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Vol. 102 No. 1

Preview 18th Pacific Ag Show will have more exhibits, variety 7

Trade US repeals COOL for Canadian beef and pork 19

Technology Non-browning GMO Arctic apple shows promise 35

Life

in BC

The agricultural news source in

British Columbia since 1915

Vol. 102 No. 1 • January 2016

New ag

plan sets

optimistic

goals

by DAVID SCHMIDT

ABBOTSFORD – The BC Agriculture Council

is “disappointed” with a recent report from the

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives titled

Citizenship and Precarious Labour in Canadian

Agriculture.

Authored by Mexican-born Simon Fraser

University sociology professor Gerardo Otero

and University of Guelph sociologist Kerry

Preibisch, the report discusses how citizenship

status aects agricultural employment. It is

based on questionnaires with 200 farmworkers

and over 50 interviews with farmworkers,

growers, industry representatives, advocacy

groups and Canadian and Mexican civil

servants.

The report claims the South Asian

immigrant and Mexican migrant workers who

make up most of BC’s agricultural workforce

are low-paid workers subject to “coercive

employment practices with serious

consequences for health and safety.”

It claims poor working conditions are

“rampant” in the industry.

The report makes ve main

recommendations:

• If the market requires more workers, more

immigration permits should be given so new

immigrants qualify for permanent residency

from the start.

• The BC government should establish an

employment compliance team with random

spot-checks at worksites.

Please see “OLD NEWS” page 2

COUNTRY

Ag council pans farm labour report

by DAVID SCHMIDT

VANCOUVER

– Everybody wants to

see BC’s agriculture, agrifood and

seafood sectors grow but not everyone

agrees on how to achieve that growth.

On December 2, BC Minister of

Agriculture Norm Letnick joined BC

agrifood and seafood leaders at

Commissary Connect, a small

commercial kitchen in Vancouver, to

launch the government’s Strategic

Growth Plan for the sector. At the same

time, NDP agriculture critic Lana

Popham and Independent MLA Vicki

Huntington were at the Legislature in

Victoria to release the rst report of the

Opposition Standing Committee for

Agriculture and Food.

The Strategic Growth Plan updates

the 2012 BC Agrifoods Strategy and

When your day job has the word “cowboy” anywhere in its description, there is no such thing as a snow day; the job still

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one group of feedlot calves and are returning to sort yet another group, even though visibility was severely challenged by

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Agriculture Council director

Rhonda Driediger, a Langley

berry grower and packer, gave

the strategy her conditional

approval.

“I think the agriculture

industry will be happy with the

plan once we have had a

chance to review it,” she said.

Strengthen Buy Local

She praised the

government’s commitment to

increase industry

competitiveness, production

acreage and yields, and

strengthen BC’s Buy Local

culture, but stressed the need

for government to ensure

there is adequate funding to

make that happen.

The six-member Opposition

Committee based its report

UPDATED PLAN From page 1

Country Life in BC • January 20162

OLD NEWS From page 1

agricultural producers.

The government’s strategy

identies 20 actions to

increase production, drive

competitiveness and build

domestic, interprovincial and

international markets.

25 recommendations

The opposition’s report

makes 25 recommendations to

reduce regulatory, nancial

and administrative barriers;

help new and small farm

operators; increase knowledge

and information sharing,

training and technical

assistance; adapt to climate

change; promote BC farm

products and businesses,

restrict the use of the

Agricultural Land Reserve for

carbon sequestration or other

non-farm uses, particularly by

non-residents; and increase

funding for young farmers.

Climate change is a new

focus for both the government

and the opposition reports.

The government has also

taken up the mantra of “food

security,” with Letnick claiming

strategies to increase export

growth will improve domestic

food security.

“It puts more land into

production which can be

redirected to domestic

markets” if the need arises, he

said.

The government developed

its strategy in collaboration

with the minister’s Agrifood

Advisory Committee (MAAC)

which includes leaders of the

agrifood and seafood sectors,

business community, local

food movement and

agricultural post-secondary

institutions.

MAAC member and BC

• The BC Medical Plan should

be revised to give

agricultural workers health

coverage immediately upon

arrival.

• BC should adopt Manitoba’s

2009 Worker Recruitment

and Protection Act and

and recruiters so they can be

held accountable if they

violate workers’ rights.

• Greater attention must be

placed on the safe

transportation and housing

of farmworkers, including

enforcement, mid-season

inspections and assessments.

BCAC executive director

Reg Ens says a lot of the

claims in the report are “old

news” and the issues it

identies have been

addressed.

While he admits agriculture

is a dangerous environment,

he insists worker safety is “a

critical issue for us,” saying

“people who are treated well

work better.

“The industry continues to

invest time and energy to

improve worker health and

safety conditions,” he adds.

In 2016, migrant worker

housing will be approved by

certied housing inspectors.

As well, Seasonal Agricultural

Worker Program (SAWP)

workers receive private health

insurance coverage which is

as good or better than that

available through BC Medical

from the day they arrive.

The report also claims

SAWP workers are vulnerable

to exploitation as they enter

Canada with “time-limited,

employer-specic work

permits.”

However, Ens counters that

by saying SAWP workers have

options and can reach out to

their consulate if they’re not

happy.

“The consulates inspected

about 60 facilities last summer

and have the power to

prevent employers from

participating in the program if

they do not comply with

requirements,” he points out.

has a goal of increasing overall

sector revenues to $15 billion

per year by 2020. The 2012

strategy set a goal of $14

billion per year by 2017.

By 2014, revenues had

reached $12.3 billion. That

includes total sales of $2.9

billion from primary

agriculture, $0.8 billion from

seafood and $8.5 billion in

manufacturers’ shipments. Of

that, $3 billion came from the

export market.

Letnick said the 2012 plan

needed to be updated since

“we completed 47 of the 49

action steps in three years.”

The remaining two action

items are included in the new

strategy which Letnick says

provides clear direction for the

sector to achieve economic

growth, adapt to climate

change and maintain food

supply security.

The Opposition Committee

says government must do

more to improve the business

environment for BC

and recommendations on

input it received from written

submissions and public

meetings across the province

in April, May, June and

September.

“We listened to a range of

voices from dierent regions

and made recommendations

based on their feedback,”

Popham said. “We heard no

shortage of concern from

presenters about climate

change and food security, the

lack of accessible meat

processing facilities, non-

resident ownership of BC

farmland and costly dam

regulations for ranchers. Our

recommendations highlight a

number of areas in need of

more attention from the

provincial government.”

Huntington said the

committee provided a forum

for British Columbians to

bring their concerns and

priorities to legislators, saying

that emphasizes the need to

re-establish the Select

Standing Committee on

Agriculture.

“People across the province

deserve a hearing when

decisions are being made that

aect the future of agriculture

in BC,” she said. “The

government could do a lot of

good by simply reinstating

the committee.”

Sarb Mund of Commissary Connect, Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Linda Reimer, BC Minister of

Agriculture Norm Letnick and BC Agriculture Council director Rhonda Driediger unveil the new BC

Agrifood and Seafood strategic growth plan at Commissary Connect in Vancouver, December 2.

(David Schmidt photo)

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC 3

Diafiltered milk biggest

challenge for dairy industry

TPP compromise was “small price to pay” in maintaining supply management

Dairy Farmers of Canada president Wally Smith. (David Schmidt

photo)

by DAVID SCHMIDT

VANCOUVER – Dairy

producers dodged a bullet in

the Trans Pacic Partnership

(TPP) negotiations but they

still face plenty of challenges,

Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC)

president Wally Smith told the

BC Dairy Conference in

Vancouver, November 24.

Although the Canadian

dairy industry had to give up

3.25% of its market in the TPP,

representing an annual

revenue loss of $190-240

million, Smith called it “a small

price to pay for maintaining

supply management for

another generation.” Other

‘wins’ include protecting the

Canadian Dairy Commission as

a state-owned enterprise and

maintaining Canadian cheese

standards.

Compensation, not subsidy

Smith trumpeted the

Conservative’s promised $4.3

billion compensation package

for supply management, but it

was never passed by Cabinet,

meaning the new Liberal

government is not bound to

honour it. He insisted the

package does not represent a

subsidy; instead, he calls it

compensation for “an

expropriation of some of my

property.”

With the conclusion of the

European and TPP trade

negotiations, DFC is shifting its

attention to the Agreement on

Internal Trade (AIT), which

governs interprovincial trade.

The AIT is now being rewritten

and DFC wants to ensure

supply management is

maintained “so we have the

same assurances provincially

as federally.”

The biggest challenge

facing the Canadian dairy

industry is not trade but the

increasing ow of dialtered

milk into Canada. At 85%

protein, dialtered milk (also

known as MPI – milk protein

isolate) is “almost a solid.” BC

Milk Marketing Board chair Jim

Byrne notes processors use it

extensively in making cheese

as it allows them to “get more

cheese out of the vat.”

“Ingredient”

The Canadian Border

Services Agency denes it as

an “ingredient,” meaning it is

not subject to either taris or

volume restrictions when it

comes into Canada. As soon as

it crosses the border, however,

the Canadian Food Inspection

Agency calls it “milk,” meaning

it can be used in cheese.

Bureaucratic solutions

“We have asked (the new)

government to make this the

highest priority for the dairy

industry,” Smith said, adding

DFC wants a political solution

“because we never win in

bureaucratic solutions.”

“We can’t leave it the way it

is,” Byrne added.

He pointed out Canada

imported 60% more MPI’s in

2015 than the year previous,

saying that has led to two

other problems. Because

processors now use more

cream to “balance” the cheese

mix, there is not enough

cream left to produce the

butter required, leading to a

serious butter shortage. It has

also increased the mountain of

skim milk powder (SMP),

reducing that value.

“We were selling SMP at

$4,000 per tonne a year ago,

now it’s $1,750 per tonne,”

Byrne stated.

“We are working on an

ingredient strategy with the

processors to address this,” he

said.

Because of their use of

foreign product, Smith said

the major processors asked

DFC to suspend its “little blue

cow” logo before they would

discuss the ingredient issue.

“The blue cow aects their

margins,” he noted.

Logo awareness

That’s a non-starter for DFC

as it has put a lot of eort into

getting Canadians aware of

the logo, which identies

products made of “100%

Canadian milk.”

“We are linking the blue

cow with our proAction

initiative,” Smith said.

He said the eort is having

some success, noting Tim

Horton’s is “bound and

determined” to use only all-

Canadian products.

“That helps us,” Smith said,

adding it is now up to

consumers to “pressure

retailers for more blue cow

products on the shelf.”

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Under the Terms of the Bylaws of the Association

Members are Directed to Take Notice of the

127th Annual General Meeting of the

BRITISH COLUMBIA

FRUIT GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION

January 29-30, 2016

At the RAMADA HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, KELOWNA

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 BUSINESS SESSION (1 PM–5 PM)

• Annual Report of the Executive;

• Financial statements, budget, and any Special Resolutions;

• Annual reports of subsidiaries:

• BC Research and Development Orchard Ltd.

• Summerland Varieties Corporation;

• Guest speakers and reports of industry organizations and companies;

• Committee reports and resolutions for delegate consideration.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2016 POLICY SESSION (8:30 AM–2 PM)

• Guest speakers and reports of industry organizations & companies;

• Special reports;

• Committee reports and resolutions for delegate consideration;

• Election of the BCFGA Executive at 2:00 pm

SOCIAL - A Social will be held on Friday evening. All members and

government and industry organization representatives are invited to

attend the social from 6 – 8 pm on Friday, January 29 at the

Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre, Kelowna.

BC FRUIT GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION office:

880 Vaughan Avenue, Kelowna, BC V1Y 7E4

250-762-5226 (T) (250) 861-9089 (F) www.bcfga.com

All members and industry and

government representatives welcome.

Lunch provided on Saturday.

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SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY

Last September, the BC Ministry of Agriculture

released a document titled Regulating Agri-tourism

and Farm Retail Sales in the Agricultural Land Reserve;

Discussion Paper and Proposed Minister’s Bylaw

Standards. The executive summary invites review

and feedback from local governments preparatory

to the development of a Minister’s Bylaw Standard

to guide local governments in developing bylaws

regulating agri-tourism and farm retail sales on the

ALR.

The last item in the document is an invitation to

stakeholders in general to weigh in on the

conversation. The discussion was scheduled to close

on November 30 but the deadline has been

extended to January 15. The extended deadline

likely indicates wide-spread concern and comment

from the “stakeholder” constituency.

Agri-tourism and farm retail sales in the ALR are

regulated by the Agricultural Land Commission,

which details permitted uses and circumstances.

Both uses are increasingly important components of

many BC farms and both have been actively

encouraged by the ministry itself. In the 1990’s,

government funded the establishment of the BC

Agri-tourism Alliance to grow the sector and provide

input on its behalf. Former ministry staer Brent

Warner was (and is) a highly regarded and tirelessly

supportive agri-tourism and direct farm marketing

specialist. There were even legislative changes made

to allow certain types and amounts of on-farm

accommodation. Inevitably, as these activities and

uses increase and evolve, some of them will end up

on the wrong side of the ALC’s regulatory fence.

In early November, new ALC chair Frank Leonard

spoke to the directors and various members of

agricultural committees of the Alberni Clayoquat

Regional District. Leonard outlined plans to double

or perhaps triple the number of compliance and

enforcement personnel, explaining that there have

been 600 ALC cease and desist orders issued that

have never been checked for compliance. Although

Leonard did not indicate what number of

complaints and violations pertained to agri-tourism

and farm retail sales, it is likely they are driving the

proposed Minister’s Bylaw Standard discussion.

Two tiers of agri-tourism activity

The purpose of the ALC (short version) is to

preserve agricultural land, encourage farming and

encourage governments not to throw a regulatory

wrench in the works. To this end, the ALC has

established two tiers of agri-tourism activities; Tier 1,

permitted activities, and Tier 2, activities/events that

require ALC approval. The list of permitted activities

includes all of the usual ag related events: u-pick,

pumpkin patch, school tours, livestock shows, farm

stays, etc. Some of the events that require approval

seem like no brainers: mini train parks and

helicopter tours for instance. Others, less so. Some

of the activities, like hosting a wedding on the farm,

seem less likely to subvert the ALC’s purposes. To its

credit, the ALC has not outright banned Tier 2

activities or events; they merely require approval.

We might wonder, though, what criteria determine

the granting or denial of approval. What are the

odds of success? What is the time frame for

approval? What does an application cost? These are

not questions that rightly fall within the Minister’s

Bylaw Standards discussion, but the intention of

increased enforcement from the ALC and the

likelihood of more stringent bylaw regulation are

raising concerns for many agri-tourism operators.

There are another set of criteria within the ALC

regulations that govern all agri-tourism activities.

Most of the activities must be of a temporary or

seasonal nature, and the income derived from any

of them must not exceed the income derived from

regular farm income. But what of the Okanagan

orchardist who loses a crop to frost or hail. Must he

or she then apply for approval to sustain the agri-

tourism component of their business? Common

sense would say that there should be exceptions

made, but bureaucracies seldom become more

exible as they grow.

Agri-tourism and farm retail sales are critical to

the continued nancial success of many BC farms.

While these activities should not thwart the general

intent of the ALR or provide an opportunity do an

end run around it altogether, there needs to be

sucient exibility in the regulations and their

application to allow bona de farmers and ranchers

to continue to engage in agri-tourism and farm

marketing activities that do not negatively impact

the current or future agricultural use of their land.

A download of the discussion paper is available

at: [www2.gov.bc.ca]. (Search for agri-tourism bylaw

standard.)

Editor & Publisher Peter Wilding

Phone: 604/871-0001 • Fax: 604/871-0003

E-mail: countrylifeinbc@shaw.ca • Web: countrylifeinbc.com

Associate Editor David Schmidt

Phone: 604-793-9193

E-mail: davidschmidt@shaw.ca

Advertising Sales & Marketing Cathy Glover

Phone: 604/328-3814

E-mail: cathyglover@telus.net

Production Ass’t: Ann Morris • Senior Researcher: Phil “Xavier” Gordon

COUNTRY

Life

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Country Life in British Columbia.

Letters are welcome, though they may be edited in the interest of brevity before publication.

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The agricultural news source

in British Columbia since 1915

Published monthly by

Country Life 2000 Ltd.

Vol. 102 No. 1

January 2016

in B.C.

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Flexibility, common sense needed for agri-tourism regs

The Back 40

BOB COLLINS

Country Life in BC • January 20164

Hope springs eternal, especially at the

end of one year and the beginning of

another.

But the hard reality is that the changes

often needed to fulfil our hopes are hard to

come by.

Consider this: in studies of patients who

required bypass surgery, 90% couldn’t

make the changes needed to avoid future

treatment, let alone prevent an early death.

Kickstart those changes with a year of

programmed support, however, and the

lifestyle changes needed to make a

difference took root, with 77% of patients

keeping up their newfound health regime

three years later.

The studies suggest opportunities for

growing BC’s agriculture sector – and not

just through sales of heart-friendly foods

that keep patients on the right track.

Agriculture minister Norm Letnick

announced Victoria’s goal to boost the

province’s agri-food sales to $15 billion a

year by 2020. Sales totalled $12.3 billion in

2014, including approximately $3 billion in

farmgate revenues. Stronger exports this

year will likely see 2015 sales exceed $13

billion.

Bringing new land into production and

boosting exports are two key ways that

government wants to achieve its goals. But

growers have consistently pointed out that

more support is needed to generate

success.

Rhonda Driediger, echoing long-

standing calls from the BC Fruit Growers

Association for government to boost its

funding of the agriculture sector relative to

GDP, said government funding needs to be

up to the task.

Opposition MLAs heard similar concerns

during a series of hearings on the

agriculture sector last year, with calls for

investment in everything from extension

workers to the work of the Agricultural

Land Commission and other coordinating

bodies. Conservation officers and those

charged with enforcing the laws and

regulations governing agriculture in the

province are also needed.

It’s a brand new year, and here’s hoping

it comes with the resolve of government to

adequately support the common goal of

prosperity and success for BC farmers.

Change we can support

2016

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First, the bad news. Farmers

around the world did a great

job last year. The good news?

Farmers around the world did

a great job last year.

Such is the unfortunate

reality of the grain market. As

speakers at last fall’s Cereals

North America conference in

Winnipeg said, the world is

“awash with grain,” which has

driven prices into the

doldrums. Unless there’s some

“good” news (perversely, as in

someone else having a poor

crop), it seems there is little

chance of a turnaround any

time soon.

It’s been a long time since

we heard as much bearish

news as we did at last

November’s conference. The

two words “set aside” even

surfaced, a reference to the

1950s to 1980s US policy of

paying farmers not to grow

crops in order to reduce

supplies and increase the

price. That was combined

with holding government-

owned stocks in reserve, and

not releasing them until they

reached a target level.

Freedom to Farm

Those policies worked but

in the 1980s the US

government said it was tired

of being the only one holding

up prices and accused

competitors of taking

advantage of them with all-

out production. That led to

the Export Enhancement

Program, which gave

government-held stocks to

exporters as a bonus for

making sales, and eventually

to the “Freedom to Farm”

policy in 1995. That meant

that farmers were free to grow

as much as they liked and

subsidy programs would be

based on revenue, not

production.

The US government further

juiced production with biofuel

subsidies and more than 40%

of the corn crop is not used

for ethanol. That was in the

“We’re going to run out of oil

and be held hostage to the

Saudis” days. Today, we’re in

the “US is almost self-sucient

in oil” days. Now, gasoline is

cheaper than ethanol and US

overall fuel consumption has

dropped, so ethanol demand

has stalled.

Soaring greenback

The subsequent strength of

the US economy combined

with other world troubles has

meant that the greenback has

soared compared to other

currencies. On one hand,

that’s been good news for

Canadian producers. The

weaker loonie has partly oset

prices relative to the US. The

bad news is that other

currencies have dropped

much further. If you’re a

Brazilian soybean producer,

it’s party time. In Brazilian

reals, soybean producers are

receiving as much as they did

in 2012 when the price was

US$17 per bushel. So there’s

even more incentive for them

to continue all-out

production.

The same applies to the

Black Sea countries that,

combined, are now the

world’s largest exporters of

wheat. The weakness in the

Russian ruble and Ukrainian

hryvnia means they’re also

partly isolated from lower US-

denominated prices, allowing

them to be even more

competitive. The US and

Canada combined are now at

a record-low 26% of the world

wheat market.

If you’re looking for hope

on the demand side, it might

be awhile. In his presentation,

Dan Basse of AgResources

noted that not only has

biofuels demand plateaued,

so has the sharp rise in per

capita calorie consumption in

Asia. He forecast that world

per capita consumption will

only increase modestly, partly

because an aging population

doesn’t eat as much,

especially meat. As for the

ever-increasing world

population that we hear so

much about needing to feed,

Basse noted that it’s actually

expected to drop in Russia,

Europe and Japan, which

have been among the larger

per capita consumers until

now.

China has recently been a

major driver of import

demand but a recurring

theme at last fall’s conference

was just how large China’s

corn stockpile has become.

This is a government-held

reserve that must be released

for sale when the stocks are

three years old. The USDA

puts the stockpile at 90

million tonnes but trade

estimates range as high as 200

million. Either way, China’s

feed grain imports are likely to

slow dramatically.

El Niño and La Niña

If you’re rather uncharitably

hoping that a crop shortfall

(somewhere else, of course)

will turn things around, you

may have to wait awhile. El

Niño has been getting plenty

of headlines recently, but

weather specialists at the

conference were mixed on

whether it would have much

eect, except possibly in the

Black Sea region. There was

more consensus that a switch

to a La Niña phase later this

year might cause more crop

problems.

Blip and a bull

But with so much

production now spread into

newer regions such as the

Black Sea and South America,

total world production is now

more stable, and made even

more so by the increasingly

widespread adoption of

modern farming practices.

Just as in the past, sooner or

later there will be another

production blip and another

bull market. But the evidence

is that the blip will be smaller

and the bull market will be

shorter.

Farmers have been

responding for all those calls

to feed the world. Once again,

they’re not being rewarded

for their eort.

John Morriss

is associate publisher

of Manitoba Co-operator.

Viewpoint

JOHN MORRISS

Boom or bust: either way farmers get the shaft

Total world grain production well distributed and more stable

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 5

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Thursday - Saturday 9 am - 430 pm

For more information: 604.291-1553 | info@agricultureshow.net

www.agricultureshow.net

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 7

The Pacic Agriculture Show at Abbotsford Tradex is expanding again this year, with nearly 300

exhibitors and a fully packed agenda of producer meetings and workshops. (File photo)

by DAVID SCHMIDT

ABBOTSFORD – BC’s biggest

agriculture show of the year is

returning to the Tradex in

Abbotsford, January 28-30.

Now in its 18th year, the

Pacic Agriculture Show

annually attracts over 7,000

people, including about 2,000

farmers who come for

information on a wide variety

of subjects and for the chance

to meet friends and view

hundreds of farm-related

exhibits.

“We have close to 300

exhibitors this year,” says PAS

trade show co-ordinator Jim

Shepard.

The number and variety of

exhibitors continues to

increase. When larger exhibits

leave, they are replaced by

multiple smaller exhibits.

Some of the larger exhibits are

shrinking their indoor exhibit

space by displaying their

equipment outside. There

were about 80 pieces of

equipment outside last year

and Shepard expects at least

that many this year.

“As equipment sizes

increase, there isn’t room for

them inside,” he notes.

Two tents provide

additional covered space. The

MNP Pavilion at the south end

of Wing 2 will be home of the

growers’ luncheon, Petting

Zoo and Farm Museum, and

the site of Thursday

afternoon’s opening

reception. The Scotiabank

Pavilion on the east side will

be used for the dairy lunch on

Thursday, a new products and

ideas showcase on Friday and

the BC Dairy Association’s

Mobile Dairy Classroom on

Saturday.

Trade show entry is

included with registrations for

the Horticulture Short Course,

BC Dairy Expo or Agricultural

and Municipal Biogas Forum.

Persons wishing to visit the

trade show only can buy

tickets at the door for $14 for

adults, $10 for seniors and

4-H’ers. Children under 14 are

admitted free. Trade show

admission is good for multiple

entries all three days.

Parking is free all three days,

thanks to the support of

Kubota, which will also be

oering a “ride and drive”

demo of selected equipment

on Thursday.

BC Agri-Food Gala

As usual, the BC Agriculture

Industry Gala at the Ramada

Plaza in Abbotsford,

Wednesday, January 27, will

precede the Pacic Agriculture

Show.

The Gala is a “celebration”

of agriculture’s

achievements in the past

year and the people who

have made it happen, says

BC Agriculture Council

executive director Reg Ens.

“The Gala acknowledges

industry leaders,” he says.

As such, it will be used to

present the BCAC Leadership

Award and a new farm safety

award from AgSafe.

Agriculture In the Classroom

will also recount its successes

in the past year while the

Outstanding Young Farmer

program will present its 2016

winner.

There were still seats

available in early December

but Ens says they are going

quickly.”We sell out every

year.”

For tickets, call BCAC at

866-522-3447 or visit:

[www.bcac.bc.ca].

BC Dairy Expo

The BC Dairy Expo also

begins the day before the

Trade show ups

exhibits, variety

for its18th event

agriculture show with the

popular annual Dairy Farm Self

Tour, January 27.

The two farms likely to

attract the most interest are

Gracemar Farms in Chilliwack

and Bileena Holsteins in

Agassiz. At Gracemar, farmers

will be able to see a robotic

rotary milking parlour.

Installed by Pacic Dairy

Centre, the 60-stall GEA

DairyProQ parlour is the rst of

its kind in North America. At

Bileena, Pacic Dairy installed

BC’s rst GEA MI-one double

box robotic milking system.

Unlike other robotic milkers,

the MI-one uses a one-stop

attachment to prepare,

stimulate and milk the udder.

The system also includes GEA’s

CowScout herd health and

activity monitoring system.

Please see “PACIFIC” page 8

Thank you to the 2016 Biogas Forum sponsors:

Registration only $20

before January 11th for

Farmers & Students

The Biogas Forum is proudly

presented by ARDCorp &

Canadian Biogas Association

To sign-up or for more details about the

2016 Biogas Forum, please visit

www.agricultureshow.net/agri-energy-forum

2016 Agricultural & Municipal Biogas Forum:

Closing the Loop

January 28th - 29th, 2016 at

Tradex, Abbotsford

Learn about biogas, potential

nutrient value, and the

opportunity to produce

fuel for machinery

2016 Agricultural & Municipal Biogas Forum:

Closing the Loop

PACIFIC AGRICULTURE SHOW PREVIEW

BC Agri-Food Gala

BC Dairy Expo

Country Life in BC • January 20168

Four other farms complete

the 2016 tour. In Abbotsford,

Whatcom Acres Farm will be

demonstrating its new Lely

Vector automatic feeding

system while Crossroads Dairy

Farm will tour people through

its new 40-stall DeLaval

internal rotary herringbone

parlour in the morning only.

Dale Jerseys in Mission will

show o its new drive-through

barn complete with two

DeLaval robotic milkers, an

animal-friendly Surebond Safe

Floor and Artex comfort stalls

with Gel Mats. Sand bedding

and three Lely Astronaut

robotic milkers are highlights

of the new barn and milking

facilities at West River Farm in

Rosedale.

Farmers should pick up a

tour guide from the BC

Ministry of Agriculture or dairy

equipment suppliers for

directions and each farm’s

visiting hours. Complimentary

lunches will be available at

Gracemar Farms and Dale

Jerseys.

Because robotic technology

requires dierent

management approaches, the

BC Dairy Expo at the PAS

Thursday morning will feature

Dr. Jerey Bewley of the

University of Kentucky

Department of Animal and

Food Sciences. He will discuss

the economics and

implementation of precision

dairy technologies for mastitis

prevention, cow comfort and

lameness prevention.

Following Bewley,

University of BC Faculty of

Land and Food Systems

assistant professor of animal

reproduction Dr. Ronaldo Cerri

will describe his research into

strategies to overcome sub-

fertility in dairy cows, such as

the use of automated

methods to detect estrus,

ovulation time and health

disorders.

The morning will conclude

with a 30-minute presentation

on Dairy Farmers of Canada’s

proAction Initiative.

Interested farmers can

morning. Cost of the sessions

is $20 and includes the

Scotiabank BBQ lunch at noon

and a three-day pass to the

trade show.

Biogas Forum

Since its addition to the

Pacic Agriculture Show

program six years ago, the

Pacic Agri-Energy Forum has

been encouraging the

adoption of new technologies

to create value out of farm

waste by producing biogas

and other types of energy on-

farm.

This year the forum is not

only “closing the loop” but

adjusting its focus to include

both agricultural and

municipal biogas production.

The forum begins Thursday

afternoon with an update on

the state of on-farm biogas in

both Canada and the US. It will

be followed by a discussion of

nutrient management issues

associated with biogas

technologies. Farmers who

learned about and toured the

anaerobic digester at

Seabreeze Farms in Delta

during last year’s forum should

be interested in an update on

the Trident Nutrient Recovery

System, now that it has been

operating for a year. They will

also get initial results of eld

application trials for digestate.

Friday morning will be of

more interest to municipal

ocials as it discusses

municipal biogas projects in

both BC and Sweden. Friday

afternoon will look at the use

of biogas as a renewable

natural gas vehicle fuel.

Farmers wishing to attend

just the Thursday afternoon

session can do so for $20 if

they register by January 12.

Registration for the entire

forum is $65 before January 12

and $95 thereafter. Register at

[www.agricultureshow.net].

Agriculture

For the last two years,

Kwantlen Polytechnic

University Institute for

Sustainable Food Systems has

been presenting some very

popular small farm sessions at

the Pacic Agriculture Show

on Saturday.

This year, KPU and the

University of the Fraser Valley

are combining forces to look

at urban agriculture, Saturday

morning. Participants will learn

what urban agriculture is and

hear from several people who

are already engaged in this

emerging eld.

In the afternoon, Tom

Baumann of UFV will chair a

symposium on hop

production and processing, a

crop which shows a lot of

promise given the increasing

consumer interest in and

demand craft breweries.

Horticulture Short Course

The Horticulture Growers

Short Course began as a short

course for strawberry and

raspberry growers over six

decades ago and berries are

still the backbone of the

program. Thursday’s sessions

are aimed at strawberry and

raspberry growers while

Saturday’s sessions focus on

blueberries. Growers will learn

about disease and pest

management, mulches, soil

fumigation, new varieties and

market outlooks. Highlighted

speakers include David

Gombas of the United Fresh

Produce Association, Martine

Dorais, the most recent

addition to the research sta

at the Agassiz Research &

Development Centre, Lisa

Wasko DeVetter of

Washington State University

Department of Horticulture,

and berry breeders from BC,

Washington and Oregon.

Friday afternoon all

growers will get the latest

information on SWD

monitoring and management

and the impact of the new

Water Sustainability Act.

University of California

strawberry and caneberry

specialist Mark Bolda will

detail strategies to manage

lygus bugs and stink bugs

and present the latest

research on soil fumigation

options.

Friday morning’s sessions

are all about improving farm

business management. In the

Terralink Room, three experts

from the US and the

Netherlands will describe the

use of robotics, also known as

precision agriculture, in

agricultural production and

provide their insights into how

it will impact how farms

operate in the future.

“Come prepared or send in

advance the challenges your

farm faces and let’s discuss

ways to continue on the path

to precision and data decision

farming,” says keynote speaker

Lisa Prassack, a Colorado agri-

food innovation expert and

data strategy consultant.

The new Water

Sustainability Act, now coming

into eect, will have a huge

impact on farming in the

future. Friday morning in the

Direct Solutions Room,

growers will learn how the act

diers from the old Water Act

and what provincial resources

are available to manage water

on the farm, particularly in

light of a changing climate.

Of course, you have to

make money to farm, and

that’s not always easy. To help

you manage the nancial risks,

senior MNP sta will present a

two-hour symposium on

managing risk and uncertainty,

including the use of

AgriStability and private sector

risk management tools, Friday

morning in the BASF Gallery.

Potatoes & Field Vegetables

What are the most

promising new potato

varieties? How do you manage

trips and wireworms in

potatoes? How can you use

biotic inputs to manage soils

for growing potatoes? These

are the questions to be

answered at the potato

session in the BASF Gallery

Thursday morning. Speakers

include Colorado potato

Please see “PACIFIC” page 9

PACIFIC AGRICULTURE SHOW PREVIEW

Biogas Forum

Urban & Specialty Ag

Horticulture Short Course

Business Management

Potatoes & Field Vegetables

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC 9

grower Brendon Rockey,

Heather Meberg and Kiara Jack

of ES Cropconsult and Agassiz

Research and Development

Centre scientists Bob Vernon

and Wim Van Herk.

Vernon will be back in the

BASF Gallery Thursday

afternoon to oer advice on

managing cabbage root

maggots in brassica crops. The

afternoon will also include

help in managing weeds in

eld vegetables and a panel

discussion on managing

powdery mildew in cucurbits.

The BASF Gallery will have

more information for eld

vegetable growers Friday

afternoon. Topics include okra,

table beets and sweet

potatoes. BCMA eld

vegetable specialist Susan

Smith and Renee Prasad of the

University of the Fraser Valley

will also provide highlights of

the 2016 BC Field Vegetable

Production Guide.

Greenhouse Vegetables

Want to add a new crop to

your greenhouse? How about

Chinese /Indian eggplant or

strawberries? Learn about

these opportunities from

Villam Zvallo of the Vineland

Research & Innovation Centre

and Chieri Kubota of the

University of Arizona, Thursday

morning in the Direct

Solutions Room. Greenhouse

growers will also learn about

the impacts of production

practices on fruit quality, the

use of chlorine dioxide to

disinfect irrigation water and a

new ventilated latent heat

converter for greenhouse

dehumidication.

Floriculture

Thursday afternoon in the

Direct Solutions Room,

researchers and extension

workers from Ontario,

California and the Netherlands

will discuss topics of interest to

oriculture growers. They will

oer helpful tips on the use of

biocontrols, insecticide

rotation, height control of

oriculture crops and discuss

the latest robotic systems

available to growers.

Organic Production

What products are available

for organic growers and how

can they best be used? Which

vegetable varieties are best for

organic production in the

Fraser Valley? How is

commercial compost made?

Those are just some of the

questions to be answered at

the organic sessions in the

BASF Gallery. The full day of

presentations will conclude

with an update on the Canada

Organic Standards and

The backbone of the Pacic Agriculture Show is its producer presentations on everything from energy

to crop production. (File photo)

Permitted Substances List.

Hazelnuts

For the third year in a row,

the BC Hazelnut Growers

Association will be holding its

annual meeting at the Pacic

Agriculture Show. The annual

meeting will be held Saturday

afternoon in the Direct

Solutions Room and include

the latest data from the

ongoing BC trial of new EFB-

resistant cultivars as well as

information on yields and

markets for the new variety

from Larry George of Oregon’s

George Packing Company.

Farm Direct Marketing

Ronda Payne has

presented stories about

farm direct marketers in

Country Life in BC and other

publications and on the

web for years. Friday

afternoon in the Direct

Solutions Room, she will

engage local direct

marketers in an interactive

discussion of how to grow

their business by simply

telling their story.

That is not the only way to

promote a farm direct

marketing business. Oering

additional insights will be

North American Farm Direct

Marketing Association

executive director Charlie

Touchette, one the most

widely sought-after speakers

on direct marketing.

To complete the

afternoon, Patrick Murphy

of Vista D’Oro Farms and

Winery will describe his

progression from selling

on-farm and at local

farmers markets to being

retailed in London’s

prestigious Harrods

department store.

Registration

Growers who register for

the Horticulture Growers

Short Course by January 11

pay only $80 for the first

representative and $80 for

all other representatives

from the same farm.

After January 11, all

registration fees increase to

$120. Lunch tickets are

available at $19 each when

you preregister or for $23 at

the door. Selected sessions

qualify for credits in the

Pesticide Applicators License

Re-certification Program.

Participants can register

online or download a

registration form at

[www.agricultureshow.net].

Greenhouse Vegetables

PACIFIC AGRICULTURE SHOW PREVIEW

Floriculture

Organic Production

Hazelnuts

Farm Direct Marketing

Registration

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC

Country Life in BC • January 201612

by DAVID SCHMIDT

VANCOUVER

– When BC

Dairy Association president

Dave Taylor of Viewfield

Farms in Courtenay talks

about good animal care and

top quality milk, it’s more

than just talk. At the BCDA

annual meeting in Vancouver,

November 27, Taylor was

given the second-annual BC

Milk Quality Award for the

best milk in the province last

year. Earning second place

honours was another

Vancouver Island dairyman,

Fred Wikkerink of Wikksview

Farms in Cobble Hill.

To qualify for the award, a

producer must have the

lowest average somatic cell

count and bacterial plate

count for the dairy year with

no infractions for antibiotics

or other impurities in the

milk.

Good animal care and

quality milk are two

cornerstones of Dairy

Farmers of Canada proAction

Initiative (PAI) which is now

being rolled out across the

country.

Animal care

New BC PAI co-ordinator

Elizabeth Schouten told

producers the milk quality

components are now fully

implemented even though

six BC milk producers are still

not registered for the

Canadian Quality Milk

program. The BC Milk

Marketing Board made

animal care mandatory in

September but Schouten

notes it will take two years to

validate all producers.

Validations before September

2016 will not include all

components of the program,

as Holstein Canada classifiers

will not begin performing

technical assessments until

then.

With the first three PAI

components now in place,

trials are beginning on

traceability and biosecurity.

Traceability means being

able to track a live animal

from the farm of origin to the

slaughterhouse, explains DFC

national traceability co-

ordinator Melissa Lalonde. It

includes premises ID, animal

ID and movement tracking.

“ID is the glue that holds all

the proAction parts

together,” she told producers.

A decade ago, traceability

was promoted to manage

disease outbreaks like hoof

and mouth or BSE and has

proved its value in avian

influenza outbreaks. Today,

however, it has a more critical

Animal welfare, milk quality cornerstones of BC dairy industry

He walks the talk. BC Dairy Association president Dave Taylor, left, of Vieweld Farms in Courtenay

(rst) and Fred Wikkerink of Wikksview Farm in Cobble Hill (second) received the 2015 BC Milk Quality

Awards from BC Milk Marketing Board chair Jim Byrne, at right, during the BC Dairy Conference in

Vancouver. (David Schmidt photo)

role to answer consumer

concerns about where their

food comes from.

All cattle premises,

including auction marts, must

have a unique premise ID and

each animal is expected to

have a tag in each ear.

Producers should tag a calf

between one to ten days of

age and activate the tag

within seven days. Animal

movements must be

recorded the day they occur

and tags retired within seven

days of an animal’s death.

Two years to “practice”

Lalonde said producers

have the next two years to

“practice” before traceability

becomes mandatory.

Traceability is critical to

effective biosecurity, says

Josh Waddington of

Greenbelt Veterinary Services

in Chilliwack. Although it has

not been a high priority for

many dairy farmers, he says

that needs to change.

“There are consequences

for not doing biosecurity,”

Waddington said.

DFC’s draft biosecurity

program sets out mandatory

minimum requirements and

includes a two-page

questionnaire to help farmers

assess their biosecurity risks

and responses.

He calls the people picking

up deadstock a farm’s

biggest biosecurity risk.

“You need to develop

standard operating protocols

for such things as

vaccinations and vehicle

movements,” he said.

Elizabeth Schouten

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 13

BC Holstein Branch AGM recognizes Ben Cuthbert for service

by DAVID SCHMIDT

VANCOUVER – Ben Cuthbert of

Silvermaple Farms in Ladysmith is

best known in the dairy industry for

his years as a BC Milk Marketing Board

director. For the past year, he has

served as BC’s director of Holstein

Canada. But he is also a good cowman

and the BC Holstein Branch

recognized that at their annual

meeting in Vancouver, November 25.

Cuthbert was presented with BC

Holstein’s prestigious 2015 cow of the

year award for Silvermaple Damion

Camomile. Now owned by Butlerview

Farm of Illinois, Camomile was the

reserve grand champion of the World

Dairy Expo in 2011 and twice named

an All-Canadian and All-American

cow.

“It’s great to have bred a cow like

that,” Cuthbert said, singling out

Stanhope-Wedgwood for “getting this

cow to the pinnacle” of the Holstein

show world.

Shows in decline

The number of shows, however,

continues to decline. Although BC

Holstein and Westcoast Holsteins

partnered to present a successful BC

Spring Show and Sale in March, the

Central Fraser Valley club’s fall show

was cancelled in 2015 due to low

entry numbers.

“Hopefully, there will be a fall show

next year,” BCH show committee chair

Matt Langelaan said.

Cuthbert was not the only Holstein

breeder the AGM recognized. The

branch also conferred honourary

memberships on Harry Bailey and

John Blair.

Regular attendee

A member of Holstein Canada for

over 60 years, Bailey has been a

regular attendee at the Royal Winter

Fair in Toronto, often leading top BC

show cattle. He was the rst president

of the Upper Fraser Valley Holstein

Club, BC Holstein president in 1971-

72, and BC Holstein secretary-

eldman in 1977-78. He also made his

mark as an exporter of BC Holstein

genetics to Japan and other foreign

markets.

Although his comment was not

specically directed at Bailey, HC

second vice president Orville Schmidt

acknowledged his contribution,

noting “it’s a feather in (BC’s) hat to

get the respect for your cattle that

you do in Japan.”

Blair served on the BC Holstein

board for almost 30 years, acting as

president in 1987-88. He also

represented BC at Holstein Canada for

almost a decade, serving as HC

president in 2003-14. He began his

show career as a 4-H’er, earning the

4-H grand championship at the PNE in

1959. His commitment to youth led

Long-time dairymen Harry Bailey and John Blair conferred honourary memberships

Holstein

Canada BC

director Ben

Cuthbert, at

right, of

Silvermaple

Farms in

Ladysmith

receives the

award for the

2015 BC

Holstein Cow

of the Year,

Silvermaple

Damion

Camomile,

from BC

Holsteins

director Brian

Hamming.

(David Schmidt

photo)

Please see “BC” page 14

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Agriculture is our way of life too

him to become one of the

founders of the Western

Canadian Classic (WCC) show

in the early 1980’s.

Money invested in WCC

and other initiatives for youth

“is never a waste,” BCH

president Kevin Antonsen

said. In 2015, the branch

helped BC youth attend the

WCC in Alberta, sponsored

three young adults at the

Holstein Canada Young

Leaders Program in New

Brunswick and sent two

others to the Manitoba Dairy

$en$e Workshop.

Holstein registrations

HC chief executive ocer

Ann Louise Carson said BC is

leading the way in

registrations and

classications with Holstein

Canada. In 2015, BC Holstein

registrations were up 9% and

classications up a whopping

25%. She told local breeders

HC will only take registrations

online after moving to its new

herdbook software at the end

of January. That won’t aect

many breeders as only 5% of

BC registrations are still being

done on paper. Almost half

are now being done by

Canwest DHI.

Canwest DHI marketing

and eld services manager

Richard Cantin noted 63% of

BC dairy herds are now on

DHI, the highest percentage

in ve years. That includes 35

herds using robotic milkers.

He also complimented BC

breeders on the health of

their animals. In the rst three

weeks DHI tested for sub

clinical ketosis, they found

only 15% positive tests. In the

next three weeks, that

dropped to 8%, the lowest

percentage in Canada and

well below the predicted 25%

positive.

BC LEADING IN REGISTRATIONS From page 13

Harry Bailey, left, and John

Blair, centre, were named the

2015 honorary members of the

BC Holstein Branch. Making the

presentation was branch

president Kevin Antonsen.

(David Schmidt photo)

Honoured

Former Island Farms president John Pendray, left, received

the BC Dairy Industry Achievement Award from Gerry Adams

of the BC Dairy Historical Society during the BC Dairy

Conference banquet. (David Schmidt photo)

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 15

by PETER MITHAM

GUELPH, ON – California’s

drought seems set to run for a

fth year, but University of

Guelph analysts suggest it

won’t be the key cause of food

price ination in 2015.

While this winter’s El Niño

weather pattern promises

precipitation to California’s

parched farmland, with early

signs pointing to a wetter

winter than last year amid the

deepest drought in 120 years,

water experts in Davis,

California report that this

winter’s precipitation “may

rell California’s drought-

diminished reservoirs, but it

won’t do much to restock the

severely depleted aquifers.”

Snowpack in the Sierra

Nevada, which supplies

valuable runo to irrigation

networks, was looking good

but the US Drought Monitor

noted in early November that

“given the long-term nature of

the drought in much of the Far

West, only scattered areas of

improvement were noted.”

The University of Guelph’s

Food Institute believes that

wetter conditions could lead

to increased production in

some parts of California, which

could keep prices in check.

“Production capacity could

be less of a concern and

would increase product

exports, particularly in

Canada,” the report led by

Sylvain Charlebois observes.

“Vegetable and fruit prices

could be aected as a result,

making procurement easier for

importers.”

But for consumers, those

increased imports will come at

a price, thanks to exchange

rates that have made items

sold in US dollars more

expensive.

Canada’s dollar was

plumbing 12-year lows in mid-

December, buying just 73 US

cents. This is a far cry from

February 2013, the last time

the two currencies were at

parity.

Charlebois and his

colleagues believe the dollar

could drop yet further in 2016,

plunging through 70 US cents

and pushing grocery prices

higher.

Consumers will cope

“For every cent drop in the

dollar over a short period of

time, currency-exposed food

categories like vegetables,

fruits and nuts are likely to

increase by more than 1%,”

the report states. “Many

vegetables, fruits, processed

and grocery products are likely

to continue to increase in

2016. Unlike meats, it is more

challenging to nd substitutes

for these products, so

consumers cope with higher

prices.”

Guelph’s Food Institute

expect food prices could rise

2% to 4% in 2016. This is

consistent with a reported

increase of 4.1% in grocery

prices in 2015, described as

“signicantly above ination.”

It’s also above the anticipated

Sagging dollar trumps drought in food price rise

gain of between 0.7% and 3%.

“This means the average

Canadian household likely

paid about $325 more for food

in 2015,” the report states,

before going on to note that

spending will continue to

increase in 2016, thanks

almost exclusively to

exchange rates.

“Our forecast predicts the

average household could

spend up to $345 more on

food in 2016,” it says.

The relative impact of

drought and the dollar is seen

in the forecast for vegetables,

which were expected to

increase 5.5% to 7.5% in 2015,

but in fact rose 10.1%. The

forecast for 2016 calls for an

increase of just 2% to 4%,

thanks to diminished drought

impacts and better hedging

practices.

Similarly, prices for fruit and

nuts leapt 9.1% in 2015, but

the forecast for 2016 is a shade

lower than last year’s forecast

at 2.5% to 4.5%.

Chances are consumers will

take the increases in stride,

however. While they may

mean pain for lower income

families, gains in average

household income are likely to

dull the impact.

Indeed, Food Freedom Day

– when the Canadian

Federation of Agriculture

reminds the country of just

how cheap food in Canada is –

is tentatively set for February

3, 2016. That’s three days

earlier than last year, a sign

that Canadians continue to

pay a diminishing share of

their earnings to be fed well.

A depreciating loonie is going to hurt Canadian consumers at the grocery checkout. (File photo)

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by MARGARET EVANS

EDMONTON – A

controversial bill that Alberta’s

NDP government says will

ensure its 60,000 farm and

ranch workers will have the

same basic protections that

other workers in the province

– and across Canada – have

received for decades passed

third and nal reading on

December 10, in spite of

public demonstrations against

the legislation.

The original purpose of Bill

6, the Enhanced Protection for

Farm and Ranch Workers Act,

was to ensure farms and

ranches would be subjected to

Occupational Health and

Safety legislation to prevent

farm and ranch incidents that

can result in injury or death; it

provides Workers’

Compensation Board

insurance coverage to support

workers injured on the job,

and farms and ranches would

be included in the

Employment Standards and

Labour Regulations legislation

allowing investigators to

review an injury, accident or

death related to the

commercial operation.

“Everyone deserves a safe,

fair and healthy workplace,”

said Lori Sigurdson, Minister of

Jobs, Skills, Training and

Labour. “With this Bill,

workplace legislation will now

extend to farms and ranches.

The rules we implement must

respect the unique qualities of

the farm and ranch industry,

and I look forward to working

with industry members to

develop rules that make

sense.”

The trouble is, what the Bill

is delivering isn’t what family

farms and ranches want. When

the Bill was rst oated,

contradictions misinformed

the agricultural community.

Information from WCB

contradicted the

government’s position on

mandatory coverage that

included children working on

family farms.

Traditionally, children,

neighbours and friends have

always pitched in to help at

heavy load times like calving,

haying and harvest. But under

the original text of Bill 6, WCB

coverage would be

mandatory.

The threat to the unique

operation of family farms

erupted in anger at many

town hall meetings and the

NDP government was forced

to clarify the intent and

meaning of Bill 6 with

amendments. According to

Alberta Agriculture website,

the proposed amendments

would:

• make clear WCB coverage

would be required only for

paid employees, with an

option for farmers to extend

coverage to unpaid workers

like family members,

neighbours and friends;

• make clear that Occupational

Health and Safety standards

apply when a farm employs

one or more paid employees

at any time of the year.

Farm and ranch workers will

be protected by the

Occupational Health and

Safety Act with regulations

beginning January 1, 2016.

Workers’ Compensation Board

coverage for employed farm

and ranch workers will also be

mandatory as of that date.

Changes to Alberta’s

Employment Standards and

Labour Relations legislation

will come into eect in the

spring of 2016, following

consultations with industry

regarding exemptions that

may be needed for unique

circumstances such as seeding

or harvesting. But the

government will continue to

work with the industry over

the next year to develop

detailed occupational health

and safety technical rules for

farms and ranches. Those rules

are expected to be in place in

2017.

What matters is that the

unique workplace

characteristics of farms and

ranches are recognized. At the

time of writing (mid-

December), further

amendments to the Bill are

Angst on the farm in Alberta

Controversial bill that endeavours to provide farm

workers with more protection under increasing fire

expected.

“No one has condence in

the NDP,” says Gary

Westergaard of GW Equine

Services in Sherwood Park.

“Agriculture is very diverse.

There are grain growers,

feedlots, cattle, horses. But

they just want to pass (the Bill)

as a blanket policy. It’s got the

whole province riled up. An

amendment doesn’t cut it.

People want it stopped.”

There was so much anger

among the farming community

that a convoy of trucks, semi-

trailers, tractors, ranchers on

horseback and a smorgasbord

of specialized agricultural

equipment made its way to

Okotoks in early December to a

townhall-style forum. Hundreds

of protesters have shown up at

the legislature to tell the

government to slow or kill the

bill.

“We appreciate the

concerns farmers and ranchers

have raised,” says Oneil Carlier,

Alberta’s Minister of

Agriculture and Forestry. “To

be clear, Bill 6 is not in any way

going to aect children doing

their chores, participating in 4-

H or learning the family

business. It does not prevent

neighbours, relatives and

friends from helping each

other out during busy times. It

does not apply to recreational

activities such as riding horses

or hunting on farmland.

“What Bill 6 does is bring

Alberta farm and ranch safety

standards in line with other

provinces and ensure that if a

wage-earning employee is

injured or killed on the job,

that person and their family

have the same access to

nancial supports as

employees in other sectors.”

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Photo courtesy of CBC

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 17

by RONDA PAYNE

WHONNOCK – Perhaps the

new alternative crop in BC is

one that’s been around for

years – if only in the

underground economy.

Unfortunately, water concerns

keep Whonnock residents

from welcoming the new pot-

growing Tantalus Labs with

open arms.

The fact that Tantalus is a

legal medical marijuana

producer isn’t the concern of

residents in the east Maple

Ridge community; it’s their

sensitive Grant Hill aquifer that

has turned them against the

operation.

Birgit Mischke, a resident

near the project, says the fact

the operation is growing pot is

irrelevant to the area residents.

“Our concern is the water,”

she notes. “Even if he would

grow lettuce, or tomatoes, or

cucumbers, or dandelions or

daisies.”

The Grant Hill aquifer has

been an issue for a number of

years. Residents like Mischke,

Mitch Jensen and former MLA

Dennis Streifel all say that

summers are particularly

dicult for Whonnock

residents as many wells run

dry. Some residents haul water

to their properties each

summer.

Dan Sutton, managing

director with Tantalus Labs,

has taken steps to address

resident concerns.

“Tantalus Labs believes our

material investment in water

management strategies should

allay rational concern,” Sutton

says. “Tantalus Labs has

voluntarily commissioned the

services of an independent

third party hydrological

engineer. This engineer has

stated in writing and in the

public domain that as long as

the well is operated as per our

building permit application

that ‘[the engineers] do not

anticipate any impacts to the

source aquifer or adjacent

wells’.”

The hydrological report

does not allay resident fears of

increasing water shortages,

however.

“He can potentially aect

any well in the area,” Mischke

says. “There’s not enough

water here for the residents.”

When complete, Tantalus’s

operation will be an 115,000

square foot greenhouse facility

designed to grow cannabis

with the aid of the sun.

Sutton notes the traditional

basement or warehouse

grower has far less eciency,

especially when it comes to

natural resource inputs. Sutton

believes Tantalus can build

software to create more

ecient data management to

better manipulate the

environment in the

greenhouse to improve

productivity.

“They are paying about 20

times as much in electricity to

give the plant less ecient

light quality,” he says, “so in a

greenhouse, we will take

sunlight and combine it with

the environmental control. The

electricity savings show up not

only in the carbon savings, but

also on the balance sheet.”

Despite this, residents in 64

homes within 500 meters of

the Tantalus facility have the

potential to be impacted

negatively, according to

Jensen. He has the greatest

understanding among

residents when it comes to the

aquifer as he and wife Silvie

have done research on local

aquifers, particularly the Grant

Hill one, for a number of years.

It has unique challenges,

dierent from other aquifers

and has been labelled as

vulnerable by the Ministry of

Forests, Lands and Natural

Resources.

“Mr. Sutton should have

done his homework prior to

locating in an area that is

locally known for its water

shortages,” says Jensen. “There

are no industrial scale farming

activities in Whonnock for a

Whonnock residents believe aquifer at risk with large-scale pot grower

Whonnock residents have been protesting the construction of a new greenhouse to grow medical

marijuana – but it’s not the nature of the crop that has them up in arms. They say the area’s aquifer is

already inadequate to service existing residences and farms and they’re convinced the greenhouse

operation will lead to further water shortages. (Jo Sleigh le photo)

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reason.”

Sutton notes the site was

chosen because “the District of

Maple Ridge has been more

amenable to agricultural

cannabis operations than

other regions.”

It is not known if Sutton was

aware of the community’s

ongoing water problems at

the time Tantalus purchased

the site, which is in the

agricultural land reserve.

“We have invested

approximately $500,000 in a

close to 5,000 cubic meter

reservoir to house rainwater

recaptured from our roof,”

Sutton says. “We estimate that

about 90% of our water needs

will be accommodated by this

system.”

Streifel and Jensen both

note that the rainwater Sutton

captures will reduce the water

returned to the aquifer.

“Rain harvesting has come

up within [Sutton’s] program

stream a few times now, with

little account that even using

that water commodity then

Please see “PROTEST” page 18

Helping industry build & implement

practical & sustainable programs & publications

To see past projects and potential scope of services

visit www.qfirst.ca

Ph: 604-309-3509

E: qfirst@telus.net

For more information

or to pursue an idea

contact:

Annette Moore

B.Sc.(Agr), M.Sc., P.Ag.

Quality First in

Agriculture Inc.

Dustin

Stadnyk

CPA, CA

Chris

Henderson

BBA, CPA, CA

Nathalie

Merrill

CPA, CMA

TOLL FREE 1-888-818-FARM | www.farmtax.com

Expert farm taxation advice:

• Purchase and sale of farms

• Transfer of farms to children

• Government subsidy programs

• Preparation of farm tax returns

• Use of $813,600 Capital Gains Exemptions

Approved consultants for Government funding through

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Country Life in BC • January 201618

PROTEST From page 17

by DAVID SCHMIDT

VANCOUVER – For dairy

farmers, bigger is better – if

you can aord it.

“Bigger has benets but

you have to do it smart,”

KPMG partner David Guthrie

of Chilliwack told producers at

the BC Dairy Conference in

Vancouver, November 26.

“An increased herd size

increases the production

margin but it also adds debt

load,” added KPMG senior

manager Matt Creechan.

Guthrie, Creechan and

KPMG senior principal David

Metzger presented initial

results of a benchmarking

study KPMG is conducting

with some of its dairy clients.

The study currently

includes 47 producers with

parlours and 17 producers

using robotic milkers

although Creechan says they

are open to having more

participants. Farms range in

size from as little as 40 kgs to

as much as 900 kgs of

continuous daily quota (CDQ),

with an average of 197.7 kgs

of CDQ.

Creechan says feed, labour

and production expenses eat

up 62% of farm revenues,

leaving only 38% to cover

management wages,

amortization, debt servicing,

taxes and prot.

Feed costs up

When feed costs shot up a

couple of years ago, the

amount of cash coming out of

the barn to those costs was

only $7.34 per kg shipped. As

producers changed their

management, that increased

to $8.77 per kg in 2015.

However, Creechan notes

producers also increased their

debt load during the same

period. Even though

producers received quota

increases of over 10% in the

past two years, their debt load

increased from $22,154 per kg

in 2013 to $23,186 per kg in

2015.

Given the above numbers,

KPMG calculates that adding

one kg of quota would add

$3,171 in annual cash

earnings.

“This would be the

expected cash available to

pay for the nancing of that

kilogram purchased,”

Creechan explains.

This would not cover

today’s cost of quota

amortized over 15 years at a

3.5% interest rate although

farmers may be able to

leverage the purchase using

their existing cash ow and/or

assets, such as their land base.

“You need to manage cash

ow and pay attention to

debt servicing costs,” Guthrie

reminded producers.

As if that is not enough to

think about, Metzger advises

producers to also think about

their corporate structure. He

notes there are tax

advantages to incorporation

since corporations which

qualify for small business tax

rates pay less than a third of

the marginal personal income

tax rate for people earning

over $100,000 per year.

However, he warned the

cost of land and quota may

disqualify some farmers from

the small business category.

“If your assets exceed $15

million, you’re a large

business,” he pointed out.

Benchmarking study weighs the pros and cons of dairy herd size

impedes the replenishing of

ground water sources that

would normally recharge

aquifers, creeks, rivers, etc. on

the broader scale,” says Jensen.

Last March, a community

forum was held. Maple Ridge

mayor Nicole Read explained it

was the biggest turnout she’d

seen at such an event.

“We had to open the back

doors and put tents up,” she

notes.

The forum was followed by

a rally in Whonnock in May.

While a great amount of

research has been done on

both sides, the reality of the

situation won’t be conrmed

until early 2016 when the

operation begins production

following completion of

construction and approval is

granted to Tantalus from

Health Canada.

Unfortunately, if water does

run short in Whonnock,

residents are uncertain if the

municipality will come to their

aid.

“[The municipality] had told

us water was not their

responsibility; it’s a provincial

responsibility,” says Mischke.

“We have to buy our water and

there’s community wells; that

we have to look after our own

problems.”

Read says the municipality

doesn’t regulate the aquifer

–

that it does fall under

provincial jurisdiction – but

local government is

“encouraging and requiring

the provincial government to

exercise due diligence.”

“This is a very real concern

for Whonnock residents and

for the city,” Read notes. “The

city is investigating in terms of

monitoring what the province

is doing in order to protect

this.”

Matt Creechan

1.866.567.4162

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC 19

by PETER MITHAM

OTTAWA

– Canada’s beef

and pork producers scored a

major victory against the US as

this issue of Country Life in BC

went to press.

US lawmakers passed an

omnibus bill on December 18

that included a provision

repealing Country of Origin

Labeling (COOL) requirements

for pork and beef.

Canada’s long-standing

complaint against COOL was

decisively upheld by an

arbitrator with the World Trade

Organization (WTO) on

December 7, clearing the way

for retaliation in the form of

$1.1 billion a year worth of

taris against a number of

imports from the US.

“It’s time to put this behind

us,” said Chrystia Freeland,

Minister of International Trade,

in a conference call with media

on December 16.

Freeland and Minister of

Agriculture and Agrifood

Canada Lawrence MacAulay

were in Nairobi, Kenya,

attending World Trade

Organization meetings and

COOL was a hot topic with

their American counterparts.

Freeland said all parties were

sensitive to the need to restore

and maintain good trade

relations between the two

countries, but the decision

rested with lawmakers.

Freeland and MacAulay said

that nothing but the repeal of

COOL provisions for beef and

pork would prevent Canada

from proceeding with

retaliatory taris.

“It must be repealed or we

will retaliate,” MacAulay said.

US lawmakers’ decision to

repeal COOL in advance of

taris was welcomed in Ottawa

and Victoria, where BC

agriculture minister Norm

Letnick – who has largely let

his federal counterpart lead

the charge – issued a

statement praising the bill’s

passage.

“Throughout this long

process, the British Columbian

government has stood side-by-

side with BC cattlemen and the

Canadian government to do

our utmost to ensure BC food

products have fair access to US

markets, and that the terms

and spirit of all signed trade

US repeals COOL requirments for Canadian pork and beef

by PETER MITHAM

ABBOTSFORD – While the

human population of the

Lower Mainland is getting u

shots to protect against illness,

a duck shot with avian u is

conrming the poultry

industry’s decision to move to

a yellow alert level in

November to ward o the

threat of disease.

A wild duck downed by a

hunter in the last week of

November was found to be

carrying the H5N2 virus, a

highly infectious strain of a

virus that has devastated local

poultry ocks in the past.

A control zone was

established by the Canadian

Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

in December 2014 after ve

sites were investigated for the

virus.This year, Ray Nickel of

the BC Poultry Association

says the industry wanted to be

prepared for the disease and

upped its alert level to yellow

in mid November.

A yellow alert level requires

enforcement of the controlled

and restricted access zones on

the farm, a step above merely

identifying and monitoring

these areas. Specically, only

essential visitors are allowed

into areas with controlled

access, no contact with other

poultry operations are allowed,

and no mortalities are allowed

to leave the zone without CFIA

or veterinary approval.

Restricted access zones are

to be locked when authorized

personnel aren’t present, and

enhanced monitoring of ock

health is required.

Restricted access also limits

the potential for interaction

with wild bird material and the

risk of virus transmission.

These measures mean the

risk from the virus discovered

at the end of November is

limited because there’s little

chance the bird, its tissues or

feces and those of its fellows

would reach a commercial

poultry operation.

Poultry producers take flu precautions

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AGRI-TRADE

Nov 7 - 10

See you at

the Pacific

Agriculture Show

January 28-30

agreements are adhered to,”

he said.

While the US Cattlemen’s

Association had supported

COOL, the National

Cattlemen’s Beef Association

also cheered the policy’s

repeal, noting that it had cost

its members millions (primarily

in management costs) and the

country much goodwill in its

trading relationships.

COOL is only one of several

trade topics Freeland and

MacAulay were discussing with

counterparts at WTO meetings

in Nairobi last month.

There’s also signicant

interest in Canada’s approach

towards the Trans-Pacic

Partnership, negotiation of

which was completed days

before October’s federal

election.

A consultation process is

now underway, and

discussions with

representatives of the

agricultural sector are taking

place in Nairobi as part of

Prime Minister Trudeau’s

pledge to gather feedback on

the deal. MacAulay said

defense of supply

management remained

fundamental to the

government’s assessment with

respect to the deal’s impact on

the agriculture sector.

“Transparency and

consultation is very central to

our government,” Freeland

said. “We are very much in

listening mode.”

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KUBOTA F3680 60” MWR, GRASS CATCHER . . . . . . . . . . . 10,600

KUBOTA L35TLB CAB, 2600 HOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,500

NH FP230 W/ 27P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $21,500

NH 1037 BALE WAGON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,500

NH 565 SM SQ BALER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17,500

NH LS150 SKIDSTEER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,500

TAARUP 338 MOWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500

USED TRACTORS

KUBOTA B1700 TRACTOR/LOADER, 1350 HRS. . . . . . . . $9,500

JD 2305 600 HRS, 2010, LDR/54” MOWER DECK . . . . . . $13,500

NH TS100 7800 HRS, TIGER BOOM MWR, FLAIL HEAD $21,500

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KUBOTA L3540, CAB, MFWD, HST TRANSMISSION, LOADER, 260

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JD 2355, O/S, 2WD, 3688 HRS, VERY NICE CONDITION #665780U1

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HESSTON 1130 HAYBINE,9FT 3IN, SICKLE MOCO #668734U1

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DEUTZ KH4S, ROTOR TEDDER, OLDER BUT GOOD CONDITION

#195398U1

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FELLA TH790 TEDDER, 25FT 6 ROTOR, MANUAL FOLD

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NH 658 RD BALER, 4 FT, TWINE ONLY #022207U1

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JD 567, MEGA WIDE PU, HIGH MOISTURE KIT, PUSH BAR, 540 PTO

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CN RBX 453, 2007, 4X5 BALES, JUST SERVICED #665780U1

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JOHN DEERE 2032R NH BIG BALER 340

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JOHN DEERE 6330JOHN DEERE 7230

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Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Country Life in BC • January 201620

Sale expires

January 31, 2016

3032E TRACTOR

Retail: $34,282

Sale Price $ 28,529

SAVE UP TO $5753!

Plus Enjoy 0% for 60 Months

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Packaged with a D160 Loader &

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC 21

Country Life in BC • January 201622

by DAVID SCHMIDT

OTTAWA – Agriculture

didn’t even rate a passing

reference in the Liberal

government’s rst throne

speech December 4.

“That’s not a surprise,” says

BC Agriculture Council

executive director Reg Ens,

pointing out the urban-

centric party doesn’t have a

single Liberal MP from a rural

riding west of Ontario.

One of the shortest-ever

throne speeches, it reiterated

many of the promises the

Liberals made during the

election, including a more

open and transparent

government.

“In these chambers, the

voices of all Canadians

matter,” Governor General

David Johnston read.

Agriculture intends to put

that statement to the test.

“We know we have our

work cut out for us to make

sure we have our issues

heard,” Ens says, calling it a

positive sign that one of the

rst things Lawrence

MacAulay did after being

named Minister of Agriculture

and Agri-Food Canada was to

talk to the Canadian

Federation of Agriculture.

With no mention of

agriculture in the throne

speech, one has to read

MacAulay’s mandate letter for

an indication of where

government intends to go.

“Your overarching goal will

be to support the agricultural

sector in a way that allows it

to be a leader in job creation

and innovation (and) be more

innovative, safer, and

stronger,” Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau told MacAulay.

Priorities he set for the

ministry include:

• an Agri-Food Value Added

Investment Fund to provide

technical and marketing

assistance to help food

processors develop new

value-added products

• a food policy that puts more

healthy, high-quality food,

produced by Canadian

ranchers and farmers, on the

tables of families across the

country

• agricultural research to

support discovery science

and innovation, with

funding allocations to

involve producers

• a reassessment of the farm

income safety nets now in

place and development of a

new multi-year agricultural

policy framework to replace

Growing Forward 2 which

expires in 2018

• help agriculture adjust to

climate change and better

address water and soil

conservation and

development issues

• participate in a full review of

the Canadian grain

transportation system.

Agriculture snubbed in throne speech

by DAVID SCHMIDT

REGINA, SK

– Okanagan

winemaking pioneer Anthony

von Mandl was one of ve

people inducted into the

Canadian Agricultural Hall of

Fame at an awards banquet

during the Canadian Western

Agribition, November 22.

Nominated by former BC

cabinet minister Wally Oppal,

von Mandl was recognized for

his eorts in putting the

Okanagan Valley on the

international wine map.

Von Mandl began his career

in the Canadian wine industry

in 1972 as an importer and

merchant of ne wines.

In 1981, he purchased the

near-bankrupt Golden Valley

Winery in West Kelowna, then

one of only ve

wineries then in the

Okanagan. He

renamed it Mission

Hill Family Estate

winery and turned

it into a world-class

destination winery,

thereby raising

international

awareness for agri-

tourism in this province.

Mission Hill soon gained

international recognition and

awards, including “Best

Chardonnay in the World” in

1994 and “World’s Best Pinot

Noir” in 2013. It was chosen as

“Canadian Winery of the Year”

six times from 2001 to 2013.

Today, VMF (von Mandl

Family) Estates owns four

wineries – Mission Hill, Cedar

Creek Estate

Winery, Martin’s

Lane and the new

CheckMate

Artisanal Winery,

and over 900 acres

of vineyards.

Von Mandl also

owns the Mark

Anthony Group

(wine merchants)

and is the founder of both

Mike’s Hard Lemonade and

the Turning Point Brewery.

Other 2015 inductees were

former Agriculture & Agri-

Food Canada wheat breeder

Ron DePauw of

Saskatchewan, former

Saskatchewan premier Grant

Devine and the late Edgar

Ward Jones, a founding father

of 4-H in Canada.

Von Mandl enters Canadian ag hall of fame

Anthony von Mandl

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Happy New Year!

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 23

by TOM WALKER

SALMO – Fresh from a successful

pilot project this past summer and

with a newly developed business plan,

the Kootenay and Boundary Food

Producers’ Co-op (KBFPC) is looking

forward to a successful 2016.

As their business plan outlines, the

co-op came about as a solution to a

problem and as an opportunity. The

problem is that farming and

secondary food processing in the West

Kootenays is not economically viable.

The opportunity? West Kootenay

residents spend $266 million a year on

food and 95% of that food is imported,

yet demand for local food is strong

and increasing, the plan notes, among

both consumers and wholesale

buyers.

What small farmers across the

Kootenay region lack is infrastructure

to organize, distribute, store and

market their produce.

Collaboration is the solution. A for-

prot co-op that operates a food hub,

KBFPC will allow farmers and

processors to scale up production to

be more nancially successful and

better meet the growing demand for

local food.

The farms are out there. The 2011

census for agriculture across the entire

Central Kootenay and Kootenay

Boundary Districts identied 728 farms

with nearly $48 million in gross farm

receipts. A survey by the West

Kootenay Permaculture Co-op

Association in 2014 found the vast

majority of farm incomes

were less than $30,000.

“The studies had all

been done,” says Kim

Charlesworth, who is a

member of KBFPC’s

steering committee. But

despite

recommendations for

building a regional food

system, ve reports from

the likes of the regional district and

Columbia Basin Trust sat on shelves.

A former Nelson city councillor and

self described “volunteer in food

activist circles,” Charlesworth says they

realized “if we wanted to build it, we

would have to do it ourselves.”

A feasibility study in 2014

supported by the BC Co-op

Association ”told us more or less what

we already knew,” says Charlesworth.

Keen producers

Phone surveys that were part of the

study were a beginning of relationship

building. The steering committee

went out to communities across the

region that fall. Meetings in Creston,

Argenta, Salmo and Nelson showed

positive support and a small number

of keen producers in the Salmo area

formed the initial working group.

“We brainstormed what kind of a

structure we wanted,” says

Charlesworth. “We decided on a for-

prot co-op.” Led by a six member

elected board of directors, the for-

prot model suits the entrepreneurial

objectives of the members.

Incorporation documents were drawn

up last winter with the assistance of

Zoe Creighton from the Upper

Columbia Co-operative Council.

“We had hoped to have our

business plan completed by the spring

(2015),” says Charlesworth. Despite

that, they developed a pilot project for

the 2015 summer that started in July

and ran for 14 weeks.

“We put together a market

brokerage and distribution service,”

explains Charlesworth. A part time co-

ordinator was hired to work with three

farmers. “We had four retail outlets,

one secondary producer and two

restaurants buying from us.”

The co-ordinator contacted farmers

to determine what products were

available and worked with local

retailers to place orders. Growers

would pick and pack to order and a

local shipper delivered. Ferraro’s

Foods, Kootenay Market and Kootenay

Kim Charlesworth

New Kootenays growers’ co-op off to promising start

95% of food is imported in spite of strong support to buy local

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JANUARY 28-30

ABBOTSFORD TRADEX

Please see “TIME” page 24

KBFPC will allow farmers and processors

to scale up production to more ﬁnancially

successful and better meet the growing

demand for local food.

Country Life in BC • January 201624

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LYNDEN, WASHINGTON

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PRICES IN US DOLLARS

2008 CASE IH PUMA 195

16SP POWERSHIFT, LX770

LOADER, NICE TIRES, 80%

TREAD FE#22554

$120,000

’96 KUBOTA L2350

25 HP, GEAR DRIVE, LB400

LOADER, 540 PTO, TURF TIRES

FE #23278

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06 NH TM155

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VOLVO L50B WHEEL LOADER

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4 SETS OF REMOTES

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SODQWVZH·UHRQHRI%&·VODUJHVWGLVWULEXWRUVRI

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TIME SAVER From page 23

Bakery were just some of the

retailers that were ordering

from KBFPC.

The rst thing the co-op

does is keep the farmer at

home, working his crops

rather than out selling.

Member Willy Fuder gures he

saves a full day a week. Other

advantages can include

sharing of production

knowledge, equipment,

business expertise, the costs

of storage and trucking and

even crop rotation, allowing

members to grow what is

suitable to their land and

expertise, as well as the

development of a brand to

support marketing.

Pilot project

The Columbia Basin Trust

provided money for the

business plan, which was just

completed in November. The

plan expands from the pilot

project to continue and

extend the brokerage and

distribution services, as well as

develop cold storage and

marketing. Future goals

include feed and mulch

purchase and delivery, a

shared labour pool and a value

added processing facility.

“We learned a tremendous

amount on every level with

our 2015 pilot,” says

Charlesworth. “We are very

excited to be expanding our

distribution service in 2016 as

well as adding a storage

facility.”

Charlesworth says they

have nine producers signed

up for 2016 so far and have

contracted cold storage in

Salmo, which is the center of

the target region.

But will they buy?

The answer seems to be a

resounding yes. Charlesworth

says retailers like Kootenay

Market in Castlegar have long

been champions of “buy

Editor,

Re: Enriching the soil with valueable waste,

page 19, November 2015

I have been asked as president of the

Friends of the Nicola Valley Society to

present the other side of the biosolids

debate.

Our view is that farmers, ranchers and

forestry

personnel have

been duped.

The marketing

pitch is the

nitrogen,

phosphorous and organic matter. This,

however, is only half the story.

You see, there is a reason why it is

generally given away for free. The waste

water treatment facilities need to get rid of

their piles of sewer sludge (the collected

and concentrated residuals left over after

cleaning the water).

This represents everything a city pours

down its drains: household chemicals,

industrial toxins, pharmaceuticals, solvents

– you name it. Farms, ranches and forests

are being used as disposal sites for this

end-product – sold as “beneficial biosolids”

– quite a spin!

Many countries have ended this method

of dealing with waste. For instance, a

recent German study concluded “it would

be advisable to gradually phase out the

use of sewage sludge so as to avoid diffuse

loads of potentially harmful substances in

soil.” So, too, the Swiss have stopped

because of “the risk of irreversible damage

to the soil, the danger to public health and

possible negative effects on the quality of

the food farmers produce.”

Our government has made claims about

lots of oversight to protect health. If the

product is, as they say, "stringently

regulated," then why out of the thousands

of toxins known to be in biosolids are only

about a dozen tested for? And how did the

Suzuki Foundation recently find very toxic

components in the bisosolids delivered to

the Nicola Valley from the Lower Mainland?

The water treatment process does a fine

job getting toxins out of the environment.

Why in the world would we start spreading

it back over Mother Earth so it can re-enter

the food chain, and re-toxify our lives?

If biosolids are deemed to be safe, then

why do food companies like Campbell’s,

DelMonte and Whole Foods reject produce

raised with biosolids? Why do dozens of

farm, health and environmental

organizations like the Sierra Club, David

Suzuki Foundation, National Farmers Union

and the Center for Food Safety oppose

using biosolids where we grow food and

graze animals?

There are greener methods of dealing

with this toxic burden. Methods like

pyrolysis rid the environment of the toxins,

have almost zero emissions and return

energy back to the grid.

Let’s get on the right side of history, and

keep the environment toxin-free for the

next generation!

Don Vincent

ww.biosolidsbc.com

The other side of the biosolids debate

Letters

local.” Ferraro Foods in Trail

and Rossland is back on the

program for next year.

“Preliminary conversations

suggest that all seven of our

customers from last year will

be repeats,” says

Charlesworth. “As well, the

Kootenay Co-op in Nelson is

wanting to work with us.”

“At our rst annual general

meeting in November, an

amazing 25 food producers

showed up” says

Charlesworth. “Some were

farmers, some were secondary

producers. Our membership

has doubled and we know we

are on the right track”

Where would the group like

to be in ve years?

“At least owning one of our

own trucks,” muses

Charlesworth. “Having about

30 members throughout the

region who are producing

enough to have vital incomes

from their farming or their

value added processing so

they can stay on their farms

and farm and produce food

and we can do the rest of the

work for them.”

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 25

By the time most of you

read this, yet another

Christmas season will have

come and gone.

As most of us age, we

become wiser (at least, one

would hope that is the case)

and realize that Christmas is

more about giving than

receiving. In this increasingly

mixed up world we exist in, it

has never been more

necessary to remind ourselves

to be kinder, nicer and more

considerate of all others each

and every day, not just at

Christmas. Please try to go

forward in that mindset into

the New Year. I am going to

make a concerted eort to do

that as I see daily examples of

how selsh we have become

as a society on many fronts.

That said, there are many

examples of just the opposite,

demonstrating acts of

extraordinary kindness and

caring. One such instance

came in the form of a recent,

municent donation to the BC

Cattlemen's Association,

announced to the public in

the late fall.

One ordinary work day in

mid-August, BCCA executive

assistant Becky Everett sat at

her desk dealing with the daily

mail delivery, opening letters

and parcels. All was business-

as-usual until Becky slit open a

small white business envelope

with a Vancouver return

address from a rm of trust

lawyers, the contents of

which transformed the

day into the realm of

extraordinary!

Double checking to

ensure that she was

indeed seeing that many

zeros, Becky realized the BC

Cattlemen's Association had

just received a totally

unheralded donation in the

amount of $500,000! Wowzers!

Holy cow! Who gives a gift

that sizeable so quietly,

without any fanfare or prior

notice?

The answer in an act of

seless generosity and caring:

the Riedemann sisters, Sophie

and Myra. Residents of the

Lower Mainland for the past

38 years, the two sisters spent

more than half their earlier

lives residing on the Alkali

Lake Ranch, their family-

owned and operated cattle

ranch, and although life and

circumstance made for the

change of address in the late

1970's, in their hearts they

never fully vacated the

Cariboo or the cattle industry.

F ortunate

Recent beneciaries of an

unexpected inheritance, each

concluded that they were

fortunate (sucient) in all life's

needs and therefore, in a

position where they could just

pay it forward.

After a kitchen table

discussion, the decision was

made to contribute the monies

to the BCCA in memory of their

youngest brother Martin, who

passed away in tragic

circumstances in 1975 at Alkali

Lake. He was owner of Alkali

Lake Ranch at the time.

Newly-named the

Cattlemen's Martin Riedemann

Riedemann family

pays it forward

Sisters Sophie and

Myra Riedemann

have surprised the BC

Cattlemen’s

Association with an

unprecedented

donation in honour

of their brother,

Martin Riedemann.

Martin once owned

Alkali Lake Ranch

where the women

spent their

childhood.

(Photo courtesy of

the Riedemann

family)

Check out

www.bchereford.ca

for a Hereford breeder near you

BCHA Secretary

Janice Tapp

250-699-6466

BCHA President

Murray Gore

604-582-3499

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Fund, the massive donation

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secondary education in the

agricultural and related elds

and ensure a dearly loved

brother will be forever

remembered by an industry

he so loved and appreciated.

The cattle industry is

humbled, thankful for their

support; a wealth of good

fortune for the coming New

Year!

Martin Riedemann

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Country Life in BC • January 201626

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 27

The heartrending but rewarding task

of raising a physically handicapped lamb

Physically-challenged

people get treatment such as

physio and occupational

therapy, suggestions on how

to adapt to live with their

difficulties and prosthetic

devices to assist them in

living a more normal life.

Recently, a few farmers and

their lambs have been

getting some help, too.

Lambs, calves, goats, chickens

and other farm animals are

known to have been fitted

with different sorts of splints

and devices, including Felix,

the New York state lamb that

had a 3-D printed prosthetic

leg made for him.

Their owners, though, need

to show determination to

obtain help.

Gerry and Patricia Porter

know all about this. They run

a dog kennel and

individualized custom

boarding service for dogs and

horses in addition to their

own chickens and a sizeable

sheep operation at Harmony

Valley Farm in the Paxton

Valley, half an hour from

Kamloops.

200 St Croix ewes

Patricia spent over 30 years

breeding, raising and

advising on horses while

Gerry has spent many years

raising cattle and pigs. They

bought their first ewes four

years ago and routinely sell

their better lambs for

breeding stock and the rest

as market lambs. They now

have nearly 200 St Croix

breeding ewes, and managed

to lamb three times in two

years.

They decided on sheep

because there is a big

knapweed problem in their

area, and their St Croix seem

to love it.

But their heart went out to

Blue, their “challenged”

young April 2015-born ram

lamb, named for the colour of

the vet wrap that was bound

about his leg constantly. They

did not have it in them to

slaughter him.

Now, he is running about

with the help of a dog wheel

chair.

Difficulty nursing

“At birth, he wobbled up

and nursed on his mother,

who developed mastitis,”

recalls Gerry. “At about the

age of two weeks, we

noticed one leg was

dragging behind him

and he was having

difficulty nursing.”

They bottle fed and

cared for him and his

twin sister in an individual

pen.

“We struggled with him

from then on,” Patricia

continues. “We did not know

the cause of his leg problem.

He had x-rays which revealed

nothing broken and vets

thought his leg was just

strained. He seemed to be in

pain and hardly ate anything.

We gave him pain medication

and anti-inflammatories. If we

stopped, he was in such pain

he refused feed. After that

came natural remedies to try

to get him weight-bearing

including every kind of

bandage, splint and other

help that we could think of –

herbs, homeopathy,

acupuncture, magnets,

massage, Reiki and our own

chiropractor, you name it – to

get him through. Then, in

early August we saw him

walking on his bad leg again!”

They hoped his problems

were over. But after two

weeks, Felix’s good leg gave

out which, they conjectured,

was from the extra strain of

having compensated for his

erstwhile bad leg for so long.

They almost gave up.

They knew most farmers

would “just bonk him on the

head,” as Patricia puts it. But,

they didn’t have it in them to

do that. Some vets suggested

they stop concentrating on

him and focus on all their

other animals.

“We researched on the

internet and asked around. A

retired visiting vet who was

boarding her dog with us

suggested a dog wheel chair

to take the weight off his hind

end and give his tendons and

ligaments time to hopefully

shorten and heal.

“We investigated that

option. But we are just sheep

farmers and dog boarders

and cannot pay well into the

four figures for such specialty

equipment.

Bloomed overnight

“And then a dog trainer

friend found us a used dog

wheel chair and helped to get

him fitted with it. We put it on

him on November 20 and he

seemed to bloom overnight.”

They take it off him

overnight so that he can lie

down and rest, but in the

morning he is raring to go

and impatient for them to get

it on him quickly.

“His mobility and quality of

life is so much better – and

also, alas, his libido! He butted

me this morning,” exclaimed

Patricia laughing.

A ram lamb in Salmon Arm was given a second chance at life with

the aid of a used dog wheel chair. (Photo courtesy of Gerry and

Patricia Porter)

Wool Gatherings

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Country Life in BC • January 201628

Community gardens keep agriculture thriving in Burnaby

by PETER MITHAM

BURNABY – Community

gardens may not be

commercial-scale agriculture,

but agriculture in Burnaby

might well be lost without the

presence of a 40-year-old

community garden in the

heart of its traditional farming

area.

“Burnaby’s Big Bend has

this long history of agricultural

production tied to these small

lots,” says Jim Wolf, a senior

long range planner for

Burnaby. “It would appear that

we’re not only protecting,

we’re increasing the overall

growth of agriculture in the

Big Bend area.”

The proof lies in a review

Burnaby conducted of its

agricultural lands in 2011, the

rst comprehensive analysis

since a provincial land use

inventory in 2003. During the

period, nearly 70 acres

entered production. The city

now has 319 acres of actively

farmed land and there are

more farmers working the

properties than ever before.

Altogether, they generate

more than $11.5 million in

annual sales.

“Although on the surface it

may seem those lands are

under threat, I would argue,

no,” Wolf says. “We’re actually

seeing an increase in

production, and a lot of take-

up. There’s a lot of people

seeking out those lands. We’re

actually seeing a higher take-

up of agricultural lands for

production than we have in

the past.”

The blossoming of

agriculture in the heart of a

rapidly developing area has

been noted since 1995, even

as vegetable farms were

diminishing. But the heart of

the renaissance may well lie in

the establishment of an

allotment garden as part of a

provincial initiative in 1974.

Fantasy Gardens

One community garden

had already been established

in Richmond by the province

on the site later known as

Fantasy Gardens, and Edie

Fisher asked Burnaby council

if something similar might not

be possible on lands within

the newly created Agricultural

Land Reserve.

Sta considered the report,

and council agreed to lease

14.5 acres to the province for

an allotment garden. Workers

from the BC Ministry of

Agriculture prepared the land

Two happy gardeners get more than just produce from their community garden plot in Burnaby’s Big

Bend area. “We love being in the outdoors, experiencing nature up close and personal, getting our

ngers into the oil and smelling its richness, enjoying the comradeship of like-minded gardeners, and

relishing the garden’s plentiful bounty of really tasty and nutritious produce and the gorgeous fresh

owers.” (Supplied photo)

and installed servicing for 372

plots, also serving as resource

sta for the gardeners during

the summer.

“It was socializing through

gardening, but also food

production,” recalls Jim

Mactier, one of two summer

students who worked on the

Burnaby garden and prepared

the ground with a rototiller

nicknamed Howard.

The gardens in Richmond

and Burnaby were joined by

developments in Victoria and

elsewhere as part of the

province’s desire “to aord

participants the opportunity

of getting on the land to grow

their own vegetables.”

While many of the

gardeners were middle class,

the objective was to increase

local food production and

food security on land ideal for

the purpose.

“It’s actually tied to this very

interesting cultural history of

the Big Bend … right back to

the 1890s,” Wolf says.

Popular with immigrants

The market garden

movement of the late 19th

century saw acreages in the

area broken up into two-acre

parcels that a family could

easily cultivate to supply their

own needs, and those of

neighbours. The parcels were

popular with immigrants,

especially the Chinese.

“You could have a couple of

acres, you could produce

strawberries, small fruits,

bunch vegetables and actually

have a comfortable living and

even if you didn’t sell them,

you could sustain your family

on a small lot,” Wolf explains.

“Burnaby’s little community

down there supplied most of

the bunch vegetables for the

local markets well into the 20s,

30s and 40s. … It was urban; it

was close. So you could cut

your vegetables and have

them to the market that very

day. It really created this little

economy that worked quite

successfully, and still works

The establishment of allotment gardens in

1974 may be the heart of the renaissance

Please see “AG” page 29

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC 29

AG ZONE From page 28

quite successfully.”

But zoning changes in 1948

designated everything below

Marine Way as industrial,

eectively ending the

development of new farms

and increasing pressure on

existing operations.

The local community

pushed back, however,

galvanizing support for

maintaining the city’s

agricultural zones. A new

community plan for the Big

Bend area in 1972 reinstated

the area’s agricultural zoning

and recognized the

importance of local farms to

the local economy.

“The community, the

grassroots in the 1960s and

1970s, turned around the idea

that all this amenity should be

lost,” Wolf says, and the

allotment gardens were a

result of the new awareness.

Chris Mann, a member of

the Burnaby and Region

Allotment Garden Association

that has leased the gardens

from the city on ve-year

terms since 1979 and oversees

its operation, is thankful for

the chance the gardens give

yardless city-dwellers like

herself to grow their own

food.

Good for the soul

“We’re all extremely

grateful that this land is still

available,” she says. “I live in a

townhouse so I don’t have a

place to grow anything, and

my friends are the same. We

grow owers and vegetables,

so we get to have plenty of

food from the garden, as well

as beauty, too, which is also

good for one’s soul.”

But the key role the

gardens have played in

ensuring parcels within the

ALR remain in production isn’t

lost on her.

“It’s remarkable and

wonderful that this land

continues to thrive as an

agricultural area,” she says.

“It’s so big, and it’s remained

dedicated to agriculture for

over 40 years.”

While other municipalities

question how to bring

underutilized parcels into

production, community

gardens have given Burnaby a

solution that is now bearing

fruit – and vegetables – for a

new generation of farmers

who are making a go as small-

lot producers serving local

markets.

“Where we have preserved

land for agriculture and have

preserved, through our

policies, the ALR boundaries,

we’ve been very successful,”

Wolf says. “Those lands have

become increasingly more

valuable to producers to users,

and the lands have been

taken up.”

Chris Mann,

left, has been

gardening in

Burnaby’s Big

Bend

community

plots for almost

10 years. She

originally

joined to help

out a friend and

eventually

stayed longer

than that friend

did. Below,

Country Life in

BC’s Lisa Bealle

exercises her

green thumb at

the community

garden.

(Supplied

photo)

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On display at the

Country Life in BC • January 201630

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by DAVID SCHMIDT

HASTINGS, NZ – The

Chinese market is seeing red

and New Zealand fruit growers

are hoping to capitalize on

that.

Red is a very important

colour to the Chinese and they

associate it with better health,

says Brian Ennis, chief

executive ocer of Prevar Ltd.

in New Zealand.

An entity similar to the

Summerland Varieties Corp

(SVC), Prevar is co-owned by

Apple & Pear Australia, Pipfruit

New Zealand and Plant & Food

Research. New apple and pear

varieties are bred by Plant &

Food Research of New Zealand

under contract to Prevar which

then commercializes them.

“Our objective is to breed

super sweet apples with

resistance to major pests and

diseases which can be grown

in low or no-spray

NZ apple growers look to China for export growth

Kiwifruit remains largest horticultural trade crop

New Zealand is an island

country in the southwestern

Pacific Ocean. The country

geographically comprises two

main landmasses – that of the

North and South Island and

many smaller islands. New

Zealand is situated some

1,500 kilometres (900 mi)

east of Australia across the

Tasman Sea. It has an area of

267,710 km

(103,738 mi

making it slightly smaller than

Japan and a little larger than

the United Kingdom. It was one

of the last lands to be settled

by humans. During its long

isolation, New Zealand

developed a distinctive

biodiversity of animal and plant

life. The capital city is

Wellington, while its most

populous city is Auckland.

Associate Editor David Schmidt recently returned from the 2015

International Federation of Agriculture Journalists conference

held in New Zealand. On the 3-week tour he visited diverse

agricultural operations in the country.

Over the next few months, Country Life in BC will present a series

of feature articles from his experiences.

management systems,” Ennis

explains.

New Zealand is the rst

apple breeding program in the

world to use whole genome

selection which Ennis says will

cut breeding time in half.

Since being formed 10 years

ago, Prevar has licenced four

new apple cultivars: Sweetie,

Smitten, Honeymoon and

Rockit, but Ennis is most

excited about the progress

being made on developing

red esh apples for the

Chinese market.

The new apples are based

on germplasm obtained in

Kazakhstan in 1980. Type 1 has

a red to dark red esh which is

visible throughout the growth

of the apple while Type 2 has a

light red esh which only

colours up at ripening.

“Both types are close to pre-

commercial release and we

expect them to be in the

market in three to ve years,”

Ennis says.

Not all promising new apple

varieties come out of

established breeding

programs. That is the case with

Plumac, a very tasty new apple

which was a chance discovery

in a New Zealand orchard,

much like Ambrosia was

discovered as a rogue tree in

Cawston. However, unlike

Ambrosia, which is licensed

and marketed by SVC, the

discoverers of Plumac have

not only kept the rights but

trademarked it as the Koru

apple.

“You can only protect

yourself with plant breeders

rights for 23 years. It takes you

15 years to develop the variety

so you only have seven years

to recoup your investment,”

explains Andy McGrath of

McGrath Nurseries. “We have

branded our apple as Koru

and are setting up a global

production system for it so we

can retain the rights for much

longer.”

McGrath has the capacity

and experience to take on

such a major undertaking as

his is one of, if not the largest,

fruit tree nursery in New

Zealand (he grows 350,000

apple, cherry and apricot

seedlings and 750,000

rootstocks annually) and also

already holds New Zealand

licensing rights for Honeycrisp

and other new fruit varieties.

Although New Zealand only

grows 0.5% of the world’s

apples, it accounts for 4% of

world apple exports – a value

of almost NZ$550 million.

Almost half of their apple

exports are to China and other

Asian countries, 15% head to

the UK and 10% to the US.

Apple exports are dwarfed

by exports of kiwifruit which

totaled NZ$930 million in

2014.

“Kiwifruit is New Zealand’s

biggest horticultural export

crop,” says Zespri innovation

manager Bryan Parkes, noting

it has the highest nutrient

density and highest vitamin C

content of any fruit.

Despite New Zealand’s

announced anity for “free”

trade, all its kiwifruit is

exported by Zespri, which is

owned by current and former

kiwifruit growers.

“Single desk marketing

allows scale, a united brand

and co-ordinated marketing,”

Parkes explains.

Although everyone

associates kiwifruit with New

Zealand, it is not native to that

country. It originated in the

Dr. Brett Ennis, chief executive of New Zealand pipfruit breeding

company, Prevar, points to some of the new apples and pears the

company is developing. (David Schmidt photos)

Please see “KIWIS” page 31

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 31

KIWIS NOT NATIVE From page 30

Chinese forest and was

originally referred to as the

Chinese gooseberry. In fact,

there is still more kiwifruit

grown in the Northern than

the Southern Hemisphere.

However, since the rst exports

came from NZ, it became

known as kiwifruit, regardless

of where it was grown.

“We lost the brand so we

are now rebranding our fruit

as Zespri,” Parkes says.

While traditional kiwifruit

has a green esh, Zespri,

through the government-

owned Plant & Food Research

(P&FR), started developing a

yellow-eshed kiwifruit several

decades ago, bringing it onto

the market early this century. It

caught on quickly with both

growers and consumers. By

2005, Zespri Gold represented

25% of total NZ kiwifruit

production and its share has

grown steadily ever since.

Parkes believes it will not be

long before production of

yellow-eshed kiwifruit

exceeds green-eshed fruit.

Then disaster struck. PSA, a

bacterial kiwifruit vine disease,

came in to the orchards and

tore through the gold kiwifruit

variety, which was particularly

susceptible to the disease.

“PSA arrived in our orchard

on August, 5, 2011. By October

25, we had cut out 85 hectares

of our 100 hectare orchard,”

recalls Leighton Oats, general

manager of Bay Gold, one of

NZ’s larger growers.

Fortunately, P&FR was

about to release a second gold

variety. Not only was it as

good as the original gold

variety, but it was PSA-

resistant. Zespri sped up the

release and growers quickly

replanted to the new variety.

“It is not immune to PSA but

we can manage it,” Oats says,

adding the experience has

actually benetted the

industry. “We thought we

were good growers before,

but we’re much better now.

We no longer move plants

from one area to another.”

“We could have had a

potentially dierent scenario if

we didn’t have the resistant

variety ready,” says Rachel

Brodie of Trevalyan, one of

NZ’s leading kiwifruit packers.

As they are doing in apples,

P&FR is now developing a red-

esh kiwifruit, again in hopes

of catering to the Chinese

preference for red-esh fruit.

McGrath

Nurseries in

Hamilton,

New Zealand,

created this

custom-built

sprayer for its

tree fruit

nursery stock.

Above: Zespri innovation manager Bryan Parkes in the test orchard

for the New Zealand kiwifruit breeding program.

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January 2016 • Country Life in BC 33

Rural policing falls short of what’s needed, say ranchers, wineries

by PETER MITHAM

KAMLOOPS – Butchering

and burglaries have

skyrocketed in rural BC over

the last year, prompting calls

from ranchers and winery

owners for greater policing of

their properties.

Rustling and poaching of

cattle increased noticeably

across the province this fall, in

tandem with a spree of

burglaries at wineries across

the south Okanagan.

“We are seeing … high

numbers that are missing in

some areas,” BC Cattlemens’

Association executive director

Kevin Boon says. “It is

denitely on an increase from

what we had before.”

Coldstream Ranch, for

example, has lost nearly a

dozen animals, some of which

were butchered in broad

daylight and their

forequarters left to rot. Others

have disappeared entirely.

Additional cases are

working their way through the

courts in Dawson Creek and

Kamloops but in most of the

incidents, the culprits remain

at large.

“It’s really hard to pinpoint

what our suspects are,” Boon

says. “With predators, there’s

other things that show signs;

when we just lose the cattle,

those signs aren’t there.”

The problem has been

particularly acute this year

because the value of cattle

has more than doubled.

“Two, three years ago, that

animal that was out there was

worth probably $800 or $900,”

he says. “[It’s] now worth

$1,800 or $1,900.”

With dozens of cattle now

missing, the cost to ranchers is

in the tens of thousands of

dollars – but with rural police

detachments understaed,

the losses may well be a cost

of doing business.

The province’s contract

with the Royal Canadian

Mounted Police (RCMP)

provides for a constable to

address livestock crimes, but

the position has been unlled

since March 2015 when the

sole remaining constable

retired. (Originally, there were

two.)

“We are yet to have his

replacement named,” Boon

says. “We are meeting with

RCMP in the coming weeks

but we need to get this in to

place sooner than later.”

Winery thefts

The situation will sound

familiar to wineries in the

south Okanagan, where a

spate of break-ins this fall

prompted Glenn Fawcett,

president of Black Hills Estate

Winery, opposite Oliver, to

launch a petition on

Change.org asking the

province to commandeer

additional resources to the

local RCMP detachment.

The detachment is

responsible for a swathe of

the southern interior that runs

from Manning Park in the

west to Bridesville in the east,

and from the US border north

to Summerland.

To provide police services

to the area, RCMP have an

ocer on call when ocers

are not on duty, explains

Corporal Dan Moskaluk, who

handles media relations for

the Mounties in the South

Okanagan from oces in

Penticton.

“[The] Oliver and Osoyoos

detachment, as many small

communities throughout

British Columbia, do not

operate on a 24-hour on-duty

police presence,” he says. “We

do have to provide 24-hour

police coverage in the sense

that if there’s a call received,

an ocer seven days a week,

24 hours a day, [is] there to

respond on a call-out basis.”

That’s cold comfort to

those who signed the petition,

many of whom provided vivid

testimony of the eect the

region’s rising crime rate has

had on their lives and

livelihoods.

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery

in Summerland, for instance,

has been broken into more

than 10 times over the course

of 18 months, while a sister

property in Oliver has been hit

15 times.

See Ya Later Ranch, also

owned by parent Vincor

Canada, had quads taken at

the end of November, but GPS

tags allowed the equipment –

and the suspects – to be

apprehended.

Still, the need for greater

police resources remains.

“Based on what we have

heard, there are two groups of

culprits,” Fawcett says. “I

believe the three caught at

See Ya Later Ranch are just

one of the groups.”

Mosklauk, however, says no

amount of police presence

can stop thieves.

“We could have extra

ocers on and that still won’t

guarantee to eliminate thefts,”

he says.

Boon agrees that it’s

impossible to keep an eye on

properties and livestock all

the time, even with the most

sophisticated surveillance

equipment. However, if

ranchers are ready to spend a

dime on prevention, police

need to be ready to spend the

dollars need to cure the

problems that crop up.

“It’s highly urgent that we

do so,” he says.

Even though beef prices are falling, they’re still a valuable commodity and ranchers throughout the

province have been tallying losses to theft over the past year. (Joan Trask le photo)

February 20

Kamloops 1:00pm Annual Pine Butte Ranch Horned Hereford Production Sale

March 5

Williams Lake 1:00pm Prime Time Bull Sale & Cutting Edge Cattle Bull Sale

March 8

Kamloops

Valley Charolais Bull Sale RRTS Charolais

March 12

Williams Lake

Harvest Angus Bull Sale

March 19

Kamloops 12:30pm

Angus Advantage Bull Sale

March 21

OK Falls All Breeds Bull Sale

March 26

Vanderhoof 1:00pm

Northern Alliance Black & Red Angus Bull Sale

April 2

Williams Lake 1:00pm

Best Bet Bull Sale, Mitchell Cattle Co. & Guest

April 9

Vanderhoof 12:00pm

All Breeds Bull Sale

April 14 & 15

Williams Lake Williams Lake Bull Show & Sale

Tuesday

January 26

Kamloops is

hosting a complete

herd dispersal of

350 bred cows for

Bar M Ranch

BCL

Eligibility Requirements

• Schedule 2 Highways, Schedule 1 Highways, and Railway Corridors.

Secondary (sideroad) paved routes may also be considered.

• Must be a livestock producer.

• Fence must be part of an existing fencing system to contain livestock.

Application forms available at:

http://www.cattlemen.bc.ca/fencing.htm

Call TOLL FREE 1.866.398.2848 to have an application mailed to you.

Application Deadline

August 31, 2016 for consideration for the 2017 construction year.

NOW accepting applications for the

Provincial Livestock Fencing Program

along travel corridors

Provincial Livestock Fencing Program

Country Life in BC • January 201634

Losses spur ranchers to call for controlled elk hunt

by CHRIS YATES

QUICK – Elk are grazers.

They eat grass and they don’t

care where they nd it.

Farmers elds and forage

stockyards are a favourite

hangout. What was once a

small herd satised by what

grows on undeveloped

rangeland in the Bulkley Valley

has become several herds

spread across farmers’ elds

wreaking havoc on feed, stock,

fences and crops. So say the

farmers.

“We don’t want to wipe elk

out. We’re farmers. We live

with wildlife all the time. We

want them controlled so they

don’t put us out of business,”

says Bulkley Valley rancher

Lynda Dykens. “We’re looking

for a balance, the same as we

have with deer, moose and

bears.”

Dykens was addressing a

group of about 20 concerned

cattlemen, dairymen and

hunters gathered at Round

Lake Hall in Quick last month

at a meeting sponsored by the

Agriculture Wildlife Program

and Skeena Regional

Cattlemen’s Association. The

provincial government will not

acknowledge there’s a

problem until there’s proof of

numbers, she told her

audience. The only way to get

permission for an elk hunt will

be to count.

Dykens says she’s been

working with Bulkley Valley

Cattlemen (BVCA) chairperson

Matt Taylor and members

Rene Dieleman and Harold

Kerr to attract government

action. Through the Skeena

Regional Cattlemen’s

Association, the foursome are

circulating an Elk Population

Forage and Fencing Damage

Survey to establish how many

people have had elk on their

land, losses suered and

where they are located.

They’ve written letters to at

least 14 government bodies

and, as a result, the Agriculture

Wildlife Program (AWP) has

agreed to support their eorts

to put together a case for a

hunt.

With the help of Ministry of

Agriculture representative

John Stevenson, the four have

taken the surveys completed

so far and transferred the

information onto a map of the

area showing where there has

been damage, what has been

done and how many elk have

been sighted. There are red

dots across the valley and

beyond.

No map needed

Dykens’ audience didn’t

need a map. Most had lost

feed for their cattle, fencing,

newly planted elds and even

young stock taken by the

wolves that follow the elk

Elk are night

feeders. This

fellow is

enjoying a

salt lick left

out for Robert

Kirsch’s cows.

Bulkley Valley

ranchers are

calling for

better control

of elk herds in

the region.

(Chris Yates

photo)

herds.

“I know of one rancher who

lost 13 calves last summer to

wolves following elk. That’s a

loss of $1,200 to $1,500 per

animal.”

One member of the

audience said his neighbour’s

horse was attacked by a bull

elk and $1,600 later, was on

the mend. Another said elk

had been seen running horses

through a fence.

“They run cattle away from

their feeders and keep them

away,” said another.

Forage producer Robert

Kirsch owns 600 acres in Quick

and said he sells hay to

farmers from the Bulkley Valley

west to the Queen Charlotte

Islands and has done so for

many years. He has 7,000 bales

under cover and has to

maintain the cover to

discourage the elk that now

bunk down year round on his

land. His problem is their

penchant for eating his feed

before he can get it harvested,

and destroying cropland

before the forage can grow.

He also worries that the

regular highway crossings

between his elds is going to

result in a serious vehicle

accident.

Multiple herds

Bow hunter Adam Moleski,

whose work takes him through

the region, says he’s seen 63

elk at one time on Kirsch’s

elds and at least six six-point

bucks at one time. When asked

if there is more than one herd

in the area, Moleski said, “I’ve

seen them all the way up the

highway to Houston from

Smithers. I have seen a big

herd in Evelyn and the

Coalmine area in Telkwa, many

around Babine Lake, and there

are tons of them on the

Lawson Road. Other people I

know have seen lots around

Hazelton, Francois Lake near

Burns Lake, the Tatlow Road

area and I know a farmer who

has lots on his place out in

Driftwood. It’s safe to say they

are everywhere now.”

Discussion ranged from

ways to do a reliable count,

ways to conduct a responsible

cull, how to protect land and

forage and how to get the

government’s attention on

what is becoming a livelihood

issue for farmers.

It was decided to strike a

committee including

representation from all groups

present to gather enough

pertinent information to

present a convincing

argument for the need to

manage the elk population.

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GENTLE CROP HANDLING FOR MINIMAL LEAF LOSS

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 35

Okanagan Specialty Fruit marketing manager Joel Brooks. (David

Schmidt photo)

by DAVID SCHMIDT

LANGLEY – In the last few

decades, such genetically

modied (GMO) crops as

corn, soybean and cotton

have become popular with

farmers. GMO crops are now

grown by 18 million farmers

in 28 countries, Okanagan

Specialty Fruits (OSF)

marketing communications

specialist Joel Brooks told the

BC Young Farmers Farm Fest

in Langley, November 21.

He calls GMO technology

just another step in plant

breeding. For millennia,

farmers and researchers have

been using selective breeding

techniques to improve plants.

Corn is an example. In 7000

BC, it was a plant with tiny

kernels containing little or no

sugar and could be grown

only in selected climates.

Today, corn is grown around

the world and its kernels are

huge and lled with sugar.

Push back

Although farmers have had

“phenomenal results” with

GM crops, Brooks admits

consumers have been

“pushing back” against GMO’s

because they haven’t seen

any real benets for

consumers. OSF believes its

technology does oer

benets to consumers and

will therefore turn the tide of

public opinion towards

biotechnology.

Okanagan apple and

cherry orchardists Neal and

Louisa Carter founded OSF

in 1996 with the intention

of offering the industry

and consumers something

to reverse the steady

decline in apple

consumption. They believe

they have accomplished that

with the non-browning Arctic

apple.

Science proven

Prior to settling in the

Okanagan, Carter had worked

as a bioresource engineer

around the world, and used

his experience to develop the

science behind the non-

browning apple. The science

was proven early this century

and approved in both Canada

and the US in 2015. Brooks

expects the rst Arctic apples

to become widely available in

2017.

He stresses the Arctic apple

is not a new variety, rather it

is a technique which inputs a

gene into the leaf of an apple

tree. The gene causes the

treated tree to “silence” the

polyphenol oxidase (PPO)

enzyme which causes the

browning.

Although the technology

can be applied to any apple

variety, OSF has to date only

applied it to Golden Delicious

and Granny Smith varieties.

Fujis and Galas with the

technology are now in eld

trials.

A bruiser

Brooks says consumers can

clearly see the benets of the

technology, proving it by

smashing two apples, one the

Arctic apple and the other a

non-Arctic version of the

same apple against the

podium at the beginning of

his talk. At the end of his 20-

minute speech, he cut open

both apples. The bruise in the

conventional apple was

already turning brown while

the Arctic apple showed no

change in colour.

“Arctic apples look and

taste better,” he insisted.

Brooks said over half of

consumers consider browning

a signicant issue, adding

40% of apples are never

consumed, largely due to

browning. He admits an initial

survey of consumers found

that 51% do not want a non-

browning apple but is

convinced a focus on

consumer education will

change that.

GMO crops can offer benefits to consumers

CIDC

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ork

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While opinion polls still show opposition to the British Columbia-developed

Arctic apple, advocates are convinced there is a market for non-bruising fruit

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Country Life in BC • January 201636

Henderson gets a dose of the wrong end of a veal deal

When we left o last time,

Henderson was unimpressed

that Deborah was keen to play

the part of Daisy Mae in the

spring musical of Lil Abner.

Meanwhile, Merv Devaney was

laying the groundwork to set up

Henderson for the second time.

Rural Redemption (part 68)

continues ...

Mervyn Devaney called

Kenneth Henderson’s cell

phone late in the evening of

the following day to arrange a

time to deliver the calves that

would launch him on the fast

track to agricultural prosperity.

Merv said the calves would

settle in best if there weren’t

too many people around. They

agreed that after lunch, when

Deborah would be o to town

and the kids were at school,

would probably be best.

Kenneth was cursing the

stripped remains of the

Christmas tree onto the front

porch when Merv Devaney’s

pickup pulled his battle

scarred horse trailer up the

driveway. Merv tooted the

horn three times as he passed

the house and headed for the

barn. He was backed up and

waiting at the barn door when

Kenneth arrived.

“Where do you want

them?” asked Merv.

“I’m not sure. How

many are there?”

“Four.”

“I can’t take four.

There are only two

stalls,” said Kenneth.

“No problem. You can put

all of them in together in the

rst one there.”

Merv swung the trailer’s

tailgate open and Kenneth

Henderson caught his rst

glimpse of the veal business.

There were four black and

white calves eyeing him

suspiciously from the trailer’s

gloomy depth.

NEWS & INFORMATION

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The Woodshed

Chronicles

BOB COLLINS

“They look kind of spindly.”

said Kenneth. “What kind are

they?”

“Holsteins,” said Merv. “But

don’t let the size fool you.

They grow real quick. Hop in

and send them my way and I’ll

steer them into the stall.”

Kenneth climbed gingerly

into the trailer and joined the

knot of calves. He waved his

hands in the air over their

heads and pleaded with them

to “shoo.”

“How do you make them

go?” asked Kenneth.

“Stick your thumb in its

mouth and back up when it

starts sucking.”

Kenneth straightened up

scowling.

“Come on, Devaney. What

do you take me for? You might

have played me for a sucker

once but it won’t happen

again.”

Merv climbed into the

trailer.

“Watch this,” he said as he

laid his hand on the neck of

the closest calf and tickled his

thumb into its mouth. The calf

started to suck and followed

Merv’s thumb all the way to

the box stall. “Nothing to it.”

Kenneth stuck is thumb into

the next calf’s mouth and

started leading it out of the

trailer. The calf gave its head a

violent thrust and dragged a

razor sharp incisor the length

of his thumb.

“Owwwww, he bit me!”

Kenneth stood grasping his

bleeding thumb and sucking

his breath through clenched

teeth.

“Probably mistook you for a

cream-pu,” muttered Merv as

he climbed back into the

trailer. It took ten minutes of

concerted coaxing and

shoving to convince the

remaining calves to

disembark.

By the time it was over,

Kenneth Henderson was in a

lather; angry, sweat soaked,

and blood stained. There was

a particularly foul smelling

substance soaked into the

right leg of his trousers from

the hip to the knee. Kenneth

pinched the sticky pant leg

and tried to pull it away from

his leg.

“What the hell is this?” he

demanded. “It stinks!”

The unloading ordeal

hadn’t weighed nearly as

heavily on Merv, who manned

the thumb-sucking part and

left the pushing to Kenneth.

He was chuckling in spite of

himself.

“That there is a by-product

of the cattle business. There’ll

be lots more where that came

from. If you’re careful about

saving it, you can put it on

your garden in the spring and

grow yourself some prize

winning pickles for the Fall

Fair.

Kenneth glared at Merv.

“What the hell am I

supposed to do with them

now?”

“Just feed them and keep

them clean and make sure

they don’t get sick and you’ll

be away to the races.”

“What do they eat?”

“All they need is milk

replacer for now. You’ll want

to start them in a bit of hay

and starter in a week or so. I

brought you some milk

replacer.”

Merv went to his truck and

dragged a bag of milk replacer

that had been in the bottom

of his freezer for longer than

he could remember.

“There’s enough here for a

couple of days, ‘til you get to

the feed store,” said Merv.

“There’s a little plastic cup in

there. One cup morning and

night for each one should do it

until they grow a little. Looks

like you’re all set to go so I’ll

leave you to it.”

Merv hesitated as he

climbed into the truck.

“One more thing,” he said.

“You should probably take

your pants o before you go

in the house.”

Kenneth walked to the

house cursing Mervyn

Devaney every step of the

way. He dropped his trousers

on the laundry room oor and

headed for the shower.

Deborah was coming through

the door with two arm loads of

groceries as he walked out of

the bathroom.

“What on earth is going on?

It smells to high heaven in the

laundry room. Did Duchess do

her business back there

again?”

To be continued ...

situation calling for a

generous dose of cautious

kindness.

Then there’s climate

change. Much of the debate

as to the reality of global

warming has dissipated; the

allowable rate of rising global

temperature and the best way

of addressing it, however, is

still under

considerable debate.

I won’t introduce my

feelings regarding

the subject of oil

into the discussion

but suce it to say,

each individual can

and should treat the earth

with respect. For me, this

means using my homemade

cloth shopping bags as part

of my commitment to living

by the maxim of reduce,

recycle and reuse. It’s not

much, but if all us 35 million

Canadians did our best, the

dierence would equal the

contents of an entire

container of that goodness-

brand of lubricant.

Above all, it’s the old but

proven principle of

demonstrating kindness in

our own back yard. We all face

contentious situations at

some point in our lives but it’s

how we treat one another

that aects the way we will

face next December. Or next

month, or next week. Or, how

by LINDA WEGNER

Once again, we’re standing

on the verge of the unknown.

Last year, it was the same: we

wondered what awaited us in

2015, and in all the Januarys

before that, we did the same.

Now, peering into 2016, we

can merely guess what lies

ahead. Only by looking back

is it possible to put the full

impact of those 365 days,

compressed into twelve

somewhat equal months, into

perspective.

Let’s face it, though.

Looking ahead has the

potential either to scare the

wits out of us or to excite us

with new challenges. In my

quest to pen something

meaningful regarding the

coming year, I came across an

article that puts my nebulous

thoughts into rock-solid

words. The writer of this piece

of wisdom is unknown to me

but here’s what was said:

“There is a story of an old

man who carried a little can of

oil with him everywhere he

went and if he passed

through a door that

squeaked, he poured a little

oil on the hinges. If a gate was

hard to open, he oiled the

latch. And thus he passed

through life lubricating all

hard places and making it

easier for those who came

after him.”

I couldn’t have expressed it

better myself. Now, in my own

words, here are a few of my

personal thoughts regarding

the uncertainty and the

promise of the coming year.

First, I am proud to be a

citizen of a country that

welcomes those in need. Does

the thought of tens of

thousands of refugees

arriving en masse bring with it

potential danger? Of course.

That fear could be realized

but we’ve also got our own

home-grown perpetrators of

hate crime. I’m married to a

man who, along with his

siblings, escaped the horrors

of Nazi Germany; they and

their ospring now proudly

call Canada home. I guess you

could cite this as a current

A Wannabe Farmer

LINDA WEGNER

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 37

Make a difference

in the new year,

one day at a time

we face ourselves tomorrow.

Disagreements can wound

deeply but by judiciously

applying the oil of

reconciliation, we could make

a dierence in our world. If

that doesn’t work, no one

needs that healing touch

more than we do.

In closing, here’s a quote

by Bill Vaughan: An optimist

stays up until midnight to see

the New Year in. A pessimist

stays up to make sure the old

year leaves.

Happy New Year to each of

you, no matter when or how

you celebrated the event.

May your days be lled with

deep satisfaction, resolved

problems and a sense of

meaningful accomplishment.

Oh, and keep your oil can

lled! There are many around

you who need its healing

contents.

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Golden year

Golden Ears 4-H Community Club members celebrated their success at an annual awards

banquet in late October. Members participated in many events including, communications,

judging, writing, education displays and project competitions. Everyone in the Golden Ears

Community Club is looking forward to next year. (Photo courtesy of Naomi Carson)

British Columbia Angus Association

ANGUS BULLS

SEEDSTOCK SALES | EVENTS

March 5

Prime Time & Cutting Edge, 1 pm Williams Lake

March 7

Select Sale, Dawson Creek

March 12

Harvest Angus, Williams Lake

March 19

Angus Advantage, 12:30 Kamloops

March 26

Northern Alliance Bull Sale, 1 pm Vanderhoof

April 2

Best Bet, 1 pm Williams Lake

April 2

Gumbo Gulch Bull Sale, 1 pm Dawon Creek

April 9

Vanderhoof All Breeds, 12 pm

April 14/15

Williams Lake Bull Show & Sale

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Jack Brown . Field Man . 778.593.7410

Jill Savage . Secretary . 250.679-2813

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YOU NEED to GROW!

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The agricultural news source in

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COUNTRY

Life

in BC

With the holidays over, many of us make the decision to

push away from the table, to substitute baked for fried; to have

larger servings of lean vegetables and smaller ones of meat, or

to concentrate on such simpler food as stir-fries and stews

where vegetables are king.

It’s important that you remember that life doesn’t have to be

a choice between eating to live and living to eat.

There are lots of delicious ways to cook meals that are

healthy for you, too. With very little eort, you can make much

healthier meals from scratch than any packaged meal you can

buy from the store or a

fast-food outlet.

Open your

pocketbook in the

produce store, at the

farmers’ market or in the

produce section of your

supermarket instead of

buying the more expensive and less healthy prepared,

processed, canned or frozen foods – or fast foods prepared by a

colonel or a clown.

Try reducing the quantity of bread and buns in your daily

diet, and buy only whole grains rather than white, and right

away, you’ve made another healthy change in how you eat by

reducing the empty calories you take in.

Instead of cake, cookies or candy for dessert, opt for fresh

fruit, and for snacks, turn to fresh fruit or vegetables instead of

over-salted, doused-in-fat and laden-with-sugar options from a

package.

Simple food doesn’t need a package, nor added salt, oil and

sugar.

All our best chefs are convinced of the importance of eating

fresh, local foods, made from scratch, and we now just have to

convince them to reduce the fats and salt in what they create –

or we can choose to eat such creations only occasionally.

During these short, dark days of mid-winter, a special

candlelight dinner, served in front of a roaring re will add a

little extra sparkle to help push away the dark and you can plan

for the coming of longer, lighter days.

Country Life in BC • January 201638

Jude’s Kitchen

JUDIE STEEVES

This is a healthier alternative to the traditional chicken breast or veal stued with cheese and

ham and with a creamy sauce poured over it. This one is not fried in butter, but baked instead

and I used a low fat cheese, light prosciutto ham and a stful of spinach in each. There’s no full-

fat, rich, creamy sauce either, but it was yummy.

2 chicken breasts Flour, to dredge chicken

sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper 1 egg

2 c. (500 ml) baby spinach leaves 1 tbsp. (15 ml) cold water

3 slices lean prosciutto ham 3/4 c. (175 ml) Panko bread crumbs

1 oz. (28 g) light Swiss cheese Salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

Carefully slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, to reduce its thickness. Don’t slice all

the way through, so you can open up the breast to ll it. Place a piece of waxed paper over it and

gently pound it with a pan, the at side of a cleaver or a wooden mallet where it is thickest, to

even out the thickness.

Season the breast. Wilt the spinach leaves in the microwave for a minute and let cool.

Slice the cheese and cover one half of each breast with slices, using just a quarter of the

cheese. Top with the cooled spinach, then another quarter of the sliced cheese and the thinly-

sliced ham. Repeat with the other chicken breast.

Close the breasts to sandwich the lling in. You may use a couple of toothpicks to hold each

together.

Prepare a breading station with an egg beaten with a drizzle of cold water in a at dish and

the bread crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper in another. Dust the breasts with our before

immersing in the egg and then dipping into the crumbs.

Lay each breast in a baking pan covered with parchment paper.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until just cooked. Serves 2-4.

Leaner cuisine

Baking makes this cordon bleu easy. (Judie Steeves photo)

Please see “ARLAʼS” page 39

I was worried they’d ﬁnd something

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Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Please mail your application to

1120 East 13th Ave Vancouver, BC V5T 2M1

604.871.0001

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COUNTRY

Life

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BC every month to find out what (and who!) is making

news in BC agriculture and how it may affect their farms

and agri‑businesses!

NEWS & INFORMATION YOU (& YOUR FRIENDS) NEED!

January 2016 • Country Life in BC 39

This recipe originated from a friend who had a ranch down the road from us in the Cariboo.

This is not only delicious, but it’s suitable for those who cannot eat wheat, because it’s thickened

with cornmeal instead of our.

2 lb. (1 kg) lean beef 1 tsp. (5 ml) salt

2 cloves of garlic, minced 4 to 6 carrots, sliced

1 onion, sliced 1 or 2 stalks of celery, sliced

2 1/2 c. (625 ml) beef or chicken broth 1 tbsp. (15 ml) minced jalapeno peppers

2 tsp. (10 ml) dried oregano 2 tbsp. (30 ml) cornmeal

1 tsp. (5 ml) cumin powder

Trim meat and either cube it or cut into thick strips.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven and brown the meat and onions, adding the minced garlic, then the

broth and spices, except the hot peppers. (You could leave them out if you’d prefer.)

Add sliced carrots and celery.

Bring to bubbling, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for a couple of hours, either on the

stove or in a medium oven.

When the meat is tender, stir in minced peppers and cornmeal and bring back to bubbling,

simmering for a half hour longer, until the sauce is nice and thick.

This could also be cooked in a slow cooker, all day on low, then the peppers and cornmeal

added for the last hour of cooking.

This is good served on squares of cornbread or on brown rice.

Serves 6 to 8.

ARLAʼS BEEF STEW WITH SPICES AND CORNMEAL From page 38

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Curt DeBoer • 250/838-9612

cell 250/804-6147

ALFALFA FOR SALE

3x4x8

Barn Stored

250/567-7714

Toll Free 1-888-357-0011

www.ultra-kelp.com

ULTRA-KELP

Celebrating 30 Years

Serving Western Canadian Agriculture

Congratulations to:

ROMYN HILL FARM LTD

BRAD & JODI ROMYN • SORRENTO,B.C.

2014 TOP PRODUCTION HERD

BC HOLSTEIN

Flack’s Bakerview • Kelp Products Inc

Pritchard, BC

CORN SILAGE FOR SALE

DELIVERY AVAILABLE

FOB CURTIS FARM, ARMSTRONG

PRICE DEPENDS ON VOLUME

PHONE TED 250/260-0009

OR PHONE TXT DAVID

250/308-8121

NEW

POLYETHYLENE

TANKS

of all shapes & sizes for septic and water

storage. Ideal for irrigation, hydroponics,

washdown, lazy wells, rain water, truck

box, fertizilizer mixing & spraying.

Call

1-800-661-4473

for closest distributor.

Web: [www.premierplastics.com]

Manufactured in Delta by

Premier Plastics Inc.

Quality Privacy

Cedar Hedging For Sale

Emerald, Excelsa

MENTION THIS AD &

RECEIVE 10%

OFF YOUR ORDER

FREE LOCAL DELIVERY ON

ORDERS OF 25 OR MORE CEDARS

• Discounts for large orders available

• We have all sizes 3’ +

Installation services available

Wholesale/Retail

604/217-2886

www.fraservalleycedars.com

FOR SALE FOR SALE FOR SALE

NAME ____________________________________________

OLD ADDRESS ______________________________________

__________________________________________________

PHONE ____________________________________________

NEW ADDRESS ______________________________

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COUNTRY

Life

in BC

Canada Post will not deliver your

Country Life in BC if they change

your postal code, your street name

and/or address. If your address

changes, please fill out the form

below and mail or fax it to us, or

use email.

Thank you!

1120 East 13th Ave

Vancouver, B.C. V5T 2M1

Email: countrylifeinbc@shaw.ca

Phone 604/871-0001 • Fax: 604/871-0003

Jan 16

CHANGE

ADDRESS?

Lola!

Introducing Kubota’s All New M-6

Join the expanding Kubota

family and experience what

quality built and precision

made mean to your farm.

See your dealer for more

information on our new hay

tool line and be ‘Kubota ready’

this fall.

s .EWMOWERCONDITIONERS

s $OUBLEROTORRAKESANDTEDDERS

s !NDOURNEW"63#3UPER#UT

 SILAGEBALERWITHTHREEVARIABLEBALEDENSITY

 OPTIONS

kubota.ca

n the ex

and

Kubota

family and experience what

Limited time only.

See your dealer for details.

Pre-Sell

program in effect!

ABBOTSFORD AVENUE MACHINERY CORP. 1521 Sumas Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604/864-2665

COURTENAY NORTH ISLAND TRACTOR LTD. 3663 South Island Hwy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/334-0801

CRESTON KEMLEE EQUIPMENT LTD. N.W. Boulevard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/428-2254

DAWSON CREEK DOUGLAS LAKE EQUIPMENT 11508-8th Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/782-5281

DUNCAN ISLAND TRACTOR & SUPPLY LTD. 4650 Trans Canada Hwy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/746-1755

KAMLOOPS DOUGLAS LAKE EQUIPMENT 706 Carrier Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/851-2044

KELOWNA AVENUE MACHINERY CORP. 1090 Stevens Road Hwy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/769-8700

OLIVER GERARD’S EQUIPMENT LTD. 97 South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/498-2524

PRINCE GEORGE HUBER EQUIPMENT Upper Mud River Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/560-5431

QUESNEL DOUGLAS LAKE EQUIPMENT Highway 97 North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/991-0406

VERNON AVENUE MACHINERY CORP. 7155 Meadowlark Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250/545-3355

Country Life in BC • January 201640

spring.

See us at the

Pacific Ag Show

The all new

M7 tractor and

Kubota skid steers

will be unveiled at

Pacific Ag!