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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. 109 No. 10The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 OCTOBER 2023 | Vol. 109 No. 10DROUGHT Westwold ranchers speak out against irrigation ban 7 LABOUR Reliance on foreign workers under scrutiny 11 ALR ALR policy review shows room for improvement 15 PETER MITHAM KELOWNA – Consolidation of BC Tree Fruits Co-op operations in Oliver is moving ahead with the sale of its Lake Country packinghouse at the end of August and the listing of its Kelowna facility. Both facilities saw their packing lines mothballed last year and the assets slated for sale under a plan announced last summer to consolidate packing operations in Oliver. “This was a planned sale as part of the cooperative’s consolidation plan that began in August of 2022,” says Laurel Van Dam, vice-president, grower relations and corporate aairs, of the Lake Country sale. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed at the end of August for $15.8 million. The list price for the Kelowna facility, which sits on 18.4 acres adjacent to Hwy 97 near Kelowna International Airport, is $39 million. Built in 1982, the property totals 148,888 square feet. It features oces as well as controlled atmosphere and cold storage space. Any sale is conditional on the co-op being able to lease back portions of the cold storage space for up to two years. HM Commercial, which has a longstanding relationship with the co-op, is handling the sale. The listing broker, Je Hudson, said demand has been strong given the limited inventory of industrial space in the region. HM previously sold the co-op’s Water Street oces in Various cover crops are helping to rejuvenate blueberry elds and Christine Schmalz, executive director with Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust, is working with farmers to make the right choices while helping with costs. See story on page 31. RONDA PAYNEBCTF packinghouses on the blockPETER MITHAM GIBSONS – Sunshine Coast farms are counting their blessings following a decision by the Sunshine Coast Regional District to exempt them from restrictions on outdoor water use through 2024. “It is good news to have next summer exempt from water restrictions,” said Raquel Kolof of Hough Heritage Farm in Gibsons, one of a number of local producers that advocated for the change. “I still can’t understand why soil-based farmers have to ght for equitable access to water.” The restrictions facing Reprieve for water users Growers seek guaranteesRest easyWater restrictions uBCTF deals u1-800-661-4559www.tlhort.comForage & Turf Seed • Plant Nutrition Crop Protection•Supplies•ServiceRooted in your community® since 1973
2 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCDecember 2020 for $7.5 million, and a year later sold its former packinghouse in Kelowna's north end to Mission Group for $23.75 million. Proceeds from the sales, which have an estimated gross value of $86 million, will strengthen the co-op’s balance sheet. Once complete, the co-op will retain its Oliver packinghouse as well as seven storage and receiving facilities across the southern Interior. It will also continue to hold an 85-acre property on Old Vernon Road in Kelowna, acquired in 2019 for a new, outdoor growers is not one faced by greenhouses or other indoor water users, she notes. The regional district moved to Stage 4 water restrictions on September 8, but granted commercial farms an initial exemption through September 22. It extended the exemption on September 14, temporarily ending years of angst for local farmers. “The issue of sustainable water supply for commercial farms is complex and will require additional time and resources,” the resolution passed by the regional district said, buying time “while a more permanent solution for commercial farm water use is developed.” The restrictions on the Sunshine Coast aren’t the only ones in BC to prohibit outdoor watering of food crops during periods of drought. Tono adopted Stage 3 restrictions on July 10 also banned watering for food production. The restrictions came in against a backdrop of provincial analyses designating 21 of the province’s 34 basins Level 5, the most severe on the province’s six-tier drought scale. Restrictions by local governments typically lag provincial ratings, and reect local assessments of water supplies that take a number of factors into account, including quantity, quality and maintenance issues. But the disconnect between provincial and local government protocols has irked producers in many regions. Growers on the Sunshine Coast raised the issue with sta from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food this spring, but guaranteeing water for anything other than livestock – where animal welfare is an issue – has yet to move forward. A new water regulation bylaw the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen adopted in 2019 aimed to bring clarity by designating four stages of restrictions following widespread confusion in 2015. But the issue surfaced again this summer at four workshops conducted with provincial sta and producers. Many producers who attended were angry with provincial cuts to surface water access. While curtailment orders designed to protect sh under Section 88 of the Water Sustainability Act drew re in the North Okanagan, producers in the South Okanagan were told to shut o pumps drawing water from local streams. This prompted angry outbursts at a forum in Oliver, August 16, meant to address concerns. “We hosted these forums to bring the public up to speed on how decisions are made,” says Shelley Fiorito, a project coordinator, with the RDOS utilities branch. Representatives from the regional district and the province, including agriculture ministry sta, attended, but the concerns remained. Oliver grape grower Bill Eggert told Country Life in BC the province has refused to share data backing up its concerns that groundwater extractions are aecting streamows while at the same time threatening to cut o users. “We have been issued a ‘reduce to 50%’ because of Stage 4 drought, with the instructions that if it goes to Stage 5 we will have to shut our well pumps o altogether,” he said in early September. “They claim this is to keep the ow in the Okanagan River high enough for salmon runs, but the stage classications are dierent throughout the water basin.” While the province stepped up enforcement activities this summer against unauthorized users, it has refused to disclose the results of those activities. “This work is ongoing and provincewide, so it is too early to say how many have been identied as this number is consistently changing,” sta with the BC Ministry of Forests state. “We are taking enforcement action as needed and have issued orders under the WSA to some unauthorized users.” Meanwhile, thousands of groundwater use applications remain in process. The province has issued a total of 46,921 water licences, of which 2,411 are groundwater licences. Sta received 7,711 applications from existing groundwater users by the deadline of March 1, 2022, out of an expected 20,000 applications based on known wells. While a so-called “bomb cyclone” hit Vancouver Island and the South Coast in late September, signalling the start of the autumn rainy season, provincial forecasters say the record dry conditions seen this past summer will require weeks of sustained, steady rainfall to recharge the dozens of aquifers that plumbed their lowest levels since record-keeping began. “There is concern about lack of moisture for next year’s crop,” says Malcolm Odermatt, president of the BC Grain Producers Association and a grain grower in Baldonnel, south of Fort St. John. “We could have a rainy October and be all caught up, but right now, if it continues to be dry, all our grass crops are going to suer because they build up a lot of their root system in the fall. … They’re all going to be suering if we don’t get rain this fall.” u Water restrictions vary across the provinceu BCTF deals valued at nearly $90MFamily Farm Friendly Financial Planning Services.Holistic financial planning for your family farm now and into the future. 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Plans or the facility were shelved last year due to high construction costs in favour of consolidating operations at the existing facility in Oliver. The expansion of the Oliver plant began earlier this year and will see it nearly double in size to 220,000 square feet. The 16-acre site oers plenty of room for further expansion. However, the consolidation plans triggered a backlash from grower members who felt the co-op failed to consult them adequately prior to making the announcement. Meanwhile, a partnership announced earlier this year with Summerland-based Sandhu Fruit Farm to pack cherries for export markets failed to materialize. “We look forward to a strong season as we pool our collective knowledge and resources to bring high quality BC cherries to the world,” co-op CEO Warren Saranchan said earlier this year. But the co-op never utilized the line. Saranchan, who led the co-op through the process that led to Oliver being chosen for the new consolidated facility, stepped down as CEO in August after four years in the role. Currently on a medical leave of absence, he will return with what a press release describes as “a new focus.” Co-op chief nancial ocer Doug Pankiw is serving as acting CEO while the co-op undertakes a search for a permanent successor to Saranchan.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 3Optimism high despite current economic challengesRONDA PAYNE BURNABY – More than 250 ower growers, orists and oral industry supporters gathered to celebrate 60 years of working together at the United Flower Growers anniversary celebration in Burnaby, September 8. UFG CEO Michel Benoit kicked o the festivities with anecdotes about how well received BC oral and decorative plant products are throughout North America, then spoke about the challenging times the industry faced in 2023 that herald diculties ahead. “We are now in a post-COVID period with high interest rates, high ination and consumers with lower disposable income,” he says. “It is amazing to me how many of you remain incredibly condent that these days will pass and how you believe the future looks bright for our industry.” Benoit says many attending the event had seen dips in the industry before and had told him the industry would again come out stronger. Created as a co-op, UFG is built upon working together and UFG board chair Andries Quik spoke about how owers and plants bring people together in good times and bad. He echoed Benoit’s comments that BC products enjoy strong demand outside of the province. “We now export more plants than we import,” he says. Quik notes BC’s oriculture industry generated $453 million in revenue in 2022 while the nursery industry was $227 million. This gives the two sectors a combined farmgate revenue that’s second in the province to dairy. “We come together to reminisce on the good old days and to create strategy for the future,” Quik says. “Sixty years ago, our founders formed a co-op; 60 years later, we build on that industry with over 90 members. Our founders did not form the co-op to be the industry, but to serve the industry.” He outlined that UFG serves the industry through selling, advocating and promoting BC products, conducting studies on resource usage, creating funding opportunities for new technologies and more. Plus, the trade show at the event was the rst one UFG had ever hosted on site. “We know there’s always been a market for owers,” Quik says. “As much as we can say ‘no farmers, no food,’ we can also say, ‘no owers, no beauty, no sympathy, no celebration.’” Opening the trade show was BC Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis, who praised UFG for being the largest oral distributor in North America. “We want to encourage people buying owers for their loved ones to buy local,” she says. A relatively new retailer in attendance was Josh Naus, general manager with e-commerce orist Vancouver Blooms. The company has four warehouses in North America and sells ower and gift baskets online. “We need wholesale owers,” he says. “We were buying retail from grocery stores when we rst got here in March 2021. It was way too expensive. Then we found the auction and signed up in April 2021.” Customers order their arrangements and sta puts them together so that they ship the same day. Vancouver Blooms oral manager Linda Newman says the trade show demonstrated the wealth of product UFG CEO Michel Benoit (left) and board chair Andries Quik (right) ank BC agriculture minister Pam Alexis at the co-op's 60th anniversary celebrations, September 8. RONDA PAYNEFlower co-op celebrates 60 years 250.307.5042 tf 1.877.707.5042 info@roostsolar.com www.roostsolar.com Roost Solar is a licensed electrical contractor with Red Seal Journeyman Electricians. As the only installer in the region with a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional, we are committed to the highest level of quality, customer service, and technical expertise.Visit us online for informationabout How to get started and the Canada Greener Homes Grant and Greener Home Loan which offer up to $5000 in grants, and up to a $40,000 10-year interest-free loan for solar installations.TSBC License #LEL0209968Call or click for a FREE Solar Consultation and Estimate.Solar PV Arrays | Home Battery Systems | EV ChargersGo Solar and SaveBe resilient to rising energy costs and take advantage of the Canada Greener Homes Grant and Loan Programs.Suppor soi-based agriculturGrown and brewed on-farm in Ladner, B.C.www.barnsidebrewing.caThis German-style Lager is the pinnacle of our One Mile Beers. Crisp, light and refreshing, this lager utilizes only our Ladner-grown Pilsner malt and Sterling hops.Ask for us at your local beer storeAsk for us at your local beer storeAsk for us at your local beer storeDrinfarm fresh beerfarm fresh beerfarm fresh beeravailable and helped her connect with potential suppliers that will improve the quality of the company’s oerings. “I love that we get to look at the product and network with the suppliers,” she says. “The better the product, the more beautiful. I want to know who I should order from because it’s a lot of hit and miss. We’ve had a lot of bad product in the past.” One of the suppliers Newman hopes to purchase from in the future is Blue Magic Greenhouses, a second-generation farm that specializes in hydrangeas, oriental lilies and more. Stephanie Captein operates the farm with her husband Dave, who took over the business from his parents Leo and Ineke Captein. “It’s so important we support each other,” Captein says. “It’s really important because it’s been 60 years and like what Andries said, ‘united we stand.’” YOURHelping YouWEEKLY FARM NEWS UPDATEScountrylifeinbc.comSign up for Free today.YOURelping Youelpingpingplping Youlpinoe
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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.109 No. 10 . OCTOBER 2023Published monthly by Country Life 2000 Ltd. www.countrylifeinbc.comAstronomers use the term “Goldilocks zone” to dene the orbital area around a star where the temperature would allow water to exist in liquid form and pool on an earth-like planet. There are millions of stars and we might reasonably assume most, if not all, have a Goldilocks zone. If they also have earth-like planets somewhere in the zone, might they also be home to life as we know it? Probably not. It’s more likely that if they are home to life at all, it is nothing like what we know. Life as we know it has evolved on Earth within precise physical and climatic parameters. Liquid H20 exists in a very narrow temperature range, 0° to 100°C. Natural human life exists in approximately 10% of that range, between 17° and 27°. Above or below this temperature range, the human body requires some form of thermoregulation to survive. A person in 10°C water without protective clothing has a life expectancy of one to three hours. A person in 40°C air without some means of cooling is in imminent danger of dying. Since 2018, the Climate Atlas of Canada has been using climate models and several variables to predict the eects of climate change on locations across the country. According to the atlas’s prediction map tool, our farm can expect a future with 5.3 days of 30° temperature each year and 0.7 days will exceed 34°. The atlas does not contemplate 40° days. The atlas also anticipates approximately 280 mm of precipitation between May 1 and September 15. Yet actual 2023 weather statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) paint a dierent picture. Between May 13 and September 9, we exceeded 30° on 28 occasions, 10 of them over 34°, and August 15 topped 40ᵒ. Between May 1 and September 15, 57.5 mm of rain fell. NOAA stats from 2013, just 10 years ago, show eight 30° days from June 30 to September 11. Only one topped 34ᵒ, and total May 1 to September 15 rainfall was 119.2 mm. It is a sobering trend: more dangerously hot days, beginning earlier in the season, with decreased precipitation. The eects will be life changing – for everything. The 2021 heat dome event took the lives of nearly 600 British Columbians. In 2003, a nine-day August heat wave in France killed 15,000 people, more than a thousand in central Paris where 40° temperatures turned the upper oors of poorly insulated, metal-roofed apartment buildings into ovens. The elderly are particularly vulnerable as are children under four, but no one is immune from hyperthermia. Outdoor work becomes especially dangerous once temperatures reach 30°. Past 35° it can be deadly. Equally so for livestock and some crops. There is a conversation underway to require landlords to equip rental housing units with the means to control temperatures in at least one room or area during hot weather. Regulation to that eect seems certain and may be just the start of more regulations covering more health-related circumstances. A broader conversation about how agriculture will survive in a warming world will be crucial. Regardless of how we come to grips staying alive in the heat, the existential question remains: Why is there no determined, concerted and eective eort underway to change the ending of this story? We know a very small rise in temperature has the ability to kill anyone and everyone in short order. We know it has the ability to melt all of earth’s ice and raise the sea level by as much as 60 feet. We have a sound understanding of what is causing it, and we have an equally sound scientic explanation of how it can be changed. Despite what seems so obvious, we dither on, listening to politicians argue and obfuscate, clinging to the notion that we are such a clever species there is surely a genius among us on the verge of inventing something magical to make everything better. Not necessarily, and know this: there is nowhere else to go. Even if there is an earth-like object in the Goldilocks zone of the closest star, it is orbiting Proxima Centauri, 4.25 light years away. If we load up and blast o tomorrow, and everything goes perfectly, whatever is left of us will arrive there in a little more than 72,000 years. We should try something more sensible, don’t you think? Bob Collins raises beef cattle and grows produce on his farm in the Alberni Valley. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.4 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCGive us this dayCrisp air, the rustle of autumn leaves and the scent of apples and root veggies roasting with herbs and spices herald Thanksgiving and the colder months to come. This is where the season of gratitude begins, with its deep links to the end of harvest and the bounty of grain, apples and meat produced by our farmers on tracts small and large. While less than 2% of the population now has a family connection to farming, farm markets, subscription services and agritourism keep the ties strong for many. But the pace of change is increasing. By some counts, a third of Canada’s farm families have left the eld in the past generation and the next generation faces barriers to entry. The result is a shrinking farm population that can’t help but feel a little more alone than it used to as a litany of factors beyond their control undermine any sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. Small wonder mental wellness in Canada’s farm families is suering. Governments, buyers and the population at large have high expectations, demanding standards and gratitude for the hard work to produce safe, reliable and aordable food locally sometimes seems like an afterthought. Yet the experts say gratitude is an integral part of mental wellness, not just for what others do but for our own circumstances. Thanksgiving is traditionally seen as a day to thank the farmer, but it’s also a good reminder for farmers to be grateful for what they’ve received, too. Now, farmers have enough record-keeping to do, so no one’s expecting them to keep a gratitude journal or the like (though we’re sure some do). But many can trace the reasons for their continued involvement in farming to inuential people and moments. Whether a parent, 4-H leader, course instructor or advisor, we each have people who encouraged us along and wished the best for us – often when we lacked the same condence in ourselves. They’re worth remembering as we face the challenges before us each day, from extreme weather to frustrating regulations and restrictions to disease and the risks that, regardless of what we do, nd opportunities to undo our best eorts. “For the living, there is hope,” runs an old proverb, reminding us that each day The heat is on, and hard choices are needed The Back 40 BOB COLLINSPublisher 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 Boo, PW!we wake up is a gift, an opportunity to make a dierence. We’re alive, and can contribute to the well-being of the world. The saying came to mind recently as a poultry grower noted the limited options growers have left to enhance biosecurity protocols in the face of avian inuenza. They’re at the top of their game, but no less vulnerable. But gratitude can shift the focus to each day’s success rather than the next day’s risk. “When you complete a day you’re thankful, and you start all over again the next day,” he says. That’s farming. That’s life.
International journalists see the best of BCFive-day tour gave a fresh appreciation for the familiarCOUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 5seeking new varieties. After almost 50 years of growing, says Alf Krause, “I’m still searching for the perfect berry.” Krause Berry Farms in Aldergrove brings in around 250,000 customers a year to its 200-acre farm with u-pick, winery, seasonal cafe and shop. The operation processes its own fruit, selling a wide variety of baked and preserved goods on site: the year-round wae bar is a customer favourite. Its 40-acre property in West Kelowna furnishes Paynter’s Fruit Market from June through October with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit for u-pick or sale in its shop, along with products from 100 other BC companies. Third-generation family owner Jennay Oliver shared the farm’s history since its orchard was planted in 1919, and its mission to be the community’s “forever farm.” Klippers Organic Acres in Cawston has diversied its 60-acre farm by adding a restaurant, cidery and guest suites to a certied organic operation that sells vegetables, fruits, chicken, eggs and processed goods to farmers markets locally and in Vancouver, through a CSA box and online. Co-owner Annamarie Klippenstein says teaching customers about “ugly vegetables” has led to people refusing the good-looking nectarines and asking for the “gnarly” ones. At Quiet Valley Farms’ 10-acre cherry orchard in Creston, agrologist and former operator Don Low shared specics about soil, nutrient and water management. A pruning tidbit: the best time for a second prune of cherry trees is after bloom on a waning moon. The Lows contracted marketing to others: “perfect” standards required for export are an ongoing challenge. Operators of two vegetable and tree fruit businesses displayed signicant investment in infrastructure. Sunnyside Produce in Surrey produces specialty peppers in one of its ve-acre greenhouses. The Moerman family has invested about $1 million per acre; automated systems track crop progress and harvesting. Water is recycled, insects are used for pest control, and temperature control is provided by thermal screens and heating systems with three levels of backup (gas, diesel and wood). The crop is marketed through Windset Farms. Sunnyside employs about one person per acre. Okanagan Sunshine Fruit Packers has been in operation since 2020. one of eight private packing houses in the Kelowna area. Owner Jagdeep Singh Gill took us through the 64,000-square-foot processing facility with two lines that process cherries and apples from the 600 acres Gill farms. BC eld, greenhouse and packing operations struggle to nd local labour. Most now rely on foreign workers, often from Mexico, Jamaica and Guatemala; many bring the same people back year after year. Operators noted rising Knowing how others see us can help us appreciate the things we take for granted. That was the case as 15 agricultural journalists from Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US toured 10 innovative farms in BC, shepherded by Country Life in BC editor emeritus David Schmidt, en route to the 2023 annual congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Calgary. The June 27-July 3 tour traversed eld and range, under glass and through packinghouses, on-farm shops and restaurants, exploring BC’s agricultural diversity. It also highlighted some consistent themes: labour (hard to nd), climate change (requires new varieties and impact resilience), marketing (external partners can be useful), unceded territory (land base questions) and waste reduction (many are aiming for zero). Dicklands Biogas and Dicklands Farms in Chilliwack was an early stop. The 300-cow Holstein dairy specializes in genomics, selling top-rated embryos around the world, and the 75-acre property also features a $40 million facility that transforms dairy and other organic waste into biogas sold into the Fortis grid. Owner George Dick says the operation will soon add the production of organic fertilizer pellets to its net-zero carbon, zero-waste approach. Vegetable, berry and tree fruit producers are always Viewpoint KATHLEEN GIBSON%PXOUPXO3FBMUZtOE4U7FSOPO#$t0óDFPat | 250.308.0938QBUEVHHBO!SPZBMMFQBHFDBThea | 250.308.5807UIFBNDMBVHIMJO!SPZBMMFQBHFDB6475 COSENS BAY RD, COLDSTREAMwww.FarmRanchResidential.ca “Farmers helping farmers with their real estate needs”Panoramic valley views on this 14.13 acre hobby farm in Lavington. 3 bed/2.5 bath executive rancher. Machinery shed, pole barn, heated greenhouse. Perimeter & cross-fenced. Domestic & irrigation water from Greater Vernon Water District. MLS®10272393 $1,449,9995290 REID RD, COLDSTREAMPERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION Nov. 7 - 9 | Penticton, BC2023BC Organic ConferenceReconnect. Exchange ideas. Learn from experts.Keynotes: ELAINE INGHAM (Soil Food Web) & KELLY TERBASKET (kinSHIFT & IndigenEYEZ)EDUCATIONALSESSIONSFARMTOURPACKEDTRADE SHOWORGANIC MEALSRESEARCH TOURREGISTER NOWorganicbc.org/conferencecosts due to increasing requirements for worker travel and accommodation: the balance of power in the system seems to be shifting, as BC employers and foreign workers become more interdependent. Kelowna’s Tantalus Vineyards, one of BC’s 335 licensed grape wineries, oered a tasting of its award-winning Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Of the property’s 72 acres, 47 are under vine. Hospitality manager Michael Green says Tantalus, like many other BC wineries, stands to lose up to half its vines due to the December 2022 cold snap, and will take years to recover. LEED-certied, the winery uses recycled water and solar panels. Environmental and land stewardship is a key focus for ranchers as well. Kane Lake Ranch near Merritt runs about 400 cow-calf pairs on about 7,000 acres (some deeded, some leased, some Crown land). Rancher John Anderson describes the business as “using cattle to turn grass into high-value protein.” The animals go to Hopcott Farms in Pitt Meadows for nishing and processing. He says ranchers provide “a pretty good benet to society: [we are] a group of people that steward big chunks of your land base.” The Andersons are involved with the Investment Agriculture Foundation’s Farmland Advantage (FA) program, featured at the tour’s nal stop, Upper Ranch near Radium Hot Springs. The ranch runs 60-100 cow-calf pairs on about 600 acres, marketing most of its beef into Alberta. Ranch manager Rick Tegart and FA program founder and rancher Dave Zehnder outlined the program’s work to protect key ecosystems and species on BC farmland, including work with First Nations to restore salmon runs, while mitigating re and ood risks. As Rick says, “[FA] is not only about respecting and protecting the integrity of the ecosystem: we're talking about the people that are downstream from us, our community, that we have to respect and support with clean water, clean food and clean soil.” The tour gave a strong impression of our farmers and ranchers’ professionalism, craft and commitment to their operations, as well as their willingness to experiment with new relationships and ideas. Although it featured just 10 farms, it was a ne showing and did the province’s industry proud. Kathleen Gibson lives and grows food in Lekwungen territory/Victoria, BC. She is a policy analyst and founding member of several sustainable food organizations in Canada and BC.
6 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCDivisions of First West Credit UnionBank. Borrow. Insure. Invest.IF IT’S WORTH IT TO YOU, IT’S WORTH IT TO US.Contact our agribusiness specialists at agribusiness@rstwestcu.caIT’S NOT A JOB, IT’S A WAY OF LIFE.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 7Westwold ranchers speak out against irrigation banGovernment silent in response to criticismRancher Erik Buff was one of many affected well owners who spoke at a September 1 meeting in Westwold to discuss a water curtailment order in the lower Salmon River watershed that's hung forage irrigators out to dry. “The way this thing has been handled is at-out wrong from the start," he told the crowd. TOM WALKERTOM WALKER WESTWOLD – “I have a very simple message for the government. Stop threatening us over our water rights. The more you do it, the stronger we get and the more united we get. Where are your communication skills; why didn’t you come out and talk to us?” That comment by Westwold rancher Bob Van described the mood of 200 area residents who met in Westwold Community Hall on September 1. Producers were there to challenge an August 15 provincial order banning irrigation for forage production in the lower Salmon River watershed east of Westwold. Signed by BC Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston, the order cited Section 88 of the Water Sustainability Act which allows curtailments to protect fish – specifically, the anticipated fall Chinook salmon run in the river. The order ends September 30 unless streamflows increase before then. The order was one of four issued in mid-August, the others being in the Kettle, Koksilah and Tsolum watersheds. It marked the first time curtailment orders had been issued since 2021, when the lower Salmon, Kettle and Koksilah watersheds also saw irrigation bans. Speakers at the meeting in Westwold voiced frustration, anger and disgust with the latest curtailment order, the way it was handled and the lack of communication from government. On August 19, fifth generation rancher Trudy Schweb and 17 others sent a letter to Ralston requesting an urgent meeting to help them understand the rationale behind the order. As of September 15, there was no response to this letter nor to a follow-up letter sent August 28. A government representative did not attend the meeting in Westwold. “I find it very disrespectful that the government is not showing up here with any representative to help explain what they are up to,” says Jim McLauchlin, who farms on Douglas Lake Road. “It is deplorable. The government should be coming to talk to the folks here who have local knowledge they could share and perhaps come to a solution if the water is short.” One of the basic questions is whether in fact the water is short. Bob Jones has lived on the Salmon River for 82 years and was employed at one time to monitor water levels for the government. &EducationConsultationSafetyFor the AgricultureIndustry in B.C.AgSafeBC.caWinterize Your Workplace SafetyPlanA winter safety program should include:Be prepared. Contact AgSafe for more safety information.• Warm Clothing• Proper Footwear• Check-In ProtocolsJoin Innovative producers, ranchers & farmers from BC, Alberta & the Pacific Northwest,OWER-AINLAND(ORTICULTURE#ONFERENCEs2EGENERATIVE!GRICULTURE!G)NNOVATION&ORUMs"#$AIRY,UNCH,EARNRanchers frustrated u
8 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCu Ranchers frustrated by lack of communication, insightSave 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. Low pressure R2000FX Rotator® has unparalleled radius of throw. Maximize radius and uniformity with the R3030 Pivot Rotator®. R2000FXROTATOR®R3030ROTATOR®SR150 BIG GUN®ARC TIMERIRRIGATION TECHNOLOGY50 YEARSFIELD-PROVEN CONTACT YOUR LOCAL NELSON DEALER TODAY!“The water in the Salmon River hasn’t changed,” he maintains. “We have had dry seasons similar to this one before, but the salmon are still spawning; they are pretty smart and they only come into the river when the water temperature is right.” And that’s a key point. While the ministerial order declares the water flow “so low that the survival of the spawning population of Thompson River Chinook salmon in the stream has become threatened,” there were few fish in the river on August 15. Users in the Salmon River watershed draw water in a variety of ways. Some licensees draw directly from the river, some have shallow wells that access groundwater, some have deep wells that pump from the two known aquifers and still others are licensed to draw from creeks that drain into the river. The problem, Jones says, is that there isn’t a clear understanding of how the various water sources are connected. “Have the people who make the decisions ever been down here to understand how the whole system works?” he asks. “This is not right,” says Schweb. “Do they understand what this will do to us?” Cutting irrigation water in mid-August has a significant impact on third-cut hay production, often the crop that farmers count on for a profit. Others will be preparing pasture for cattle coming off summer range, as range conditions have been poor due to the drought. Still others count on that third cut to feed their animals through the winter. “Why should we have to be buying feed down in Washington when we can be growing it here?” asks Schweb. Hay is short and expensive across Western Canada this fall due to the drought. Livestock auctions have seen large sales ahead of the fall run as producers are unloading animals they anticipate will be too expensive to feed. The situation is so dire that BC Livestock Producers Co-op scheduled an extra bred cow sale in Vanderhoof for October 6 to manage the volume. A good number of those animals will likely be headed for slaughter. “I was at the auction mart at the end of August and talked to a lady who told me through tears that she couldn’t afford to feed her animals at $300 to $400 a ton for hay so she was selling them,” says Schweb. What’s particularly frustrating for Schweb is that, unlike two years ago when federal-provincial disaster assistance funding was available to cover much-needed hay purchases, there’s been no assistance this year despite severe drought conditions that have seen the lowest soil moisture levels on record in the Okanagan. The region is at the province’s most extreme Level 5 drought rating, and is facing “extreme drought” according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Despite a provincial request for AgriRecovery funding, Ottawa has yet to respond, hanging producers out to dry – quite literally. Patricia Skinner of Harmony Farms gave an excellent description of the domino effect of watering restrictions. “A sure-fire way to cut out food production is to cut off water,” Skinner explains. “You cut off irrigation, there’s less feed and there’s less pasture so small farmers have to buy more hay. There’s less hay, so prices for hay go through the roof. Small farmers can’t afford to keep their flocks, so flocks and herds are dispersed. Abattoirs go nuts for a couple of months, then they are out of business. Now you have less farmers and you have less food production. It’s about the whole cycle that follows that.” BC Cattlemen’s Association general manager Kevin Boon questions why farmers have to bear the brunt of the responsibility for supporting fish populations. “Where is DFO’s role in this?” Boon asks. “They are responsible for the salmon; what work have they done to support the Salmon River run?” Schewb hopes the stand Westwold producers are taking against the restrictions will resonate with others around the province affected by restrictions in their own areas. The issue is one that affects the whole province as the province’s new water licensing regime starts to hit home. Schweb says farmers care deeply about water, and the province needs to include them in decisions about its management. “If there is anyone on the face of this earth that cares about water, it is farmers,” says Schweb. “It either puts money in our pockets, and food on our table first, so we can continue to do what we are doing. Or it doesn’t and we stop. And we fall apart.” With files from Peter Mitham “I was at the auction mart at the end of August and talked to a lady who told me through tears that she couldn’t afford to feed her animals at $300 to $400 a ton for hay ...” TRUDY SCHWEB
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 9Communication critical to solve water issuesGovernment silence in Westwold a study in crisis mismanagementGood forage is in short supply across BC this year thanks to a province-wide drought, and irrigation bans imposed by the province are drawing re from producers. SCHWEB FAMILY CATTLEServing 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 250-838-6414www.tubeline.ca 1.888.856.6613@TubelineMFGFind us onTL360BF8000The TL360 high speed individual wrapper, is designed to wrap on the move. The TL360 allows operators to pick up and carry another bale while one is still in the chamber. The BF8000 SL is equipped with a loading arm and has a bale capacity of 2,500 lbs. The Bale Feeder can carry two bales, one on the table and one on the loading arm maximizing each trip to the field.Visit us online for complete listing of features and options.TOM WALKER WESTWOLD -- The Salmon River watershed is a complex ecosystem. A variety of water use interests, long-term environmental impacts and minimal mitigation eorts make the river problematic. A key issue is the river’s importance as a salmon-bearing stream, which makes it especially vulnerable to regulations designed to protect aquatic life. But the watershed is also the sole water source for scores of agricultural users, including dairy, beef and forage operations as well as smaller mixed farms and residences. Salmon Lake, o Douglas Lake Road, is one of the origins of the river but there is no dam to control outows. Another concern is forest management. The entire region has been impacted by logging as well as the White Rock Lake wildre in 2021, resulting in reduced upland water-holding capacity and much larger and more intense spring freshets. The combination of issues isn’t unique to the Salmon River, but they’ve come to a head here with particular intensity over the past three years. Ranchers and farmers are especially concerned at the apparent lack of research presented to justify a curtailment order delivered to forage operations in the lower Salmon River watershed on August 15. The order, as well as a follow up press release from the BC Ministry of Forests, claimed the decision to restrict irrigation was “science-based.” Streamows had fallen below 1,270 litres per second, according to the order, and action was needed to protect sh populations. The decision was in line with reports dating back to the 1970s which said low streamow thresholds were key to protecting the local salmon run here, as in other sensitive watersheds around the province. But the province failed to respond to multiple requests from water licensees for a meeting to review the decision, which would have given farmers an opportunity to understand the underlying science. Instead, messaging from the province thanked them for taking steps to reduce water use and defer the curtailment order, which was presented as a last resort to save the sh. Yet a 110-page report on the conditions, trends and issues completed for the Salmon River Watershed Roundtable in 1995 provided a thorough overview of the problems and made a number of recommendations. Of chief importance was a study of the “water budget,” the key supply and demand levels for the watershed as well as the relationships between surface water, groundwater, the region’s aquifers, adjacent wetlands and the likelihood of some valley water draining south toward the Okanagan. Groundwater licensing, regulation and user fees, were also recommended. The report recommended exploring additional water storage capacity, as well as water conservation. The protection and restoration of salmon habitat was also recommended. One recommendation from the 1995 report was partially carried out. “My husband was contracted to work on riverbank restoration,” says Westwold rancher Trudy Schweb. “He helped to install rip-rap and plant shade trees along the river banks, but the funding ran out and the project was never completed.” BC Cattlemen’s Association general manger Kevin Boon says his organization has been discussing headwater control with government for years. “What I don’t understand is the lack of involvement from DFO,” he says. “They are responsible for salmon. Why are they not investing in mitigation projects?” Irrigation technology has improved signicantly and many hay elds along the valley are watered by the latest pivot systems, but they are expensive. “We would love to buy a pivot system but it is not within our budget right now,” says Schweb. While the province introduced a $20 million agricultural water infrastructure program to assist producers expand water storage and undertake irrigation improvements, it was quickly oversubscribed. Some producers have criticized the program for requiring costly studies that both complicate and double the cost of improvements. For her part, Schweb thinks the money would be better spent developing headwater storage that could help control spring ows and release water later in No cheap solution u
10 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCView 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 SERVICESCanada loses New Zealand trade challengelosses to date at $120 million. While the dispute resolution panel upheld Canada’s right to set the terms of access, it noted that “Canada’s measure restricting access to the TRQs to processors, further processors, and distributors only, are inconsistent with its obligation” to New Zealand. Canada and New Zealand have until October 20 to establish a timeline for Canada to meet its trade obligations. “We will work closely with the dairy industry as we move towards the next phase of the process,” federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay and trade minister Mary Ng say. New Zealand’s complaint followed the success of a similar US complaint regarding TRQs under CUSMA. In that case, the panel found that Canada’s reservation of TRQs specically for dairy processors prevented the US dairy sector from accessing markets in Canada and required that Canada eliminate preferential allocation to Canadian processors by February 3, 2022. But earlier this year, on January 31, the US led a second complaint, alleging that Canada remains inconsistent with its obligations under CUSMA by continuing to exclude retailers and food service companies from TRQ eligibility, among other issues. A hearing was held A second international challenge has found Canada’s handling of tari rate quotas (TRQs) for imported dairy products is inconsistent with its international obligations. The decision, issued September 5, armed a complaint New Zealand led in May 2022, claiming that Canada’s system for allocating TRQs on a range of 16 dairy products limited New Zealand producers’ access to markets in Canada under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacic Partnership (CP-TPP). “Many of Canada’s dairy TRQs remain unfullled and this represents a tangible loss to New Zealand’s dairy producers,” New Zealand stated in its claim. New Zealand estimates its Expert farm taxation adviceApproved consultants for Government funding throughBC Farm Business Advisory Services ProgramEnderby 250-838-7337Armstrong 250-546-8665 |t1VSDIBTFBOETBMFPGGBSNTt5SBOTGFSPGGBSNTUPDIJMESFOt(PWFSONFOUTVCTJEZQSPHSBNTt1SFQBSBUJPOPGGBSNUBYSFUVSOTt6TFPG$BQJUBM(BJOT&YFNQUJPOT$ISJT)FOEFSTPO$1"$"-PSFO)VUUPO$1"$"5PMM 'SFF1-888-818-FARM |www.farmtax.comRossworn HendersonLLPChartered Professional Accountants - Tax Consultantsartered Professional Accountants - Tax ConsultanCALL 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 BCu No cheap solutionAg Briefs PETER MITHAMJuly 19-20 and a decision is expected in the coming months. — Peter Mitham Cherry promotion promising A renewed focus on domestic markets got o to a promising start this summer as the BC Cherry Association declared Canadian Cherry Month from July 15 to August 15. While the organization has been attempting to increase domestic Canadian cherry consumption for a couple years, marketing rm t2Marketing International was hired this year to create a two-pronged campaign targeting consumers and retailers. “In a year lled with unprecedented challenges, the annual Canadian Cherry Month was a success, generating substantial interest among consumers and showcasing the potential for celebrating Canadian cherries on a larger scale in the years to come,” says BC Cherry Association executive administrator Beth Cavers. Cavers says results of the eorts to grow consumer awareness stood out. “The Canadian Cherry Month web page had approximately 15,000 visits. Consumer social media comments were overwhelmingly positive and show that there is a strong appreciation for home-grown produce,” says Cavers adding, “The consumer contest, ‘Test your Canadian Cherry Month IQ,’ saw 4,600 entries.” On the retail side, initial interest and support for the ‘Buy Fresh, Buy Canadian’ message of the campaign turned out to be more positive than actual measured participation. Cavers says participation was possibly lower than expected because US cherries were still being featured by Canadian grocers when Canadian cherries hit the market. “There were major retailers, like Costco, that promoted BC cherries in store and on their digital platforms. However, only a handful of stores completed the retail display competition,” Cavers says. The competition was won by Freson Bros. of Alberta, with their Rabbit Hill location taking rst prize of an e-bike and locations in Drumheller, Sundre and Stony Plain each receiving a $250 gift card as runners-up. Despite low retailer participation, Cavers says the program's launch suggests promising potential for growth and success of Canadian Cherry Month in future years. The campaign had a budget of $67,000. — Myrna Stark Leader the season to support spawning salmon. Regardless of where money is spent, none of the solutions are going to be cheap. “There is a huge investment needed in water management and infrastructure for both food security and management of all of our other needs including sh,” says Boon, noting that irrigation is crucial to forage producers, who must water elds immediately following a cut in order to foster the next crop. “It’s like starting a new lawn, the grass needs to be watered immediately,” he says. Boon believes a local watershed council would help bring all sides to the table to develop a comprehensive plan for the management of the watershed. Similar work is underway in the Koksilah and has been recommended for the Tsolum, both of which were also subject to curtailment orders this summer. “[Build] a plan for required storage and management to insure that there is adequate water available when it is needed for sh habitat that is not reliant on or detrimental to the investment that has been made by agriculture,” Boon says. It would also go a long way to addressing the lack of communication that’s met the concerns of Westwold producers this year. Rather than sending natural resource ocers in bulletproof vests to ticket and ne frustrated farmers, listening to their concerns and providing a direct response would go a long way towards garnering community support. “It’s been more than a month. If they would just meet with us, I know we could come up with some ideas to support both the farmers and the salmon,” Schweb says.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 11Reliance on foreign workers under scrutinyDomestic worker shortage on par with foreign arrivalsTechnology can drive fruit quality and orchard efciency, as growers saw at a eld day in Coldstream in early September. Provincial extension specialists demonstrated tools to assist colour development in apples, including a mechanical leaf puller that exposes apples for more colour, which reduces labour requirements, and a new picking platform from Italy that represents a signicant improvement over existing models. TOM WALKERBC Fruit Growers’ AssociationRepresenting Fruit Growers With Active Involvement In:Representing Growers Since 1889U Fruit and Vegetable Growers Canada (formerly CHC) - and 5 sub-committeesU FVGC Apple Working GroupU Canadian Federation of AgricultureU BC Agriculture Council (founding member)U Western Agriculture Labour Initiative (founding member)U Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (founding member)U Okanagan Water Stewardship Council U SIRU Starling Control CommitteeU Tree Fruit Industry Stabilization Plan and 6 sub-committeesU Tree Fruit Production Insurance Advisory CommitteeU Business Risk Management Advisory Committee1.800.619.9022 info@bcfga.com www.bcfga.com PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – A growing number of foreign workers are coming to BC despite greater scrutiny of working conditions, highlighting both opportunities in the domestic farm sector and the importance of better working conditions. Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada indicate that 13,145 foreign workers came to BC in 2022, up from approximately 11,000 in each of the previous two years. This year, arrivals in the rst six months were up nearly 21% from the same period a year ago. But two reports this year underscore the scrutiny foreign hiring brings. A report on contemporary forms of slavery by United Nations special rapporteur Tomoya Obokata following a two-week visit to Canada that ended September 6 agged the agricultural stream of the federally administered Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” The ag stream has experienced growing popularity with employers as it allows workers to stay for up to two years under more exible terms than the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), which allows workers to stay for an eight-month term. Changes announced in August create a new 36-month Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) validity period that the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council called “a crucial step toward addressing labour shortages by simplifying the hiring process for repeat Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program employers.” Yet workers participating in SAWP benet from bilateral agreements between Canada and the workers’ countries of origin that govern their employment, Obokata reported. “[They] have comparatively more protections, as their consulate is empowered to conduct inspections and move workers out of abusive situations,” he said. This prompted Obokata to recommended SAWP as a model for the reform of foreign worker programs. His report recommended Ottawa strike “bilateral agreements with sending countries and permit consular oversight and protection of workers” similar to SAWP arrangements. Obokata did not meet with WALI Canada, which provides support to farm employers in BC, during his visit but it says eective government oversight is critical to foreign worker programs. “WALI works with Canadian and foreign governments to help facilitate worker arrivals and help ensure workers have a positive and productive experience in BC,” WALI general manager Reg Ens says. “Canada and BC have made several changes to TFW programs in recent years to better protect workers and improve their experience while in Canada. This includes new options for open work permits in situations where the worker is in troubling situations.” Thousands return But the thousands of workers who willingly return to BC farms each year give the lie to the UN report, Ens adds. “While there are always ways to improve programs (which we support), I’m not sure the harsh words used by the rapporteur reect the perspective of most workers who voluntarily return to the same employer every season,” he says. A report by the Jamaica government released in April found worker satisfaction with arrangements in BC lagged those of their counterparts in Ontario, but it also found no support for allegations of “systemic slavery” within SAWP. Growers in the Lower Mainland and Thompson-Okanagan regions are the largest employers of foreign labour, accounting for 95% of hires. Many have advocated for more responsive government programs to address their labour needs, given a dearth of domestic workers. CAHRC plans to release a new estimate of the domestic farm labour shortage in November. Its last survey, based on 2017 data, found that 52% of BC farms lack adequate labour, and 34% receive zero responses to help wanted ads. It estimated BC’s domestic labour gap this year at nearly 12,300 workers.
12 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCIAFBC keeps growing its business Government contributions to quadruple this year as programming expandsPETER MITHAM VICTORIA – The sky’s the limit as the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC keeps growing. A review of the organization’s performance at its annual general meeting, held online September 13, noted that $17.8 million was granted to 1,209 projects through 18 programs in the scal year ending March 31, 2023. “Many more programs are coming online in 2023,” remarked board chair Jack DeWit. The province’s announcement of a $200 million package of food security spending in early March will account for many of the 12 additional programs IAFBC will deliver this scal year. Those programs will see IAFBC administer a total of $120 million for programs from basic food security initiatives to disaster preparation and processing and distribution initiatives. IAFBC will also be managing program funding provided through the Agriculture Workforce and Development Initiative funded by the BC Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. IAFBC treasurer Paul Devick reported that government contributions in the last scal year totalled $20.2 million, a sum he expects will more than quadruple in the current scal year thanks to the province’s suite of food security programs. The organization’s growing volume of work is underscored by the fact it administered $146.2 million in active program funds last year, up from $29.5 million a year earlier. In 2021, active program funds totalled $7.9 million. Those programs cover everything from Buy BC and federal agrifood marketing initiatives to climate adaptation and resiliency, including the Environmental Farm Plan and Benecial Management Practices programs acquired from ARDCorp. Among the oldest funds under management are the Livestock Waste Tissue and Poultry Industry Biosecurity Fund, which both date from 2005. More recent programs have focused on sustainability, food security and agritech such as Farmland Advantage. “IAF’s leadership team continues to seek out program delivery opportunities to various funding bodies,” notes the foundation’s annual report. This was IAFBC’s rst annual meeting following the shift in its year-end to March 31, to match those of its government partners who provide the majority of the funding IAFBC administers. The last annual meeting took place in April 2022. The organization’s growing responsibilities have required extra sta, with operating expenses rising in step with hirings. Operating expenses totalled approximately $2.5 million in the latest scal year, up from less than $640,000 a year ago. While the organization has typically covered 60% of its operating costs with allocations from the IAF Trust, this did not happen in the latest scal year. Instead, the foundation’s operations were funded entirely on a cost-recovery basis, allowing it to retain more funds for programming that benets producers. Plans to move to a full cost-recovery model were initially announced last year, with the hope being that the IAF Trust would provide no more than 20% of operating funds in a given year within three years. “It’s pretty exciting when we see that we have total cost-recovery now to run our organization,” DeWit says. “That’s something to be really proud of.” Meanwhile, the foundation has streamlined its board of directors in keeping with its ve-year strategic framework launched in 2019. Rather than 13 directors drawn from its member organizations (which now number 15), the board now includes six representatives of primary agriculture, two representatives from the processing sector and one independent director. Ten directors last year meant no vacancies this year. One director’s term ended, leaving just nine directors, while ve incumbents were reappointed for two-year terms: Devick, David Machial, James Pratt, Corinne Singeld and Ralph van Dalfsen. During the question-and-answer period that followed the meeting, Deep Brar of the BC Fruit Growers Association reported issues with the portal orchardists use to le replant program applications. IAFBC CEO TJ Schur assured Brar that the matter would be addressed promptly, with a tutorial to assist growers in obtaining access. 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A third, non-commercial premise, also tested positive. The number of birds impacted was in the tens of thousands, but with tens of millions of birds migrating across several yways this fall, the risk factor is exponentially greater. Approximately 3.7 million birds were impacted by a series of outbreaks in BC between April 2022 and April 2023, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Commercial premises in the Fraser Valley were hit hardest in the wave that occurred last fall, with multiple infections across all feather groups. The industry has not returned to the red biosecurity level or reactivated the emergency operations centre that assisted with response eorts last fall. It remains on alert, but Heppell says producers can only do so much. “Since ‘04, we’ve been continuing to increase the level of biosecurity on farms and there’s not much room left for farmers to make many changes to increase their biosecurity,” he said. “The margin of improvement is very minimal now.” During the BC Poultry Conference this spring, speakers reviewed biosecurity measures. “Biosecurity vigilance is paramount,” Steve Leech, food safety and animal health director with Chicken Farmers of Canada, told a packed room at the conference. “Biosecurity is the only thing keeping this out of our barns.” Key areas of concern are locations near waterways, where exposure to waterfowl and their feces is greater, as well as barn access. While so-called Dutch gates, which present a physical barrier to barn visitors, can make humans think twice, strong pest control can address rodent and insect access. Provincial funding this spring designed to assist producers address disease outbreaks was followed September 18 by $1.8 million in federal funding over three years to help BC Poultry prepare for a greater role in future response eorts. “The poultry industry in British Columbia already provides valuable assistance with coordinating movement controls and permits during disease outbreaks and this agreement allows industry to play a critical role in the health of the sector, in partnership with the CFIA,” federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay said in announcing the funding. The scale of the outbreak last fall and winter outstripped CFIA resources, spurring a rethink of industry’s role. “This investment will enable industry-led destruction and biocontainment activities that will be completed with oversight from the CFIA so that overall response capacity is expanded without increased risk for animal welfare or disease spread,” the federal announcement notes. BC Poultry will use the funds to create and implement standard operating proceduresThe funding will also support partnerships with AgSafe BC, create and tender a contract for a primary supplier for destruction, biocontainment and training as well as secondary destruction capacity to assist in the event of a surge in infected premises. The plans reect industry recommendations during deliberations this spring. The funding will also support partnerships with AgSafe BC, the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, processors and allied trades. In the meantime, turkey producers like Heppell are keeping their ngers crossed that the current reprieve from outbreaks will continue through the fall, helping them rebuild stocks into the new year. According to the BC Turkey Marketing Board, whole bird and breast meat stocks are about 20% higher than they were a year ago as production recovered in 2023. “We’ll have lots of inventory for the holidays,” Heppell says. It also means cash ow for producers, who have been hit hard by multiple crises over the past three years, including the heat dome and oods of 2021, followed by avian inuenza and high feed costs. Turkey producers have also been hit by two other diseases, reovirus and blackhead. The destruction of ocks to ght AI can mean a signicant loss of income for producers beyond their birds, with suppliers of poults requiring up to 18 months to return to full capacity. “I’m concerned that if we have another bad bout of AI, that we will have people that will leave the industry because of emotional reasons and leave the industry because of nancial reasons,” says Heppell. “There just isn’t enough compensation.”
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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 15Cariboo Regional District Agriculture Development Advisory Committee chair Christa Pooley says the ALR needs to be more exible and allow opportunities for more revenue streams for farmers and ranchers. SUBMITTED ALR policy review shows room for improvement‘If you don't protect the farmer, you don't have farmland’KATE AYERS PRINCE GEORGE – A third-party review of Agricultural Land Reserve policies by UNBC undergraduate student Matt Henderson hopes to capture the challenges North Cariboo producers face and recommend ways government can better support the industry. And unlike many government initiatives, it is welcomed by farmers, ranchers and community partners. “I would say that many, many agriculturalists have become exhausted with the process of ‘engagement’ because especially that 2018 ALR, ALC, ministry of ag engagement process, left a really, really, really bad taste in ranchers’ and farmers’ mouths,” says second-generation rancher and Cariboo Regional District Agriculture Development Advisory Committee chair Christa Pooley. “It really felt like inadequate consultation from the outset.” In 2018, the province introduced Bill 52, which aimed to address concerns about speculation and non-farm uses in the ALR. Home sizes were limited, soil removal was restricted and penalties for dumping were increased. The changes met with opposition from producers, so the government held public consultations in fall 2019. Yet only ve locations across the province hosted in-person meetings. “It kind of felt like, ‘oh well, if we claw back this change and minimize that change, it will appease the people,’” Pooley says. “A lot of agriculturalists are beyond a place where they're willing to engage with the ministry and so having this research carried out by a post-secondary institution, I see that there's more appetite for engagement.” As part of his student-led project, Henderson hosted a series of public facilitations throughout the summer using a dotmocracy, which allows participants to vote for ideas using stickers or markers. Five concepts that could support producers were generated in consultation with community partners. Then, people could vote as many times as they wished for the existing ideas, add and vote for their own ideas, or vote for other people’s ideas. The dotmocracy was available in-person and online and allowed for completely anonymous participation. Some of the original ideas included allowing exibility for businesses to supplement farm income, such as a mechanics shop or welding on farms; complementary zoning for non-farming purposes that would benet operations, such as farm equipment repair shops or abattoirs; returning to a two-zone system; legacy protection for generational farmers; and exible policies with more supports provided through the application process with the Agricultural Land Commission. Henderson’s preliminary results show that people from Williams Lake to Prince George want to see change and more localized context throughout policy development. “When we have so many dierent voices from dierent sectors, regions, backgrounds all agreeing that something needs to be done … and we need to have more voices heard at the table, it's pretty telling,” Henderson says. “Because policies here at home in BC are stiing the industry and the small and medium-sized farmers. … I just nd it a little ironic where the powers that be are striving for and saying that we need to establish food security, eat local and such, but the policies that are in place are hindering the ability for anyone new coming into the farming industry and those that are already in the industry.” Since the ALC was struck in 1973, many policies have stood the test of time, when instead policies should evolve with changing demographics, economic output and climate, Henderson says. “If we’re serious about food security and providing … locally sourced foods to all British Columbians, we need to have policies that are actually in line with what needs to be done and we need to do it in a way that's a lot more inclusive than what's ALR policy review uYOURHelping YouWEEKLY FARM NEWS UPDATEScountrylifeinbc.comSign up for Free today.YOURelping Youelpingpingplping YoulpinoeLANGLEY CHILLIWACK CHEMAINUS KELOWNA rollinsmachinery.com 1-800-665-9060NEW! 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16 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCu ALR policy review identifies need for flexibility to keep farms profitablehappening currently,” Henderson says. “Instead of an almost tone-deaf approach … in terms of what are believed to be the realities from the folks making these decisions in Victoria and Burnaby versus the realities that are happening in communities like Baker Creek or Horsey. Places that have far dierent ecosystems, climates, scales, soils than places in the Fraser Valley and Okanagan.” Indeed, the ALC recognizes the importance of protecting agricultural land from development but perhaps not how tight producers’ margins are and the need for exibility around revenue streams. “Yes, we need farmland, but we also need viable agricultural businesses,” Pooley says. “We need to nd healthy ways to supplement farmers’ [incomes]. So, I'm not saying, you know, that every Joe Blow have 20 pieces of logging equipment and dump their waste oil on their best elds. But I think that there can be a happy balance.” For example, licensed abattoirs, which benet the farming community and could provide supplemental income, require the site to be zoned for use as an establishment and all resulting operational activities must be in compliance with the ALC Act. In the Cariboo especially, Pooley says, diversied income strategies such as hauling hay, xing equipment, agritourism or logging are essential but considered as non-farm uses and restricted on agricultural land. Most average-sized farms can’t operate without additional revenue streams, Pooley says. “It feels like the government isn't acknowledging how slim our prot margins are, and that if we don't have supplemental income, we don't have farms,” Pooley says. This fall, Henderson will complete an independent study course in which he will identify the public’s top responses and present them to the ALC. Pooley hopes that since this work was conducted and presented by a post-secondary institute instead of agricultural commodity groups, for example, the ALC will receive the information dierently. In addition, Henderson will draw up recommendations on how the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the ALC can restructure operations to facilitate more transparency and eective community engagement. “There are many great works done that recommend policy changes … but those that need to hear it, i.e. the Ministry of Agriculture and the ALC, are not designed or not inclined to respond to them in a way that will actually be impactful or seen as impactful to the agricultural community,” Henderson says. One such recommendation is having a tiered system that gives more control to local governments in the decision-making process. “If you're wanting to make an improvement on your land and it’s well within your land and you're not impacting anyone around you, then you can just go and do it,” Henderson says. “If you’re providing a third dwelling for your multi-generational outt and you need to house grandchildren there as well, you can go to your local regional district for that.” Overall, Henderson would like to see more input on farm policies from outside government walls. “For problem-solving, we leave it to a select few to make the decisions for all. We need to have a more collaborative approach … and provide insight of what’s happening in our area,” he says. “This isn’t an unorthodox idea. It’s grounded and makes sense. It levels the playing eld that allows for new, innovative ideas of how we get through crises like drought, wildres, atmospheric rivers.” A policy review by a UNBC undergraduate student shows a disconnect between policymakers and boots on the ground when it comes to the Agricultural Land Reserve. FILE PHOTO / LIZ TWAN PRE-OWNED EQUIPMENT CLAAS AXION 920 MFD TRACTOR CONSIGNMENT UNIT CALL FOR DETAILS CLAAS AXION 930 MFD TRACTOR CONSIGNMENT UNIT CALL FOR DETAILS CASE IH FARMALL 95A MFD ROPS TRACTOR WITH LOADER CALL FOR DETAILS CLAAS JAG 870 SP FORAGE HARVESTER 10’ PICKUP & 6-ROW CORNHEAD CALL FOR MORE DETAILS/PRICING CLAAS ORBIS 600 JUST IN - CALL FOR DETAILS CLAAS 970 SP FORAGE HARVESTER 10’ PICKUP & 10-ROW CORNHEAD CALL FOR MORE DETAILS/PRICING KUBOTA DMC8536T MID PIVOT MOWER CONDITIONER $31,900 KUHN GF7802THA TEDDER $18,700 NH T4.75 TRACTOR ROPS MFD WITH LOADER $47,500www.caliberequipment.ca STORE HOURS MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8-5 OPEN SATURDAY 8-12 604-864-2273 860 RIVERSIDE ROAD ABBOTSFORD More Crops. Less Ash.CLAAS Early order on now!
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 17Western corn rootworm detected in OKPest found in Fraser Valley in 2016Western corn rootworm has made its way into the North Okanagan. The larvae feed on the brace roots of corn before emerging as adult beetles which continue to damage the crop. FILEJACKIE PEARASE ENDERBY – North Okanagan forage corn producers are facing a new pest. Western corn rootworm was discovered on farms in Armstrong, Enderby and Salmon Arm by a seed industry representative this summer and reported to the BC Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry subsequently issued a notice to North Okanagan producers with information on the pest. “We have conducted limited surveys in collaboration with consultants in the North Okanagan since the detection in August,” says ministry entomologist Susanna Acheampong. BC Dairy Association representative Shawn Hall says the ministry’s notice was sent to its members via its weekly newsletter in early September. According to the ministry’s fact sheet, WCRW (Diabrotica virgifera) is a major corn pest native to the Americas. It has been an issue in the US Midwest for over 50 years. The pest is also present in Ontario and Quebec. It was detected in the Fraser Valley in August 2016 and populations reached record levels in forage and sweet corn elds there in 2017. Western corn rootworm’s impact in the North Okanagan is not yet known. “The pest has caused extensive localized damage on some farms in some areas but we do not yet have information on total aected acreage,” notes Acheampong. Several producers contacted in the North Okanagan reported hearing about the pest but have not detected any issues with their own crops. “I’ve not seen any sign of it,” says Henry Bremer, who cultivates about 200 acres of corn at Cliview Dairy Ltd. in Enderby. Rootworm larvae compromise plant growth and stability by feeding on corn roots, which causes tipping plants, lodging and poor yields in both sweet and forage corn. Some plants may not lodge or tip but look weak and drought-stricken. Adult beetles feed on corn foliage and silks of developing corn, resulting in a lack of pollination and cob ll. The beetles can also contaminate fresh market sweet corn. Rootworms lay their eggs in the soil where cold temperatures allow them to complete development and hatch in late May or June. The larvae then feed on brace roots of corn and pupate in the soil around the corn plants. A week later, adult beetles emerge to feed. While not a quarantine pest, Western corn rootworm is the single greatest contributor to economic loss and shifting management practices in North American corn-growing regions. It is estimated to cause over $1 billion annually in corn yield loss and control costs in the US. Acheampong says the impact in Canada is unknown. The ministry will survey for the pest in 2024 in order to understand its impact in the North Okanagan. Growers who would like to participate can contact Acheampong at [susanna.acheampong@gov. bc.ca]. Acheampong encourages producers to monitor their corn crops in July for the thin white larvae on the roots of weak, drought-stressed or tipping plants. Management steps will need to be taken the following season in elds where larvae are found. Monitoring for adult beetles is done in July and August to determine if management eorts need to be taken in the current season or the following year. Foliar spray is recommended for late-planted sweet corn where beetles are detected at pollination time. Crop rotation may be required if beetle infestation is signicant. Growers of forage corn are instructed to rotate out corn where possible every three to four years for one to two years. Corn rootworm has no other signicant host plants so crop rotation is eective at breaking the lifecycle of the pest. When crop rotation is not possible, the application of insecticide at the time of planting and/or planting a corn hybrid with resistance to Western corn rootworm is recommended. SUBSCRIBE TODAYTRACTOR TIME VICTORIA 250.474.3301 4377C Metchosin Rd. 30 mins from Victoria and 15 mins from Hwy#1 in Metchosin.HANDLERS EQUIPMENTABBOTSFORD 604.850.3601 339 Sumas WayHOUSTON 250.845.3333 2990 Highway CrescentMORE Built-in WeightMahindra6075Financing programs are subject to change at any time..
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Chilliwack, BC 604.309.5355Longhorn Farms Kelowna 250.765.7431VJV, Dawson Creek 250.782.3766Miane Creek Livestock Armstrong 250.558.9408Contact MLMA 1.250.314.9686On-farm slaughter expands limited optionsFarmgate licences don’t fully offset loss of major abattoirsPETER MITHAM MERRITT – Two years after the province overhauled the meat licensing regime to improve access to slaughter facilities and food security in rural and remote areas of BC, expanded options for farmgate slaughter are bearing fruit. A decline in provincially inspected abattoirs has been oset by growth in the number of on-farm licences, which have become popular as producers have taken matters into their own hands. There were 163 licensed slaughter establishments in BC as of September 19, according to BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food sta. These include 55 abattoirs, 101 Farmgate Plus licensees and seven Farmgate licensees. Three years ago, there were 157 establishments, including 57 provincially inspected abattoirs (formerly Class A and B license holders), and 93 Class D establishments (revamped as Farmgate Plus) and seven Class E licence holders (consistent with the new Farmgate licences). Farmgate Plus licences have driven the increase in on-farm facilities due to the greater capacity and marketing privileges they allow. Farmgate licences cap processing at ve animal units (5,000 pounds) a year, while Farmgate Plus allows holders to process up to 25 animal units (25,000 pounds) and sell province-wide. This has been a godsend for smaller producers, including those who found themselves scrambling for processing following the sudden closure last fall of Rocana Meats in Salmon Arm. The situation prompted small producers like Steve Meggait of Fresh Valley Farms in Spallumcheen to apply for a Farmgate Plus licence in order to get his hogs to market. “Our Farmgate Plus licence has brought great resilience to our business model,” he says. “Without this option, we would not have been able to maintain our pork production.” A new provincially inspected abattoir, Yankee Flats Meats, is set to open in Spallumcheen this fall, and Meggait expects to take his pigs to the new premises. It also started as a farmgate licensee. “[It’s] a good example of how the farmgate licence can be used to scale an operation from on-farm slaughter to a provincially inspected abattoir,” he says. “We will use this facility for our pork processing but will maintain our Farmgate Plus licence as it is a good backup and gives us options.” A similar story has the potential to play out for sheep and lamb, says Julia Smith, executive director of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association, which says 41% of small producers have expressed an interest in on-farm processing. Sheep producers have seen well-established abattoirs such as Johnston Meats in Chilliwack step back, while those in northern BC face extremely long drives to access slaughter, creating welfare issues for animals. Since sheep are relatively small compared to other livestock, Smith says they’re ideal for a Farmgate Plus licence. “The farmgate program is a good opportunity, particularly for sheep producers who can nd a market for whole carcasses with restaurants or butcher shops,” she says. “You can process a lot of lambs on a farmgate [licence].” On-farm slaughter licences are also creating opportunities for poultry producers. Ben Glassen helped three farms on Vancouver Island navigate the licensing process so that he could provide services on their farms, processing their poultry and a small amount of birds from other local farms. “The number of licences has remained relatively consistent under the new system, and it is supporting regional food security, stimulating local economies, and prioritizing food safety,” a statement from the province said of the rise in on-farm slaughter. The ministry took over responsibility for rural slaughter from regional health authorities in December 2020. This set the stage for an overhaul of licence classes, which took eect October 1, 2021. But the rise in on-farm slaughter hasn’t oset the loss in larger, provincially inspected abattoirs. While through-put at provincially inspected facilities has increased since 2020 for cattle and calves, it’s fallen for sheep, lambs and hogs, according to Canadian Food Inspection Agency data. Producers who want to make the leap to on-farm slaughter also face a number of challenges. Obtaining insurance has been a key obstacle, with many producers losing coverage after receiving an on-farm slaughter licence. A program from BFL Canada for SSMPA members helped to address the issue, but numerous other challenges remain. “Since the new regulations came into eect, farmers and ranchers have been dealing with some very dicult challenges, including ongoing recovery eorts from climate change-related weather events like heat domes, res and oods,” Smith says. “Furthermore, input costs are continuing to rise, making prots even more elusive than before. Many producers are scaling back their operations or getting out of the business altogether.” Whether the increase in on-farm slaughter has reduced the incidence of unlicensed slaughter is another question. A survey SSMPA conducted in 2022 found that 35% of small producers had resorted to unlicensed slaughter facilities to meet their needs at some point. However, Smith is optimistic that the new licensing regime is making a dierence. “We would certainly expect there to be a general upward trajectory with regards to new Farmgate licences,” she says. “This new regulation is a positive step towards growth opportunities for small-scale meat producers in BC. [We] look forward to continuing to work directly with producers and processors to increase the amount of locally raised meat that is available for consumers.” 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!Producer Check-o Supports Beef Industry Projects.www.cattlefund.net 1.877.688.2333www.cattlefund.net 1.877.688.2333
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 19Brittany and Matthew Giesbrecht dreamed of going into business for themselves. Their entrepreneurial spirit led them to open a butchery that is helping not only themselves but their neighbours as well. SUBMITTED BCHA President John Lewis 250-218-2537 BCHA Secretary Janice Tapp 250-699-6466 www.bchereford.ca KATE AYERS VANDERHOOF – A cut-and-wrap business that started as a side hustle to process animals on their farm has morphed into a licensed meat processing facility for Matthew and Brittany Giesbrecht and a critical service for local farmers and hunters. “It's a godsend,” says Korey Martens of Broken Horn Farm east of Vanderhoof. “Before these guys got started, there was an abattoir here in town but to have [animals] government-inspected was up to a year wait.” The Speckled Sow Butchery and Market changed that for Martens, whose family raises beef cattle, pigs and chickens on 80 acres about 20 kilometres outside Vanderhoof. They provide the Giesbrechts with beef and pork for their farmstand. The Giesbrechts grew up in the area hunting and farming, and were acutely aware of the lack of meat processing facilities in BC, especially in the north. Their background, paired with their entrepreneurial spirit, set them up well for their new venture. “My husband's a heavy-duty mechanic and I was a school bus driver, and we both knew that we wanted to … work for ourselves,” Brittany Giesbrecht says. “We both grew up very avid hunters and I grew up on a farm doing 4-H and all that stuff. So, we we've been around the butchering and the slaughtering end of things our whole lives.” Fortuitously, a butcher in town was retiring so, in 2017, the couple decided to buy the equipment and process their own animals without the worry of securing slaughter dates elsewhere. “Then we started kind of putting two and two together where we were like, hey, we want to start a business for ourselves; maybe it would be really good to start reaching out to the community and friends and family and maybe seeing if they need stuff processed as well,” Giesbrecht says. As new homeowners at the time, the potential for some extra income was inviting, too. “It kind of snowballed from there. We decided to take the plunge and build a shop on our property,” Giesbrecht says. The couple ended up quitting their other jobs , purchased equipment and began booking slaughter dates in July 2022. They started off with custom cut-and-wrap but knew that slaughter was also a bottleneck in northern BC. In August, the couple obtained a Farmgate Plus licence for cattle, hogs, sheep and lambs. The licence allows them to slaughter up to 25 animal units annually and sell products provincially. According to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the province has 163 provincially licensed meat processing facilities, including 55 facilities with an Abattoir licence, 101 with a Farmgate Plus licence and seven with a Farmgate licence. The Giesbrechts have a farm market on site, where people can buy local goods as fudge, flowers, bread and eggs, along with beef, pork, chicken and lamb that they’ve sourced from local producers. As self-taught business owners and meatcutters, starting up a processing facility was a steep learning curve. But as the couple found their groove – and immense support in the community – they’ve been happy to support local producers and hunters year-round. Indeed, the couple are passionate about giving back to their community. They judged the swine classes at the Vanderhoof 4-H show and auction on August 12 following the cancellation of the 2023 Vanderhoof Fall Fair due to wildfire concerns in the region. “Every single one of these kids have done an amazing job and should be very very proud of themselves,” the Giesbrechts say in a Facebook post. “Our job was very difficult with the amount of amazing animals we had to judge. We hope we were able to spread a little bit of knowledge from a butcher’s perspective and that each of the kids had as much fun as we did!” After the show, they bought about 40 project animals, including hogs, lambs and a few beef cattle. The beef were processed by the Country Locker in Vanderhoof and Chilako Meats in Prince George. “I have a real soft spot for those two. They were at the 4-H auction this weekend and they were buying things up,” Martens says. “They're in the community, supporting kids … they got huge hearts. ... And they're supplying a much-needed business here that we're excited to be part of, for sure.” As a result of their presence in Vanderhoof, the Giesbrechts were one of this year’s Business Impact Award winners as part of the 20th annual Small Business BC Awards. “We were really shocked. Definitely, like if it wasn't for our community, and all of the support, we would be nothing. We take our hats off to our community and Vanderhoof and surrounding areas because they have cheered us on right from the get-go and we’ve had such an amazing response from them,” Giesbrecht says. “When we won, it kind of made us feel like, wow, we're actually putting good into the world and we're doing something that people really appreciate. It was really humbling.” Building a business around communityThe Speckled Sow a ‘godsend’ for livestock producersAre you looking for Sales or Service for your Lewis Cattle Oiler?Contact Steve Major to reserve a date: majorss@telus.net | 780.524.8880We are planning a trip through your area in the near future.
20 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCWeather ideal for grain harvestDry weather reduces yields ! "#$$ % &' ( ) *+,- . /012314526437777PETER MITHAM BALDONNEL – BC’s grain harvest was set to wrap up by the beginning of October, as dry weather provided ideal conditions even as it made for a nail-biter of a growing season. “It’s been wonderful harvest weather. We’ve had nothing but sunshine and winds, which is ideal when you’re trying to harvest,” says Malcolm Odermatt, whose family farms 2,000 acres near Baldonnel. “Farmers are pretty happy overall with the yields and the harvest conditions couldn’t have been better.” Odermatt completed harvest by mid-September, and was pleased with the quality of the grains that came o – thanks in part to some well-timed rains right after seeding. “Our crops were remarkably decent for how dry we were this summer,” he says. “This last spring, we seeded into dust, and by the end of seeding time there was no moisture to be had. We basically put a quarter-million dollars worth of seed and fertilizer in the ground just praying it would rain. And sure enough it rained, and I’m one of the fortunate farmers.” But not everyone was so fortunate. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s latest drought assessment, issued in early September, reported “signicant precipitation decits and resulting yield reductions to hay crops, poor pasture conditions and concern for herd reductions due to ongoing Severe Drought” in northeastern BC. The region has been at Level 4 drought on the province’s scale since June 15, thanks not just to low moisture this year but dry conditions last year that saw the region enter the winter at a Level 5 drought. Preliminary estimates Statistics Canada released August 29 indicated a 4% decline in seeded acres in BC this year, but a sharp decline in harvested acres of wheat and oats – the region’s two biggest row crops after canola. Growers were forecast to harvest just 80% of their oats, or 65,000 acres. Wheat growers will harvest 83% of their seeded elds, or 91,900 acres. An estimate from the BC Grain Producers Association, of which Odermatt is president, suggests the overall harvest will be about 70% of normal. Statscan says lower production for most crops this year was driven by lower yields because of dry conditions. Most areas in the Peace saw precipitation at least 60mm below normal. Growers are also anxiously watching the markets, where grain and oilseed prices have been falling. A record canola crop in Ukraine and a bumper wheat crop in Russia threaten to dampen demand for product from Canada, where yields were among the worst among the major northern hemisphere producers. “We’re seeing a decline in the price but I’m hopeful we’ll see that pick back up once the surplus of these commodities is o the market,” Odermatt says. Outstanding in her fieldTlell 6153 Rita ET2L, was the buyers’ choice in the 14th annual online production sale for Richardson Ranch, September 15-16. The heifer calf sold to Flewelling Cattle Company in Bowden, AB, for $5,100. A total of 12 purebred Herefords sold for an average of $3,400 during the event. RICHARDSON RANCH
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 21New project offers value-added opportunitiesAlfalfa pelletizer coming to Peace RegionPelletized alfalfa for use as fertilizer and to reduce shipping costs to Lower Mainland dairy farmers promises to add value to Sanctuary Ranch Farms' forage operation in Chetwynd. SUBMITTEDemail: audreycifca@gmail.com395 Kinchant Street, Quesnel, B.C. V2J 5A3Producers can apply for an advance on calves, yearlings, lambs, bison, forage and grain up to $1,000,000.00 with the rst $350,000.00 being interest free. Plus, interest relief through the Advance Payments Program is available to association members on their feeder cattle purchases.Farm & 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.caKATE AYERS CHETWYND – With the rising cost of transportation and increasing demand for organic fertilizer, Jed Franklin of Sanctuary Ranch Farms in Chetwynd capitalized on an opportunity to diversify his farm’s revenue stream as well as provide year-round employment with a pellet mill. “We’re trying something a little dierent,” Franklin says. “I’ve really enjoyed organic production for the last 12 years but I’m slowly losing the battle to weeds and I’m facing a couple of options that are not good.” Franklin and his family run about 800 acres of certied organic grain and hay. In recent years, his farm has faced increasing weed pressure, which he does not want to resolve with herbicides or deep cultivation. He concluded that a perennial forage crop would be the best way to move forward while also enhancing the soil and overall environment of his croplands. An alfalfa pelletizing plant would in turn add value to the crop without having to raise cattle. “It’s a way for me to manage my elds to get them back into a shape where they can be productive again … and not have to have cows [to] make enough of an income that I can support my family,” Franklin says. “For me, it’s that package. I can still be a farmer and help the ranchers and I can get paid a fair price for a fair product.” While the idea for the project was driven by its potential for weed management, Franklin also recognized alfalfa pellets could help other organic growers in the area and beyond. “Organic farms have a dicult time nding organic fertilizer and it’s very expensive, whether it be sh emulsion or manure and most of those come with a pathogen risk,” Franklin says. “It’s reasonably priced compared to other fertilizers – it’s not thousands of dollars per ton, it’s hundreds, and has pretty good nitrogen numbers.” In addition, he’s heard that feed mills are desperate for large and small animal feed, which includes pelleted alfalfa for cattle, horses and rabbits. The widespread applications of alfalfa pellets and rising demand for the product lead Franklin to apply to the BC Hydro Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund. In May, he received $50,000 to build a pellet mill to produce organic alfalfa pellets. “It's been a slow work in progress, and this is on a budget,” Franklin says. “We’re not putting in a multi-million-dollar operation. I didn’t even buy anything new in the whole construction.” He hopes to have the mill up and running next year to process a couple tons per hour. “The Peace River area has 80% of the agricultural land in BC, so it’s a huge area of agricultural land and as we begin to push towards more climate-friendly solutions, I think making fertilizer in place is a legitimate option,” Franklin says. This year he seeded about 640 acres of alfalfa. “It’s been a very dicult year but it looks like there is alfalfa down on the ground. My hope is that next year we’ll be able to take o our rst crop in early fall, which will at least get us established,” Franklin says. Neighbouring farmers have expressed interest in the project, too, and since the proposition is scalable, Franklin could grow the mill into a new business venture if the rst year is successful. “It may even get some people to plant cover crops, hay it once or twice and then plow it back in. That could benet the environment and the eld,” he says. Before the project, Franklin produced and shipped alfalfa bales to farms in the Lower Mainland. By transitioning to pellets, SR Farms will reduce its fossil fuel footprint by approximately half. In addition, the pellet mill will provide employees with a job in the o season. “Instead of having temporary foreign workers, I can have steady employees, which I think would benet the families whose members I employ on the farm,” Franklin says. Overall, the project could provide a number of economic and environmental benets to the Peace Region. “We know that the Peace has an important role to play for the entire province and beyond in food production,” says Northern Development Fund senior communications ocer Anna Du. “So, we’re pleased that the investments that we make through the agricultural compensation fund are able to support and develop food security.
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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 23Trials at Olds College are showing how autonomous platforms like these units from South Dakota's Raven Industries can seed, spray and manage row crops but there remain several barriers to widespread adoption. 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The past three years have seen researchers at Olds College’s Smart Farm in central Alberta study the economic, environmental and logistical benets of autonomous agricultural equipment for row crop production, comparing it to conventional equipment. Prior to spring 2023, researchers were using the Raven OMNiPOWER platform for seeding, spreading and spraying. But this year, Raven Industries Inc. of South Dakota gifted the college with its new 3200 platform and loaned researchers a 2020 OMNiPOWER with a Seedmaster 30-foot air seeder. The equipment enabled the team to run two autonomous machines in the same eld simultaneously. Autonomous seeding took place on portions of one privately owned farm as well as parts of the 3,600-acre crop/forage lands at the Smart Farm. Setting up the seeder takes some work. First, the eld’s perimeter is captured in a computer by driving a vehicle around the eld. This map gives the autonomous equipment its operating boundary. The machines are equipped with several cameras that can identify a human, a truck or tractor and forces a stop. Once they’re programmed, the machines operate on their own, but by regulation they must be within the operator’s line of sight. “Once you have your eld boundary, now you want the headlands or A-B lines going at 45 degrees, maybe, or 90, or east-west or north-south. Those are the types of parameters you set. If you have an obstacle like a power pole or a wet area, you can mark those out on the map and the autonomous unit will go around and avoid those,” says Roy Maki, the research project manager. With 15 years of agricultural research experience, Maki has spent over two years on this project doing data comparisons. Overall, autonomous seeders have been comparable to conventional for things like fuel, eld coverage and route eciency. “I thought you would be glued to the monitor, watching every little move and being uncomfortable,” says Maki. “What surprised me is the condence you get in it. It tells you when something's not quite right. It'll say, ‘Look, my signal is weak. Do you want me to continue?’ Then, you can intervene. Your truck now becomes a eld oce allowing you to call suppliers at two in the afternoon instead of 10 o'clock at night when you roll o the tractor.” But to work well, the system requires fast, reliable Internet so the machines can talk together. This still poses a challenge in some rural areas. However, Maki says the college is working on connectivity projects to improve data movement in remote areas. Another challenge is that, unlike a tractor which can be driven, the machines must be moved around on a truck bed. “It takes a little bit more logistics and people to do that and planning,” Maki says. “However, to oset that, we don't need a cab. We don't need an operator's console, which could lower the equipment’s cost.” While autonomous equipment won’t be aordable or make sense for everyone, agrologist, entrepreneur and consultant Robert Saik, former CEO of autonomous farming startup Dot Technology, believes more widespread use is about ve years away. But he sees two challenges. The machine’s eyes and programming must better recognize when it encounters danger, such as an animal, child or some other new obstacle or hazard in the eld. The other one is public and farmer perception and acceptance of machines traversing farm elds without a human operator. If that can be overcome, Maki could see a farmer using larger autonomous machines on their larger, more conventionally shaped elds at the same time as they have a smaller version running on smaller or irregular elds where larger machines are less ecient. Greenhouse Ground CoverGreenhouse FilmProtection NetsMulch Film Landscaping FabricsShade Nets Bale WrapsBunker CoversSilage BagsTwine & Net WrapsHay TarpsForage & Grain Seed1.800.663.6022office@silagrow.com5121 - 46 Ave S.E. Salmon Arm, BCPick Up & Delivery Only 112-18860 24 Ave. Surrey, BCVisit our website for informative content and detailedproduct descriptions.silagrow.comAutonomous seeders move forwardField tests show big growers will see the greatest advantage
24 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCKuhnNorthAmerica.comMatsqui Ag-RepairAbbotsfordNorthline EquipmentPouce CoupeHuber Farm EquipmentPrince GeorgePRODUCE UNIFORM, FLUFFY WINDROWSExclusive hyper-tangential tine arms provide clean raking without ropingAdjustable swath curtain for easy adjustments to match crop conditionsRotary gear case allows forlow-maintenance and long lifeLong, 昀exible tines provide gentle raking to ensure minimum leaf damageInvest in Quality®www.kuhn.comContact your local KUHN Hay and Forage dealer today!GA SERIES | Single-, Twin- or Quad-Rotor Rotary Rakes10'6" – 48'3" working widths • mounted, semi-mounted & trailed modelsBC hosts national Christmas tree conferencePest, climate pressures unite growers in Salmon Arm JACKIE PEARASE SALMON ARM – BC Christmas tree farmers are learning to combat the eects of pests, drought and forest res which threaten their livelihoods. Over 70 individuals involved in the industry across Canada attended the BC Christmas Tree Association conference held in Salmon Arm, September 6-9. The event included informative presentations from industry experts, a eld trip and the BCCTA and Canadian Christmas Tree Association annual general meetings. President Paul Huesken says the BCCTA was formed in 2020 when three regional groups – the southwest (Lower Mainland), Thompson Okanagan and Kootenay – amalgamated to give the industry a stronger voice. “One of the things we found, especially when we are trying to interact with government agencies, is that three regional associations had a lot less inuence than what we’d like to have,” notes Huesken, who is also one of three BC directors on the CCTA board. A majority of BC Christmas tree farms are small u-pick operations whereas growers in Quebec and Atlantic Canada (primarily Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) farm larger acreages focused on wholesale trees. The learning components of the conference were aimed at providing relevant information to both kinds of growers. “We’re trying to develop education and connections that can meet the needs of the large growers and the small growers,” Huesken says. Christmas tree specialist Chal Landgren educated conference-goers on pests and diseases. Landgren shared personal and professional knowledge as a Christmas tree grower in Oregon since 1982 and an Oregon State University professor specializing in tree breeding, growth and culturing and integrated pest and farm management. He says nding, identifying and controlling pests requires growers to be proactive by trees might never get a product without the help to get it through the monetary burden of being registered,” he explains. “We’ve won $8 million worth of investment for Christmas tree growers in Canada based on our participation in this program.” Landgren says drought and re can stress trees and compound pest problems. Trials in the USA and Canada since 2011 have explored multiple strategies to lessen the damage caused by heat and drought. These trials have included cover crops, mulch, focused irrigation using in-ground systems, improving root and tree health prior to planting, shading, changing species and fall planting. “There’s more and more growers looking at doing fall planting because there’s a period of root growth you can have in the fall that would perhaps get more roots established for that next year,” Landgren says, while pointing out that a current trial comparing fall and spring planting did not go well when rabbits ate the fall plantings. He says his own tree farm has experienced the best results from mulch, which better retains moisture and lower temperatures, but he is also changing to hardier species. “As far as our own farm, we planted our last Noble r,” he notes. “Many, many growers are switching to some of the more exotic trees.” Huesken says growers across BC and Canada are concerned about the eect of future climate issues and this conference was a way to provide guidance. “It’s not even about what is, it is about what’s coming,” he says. “There isn’t a big market for brown trees.” Christmas tree farmers got to see the results of herbicide applications at a Salmon Arm tree farm during the BC Christmas Tree Association Conference in September. JACKIE PEARASEarming themselves with good reference material, some simple tools and vigilance. “The cause has oftentimes ed the scene by the time you realize there’s a problem,” Landgren adds. Landgren’s comprehensive presentation covered above and below-ground problems and controls currently being used. Nova Scotia tree farmer Matthew Wright provided additional information based on his CCTA role in integrated pest management and involvement with the federal government’s annual pest management priority-setting workshop. The 2023 workshop identied over 1,000 insect issues, more than 800 diseases and over 550 weed/growth regulator issues. Participants had the daunting task of reducing that to six priorities for each discipline. Wright says the initiative, funded through the national agricultural policy framework and administered by Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, is key to helping minor crop producers nd eective pest controls. “Minor crops like Christmas
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 25BC fairs hit hard by post-COVID volunteer shortageSome fairs consider winding down as volunteerism fadesThe rodeo at the Armstrong IPE brought in a high calibre of contestants. FACEBOOK / IPE SANDRA TRETICK PENDER ISLAND – The Brackendale Fall Fair was cancelled last year because they couldn’t rally enough volunteers after a two-year hiatus caused by COVID-19. While a three-year gap might be the death knell for some, Brackendale’s organizer, Glenne Campbell, said there was a total shift with people signing up to volunteer this year. She put a lot of energy into volunteer recruitment and was rewarded when 130 people stepped up to help. Around 5,000 attended the two-day fair north of Squamish. One factor stands out sharply in the post-pandemic reality. Brackendale aside, most fairs had an extremely hard time nding volunteers this year. Pre-COVID, fair organizers’ biggest worries tended towards weather and nances. Good weather meant high turnouts that positively impacted their bottom lines. Poor weather kept the crowds away. The province staked $30 million to keep fairs, exhibitions and festivals aoat during the pandemic, and announced a further $30 million in recovery funding this past February to help event organizers deal with rising costs as they got re-established, but attracting back volunteers has been an uphill battle. “Non-prots are never going to not need money, right?” says Janine Saw, executive director of BC Fairs. “But I would say that the volunteerism issue has now sort of surpassed the money issue.” She says many who helped out in the past have moved on to other things or aged out. “Let’s face it, most of the volunteers you see at these organizations are older,” she says, noting that this age bracket has valid concerns about their health. There is usually a nucleus of volunteers committed to making these local events happen. It involves months of preparation behind the scenes, unbeknownst to fair attendees and those who enter their tomatoes, pickles, eggs, crafts and livestock for judging. On Pender Island, this falls to the local farmers institute, headed by sheep farmer Barbara Johnstone Grimmer. She’s been involved in agricultural fairs since her days in 4-H as a child. Pender Island’s fair debuted in 1932 and Johnstone Grimmer has been involved off and on since moving to the island in the mid 1990s. After no fair for three years, she says this was the toughest year yet. “It was like rolling a ball uphill to get the fair restarted,” she says. “We lost some good volunteers, but this year we focussed on bringing in new volunteers, some new to the community and some who had never been to a fair, much less our fair.” When older volunteers don’t return, there can be a huge loss of knowledge. Succession planning Back in Brackendale, Campbell focused on attracting volunteers in their 40s and 50s. She scheduled evening meetings on different subjects over a six-week period to get them up to speed. With the fair behind her, she’s now turned her attention to succession planning. “I will spend the next three weeks writing the succession plan so that there will be reference for the new demographic of volunteers going forward,” she says. Held over three days in late August, the Comox Valley Exhibition also suffered from a lack of volunteers and turned to the media for help. On one day, there was a big line-up at the front gate to buy tickets. “One of the customers in the line walked into the booth and helped,” says Janet Martyn, the office assistant and the fair’s only employee. Not every fair faced a volunteer shortage. The Saanich Fair outside Victoria, run by the North and South Saanich Agricultural Society, had so many willing hands they ran out of jobs. Despite that, Amber Nelson, who handles administration for the society, admits that she still struggled to find enough people willing to put in the time to convene departments or head committees. “It takes an army to put it together, year-round,” says Nelson. “With putting on such a huge event only one weekend of the entire year, it takes a bit of time to knock the dust off. Everyone worked so hard, staff and volunteers. It simply couldn't happen without them.” The Pass Creek Regional Transition year uEinbock Tillage Equipment For Organic FarmingEconomical Reliable Low Maintenance Safe and Proven Order now for guaranteed next season delivery.Tine Weeders Row Crop CultivatorsRotary Hoes Camera GuidanceSystemsOrder now forguaranteed next season delivery.DELTA Drain Tile CleanersImproves Drainage & Conditions SoilEmail us today at: info@reimersfarmservices.comSUBSCRIBE TODAY
26 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCu Transition yearRAKE IN THE DEALS!more.brandt.ca/john-deereDon’t sweat the fall stu. Save a pile at Brandt!Right now, save up to $3,200 on John Deere riding mowers, compact utility tractors and gators PLUS up to $500 when you stock up on attachments! And with Brandt’s support for life, you’re never left out in the cold, even in sweater weather.Hurry to your Brandt ag dealer! Oer leaves October 27th.Financing as low as:0%For more information, visit:Exhibition near Castlegar occurred September 23-24. It was still 10 days away when Country Life in BC spoke with exhibition president Donna Smith. While last year’s event was its best in terms of weather and attendance, welcoming 5,000 people over two days following a two-year shutdown, volunteers this year were scarce. “This year it’s terrible,” she says. “If the weather’s good, people will attend; they just don’t want to organize or volunteer.” She wouldn’t be surprised if the current organizers don’t return next year. The fair doesn’t have any paid staff, and this year’s challenges have been exhausting. “I’m not prepared to struggle anymore,” she adds, noting that she’s been doing this for 31 years. “You start organizing in January and you’re finishing up in October. It’s a lot of work and people aren’t prepared to give that kind of time.” Transition coming Next year will be a transition and Smith says she’ll give all the information to anybody interested in taking over. If nobody does, it will likely close down. Smith says that’s happening quite a bit in the Kootenays. “People have to either step up and get involved or it just doesn’t happen,” she adds. Proposed changes to federal regulations on livestock traceability would classify fairs as intermediary sites, similar to stockyards, putting even more burdens on already overstretched and under-resourced volunteers. If it falls on fairs and exhibitions to comply, there will be a need for standards, equipment and training. “We've just talked about how challenged so many of these organizations are already,” adds Saw. “It is an additional responsibility that, quite frankly, the majority of our members would be very challenged with trying to meet.” One of the things Saw loves about agricultural fair societies is the people who move heaven and earth to make things happen. “COVID seems to have taken that sort of glossy, warm and fuzzy feeling that volunteering gives people and kind of tainted it,” she adds. “You kind of wish that more people out in the communities recognize how much work goes into it.”It’s been a year of highs and lows for agricultural fairs and exhibitions around BC. The 2023 season opened with the triumphant return of the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair in May. COVID-19 had shuttered it for two years and fairground upgrades last year extended the closure. Fairs in Brackendale and on Pender Island also returned after a three-year hiatus. BC Association of Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions’ (BC Fairs) executive director, Janine Saw, says making a comeback is hard. “It's always tough coming back after a one-year cancellation,” she says. “Coming back after three years is monstrous.” BC’s largest and longest fair at 17 days leading up to Labour Day, the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, welcomed 626,531 guests. The annual 4-H auction raised nearly $300,000. While it was too early for some of the September fairs to tally attendance figures, this year’s record-breaking wildfire season impacted several. In late July, the Nechako Valley Exhibition Ground in Vanderhoof announced in a Facebook post it would be cancelling the region’s 55th fall fair just three weeks ahead of opening day on August 18. The problem? The facilities were being used to accommodate firefighters battling nearby wildfires. Despite the cancellation, they managed to go ahead with their 4-H achievement shows and auction. At the Interior Provincial Exhibition and Stampede in Armstrong, organizers faced a similar decision. The weekend before, it was touch-and-go whether the five-day event would go ahead as planned on August 30, says general manager Heather King. “[That] weekend was almost the peak of smoke [from the] West Kelowna fires and the Shuswap outbreak. We were kind of right in the middle,” says King. “But we persevered and we talked to some of the provincial experts and the local experts, and we felt confident going forward. Our community relies on it.” As if to reward their persistence, the 122nd exhibition enjoyed a bit of rain that cleared the sky of smoke. A couple of sunny days followed before the smoke moved in again. King adds that the overcast skies were a welcome change from the extreme heat of the previous year. While attendance didn’t break records, the community appreciated the chance to set aside wildfire worries for a time. BC Fairs was also impacted by a variety of “unforeseen challenges” facing the Okanagan region. This included the hotel it booked for its annual learning exchange in mid-October experiencing delayed construction due to the local effects of wildfires, rockslides and road closures – factors that have impacted a number of local agritourism operations, too. The learning exchange is now scheduled for next April. —Sandra Tretick Fairs resume post-COVID with new challenges
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Buy Princeton Wood Preservers Ltd.Preferred Supplier for British Columbia Ministries and Parks Canada.Black CreekAsk For Us By Name PWP Premium & PWP Select at the following trusted dealers.Panel dishes “the real dirt on farming”Summerland Fall Fair provides a platform for real farmers to address publicTOM WALKER SUMMERLAND – “If you eat, you are involved in agriculture,” is one of Hans Buchler’s favourite quotes. But the disconnect between those who eat and those who grow was a recurring theme as Buchler and three other growers dished “The Real Dirt on Farming” at the Summerland Fall Fair, September 9. The panel discussed the best and most dicult things about farming, and opportunities to support farmers in the future. Buchler, who grows grapes in Oliver, says he took a risk when he started the Okanagan’s rst organic vineyard some 40 years ago. Uncertainty is still a challenge for farmers today. “When you start any kind of business, it is dicult from a nancial point of view. You are always taking a fair amount of risk,” he notes. “Land was relatively aordable then compared to now. For young farmers, start-up is probably the hardest unless you inherit from your parents, so for me as a Swiss farmer starting up in a foreign country, it was interesting.” Being his own boss is important to Buchler. “A great thing about farming is being independent,” he says. “You work a lot, but you impose the workload on yourself. It is your own choice, which for me is a huge plus.” Developing his organic practices has been the best reward for Buchler. “It is amazing to see what is happening on the farm, how things change over time, how life in the soil builds,” he says. “Our farming approach is minimal. The nutrients we provide for our crop all come from cover crops we can grow between the rows of grapes.” Summerland apple grower Katie Sardhina is also enthralled by the biodiversity in her orchard since transitioning to organic practices in 2017. “It is one of things that gets me out of bed, and I believe that what I am doing is good,” she explains. “That counteracts the despair I might feel if some of my trees are not healthy.” But the eects of climate change make it tough to schedule farm work. “Forecasts are increasingly erratic,” she says. “I am constantly looking at the forecast to decide what I do today or tomorrow, and learning to not try to control things I can’t control can be dicult.” The current market system in Canada is also a concern for Sardinha, especially retailers’ power over pricing versus what farmers receive. “When you see the price of an item go up in the grocery store, you might think that the extra money will make it back to the farmer but it does not,” she says. “That situation has made it dicult to survive. Farmers need to take on debt and get second jobs and it just adds a lot of complexity to farming.” Naramata apple grower Peter Simonsen is also worried about prices. “The retail environment is what is killing our industry right now,” says Simonsen, who is also president of the BC Fruit Growers Association, which believes a marketing commission could prevent the BC industry from undercutting itself. “We are falling over ourselves to sell lower than another packer,” he says. “I think a marketing commission is really the only thing that will save the apple industry. Prices are also among the frustrations dogging Lake Country apple and cherry grower Lynn Lashuk, who says the best thing about farming is “growing plants and food for people.” But demands from the non-farming community, things that she has no control over, frustrate her. “Regulations, legislation, prices in the grocery store, are things that the farmer has no input into, yet those decisions can come down hard on us,” she explains. “We have always grown food for the community that was healthy and sustainable, but now those are important buzzwords and if you don’t have the right GAP certication, people suspect we are trying to poison both the earth and them.” Sardinha hopes for changes that will put local food on local plates at a price that supports growers. “The amount of food that that we grow in BC that is eaten in BC is actually going down,” she says. “It is absurd that the best food that we produce in the province has to be exported in order for farmers to obtain a decent price for their work. Our best food should be in our stores for us to eat.” Sardinha says a system that supports local food production, family farms and sustainable practices is important. “The prices that people are paying at the grocery store are very high and the prices that farmers need to receive are much lower,” she points out. “I believe there is an opportunity for partnerships between farmers and smaller-scale retailers who can give better prices to both farmers and to people.” “It is absurd that the best food that we produce in the province has to be exported in order for farmers to obtain a decent price for their work.” KATIE SARDINHA
28 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCThere’s nothing like the cost of corn to spark a good ol’ pricing debate. My local annual edition is seething online and at the local market. Too much, too little, how dare they, how dare you, and so on. It’s intense. Usually, I don’t have time to engage. This year, I nd myself muttering through the heads of my argument with surprising vehemence and frequency. I have therefore decided to enter the debate, and since this is my own soapbox, I will be dominating. Be it resolved: nobody should be complaining about the price of corn. Point No. 1: We are so lucky to have a choice in the matter. It seems to me that, here anyways, all the corn sells out no matter what the price. No one is forcing anyone to pay more or less than they want to pay. You can get corn for dinner picked that day for a price you can likely live with. The matter is therefore moot, but yes, I will go on. Point No. 2: We should be grateful that there are even people growing fresh corn for us in the rst place! Do people realize the value of the land upon which the corn is growing? Increasingly, farmers are very understandably cashing out and very rich people are snapping up the land. Do you think the rich people are going to grow corn-on-the-cob for you? I think they will share their ideas on how to grow a lot of corn, and how to build a huge business growing corn, but will they manage to produce any edible corn? I personally would not plan a corn-on-the-cob party around corn grown by rich people. They are not reliable that way, but they own more and more of the corn-growing land. Point No. 3: There is more to this organic thing than you may realize (for it is the price of organic corn that draws the most indignant remarks). It is not some gimmicky price-gouging mechanism, you know. Organic farmers pay quite a lot of money to organic certication organizations who will verify that that the rules of organic farming are being followed. The rules, by the way, are laid down in extensive, ocial glory and available for everyone to read on-line. Organic inspectors go through the books, poke around the barns and spring surprise visits. Most irksome of all, the whole application is reviewed by customers, not farmers. A board of very picky customers go through the le to make sure they believe the farm is organic. If the corn comes with an organic certicate issued in BC, you had better believe it’s organic. And that it means something. The biggest dierence between organic and conventional corn is the source of soil fertility. Non-organic farmers can use anything they like to boost yields and are notably reliant on the big, powerful, thorny-issue-laden synthetic chemical fertilizers. That helps make it cheap. Organic farmers, on the other hand, are expected to build soil fertility over time, and not just add it from a bag every year. Although there are some fertilizers and amendments approved for organic use, they are just weaker versions of what a conventional farmer uses and must necessarily be accompanied by other methods like cover-cropping and long rotations that build organic matter. It’s not straight-forward and it’s not a skill you acquire along with the land acquisition. A marketable-sized crop of organic corn is likely being grown by someone who is honing that skill and has been working on it for a while. This sort of thing is going to cost more. So, to conclude, cheap corn is available, and so is expensive corn. No complaining, you lucky duck. Anna Helmer farms in Pemberton and is thankful that bears don’t like potatoes. 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There is a massive greenhouse, gardens, fruit trees, a barn, workshop, pastures, and fencing / cross fencing. Now $919,000COLE WESTERSUND 604-360-0793 Personal Real Estate CorporationWESTERN LAND GROUPRICH OSBORNE 604-328-0848Personal Real Estate Corporationrich@landquest.comJAMIE ZROBACK 1-604-483-1605 JASON ZROBACK 1-604-414-5577 BC LANDPRO GROUPKEVIN KITTMER 250-951-8631kevin@landquest.comMATT CAMERON 250-200-1199matt@landquest.comFAWN GUNDERSON 250-982-2314Personal Real Estate Corporationfawn@landquest.comSAM HODSON 604-809-2616 Personal Real Estate Corporationsam@landquest.comJOHN ARMSTRONG 250-307-2100Personal Real Estate Corporationjohn@landquest.comALBERTA COUNTRY LIFEBEST-PRICED LOT AT BALDYIN THE SOUTH OKANAGAN, BCNicely decorated Whitecourt log cabin with several storage sheds located in the middle of 158 wooded private acres. 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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 29Longer trial, strong resultsSpuds bring out next generation to discuss potential Heather Meberg of ES Cropconsult holds Queen Anne, a yellow-skinned, yellow-eshed variety with good visual appeal – something buyers attending the annual potato variety trial in Delta say attracts consumers. RONDA PAYNERONDA PAYNE DELTA – This year’s potato variety trials in Delta were closer to growers’ actual on-farm experience thanks to planting taking place a week earlier and the annual eld day being a week later than usual. Trial spuds spent 104 days in the ground compared to the usual 85 or 95 days prior to being dug up for this year’s August 30 eld day, says Heather Meberg, owner of ES Cropconsult and organizer of the trials. “We planted earlier as the weather was conducive to doing so,” she says. “There are good yields. A lot of the plants have good uniformity. The eld was irrigated, so that makes a huge dierence as well.” The tubers were larger and more uniform than those seen in previous years. While a few of the yellow varieties developed unusual shapes and sizes like in the year of the heat dome, these were the exceptions rather than the norm. The trial eld at Brent Kelly Farms on 96th Street in Delta held 88 varieties in the demo plots and 47 of these were replicated for data collection that will be available in November. The longer time in the ground made for great results, but so did this year’s weather. “It was the perfect year, really,” Meberg says. Many younger farmers attended to explore potential new varieties, while their children played in the dirt. “Look around; we’re bringing in the younger generation,” quipped W&A Farms owner Bill Zylmans. “This is the good news story right here.” Zylmans is irting with retirement but remains active in the industry. The broad range of attendees for this – the event’s 18th year – was largely due to his eorts. “I got people from Alberta, Saskatchewan, [Vancouver] Island, California, Washington,” he says. “We’re getting known for doing something special, 18 years in.” Zylmans agrees this season’s weather was “awesome” for potatoes and says the yields and results are expected to be up but it “all hinges on harvest.” This year’s trials gave growers a glimpse of what they could expect from the varieties on display as most were near full maturity. Cory Gerrard of Swenson Farms says varieties that need fewer growing days is his focus given the “goofy weather” of the Lower Mainland. Swenson Farms grows a range of varieties and is also anticipating a yield slightly above usual. “The Constance looks good, as it has in past years,” he says of the yellow skin-yellow eshed variety. “Yield looks good, size is fairly consistent. Overall, the skin condition looks good on many varieties which is a good sign of quality this year.” Sifra, a white skin-white eshed variety, stood out to Meberg for its bright white skin and strong yield, while the yellow skin and yellow esh of Queen Anne was also attractive to the eye. Fresh market variety F160025-03 was also a standout. “It’s a nice round, bright red,” she says of the numbered variety. “Some of the [farmers] were interested in it last year.” Smile, a red-skinned variety with cream esh may be of interest for farmers market vendors due to the appearance of white smile shapes in its red skin. Loblaw root vegetable buyer Patty Petruccelli was on hand with Mark Auld, vendor development manager with the retailer’s produce side. “It’s good to be out here to connect,” says Petruccelli. “Mark does this every day, but from the buying perspective, it’s just nice to get out. We want to be a presence.” Auld says shape, consistency of size, skinset and “obviously” colour are the biggest considerations in a potato. Storability is also a very important feature. “You shop with your eyes,” he says. “It’s that rst visual appeal.” Both he and Petruccelli were drawn to Rosi with its rose-coloured skin and yellow esh. It doesn’t meet the traditional expectation of a red potato, but they feel customers may share their opinion of its visual appeal. The shallow, almost invisible eye and pale colouring make it something completely dierent from www.hlaattachments.com 1-866-567-4162 what’s currently sold. In addition to looking for what produce customers want, they also want to nd ways to help growers. This may come in varieties that have lower input costs such as fewer days in the ground or needing less irrigation. “We’re here to work with our grower partners,” says Petruccelli. FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO GO UPVAN DER WAL EQUIPMENT (1989) LTD.3080T TELESCOPIC WHEEL LOADER 23390 RIVER ROAD, MAPLE RIDGE, BC V2W 1B6 604/463-3681 | vanderwaleq.com
30 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCTidy orchards ensure clean hazelnut harvestHazelnut growers should go nuts over debris removalSue Grubac, program coordinator with the BC Hazelnut Growers Association, notes that eld days have always been a place where growers can come together and share. RONDA PAYNEProudly certifying Producers and Processorswithin BC and Alberta.FVOPA provides year round certification services compliant with the Canadian Organic Standards (CAN/CGSB) and in accordance with the BC Certified Organic ISO 17065 recognized program. Products may be sold Canada-wide and in international markets. FVOPA ensures an efficient, professional certification process for all farm, processing and handling operations. Inspectors are lOlA trained and qualified making FVOPA a leading Certification Agency.Message 604-607-1655Email: admin@fvopa.cawww.fvopa.caPhone 604-789-7586P.O. Box 18591Delta, BC V4K 4V7Phone: 778-434-3070 202-4841 Delta Street admin@fvopa.ca Delta, BC V4K 2T9 www.fvopa.ca Proudly certifying Organic Operators across Canada Fraser Valley Organic Producers Association (FVOPA) offers organic certication services for producers, processors, packaging and labelling contractors, distributors, and various organic service providers. We pride ourselves on exceptional customer service and we welcome new members year-round. FVOPA certies to the Canadian Organic Standards and to the Canada Organic Regime (COR). Certied products may bear the Canada Organic logo and be marketed Canada-wide and internationally. RONDA PAYNE CHILLIWACK – Growing great hazelnuts on well-managed trees is only part of the equation of making money from a nut orchard. At the BC Hazelnut Growers Association’s eld day, September 9, Kevin Hooge of Fraser Valley Hazelnuts told approximately 90 attendees that they also need to think about the orchard oor as this directly impacts processing and their returns. “Orchard oor care and processing impacts [growers’] ability to maximize prots,” he says. Hooge and his family are the only commercial hazelnut processor in Western Canada since establishing their Chilliwack operation seven years ago. “In 2016, we just washed and dried [the nuts] and shipped them to the States,” he says. “But we found there was really no money in doing it that way, for us or the growers. In 2017, we bought the nuts from the growers and started down that road.” Along with buying a new washing and drying line in 2016, Hooge planted 10 acres of trees that fall. In his talk, Hooge covered management practices to keep nuts clean and free of debris and how this will save time and money. He illustrated management techniques while walking around a two-year-old orchard. Preparation is a year-round job, as with any crop, but hazelnut management isn’t as onerous or demanding as, say, with tree fruits. Regular mowing and weed management between trees will go a long way to ensuring positive results when nuts are gathered from the ground each fall. Without regular mowing, long blades of grass clump up in the harvest, bringing other debris like weeds and tree suckers with them. The rst nuts typically fall from the trees in late September. Hooge says this tells growers to get back into the orchard for one last mow of grass and weeds. “When you rst notice them falling, you go in and cut the grass as short as you can,” he says. Once the nuts fall, the sweeper pushes them to the middle of the alleys and the harvester scoops them up. Hooge says the brush height should match the orchard oor conditions. Growers don’t want to sweep up dirt or mud into their harvest, so the wetter the earth, the higher the brushes need to be. The same goes for the harvester, which needs to match conditions and ensure nuts aren’t going through the sucking fans. Pick up paddles should be inspected often and changed when worn. Fans and blowers will separate out the short blades of grass and leaves to give the grower a proper sense of yield. Debris or rocks can mislead growers in terms of volume and nal returns. Hooge charges cleaning and drying fees based on the dierence between weight on delivery and the weight of the nuts that remain after cleaning. The charge is subtracted from payments to growers. “The more they can do on their end to bring us a semi-clean product will maximize their prots,” he says. Hooge also advises growers to pick early and often. Fraser Valley Hazelnuts weighs the nuts when they come in, washes and dries them and takes a 100-ounce sample which is conned in a bag then returned into the crop. Any extra debris increases time, eorts and costs. Once clean, the nuts are weighed again, then dried. Hooge has found that the sample is an excellent representation of the grower’s crop. “It’s kind of an average of their crop,” he explains. “I’ve even done random tests just to verify that it’s accurate and it’s almost identical to the little sample.” He cracks open each nut in the sample after drying to assess for the percentage of quality nuts as well as those with blighted shells, nut rot, shriveled kernels and other crop faults. The percentage of loss in the sample is applied to the grower’s crop to calculate payment. Sue Grubac, program coordinator with the BC Hazelnut Growers Association, notes that eld days have always been a place where growers can come together and share. “The wonderful thing about hazelnut growers is that they collaborate and help each other,” says Grubac. “There are no secrets; everyone just wants to share.” Hooge’s parents started out as wannabe growers when they purchased the farm in 2013 with blighted trees and a derelict processing line. The association has been holding eld days for about 30 years and it was one in 2015 when fellow growers urged the family to upgrade the processing line and bring it back online due to the limited number of options. Hooge says grower returns were about 30 cents more per pound than shipping to the States would return when the company began processing. All nuts purchased and processed by Fraser Valley Hazelnuts are marketed under the company’s brand and include bags of in-shell, roasted and raw kernels, diced, meal, and chocolate-covered kernels. “The old-timers, their interest died with their trees and they shut down their processing plants,” Hooge says. Those former orchards, planted primarily in the 1960s and 1970s with varieties like Barcelona and Ennis, stopped producing due to age and the arrival of Eastern Filbert Blight in 2001. Today, new varieties like Jeerson, Yamhill and Sacajawea, that are more resistant to blight, have been planted over the past decade. The new generation of growers, assisted by a provincially supported replant program, is positioned for success with strong demand for hazelnuts in a growing market. “I believe there’s about 700 to 800 acres planted [in BC], so if all those trees were mature and producing, there’d be about four million pounds produced,” Hooge says. “I think last year was probably rock-bottom for production because the old orchards had nally just quit. They aren’t producing anymore. Every year will be increasing now I think.” The slow growth has been benecial for Fraser Valley Hazelnuts and Hooge anticipates others will come into hazelnut processing as the yields increase. He believes this could translate into a BC industry worth upwards of $20 million. In 2021, BC farmers produced more than 72,000 pounds of hazelnuts up from the low of about 25,000 pounds in 2017, according to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 31DFWT blueberry rest program expands eastDelta organization wins additional fundingDelta Farmland & Wildlife Trust executive director Christine Schmalz (left) had the help of Canada Summer Jobs students Madyson Gustafson (centre) and Nevada Johnson (right) this summer assessing the effectiveness of cover crops in Delta blueberry elds. RONDA PAYNEBAUMALIGHT.COMAdair Sales & Marketing Company Inc. 306-773-0996 | info@adairreps.comMFG OF MINI SKID STEERS AND A VARIETY OF ATTACHMENTS INCLUDINGTREE SPADES | TREE SAWS & SHEARS | BOOM MOWERS | PTO POWER PACKSBRUSH MULCHERS | ROTARY BRUSH CUTTERS | PTO GENERATORS | AUGER DRIVES | FLAIL MOWERSTREE PULLERS | FELLER BUNCHERS | EXCAVATOR ADAPTERS | SCREW SPLITTERS | TRENCHERS | STUMP GRINDERSPre-order your BaumalightGenerator now for delivery in8 weeks and get an 8% discount.PTO GENERATORSRONDA PAYNE DELTA – Don’t just grow something, sit there. That’s the message the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust is sending blueberry growers as its blueberry rest program enters a second year with renewed funding for leaving less-productive elds fallow for a season. “One of our focuses of late has been enhancing pollinators on farmland,” says DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz. “There is lots of potential on blueberry farms and lots of benets for those farmland landscapes.” The organization’s year-old blueberry rest program aligns with its well-established grassland set-asides program in that it provides a cash payment to farmers who don’t replant crops, but instead plant cover crops that benet pollinators and other wildlife. Schmalz says there’s a lot of synergy between DFWT objectives and that of farmers. “The trust does work quite extensively on cover crops, but we have looked at them specically on soil health and wildlife,” she says. “Cover crops work really well to support soil health.” This year, the program expanded past Delta to include blueberry growers within Metro Vancouver and Abbotsford with the help of $1.5 million in additional funding over three years from the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food. This dovetails with the ministry’s push to improve growing practices around the province. For example, supporting soil health includes attempting to undo soil compaction, something grower Nancy Chong of Howe Chong Farms is addressing in her elds, now more than 30 years old. “We didn’t plant blueberries until 1990 and we didn’t ever change the varieties,” she says. “Some of our plants are over 30 years old. We were already considering dierent varieties to be more competitive with world markets. They used to be bumper crops but they haven’t been doing well.” The decline in productivity and aggressive damage from scorch virus throughout growing regions plus the limited availability of new plant material made the decision to rest land an easy one for Chong. She participated in the program last year and is doing so again this year. “This is a great opportunity to help with the compaction and the nutrients and pollinators. We always need pollinators,” she says. “With Blueberry plant shortage u
32 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCu Blueberry plant shortage makes rest program financially worthwhileABBOTSFORD1-888-283-3276VERNON1-800-551-6411Avenue Machinery is Your Reliable Source for AGCO Genuine Parts.extreme weather, sometimes it takes out a lot of the pollinators in the winters. You want to have food for the bees to stay on your farm throughout the year.” Approved farmers with ve acres or more of blueberries who have one or more acres in rest may receive $500 an acre per year for up to four years if they leave the cover crop in place. To help fund the desired cover crops, a $150 per acre payment for seed is possible in the rst year. Fifty acres is the maximum for the program. “There’s a shortage of plants,” says Chong. “You wouldn’t be able to plant for two or three years, so what are you going to do with vacant land? That’s where the conversation with Christine started.” Her primary goal is to relieve the 30-plus years of machinery going back and forth over the rows of the elds. Given that compaction relief, soil nutrient assistance and benets to wildlife are all possible in the DFWT cost-sharing program, she sees it as an all-around win. “It really helps out the farmers,” she says of the payment program. “Farmers are always continuing to have increasing costs and then to have it bare and no crop and not earning anything? To have this option to help our costs really helps a producer out.” Dierent harvest times and dierent berry features are important for an operation the size of Chong’s and she’s hopeful newer varieties may help the business with increased yields and competitiveness on the world stage. She currently has a number of varieties including Duke, Bluecrop, Reka and 1613 (sometimes known as Hardyblue). The three Howe Chong Farms locations in Delta total about 145 planted acres. Chong is resting 15 to 20 acres this year. “That’s very signicant,” she says of the amount of planted land being rested with cover crops. “That will hit our bottom line. These are long-term big investments so you want to make sure you’ve got everything in place and done properly. You want to do it right. I think it’s well worth taking this time to do all this stu.” “This stu” includes levelling the land before she planted the cover crop last fall and she will do so again this year to assist with erosion challenges. Soil sampling is also part of the strategy, as it has been regularly over the years. “We’re just trying to improve the soil health overall to help with this next planting and this will be a great benet, I’m sure,” she says. Schmalz notes that Chong’s situation is far from unique. Removing bushes due to scorch infection gets to a point of no return where the decision must be made to renovate the eld because yields have dropped o and risk of severe infection has grown. This and other factors have impacted yields for a number of years in many growing elds. “There are other farmers with a similar need where they had removed plants and were going to cover the ground with something,” she says. “When blueberries are removed, there’s often a lot of issues with soil compactions. The work that Nancy was interested in doing ts really well with us and the pollinators piece really worked well with blueberries.” While Chong has participated in spring cover crop planting, Schmalz says the program will also have a fall intake. “If growers have missed the window to plant a longer-term grassland set-aside, they can participate by planting a late-season cover crop,” Schmalz says. “We would see that in place over the winter and it can be worked up over the spring.” The fall program oers $50 to $90 per acre to help cover the costs of planting. “Our hope is that we can encourage more of the oral resources incorporated in some of those planting costs,” she adds. If arranging the right cover crop mix seems daunting, DFWT has that covered as well. West Coast Seeds and Terralink both provide options for cover-crop mixes. DFWT suggests a mix of 11 dierent species, including common sunower, lay phacelia and tall fescue, to name a few. Grasses work well for pollinators when combined with other species. Chong works with Brent Harris of Fraserland Organics to learn about complex cover crop mixes. “Brent is working with me, he’s got a very nice mix,” Chong says. “He has also put in rye, barley, that kind of thing, but he’s also put in things like purple-top turnips, which dig into the soil and help with compaction.” Schmalz describes Chong as a great example of the program because she started with the fall program and has done the spring program this year. “She’s done some soil work-up as well to help with soil management and long-term health for blueberries,” Schmalz says. “I think all the steps that Nancy is taking will help to set her up with a great baseline.” “If growers have missed the window to plant a longer-term grassland set-aside, they can participate by planting a late-season cover crop ... ” CHRISTINE SCHMALZ DFWT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 33Ditching the plastic mulchScientists research alternatives to plastics to reduce wasteHydromulch is a blend of water, wood pulp and a tackier that holds everything together and is being tested as an alternative to traditional plastic mulch. LISA DEVETTERRONDA PAYNE VANCOUVER – Any farmer who has rolled out plastic mulch, then pondered what that means for long-term soil health and reducing landll waste, has thought about alternatives. Researchers in BC are exploring two potential options, one from the forest and the other from the sea, for commercialization. “We looked at seaweed, wood pulp and water. Seaweeds have been used in mulch for a long time,” says Jordan MacKenzie, co-founder and CEO of Bioform Technologies in Vancouver. “The technology was around on how to create naturally compostable materials.” A former faculty member at UBC, MacKenzie was involved in research about creating products based on reactions, like applying heat to create plastic-like lms. This was the basis for Bioform, a startup in the HATCH Venture Builder program at UBC’s Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS). Ocially launched in 2021, Bioform’s agship product looks like black plastic mulch but is more durable and shelf-stable. It’s also relatively resistant to humidity and has some elasticity, though not as much as plastic. The product’s strength stems from alginate, a seaweed extract often used in food processing. It’s compostable, not biodegradable like most plastic substitutes. Wood pulp, water and natural stieners round out the formulation, which went through multiple iterations to get the right mix for four-foot wide sheets that could t tractors while being large enough – each roll is 4,000 feet long – to conveniently substitute for plastic mulch. Disposal is by burial or deposit in an active compost pile. Once composting begins, it takes just six weeks to decompose, returning nutrients to the soil. Biodegradeable plastic mulches leave behind microplastics, which have found their way into root crops and other produce, and constitute a growing concern for consumers. Research is underway to determine potential yield benets. It sounds promising, but it won’t come cheap. “Agricultural mulch, although a really attractive product, is really hard to make,” he says. “We have some real potential in that space just because of what it’s made of.” The potential is also seen south of the border where Lisa Wasko DeVetter, who leads the small fruit horticulture team at the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon, Washington, is working with paper mulches. “My understanding is that paper mulch started to be used in vegetable production systems dating back to the 1920s,” she says. “But broader adoption in commercial agriculture was limited due to the complexities of its installation and rapid degradation during the crop production cycle.” DeVetter’s product, dubbed Hydromulch, is a blend of water, cellulose (wood pulp) and a tackier that holds the cellulose together. DeVetter says research into the product is “in its infancy,” but trials of a similar product in BC apple orchards in 2011 found increased tree growth and health. “The biggest benet from my standpoint is the opportunity to provide a biodegradable mulch alternative that can be used in certied organic systems,” she says. “At present, commercially available soil-biodegradable plastic mulches do not meet the criteria to be used in certied organic agriculture in the United States.” DeVetter says a number of growers like that Hydromulch is applied as a thick spray that resembles papier mâché. Research is ongoing to make the product easier to apply. “Hydromulch provides some level of weed suppression, but current formulations do not suppress certain weed species as well as traditional plastic mulch,” she says. Yields are not being impacted by the competition with weeds when compared with plastic mulch, so DeVetter speculates there is suppression during the period where weeds could reduce yields. Other benets of the product include the ability to blend it with fertilizers or other control products for weeds and pests. Next steps include testing various formulations throughout a range of crops. “My program has focused on evaluating hydromulches in small fruit crops and we are currently evaluating it in highbush blueberries,” she says. “We are also evaluating the impacts of Hydromulch on various components of soil health.” A number of colleagues are helping DeVetter with the project. For example, WSU agricultural economist Suzette Galinato is assessing cost-benets of the mulch application. “I see it as a technology that some growers could opt to manufacture and apply themselves as well as a path to production,” DeVetter says. “We are about midway through the project and still have additional evaluations planned for the coming years.” THE LAST THING YOU NEED IS A FEEBLE TRACTOR.4700 Global Series Utility TractorsQuality Pre-Owned Tractors & EquipmentANDEX 773 Rake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,500 JAYLOR Mixer Wagon 4575 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,500 MF 1742 tractor, AWD with cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27,500 MF 4609 tractor with 931 loader, 2215 Hours . . . . . 49,000 MF 4707 4WD, LDR, LOW HOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,000 MF 6713 tractor, cab, AWD, 207 hrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92,500 TURBOMATIC 600 lt sprayer with side cannon . . . . 8,500 VICON fertilizer spreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500 WALLENSTEIN M130 manure spreader . . . . . . . . . 17,500 WN WL60T articulating loader 2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85,000
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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 35GMO corn in Robby Gass’s trial at Davistead Farms in Langley is showing a positive response to the compost tea he applied. RONDA PAYNERONDA PAYNE LANGLEY – As climate change continues to impact growing conditions and crop results, farmers need new tools to adapt. Langley-based trials of a bio-complete wormcast compost and compost tea may prove promising for both organic and conventional forage corn. Regenerating soil is part of what nutrient recovery rm ReFeed Canada does. With a view of the forage corn at Davistead Farms in Langley out his oce window, ReFeed regenerative agriculture director Robby Gass saw an opportunity. But things don’t always go according to plan and there have been both successes and failures on the forage eld. The rst trial began in spring of 2022 with a view to using cover crops to suppress weeds in forage corn. “We couldn’t plant out corn until the rst of July because our land isn’t like Chilliwack,” David Davis, owner of Davistead Farms, says. “We have wetter soil conditions.” The cover crops were seeded prior to the corn and ReFeed’s compost tea was applied to some of the corn plots, but spreading slurry sent the trial sideways. Pigweed overtook the trial eld and prevented the corn from reaching its full potential. “They spread the dairy lagoon muck on the eld twice a year, so that started a spike in nitrate availability which makes pigweed grow like crazy,” says Gass. “It outgrew most everything except the corn, but the corn wasn’t a good crop because of strong weed infestation and late planting.” Although Gass says the corn “was all bad’ in terms of trial results, it still showed the promise of the compost tea as this was “the best of the worst, which was promising.” The compost tea was applied in furrows with the seed at planting. Two above- ground applications were applied after growth began. Overall, this treatment showed higher nutrient content in the plants, reduced salinity and a “signicant increase” in weight and plant mass. “Even I was surprised,” says Gass. The continuation of the trial again faced a challenge when the cover crop planted in fall 2022 failed to germinate. The intent, based on the previous year’s trial, was to plant the corn into the fully-grown cover crop after it had been roller crimped to prevent weeds. “The cover crop that was sown in the fall did not germinate on that whole farm. I don’t know the reason,” he says. “I suspect the seed wasn’t very good, or as David suspects, after the seeding, it just got too cold too quickly.” The failures have been hard for Davis, who is keen to learn more about being a better steward of his land. “How can we leave what we have here better for the next generation? We can’t unless we are willing to be open-minded and learn,” he says. With this in mind, he’s given Gass an acre to continue his work on treatments to aid corn growth. This year’s trial saw Gass plant 24 rows of corn in four plots (repetitions) of six rows per plot, each row consisting of a single treatment. Of these, the rst three repetitions of the treatments were done with organic corn seed, while the fourth repetition was planted in genetically modied (GMO), pre-treated corn. Treatments in each repetition included a control; bio-complete wormcast compost (not tea); alfalfa Compost tease: learning through trial and errorReFeed works with dairy farm to bolster corn and enhance soilTop-Quality BrandsPerformance Guaranteed(604)-206-5505sales@klopequipment.com58251 Laidlaw Rd, Hope, BC FOR BAGGED or BULK ORDERSDarren Jansen Owner604.794.3701organicfeeds@gmail.comwww.canadianorganicfeeds.comCertified by Pro-Cert Organic Systems Ltd.pellets; Leonardite, a fulvic acid derivative; Hydralock, a water-retention treatment from Australia; and biochar. The southern half of the eld had compost tea applications and the northern half did not. “This trial is merely to see if the various amendments make any dierence to the growth of the corn when applied in the furrow at planting and to see if bio-complete wormcast compost tea over half the eld has any signicant impact across all treatments,” he says. “It’s too early to summarize the results, but it was interesting to see that GMO and organic seeds all germinated at the same rates. What’s easy to see is that the GMO and organic are both behaving the same. For the rst month it is consistent all the way through.” Visual observation indicates growth of the GMO corn is currently outpacing the organic, with the southern half of the eld appearing to have more signicant growth. Davis hopes trials like Gass’s can assist his management practices while also providing a better yield. “As a food producer, needing to feed my cows for the dairy and to be able to produce milk, the cost per acre in the Fraser Valley, the shortage of long-term land to lease as well as the rising cost of purchased feeds by way of grain and forages, not to mention the cost of fuel; the need to rotate and keep the soil healthy can be challenging for farming,” Davis says. “Serving and Supporting the Community Together”PROVINCIALLY INSPECTED ABATTOIR B.C. #34ALL SIZES MARKET GOATS & LAMBS604.465.4752 (Ext 105)FAX 604.465.4744 ashiq@meadowvalleymeats.com
36 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCKenneth bets the water dowser double or nothingWhen we left o last time, Al from Jiy Electric had just told Kenneth the well on the Corbett place had run dry. He suggested Kenneth call in water dowser Charlie Kramer. Delta was one step ahead. Rural Redemption, Part 163, continues ... Kenneth Henderson greeted the news that Charlie Kramer was coming at 2 pm with a derisive snort. “You mean to say you’ve swallowed this hocus-pocus and called him?” said Kenneth. “Al said everyone swears by him and he’s found water all over the country,” said Delta. “And you just said it was something you’d like to see.” “Did he happen to say how much the whole asco was going to cost?” “Fifty dollars.” Kenneth started laughing out loud. “He can’t really lose then, can he? What makes you believe anyone could wander around with a stick and nd water?” “Because my Grandpa John could do it. He used to take me with him sometimes when I was little.” “Well, it’s too bad Grandpa John can’t be with us today so he could show us how y’all nd yourselves some water.” “It’s probably a good thing he’s not here because if he was he’d be slapping all that smart talk out of y’all right now,” said Delta. “‘Bout time you were taking me for lunch if y’all still planning to. We need to be back before 2.” Kenneth sat at the restaurant table absorbed in his cell phone. “Who y’all messaging?” asked Delta. “How long are y’all planning to keep saying y’all?” “As long as it takes, I guess. Until y’all get used to hearing me say it and just hush yourself up about it.” Kenneth nodded and said he was sorry. A text message chimed onto his phone and he whistled sharply when he read it. “Trouble?” asked Delta. “It’s going to cost a fortune to drill a new well.” “How do you know that if you don’t know where it’s going to be or how deep it’s going to be?” “I’m talking to a licensed well driller to see what a proper well is going to cost,” said Kenneth. “Why don’t you hold your re on that until after we hear what Mr. Kramer has to say? It might not be as bad as you think.” Kenneth raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, let’s forget all about it for now and enjoy some lunch.” “That’s the smartest thing y’all’ve said all morning,” said Delta. ttt Charlie Kramer arrived at the stroke of 2. Delta met him as he climbed out of his truck. “Mr. Kramer?” she asked. “Call me Charlie. And you must be Mrs. Poindexter. Pleased to meet you.” “Me, too,” said Delta shaking his hand. “And Mrs. Poindexter was my momma. I’m Delta Faye. This is Kenneth.” “Mr. Poindexter,” said Charlie oering his hand. Kenneth corrected Charlie tersely and Charlie apologised. Delta nodded toward Charlie’s truck and asked if it was a ‘57 Dodge one-ton. Charlie said it sure was and asked if she was partial to old Dodge trucks. Delta said that every man in her daddy’s family for three generations was a Dodge man. Charlie said he remembered driving home in the truck the day his dad bought it. And it stayed in the family ever since. Kenneth asked why there were baseball bats and gloves in the back. Charlie said it was because he helped out with the kid’s baseball league in town which reminded him they were selling rae tickets to raise money for new uniforms and maybe Kenneth would like to buy one? Kenneth assured him that he had no interest in kid’s baseball whatsoever. “I suppose you’ll need a stick so you can get started?” said Kenneth. “Brought a fresh willow with me,” said Charlie. “Willows nd water,” said Delta to herself. “Now wherever’d you hear something like that?” “From my Grandaddy. He swore by a willow, or a pear.” “Your grandaddy could nd water?” “He could. Folks used to come from all over to get him.” “Did he pass it on to you?” “Don’t really know. He got sick and quit doing it before I ever tried.” Kenneth interrupted and said he gured Charlie probably had better things to do so they shouldn’t hold him up. Charlie said he’d get on with it then and headed toward the trees south of the house. Kenneth said he’d tag along but Charlie said he’d just as soon it was just him and Delta. Ten minutes after they started, the stick turned sharply in Charlie’s hands. “You see it?” he said, “There’s water here, and plenty of it, I’d say.” Delta smiled and nodded. Charlie handed her the willow crotch and told her to give it a try. “Come on back here and walk back to where it pulled and see if you feel it.” Delta walked slowly back and broke into a broad grin when she felt the willow tug in her hands. “You probably don’t need me to do this for you. I’d say your Grandaddy’s right here with you.” “What a nice thought,” said Delta. “Let’s not say anything about this to anyone else, okay?” Charlie agreed some folks found the whole idea of nding water a bit weird. They walked on. He found water twice more but not as strongly as the rst pull had been. They ended up back at the house where Kenneth was waiting for them. “Find anything?” “You’ve got water here alright. It pulled in three places, but I’d recommend the rst one we found over that way.” “But the old well is the other way from that,” said Kenneth. “Why bother looking for water if you’ve already got a well?” “It’s gone dry.” “All the more reason to look somewhere else. Come on I’ll show you where to dig.” They walked back to where Charlie had marked the rst spot with a small pile of rocks. “That’s it?” asked Kenneth, “I’m supposed to pay you 50 bucks and dig a hole and presto, there will be water here?” “Down there,” said Charlie, nodding toward the ground. “You might have to go down twelve or fteen feet to get it but it’s there alright.” “And what if I don’t? I’m out fty bucks?” “Would you like to go double or nothing? You keep your 50 bucks and dig the well. If there’s water like I said, you can pay me a hundred. If there’s no water, I’ll give you a hundred.” “It’ll cost me more than a hundred to dig the hole,” said Kenneth. “What are you thinking then?” “Make it $500,” said Kenneth. “Okay, then. You hit water, you owe me $500. If it comes up dry, I owe $500 to you.” They shook on it and Charlie said for Kenneth to let him know when he was planning to do the digging and he’d be there with bells on. to be continued ... Woodshed Chronicles BOB COLLINSThousands 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/subscribePlease send a _______ year gift subscription to _______________________________________________ Farm Name ____________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________________ City _________________________________________________ Postal Code ________ _______________ Phone _________________________ Email ________________________________________________
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC OCTOBER 2023 | 37FARM FESTGET YOUR TICKETS AT BCYF.CAGrow your network Sharpen up your knowledgeUFV STUDENT UNION BULIDING, ABBOTSFORD, B.C.Meet industry expertsNovember 16, 2023KATE AYERS QUESNEL – Hanna Fitchett of Quesnel is one of eight inaugural recipients of the McDonald’s Canada Future of Agriculture 4-H Scholarship. Her family runs a 225-head commercial Angus-Simmental cow-calf operation. They also grow hay and custom grazed 400 yearlings this season. This year marked Fitchett’s seventh year in 4-H. She joined the Kersley 4-H Club at 13, when her family moved from Armstrong to Quesnel. Work with beef projects led her to Alberta’s Lakeland College in September, where she’s studying agribusiness. “It’s denitely been an adjustment being away from home and stu like that, but it's been good,” Fitchett says. “I like my courses.” Fitchett’s parents Amanda and Dallas were her inspiration to enroll in the business program. They embarked on their farming endeavours upon moving to Quesnel. “I want to be an ag nance lender. My family are rst-generation farmers, so I want to help other rst-generation farmers,” says Fitchett, who sees a t between sustainable farming and sustainable nancial arrangements. She was pleasantly surprised when awarded the $5,000 scholarship. “It’s denitely a cool one to receive. I didn't expect to be receiving this one at all,” says Fitchett, who originally applied for the award in June. “It denitely will help me. I don't have to get a student loan anymore since it’s a signicant amount of money. So, it's very helpful to put towards my education.” Fitchett’s 4-H experiences have also been valuable. “4-H has really helped me grow as a person with my public speaking and it is what got me involved in the agriculture industry,” she says. “So, I'm very glad that I decided to join 4-H.” Showing cattle through and outside of 4-H has allowed Fitchett to meet new people and involve youth in agriculture. Rancher and Kersley 4-H Club leader Erin Kishkan is happy to see the scholarship awarded to deserving members such as Fitchett. “Hanna was always an outstanding 4-H member. Always punctual to events and willing to help in any way possible, especially when it came to helping other members,” Kishkan says. “She always gave 100% eort into her projects and her other 4-H assignments whether it be judging, communications or community engagement. This scholarship will undoubtably help nance her post-secondary education in the agriculture eld and I feel that Hanna is a very deserving recipient. She epitomized the 4-H program as a member, and she will be an asset to the agriculture community when her schooling is complete.” Fitchett’s involvement in the beef sector reaches beyond 4-H, in which she was recently elected as vice-president of the BC Junior Angus Association. She previously served as a director and secretary. Alongside Fitchett, three students from Ontario, three students from Manitoba and one student from New Brunswick were selected as scholarship recipients. “Scholarships are one part of a multi-faceted approach centred on positive youth development that 4-H Canada takes to empowering its members with the skills to lead for a lifetime,” says 4-H Canada board chair David Hansen. “4-H Canada provides youth members with the guidance, resources, and opportunities to become contributors within their community, their country, and the world by preparing them for the various paths of life and encouraging them to nd their sense of self, purpose and responsibility.” Next year, eight more members will be selected for the McDonald’s Canada Future of Agriculture 4-H Scholarship. In total, $80,000 will be distributed among 16 recipients. Quesnel youth awarded 4-H scholarshipHanna Fitchett sets sights on helping industry newcomersHANNA FITCHETT
38 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCWow. Do we ever have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. At the time of writing this column we have just learned that our home of 23 years has been spared from the McDougall Creek wildre, although some of my immediate neighbours have lost everything. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by one of the many wildres that burned in this country this summer. We were among the very lucky ones who have a home to return to, complete with all our possessions acquired over the years and passed down from our ancestors. It is clear from the cracked windows and loss of our landscaping and deck that a huge eort went into saving our home. We are so very grateful to the reghters from all over this province who jumped in and worked tirelessly to protect our homes. Never has Thanksgiving held so much meaning for me. Harvest thanksWho doesn’t love a new appetizer recipe in their toolbox? These Cranberry Brie Bites are easy and delicious. JUDIE STEEVESJAN’S FAVOURITE THANKSGIVING PIECRANBERRY BRIE BITESJude’s Kitchen JUDIE STEEVESNear-miss makes this Thanksgiving extra specialThese are soft and melty on the inside and crisp on the outside, just as an appetizer ought to be. And, they’re very easy to make. I use refrigerated crescent dough sheets, but you can use pie pastry, pu pastry or whatever else you like for the casing. Substitute pepper jelly or other savoury sweet for the cranberries if you wish. pastry 8 oz. (226 g) brie cheese brandied cranberries pecans • Preheat oven to 375° F. • Roll out pastry into a 8x12-inch rectangle and cut into 24 two-inch or so squares. • Cut a small wheel of brie cheese into 24 cubes. • Dig out the jar of brandied cranberries you made last fall, from the October 2022 edition of this column in Country Life in BC or the hot pepper jelly you made last summer. • Chop pecans into small pieces to sprinkle on top. • Place a cube of brie on a square of pastry, top with a dab of cranberries or jelly and sprinkle with a few nuts. • Gather up two opposite corners of pastry and twist together and do the same with the remaining corners, to form a little dumpling of cheese and cranberries. • Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are brown and the cheese is melty. • Serve hot or cool Did you know that the rst Canadian Thanksgiving was actually a dozen years or so before the much-vaunted US Thanksgiving, which is celebrated in November, rather than the same time as ours in October? It is largely believed that the rst celebration of Thanksgiving in Canada by Europeans was by Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew of explorers searching for the Northwest Passage, on reaching what is now Nunavut in 1578. However, Indigenous as well as European settlers celebrated the harvest bounty in fall and it’s believed that is also at the root of today’s Thanksgiving celebration. It has come to be a time of year to celebrate much more than the harvest. We also give thanks for good fortune in general, as well as for the health and safety of family and friends. Since turkeys serve a large number of people and the Thanksgiving table usually has many chairs around it, the big bird often makes an entrance, along with one of Canada’s signicant agricultural crops: cranberries. Most of the foods surrounding the traditional Canadian Thanksgiving turkey can be sourced locally, from Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, turnips, potatoes, beans and onions, to that big, orange squash often baked into a pie for dessert. So, support local farmers as you give thanks this year and make sure each of your purchases is locally grown, from the appies to the turkey, dressing and vegetables —and dessert. Most important of all, give thanks for being here to celebrate Thanksgiving, despite the threat of wildre. 1 tbsp. (15 ml) minced orange zest 2 tsp. (10 ml) minced lemon peel 1/3 c. (75 ml) lemon juice 1/3 c. (75 ml) cranberry sauce 1 nely chopped pear 1 nely chopped apple pastry for 9-inch pie This is really delicious. Jan is a fabulous cook and the combination of avours in this pie really celebrates the season. 1 c. (250 ml) brown sugar 1 tsp. (5 ml) cinnamon 1/2 tsp. (3 ml) ground ginger 1/2 tsp. (3 ml) ground cloves 1/2 tsp. (3 ml) salt 1 c. (250 ml) raisins 1/3 c. (75 ml) pecans • Preheat the oven to 400° F. • Combine spices with sugar; chop pecans and mince zest from an orange and a lemon and squeeze juice from the lemon. Chop pear and apple nely. • Combine all ingredients. • Line a nine-inch pie plate with pastry. • Fill it with the lling mixture and top with pastry cut-outs or prepare a crumb crust. • Bake for about 35 minutes.
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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 www.doubledelichtefarms.ca 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 TECHNOLOGYLIVESTOCKLIVESTOCKIt’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, BCJD 1630 W/LDR 15,000 MF 165 DSL W/LDR, CANOPY 9,000 JD 5500 4WD, DSL, ROLL BAR & CANOPY W/LDR, 5,200 HRS 28,000 JD 6400 W/CAB & LDR 60,000 JD 1630 W/LDR 16,000 ED DEBOER 250/838-7362 cell 250/833-6699 CURT DEBOER 250/838-9612 cell 250/804-6147CUSTOM BALING 3x4 BIG SQUARES SILAGE BALING/WRAPPING ED DEBOER 250/833-6699 CURT DEBOER 250/804-6147EDVENTURE HAY SALES ENDERBYAvailable 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 3044<dX`c1ZcXjj`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).#)')' EQUIPMENT DISPERSAL • NH 520 manure spreader, c/w end gate, rear pan & top beater, side ex-tensions, mint condition, $13,750 • FIRESTONE radial 8000, 460/85R38 (18.4/R38) 70% tread, $950 • LOEWEN BOX SCRAPER, 3 pt, with rubber, like new, $800 • JD CLAMP-ON DUALS 18.4-38, $2,500 TONY 604-850-4718Craig Elachie ShorthornsGrant & Barbara Smith | Balmoral Farms 250.835.0133 craigelachieshorthorns@gmail.com 1802 Tappen-Notch Hill Rd Tappen BC V0E 2X3HAY FOR SALE Large quantities of 3x4 hay & 4x4 WRAPPED SILAGE BALES. Located in Salmon Arm. WE DELIVER. 250-804-6081FALL RYE SEED FOR SALE: Germination and cleaning certificate available. Produced from certified seed in Armstrong, BC. $650/MT or $16.58/ bushel. Call Alden at 204-979-7457 or email at a_braul@hotmail.comSUMMERS 700 ROCK PICKER Almost New Condition $9500 Call Loren @ 778-241-1665 or loren@tavesfamilyfarms.com REGISTERED TEXEL LAMB RAMS March 2023 ram lambs for sale at the farm ALBERT & DENA FINLAY 250-546-6223 nlaysfarm@gmail.com | nlayfarm.comTOP DORPER ram lambs, ready to go. Text or call 250-706-7077 or email: cunningham@bcinternet.netHAY/SILAGE, dry, well-wrapped, good quality bales for horses/cows; also well wrapped haylage and silage, good tight bales, $120/bale, volume discounts 604-825-9108NOVEMBER DEADLINE OCTOBER 21ADVERTISING THAT WORKS!DISCOVER PRINCE GEORGE CATTLE RANCH/EQUESTRIAN 445 acres 25 minutes to PG, 4 bed/3bath updated home, 250 acres hay/pasture R2792594 $1,650,000 CLOSE TO AIRPORT 80.49 acres, multi-use zoning R2702887 $699,900 KELLOG CREEK RANCH 5 titles, 7000 acres range, 2200 sq ft home, guest cabin C8059864 $1,899,900 SHADY REST Mobile & RV park on 23.87 acres, Hwy 16, Houston C8049762 $1,450,000 ROBSON RD 5 bed/4bth custom built home on 11 acres R2744370 $999,900 56 CITY ACRES Zoned AF, bring your ideas R2716736 $2,399,900 160 ACRES west of PG, Zoned RU3, R27229 $369,000 PARADISE FOUND updated log home on 42 acres. $749,900 R2691271 COUNTRY GEM 3 bed/1 bath home of 2.2 acres. R2711734 $379,900 DOME CREEK 160 acres with tons of potential. R2702148 $399,900 SALMON VALLEY 370 acres; 3 titles. 150 ac cleared, R2675843 $599,000 STUNNING MTN RESORT on 82.25 acres, 17 chalets, 50 camps. C8040948 $4,850,000 CATTLE RANCH 1,280 acres; 5 bed/3 bath home. Fenced, outbuildings; R2804464 $2,100,000 CONCRETE BUSINESS Robson Valley, C8040939, $759,000 SAXTON LAKE ROAD: R2610535 R2610527; R2610554 and more lots available in this area. CRANBROOK HILL 77 acres w/dev po-tential minutes from UNBC. R2640598 $1,335,000 HART HWY 54.95 acres. R2640583. $649,900 CLOSE TO THE LAKE 8.3 acres. R2610880 $224,900 74 ACRES w/ 20,000 sq ft bldg., 40 acres cultivated. C8041167 $1,700,000 69+ ACRES ON RIVER Approx 50 acres in hay. River, road access. R2775277 $838,000 55 ACRES Dev potential close to airport. R2707390, $675,000 80 ACRES/TIMBER VALUE Zoning allows ag, housing, forestry & more. R2665497 $449,900 15 MINUTES TO PG 58 Acres, mostly flat lot with lots of potential. R2665474, $349,900 HWY FRONTAGE 190 acres w/exc po-tential for subdivision/commercial ven-tures. R2660646 $650,000 WRIGHT CR RD 195 acres bare land. R2655719 $578,500 21 ACRES PG in city limits on Hwy 16, R27163337 $595,000 Carrie Nicholson PREC* 250-614-6766 Carrie Nicholson PREC* 250-614-6766 VANDERHOOF Mobile home on 6.98 ac, endless possibilities. R2787199 R254,900 RANCHEREE LAKE 160 ac north of PG MLS R2810798 $217,400 NORTH NECHAKO 40+ acres, timber. MLS R274390 $845,500 CITY LIMITS 297 ac of development land. MLS R2750732 $6,695,000 BLACKBURN RD 33 ac of prime land in city limits. MLS R2707522 $779,000 12 MINUTES TO DOWNTOWN 24.87 acres, zoned AG MLS R2728889 $222,500 160 ACRES in city limits with develop-ment potential MSL R2750747 $3,596,000 PRIME LAND 30+acres zoned AF. MLS R2707553, $779,000 LARGE PARCEL 40 acres, development op, MLS R2707552, $1,157,000 IDEAS WANTED 114.77 ac south of city MLS R2815937 $2,490,000 TABOR 7.61 acres short drive from town. R2808337 $109,000 PRINCE GEORGE & AREA SUBDIVISION LOTS: PARADISE ESTATES: R2688574; R2688580; R2688588; R2588581 and more lots available in this subdivision. 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 subdivision. PRIME DEVELOPMENT 28 acres at Otway & Foothills Blvd MSL R2774437, $3,471,000 HIXON ACREAGE 4 bed/2bath on 3.88 acres, heated shop, pole barn. MLS R2800819 $274,900 CHARMING FARMHOUSE on 39 ac, lots of storage, MLS R2796441 $695,000 TABOR LAKE 7.31 ac, zoned residential single family. MLS R2805409 $250,000 Camelot Haven Alpacas FOR SALE Quality Alpaca Herd Alpaca Equipment Raw Alpaca Fleeces (fibre) Alpaca Products – 30% Off Sale Please inquire via email: www.camelothaven.com
40 | OCTOBER 2023 COUNTRY LIFE IN BCTHIS FALL, GET IT DONE AND THEN SOME.Kubota gets it done and then some. Built for Canadian farms, construction sites and your home. Get dependable performance, dedicated service andKubota gets it done and then some. Built for Canadian farms, construction sites and your home. Get dependable performance, dedicated service and the comfort to match. Now is the perfect time to save big on quality Kubota tractors, utility vehicles, mowers, implements, attachments and more at our fall event. ce and Kubota at our AVENUE MACHINERY CORP ABBOTSFORD • 604-864-2665 KELOWNA • 250-769-8700 VERNON • 250-545-3355 DOUGLAS LAKE EQUIPMENT DAWSON CREEK • 250-782-5281 KAMLOOPS • 250-851-2044 SURREY • 604-576-7506 GERARD’S EQUIPMENT LTD OLIVER • 250-498-2524 HUBER EQUIPMENT PRINCE GEORGE • 250-560-5431 SMITHERS • 250-847-3610 ISLAND TRACTOR & SUPPLY LTD COURTENAY • 250-334-0801 DUNCAN • 250-746-1755 KEMLEE EQUIPMENT LTD CRESTON • 250-428-2254