June 2016

by PETER MITHAM

OTTAWA – Capital spending across BC is set

for a fall this year but crop growers have little

intention of paring their spending.

Statistics Canada’s annual survey of

investment intentions indicates that business

across BC expects to spend 3.8% less on

capital expenses in 2016. But investments by

the province’s farmers will drop just 2.8%,

thanks largely to lower spending by livestock

producers.

Statscan had bullishly predicted $143.5

million in fresh spending on capital

expenses by the livestock sector last year

but preliminary figures indicate actual

spending totalled $136.8 million. Now,

estimates are calling for a more conservative

investment of $131.4 million.

Meanwhile, crop producers are expected to

spend $108.5 million in 2016, a gure that’s

been virtually unchanged for the past four

years.

Strong demand for local produce and

favourable exchange rates for those who

export have given producers money to spend

on land, buildings and equipment.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s

overview of financial conditions for

Canada’s farmers reported that BC crop

receipts rose 4% between 2014 and 2015

and would rise another percentage point

this year to top $1.5 billion. By contrast,

livestock receipts are set to pull back 3%

Postmaster, Please return

Undeliverable labels to:

Country Life in BC

1120 East 13th Ave

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CANADA POSTES

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40012122

Vol. 102 No. 6

Infrastructure Federal spending overlooks farmers, ranchers 11

Poultry Avian influenza response training exercise 17

Investment Demand, low taxes make farmland attractive 19

Life

in BC

The agricultural news source in

British Columbia since 1915

June 2016 • Vol. 102 No. 6

FIRB proffers stinging rebuke to hatching egg commission order

Capital investment trends lower for BC

by DAVID SCHMIDT

ABBOTSFORD

– In a March 29 decision,

the BC Farm Industry Review Board has not

just thrown out the BC Broiler Hatching Egg

Commission’s Amending Order 11 which

“regularized” production of BC’s six Silkie

and Taiwanese chicken hatching egg

producers, it has severely criticized the

BCBHEC’s process in creating the order,

going so far as to award costs to the three

appellants, something FIRB almost never

does.

After ignoring BC’s specialty broiler

breeders for years, the commission decided

in 2011 that these producers were “non-

compliant “ and would be “regularized.”

In November 2013, it issued its

regularization program as Amending Order

11. The program would give producers a

quota amounting to half of their production

between 2009 and 2012.

The order was almost immediately

appealed by three of the producers: Trevor

Allen of Skye Hi Farms Inc, Casey Van Ginkel

of V3 Farm and Wilhelm Friesen and Lillian

Fehr of W. Friesen Enterprises. Skye Hi and

Please see “FARM” page 2

Please see “UNFAIR” page 2

COUNTRY

Former land commission chair Richard Bullock and long-time Richmond city councillor and outspoken farming

advocate Harold Steves are travelling the province on a public speaking tour on the “Future of Farming” in BC.

They were in Duncan last month. Please see story on page 7. (Tamara Leigh photo)

In a rare decision, Farm

Industry Review Board

awards costs to appellants

On the road, again and again

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UNFAIR PROCESS From page 1

Country Life in BC • June 20162

V3 also jointly operate T&C

Chick Sales. The three claimed

BCBHEC used an unfair

process to set the order, that

it does not represent “sound

marketing policy,” that its

allotment decision was wrong

and that the 24% pro rata

quota allocation increase

would still not permit a

minimum ecient farm size.

FIRB said using the 2009-

2012 production as the base

for quota allocations “appears

to benet” the two largest

producers, Coastline Chicks

(Kelly and Teresa Boonstra)

and Rob and Pat Donaldson

(Bradner Farms).

Off and on production

It notes Coastline, Bradner,

Friesen and John Giesbrecht

were pioneer Asian egg

producers but Friesen’s egg

production had lapsed

before restarting in 2009.

Sensing a market

opportunity, Skye Hi and V3

started production in mid-

2010. The sixth producer, K &

R Farms (Ken Huttema and

Rob Vane), also began in

2010 after acquiring

Giesbrecht’s genetics.

In its 39-page decision, the

FIRB panel of Daphne Stancil,

FIRB chair John Les and FIRB

vice-chair Andy Dolberg says

the BCBHEC decision violates

every one of FIRB’s cherished

SAFETI principles: Strategic,

Accountable, Fair, Eective,

Transparent, Inclusive.

Specialty sector

Strategic: “We nd a

complete lack of any strategic

rationale in respect of the

decision-making to actively

regulate the Asian hatching

egg sector,” the panel states,

noting the commission had

made it clear after FIRB’s 2005

Specialty Review that it had

no intention of regulating the

specialty sector. FIRB even

complimented Skye-Hi and V3

for “helping to develop a

stronger and more resilient

Asian hatching egg sector.”

Accountable: The panel

stressed the BCBHEC was not

accountable to all

stakeholders, calling its

“preferential treatment of two

producers … troubling.” In

particular, FIRB noted the

BCBHEC only allowed Skye Hi

and V3 to comment on the

proposed order if they agreed

to allow their comments to be

circulated to all six producers,

yet withheld Donaldson’s

comments until the order was

issued.

Fair: FIRB pointed out that

not all industry participants

were consulted prior to the

order being issued “which, in

itself, is unfair.” It added that

the outcome of the order was

also unfair, as it “signicantly

jeopardized the businesses of

four of the producers while …

allocating more quota to the

two dominant producers than

they had requested.”

Eective: That led FIRB to

conclude the order “would

have destroyed the

appellants’ business … (and)

… does not provide for or

reect the current state of the

industry.

“The outcome could have

been damaging to a sector

where BC is a strong national

leader,” it says.

Transparent: FIRB states

categorically that the BCBHEC

“did not nd the appropriate

balance” between openness

and the risk of a ‘race for

base.’ It notes there were

inadequate records of the

consultation process and

decries the commission

members’ “lack of awareness

of the 2005 Specialty Review

which provided advice for …

developing and

implementing a specialty or

niche program.”

Legal argument

BHBEC’s Reasons for

Decision “do not read like a

decision of a regulator

making a strategic decision in

the best interests of the

industry. Instead, they read

like a legal argument

FARM REVENUES From page 1

this year to just under $1.5 billion.

The retrenchment is consistent with slightly lower

expectations for overall farm revenues this year and ongoing

losses in the sector (at least on paper).

Aggregate farm revenues will come in at just under $3

billion this year, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food

Canada. This will translate into net cash income for the sector

of $327.8 million.

However, when depreciation and other factors are factored

in, federal analysts expect the sector to post a net loss of $70.8

million – the tenth year of red ink in the past 11.

The bleeding is unprecedented in the province’s history,

surpassing both the recession of the early 1980s and the Great

Depression. While the province has pledged to grow the agri-

food sector’s revenues, margins have remained incredibly tight

for producers.

Year Crops Livestock Total

2007 77.5 139.8 217.3

2008 79.1 142.6 221.7

2009 93.3 140.1 233.4

2010 93.3 140.1 233.4

2011 96.2 129.3 225.5

2012 102.7 127.4 230.1

2013 108.0 123.6 231.6

2014 109.6 134.2 243.8

2015

110.1 136.8

246.9

2016

108.5 131.4

239.9

preliminary

forecast Source: Statistics Canada

TABLE: Capital moves

New capital investment in B.C. farms, 2007-2016 ($ millions)

justifying a particular decision

irrespective of industry

realities,” FIRB states.

Inclusive: FIRB concludes

the commission “started from

a narrow perspective and

gave disproportionate weight

to the views of the two

largest producers, to the

detriment of the overall

interests of the industry.”

FIRB therefore threw out

the Order and has given the

BCBHEC 90 days to determine

whether or not to regulate

Asian egg production (using

SAFETI principles to make

that determination). If the

commission chooses to

exempt the production of

Silkie or TC broiler hatching

breeders, eggs or chicks, its

report must include draft

changes to the scheme to

support the exemption.

If it decides to pursue

some form of regulation, FIRB

has given the BCBHEC a

further 90 days to complete

an appropriate consultation,

enact a regulation and create

an advisory committee to

assist it going forward.

Although FIRB declined to

award the appellants all their

costs, it did order the BCBHEC

to pay $7,500 each to Skye Hi,

V3 and Friesen for their

troubles.

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The panel stressed the BCBHEC was not accountable

to all stakeholders, calling its “preferential

treatment of two producers ... troubling.”

June 2016• Country Life in BC 3

Fun with feces

Dan Hopkins, far left,

was one of several

members of the

Okanagan Shuswap

Sheep Producers

Association learning

how to use the

FAMACHA card to

detect anaemia in

sheep at a “Fun with

Feces” workshop

with Dr Shaun Tryon,

right, in Armstrong

last month. The

presentation also

included fecal

sample collection

and examination to

help producers

increase their

husbandry skills

when it comes to

dealing with internal

parasites in sheep.

(Photo courtesy of

Karen Mernett)

Ag council initiative hopes to increase public trust

by DAVID SCHMIDT

ABBOTSFORD

– The BC

Agriculture Council (BCAC) is

scrambling for a new

communications strategist

and member relations

manager after the abrupt

departure of Jaclyn Laic at the

end of April.

“It’s a super-high priority for

us,” BCAC executive director

Reg Ens said. “We want

someone as soon as possible.”

He oered no explanation

for Laic’s departure, saying

only it was by “mutual

agreement.”

In the meantime, Kathy

James, who has been working

with ARDCorp as a program

manager, is helping out with

communication.

Communication is a key

issue for the BCAC, having just

spent part of their annual

meeting discussing how to

build more public trust in the

farming community.

Speaking at the BC

Greenhouse Growers

Association annual meeting at

the end of April, BCAC chair

Stan Vander Waal says the

council is wrestling with “how

we get the average public to

understand what it takes to

get food on their table.”

He notes a Farm Credit

Canada survey showed just

58% of the public trust

farmers, a drop of 4% since its

survey ve years earlier.

“Our objective is to raise

the level of trust from 58%

back to 62% or even up to

70%,” Vander Waal said.

Ens said the council is

working with Jennifer Woron

of the BC Dairy Association to

develop details of the

strategy.

“We hope to present a

proposed strategy to our

board by the end of July, have

our member associations

agree to it by the end of

September and start the

implementation in

November,” Vander Waal said.

EFP continues with ARDCorp

Meanwhile, the council is

pulling back on its

involvement in federally-

funded programs. Ens notes

neither BCAC/ARDCorp nor

the BC Food Processors

Associations applied to deliver

the new federal-provincial

traceability and food safety

programs in BC. While

ARDCorp continues to deliver

the Environmental Farm Plan

program, Ens expects to be

out of 2016 funding for EFP

Benecial Management

Practices (BMP’s) by the end of

May.

“We had good uptake from

all over the province,” he said.

An enhanced EFP program

with increased BMP funding is

one of the things the

Canadian Federation of

Agriculture is looking for in

the next federal-provincial-

territorial agriculture

agreement to begin in 2018.

With agriculture ministers

set to discuss Growing

Forward 3 at their next

meeting in July, the CFA has

released its report titled

“Positioning Canadian

Agriculture for Continued

Success,” detailing its “asks”

for the new agreement.

In its summary, the CFA

says its policy and program

recommendations will enable

increased investment in the

sector, promote adaptability

to a changing climate and

position Canadian agri-food

products as the rst choice for

safe, quality food.

The CFA is also calling for

increased investments in

public sector research, provide

a higher percentage of

funding for research clusters

in specialty sectors and

additional funding for

research in new sectors.

It wants the government to

rescind the current Agri-

Stability payment triggers and

go back to using a trigger of

85% of the historical reference

margin. It also wants

government to develop a

supplementary program more

suitable to diversied farm

operations which often nd

prots in one area mean they

are unable to access supports

even though their losses in

another area may be the same

as farmers only involved in

that one sector.

The CFA continues to call

for a national food policy,

stressing it needs to include

integrated national food

safety assurance systems

which meet the needs of

“producers, processors,

retailers, regulators and

consumers.”

The CFA also wants the

next agreement to support

provincial branding initiatives,

such as BC’s Buy Local

program. Because these

programs try to dierentiate

products from one province

to the next, they are barred

from accessing GF2 funding.

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by PETER MITHAM

OTTAWA – Capital spending across BC is set

for a fall this year but crop growers have little

intention of paring their spending.

Statistics Canada’s annual survey of

investment intentions indicates that business

across BC expects to spend 3.8% less on

capital expenses in 2016. But investments by

the province’s farmers will drop just 2.8%,

thanks largely to lower spending by livestock

producers.

Statscan had bullishly predicted $143.5

million in fresh spending on capital

expenses by the livestock sector last year

but preliminary figures indicate actual

spending totalled $136.8 million. Now,

estimates are calling for a more conservative

investment of $131.4 million.

Meanwhile, crop producers are expected to

spend $108.5 million in 2016, a gure that’s

been virtually unchanged for the past four

years.

Strong demand for local produce and

favourable exchange rates for those who

export have given producers money to spend

on land, buildings and equipment.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s

overview of financial conditions for

Canada’s farmers reported that BC crop

receipts rose 4% between 2014 and 2015

and would rise another percentage point

this year to top $1.5 billion. By contrast,

livestock receipts are set to pull back 3%

Postmaster, Please return

Undeliverable labels to:

Country Life in BC

1120 East 13th Ave

Vancouver, BC V5T 2M1

CANADA POSTES

POST CANADA

Postage paid Port payé

Publications Mail Post-publications

40012122

Vol. 102 No. 6

Infrastructure Federal spending overlooks farmers, ranchers 11

Poultry Avian influenza response training exercise 17

Investment Demand, low taxes make farmland attractive 19

Life

in BC

The agricultural news source in

British Columbia since 1915

June 2016 • Vol. 102 No. 6

FIRB proffers stinging rebuke to hatching egg commission order

Capital investment trends lower for BC

by DAVID SCHMIDT

ABBOTSFORD

– In a March 29 decision,

the BC Farm Industry Review Board has not

just thrown out the BC Broiler Hatching Egg

Commission’s Amending Order 11 which

“regularized” production of BC’s six Silkie

and Taiwanese chicken hatching egg

producers, it has severely criticized the

BCBHEC’s process in creating the order,

going so far as to award costs to the three

appellants, something FIRB almost never

does.

After ignoring BC’s specialty broiler

breeders for years, the commission decided

in 2011 that these producers were “non-

compliant “ and would be “regularized.”

In November 2013, it issued its

regularization program as Amending Order

11. The program would give producers a

quota amounting to half of their production

between 2009 and 2012.

The order was almost immediately

appealed by three of the producers: Trevor

Allen of Skye Hi Farms Inc, Casey Van Ginkel

of V3 Farm and Wilhelm Friesen and Lillian

Fehr of W. Friesen Enterprises. Skye Hi and

Please see “FARM” page 2

Please see “UNFAIR” page 2

COUNTRY

Former land commission chair Richard Bullock and long-time Richmond city councillor and outspoken farming

advocate Harold Steves are travelling the province on a public speaking tour on the “Future of Farming” in BC.

They were in Duncan last month. Please see story on page 7. (Tamara Leigh photo)

In a rare decision, Farm

Industry Review Board

awards costs to appellants

On the road, again and again

IRRIGATION LTD

1-888-675-7999

www.watertecna.com

PROVINCE WIDE DELIVERY

Growing more

with less water

FREE PTO PUMP

See our ad on page 40

for details!

1-888-770-7333

Quality Seeds ... where quality counts!

YOUR COMPLETE

SEED SOURCE