has been replaced by digital camera technology. People become instantly famous on social media platforms for any number of (often inane) reasons. This technology has changed the way its users perceive and interact with the world with some profound consequences. Print journalism is disappearing, retail sales are increasingly transacted online, and what people buy, read and even believe is increasingly inuenced by Internet content custom designed by algorithms. Some lives become scripted to be better Internet content and many lives are lived increasingly within a computer-generated virtual reality (VR). There is even a philosophical hypothesis that contends VR experiences are as legitimate as what we consider reality, and who is to say which is which? I’m no philosopher but I’m willing to bet that question could be easily answered at dinner time. We are now on the threshold of foundation model articial intelligence (AI). Foundation model computers are using “deep learning” AI techniques to mimic the learning pattern of the human brain. They learn to think like a human – you, for example. Once the computer stores your thought processes, linguistic style and creative proclivities, it will be able to think like you, write like you and even compose music you would be likely to write if you knew how. Left to their own devices, they might be smarter, more literate and a better composer than you. It is entirely likely the day will come when someone writing a column like this will be able to subscribe to a foundation model program that will imagine a suitable topic and write about it in an appropriate style in half a dozen versions, reecting how it would expect the subscriber to write it on their own, then how it would be written in 10-point increments of ascending IQ. Essentially dumbing things down so it still sounds authentic. Two of Jimmy Milne’s great-grandchildren are engaged in a generational succession on this farm right now. They will be around for another 50-plus years if they live as long as he did. I can’t imagine what reality might be then, except for dinner time: things will still get real if there is nothing to eat. Bob Collins raises beef cattle and grows produce on his farm in the Alberni Valley. The Back 40 BOB COLLINSA reality check for those living in a virtual worldWe acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.4 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCThe average global temperature keeps rising, not to mention atmospheric carbon dioxide. Both set new records last year, giving new force to the words of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “You cannot step into the same river twice.” The corollary, as new climate records are set, might be a riff on the Roman leader Julius Caesar’s famous act: You can’t cross the same Rubicon twice. Or the Delaware, Jordan, Fraser or Skeena. Take your pick. Every year seems to bring some new point of no return. All farmers know that no two years are the same. While agritech companies seek to harness big data to develop predictive models, the average farmer finds it tough to predict what this season has yet to deliver based on the past five years. Record-setting wildfires in 2017 were outdone in 2018; modelling that predicted a greater number of plus-30°C days in the future were trounced last year by an unprecedented heat dome (and wilder wildfires). Sober predictions of heavier, earlier rainfalls during the winter were fulfilled to overflowing as three atmospheric rivers cut BC off from the rest of Canada. It makes pivoting seem like a quaint concept. The extreme heat a year ago showed producers what was possible, but this year Mother Nature seems to have said, “Fooled ya!” Cool spring temperatures and high humidity have meant equipment was still getting stuck in fields in mid-June. This is the coolest spring since 2010, according to some; others look back to the summer of 1986. But no one weathers the same storm twice. This year, folks can’t help but wonder what’s to come. It’s the inability to plan that beats us down. The failure of anything to fall into place as it should creates a sense of environmental anomie – the lack of common standards – with unique impacts on farmers. God may be in Heaven, but all’s not right with the world. The injustices unfolding every day have no easy remedy. But people need to eat, and no one will if nothing gets planted. You can’t plant the same ground twice, but for the living and those who tend living things, there is hope. And hope is what Canada, notwithstanding its shortcomings, has offered generations. There are many countries worse off than ours, and with greater challenges. We have the freedom to make hay – and a couple hundred other commodities – while the sun shines. So here’s to the ones doing it from far and wide, O Canada. From far and wide
Don’t overlook tax incentives for innovationNot all innovation happens in a lab; on-farm projects can qualify as wellCOUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 5freezing conditions cause the sap within them to expand. In the past, growers have dealt with this problem by removing the vines and starting again with new plants. However, it has now been demonstrated that you can cut vines back and restart them – ultimately ending up with plants that are more productive than new vines would have been. Our client went to great lengths to discover whether removing the aected portion of the vine would result in either dieback further down the plant or a decline in productivity in the rest of the vine. The grower also developed tailored watering proles for the damaged vines, which diered from those of new vines in the same location. Other projects in the agriculture sector include research to discover what time the soil should be aerated during the spring to remove as many harmful larvae as possible; identifying whether crops are net positive when it comes to feeding more nutrients into the soil than they remove, due to their dieback; and measuring the eect of oxygen exposure on fermentation and shelf life of a product. All of these projects were eligible for investment tax credits through the Scientic Research & Experimental Development tax credit program – or SR&ED, for short. Despite a common misconception that SR&ED is better suited to businesses on the processing side of the industry, that’s not the case. Administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), SR&ED delivers millions in Investment Tax Credits to small business – including farms – each year. Yet it’s often hard to know what kind of projects qualify. There is a checklist that producers and growers should be using to identify on-farm projects that might qualify for SR&ED, but remember that routine work that would normally be undertaken in an agricultural setting would not qualify. Here are some considerations for claimants: ● Consider whether or not the work you are doing will develop technical knowledge in the industry, innovation in agricultural machinery or if the work contributes towards a common technological or scientic goal, such as reducing the carbon footprint caused by farming ● Are there scientic uncertainties to the work you are doing? ● Is the on-farm work you are doing likely to make the processing side of the industry more ecient? ● Could it improve productivity and security of supply? Not all R&D qualies for SR&ED tax incentives but what does qualify can be claimed up to 18 months after the tax year in which the work took place. You must be able to provide evidence of your R&D activities and meet the CRA’s benchmarks for qualifying innovation. Depending on your corporate structure and the province in which your company is based, you can claim a refundable federal investment tax credit of 35% on costs directly attributed to innovation. In BC, the provincial refundable investment tax credit program oers a refundable credit of 10%. The claims we’ve processed from agricultural clients have been very successful, with the average refundable benet to corporations being in the tens of thousands of dollars. Most expenses linked to the R&D itself will attract tax incentives and SR&ED is one of the most generous tax incentives for innovation in the world. With on-farm innovation still being overlooked and the pervasiveness of ‘lab coat syndrome’ – a misconception that SR&ED is just for scientists – many in agriculture continue to miss out. Richard Hoy is president of specialist tax consultancy Catax Canada. You can reach him at richard.hoy@catax.com. SR&ED delivers millions in Investment Tax Credits to small business – including farms – each year. The cost of living is rising and producers are under pressure to ensure the price of goods remains reasonable. At the same time, they’ve found themselves facing higher production costs and have needed to adapt their processes to meet various regulatory and social demands, including eorts to reduce their carbon footprint. This is why innovation in agriculture is booming as farmers and growers spearhead a shift to more ecient farming practices. Canada is a global leader in agricultural innovation and the Government of Canada is keen to keep it that way. Earlier this year, it announced investments in six small businesses to advance automation and robotic technologies in a bid to address the challenges of work productivity and labour shortages. But funding opportunities aren’t just available to large companies. Catax Canada has seen the amount of R&D in agriculture that qualies for government tax credits increase signicantly in recent years. Projects span irrigation, planting methodology and equipment modication, as well as pest control. Within the grape-growing sector, we’ve seen successful claims centred on pruning strategies and plant rehabilitation. This kind of work can apply to other types of crops, too. One client wanted to overcome splitting in grapevines. 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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 7Chicken growers battle disease, high feed costsDemand for poultry is strong as social gatherings resumeThere's little relief in sight for rising feed costs, one of many factors squeezing margins to unsustainable levels for BC chicken growers this year. FILEPETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – There’s strong demand for chicken – but also strong headwinds facing producers, who say slim margins and rising costs threaten their industry. “Consumers certainly are challenged with ination, but compared to beef and other proteins, chicken is still the go-to,” BC Chicken Marketing Board executive director Woody Siemens told the June 15 meeting of the BC Chicken Growers Association. Demand is signicant enough that Chicken Farmers of Canada, the industry’s umbrella group, increased the national production allocation 4% above base for the period A-178, which begins August 28. The greater allocation means that producers are going to have to ramp up production. Siemens notes that several producers who have signed up for high-density production are not doing so. “We know there is barn space out there, but a lot of growers who have signed up for high-density are not producing at high-density,” he says. “It’s certainly a challenge for the processors as we do more and more allocations.” But producers at the meeting say they can’t survive on declining margins. Pricing for the A-177 period is set to come in 1.5 cents below the previous period, which rued the feathers of many growers. “Growers can’t go backwards like that,” Abbotsford grower Fred Redekop told Siemens. “We’re trying to get closer to the [cost of production] going forwards.” Vancouver Island grower Aileen Dougan reiterated Redekop’s concerns, saying that as a newer grower, current pricing isn’t working for her. “Going backwards? We just can’t. There’s only so long we can hold our breath under water, and that time is rapidly closing in,” she says, noting that any concession on pricing to accommodate processors in the current inationary environment shouldn’t be done on the backs of growers. “They are doing quite well and have done quite well through all of this whereas the grower has been caught in the worst-case scenario squeeze.” The situation is so bad – and showing little signs of improvement – that producers would be better o selling their farms and investing the proceeds, says Dave Lutton of Abbotsford. “When you’re looking at sub-4% margin at the end of the day, it doesn’t work,” he says. “Why do you want to put $5, $6 million, $10 million, $20 million on the line for a 4% margin? Take your money out, sell your farm and put it in the market; it’s so much better.” Growers are also facing greater disease pressure from ILT (infectious laryngotracheitis), with wild strains causing “havoc” among ocks, according to association president Dale Krahn. The same biosecurity measures eective against avian inuenza are also important in preventing ILT, says Krahn, urging growers to pay particular attention to manure disposal. Proper handling includes heat-treating manure prior to removal, and making sure it’s covered when it leaves the farm. Growers in a primary control zone for avian inuenza also require a permit for the removal of manure. “[A] weak link is not treating your manure when you do have an infection and not handling it correctly on the way out,” Krahn says. “The wild bird population is susceptible to this, carries it, it mutates then it becomes something that’s even harder to contain. … So please be vigilant with your manure, your biosecurity.” Growers using chicken embryo-origin (CEO) vaccines to protect ocks may be contributing to the issue, and Chilliwack grower Trevor Allen urged a consistent vaccination policy among the various feather groups. “The vaccines are losing ground, they’re not working anymore like they used to,” he says. “We were losing about 3-4% and now we’re at 10 or even more. And these are fully vaccinated ocks. … The parameters are changing of how the disease is acting.” Krahn acknowledged that the industry needs to work together to control ILT, otherwise the situation will escalate and stronger measures may be required. “We must nd way to manage this and if we don’t someone else will end up doing it, and that’s usually not as nice,” he says. Despite the challenges, guest speaker Craig Klemmer, principal economist with Farm Credit Canada, says the outlook for poultry is bright. Chicken is a versatile meat for social gatherings, and as events resume there will be an uptick in demand for chicken versus pork in the foodservice sector and especially beef. Pricing is a key factor. “Poultry remains more competitive and quite favourable compared to beef,” he says. info@reimersfarmservice.comCheck out our Einbock Tillage Equipment For Organic FarmingTine Weeders Row Crop Cultivators Rotary Hoes Camera GuidanceSystems AND AEROSTAR 900 Tine WeedersDELTA Drain Tile Cleaners Improves Drainage & Conditions Soil Economical & Reliable Low Maintenance Safe and ProvenSUMMER PRICING ON IN STOCK
8 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCABBOTSFORD1-888-283-3276VERNON1-800-551-6411AGCO Genuine parts are the real deal, so you don’t need to guess what you are putting into your machine.Delayed seeding means lighter crop, higher pricesProducers look to mitigate risk through diversificationPETER MITHAM BALDONNEL – Grain growers in the BC Peace are hoping for the best after a cool spring delayed seeding by several weeks. “We seeded everything about two weeks behind our average seeding dates,” says Malcolm Odermatt, president of the BC Grain Producers Association and a grower in Baldonnel. “There was nothing we could do about it.” When the weather turned, growers put in 18-hour days planting so crops would have the longest growing window. However, for some it was too late. While about 90% of acres in the southern Peace were seeded, producers further north seeded less rather than risk then not having enough time to mature. “You have to draw the line at some point,” says Odermatt. Growers who did manage to seed continue to face cool, wet weather, but Odermatt is optimistic. “The plant counts are there, however we’ve just been in this wet, wet growing season,” he says. “If we get some heat, get some wind, we could have some pretty decent crops yet.” During a recent drive to Manitoba, Odermatt says crops in Saskatchewan were only slightly ahead of the Peace. This points to grain prices remaining strong for the foreseeable future. Crop conditions are compounding the eects of the global grain shortage triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There’s no producer that won’t be aected by the limits on grain supplies, although livestock producers will feel the pinch most. “Russia and the Ukraine are two of the largest players in global feed supplies,” says Craig Klemmer, principal economist with Farm Credit Canada. “Global feed supplies are going to remain tight. It is going to be a widespread challenge for all livestock producers around the world.” Weather conditions on the Prairies will keep yields low, and then there’s the impact of higher fuel costs on transportation. Pricing for wheat, a major feedgrain in the BC poultry sector, is priced o Chicago. Shipping costs to Western Canada are extra. “It’s having a big impact,” he says. “There doesn’t look to be a lot of relief right now.” This is where local production is critical to shortening supply chains. “Everything that we can produce in Canada will be so important to give us a cost advantage on the feed side of things,” he says. Diversication is something Odermatt says BC Grain members are keeping in mind. “We’re planning to seed more perennial crops, just to mitigate the risk of these late springs, early falls,” he says. Canola had a rough start in the Peace Region this season. MATT ODERMATT
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 9Dairy farmers welcome price increase Some relief from rising costs as weather dampens forage outlookPacic Forage’s Alexis Arthur says the domino effect BC dairy producers are experiencing between rising costs, supply chain disruptions and unsettled weather means this year will be a tough go. CATHY GLOVERppp gskills in communication, complex analysis and decision-making. Good background knowledge of the dairy industry and supply management is important. Board members are required to relate well to and have WKHFRQÀGHQFHRISURGXFHUVSURFHVVRUVsuppliers, Board staff and other stakeholders.Milk Industry Advisory Committee (MIAC)BC Milk Marketing Board Member Appointment by the Milk Industry Advisory Committee (MIAC)The British Columbia Milk Marketing Board, under federal and provincial law, promotes, controls and regulates the production, transportation, packing, storing and marketing of milk, fluid milk and manufactured milk products in British Columbia. A Board Member is to be appointed by MIAC with a three-year term effective November 2022. (Reference: BCMMB Election and Appointment Rules and Procedures, July 9, 2021) Board duties include the analysis and interpretation of detailed statistics in relation to production, product quality, consumption patterns, and industry economic impacts, and direct involvement in regional, national and international policies. The person appointed will have strong skills in communication, complex analysis and decision-making. Good background knowledge of the dairy industry and supply management will be important. Board members are required to relate well to and have the confidence of producers, processors, suppliers, Board staff and other stakeholders. This part-time position is suitable for an individual who can commit to Board and other meetings, likely or approximating three to five days a month, and who can undertake some travel. This Board Member cannot be a licensed producer. The BC Milk Industry Advisory Committee invites applications from qualified individuals who are keen to make an active contribution to the Dairy industry. If you feel qualified and the opportunity is of interest, to apply for an interview please send your resume in confidence by September 30, 2022: miac@bcmilk.com Attention: Hank Kroeker, Chair Milk Industry Advisory Committee PETER MITHAM CHILLIWACK – Dairy farmers have won a rare mid-year price hike to address rising production costs. The Canadian Dairy Commission announced a 2.5% increase in the price producers receive for their milk on June 21 in response to a Dairy Farmers of Canada request in late May for a mid-year price review. “[Dairy farmers] are facing never-before-seen price increases for the goods and services they need to produce milk,” DFC said in a statement regarding the request. “The upward pressure on costs is expected to continue.” The price increase takes eect September 1, and will be implemented by each of the provincial milk marketing boards. It follows an 8% increase that took eect in February. The latest increase is good news for BC dairy farmers, says Sarah Sache, a farmer in Rosedale and vice-chair with the BC Dairy Association. She says fuel and fertilizer costs on her farm have doubled over the past year while feed costs have increased in the range of 30% to 40%, depending on how rations are mixed. “We couldn’t wait for an annual review in this situation,” she says. “This is a necessary change to keep our businesses operating in the current economic climate.” The pressure isn’t about to let up. Canada’s ination rate has accelerated this year, driven in large part by fuel. Drought last year reduced feed supplies, and a cool spring means forage costs will remain high going into next winter. Alexis Arthur, co-owner of Pacic Forage in Delta, says wet conditions prevented many farmers from getting onto their elds in a timely manner this spring. Some planted more corn because they couldn’t plant grass. While corn delivers greater bulk than the alternatives, late seeding means the quality of the grain will be lower. “Guys are going to need more grain, so then you’re hoping that Alberta and the Prairies have an okay time so there is grain, but you know, to get it out here with the cost of fuel, it’s going to cost a whack-tonne more,” she says. “This one is going to be a tough one. There’s no pretending it’s not.” The successive waves of trouble – extreme weather, combined with supply chain disruptions – are having a cascading eect on producers and farm management, who are nding it dicult to draw up plans. “Our domino eect is pretty intense,” Arthur says. “We maybe have to look at varying what we put in the ground to allow us to troubleshoot these seasonal upheavals.” Some growers in Manitoba are considering alternative crops such as millet. Others, who have crop insurance, are putting anything at all in the ground just to generate revenues. This helps alleviate the pressure on supplies, even if the feedstock won’t be what growers usually source. But upward pressure on costs is a given. While the latest increase in uid milk prices helps, the Canadian Dairy Commission framed it as an advance on the next annual increase, set to be announced later this year. “During the regular price review, the September 1 adjustment will be deducted from any adjustment for February 1, 2023,” the commission said. Grateful as she is for the mid-year price increase, Sache says a further increase will be needed. “It certainly helps us to stay in business right now,” she says. “[But] we’re still going to need more.” The average BC producer saw a return of $93.11 per hectolitre in May. While ongoing price increases for the dairy sector will draw the ire of critics of supply management, the Canadian Dairy Commission notes that other farm products have seen sharper increases. 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10 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCMyrna Stark Leader’s August 2021 cover photo for Country Life in BC has won international acclaim.Dustin Stadnyk CPA, CAChris Henderson CPA, CANathalie Merrill CPA, CMATOLL FREE 1-888-818-FARM | www.farmtax.ca1Expert farm taxation advice: • Purchase and sale of farms • Transfer of farms to children • Government subsidy programs • Preparation of farm tax returns • Use of $1,000,000 Capital Gains Exemptions Approved consultants for Government funding through BC Farm Business Advisory Services ProgramARMSTRONG 250-546-8665 | LUMBY 250-547-2118 | ENDERBY 250-838-7337View over 100 listings of farm properties at www.bcfarmandranch.comBC FARM & RANCH REALTY CORP.Buying or Selling a Farm or Acreage?GORD HOUWELING Cell: 604/793-8660GREG WALTON Cell: 604/864-1610Toll free 1-888-852-AGRI Call BC’s First and Only Real Estate Office committed 100% to Agriculture!PROFESSIONAL SERVICESwww.tjequipmentllc.com 360-815-1597 FERNDALE, WA ALL PRICES IN US FUNDS2007 NH 1442 MOWER CONDITIONER, 15' HEAD, 12 DISCS, FLAIL CONDITIONER, COMPLETE SERVICE, NEW DRIVE BELTS $14,2501996 INTERNATIONAL 9200 W/20' SILAGE BOX, DETROIT 60 SERIES, 10 SPEED, ALL NEW BRAKES, NEW DIFFERENTIAL, NEW CLUTCH $38,0002001 HANSEN MFG. 24' MANURE SPREADER, DOUBLE BEATERS, HY-DRAULIC DRIVE, BOX COULD EASILY BE MOUNTED ON TRUCK $21,000CUSTOM BUILT 21'MANURE SPREADER, 540 PTO DRIVEN, TANDEM $16,500Track your Evapotranspiration Dutch treatcollaboration if BC developed a coordinated strategy for developing its agritech potential. Now, that vision has become a reality with the signing of an “action plan agreement” announced May 24 by BC and the Netherlands. "The Dutch are known for their innovative food practices, and we are excited to expand our work with the Netherlands while showcasing our own prosperous farming communities,” BC agriculture minister Lana Popham said in a statement announcing the agreement. “This agreement will allow for more strategic resource-sharing and create new opportunities for agritech practices and existing traditional farms right here at home." The action plan will focus on delivering initiatives and cross-cultural learning exchanges to support sustainable agricultural and agritech opportunities for people and businesses in BC and the Netherlands. The agreement sets the stage for BC to pursue what the Dutch call a “triple helix” model of innovation, which sees government, academia and companies collaborate to advance agritech. The province says the approach has contributed to the Netherlands’ success as the second largest food exporter in the world. The connection between the Netherlands and BC are very strong. The greenhouse sector in particular owes a debt to Dutch growing practices and traditions, and the BC Greenhouse Growers Association identify closer collaboration with the Netherlands among its goals. — Peter Mitham Bearing fruit Ottawa has granted the BC Fruit Growers Association $129,500 in funding through the AgriScience program to support cherry research. The renewed threat of Little Cherry Virus (LCV) as well as Western X phytoplasma have prompted an allocation of $61,985 to develop and implement tools for detection and diagnosis. “The knowledge generated through this research will help the sector better understand emergent diseases and support improved management strategies,” the federal announcement says. BC growers rst identied Little Cherry Disease in BC in the 1930s, but an eradication eort saw it largely eliminated by the 1980s. Regular surveys ended in 2003. But recent years have seen the disease resurface, with growers in Washington State warning Okanagan growers in 2015 that it was on their doorstep. The disease costs Washington growers upwards of $80 million annually. The past couple of years have seen a task force revive surveillance for the disease, backed with $100,000 in provincial funding. The survey focuses on areas identied previously as hot spots for the disease, primarily the Creston and Okanagan valleys. Ottawa is also funding more than $573,000 worth of market development eorts for cherry growers as well as blueberry growers. Cherry growers will receive up to $236,847 from Ottawa in AgriMarketing funding “to identify new opportunities to gain access to new export markets and increase export values through promotion of Canadian cherries.” Blueberry growers were the bigger winners, however, receiving $335,169 from Ottawa “to expand global demand for highbush blueberries with the aim of diversifying markets outside the United States.” — Peter Mitham Photo finish And the winner is … Country Life in BC contributor Myrna Stark Leader, who tied for rst place in the photography awards category at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists conference in Vingstad, Denmark at the end of June. Leader’s photo “Night Moves” on the cover of the August 2021 issue won the IFAJ Star Prize for Photography, which “celebrates great images by agricultural journalists and communicators around the globe.” The photo shows Eduardo Vaca Castro, a worker at Coral Beach Farms Ltd., picking cherries by the light of a headlamp. Castro was one of a crew of 125 workers whose shift started at midnight, allowing the crew to harvest the fruit at the coolest part of the day. The practice extends the shelf life of the tender cherries, many destined for export, and also protects workers from daytime temperatures that reach the low 30s. The award was presented on the opening night of the IFAJ conference, which runs June 27-July 3. — Peter Mitham The Netherlands was a touchstone for what the future of BC agriculture could look like when the BC Food Security Task group delivered its report in January 2020. “It really inspired us to produce a report that said, ‘how quickly can we get this sector up and running in BC?’ because we think the world will beat a path to our door once we get going,” said task force member Arvind Gupta, a computer science professor at UBC and the University of Toronto. The Netherlands, he added, was among the countries that saw opportunities for Ag Briefs EDITED BY PETER MITHAM
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 11The Russian invasion of the Ukraine will have a catastrophic impact on food security for developing countries who depend on the country for grain imports. ANNA KLOCHKO“Serving British Columbia proudly since 1946”Machinery LimitedROLLINS RToll Free 1-800-242-9737 www.rollinsmachinery.com info@rollinsmachinery.caChilliwack 1.800.242.9737 . 47724 Yale Rd W Langley 1.800.665.9060 . 21869 56th Ave Chemainus 1.250.246.1203 . 3306 Smiley Rd Kelowna 250.765.8266 . 201-150 Campion StToll Free 1-800-242-9737 www.rollinsmachinery.comChilliack 1.800.242.9737 | 44725 Yale Rd W Langley 1.800.665.9060 | 21869 - 56th Ave Chemainus 1.250-246.1203 | 3306 Smiley RdChilliwack 1.800.242.9737 . 47724 Yale Rd W Langley 1.800.665.9060 . 21869 56th Ave Chemainus 1.250.246.1203 . 3306 Smiley Rd Kelowna 250.765.8266 . 201-150 Campion StYou’ve tried the rest.Now try the BEST.Ukraine’s loss in the global market is everyone’s lossThe country is one of the world’s top five agricultural producers ANNA KLOCHKO Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, there has been a sense of impending catastrophe in global markets. Speaking with the Ukrainian farm publication Kurkul.com this spring, Olga Tromtseva, chair of the Assembly of Agrarian Chambers of Ukraine and Ukraine’s former acting minister of agrarian policy and food, described a possible chain reaction in global food security as a result of Russia’s invasion. It now seems her predictions are coming true after four months of war. “The war is an absolute force majeure, the notorious ‘black swan’ – an unpredictable event for which it is impossible to prepare. Therefore, much will change both in our country and in other countries,” she says. US historian Timothy D. Snyder, a specialist in the modern history of Central and Eastern Europe, has also warned about the impending famine of millions of people in the poorest countries of Asia and Africa. On Twitter, he analyzed the actions of the Russian leadership and compared them to the policies of Hitler and Stalin: "Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve out most of the developing world to enter the next phase of his war in Europe." Snyder fears that if Russia’s naval blockade of Ukraine continues, tens of millions of tonnes of grain will rot and millions of people in Asia and Africa will starve. "The idea that controlling Ukrainian grain could change the world is not new," he says, a nod to the policies of Communist dictator Joseph Stalin. But it seems that Putin decided not to wait for the grain to rot on its own. On June 22 – notable as the anniversary of the opening of the Eastern Front in World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and a sacred date for Russian propaganda – Russian troops attacked the second largest grain terminal in Mykolaiv, including elevators owned by Canada’s Viterra as part of what Kyiv and Western governments say is a campaign to degrade Ukraine's ability to export food. But within Ukraine, catastrophe is not an option. Ukraine is too important to global food production to be replaced. In fact, the domestic food security of many countries is virtually impossible without the support of key producers such as Ukraine. This realization is hitting home in Europe, where the EU has committed to making agriculture more sustainable through the European Green Food Plan, part of the European Green Deal approved in 2020. “The EU is dependent on Ukraine's supply of grain, including organic grain feed for organic livestock, and it is already noticeable that Europeans are forced to reconsider some principles of their agricultural policy,” Tromtseva says. “Unexpectedly for many, it turned out that without Ukraine, the European Green Deal is simply impossible. It shows how deeply we are integrated into the EU in this sense and our signicant interdependence on many issues.” The lessons are also being felt outside Europe. Russia’s blockade of the key ports of Odessa and Mykolayiv, through which about 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural products were transported, led other countries to try and ll the gap. But it’s not easy. “It is impossible to quickly and fully replace a country that is among the top ve producers and exporters of a particular product group,” Tromtseva says. “This is evidenced, rst, by the reaction of world markets to the news of the start of the war – there was an immediate and signicant rise in prices. Secondly, the concern of international organizations working on food security is growing every day. They are already signaling the impossibility of making full-edged purchases, for example, of grain for the humanitarian supply of agricultural products to countries on the brink of starvation.” This is where domestic food security plans play a role during this dicult time, both outside and within Ukraine. “Our agribusiness sector must work so that Ukrainians survive the war with little loss in terms of food security,” she explains. “The implementation of such programs as ‘Victory Gardens’ is crucial; any initiatives that help small farmers and individual citizens to grow products that the war has prevented.” Similarly, eorts to maintain production will be important to post-war recovery. “Our agribusiness sector remains the most powerful exporting segment of Ukraine's economy, bringing considerable export revenue, without which the country's economy would collapse,” she says. “Only the end of the war as soon as possible can stop this domino eect and solve humanity's food problems.” Anna Klochko is an agricultural journalist who previously worked for Ukraine's largest agrarian media holding group, Latifundist Media. Because of the war, she was forced to leave her native country. She now lives and works in Vancouver. From far and wide Oh Canada we stand on guard for theeHappy Canada Day
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That means producers will have to consider operational changes or bite the bullet this summer. For Chris Groenendijk of Greendike Farm on Vancouver Island, it’s business as usual. “We can’t really save anything on fuel. You have to get into the elds,” he says. “Over the years, we tried to get bigger equipment to harvest it faster but it’s a double-edged sword. You harvest it faster but you’re burning more fuel.” The Groenendijk family have a 170-head milking operation, and high fuel prices are hitting home. “Last November, I was paying $1.13 for a litre of diesel and on May 25, I paid $1.71. That’s roughly a 50% increase,” Groenendijk says. “Last year on fuel, I spent a little over $42,000 for the full year. Based on that kind of a rate, I’d be spending another $21,000 … that would certainly be a signicant increase.” Robert Vander Linden, a producer in Dawson Creek and director of the BC Grain Producers Association, has also had to absorb fuel price increases in order to get another season’s promise in the ground. “So far, I have just taken the hit and struggled through it. Hopefully at the end of the year it all pencils out with the increased commodity prices,” he says. Vander Linden grows 3,500 acres of wheat, barley, oats and canola. “We’re in the north so our fuel always comes from Sherwood Park or the Edmonton reneries. Now, since January or so, our price has gone up by $0.16 per litre to make it more in line with the rack price at Prince George,” he says. High fuel costs in BC are mostly driven by international factors, including sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February, says UBC Sauder School of Business associate professor Werner Antweiler. “The Russian oil that’s missing from the global market leads to supply shortages that other suppliers have not made up, but of course one big question is how long it will take for other suppliers to step in to ll these gaps,” he says. “Right now, there is very strong incentive for oil producers to crank up production but that will take time.” If domestic suppliers boost production, Canadians are still at the mercy of global events and markets. “Even though the fuel we are using here in British Columbia is coming from Alberta, the producers are also plugged into international markets, and they see opportunity to make more money by shipping the oil south to the United States. They are not going to ship it here,” Antweiler says. “We are completely connected to international markets and in that sense, we are fully exposed to these international and global phenomena and energy markets.” Groenendijk respects the reality of businesses needing to be protable, but questions recent price hikes. “When there is a natural disaster somewhere or war halfway around the world, they always seem to use that as an excuse to bump up the price,” he says. “When you have such a speculative commodity like fuel, I think any excuse to make an extra prot is used and I don’t think that’s necessarily right.” BC’s small market and limited pipeline capacity also contribute to high fuel prices. “If the international prices are high, there is more pressure to use this capacity to ship oil to international markets and not so much to the renery,” Antweiler explains. “Then all prices have to go up to compensate for that and make it attractive to get oil to our local gasoline and diesel markets.” BC also has limited rening capacity, something that’s pushed up diesel prices, too. “Reneries have to be congured in a certain way to make diesel. In Canada, we are at a disadvantage because our reneries are originally made for lighter types of crude oil,” Antweiler says. “If you want to produce more diesel, you have to produce less gasoline, which drives up the price of gasoline. Something’s got to give. In the short term, the reneries don’t want to change the conguration.” Fortunately, experts do not see prices climbing much higher in the near term. “We have reached a plateau level now,” Antweiler says. “We can expect some easing up of prices down the road. … It’s never early enough for those who depend on it and especially farmers who are the ones very constrained by the growing season. They need their equipment now and they can’t wait six months.” Diesel prices plateau but gas pains continueFarmers’ fuel budgets up 50% over last year thanks to global pressures“When there is a ... war halfway around the world, they always seem to use that as an excuse to bump up the price.” CHRIS GROENENDIJK, GREENDIKE FARM
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 13Metro Vancouver is putting pressure on greenhouse operations to reduce emissions in its efforts to become carbon neutral by 2050. FILEwww.tubeline.ca 1.888.856.6613@TubelineMFGFind us onNITRO 275RS SPREADERSACCUMUL8 & RETRIEVERBALEWRAPPERS SILAGE RAKESANDRA TRETICK BURNABY – Metro Vancouver released its new Clean Air Plan this spring, leaving just eight years for the agriculture sector to reach targets aimed at improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Agricultural activities account for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions in the region, primarily carbon dioxide from fossil fuels to heat greenhouses and operate farm equipment, methane from livestock and manure storage, and nitrous oxide from adding fertilizers and manures as soil amendments. Transportation, buildings and industry account for 90%. Agricultural land, however, makes up 22% of Metro Vancouver’s land base, and the plan puts the onus squarely on the region’s farms to help achieve targets that include a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 levels and a 10% reduction in ne particulate matter from 2020 levels. Two key ways agriculture can help include reducing emissions from greenhouses and reducing open-air burning. The plan states that greenhouses could focus on improving energy performance and transitioning to using cleaner, renewable energy, while considering the need for supplemental carbon dioxide in greenhouses to support plant growth. It also identies working with agricultural producers to accelerate adoption of alternatives to open-air burning of crop residue. These alternatives would complement open-air burning regulations. The plan aligns with Metro Vancouver’s long-range commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050. Metro Vancouver is crafting a series of roadmaps to achieve that goal. Roadmaps have already been developed for buildings and for transportation, and the draft for agriculture is currently open for public input until the end of July. It is the culmination of two years of background work since Metro Vancouver rst put out the call for input on an agriculture discussion paper outlining a plan to reduce agricultural emissions. The roadmap identies four key strategies and 26 actions aimed at reducing the region’s greenhouse gas emissions and creating a strong, adaptive agricultural community by 2050. New regulations in works Metro Vancouver is also working on several new regulations and regulatory amendments that could impact emissions associated with the region’s agriculture sector. The region doesn’t currently have an emissions regulation for open-air burning. Emissions from burning vegetative debris contain ne particulate matter and other air Farms expected to meet carbon emission targetsMetro Vancouver seeks feedback on agriculture roadmapcontaminants that can aect health and the environment, and contribute to climate change. “Metro Vancouver is developing a simpler and more ecient way to manage emissions from open-air burning of vegetative debris, to protect air quality and health,” says Roger Quan, the region’s director of air quality and climate change. “At the same time, Metro Vancouver and partners are developing a multi-language best practices guide on alternatives to open-air burning.” Alternatives include chipping, grinding, shredding, mowing and See BURNING on next page o
BURNING targeted nfrom page 13Marketing British Columbia to the World®www.landquest.comToll Free 1-866-558-LAND (5263)“The Source” for Oceanfront, Lakefront, Islands, Ranches, Resorts & Land in BC®Visit our WebsiteLAKEFRONT LOG HOME IN THE FLOAT PLANE CAPITAL OF BC - NIMPO LAKE, BCWILDERNESS RANCHLILLOOET, BCBIG SKY RETREAT SLOCAN VALLEYSHADOW CREEK RANCHLITTLE FORT, BCSTARTER CATTLE FARMFORT ST. JAMES, BCQUATSINO 90 ACRE OCEAN AND LAKE FRONT PROPERTYLARGE FAMILY HOME AND HOBBY FARM LAC LA HACHE, BC - CARIBOOBLACK BEAR RANCHCOLUMBIA VALLEY, BCA 4,560 ft2 dream log home perched above the crystal-clear waters of Nimpo Lake. Situated on 1.47 acres this magnificent home provides a sense of grandeur both on its exterior and interior. Wired shop, second residence, storage sheds, docks and private boat launch. $1,899,000Off-grid 160-acre ranch 80 km north of Lillooet. Pelton wheel provides power to heritage cabin, shop, underground bunker / root cellar. 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It is conveniently located a short drive south of Fort St. James. $849,00090 acres, 2 titles 1,150 ft oceanfront in Hecate Cove and 1,850 ft lakefront on Colony Lake in Quatsino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Road goes through property. May be subdivision potential. Substantial mature timber, some cedar, no estimate of volume. $1,800,000Very large family home on 5.5 acres perfectly appointed off the highway overlooking the lake in Lac La Hache. Loads of sunshine with beautiful lake views to the south and rolling grass hills to the north offering a great opportunity for a large family that is looking to hobby farm and garden. $649,000Ideal setup for 2+ families or an extended family. 166 acres set above the picturesque Columbia Valley, between Invermere and Golden. 2 privately situated homes each with a detached garage and one with a large shop. Borders Crown land, seasonable creek, excellent water. A must see!! $2,599,000CHASE WESTERSUND 778-927-6634Personal Real Estate Corporationchase@landquest.comRICH OSBORNE 604-328-0848Personal Real Estate Corporationrich@landquest.comJOHN ARMSTRONG 250-307-2100Personal Real Estate Corporationjohn@landquest.comSAM HODSON 604-809-2616Personal Real Estate Corporationsam@landquest.comJOHN ARMSTRONG 250-307-2100Personal Real Estate Corporationjohn@landquest.comJASON ZROBACK 1-604-414-5577 JAMIE ZROBACK 1-604-483-1605 FAWN GUNDERSON 250-982-2314Personal Real Estate Corporationfawn@landquest.comMATT CAMERON 250-200-1199matt@landquest.comLARGE COMMERCIAL SHOP ON 51 ACRES - WOSS, BCBUILD ON BALDY IN THE SOUTH OKANAGANSpacious 5 bay, 6,775 ft2 shop with of昀ce area and washrooms, 3-phase power, large paved parking lot, aggregate resources and 7 serviced RV sites outside of the main compound area. Located on 51 acres with zoning allowing for a magnitude of different commercial uses. $825,000Now is the time to secure your lot & get your ideas approved ahead of the 2022/23 ski season! This large sloping south-westerly view lot outside the strata, about 400 m from the base on Fawn Lane, is treed, & you can put in a legal income suite too! Baldy offers the best value in land and skiing in BC! NEW PRICE $119,900KEVIN KITTMER 250-951-8631kevin@landquest.comROB GREENE 604-830-2020rob@landquest.commulching, and composting of debris on site. A new emissions regulation is expected to go to the regional board later this year. A new burning regulation may not be a deal-breaker for farmers, according to the region’s agriculture advisory committee chair Mike Manion. “When I talk to farmers about burning, many farmers today are saying ‘I’ve just taken that out of my toolbox because it becomes too problematic,’” he says. “You have to phone and check. The number of days that are available to burn just seem to be shrinking all the time. Either you’re going to invest in some technology that allows you to burn or you just nd something else to do with the waste.” Metro Vancouver is also developing a regulation to manage emissions from cannabis production and processing. It is expected to go to the regional board in 2023. The region adopted amendments to air quality permit and regulatory fees in October 2021. “The updated air quality fees apply to all facilities operating with a Metro Vancouver permit, and are expected to apply to facilities registered under the Agricultural Boilers Emission Regulation starting in 2024,” says Quan. Quan notes that Metro Vancouver recognizes that farmers and the agricultural community will need support to help reduce emissions from farms and greenhouses. But Manion has a word of caution for the region’s farmers. “There’s lots of dierent aspects of agriculture now that may be impacted by regulations like this,” he says. “Without a great deal of study, they may not even know that they’re going to be hit by those things. What all the producers are going to have to do is dig into them to see how it might aect them.” Manion says food security is one of the things that should be uppermost on people’s minds as the new regulations take eect. Many farmers may not want to put up with the new rules, and call it quits. “People need to really think about that,” says Manion. “The thing that we’ve said over and over to Metro is ‘Do you really want to put farmers in Metro at a disadvantage to the rest of the province, never mind the rest of the country?’” Metro Vancouver has delegated authority under the Environmental Management Act to regulate air emissions, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), within their region. VOCs may result in unwanted negative environmental eects such as the formation of ground level ozone. Major sources of these compounds include natural vegetation, chemical use and light-duty cars and trucks. A 2021 report commissioned by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food estimated VOC emissions from agricultural crops in Metro Vancouver at 2.7% with indoor cannabis production contributing 0.3% but expected to grow to 0.7%. Metro Vancouver’s proposed Emission Regulation for Cannabis Production and Processing seeks to regulate VOC emissions from cannabis production as part of the Lower Fraser Valley Ground Level Ozone Strategy. “What worries farmers, of course, is that you can always start with something like cannabis, but if at the end of the day what you’re doing is you’re trying to control odours – mushrooms, livestock, they get nervous,” says Mike Manion, chair of Metro Vancouver’s agriculture advisory committee. The province’s agriculture ministry says the Farm Practices Protection Act specically relates to nuisances such as odour, noise, dust or other disturbances. The right to farm is, however, not automatic. It requires among other things that the operation does not contravene other legislation including the Environmental Management Act or the bylaw that Metro Vancouver is considering enacting under the act. — Sandra Tretick 14 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCRegulating cannabis emissions
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 15Carbon tax tops greenhouse growers concerns Province says carbon tax rebate won’t last foreverBC agriculture minister Lana Popham assured greenhouse growers they would not be thrown under the bus when she addressed their annual meeting in Surrey last month. RONDA PAYNE RONDA PAYNE SURREY – The province is investigating potential solutions to address greenhouse growers’ concerns over the impacts of the federal carbon tax. “We understand completely how greenhouse growing works, and the carbon tax with that,” BC agriculture minister Lana Popham told the annual general meeting of the BC Greenhouse Growers Association, June 8. “Everything is being discussed right now. We denitely will not be throwing you under the bus.” Popham had spent the morning touring greenhouses in the Lower Mainland. Growers had voiced concern at the rising price of natural gas and federal plans to increase its tax on carbon emissions to $170 per tonne by 2030. While the federal carbon tax program includes a point-of-sale option that incorporates a tax credit at point of sale, growers in BC – which implemented a carbon tax before the federal government – sees growers receive an 80% rebate several months after they’ve paid the tax. Popham also says the carbon tax rebate can’t last forever. While rebates for 2021 are being processed, Popham made no commitments at the meeting for the program’s renewal in 2022. The costs and uncertainties around the rebate are a top concern for growers, says BCGGA president Armand Vander Meulen. “We have to have certainty in our industry with regards to that carbon tax,” he says. “We will not stop until that one is put to bed.” Vander Meulen says “natural gas is the obvious solution at this time,” but the association is working to identify viable alternatives to natural gas as part of a strategic plan initiated last year. A review of potential alternatives, funded primarily by BC Hydro and Fortis, is one of several projects the association is pursuing this year. Another project will review the carbon tax credit program and the point-of-sale option. “We’re using this as a business case to present to our government,” says BCGGA executive director Linda Delli Santi. With the federal and provincial governments’ focus on reducing carbon emissions, greenhouse growers know they’ve got a battle ahead. Delli Santi says regional, provincial and national policy reviews are heavily focused on addressing climate change. “It’s pretty heavy towards climate and that’s the main focus,” she says. “That’s pretty much all I’m hearing about and it’s a big concern for our industry.” Popham praised the sector, noting that climate-controlled growing is cutting-edge. “The greenhouse industry is really the way of the future,” she says. “BC in some ways is leading the way on many environmental fronts.” BC greenhouse growers have been looking to expand export markets but the current political climate means China is o the menu for now. “We have to revisit; we need to meet to discuss other possible countries” Delli Santi says. “We haven’t identied [other options] yet.” With costs rising, the association voted to increase levies this year for the rst time since 2016. Growers will now pay 15 cents per square metre, up a penny. However, the new levy is what growers with more than 5,000 square metres of growing space paid in 2009 and 2010. BCGGA treasurer Ray Van Marrewyk says that the increase in levies adds a little more than $33,000 to revenues but has the potential to pay big dividends. “The extra cent in fees will come back tenfold if we can get some of these [projects] done,” he says. But the association is slowly depleting its asset base, and Vander Meulen says more square footage is required to keep the association aoat. “Even 15 cents at our current size is not sustainable,” he says. Finding new ways of doing business that improve eciencies, tools and systems and help reduce costs in other ways may come from creating stronger ties with the Netherlands. Projects planned in the 2022 to support this include building a stronger working relationship with the Consulate General of the Netherlands along with a review of energy use in that country. The association hopes some Dutch practices could help improve greenhouse management and nancial outcomes in BC. “There’s interest in having [Dutch growers] connect with us here,” Delli Santi says. “That’s an area where I think we should be strengthening our ties.”
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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 17Farm & Rural ResidentialProperties in the Peace Country are our specialtyAnne H. ClaytonMBA, AACI P App, RIAppraiserJudi LeemingBHE, CRA P AppAppraiser250.782.1088info@aspengrovepropertyservices.ca www.aspengrovepropertyservices.caServing the Okanagan and Fraser Valley We’ve been proudly family owned and operated since opening in 1976. And with two blending plants, we’re one of BC’s largest distributors of granular, liquid and foliar fertilizers. Our buying power and proximity to the Fraser Valley makes us the logical choice for truckload shipments. OKANAGAN FERTILIZER LTD 1-800-361-4600 or 250-838-6414Private, public groups boosting grower supportTOM WALKER SUMMERLAND – There were a lot of smiles, handshakes and ‘good to see yous’ as close to 100 fruit growers gathered at Peach Orchard Park in Summerland, June 1, for an education morning organized by the Okanagan Horticulture Advisors Group (OHAG). The event included presentations on cover crops, nitrogen management and irrigation from Summerland Research and Development Centre sta. Orchardists received an update regarding Little Cherry Virus and the formation of a task force to keep the disease out of BC orchards, as well as tips on growing premium Honeycrisp apples and the use of reective ground cover to improve the colour of Ambrosia apples. The event wasn’t just one of the rst in-person eld days since 2020, it was a sign of renewed technical support for the industry. OHAG formed earlier this year, emerging from the former Okanagan Packing House Group, with a mission to increase the quality and availability of horticultural advisory services within the southern Interior. BC Tree Fruits Co-op laid o several key members of its eld services team in 2019 and others resigned or retired. This left a large gap in the eld support growers need to produce the best fruit for market. Kelowna-based Consolidated Fruit Packers continues to support its growers and Kootenay Boundary Farm Advisors assists growers further east, but most orchardists need to contract for eld services with private consultants. Poor quality fruit and the lack of extension services to help growers up their game are among the top issues facing the tree fruit industry, according to the task force overseeing the province’s tree fruit stabilization initiative. To address the issue, a six-member extension committee led by Melissa Tesche, general manager of the Sterile Insect Release program, formed. The committee includes representatives from the BC Fruit Growers Association, Summerland Research and Development Centre, Growers Supply and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food. “The extension committee’s goal is bigger than hosting events. We want to look at some of the systemic challenges with extension in the tree fruit and grape industry and identify opportunities to improve the extension infrastructure,” says Tesche. “The stabilization plan acknowledges there has been instability and loss of extension and horticultural services. We want to understand how much capacity is there; who has capacity; are there ways to collaborate between organizations and across commodities that could improve extension outcomes and make the best use of our limited resources.” The committee’s rst initiative has been a grower survey that ended June 15 regarding extension needs, Tesche says. “One of the main comments heard through the engagement process was that grower engagement with extension events and materials is low,” she notes. “The committee wanted to nd out why this is the case. We wanted growers to tell us how they want to get their Molly Thurston of Pearl Agricultural Consulting and Claremont Ranch Organics was recognized by the Okanagan branch of the BC Institute of Agrologists for her excellence in horticultural management and mentorship of younger horticulturists. Carl Withler presented the award. TOM WALKERfarm information.” Tesche says there’s a lot of work, time and money going into implementing the stabilization plan right now. Committees like hers are run by volunteers, most of whom also have paid jobs. “Some of the work of the stabilization plan is very commodity-specic and focused on the apple crisis,” she says. “But some of the pieces, like extension, are about tree fruits and grapes as a whole. It’s about supporting and developing excellence across all commodities.” Summerland Research Development Centre is launching a series of noon hour Zoom workshops in conjunction with the BC New extension initiatives for orchard sectorFOR BAGGED or BULK ORDERSDarren Jansen Owner604.794.3701organicfeeds@gmail.comwww.canadianorganicfeeds.comCertified by Pro-Cert Organic Systems Ltd.Institute of Agrologists, an initiatives spearheaded by Adrian Arts, the province’s tree fruit and grape specialist. “Our rst will be July 13, on Sudden Apple Decline,” says Jesse MacDonald, the knowledge and technology transfer specialist at Summerland. BC Tree Fruits is also resuming a measure of grower support, providing technical advice through Growers Supply. BCTF members with a three-year contract will be eligible for 20 hours of support, while members with a one-year contract qualify for three hours. Non-members can pay for services as well.
18 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCAbout 30 people gathered in Langley, including Darcy Smith of Young Agrarians, to talk to local and BC politicians about frustrating red tape for farmers.RONDA PAYNECALL FOR AN ESTIMATE LARRY 604.209.5523 TROY 604.209.5524 TRI-WAY FARMS LASER LEVELLING LTD.IMPROVED DRAINAGE UNIFORM GERMINATION UNIFORM IRRIGATION FAST, ACCURATE SURVEYING INCREASE CROP YIELDS We service all of Southern BCExpertise like ours – is Rare CUSTOM SLAUGHTER SERVICES PROVIDED PROVINCIALLY INSPECTED ABATTOIR BC#34 PROUD 4-H SPONSOR for the 2022 PACIFIC NATIONAL EXHIBITIONashiq@meadowvalleymeats.com 604/465-4752 (ext 105) fax 604/465-4744 18315 FORD ROAD PITT MEADOWS, BC V3Y 1Z1• BEEF • VEAL • BISON • LAMB • GOAT • DEERMEADOW VALLEY MEATSLangley farmers air grievances to politiciansProvince maintains local government needs to do moreRONDA PAYNE LANGLEY – Red tape has led to a lot of heartache among Township of Langley farmers who met with municipal and provincial politicians June 4 at MacInnes Farms’ Locality Brewing to discuss the issues they’re facing and seek a way forward. Melanie MacInnes agreed to host the event recognizing the hurdles farms like hers face. The television series When Calls the Heart, lmed at MacInnes Farms, helped the farm continue operating but red tape abounded. MacInnes says farmers looking for additional forms of income face a load of bureaucracy, making diversication very challenging. “My thing is, [lming] actually saved our family farm,” she says. “We have a lm set here and we had to work very hard on that. It seems like people are having trouble navigating the application process for all these required processes, whether it be provincial or township.” Langley East MLA Megan Dykeman’s oce spearheaded the meeting, which attracted 30 people. MacInnes and others have assurances there will be a review and next steps will be provided to those who attended. MacInnes feels that in addition to reviewing the concerns raised, the province may be able to serve as a liaison to help farmers with applications, whether of a provincial or municipal nature. “If you say the wrong word [in an application] it’s automatically a no,” she says. “There is no one to be able to go to, like an ombudsman, to help.” She knows what it’s like to wade through red tape, both with the application for lming and the on-farm brewery. While a consultant can help, MacInnes wishes the process was simpler.“ Some of our beers are created fully on site, which is unique,” she says. “We actually malt the barley on site. It’s hard to convey how much needs to be done these days to keep a farm.” Government collaboration may have helped in other ways. The Langley Community Farmers Market, which took a hiatus in 2020, returned in 2021 in a new location at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum. But it was no better than the previous location at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s campus on the Langley Bypass. The township oered the market few options, leaving it stuck in another low-trac site. Some farmer vendors say the township and the city of Langley need to help identify a better location. “It needs to be where people are,” says Rhonda Driediger of Driediger Farms. “The No. 1 problem with the Langley Farmers Market is the location.” While she doesn’t sell at the farmers market, she does visit and through the success of her own farmgate shop, understands what a solid location requires. Township councillors at the meeting oered no solutions. “I don’t know what to do about a farmers’ market,” says township councillor Dave Davis. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham attended the meeting and says many of the issues raised are problems local government needs to address. While the ministry is supportive, she notes she won’t be changing anything done by local government. She also suggests the township might want to work more closely with the province. “It doesn’t sound like you’ve been a partner to us,” she says. Some of the issues presented to the crowd were much more dramatic in nature. Dairy farmer Oeds Smid farms in a lowland area near Fort Langley and lost millions of dollars worth of equipment during ooding last November. “Basically, my wife and boys and I, we watched everything we worked for for 30 years go down the drain,” he says. “I know we can ght the water. I know we can manage the water. Why isn’t the local government doing anything to keep the water from pouring down on us?” Smid has encountered ooding before but he asked Popham to intervene. “It’s really important that all levels of government work together on this,” she says. Marcel Pinsch of Pinsch of Soil Farm says development is exacerbating the ooding issue and that the province needs to do more to share knowledge of changes to topography, and the repercussions of it, with local government. “With all the development going around, I’m not sure the developers are aware of where the water’s going,” he says. Housing is also a hot topic. Heather Pritchard, a resident member of Fraser Common Farm, spoke about the need to create housing options for co-op communities like hers. Co-ops create resilience in the food system but a lack of housing makes attracting labour and new members challenging. “It’s an issue for all co-op farmers,” she says. “We need to increase aordable, available housing on our farm. We need to be able to build.” Darcy Smith, BC land matching program manager with Young Agrarians, says it’s impossible to support farmers when they can’t nd an aordable place to live. Popham says the co-op model and on-farm housing is being reviewed. She notes that she understands the importance of helping those who want to farm but can’t aord the land. “How do you put the price of farmland in check? We’re trying to do that,” she says. “It’s not just a BC problem, it’s a global problem.” She notes the ministry is ready and able to share expertise through community workshops that provide assistance navigating government processes as well as learning aspects of farming. “The ministry doesn’t have the amount of extension services I’d like to see, but we’re building it up,” she says. “There’s always more to do.” LIKEUS@countrylifeinbc
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 19Drought, fires mark chaotic year for ranchersCommittee reports underscore challenges with governmentBC ranchers continue to be frustrated by bureaucratic red tape preventing them from returning to their properties during a wildre evacuation to assist in reghting efforts. CHILCO RANCH BCHA Secretary Janice Tapp 250-699-6466 BCHA President John Lewis 250-218-2537 PROVINCIAL HIGHWAY LIVESTOCK FENCING PROGRAMApplications Close: August 31, 2022View program updates at cattlemen.bc.ca/fencing.htmOce: 1.778.412.7000 Toll Free: 1.866.398.2848email: fencebc@cattlemen.bc.ca In partnership with:TOM WALKER KAMLOOPS – Two words might describe the work of the BC Cattlemen’s Association last year: Emergency Management. “Things started out in the spring with feed shortages,” BCCA general manager Kevin Boon told the association’s annual general meeting, June 9. Record heat at the end of June intensied already-dry conditions and set the stage for devastating res across the province. Ranchers lost rangeland, infrastructure and forage. Shortly after the re season closed, severe rainfall in November led to hundreds of acres washing down river. “I would like to commend everyone on how they helped each other,” Boon says. “Whether donating hay, helping move or shelter a neighbour’s livestock or pitching in to ght the res, it’s wonderful to see how we support our fellow man, even if they are hundreds of miles away.” Boon says BCCA continues to work to improve support programs such as AgriRecovery and aid available through disaster nancial assistance arrangements. The federal-provincial recovery package for ood-aected farmers and ranchers announced in February featured a number of improvements, including eligibility and revenue thresholds. “We have worked at AgriRecovery to get you back on your feet,” Boon explains. “We have managed to get more than in the past and it is still not enough, but I believe it is the best we are going to get.” He says regulations around disaster support programs have made it dicult for ranchers to move quickly to rebuild what they have lost, particularly to shore up areas impacted by ooding in preparation for the spring freshet. Boon reminded ranchers that the application deadline for the province’s recovery package has been extended July 27. Both Boon and BCCA president Renee Ardill spoke of the importance of the rancher liaison program developed last summer to facilitate communication between landowners and government agencies responding to emergency situations. “This program worked well to open communication and share local knowledge,” she says, praising the ranchers who volunteered to serve as liaisons. While government has been slow to recognize the crucial role local knowledge plays in disaster response eorts, Boon says changes are coming that will let ranchers and rural residents have rst crack at ghting wildres. “You will be able to do a rst strike on your own or Crown land, and you can register your equipment and get paid for your time,” Boon says. However, the evacuation order and permitting system that allows ranchers to return to their properties are “chaos,” Boon says. “We have been working to get a standardized permitting system across all regional districts that allows for re-entry if needed,” he says. The provincial highway fencing program expires this year after 12 years, but Boon expects it to be renewed. He’s also optimistic that railways will once again be included in the program. Water remains a top concern for the association. While assistance from the province saw ranchers account for the largest share of groundwater licences requested by the March 1 deadline – 5,275 out of 7,711 applications, or 68% – the licensing of dugouts remains a concern. “The presumption that all dugouts, unless lined, have some groundwater into the dugout is unwarranted,” Ardill said in a letter to the province last October. “Many of these overland ow dugouts do not recharge through the year and are therefore not utilizing groundwater.” BCCA has asked the province to exempt from licensing any dugout recharged by overland ows. The province has yet to respond. There has also been no response on the proposed livestock watering regulation. Cattlemen had been oered two alternatives – access without a licence but no recognition of historic rights, or historic rights but with licensing and full consultation with First Nations for operations over 200 head. Neither proposal would adequately meet the needs of ranchers, says Linda Allison, chair of BCCA’s water subcommittee. “Our committee has worked hard to advise government about industry’s needs and have been Producer Check-o Supports Beef Industry Projects.www.cattlefund.net 1.877.688.2333www.cattlefund.net 1.877.688.2333See LACK on next page o
20 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCReduced forage quality complicates the mathRanchers playing catch-up after reduced yields, high demand last yearLACK of trust nfrom page 19frustrated by the Ministry’s lack of further consultation on this critical regulation,” she says in her report. “BCCA needs a real commitment from government that they are ready to develop an actual regulation not another licensing scheme.” Grizzly bears are a concern for ranchers and the BCCA’s environmental stewardship committee wants a return of hunting in high-risk, high-bear population areas. It’s also requesting stable, multi-year funding to combat invasive plants. Implementing the principles of UNDRIP is a top priority for the BC government, and ranchers have a part to play in reconciliation. “We need to spend a lot more time than we have in the past talking to our First Nation neighbours,” says John Anderson of BCCA’s ad hoc Indigenous relations committee. A review of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) has not achieved further recognition of range values, forage values or Crown ALR land, reports Werner Stump, chair of BCCA’s land stewardship committee. Proposed FRPA amendments outlined in Bill 23, tabled last October, include the creation of Forest Landscape Plans and Stump expects there will be some 60 drawn up over the next 10 years. “Unfortunately, there is no legal requirement to consider forage in those plans,” Stump explains. “When a plan is being drawn up for your area, make sure that you step up and are heard.” BCCA assistance general manager Elaine Stovin spoke about a crisis of trust building between government and the ranching industry. One of the causes of that lack of trust is the new practice of site inspections for existing-use well licence applications, something applicants were not told would be part of the process. “Ranchers are experiencing inspections of historically unlicensed wells and having their decades-old documentation scrutinized,” she says. “We are getting the impression that the government does not trust us.” PETER MITHAM PRINCE GEORGE – The rst cut is the greenest in most years, but forage producers are running two to three weeks behind this year and that’s impacting quality. “It’s one of the coolest springs on record that we’ve had for a very long time,” says Serena Black, manager with the BC Forage Council in Prince George. “Across the province, we’re about two to three weeks behind.” Producers in the Cariboo were just beginning rst cut at the end of June, by which time it’s usually wrapped up. Further south in the Okanagan, rst cut rather than the second was just beginning. “They should have got their rst cut in early June, but they just never had the harvest window,” she says. “Some of them were able to get out there and get their rst cut of silage, but those who were waiting to make hay – it was pretty late.” Those who typically count on three or four cuts will likely have to make do with just two. This will reduce the supply, and quality also stands to be impacted. “Producers who really are only taking one cut might be waiting a little bit longer in the maturity to be taking that cut. They might not see as much of an impact on forage quality with the delay of that cool spring,” she says. On the plus side, wet conditions may translate into higher yields that help restock barns after successive disasters eectively depleted the province’s forage resources, already low due to dry weather. “There was feed recovery due to the wildres, then there was feed recovery due to the oods. We just drained all of our past resources, coming from every region. We’re desperately playing catch-up this year,” Black says. “We’re hopeful with the moisture and everything that we can actually get the yields back up and replenished, especially following such a hard forage decit year like last year.” The bulk would be good, even if what’s harvested is of lower quality. Hay that would usually be harvested for dairy cattle might end up going to the beef sector. “The protein levels may just not be there for what the dairy guys are looking at,” she says. In a best-case scenario, some producers may be able to sell what they’ve got and buy a smaller quantity of better-quality forage for the same price. “You could actually sell your lower quality hay for a smaller amount of higher quality hay and ration it out, and still save $4-$6 per head a day. But you have to be prepared to do those economics.” Many producers will still be looking to supplement rations, however. "You’re probably still going to be looking to having to source elsewhere,” she says. “And if the entire province is in that lag, then we might be looking to the Prairies.”
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 21Building relationships with adjacent homeowners was crucial to the success of a targeted grazing project bordering a residential neighbourhood in southeast Kelowna, say ranchers Sarah and Colin Thomson. TOM WALKERHelpingyou growyour Business.Have you herd? VBP+ TrainingWorkshops or Webinarsare Free!Looking to learn moreabout how to raisehealthy beef cattle?Open to producers of allsizes!free to all beef producersin bc!TOM WALKER KELOWNA – The golf community of Gallagher’s Canyon is at the easternmost extent of the Kelowna Mountain Park re that burned 250 square kilometres and destroyed 239 homes in 2003. The development is surrounded by dense forest that was untouched by the re, and both the province and the City of Kelowna identify the area as high-risk for a future interface re. Two mitigation projects on both city and Crown land have reduced the density of trees, cleared the lower branches on remaining trees, and removed some of the brush and debris from the forest oor. But while the mitigation work greatly reduces the threat of re spreading across the area, there is a catch. “When you open up the canopy and remove the debris, you get a lot of grass growing in between the trees,” says Mike Pritchard, wildre prevention coordinator for the BC Cattlemen’s Association. “When that grass dries out later in the summer, it is incredibly ammable and burns hot enough to candle a tree. When I worked in this area during the 2003 re, the night time winds coming down o the mountain would drive the re through grass at 100 metres a minute.” Kelowna had three choices to reduce those grass fuels, explains Andrew Hunsberger, the city’s urban forestry supervisor. “We could mow it, which is very expensive; we could burn it, which is an eective tool but not very popular; or we could have animals graze it,” he says. The result was one of three projects the province funded as part of a three-year pilot coordinated by BCCA. On June 8-9, the BC chapter of the Society for Range Management toured the area as cattle grazed intently within city limits. Building relationships with neighbours has been critical to the success of the pilot project. The area is popular with outdoor enthusiasts from hardcore mountain bikers to dog walkers and equestrians. “This project was all about relationships,” notes Rob Dinwoodie, who helped build the program as a range ocer prior to retiring last year. Getting buy-in from people who were not used to seeing cattle close to their subdivision was particularly important, adds Hunsberger. “Residents found the area more accessible when we rst thinned the trees and we were able to gain their trust from that work,” he says. But when locals heard that fences would be built to keep the cattle in, a petition to halt the project circulated. “We made presentations and met with the community numerous times,” says Hunsberger. “We spent a lot of money on fencing and spring-loaded gates that would automatically close, and we take the gates out after the cows leave.” Range ecologist Amanda Miller, who is working with BC Cattlemen’s on the project, says research is very important in establishing the ecacy of the project. “This is the rst year of monitoring this site, but we know from our other two sites that the cattle will reduce the ne fuel load by 30-40%,” Miller says. Colin and Sarah Thomson run 30 yearlings over the 150 fenced acres for four to six weeks. They are experienced urban ranchers as Kelowna has grown up around their home property, rst ranched in the 1890s. The animals are part of their direct-to-consumer grass-fed beef program. “There was a lot of anxiety in the community and I certainly had reservations about putting cows up here,” says Colin Thomson. “But I can tell when I meet people up here and from the phone calls I get at night, residents really support the project; they are treating the cattle as their own.” Pritchard is often asked why the cattle are next to the subdivision, and his answer is simple. “We are on people’s doorsteps because we need to be,” he says. “The cows have to be next door to you to do the job of removing the fuels to protect you.” This isn’t the only targeted grazing project in BC. Tim Ross from Cranbrook summarized the use of goats to mitigate invasive sulphur cinquefoil on Ktunaxa First Nation land. “Before we got the goats in, there were 60-100 plants of this invasive per square metre,” says Ross. “The grazing has been very eective at removing the plants, but we don’t know about the left-over seeds and how long the results will last.” Targeted grazing project reduces wildfire risk Cattle reduce fuel load bordering residential homes by 30-40%
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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 23BC bee colonies see significant winter losses Cool spring complicates recoveryA research grant funded by the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund will help northern beekeepers to control varroa mites and reduce colony losses. BCHPAKuhnNorthAmerica.comVisit your local British Columbia KUHN dealer today!INVEST IN QUALITY®www.kuhn.comMatsqui Ag-RepairAbbotsfordNorthline EquipmentPouce CoupeHuber Farm EquipmentPrince GeorgeCONSISTENT, TIGHTLY WRAPPED BALESLow table height allows for gentleloading and unloading of balesEasy 昀lm-roll change and aluminumrollers for easy cleaningUnique 昀lm distribution forfast, cost ef昀cient wrappingNon-stop automatic wrapping increases productivity by up to 15%Patented e-Twin Technology Patented AutoLoad FunctionPatented Conical Pre-StretcherSW & RW SERIES Bale Wrappers3-point mounted and trailed models • Manual or computer controlledSANDRA TRETICK ABBOTSFORD – For the second year in a row, nearly a third of honeybee colonies in BC did not make it through the winter. Each spring, provincial apiculture specialist Paul van Westendorp surveys beekeepers to assess winter mortality and identify the causes. He was putting the nishing touches on the 2022 overwintering survey on June 10 when he spoke to Country Life in BC. “Essentially, it turns out our winter mortality has not been as outlandish or extreme or worrisome as it has been reported in other provinces,” says van Westendorp. “Last year we [lost] 32%, and this year we [lost] 32% again. We perhaps have squeezed through this whole debacle here in British Columbia better than most other provinces.” The picture looks far bleaker further east and there have been reports of terrible losses far beyond the norm. Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, says losses in Manitoba and Quebec will likely top 60%. This will push the national average higher than it was last year (23.2%), but how far it exceeds the ve-year average (32.6%) won’t be known until the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists releases its report in mid-July. The BC numbers feed into this report. BC losses averaged 30% over the previous ve winters, ranging from a low of 20.3% two years ago to a high of 34.3% four years ago. This contrasts sharply with average winter losses of 10-12% in the decades before 1990, when the varroa mite arrived in the province. Since then, losses have steadily increased. Even though losses this past winter are within the ve-year range, van Westendorp says it will be painful for the industry to absorb and rebuild their colony numbers. He notes that there is a “whole hodgepodge of dierent causes” for the losses, but beekeepers cited weather, poor queens, weak colonies going into winter and ineective mite control as the top four reasons. There are about 4,500 beekeepers around BC, but the overwintering survey is limited to those that operate at least 25 colonies. This gives van Westendorp a dataset of approximately 300 beekeepers. Regional variations The Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan Thompson regions are the top three beekeeping areas. The survey showed that colonies in the Okanagan Thompson fared the best, with just a quarter of colonies lost. The Fraser Valley lost a third of its colonies while Vancouver Island fared worse with losses estimated at 35%. Datasets from other regions of the province were too small to provide reliable measures. Some individual beekeepers have losses more than double the average, however. Kamloops beekeeper Murray Willis normally heads into the winter with 40-50 hives. This year he lost 70% of them, though he’s been able to rebuild his colonies by splitting up the colonies he had left and securing nucs (nucleus colonies) from other local beekeepers. “My hives, along with other beekeepers’, did not winter well,” says Willis. “My normal losses would be 10-15%.” It was even more dismal on Pender Island, where Barry Denluck’s bees were hit hard by snowfalls in December and February. He lost 75% of his 20 hives. He brought in some queens, however, and is back up to 35. “It’s a lot of work feeding them because the blackberry hasn’t started blooming yet,” says Denluck, who says the cool spring has slowed colony growth because bees have lacked forage. Denluck expected blackberries to be in bloom by late June. Nearby on Vancouver Island, beekeepers in the Cowichan area reported losses of 31.5% this winter, down considerably from a high of 65.5% the previous winter. “Overall, there was a huge improvement in wintering rates this year over last, however this spring, after the survey was done in March, weather has been challenging See COOL on next page o
24 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCCOOL spring bad nfrom page 23for bees,” says Ian Low, president of Cowichan Beekeepers. “Bees, for the most part, haven’t been able to get out and forage due to the cooler, sub-12° Celsius temperatures. Last year, there was an excellent maple nectar ow for the bees but this year there wasn’t.” Low says mites have also been an issue since March because formic acid, a common treatment in the spring, only activates above 10° C. “This spring has been cool, and the traditional treatments against mites have been less eective,” he says. “There are still a lot of hungry bees out there, but the rosehips, the blackberries and many other nectar-bearing plants are just now starting to provide for the honey bee colonies.” In the Peace region, hobby beekeeper Kerry Clark says some local beekeepers, especially beginners, have had disappointing results. “Overall, however, the losses over the region were about 30%,” says Clark. “Not too bad considering the climate.” New research in the Peace Winters in the Peace, where it freezes from November through mid-April, are a challenging place to keep honeybees under the best of conditions. But Clark says the long daylight hours in summer and the large elds of forage plants such as clovers make for some of the highest honey yields per hive in the world. “Beekeepers here have to be diligent and take a partner/steward approach to their bees if the bees are going to thrive and gather a surplus of honey that can be shared with the beekeeper,” says Clark. Clark is participating in a new project with the BC Honey Producers Association that is researching IPM strategies to combat varroa mites and increase honey bee health and prospects of survival. The study will record measures of bee health such as colony survival, strength and honey production as well as mite levels. It will include active surveillance of pathogens and support strategies to control varroa mites and reduce colony losses. The project was awarded $27,880 in April by the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund, administered by Northern Development Initiative Trust. Field work began in mid-June and is expected to wrap up next March. It’s an important part of a bigger product, according to Nuria Morn, head of the BCHPA’s tech transfer program. “We are currently monitoring mites and conducting pathogen surveillance in the Cariboo, Okanagan, Kootenay and the Fraser Valley regions,” says Morn. “Beekeeping management is dierent in dierent regions of BC, due to environmental conditions. We want to cover the needs of the whole province.” Morn is also asking BC beekeepers to join its citizen science study, which currently monitors more than 200 colonies. @countrylifeinbcLIKE US @coHay downUnsettled, cool and damp sums up the weather province-wide for most of June, making it difcult for anyone to get hay cut and baled. The Okanagan was no exception. MYRNA STARK LEADER
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 25Alys Ford and Erick Struxness of Ravine Creek Farm started farming with little experience, but immediately turned a prot. SUBMITTEDTRACEY FREDRICKSON WINLAW – Good management and a commitment to making nutritious, ecologically grown food accessible to their community have made Ravine Creek Farm a model for market gardeners in the region. The 10-acre vegetable farm in the Slocan Valley is the sole source of income for Alys Ford, Eric Struxness and their two children, and has been protable since its inception in 2010. A visit to the farm this spring showed how Alys and Eric have adapted to unprecedented weather and natural events during the last few years. “Even with the best planning, farmers are like sailors,” Alys points out. “You can chart your course but in the end it’s about what Nature deals you.” There wasn’t a great deal of charting or planning for these farmers in the early days. Alys had worked in the library system and was an avid gardener. Eric was a carpenter by trade who went on to study sustainable agriculture at Evergreen State College in Washington. “We were hippie-era homesteaders with a vision to pursue farming full-time,” Alys reects. In 2010, the couple happened on some vacant land available for lease near Winlaw. The property was originally farmed at the turn of the century and supported grazing animals, hay pastures and assorted vegetables. Its rich, dark clay soil is the result of natural soil building processes that took place thousands of years ago. A creek runs through the land, providing an essential water source and the gardens are visible and accessible from Hwy 6. Leasing instead of buying land allowed the couple to start farming without a huge cash outlay. It also provided more “room for error” as they experimented with dierent crops and production methods on land that had been fallow for two years. “At rst we weren’t sure if we’d become certied organic, but we denitely wanted to practice ecological agriculture using less harmful growing methods than conventional farming,” Alys says. The farm certied with the Kootenay Organic Growers Society in 2012. Revenue is generated from sales at the Nelson farmers market, a 20-member CSA program and at the farm gate. A turning point came in 2019. With two young children on the scene, Alys wasn’t working in the eld as much as in the past. “It was very hard to nd sta and the weeds were out of hand,” she recalls. “We needed to do something big to continue to cultivate in season – either a whole lot of tarping or this new thing we’d heard about called no-till farming.” No-till farming is the practice of planting crops without tilling the soil. Conventional tilling prepares the soil by digging, stirring and turning, which usually Slocan market garden finds its sweet spot Silagrow.com1.800.663.6022 | office@silagrow.comMulch FilmLandscaping FabricsShade Nets Bale WrapsBunker CoversSilage BagsTw i n eNet WrapsHay TarpsForage & Grain SeedVisGreenhouse Ground CoverGreenhouse FilmsProtection NetsSALMON ARM 5121 - 46 Ave S.E. SURREY 112-18860 24 Ave (PU & Delivery Only)Serving all of BCFiXaTion CloverFrosty CloverCrimson CloverDC Red CloverHybrid CloverWinter PeasFall RyeHybrid Fall RyeWinter Wheat1.800.282.7856 Find out more at terraseco.comFiXaTion CloverFrosty CloverCrimson CloverDC Red CloverHybrid CloverWinter PeasFall RyeHybrid Fall RyeWinter WheatTerra Seed Corp Healthy Soil with COVER CROPSrequires two or more passes over the eld with heavy equipment. Tilling kills unwanted plants and buries mulch, leaving behind barren soil. It can even lower the quality of the soil, causing compaction and erosion. With the no-till method, there are fewer steps involved in preparing the soil. Seeds are planted in the remains of previous crops in seed furrows. The furrow is closed and the crop is covered with a high-carbon, low-nutrient mulch made of decomposed leaves, twigs and commercial waste products. No-till provides several benets over conventional tilling, from increased productivity to more fertile and resilient soils. “We were pretty skeptical at rst, so we started with a low-till approach in three beds,” says Alys. “We purchased just enough commercial mulch and thought if it doesn’t work, we’ll only be out a couple of hundred dollars.” By the end of the season, the couple had joined the growing ranks of dedicated no-till farmers. “The proof was right there,” Alys says. “Our produce was even better than in the past and the weeds far less than we expected. In fact they Constant adaptation keeps farm family freshSee NO-TILL on next page o
26 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCNO-TILL was a turning point nfrom page 25PRINCE GEORGE | KAMLOOPS | KELOWNA | CHILLIWACK | LANGLEY | NANAIMO WWW.PCE.CA | 1-877-553-3373Check Out Our Powerful 4 Series Trac tor Lineup0% FinancingAVAILABLETurbocharged diesel enginePowrReverser™ or eHydrostatic Transmission OptionsPremium features: Hitch Assist, Aux Hitch Control, HST controlsLifting capabilities up to 2539lbsSome restrictions may apply. See dealer for details. Offer valid June 6 - October 28, 2022have decreased with each subsequent season. We’ve become stackers instead of stirrers.” “Moving to no-till is one of the best management decisions we’ve made,” adds Eric. “There are tons of earthworms and microorganisms regenerating the soil and the ecosystem. We spend less time weeding, our plants are healthier, and we don’t have to run around after a tiller. We can also get into places where we used to wait for the soil to dry out before planting.” Another change was made in 2020 when the Nelson farmers market temporarily moved out of the downtown area during the pandemic to nearby Cottonwood Park, eliminating what had been an important source of walk-by business. In response, Ravine Creek increased its farmgate sales to seven days a week, operating on the honour system. “It’s been amazing,” Alys says. “Our close neighbours have become frequent customers because they don’t have to go into town to buy our produce. We’re driving less to get our products to the community and selling produce as fresh as possible.” The couple re-evaluates their goals every year to ensure both the farm and the family’s lifestyle are resilient and harmonious. “We do a ruthless review of the last season,” Alys says. “We’re not afraid to eliminate a crop or make other changes. As new farmers continue to come into the area, we respect what everyone does and maintain our own sweet spot.” Even during the pandemic, the farm has thrived. “We provide an essential service – everyone needs to eat,” says Alys. Of all the challenges the couple has experienced, smoke from wildres has been the most dicult. The land has few trees and a creek runs through it, keeping the farm fairly safe from the actual res. But lingering smoke from res around the farm aected everything, from employees as they worked to the quality of the produce. Last year, res were right behind the farmhouse. Helicopters were above from dawn to dusk and at times the crew members were working in respirators. Emotions were running high. “Our road was a staging point for the ground crews ghting the res and we would see them and the helicopter pilots come and go,” says Alys. “One day we took some freshly cut hay and made a giant strawbale heart in one of our hayelds that could be seen from the air. The commander declared us ‘the heart people’ and the heart became an easily visible landmark for the pilots. It was an upbeat experience in a dicult time that really pulled people together.” As fullled as they are by their farming careers, Alys and Eric are thinking about the future. While “Eric will probably farm forever,” according to Alys, she is looking at building her credentials to work as a farm consultant, helping people design and plan farms according to the Ravine Creek model. “All the supply chain issues, oods and other events have shown us we need more food sources closer to home,” she says. “Small farms like ours are a big solution to that problem.” When last year’s wildres approached their Slocan Valley farm, Alys Ford and Eric Struxness created a haybale heart. It became a landmark for helicopter pilots ghting the re. SUBMITTED
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 27Farm co-operatives aim to do business right Special skills needed to manage co-op growth, governanceThe 50-acre Glen Valley Organic Farm has over 50 shareholders. SHIRLENE COTEwww.hlaattachments.com 1-866-567-4162 • Minimum 12 GPM required• Secondary metering drum regulates flow onto the belt• 12” wide high abrasion rubber belt with 1 ½” paddles• Discharge from either side Straw/Lime model shown.• Includes 2-½”x 8” cylinders• Main bucket material ¼” end plates and clam floor bottom• Available widths 66”, 72”, 78”, 84”• Loader and skidsteer models available 4-in-1 BUCKETSIDE DISCHARGE BUCKET• Independent grapples for clamping of awkward loads• Tine and grapple tips are AR400 material• Compact models availableBRUSH GRAPPLEKATE AYERS ABBOTSFORD – Farm co-operatives provide new and experienced producers with opportunities to learn, share risks and costs, and ensure the continuity of agricultural businesses. But success depends on everyone involved having a clear understanding of what each partner brings to the table. Close to Home Organics co-owner Chris Bodnar was able to enter the industry thanks to Glen Valley Organic Farm, a co-operative in Abbotsford. The co-op was established 24 years ago and produces mixed vegetables. Glen Valley Organic Farm Co-operative owns the land and makes it available for lease to farmers but does not run the farm businesses. “I joined it about eight or nine years into its existence. For me, it was an opportunity to access land at an aordable price,” says Bodnar. “The land being held by a co-operative meant that … I was able to aord the rent because the land was not being traded on the speculative real estate market so it’s not escalating in price based on someone coming in to buy it.” At that time, a farmer on the property wanted to retire and transfer his business. Bodnar and his business partner, who were new to farming at the time, purchased the business and received mentorship, which was key as they learned how to farm. Today, Bodnar’s two enterprises employ about 15 people throughout the year. To recount his extensive experience with co-operatives, Bodnar was part of the inaugural Agriculture & Food Co-op Conference in March. The conference aimed to elevate awareness and support the development of co-ops in BC’s agriculture and food landscape. A signicant benet of farm co-ops is that they maintain locally owned and controlled capacity within the sector, says Bodnar. “In a lot of areas, co-operatives provide inputs to growers, like federal co-op systems operating on a really large scale. We have co-ops that coordinate market access for growers like the BC Livestock Producers Co-op in the Cariboo region and BC Tree Fruits in the Interior,” Bodnar says. Burnaby’s Agrifoods International Co-operative Ltd. is another example in the dairy sector. “The key thing about all of those is that the buying, packing and distribution are controlled by the farmers. In any of those instances, there’s no incentive to move control out of the community because See UNITED on next page oBC Tree Fruits Co-operative in Lake Country was established in 1936 to pack, distribute and market BC-grown fruit to consumers. The group sells BC apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, prune plums, nectarines and table grapes. The co-operative has three packing and six receiving facilities serving over 300 growers. BC Tree Fruits also owns and operates BC Tree Fruits Cider Company, Grower’s Supply Company and a fresh produce market in Kelowna. In 1957, there were 36 co-operative societies in BC, 20 independent shippers and ve grower-shippers selling tree fruits in BC. In 1998, the co-operatives further amalgamated to four packinghouses. In 2008, those four co-operatives merged into one, marketing fresh product through BC Tree Fruits Ltd. But the merger faced opposition. “Some growers didn’t feel they had as much control over their own ‘packing house’ as they used to,” says BC Tree Fruit’s director of corporate aairs Laurel Van Dam. “Some growers felt they didn’t have as many options of where to go to have their fruit packed, so independent packing houses started to open and some growers chose to take fruit into [Washington] to be stored and packed.” BC Tree Fruits also faced challenges when developing rules and policies to satisfy growers and meet the needs of the new, larger co-operative, Van Dam says. “Co-operatives only work when the members are committed to a common vision and work together to overcome problems. Not everyone was 100% on board at the start,” she adds. “Balancing all growers’ interests and opinions is challenging in a large co-operative, requiring strong governance and skilled management to make it work.” Though challenges exist with this business model, many benets came out of the merger, Van Dam says, including improved operational eciencies by streamlining stang and consolidating facilities; improved negotiating power with customers due to combined volumes; improved consistency in product quality; and improved buying power for supplies and services. In addition, agricultural co-operatives can enable producers to “share both the successes and challenges as a whole through the years [and] can provide an element of added stability that other business models may not,” Van Dam says. Co-ops can also provide members with cost-eective access to goods and specialized services, and fair, ecient and stable long-term access to domestic and global markets. “At the co-operative, we talk about how together we are stronger. We are optimistic that this statement will one day apply to the BC tree fruit industry as a whole,” Van Dam says. —Kate Ayers What about larger scale co-operatives?
28 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCClose to Home Organics and Earth Apple Organic Farm are the organic produce businesses that are part of Glen Valley Organic Farm. These enterprises operate Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) programs and sell at local farmers markets. JS GORDAN-MORANUNITED purpose nfrom page 27MANUFACTURING A VARIETY OF ATTACHMENTS INCLUDING BRUSH MULCHERS | ROTARY BRUSH CUTTERS | PTO GENERATORS | AUGER DRIVESDRAINAGE PLOWS | TREE SPADES | TREE SAWS & SHEARS | BOOM MOWERS | TREE PULLERSFELLER BUNCHERS | EXCAVATOR ADAPTERS | SCREW SPLITTERS | TRENCHERS | STUMP GRINDERSBAUMALIGHT.COMAdair Sales & Marketing Company Inc. 306-773-0996 | info@adairreps.comLocate A Dealer Onlineit serves a very specic need in those communities and services those growers,” he says. While well-known and established co-ops can be successful at a smaller scale, sourcing professional services and board members familiar with the entities can be a challenge. “Co-operatives are not well known amongst professional service providers,” says Bodnar. “It can even be dicult to nd management that understands what makes co-operatives unique.” By contrast, credit unions have good track records as nancial co-operatives. The dierence with these businesses, compared with other co-operatives, is that they have legal requirements set by regulators for board member training. Bodnar recommends that agricultural co-ops also invest in training board members. “It’s really up to the organization itself to dene how they will train their board and how they will empower their board to have good oversight over the organization,” he says. “If you’re a producer and you nd yourself on a board of a co-operative that has millions of dollars in nancial turn over every year, there’s a lot that you need to be able to understand in terms of the nancial statements, the business structure and strategy.” Governance challenging For Tony St-Pierre of Cast Iron Farm Co-op in Sooke on Vancouver Island, governance was the greatest challenge in building a functional and successful co-operative. The 12-acre property produces mixed vegetables and is also home to laying hens and pigs. Following a failed attempt to buy and develop land with a group of people in his 20s, St-Pierre learned that governance and decision-making structures are key to working as a unit. He then completed a masters in rural planning and development to learn more about participatory planning, which he’d hope to one day apply in a farm co-operative. About 10 years ago, after many discussions, he, his partner Christiana and another family from Coquitlam decided to move out of their suburban neighbourhood and buy land to farm in Sooke. To make sure everyone knew what they were getting into, the group developed a collaborative decision-making framework and ownership model. “All this stu had to be gured out ahead of time, so we spent the better part of two to three years getting together and team building,” St-Pierre says. In total, nine people contribute to tasks on the farm. They sought out support from the BC Co-op Association, which connected the group to a consultant and lawyer who specialize in co-ops. As much as co-ops may start as a group of people addressing a need or coming together with shared values, these entities are business ventures that require careful planning. “Some people think that co-operatives are a special solution that is going to provide their plan with an advantage that has magical qualities. That becomes really dangerous,” Bodnar says. “A co-operative works in some instances where you have a community of people who have a common need and see the ability for the co-operative structure to work to address that need. … At the end of the day, there needs to be a business case for moving that forward.”
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 29Researchers close in on grapevine trunk diseaseAbout 90% of BC vineyards are infected countrylifeinbc.comThe agricultural news source in BC since 1915.Hans Buchler is the BC Wine Grape Council’s research coordinator and says the increasing presence of grapevine trunk disease in BC vineyards is worrisome to growers. TOM WALKERAgSafeBC.ca/Mental-WellnessAvail.app/signupOrganization Name: AgSafe BCAccount Sign UpMore InformationMental Wellness Resources• Monitor changes in your well-being using the resilience check-ups feature.Please use AgSafe BC as your “Organiza琀on Name” when signingup to access the customized resources.• Connect directly with mental health professionals.• Customized resources for the BC Agriculture community.Avail Personal Well-Being Assistant!Funded By:Over 15,000 sq.ft of NEW high-end 16ft ceiling farm and storage buildings. New high-end fencing & deer fencing. 40 acres in quality hay with wheel line irrigation in place. Great community water. A 2000sq.ft rancher with many updates. It is the last property on a no-through road with spectacular views of the valley and mountains. Total privacy in a quiet natural setting. Great building sites for view and privacy. KATE AYERS SUMMERLAND – A group of diseases long considered a death sentence for grapevines may have nally met their nemesis, thanks to the plant pathology team at the Summerland Research and Development Centre. Up until now, no treatment options have been available in Canada to control or eradicate grapevine trunk diseases. “What we’ve achieved right now is kind of the last steps of a very long project and research that we started at the end of 2010,” says plant pathology research scientist José Ramón Úrbez-Torres. “The BC Wine Grape Council along with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada funded the rst project on grapevine trunk diseases. The industry recognized this problem as a priority because it really aects vineyards in the Okanagan, mostly because the vineyards here are reaching maturity and are getting old enough that this disease is starting to have a toll on the vines.” Grape producer and BC Wine Grape Council’s research coordinator Hans Buchler has seen the widespread impacts of these diseases in vineyards. “Until recently, it has been underestimated quite seriously,” he says. “We do see more and more large outbreaks on larger scales where substantial portions of a block are aected. … We are starting to get really worried about this.” Buchler grows 18 acres of grapes in Oliver. One major problem that producers face with trunk diseases is that plants may be infected with a fungal pathogen, but symptoms may not show up until ve or six years later. By then, it’s too late. Worldwide, over 80 pathogenic fungi cause grapevine trunk diseases by entering the plant as spores through pruning wounds. The researchers have identied over 40 of these fungi species in the province. Once inside the vine, the fungi feed on plant tissues, creating cankers which cause the plant’s vascular system to collapse. Water transport ceases and the vine eventually dies. “There is no solution right now to control the pathogen once it’s inside the plant. We don’t have any treatments. So, we have to work to protect the pruning wounds,” Úrbez-Torres says. Huge losses While dollar values have not yet been assigned to losses nor costs of these diseases in Canada, California growers spend US$260 million a year to try and control the disease. Trunk diseases cost France over €1 billion a year and Australian growers endure losses of A$2,500 per hectare annually in just one variety. An alarming statistic is that about 90% of vineyards in BC are infected with trunk diseases, Úrbez-Torres says. Many Okanagan vineyards are approaching the 15 and 20-year mark, which is when the disease has progressed enough to destroy infected vines. “That’s when they start to see signicant impact. The main problem of this disease is that it’s the main disease in grapes that limits the lifespan of vineyards,” Úrbez-Torres says. “It’s a huge investment to establish vineyards. It takes three or four years to get a good crop. The best quality grapes come when the vineyards are 15 to 20 years old.” Fortunately, researchers are close to developing a preventative measure to help protect grape blocks using dierent species of Trichoderma fungi, including T. asperelloides, T. atroviride and the newly discovered T. canadense. See BETTER on next page oFighting fungi with fungi The Trichoderma fungi genus contains about 300 species and is present in most types of soil. These species are often isolated from forest or agricultural soils and wood and are reported to be the most prevalent culturable fungi in soil. While the genus has a wide range of applications, including within the food and textile industries, these fungi are also well known for their ability to control plant diseases. “This group of fungi are the most commonly used biocontrol worldwide,” plant pathology research scientist José Ramón Úrbez-Torres says. “About 60% of biopesticides are Trichoderma-based. It is used in annual, perennial, greenhouse crops and can be used [to control] bacteria, fungi and insects.” —Kate Ayers
30 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCBETTER control nfrom page 29Always read and follow label directions. Gatten® is a registered trademark of OAT Agrio Co., Ltd. Copyright ©2021 Nichino America, Inc. Worried aboutPowdery Mildew?Get Gatten!Gatten® fungicide Gatten®acts on multiple stages of powdery mildew development, delivering both preventative and post-infection control.Don’t forget to RENEW yourSubscription.Throughout this process, the researchers rst learned about the signicance of the problem, then worked to identify the fungi present in BC and assessed their epidemiology. The third step was to start searching for suitable treatment candidates. They wanted to work exclusively with local biocontrol organisms such as Trichoderma, which are thought to be better adapted to thrive in BC. UBC Okanagan Master’s student Jinxz Pollard-Flamand worked to identify these Trichoderma isolates and completed both laboratory and eld experiments to test their biocontrol capacity. Lab studies showed that some Trichoderma isolates from BC provide between 70% and 100% protection of pruning wounds against pathogenic fungi for up to 21 days after application. In addition, these isolates were shown to provide similar or better control versus commercial chemical and biocontrol products, according to research the team published in the Journal of Fungi in April. “It’s quite an achievement to control such a complex disease in a way the industry wants, introducing more sustainable ways to manage vineyards with less chemicals,” Úrbez-Torres says. Buchler believes that this treatment option could be a game-changer. “It is very signicant if it does actually work in the elds as well as we hope it does,” he says. “The fact that it’s an organism that is natural in the environment is an asset from the point of view of the more modern approach to farming – trying to stay away from synthetic pesticides as much as possible. It is potentially groundbreaking.” The next step will be to develop a formulation that can be registered for use in Canada. “Our hope is to have the rst Canadian-made biological product for these diseases,” Úrbez-Torres says. While a signicant step towards providing a local treatment option, the product registration process takes years. In the meantime, Úrbez-Torres’ team along with Summerland’s minor use program leader David Neild, are looking for companies that will register their control products in Canada. However, the country’s small grape sector makes this challenging. “Though grapes signicantly contribute to the Canadian economy (over $9 billion in 2017), they are considered a minor-use crop, very tiny. We have just over 17,000 hectares of grapes in all of Canada and Napa Valley alone has more hectares than that,” Úrbez-Torres says. “Registering a product is costly and thus, companies may look at the size of the market and register their product in countries with a much larger number of hectares. We are limited here but we are trying our best to bring products here.” The research team, thanks to funding from the BC Wine Grape Council, AAFC and the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s grape and wine cluster, are well on their way to providing a natural and locally adapted grapevine trunk disease treatment. Fred Tanha was hand weeding strawberries in Kelowna June 14 following a couple days of rain. While strawberries and other crops have been slow growing in other parts of province, he says even the strawberries he planted this spring seem to be doing well – as long as he keeps weeding. MYRNA STARK LEADERSummer sweet
Versatile Ramp to Ground Capabilities Europe & N. America • Little & Large • Local & Long Port to Dealer • Farm to Farm & Anything in BetweenCOUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 31Insurance products and services are provided through Assante Estate and Insurance Services Inc. 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.Financial planning for farm families Farm transition coaching Customized portfolio strategy Retirement income planningDriediger Wealth PlanningMark Driediger, CFP, FEA, Senior Wealth AdvisorBrent Driediger, BAA, CPA, CMA, CFP, Wealth Advisorwww.DriedigerWealthPlanning.com | 604.859.4890 Assante Financial Management Ltd.TOM WALKER NARAMATA – The effects of forest fire smoke on grapes and wine is an ongoing concern for the BC wine industry. “Unfortunately, this is a very pressing issue,” says winemaker Kathy Malone of Hillside Cellars in Naramata and chair of the BC Wine Grape Council’s research committee. It’s also a complex problem that involves the chemistry of both smoke and winegrowing, as well as BC’s reputation for premium winemaking. The 2021 vintage could be a watershed moment for the industry, given the extent of wildfires in the south Okanagan. Kelowna lab Supra Research and Development is able to test for the chemical markers of smoke taint in both grapes and wine, but their presence doesn’t indicate that the wine itself will be affected. One major vintner spent a significant amount of money on testing both but the results were all over the place. Some grapes made decent wine. Other batches that testing showed were not particularly affected resulted in poor but salvageable wine. “We may not have all of the top-tier wines we have had in the past, but we are confident that it will all be drinkable,” said the company’s viticulturist, requesting anonymity – an indication of just how concerning the issue is for the industry. Still, the message is one the industry wants people to hear. “We hope that during a fire year, consumers won’t demonize us,” says Felix Egerer, viticulturist at Tantalus Vineyards, who is also an experienced winemaker, speaking on behalf of the industry. “We are constantly evolving techniques in the winery to work with smoke-affected fruit and as we gain experience we will develop data and share techniques across the industry.” Data collection UBC Okanagan assistant professor Wesley Zandberg is helping to develop that data. Zandberg has been working with the BCWGC on a number of projects related to smoke taint in wine since 2016. There are three sides to the triangle of smoke-tainted wine, explains Zandberg. “One is understanding the chemistry of the smoke compounds and how those compounds affect grapes, and how that in turn transfers into the wine chemistry,” he says. “The second side is the connection between the grape and wine chemistry the more subjective wine taste or aroma; that is how our chemical measurements are translated into human sensory perceptions. And overall, the third piece is connecting what is in the air on a smoky day with a result in the wine.” Pine forests burning at the edge of BC wine country produce a lot of volatile phenols (VPs) that can possibly affect wine taste, leading to flavours Zandberg describes as “campfire,” “ashtray” or “bitter.” “Unfortunately, these VPs have an extremely low flavour threshold. We can easily detect their taste when they are present in wine and food,” he says. Multiple factors The problem is knowing if grapes have been aected by smoke. The concentration of the smoke, the distance from the re, the temperature of the re and the length of time of exposure are all factors. The stage at which the vines are exposed is also important. While there is likely no time when grapes are not aected by smoke, research shows that approximately two weeks after veraison (when the grapes turn colour) until harvest is the most crucial time. There is agreement across the wine world on how to test for smoke chemistry in grapes and wine. Zandberg is using that knowledge to establish a baseline that will help growers identify smoke-free grapes in the Okanagan. The project is in its third year. “Unaected grapes in our region have a very low level of smoke compounds, as little as one part per billion, almost to the smallest concentrations our testing can detect,” he says. “If grapes on their way to the winery exceed that, there could be a problem, but there is still Industry collaborates on smoke taint researchUBC Okanagan establishing baseline for smoke-free grapesFelix Egerer, viticulturist at Tantalus Vineyards, says the winemaking industry is working to develop techniques to work with smoke-affeced grapes. FACEBOOKSee SMOKE on next page oFrom far and wide Oh Canada we stand on guard for theeHappy Canada Day
The usual thing isn’t workingSummer is shaping up to be one long shoulder seasonSMOKE taint elusive nfrom page 3132 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCThe wild roses are blooming. The welcome sight is one of the few indications that a seasonal progression is indeed underway: we will likely arrive at summer this year. Normally, the signs are more numerous and emphatic: we can count on some walloping heat waves, for example. Some weeks of drought are not unusual, and explosive growth in the brassicas is only to be expected. Summer, thusly heralded, usually arrives with a bang. This year, it’s really just the blooming ditch weeds countering the sight of the fresh snow on the mountains and the geese ying overhead in V formation, presumably heading south. The potatoes are managing ne in the cold and rain, of course, as they do. They have had to cope with more than the odd cool spring during their evolution, clearly. They would not be unresponsive to more heat, but I think they are very patiently waiting for their time in the sun. They are not dormant, nor are they exactly jumping out of the ground. I worry about my colleagues in the mixed-vegetable production business. If the cabbage transplants in our farm garden are any indication, there is just cause: they have been sitting there with three or four leaves for way too long now. And from what I gather whilst eavesdropping on conversations between experts, corn will become a mathematical impossibility in a matter of days. The biggest eect of the cool, wet weather on our farm has been to throw our careful cultivation practices into disarray. The problem for me is that I am not used to having a potato eld that looks like this: weeds on the brink of taking hold, potatoes not quite up yet and un-hilled, wheel tracks like concrete. I mind it very much. The standard potato cultivation and hilling program was abandoned a few weeks ago, the soil just too wet. It was a sharp shock to the system to witness the carnage that occurred when we went in there with full hiller-shapers in our usual condent way. The deep shovels brought up chunks of mud-laminated clay and the shapers basically smeared that onto the top of the potato hills. It was atrocious. So, the hiller has been parked at the side of the eld in temporary disgrace. The weeds, normally having been totally outperformed by potatoes and then smothered in dirt by the hilling process, are now having the time of their lives. The new tine weeder has been pulled through and did well enough, but we can’t do any more of that now that the sprouts are right below the surface. I expect we’ll try hilling again, but it will have to stop raining and may I be so bold as to suggest we also need consecutive days of sunshine to accomplish that task. The wheel tracks got taken care of today. We’ve had to scour through our scrap pile to nd the old S-tine rack because (say it all together, now) the usual thing wasn’t working. The lighter, springier cultivators are managing to tease the hardpack back into dirt. It’s been 20 years since this piece saw any action. Now, it’s saving the day. Thank goodness for hoarding. Silver linings? Here’s one. This morning we planted the parsnips and beets and nished mere minutes before the atmospheric river showed up. I venture to say this is every farmer’s favourite thing: planting seeds and nishing moments before the rain. Especially those farmers whose irrigation system is broken, as ours is. It’s a submersible pump problem – completely inoperable and awaiting expensive attention. From this perspective, the frequent rain falls at a nice temperature and it’s gentle. It’s free if you don’t calculate the frustration factor. Quite costly otherwise. It’s better than a heat dome, of course. Anna Helmer farms in Pemberton where the roadside ditches are impossibly attractive right now. much to be understood. Smoke taint is very dicult to predict ahead of harvest and winemaking.” When volatile phenols such as guaiacol, one of the most pungent, are absorbed into ripening grapes, they are quickly masked. The plant attempts to detoxify the phenols by attaching a simple sugar molecule to them. “We may be able to taste the VPs, but we can no longer smell them, so smoke- exposed grapes do not normally smell bad unless the re has been in the vineyard.” Zandberg notes. But that all changes with the winemaking process. “When we ferment grapes, the yeast that drives the fermentation has the necessary enzymes to release some of the guaiacol that was otherwise chemically masked by the sugars in the grapes,” Zandberg explains. “This could potentially result in a wine that can taste tainted, from fruit that had no obvious smoke odour or avour.” The key word is “potentially.” When a red wine is aged in oak barrels, some of the same VPs that are present in smoke leach into the wine. “We nd that in a complex red wine, the VPs may still be present chemically, yet they do not always aect the taste,” Zandberg explains. “This is why pairing chemical and sensory studies is so important.” Perception Zandberg is developing a database to connect the presence of VPs in the grapes with their expression and perception in the nished wines. Zandberg is also investigating whether growers can protect the grapes from smoke eects. “There are techniques to protect other fruits such as using biolm to reduce water swelling and splitting in cherries,” he points out. “And I believe we can nd ways to protect grapes as well.” The connection between the density of smoke in the vineyard and whether that leads to aected grapes is another piece that Zandberg is studying. “It would be great if growers could use a handheld device to sample the level of smoke particulates that are in their individual vineyards and eventually we could predict smoke eects and give wineries a heads up,” he says. “Smoke in vineyards is a new context that we have only seen for a short time and there is still so much to learn,” Egerer comments. “The industry is very thankful for Zandberg’s work on our behalf.” Farm Story by ANNA HELMERJUWEL – EASE OF USE AND SAFETY OF OPERATIONFOR ANY STRATEGIC TILLAGE PRACTICELOOK TO LEMKENJuwel mounted reversible ploughs from LEMKEN combine operational reliability and ease of use to deliver excellent performance.@strategictill | lemken.caVanderWal Equipment is now a LEMKEN dealer.■ Optiquick for ploughing without lateral pull ■ TurnControl for safe plough turning ■ Hydromatic for disruption-free ploughing even in stony soils ■ Skimmer with easy adjustment options – all without tools■ Also available as M version with hydraulic turnover deviceVAN DER WAL EQUIPMENT (1989) LTD. 23390 RIVER ROAD, MAPLE RIDGE, BC V2W 1B6 604/463-3681 | vanderwaleq.com Quality Pre-Owned Tractors & EquipmentANDEX 773 RAKE . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,500 BOBCAT T110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,500 CAT 301.8C EXCAVATOR . . . . . . 26,500 FELLA SM320 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 33KATE AYERS SUMMERLAND – With the potential for more intense climatic events on the heels of last summer’s historic heat dome, an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research team in Summerland hopes to provide fruit growers with new protection tools. Branching o from their study on sudden apple decline, Jesse MacDonald, Kirsten Hannam and Hao Xu began an investigation into a foliar spray that could help protect apples from heat, sun and drought throughout the growing season. “We happened to get, by random chance, approached by a Canadian company that had developed a nanoparticle – a really ne calcium carbonate application that you can spray on using existing spray equipment,” MacDonald says. “Basically, it’s like a sunscreen. And we thought maybe this could be used to reduce transpiration from the tree during heat events or reect UV light to reduce that summer heat damage.” Conventional and organic farmers with standard spray equipment could use this product. Calcium carbonate is used on fruit crops in California and researchers in Washington State and Oregon have done preliminary research on protective sprays for fruit trees. However, Hannam says work is ongoing and “they are still guring out how eective it is and under what conditions.” The new element in the Canadian study is the evaluation of multiple tree health parameters and how they interact to aect the whole tree over several years versus just the fruit in one season. Following three calcium carbonate applications, including one spray right before last year’s heat dome, the rst round of trials produced promising results. The calcium carbonate application did not aect fruit height, diameter, weight, sugar levels nor dry matter. “In terms of fruit quality, the only things that turned out to be statistically signicant were it reduced by 9% the amount of severe sunburn and it reduced by about 10% the asymmetrical apples, which is a symptom of heat damage,” Hannam says. “So, it protected the fruit from severe heat damage.” Reduced water stress The team found that the foliar spray also inuenced water stress and plant water use. “We were curious if this protective coating would help reduce evapotranspiration from the tree … and ameliorate that water stress a little bit,” Hannam says. In early August when air temperatures were still high, they turned off orchard irrigation to evaluate the amount of water stress in sprayed versus unsprayed trees. “We did see that those sprayed trees showed less signs of water stress than the unsprayed trees,” Hannam says. “We’re not really sure what the mechanism is. We’ve talked about this a little bit with Hao, but it does seem like it may play a role by obscuring that leaf surface a bit and slowing down water loss from the leaves. It serves as a protectant against water stress.” The team hopes to expand their research into other fruit crops. “We have put in a proposal for a project that may start in 2023 if we get funding for it, that will include this [work] and we would try to do a more comprehensive [evaluation] on apples as well as cherries,” MacDonald says. The team’s future research will include Skeena cherries. “We had massive losses of cherries in a block, so we’d like to do a test run on some Skeena this year to see the practicalities of applying it,” Hannam says. However, one big question mark is the ease of removing calcium carbonate residue from sprayed fruit after harvest. “That is another big concern. Once you protect the cherries from that heat, you have a high-quality cherry,” Hannam says. “[But] nobody wants to buy a cherry with scum all over it. We have to be able to apply it easily and remove it easily.” Packer test Moving forward, AAFC hopes to collaborate with packers and run real-life simulations to take fruit from bloom to market with this product. “We would harvest our cherries, give a couple bins to a packer who would run them as if they’re running a real producer’s fruit and then give us feedback on whether the calcium carbonate washed off in their processing, what problems they saw, accumulations in stem bolls,” MacDonald says. “It does clean off fairly easily but if it’s going to cost a whole bunch just in manual labour to make sure that it is off, then it may not be that suitable. … Involving packers will be important to us in a future project.” The team looks forward to continuing the research with a more holistic controlled-design system. “It’s promising but we need to do it a bit more comprehensively so that we can say with confidence these are the benefits, these are the costs and then people can make an informed choice to use it or not,” Hannam says. The BC Fruit Growers’ AssociationDID YOU KNOW?supports members through programs:BCFGA provides free magazine subscriptions to Orchard and Vine, Country Life in BC, The Grower and (coming soon!) Good Fruit Grower.BCFGA provides assistance to members to complete Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program applications, backed by an accredited Registered Canadian Immigration Consultant.Free printed spray schedules.EFP Incentive Program ($250). Green Spark Consulting Services - Discount on housing bylaw assistance. Coming soon! COR Safety Certification Incentive ($250).1234Researchers investigate sunscreen for fruitCalcium carbonate shows promise as sun and drought protectant Sun-damaged apples have unsightly blemishes that makes them difcult to sell, but researchers hope to develop a sunscreen for fruit. JESSE MACDONALD
34 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCLarger rootstocks could alleviate heat stressResearch scientist Hao Xu has always been interested in sustainable agriculture and carbohydrate partitioning, especially in fruit trees. Following work as a research assistant at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and visiting scholar at the Universidad de Murcia in Spain, Xu studied symbiosis and root water uptake at the University of Alberta. She completed a PhD, majoring in forest biology and sustainable management and was a postdoctoral fellow, studying fungal and plant aquaporins, mycorrhizal symbiosis, plant-water relation and plant stress physiology. Her work in academia and interest in plant physiology led her to a position with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Summerland in 2017. Since joining the AAFC team, Xu has conducted research to “investigate tree fruit crop resilience and fruit production in terms of yield and fruit quality under dierent environmental stressors and dierent approaches of mitigation,” she says. “Under this umbrella we have been looking at how rootstocks can impact tree resilience, carbohydrate partitioning and fruit production.” Last year, she investigated the eects of heat on tree fruit quality in the Okanagan Valley. Other projects include looking at irrigation scheduling and how water management impacts fruit quality. Indeed, one potential long-term mitigation approach to heat stress that she’s found is using larger rootstocks. “Larger rootstocks … showed promising results last year that they are capable of reducing the ratio of heat damage in fruits per tree, consequently producing more damage-free trees per acre,” Xu says. “The larger rootstocks such as G.935, … we saw an increase in yields. It’s larger than M.9 or M.26 and a lot larger than B.9, which are commonly used rootstocks by growers right now.” Larger rootstocks contain xylem, which transport water, with larger diameters allowing for higher transport capacity through the grafting union, where the scion and rootstock are united. “When you supply sucient water to the trees, the G.935 is able to transport more water,” Xu says. “That provides more transpirational cooling in the canopy and they have a large canopy so there is more foliage density to provide more shading onto the fruits in the canopy. This contributes to a decrease in the counts of sunburn browning on necrotic apples compared to smaller rootstocks.” However, a downside to larger rootstocks is that they use more water. “We are trying to sustain production in a very water-limited environment. We need to take that into consideration and do a longer time evaluation on their performance,” Xu says. —Kate Ayers Save water, save energy, save labor and do a better job of irrigating. NELSONIRRIGATION.COM Automatically change the arc of throw on traveling Big Gun® sprinklers. Find efciency and heavy-duty reliability in Nelson Control Valves. Achieve unmatched uniformity with eld-proven Rotator® technology.SR150 BIG GUN®ARC TIMERACV200800 SERIESCONTROL VALVESR2000WF ROTATOR® & MINI REGULATOR DRAIN CHECKSummerland research scientist Hao Xu is working to make fruit trees more resilient to heat stress. AAFC
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SUBMITTEDKATE AYERS LANGLEY – Farmers and seasonal agricultural workers can save time and hassle on pay day, thanks to a new online tool. Labora Consulting Services Corp. co-founders Rene Blanco, Jaspal Brar and Ryan Klatt developed the new platform that provides a straightforward and secure money transfer service for employers and workers. The concept was sparked by a conversation the team had with a dairy farm employee from Mexico. “When I spoke with him, I realized the dicult process he has to face when sending money back home,” says Blanco. “Every two weeks, his employer gives him a cheque, then he has to travel almost one hour to the next municipality where there is a bank and he can cash his cheque. … Then the worker’s wife in Mexico has to go to the bank to collect cash.” Workers may spend three to four hours cashing their cheques and sending funds back to family members. Blanco was completing his MBA at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver at the time and decided to take action along with Brar and Klatt. Labora’s platform simplies the money transfer process by completing transactions in two clicks: one for the business owner to send money to Labora and the other for Labora to deposit it into the beneciary’s account. The company receives bank transfers for workers, which goes into a Labora bank account. “From there we do the transfer to the platform to send payments immediately to Mexico,” explains Blanco. “We complete the transaction right away.” This digitized payroll system eliminates bank fees and gets preferential exchange rates, Blanco says. Labora has agreements with nancial service organizations and has access to real-time exchange rates. “Because we provide a B2B service with an online platform, we pay low overheads,” Blanco says, allowing them to oer fair exchange rates and no extra fees. Labora is free for workers to use, and farmers can choose from three pricing plans. The company oers other services, including helping employees with T4s, tax returns, saving plans and more. Cedar Rim Nursery Ltd. in Langley participated in Labora’s pilot project in 2020 and continues to use the program today for payroll transactions. “The rst season we only had 12 workers from Mexico. We’ll be up to 15 this year,” says Cedar Rim human resources manager Fay Waterberg. “We had a few people take advantage of using the electronic transfer to Labora, then Labora using their system to transfer the money down to Mexico.” Two returning workers use the system and Labora introduced the new workers to the online process when they arrived at the nursery in the spring. As with anything new, it can take time for workers to adjust to a dierent way of doing business. “They like to cash their cheques and get their cash money in their hands,” Waterberg says. “I think initially, some were not so sure. It has taken some work and time to have them feel comfortable doing it.” On the administrative side, Labora’s platform is available on the company’s website and “from our standpoint, it’s an easy process. It’s worked out ne,” Waterberg says. Labora helped Cedar Rim’s seasonal workers le their 2020 tax returns and store their information on the platform for future use. While the pandemic threw a few hurdles in front of the program’s expansion, the founders hope to support more seasonal workers across BC this year. Moving forward, Labora is developing an app so that users can access the platform on a smartphone and hope to recruit at least ve more farms this year. Streamlining payroll for temporary foreign workersLABORA’s mission is to enhance the Canadian agriculture sector by helping farm owners securely and ef昀ciently pay their farmworkers and bene昀t from the streamlined money transfer process from Canada back home.Further simplifying the administrative process, the LABORA platform assists farmworkers by 昀lling their tax returns and provides online services to keep their information secured.2019 Idea Prize, SFU-Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize Competition | 2019 Vancouver winner, Startup World Championships | 2020 Future of Good Canada’s Top 100 Projects | Ready to Rocket 2020 & 2021 Emerging Rocket Agri-Food List | 2021 Top Venture Prize, SFU-Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize Competition | International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP) 2022 Distinguished Recognition Award for Service Innovation. Contact Labora founder and CEO Rene Blanco, MBA236.868.5465 Email: rene@labora.ca www.labora.ca
36 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCKenneth’s rescue is TikTok worthy When we left off last time, Lorne, Clay and young Jimmy Vincent had just pulled Kenneth out of the beaver pond. Old Jimmy Vincent had the whole thing recorded on his phone. Rural Redemption, Part 148, continues. Kenneth Henderson lurched onto dry land just as Young Jimmy Vincent finished coiling the rope. Lorne Davis and Junkyard Frank were laughing out loud at the replay Old Jimmy was showing them on his cell phone. “What are those clowns laughing at?” said Kenneth. “You mean those clowns that heard you hollering for help and hiked all the way into here to pull you out of the beaver pond?” asked Jimmy. “I think my dad’s got the whole show on a video. If you thank him for coming out, he’ll probably let you have a look.” Clay pointed out Kenneth was missing one of his shoes. “Thanks for that, Mr. Obvious!” said Kenneth. “I think you mean Captain Obvious,” chuckled Jimmy. Kenneth was about to tell Jimmy that he didn’t give a damn what he thought, but he was distracted by a fresh round of guffaws from Frank and Lorne. He turned his attention to Old Jimmy. “What do you think you’re going to do with that?” Old Jimmy shrugged. “Not sure just yet. I‘m guessing Harriet Murray from the paper might be interested, or maybe I’ll get my granddaughter to put some banjo music with it and send it in to the tik-tawker. She says people are always getting famous for doing stupid stuff on there. This here might be your big break, Mr. Henderson. I could end up making you famous on the Internet.” “Don’t get your hopes up,” said Kenneth. “Trust me, I have a lawyer who will stop that from ever happening.” “I can’t think of any reason to trust you much and the lawyer route’ll be too slow, anyhow. See the beauty of the tik-tawk is, if I send it right now, there’ll be people laughing at it from all over the world before you can hike from here to the road. If I was you, I’d just put on my happy face and enjoy the ride.” Oscar had waited expectantly as Young Jimmy coiled up the rescue rope and untied the stick from the end of it. He hoped someone might come to their senses and throw it back in the pond for him. Young Jimmy didn’t want to start that game again, so he held onto the stick and ignored Oscar as his pleading eyes flipped back and forth from Jimmy to the stick. Eventually, he gave up and turned his attention to Kenneth’s torn pant leg and wounded shin. Old Jimmy saw Oscar swing around and lift his leg. He flipped his phone back onto video mode and pointed it at Kenneth. “Give us a smile, Mr. Henderson. Things could always be worse,” called Old Jimmy. They all started laughing again and Kenneth Henderson flew into a spitting rage and fell down as Oscar danced away from the stockinged foot that came his way. Young Jimmy shouldered his rope and herded Old Jimmy, Frank, Lorne and Oscar up the game trail toward the community hall. Clay suggested Ashley go, too, while he stayed behind and waited until Kenneth blew himself out. “I don’t get the people in this place!” said Kenneth bitterly. “I’m pretty sure the people in this place don’t get you either,” said Clay. “What do you mean by that?” “You’re your own worst enemy. You don’t have a decent word to say about any of them.” “I’ve had nothing but disrespect since the first day I came here. What do you expect?” “I can tell you what my grandfather told me about respect. It’s not something you’re born with, and it’s not something you can give yourself; you need to earn it from others, and you should never expect to get what you won’t give. The way I hear it, you’ve had your nose in the air since the day you came here.” “Says who?” demanded Kenneth. “Your daughter, for one.” Kenneth snorted derisively. “I don’t need to listen to this, and I certainly don’t need any of your grampaw’s hayseed wisdom, so please spare me.” “What you do need is someone to show you how Woodshed Chronicles by BOB COLLINSPlease send a _______ year gift subscription to _______________________________________________ Farm Name ____________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________________ City _________________________________________________ Postal Code ________ _______________ Phone _________________________ Email ________________________________________________ to find your way to the road and give you a ride home,” said Clay. “And if you want that from me, you can start by apologising for the crack about my hayseed grampaw, and if you intend to speak anymore to me, you’ll have to ditch the high and mighty attitude and keep a civil tongue in your head. That bit of advice comes from my mother and I‘d advise you to remember it because she’ll be here in a couple of days and if you don’t, she’ll see through you in a New York minute. You can trust me, that won’t be pretty.” “I apologise for calling your grandfather a hayseed,” said Kenneth tersely. “Would you please show me how to get out of here?” I guess it’s a start, thought Clay. Though the tone was still unmistakeably nasal. It was less than a thousand feet to the road as-the-crow-flies. Just before they were there, Clay steered Kenneth onto a faint track that ran parallel to the road for several hundred feet. Clay texted Ashley and asked her not to tell anyone and bring the truck to pick them up. Ashley tried to talk Kenneth into coming home so she could look after his wounded leg. He declined and insisted they take him to Newt’s house. “But Newt and Grandma are at the hall,” said Ashley. “All the better,” said Kenneth. “I’ll be fine; just drop me there.” Delta Faye Poindexter saw the truck pull up and watched as Kenneth limped up the front stairs of Newt Pullman’s house. Once the truck was gone, she walked across the yard and rapped at the door. Kenneth limped to the door. Delta stepped back and surveyed him from head to toe. “My gawd, Ken, what’s happened to you?” “I had a fall in the woods; it’s nothing to worry about.” “Did you fall into a den of bears? You’re all scratched up and your leg is bleeding. Let me look at that.” “It’s fine, really.” “Don’t be silly. It’s no such thing. You come and sit down while I clean it up and put a bandage on it and you can tell me all about it.” “I might not have to. With my luck the whole thing is probably on Tik Tok already.” “You know, I had a premonition something might be wrong. I tried calling you four or five times.” “To top it all off my phone got lost somewhere in the bush.” “Well then, let’s get you cleaned up and see if we can figure out where it’s at.” ... to be continued Thousands of BC farmers and ranchers turn to Country Life in BC every month to nd out what (and who!) is making news in BC agriculture and how it may affect their farms and agri-businesses! CREDIT CARD # _________________________________________________________________ EXP _____________ CVV __________ o NEW o RENEWAL | o ONE YEAR ($18.90) oT WO YEARS ($33.60) o THREE YEARS ($37.80) Your Name ______________________________________________________________________________ Farm Name _____________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________ Postal Code __________________________________ Phone _____________________ Email ______________________________________________________ MAIL TO: 36 DALE RD, ENDERBY, BC V0E 1V4 subscriptions@ countrylifeinbc.com www.countrylifeinbc.com/subscribe
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 37USED EQUIPMENT MAS H125 TILLER, 2012, 50” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,500 KUBOTA K76249H 76” SKIDSTEER SNOWBLOWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,500 USED TRACTORS KUBOTA T2380 2017, 48” DECK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,500 KUBOTA BX2360 2010, 1,900HRS, TRAC/MWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,750 TORO 328D 48” MOWER, 2,900 HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,500 KUB GR2110-54 2010, Diesel, 54” deck, grass catcher . . . . . . . . . . . 9,000 GRAVELY ZTHD60 2017, 60” ZERO TURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,500 NEW INVENTORY: GREENWORKS COMMERCIAL CORDLESS BLOWERS, CHAINSAWS, STRING TRIMMERS, HEDGE TRIMMERS, LAWNMOWERS. 82/48 VOLT KUBOTA RAKES, TEDDERS, MOWERS, POWER HARROWS JBS VMEC1636 VERT. SPREADER, SAWDUST & SAND THROWER CONSTRUCTION K008-2 2001, 2,700hrs, 2 BKTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,500 KX91-3 2011, 2,600HRS, CAB, 2 BKTS, THUMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,000 Family and friends honour rancher’s legacyWilson Clifton offered 94 years of knowledge and expertise The patriarch of Clifton Ranch in Keremeos and a leader in land stewardship, Wilson Clifton was an active part of the ranch operation until last fall. Clifton passed away last month at the age of 94. CLIFTON FAMILY PHOTO KATE AYERS KEREMEOS – A pioneer of sustainable ranching has died. Wilson Ross Clifton of Clifton Ranch in Keremeos passed away on June 11, following a career rooted in ongoing learning and community leadership. Clifton was born on March 26, 1928 in Penticton to fruit growers and ranchers Ivan and Louise Clifton. One of ve children, he was particularly fascinated by the local ranchers riding horses and working cattle, and dreamed of running his own ranch. He was keen to learn more about agricultural practices beyond the fenceposts of his parents’ farm, so he took the unusual step for the late 1940s of attending Olds College. While most aspiring ranchers learned on the job, Clifton wanted a rm grounding in the eld. While at Olds, he also earned the coveted title of Champion Olds Shooter, outshooting all his competitors. After graduating from Olds, Clifton worked on a US ranch before returning to BC and the Similkameen Valley to help his parents develop their property. He cleared many acres and planted crops on the land until a major ood in 1948 decimated his family’s property. To support his family and prevent them from losing the land, he bought equipment to clean up damaged properties throughout the valley. Following this restoration, Clifton planted the land to hay and struck up a working relationship with Sellers Ranch in Princeton. He oered to take care of the Sellers’ cattle from Christmas to spring when their range capacity was limited. Clifton worked hard to provide for his family and attain his dream of buying a ranch, but he also enjoyed hunting, y shing, riding wild horses, singing and square dancing. Indeed, he met the love of his life, June Agar, while square dancing and they married on November 10, 1956. The couple then had two boys, Brad and Wade. Clifton’s sons quickly picked up his anity for land and animal stewardship. Wade’s fondest memories of his father are of the days they spent riding together. “We spent a pile of time in the mountains together moving cattle,” he says. Clifton taught his family to “never give up,” Wade adds. Clifton bought the Clifton Ranch property in fall 1967 and moved there in May 1968 – a dream come true. The family of four built the ranch from the ground up, starting with an 80-head herd of purebred Herefords. Throughout the years they developed an irrigation plan, built pens and a feedlot, and in 1972, expanded their land base by purchasing neighbouring pasture elds. Clifton refused to settle for the status quo. He was one of the rst producers in the province to purchase a bale wagon and bag silage to improve operation eciency and feed quality. He also partnered with the Nature Trust of British Columbia to further expand the family operation and herd size while also restoring natural grasslands and protect species at risk. The family’s approach to sustainable beef production earned Clifton Ranch the 2019 BC Cattlemen’s Association’s Ranch Sustainability Award and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award. “It wasn’t that we were saying we’re going to go and become environmentalists,” Wade says. “I think if you’re really a true cattleman, you are already trying to look after the ecosystems and value the grasslands that are there and try to make them better than they were when you rst started using them.” In addition to the intensive on-farm work, Clifton spent a lot of time giving back to the ranching sector and the community at large. He served as president of the Keremeos Stock Breeders Association, president of the local Hereford association, leader of the Similkameen 4-H Club, re warden of the local rangelands, and sat as a committee member for the local school board. He also worked at the BC Livestock Co-op in Okanagan Falls for several years. The experience and knowledge he gained in these roles led him to backgrounding his cattle on the ranch and marketing beef directly to consumers. Throughout his 94 years, Clifton survived prostate cancer, multiple heart surgeries and then a farm accident at the age of 92, where his leg became pinned underneath his truck for more than four hours. Clifton overcame all these hurdles and until last fall continued to his ride his quad to check the family’s 500 cow-calf pairs and 60,000 acres of owned, leased and Crown lands. “We’re going to miss chatting with him, I will tell you that. He was always interested in what we were doing every day, even when he couldn’t come out,” Wade says. Clifton passed away on the ranch, with his family by his side. He is survived by his wife June, Wade (Sandra), daughter-in-law Dianne, ve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son Brad. A public celebration of life took place in late June.
38 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCJudie’s Steak & Tomato Salad is the perfect meal for a perfect summer day. JUDIE STEEVESSummer salads are cool and refreshingNow that we’re into full summer, it’s time to make the best use of some of the fresh, local, crunchy vegetables available from the garden or your nearest farm or farm market. Salads are refreshing during the warmer days of summer and it doesn’t take much to turn a light salad into a full-meal-deal salad. Just cook a little extra steak or chicken when you barbecue and the next day, toss the leftovers in with a mountain of those crisp greens with crunchy cucumbers, tasty, colourful tomatoes and radishes – or fresh berries and fruits – and you’ve got a meal t for a king. It doesn’t matter if the protein you add to your salad is meat, sh, poultry, cheese, eggs or beans. They’re all delicious combined with the full avours of vegetables and fruit picked close to home, fresh and crisp. For dressing, it’s easy to whisk a good olive oil with a bit of lemon juice or a avourful vinegar, some fresh herbs and spices, ready to sprinkle over your creation. This is also the time of year for preserving some of your fresh herbs, before they ower and put their energy into producing seeds. Good candidates for drying are oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage; while tarragon, Jude’s Kitchen JUDIE STEEVESSTEAK & TOMATO SALADThis is a crisp and refreshing salad for a hot day. Its exotic avours pair well with Indian dishes or spicy grilled chicken or pork pieces. 1 English cucumber 1 tbsp. (15 ml) jalapeño pepper 1/2 tsp. (2 ml) red pepper akes 1/2 c. (125 ml) roasted, unsalted peanuts (divided) 2 tbsp. (30 ml) unsweetened shredded coconut 2 tbsp. (30 ml) fresh lime juice 2 tsp. (10 ml) sugar 1 tsp. (5 ml) ne sea salt • Slice seedless cucumber in half-inch dice into a large bowl. • Mince jalapeño pepper and add, along with red pepper akes. • Finely chop the peanuts and add, along with the shredded coconut, lime juice, sugar and salt. Toss gently. • Heat a drizzle of grapeseed oil in a small frypan over medium-high heat. Add the brown or black mustard seeds and when they begin to pop, stir in the coconut and the cumin seeds and turn o the heat. • Pour the mixture over the cucumber salad and toss everything together, letting it sizzle a little. • Taste to ensure there’s a good balance of salty, sour, sweet and heat. Add more salt, citrus, sugar or jalapeño, to taste.• • Sprinkle each serving with the remaining peanuts and fresh cilantro or mint leaves and serve immediately. • Serves 4. CUCUMBER PEANUT SALADDressing: 1 tbsp. (15 ml) grapeseed oil 1 tsp. (5 ml) brown mustard seeds 2 tbsp. (30 ml) unsweetened shredded coconut 1/2 tsp. (3 ml) cumin seeds Garnish with fresh cilantro or mint leaves. basil, mint and rosemary are delicious preserved in vinegar or in oil. That gives you a head-start with creating your own dressing when those fresh herbs are under a foot of snow – a little later in the year. I like a crisp garnish for my salad too, like sunower seeds, roasted nuts or croutons, but at this time of year, consider tossing some violas, rose petals, nasturtiums, marigold petals or pansies in. If you’ve let your herbs go to ower, pick some of those for a very tasty addition to the top of your salad. Chives are particularly zesty, but thyme, borage or calendula petals are great garnishes too. Be creative. Play with your food. Let the garden be your inspiration. This is quick to make with meat left over from the barbecued meal a day or two previous. You can use a tough cut such as round or blade steak and marinate it overnight before cooking, or use a tender cut such as rib eye. 1/2 lb. (225 g) beef steak 1/2 cucumber 1/4 c. (60 ml) of a mild, sweet onion handful of halved cherry tomatoes 4-6 c. (1- 1 1/2 l) greens 2 tbsp. (30 ml) sunflower seeds garnish with sun-dried black olives • Thinly slice cold, lean steak into two-inch long strips and set aside. (You can vary the amount of meat to your family's taste.) • Peel and chop cucumber (unless it's an English type which won’t need peeling) • Chop onion and halve cherry tomatoes. • Wash, dry and tear greens into a large salad bowl. • Sprinkle prepared vegetables over the greens, then the thinly-sliced beef steak, and the sunflower seeds. • Remove the pits from the olives and scatter over top. • Serve with a simple dressing such as a creamy homemade lemon and poppy seed dressing (See November, 2021 Country Life for recipe in Jude’s Kitchen) • Serves 4.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC JULY 2022 | 39couNEXT MARKETPLACE DEADLINE JULY 23TRACTORS/EQUIPMENTREAL ESTATEREAL ESTATETRACTORS/EQUIPMENTFOR SALEFOR SALEHAYSEEDBERRIESIRRIGATIONFor Tissue Culture Derived Plants of New Varieties of Haskaps, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Saskatoon Berries and Sour Cherries, Please Contact:DISEASE FREE PLANTING STOCK OF NEW BERRY CROPS 4290 Wallace Hill Road, Kelowna, BC, V1W 4B6info@agriforestbiotech.com250.764.2224www.agriforestbiotech.com NEW polyethylene tanks of all shapes & sizes for septic and water storage. Ideal for irrigation, hydroponics, wash-down, lazy wells, rain water, truck box, fertizilizer mixing & spraying. Call 1-800-661-4473 for closest distributor. Manufactured in Delta by Premier Plastics premierplastics.com Feeders & Panels that maintain their value!ROUND BALE FEEDERS BIG SQUARE BALE FEEDERS FENCE PANELS CATTLE & HORSE FEEDERSHEAVY DUTY OIL FIELD PIPE CRADLE FEEDERS. Single big square or 2 round bales Outside measurement is 8 feet x 12 feet Silage bunk feeders For product pictures, check out Double Delichte Stables on Facebook Dan 250/308-9218 Coldstream DON GILOWSKI 250-260-0828 Royal LePage Downtown Realty Ltd BUYING OR SELLING OKANAGAN FARM, RANCH OR ACREAGE? COURTENAY HEREFORDS. Cattle for Sale: yearling bulls and bred heifers. John 250/334-3252 or Johnny 250-218-2537.PYESTERDAY’S TRADITION - TODAY’S TECHNOLOGYMANAGERS Phil Brown 250-293-6857 Catherine Brown 250-293-6858 ccr.princeton@gmail.com www.coppercreekranch.com PRINCETON, BC Raising registered polled & horned Herefords & F1s. BREEDING BULLS FOR SALE.RAVEN HILL MEADOWS: Coneygeers bloodlines - call for seedstock. 250-722-1882. NanaimoLIVESTOCKLIVESTOCKIt’s the top linethat makes the Bottom LineBC SHORTHORN ASSOCIATION Scott Fraser, President Bob Merkley, BC Director 250-709-4443 604-607-7733DeBOER’S USED TRACTORS & EQUIPMENT GRINDROD, BCUSED JD TRACTORS 60-100 HP JD 1830 W/LDR 16,000 JD 4230 CAB, 3PT 15,000 JD 6420 CAB 4WD LDR 70,000 JD 7200 4WD OPEN STATION PWR QUAD TRANSMISSION CALL JD 1630 W/LDR 16,000 JD 3155 4WD W/CAB 45,000 ROME 8’ heavy duty disc 2,500 OLIVER 12’ disc 3,750 ED DEBOER 250/838-7362 cell 250/833-6699 CURT DEBOER 250/838-9612 cell 250/804-61471-888-770-7333CUSTOM BALING 3x4 BIG SQUARES SILAGE BALING/WRAPPING ED DEBOER 250/833-6699 CURT DEBOER 250/804-6147EDVENTURE HAY SALES ENDERBYcouADVERTISING THAT WORKS!Pacifc Forage Bag Supply Ltd.www.pacificforagebag.comCall 604.319.0376FOR SALE in Osoyoos: 2 electronic cherry PACKING LINES, 1 apple packing line, harvest bins, and other assorted packinghouse equipment. Please contact Tony for more details 250-498-7705Available now, 4- 1/4 mile Used VALLEY, ZIMMATIC, T.L. PIVOTS, 3- Used 1,000 ft, 1,250 ft Hose reels, 10,000 ft 12 in 8,000ft 10 in HDPE, Steel pipe in all sizes used. Dealer for Pierce Pivots, T.L Pivots, lease your new or used pivot, Hose reels, RM, Idrio, diesel pumps, centrifugal, sub-mersible, freq drives, pump stations, 30 years experience. Talk to Brock! 250 319 3044FARM EQUIPMENT and PARTS • ROLLOVER PLOWS 3 and 4 BTM, in-furrow, and on-land, $3750 to $6750 • FORD and OLIVER Semi Mount Plows, 5 or 4 BTM, $1600 each. • HD BREAKING PLOW, 1Big BTM on wheels, $3,600 • HD V-SPADE Root Cutter on wheels, 1 ripper spade, $2800. • CO-OP 26’ CULTIVATOR, drawbar pull, HYD fold, $6500. • CRUST-BUSTER, 24’ drawbar pull, S-Tines and Harrows, $4,600. • 2 NEW CULTIVATORS, 5’ and 6’, S-Tines, 3PH, $650 each. • JOHN DEERE CULTIVATOR, Row-Crop 4 row, $1000. • CULTIVATOR DUCK FEET TIPS, New and Used, bigger sizes. • NORTHWEST ROTOTILLER, Straw-berry/Row Crop 2 row, $2500. • IH SIDE DRESSER, Granular fertil-izer, Cultivator, 4 row, $1800. • RIDGE MULCHER TD 2000, hyd drive, draw-bar pull, near new, $5500. • CROP SPRAYERS, Truck, Trailer and 3PH models, 150 to 850 Gal, Call for details. • JIFFY and CRAWFORD HYDUMPS, 14’, $2900 and $5900. • FEEDER HAY, 400 -16’x18’ bales, $7 each • GRAIN BINS, small to medium sizes, $700 and up. • LEWIS CATTLE OILERS, Offers. • TRUCK RIMS or TIRES, many sizes,. • PICKUP BOXES, New and Used long boxes, Dually or Single wheel. • OLDER TRUCKS and Parts. Call Jim’s cell for hard to nd items 604-556-8579 ZcXjj`Ô\[j7Zflekipc`]\`eYZ%ZfdfiZXcc1-'+%*)/%*/(+C@E<8;J1),nfi[jfic\jj#d`e`dld(*gclj>JK#\XZ_X[[`k`feXcnfi[`j%),;@JGC8P8;J1),gclj>JKg\iZfclde`eZ_M[WYY[fjcW`ehYh[Z_jYWhZi$8l^ljk@jjl\;\X[c`e\1Alcp)+#)')' Baler, NEW HOLLAND 2004’ Model 570, $16,000; Tedder, Claas 2006’ Model 52T, 17’6” Hyd. Fold, $7,000; Tedder, CLAAS Model 540S, 17’6” Manual Fold, $5,000; Mower Conditioner, CASE 2003’ Model IH 8309, 540 PTO, 9’2” Cut, $8,000; Mower, VICON CM165, 4 Disc, 3 point, 5’3” Cut, $2,500; Mower Sickle Bar, NEW HOLLAND, 7’ Cut, $1,500; HAY WAGONS 16’6” with new decks, $2,000/ea.; Manure Spreader, JOHN DEERE Model 40T, $4,000; Hay BALE SLED, bunches up approx. 40 bales, $2,000; HAY RAKE, 4 wheels, $1,500. Call Shawn: (604) 615-3646 Carrie Nicholson PREC* 250-614-6766 DISCOVER PRINCE GEORGE PRINCE GEORGE & AREA SUBDIVISION LOTS: PARADISE ESTATES: R2688574; R2688580; R2688588; R2588581 and more lots available in this sub-division. GLADTIDING ESTATES: R2687614; R2687593; R2687125; R2687155 and more lots available in this subdivision. CHIEF LAKE ROAD: R2689813; R2689815; R2689817 and more lots available in this sub-division. PARADISE FOUND updated log home on 42 acres. $749,900 MLS R2691271 COUNTRY GEM 3 bed/1 bath home of 2.2 acres. R2694837 $399,900 MILBURN LAKE 4 bed/2bath on 4.94 acres. MLS R2696542 $380,000 DOME CREEK 160 acres with tons of potential. MLS R2702148 $599,900 SALMON VALLEY 370 acres; 3 titles. 150 ac cleared, MLS R2675843 $599,000 VIVIAN LK RESORT 144 acres, 55 campsites, 5 bed/3 bath main home MLS R2668437 $2,700,000 STUNNING MTN RESORT on 82.25 acres, 17 chalets, 50 camps. MLS C8040948 $4,850,000 CATTLE RANCH 1,280 acres; 5 bed/3 bath home. Fenced, outbuild-ings; MLS R2677116 $2,550,000 CONCRETE BUSINESS Robson Val-ley, MLSC8040939, $759,000 PARADISE IN THE VALLEY 192 acre private estate, custom home, out-buildings to die for. MLS R2658619 $1,450,000 LOG HOME custom built, 30 fenced acres, 50x50 shop, MLS R2648543 $1,149,000 SAXTON LAKE ROAD: R2610535 R2610527; R2610554 and more lots available in this area. CRANBROOK HILL 77 acres w/dev potential minutes from UNBC. MLS R2640598 $1,500,000 HART HWY 54.95 acres. MLS R2640583. $750,000. CLOSE TO THE LAKE 8.3 acres. MLS R2610880 $295,000 74 ACRES w/ 20,000 sq ft bldg., 40 acres cultivated. MLS C8041167 $1,700,000 ESCAPE the city. Two lots in Willow River, 22,500 sq ft. MLS R2591708, $28,900 69+ ACRES ON RIVER Approx 50 acres in hay. River, road access. MLS R2685535 $838,000 55 ACRES Dev potential close to airport. MLS R2435958, $544,900 TREED LOT on edge of the Fraser. MLS R2622560 $250,000 2 LOTS IN ONE PKG! 3.55 acres residential Quesnel R2657274 $289,000 80 ACRES/TIMBER VALUE Zoning allows ag, housing, forestry & more. MLS R2665497 $495,000 15 MINUTES TO PG ~58 acres with timber value. Mostly flat lot with lots of potential. MLS R2665474, $395,000 HWY FRONTAGE 190 acres w/exc potential for subdivision/commercial ventures. MLS R2660646 $799,000 WRIGHT CR RD 195 acres undisturbed bare land. M LS R2655719 $699,000EQUIPMENT DISPERSAL • LOEWEN 422 MIXER WAGON, good condition, $13,500 • LOEWEN SUBSOILER, 2 shank, 3 pt hitch, $2,500 • LOEWEN BOX SCRAPER, 3 pt, with rubber, like new, $800 • LOEWEN AGITATOR 18’, 100 HP prop, nice condition, $2,000 • NH 790 FORAGE HARVESTER, complete with 7' 890W grass head, 2 row 824 corn head also available, $4,500 TONY 604-850-4718Craig Elachie ShorthornsGrant & Barbara Smith | Balmoral Farms 250.835.0133 craigelachieshorthorns@gmail.com 1802 Tappen-Notch Hill Rd Tappen BC V0E 2X3AUGUST DEADLINE JULY 23LIQUID FERTILISER Cheaper than wholesale Perfect for large or small farms GROW MICRO BLOOM CALMAG BIG BLOOM Price per 24 liters or pallet MARTIN @ 604 722 3392
40 | JULY 2022 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCkubota.ca | 1521 Sumas Way, Box 369Abbotsford, BC V2T 6Z6(604) 864-9568avenuemachinery.caAVE010The New Kubota L Series sets new standards of performance, comfort, versatility and affordability. This compact tractor offers two engine options ranging from 33 HP to 37.5 HP to suit varied demands. Best of all, it works well with implements and attachments to handle different applications. Package this all up with signature Kubota quality and you have a hard-working tractor that gets it done and then some.ALL-IN ON ADAPTABILITY.avenuemachinery.caOLIVER GERARD’S EQUIPMENT LTD 250/498-2524 PRINCE GEORGE HUBER EQUIPMENT 250/560-5431 SMITHERS HUBER EQUIPMENT 250/847-3610 VERNON AVENUE MACHINERY CORP 250/545-3355 ABBOTSFORD AVENUE MACHINERY CORP 604/864-2665 COURTENAY NORTH ISLAND TRACTOR 250/334-0801 CRESTON KEMLEE EQUIPMENT LTD 250/428-2254 DAWSON CREEK DOUGLAS LAKE EQUIPMENT 250/782-5281 DUNCAN ISLAND TRACTOR & SUPPLY LTD 250/746-1755 KAMLOOPS DOUGLAS LAKE EQUIPMENT 250/851-2044 KELOWNA AVENUE MACHINERY CORP 250/769-8700 PROUD PARTNER OF