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by DAVID SCHMIDT
DELTA – What a dierence a year makes for
the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission
(BCVMC).
A year ago, Alf Krause was a rookie chair of
the commission, operating without a general
manager and having to deal with some
contentious issues in storage crops.
A year later, he has gained considerable
experience, has a new general manager and is
close to resolving the issues.
The new general manager is Andre
Solymosi, who started with the commission in
June. He was no stranger to the commission
or the sector, as this marks his third term with
the BCVMC.
“I worked at the commission for a year in
1998, then left to become a chartered
accountant. I returned in 2004 and worked
with then general manager Murray Driediger
for a year and Tom Demma for three years. In
2008, I went to work for Agriculture in the
Classroom before moving on to Snowcrest
Foods and now I’m back,” Solymosi told
growers at the BCVMC annual meeting in
Delta, April 6.
Krause said his goals as chair are to “get
some stability” back in the industry and nd
ways to “regain trust in the orderly marketing
system.
“My focus is on working with growers to
minimize failures in the marketplace.”
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Vol. 102 No. 5
Labour BC producers, processors facing worker shortage 7
Livestock Cattlemen launch new protection program 15
Dairy Gracemar has first robotic rotary parlour in North America 35
Life
in BC
The agricultural news source in
British Columbia since 1915
May 2016 • Vol. 102 No. 5
Ag investment foundation celebrates 20 years of economic impact
Krause aims for trust, stability for veggie growers
by DAVID SCHMIDT
LANGLEY – When federal and provincial
agriculture ministers reached another of
their five-year agriculture agreements in
the early 1990’s, they decided to let
industry determine how to spend some of
the money. To do that, they mandated the
formation of Canadian Adaptation and
Rural Development (CARD) councils in each
province. These CARD councils were to be
led by a board of directors from industry,
assisted by representatives of the federal
and provincial governments, and would
dole out the money allocated to the CARD
program.
Since the BC Federation of Agriculture
was imploding at the time, six individual
organizations representing dairy, beef,
horticulture and hogs agreed to become
the founding members.
The group held its first meeting in May
1995, and four months later, the Investment
Agriculture Foundation of BC was
incorporated as a non-profit society. The BC
Ministry of Agriculture chose Harvey Sasaki
to both represent it on the council and to
run it from the side of his desk, with the
help of Sherry Greening and Elaine Burgess
(who is still at IAF).
“I don’t think anyone ever foresaw what
it would accomplish,” Sasaki told IAF’s well-
attended 20th anniversary celebration at
Krause Berry Farms in Langley, April 13.
Please see “VEGETABLES” page 2
Y
COUNTRY
Philip Graham of Abbotsford works on setting up his plow for the championship class at the Chilliwack Plowing
Match, April 2. Graham earned second place honours in the largest class in the competition. Please see full story on
page 38. (David Schmidt photo)
Please see “FUNDING” page 2
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FUNDING PROJECTS From page 1
Country Life in BC • May 20162
While most provincial
CARD councils only received
CARD and later Advancing
Canadian Agriculture and
Agri-Food (ACAAF) Program
funding, BC saw the potential
of the council. With the
support of the BCMA, Sasaki
and then Agriculture & Agri-
Food Canada regional
director John Berry were able
to divert just over $21 million
in safety net funding for BC
into the IAF coffers, giving
them a firm financial
foothold.
“Things evolved in a
healthy way,” Berry said. “IAF
has been good for
government by getting
programs delivered better
and allowed industry to build
effective partnerships.”
IAF received another boost
in the early 2000’s when then
Minister of Agriculture Corky
Evans created the $7 million
Agri Food Futures Funds to
assist emerging sectors and
regions and chose IAF to
deliver the funds.
“The Agri Food Futures
Funds were absolutely wise,”
says Walt Goerzen, who
succeeded founding IAF chair
Gary Kenwood as chair of IAF
in 2005.
“We are still using some of
that money,” added Peter
Donkers, who is now in his
eleventh year as IAF’s
executive director.
He notes IAF has gone
from three people delivering
two programs with limited
dollars to an organization
which is currently delivering
13 programs and has net
assets of over $34 million,
eight employees and three
subcontractors, the newest
being former BC Ministry of
Agriculture agrifood
marketing specialist Donna
Anaka, just hired as a part-
time co-ordinator of the Buy
Local program.
“Over the past 20 years, IAF
has held 130 board meetings,
110 executive meetings and
approved over 1,700 projects
for funding,” current IAF chair
Ken Bates reported. “The
investments we make are
making industry grow.”
Help sustainability
“We want to fund projects
that will help the
sustainability and
competitiveness of the
industry,” Bates told the
annual meeting, held in
Abbotsford the following day.
Donkers released an IAF-
commissioned impact study
showing the $192 million
(converted to 2015 dollars)
IAF has paid out for projects
over the past 20 years has
generated an economic
impact of $355 million, or
$1.85 for each dollar invested.
The projects have resulted in
2,824 jobs and $10 million in
tax revenue.
In 2015 alone, IAF
committed $9.1 million to
new projects and paid out
$6.5 million to new and
continuing projects, Donkers
stated.
“Our staff work hard to
promote the programs and
our program managers work
closely with our clients to
ensure their success,” he said,
stressing the foundation is
only successful “if it benefits
industry.”
VEGETABLES From page 1
Although there were “a lot
of challenges” when he came
on board, Solymosi believes
there is a light at the end of
the tunnel.
Both he and Krause
stressed the need for
transparency and fairness in
commission policies and
increased enforcement to
ensure both growers and
agencies are adhering to
those policies.
“We’re rening how that’s
going to happen,” Krause
said.
He said the new Natural
Products Marketing Act will
give the BCVMC more
exibility by allowing it to
impose penalties for
infractions. Under the existing
act, the commission’s only
recourse was to pull a licence,
an action rarely taken since it
would have drastic
repercussions.
A new general manager
and the Farm Industry Review
Board’s nearly-concluded
supervisory review were not
the only good news items.
Krause noted potato growers
were successful in getting the
Canadian International Trade
Tribunal to renew the potato
anti-dumping order for
another ve years.
In his statistical review,
Solymosi also noted both
potato acreage and prices
increased in 2015. Total
acreage was up 11% over
2014 with most of the
increase coming in yellows,
food service and russets. The
increased acreage and better
yields meant more potatoes
were harvested last year than
in any of the eight previous
years. Returns were also the
highest in nine years, thanks
largely to the low Canadian
dollar.
“The total dollar value for
all storage crops in 2015/16 is
expected to be up 28%
compared to 2014/15,”
Solymosi stated.
Lack of local processing
means the situation is
opposite for processing crops,
which had their smallest
crops ever in 2015 and are
expected to decrease even
further in 2016 with Lucerne’s
decision to take only organic
peas this year.
Give peas a chance
“We only have one
processor interested in
broccoli and Brussels sprouts
and we don’t yet know if
anyone will take peas this
year,” Solymosi reported.
The lower Canadian dollar
also helped increase returns
for greenhouse vegetable
growers, which saw their
average price increase 8% last
year. Solymosi says total
production area increased by
18.9 acres, primarily in
peppers, and expects it to
increase by another 50 acres
this year, also primarily in
peppers.
BC Vegetable Marketing Commission chair Alf Krause and general
manager Andre Solymasi pose at the BCVMC annual meeting in
Delta. (David Schmidt photo)
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 3
North Okanagan Livestock Association honours long time secretary
by TOM WALKER
LUMBY – The North
Okanagan Livestock
Association (NOLA) honoured
long time secretary Cheryl
Altwasser at their recent
annual meeting and later at a
reception at the Altwasser
family farm in Lumby.
“We wanted to let Cheryl
know how much we have
appreciated the work she has
done over the last 12 years,”
says long time NOLA director
Ron Trickett. Trickett and
fellow directors Lani French
and Lee Hesketh presented
Cheryl with a plaque
containing a photo of their
former Charolais herd on the
farm.
Cheryl and husband Keith
are long standing members of
NOLA. Keith has been a
director and Cheryl accepted
the position of secretary-
treasurer in 2003.
“She was really active and
dedicated to the association,”
says Trickett. “She was a
liaison. She kept members
informed of the beef industry
information that came across
her desk.”
She also connected with
the board members, arranged
the several board meetings
and the yearly AGM, says
Trickett. But the highlight was
her work to organize and host
two BC Cattlemen’s
Association conventions, in
2006 and 2013.
“Cheryl was a major factor in
making these huge
undertakings the great
successes that they were,” says
Trickett. “The meetings to
arrange the conventions were
endless and Cheryl was always
there. And she handled
budgets of well over $100,000.”
That all took place while
Cheryl maintained her full time
teaching job in Lumby, most
recently working with special
needs students, after she
earned her Masters in Special
Education.
The Altwasser family farm
just outside of Lumby has
been Cheryl and Keith’s home.
Keith started working with the
family commercial beef herd
after his father got out of the
dairy business. An early
interest in breeding led him to
bring in a Charolais bull and
he saw a quick 100 lb. gain in
the weight of the calves from
the Charolais cross.
“We eventually switched to
purebred Charolais with a 50
to 55 cow herd,” says Keith,
“which we maintained for 43
years.”
“We showed that a little
outt in BC can play with the
big boys,” says Keith. “Cheryl
took the articial insemination
course the year before I did
and she bred and produced a
bull calf that won champion
Charolais bull of Canada in
1992 at the Regina Agribition,
the ultimate show of Canada.”
They sold that bull to a
syndicate in the US.
“We were at the show in
Dallas, Texas in 1993 when the
bull won reserve in the states,”
says Keith.
The Altwassers were also
active in the BC Charolais
Association. Keith was a
director and eventually
president and Cheryl the
secretary. They also worked to
promote beef at the Interior
Provincial Exhibition (IPE)
including developing the
popular “Stars of the Future”
and “Sires of Tomorrow”
classes.
“We belonged to a lot of
stu,” says Keith. “It actually is
kind of scary.”
“The reason we got
involved was we always tried
to better the industry,”
explains Cheryl. “It’s been a lot
fun and we have met many
great people. But it’s time for a
change; you need to get
younger people involved.”
NOLA director
Ron Trickett, new
secretary Janna
Quesnel (and
son), NOLA
directors Lani
French and Lee
Hesketh were on
hand to honour
long-time
secretary Cheryl
Altwasser (centre)
for her many
years of service to
the organization.
(Tom Walker
photo)
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Like it or not, the BC Hydro and Power Authority
(Hydro) plays a big role in the daily lives of most
British Columbians. Hydro is a Crown corporation
that was created in 1961. For most of the intervening
years, it has provided cheap and reliable energy to its
customers and expanded generation capacity to stay
ahead of a rapidly growing market. Thanks to
mountains and moisture, Hydro has been able meet
most of the province’s power needs by turning water
and gravity into electricity and largely avoiding what
are commonly deemed less environmentally-friendly
alternatives.
As a Crown corporation, Hydro’s course has often
been set with a political destination in mind. Energy
and transportation mega-projects have been a staple
of provincial governments since confederation.
Railways, bridges, highways and dams have been
reliable sources of political prosperity. None of them
have been entirely without controversy but even a
departure like Expo 86 seemed to pass public
muster. It was a grand coming out party for Sky Train
and, heck, everyone likes a party.
In the mid 1990’s, the province embarked on the
ill-conceived Fast Cat ferry program. Initially
estimated at $210 million, the cost ballooned to $463
million by the time the third vessel was completed.
The last ferry never entered service. The entire
concept was a asco and the Fast Cats were
operational for less than two years. All three were
sold at auction in 2003 for $19.4 million. Eventually,
they made their way to the Middle East where they
were gifted to the government of Egypt.
The Fast Cat project was the political kiss of death
for the government behind it and it dogs the party
responsible to this day. With a price tag nearing half
a billion dollars tied to the fact they didn’t work, the
entire Fast ferry program has had a long run as the
poster child for government hubris and scal
incompetence, but something far more spectacular
is about to blow those sad-sack Cats right out of the
water.
Anyone who has been paying attention to their
monthly hydro bill for the past half dozen years
should already have a pretty strong inkling of what
could make them forget fast ferries. Hydro rates have
increased dramatically in this decade. Especially since
2013 when the province announced a 10 year rate
plan for Hydro that would increase rates by 28% by
2018.
Rates are increased every April 1 (no kidding). The
increase was nine percent in 2014 and six percent in
2015. This year’s four percent should show up on
your next bill. All of the increases are compounded
as are the additional ve percent Rate Rider and the
applicable taxes.
The cumulative costs are frightening. Power that
cost $10,000 in 2009 will cost $15,474 in 2018. Add in
the additional Rate Rider and taxes and the total
balloons to $17,212. Rates will continue to rise after
2018 but no one in the government is talking
numbers at this point.
What is known is the troubling Hydro debt gures
that are driving the soaring price increases.
According to Hydro’s 2015 annual report, that debt
amounts to (here in billions):
Regulatory (deferral) Accounts: $5.1433
Long Term Debt: $16.8960
Long Term Energy Purchase Agreements: $53.8170
Total Debt: $76.1460
If you are having trouble wrapping your head
around $76 billion dollars think of it as 492 Fast Cats.
To be fair, some of the long term energy purchases
could be oset by the sale of that energy. The
problem is that the long term purchase obligations
are to Independent Power Producers (IPP) as
mandated by the provincial government in 2002.
Hydro was told its future needs were to be met by
IPPs and to encourage them, the government
shackled Hydro to long term, high priced purchase
agreements. Many of the agreements obligate Hydro
to purchase power even when it isn’t needed. This
has resulted in Hydro shutting down its own
generation and spilling water from its reservoirs to
create a market for IPP power. This means paying
IPPs $79.54 per megawatt hour (MWh) for power it
can generate on its own for $8.11 per MWh. In 2015,
Hydro paid 76% of its purchase costs to IPPs who
supplied 24% of its domestic supply.
Export sales at $20 to $25 per MWh don’t make
sense either. The only way any of this will work in the
long run is if electricity rates end up reecting the
actual cost that Hydro is paying for it. With a
provincial election scheduled for May 9, 2017, rate
increases have been pegged at 3.5% in 2017 and 3%
in 2018. After that, hang on to your hat!
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 “Elwood” Gordon
COUNTRY
Life
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Country Life in British Columbia.
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The agricultural news source
in British Columbia since 1915
Published monthly by
Country Life 2000 Ltd.
Vol. 102 No. 5
May 2016
in B.C.
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Hydro debt gives new meaning to power struggle
The Back 40
BOB COLLINS
Country Life in BC • May 20164
Government support for agriculture
is an easy target for criticism, especially
here in BC where fruit growers and
others have long pointed to the
disconnect between agriculture’s
contribution to the provincial
economy and what Victoria budgets
for the sector’s support.
It’s therefore worth taking a moment
to acknowledge the success of the
Investment Agriculture Foundation of
BC, birthed during the sector’s great
upheavals of the mid-1990s.
A child of necessity, it represents the
best of BC ingenuity with its innovative
model for lling the void as
government downloaded
administrative responsibilities on
industry, and the old pillars of
organized agriculture crumbled.
The foundation took the form of a
not-for-prot organization where
provincial representatives and industry
could discuss how best to deploy
funding from senior levels of
government. In this sense, activities
took place at arm’s length from both
organizations, but served the interests
of both. If not impartial, it was a
pragmatic means of getting things
done.
The results have been impressive.
The foundation’s funding activities
have delivered a cumulative economic
impact of $355 million over the past 20
years, according to an analysis which
Edmonton-based consultants R.A.
Malatest & Associates prepared for the
organization. That works out to $1.85
for every dollar of funding paid out.
Better yet, the foundation seeks to
be transparent, posting eight years’
worth of program information online
so that people know what’s being
done with public monies.
This is a model for other
government and industry
organizations, which aren’t always so
transparent.
The commitment to responsibility
and accountability has made IAFBC the
go-to organization when government
and industry need assistance with
administering funding. When the old
Okanagan Valley Tree Fruit Authority
was disbanded, government asked
IAFBC to administer replant funding.
More recently, government has left
Stable investment
industry in charge and been content to
plead ignorance when something goes
wrong on the grounds that it’s no
longer a public aair.
The success of IAFBC for the past 20
years shows that there’s a place for
government and industry to
collaborate for the benet of both,
while assuring taxpayers that their
hard-earned cash handed to
government each spring is being put
to good use.
The Comprehensive
Economic and Trade
Agreement (CETA) between
Canada and the European
Union is on track for
implementation in 2017, a full
decade since leaders rst
began discussions.
So now what?
A challenge faces the
various interests in the
Canadian agriculture sector as
it postures for status as a
global trader.
Some analysts, such as
Laura Dawson, director of the
Canada Institute in
Washington, view CETA’s
signicance to Canada is
something far more
fundamental than the
potential increase in trade
measured in dollars.
“It is the rst trade
agreement that we have done
with a modern, industrialized
set of economies for more
than 20 years,” she said. The
last big deal before that, the
North American Free Trade
Agreement, was negotiated
before there was an internet.
It is the rst deal Canada
negotiated in what she calls
the “mega-regional” world of
trade. The Trans-Pacic Trade
Partnership quickly followed
and there will be more to
come.
“Canada needs to be a
player in the mega-regionals
because eventually these
mega-regionals are going to
converge,” Dawson said.
The CETA deal also exposes
the reality that despite all the
work that goes into getting
these agreements negotiated
and through the process of
political ratication, the
industry’s work is only just
beginning.
Canadian agriculture faces
major technical, infrastructure
and cultural hurdles in selling
to Europe. Industry players
will have to work together in
new ways if they are to turn
this new market potential into
market share.
“Twenty or 30 years ago, I
think that trade negotiations
were like a panacea. If we had
the agreement,
everything else would
be ne,” Dawson said.
“But what we are
discovering now is
that trade agreement
is the rst step. A
trade agreement will help to
reduce the risk, it will help to
provide more transparent
practices in the market you
are looking at, but … our
small- and medium-size
exporters really need that
next step, which is trade
facilitation services, which is
how to do business.”
The technical and non-tari
barriers are huge. For
example, the increased
market access for beef is
predicated on that beef being
raised without the use of
growth hormones, which are
generally accepted and widely
used in Canada.
Despite the potential for
lucrative sales, senior industry
ocials estimate this country
currently produces enough
hormone-free beef to ll one-
fth of the available quota.
With the elimination of the US
country-of-origin labelling
laws, large-scale operators will
continue to focus on the
market they know in the
south. Smaller operators may
lack the resources to take the
risk.
Dawson said the most
tangible impediment to
Canada extending its global
reach is its limited
transportation system; it can’t
quickly or reliably increase
supply for new markets.
That observation was
averse and they are not as
driven to innovate as their
American counterparts.
Lead researcher Charles
Plant says both qualities
contribute to a “lack of
aggressiveness” in global
trade.
“Canadians, when
compared with Americans,
tend to be more afraid to take
new risks – so they
are less likely to try
to sell into an area
of the world in
which they have less
experience,” he said.
New agreements
open the door to
new trade. But
turning opportunity
into sales requires
ambition, a high
tolerance for risk
and perseverance. Canada has
some work to do.
Laura Rance is editor of
Manitoba Co-operator
Canadian producers not ready to take on global trade agreements
Farmers need to be more innovative, take more risks to benefit from international trade
Viewpoint
LAURA RANCE
May 2016 • Country Life in BC 5
backed up in spades by the
recently released review of the
Canadian Transportation Act,
which said
Canada has failed
to strategically
invest in a
transportation
system that will
maintain and
grow its
competitiveness
on the world
stage.
However,
while Canada is
seen to have natural
advantages as a global trader,
our Canadian nature is
perhaps the biggest thing
holding us back.
“As someone who is a trade
historian and who has
watched these trends, Canada
has been largely complacent;
we’ve been lulled into
complacency by easy trade
with the United States,”
Dawson said. “We haven’t
been particularly aggressive in
seeking new markets.”
You would think that a
country as dependent as
Canada is on global exports
would be the opposite.
Not so, says a newly
released study by the
University of Toronto’s Impact
Centre. It found that
Canadians culturally are risk
“Canadians, when compared with
Americans, tend to be more afraid to take
new risks – so they are less likely to try to
sell into an area of the world in which they
have less experience.”
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Country Life in BC • May 20166
May 3 is World Press
Freedom Day, an annual
opportunity initiated by the
United Nations in 1993 to
remember the restrictions
journalists around the world
face in trying to convey even
the most basic information.
Often, journalists put their
lives on the line to confront
corruption by government
and businesses alike, and to
expose the circumstances of
the poor, the marginalized
and the powerless.
Most farm journalists in
Canada aren’t placing their
lives at risk to tell stories, but
accessing information can be
challenging.
Canada is a signatory to
the 1948 UN Declaration of
Human Rights, which
acknowledges peoples’ right
to freedom of opinion and
expression as well as the right
to seek and receive
information through the
media about what their
governments are doing.
But too often, access is
limited or simply doesn’t
exist, either at the federal
level or provincially.
“With mounting concern
over the government’s
‘growing secrecy’ and
rampant bureaucracy in
executing Access to
Information (ATI)
requests, Stephen
Harper’s reign was
considered a ‘dark
age’ for journalism,”
says Reporters
Without Borders,
which tracks press
freedom around the world.
“Current Prime Minister
[Justin] Trudeau has strongly
advocated for a ‘free media’
but only time will tell if his
promises will be fullled.”
Triple-deleted emails
Here in BC, Premier Christy
Clark’s government pledged
to stop the scandalous
practice of triple-deleting e-
mails, a strategy designed to
foil freedom of information
requests.
But that doesn’t mean
information is any easier to
access.
Queries regarding the
province’s tree fruit replant
program earlier this year, for
example, found that a
consistent run of data from
the program’s inception in
1991 to the present isn’t
available.
An initial request regarding
total funding for the program
and total acreage replanted
garnered a funding amount
for the period from 2001 to
2014, but no acreage data.
A request to the BC Fruit
Growers Association, which
currently administers
program funding, yielded
data for the period from 1991
to 2005 that was roughly
consistent with numbers
former agriculture minister
Pat Bell provided that same
year.
However, data for
subsequent years was on a
hard drive in storage and not
easily available and the trail
led to a senior economist and
statistician with the BC
Ministry of Agriculture who
received the data from
industry. However, she
returned the query to the
ministry’s communications
ocer, who said nothing
more was forthcoming.
Sources within the ministry
indicate the data simply isn’t
readily available and likely
won’t be saved by court order
as it’s simply too costly to
recover.
“It wasn’t our nest hour as
a ministry,” the staer said, on
the condition of anonymity.
Not-so-fine hours
But those not-so-ne hours
continue.
Annual reports and service
plans for the BC Ministry of
Agriculture online begin in
2013, leaving the public to
dig for information on what
the ministry was doing before
then.
Perhaps this is no surprise;
the sketchy record-keeping,
as this paper reported last
year regarding the use of
farmland for a carbon oset
scheme, extends to the ability
of the province to track
what’s happening on BC
farmland.
Of the 11.6 million acres
within the province’s
Agricultural Land Reserve,
agriculture minister Norm
Letnick conrmed that 3,700
acres had been reforested –
based on estimates prepared
in 2011.
“I’ve asked the ministry to
go back and check again
because I’ve been hearing
from some of the local MLAs
that there are some other
properties that have done the
same since the last time the
count was made,” he told
Country Life in BC.
A month later, he told the
paper that upwards of 25,000
acres might have been
reforested.
Agricultural organizations
are often no better, whether
because of the myriad
responsibilities downloaded
Freedom to information limited at agriculture ministry
Ministry, farm organizations aren’t able or are unwilling to corroborate research data, and that’s a problem
In Perspective
PETER MITHAM
to them or out of fear for the
dignity and honour of the
industry.
When it comes to knowing
where funds devoted to the
provincially funded
Environmental Farm Plan
program go, for example, the
gatekeepers are mum.
Karen Murray, who co-
ordinates the Environmental
Farm Plan program for the
administrator, Ardcorp, said a
list of program participants
isn’t publicly disclosed
because participants don’t
agree to the disclosure of this
information and some fear
they may actually be held
accountable for their
practices. However,
participating farms receive
signs to advertise their
participation in the program
but display is voluntary.
Without signage, the public
is in the dark as to which
farms received funding under
the program, and are unable
to determine if the funding is
actually doing any good.
Not unique to BC
The defensive stance isn’t
unique to BC.
Requests for information
from fruit growers’
organizations in Ontario last
fall failed to pry loose even
such basic facts as the
amount of stone fruit and
grape acreage in the
province.
Grape Growers of Ontario
said its sta was too busy and
declined further assistance
even after a direct referral
from sta at the Vineland
Research and Innovation
Centre.
While numbers eventually
turned up in a report to which
all grower organizations had
contributed (located via
Google), the individual
organizations denied that the
information was accurate as
the industry’s transition to a
GIS-based system in 2007 was
giving far better information.
The experiences with
industry organizations don’t
surprise Owen Roberts, vice-
president of the International
Federation of Agricultural
Journalists and research
communications director at
the University of Guelph in
Guelph, Ontario.
“Ag, overall, is in a catch-up
position when it comes to
communications so the same
might go for media relations,”
he said. “Given the e-reality of
news, perhaps media relations
people or media members
need to work harder than
ever to cultivate meaningful
relationships that promote a
culture of responsiveness and
responsibility.”
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 7
Stories by PETER MITHAM
CHILLIWACK – There’s more
work available on local farms
than people willing to do it,
says Crystal Ellis, manager of
the Agricultural Labour Pool in
Chilliwack.
The business, which has
been connecting employers
with workers since 1974, has
listings for
everything from
eld labour to
truck drivers and
equipment
operators; oce
sta, supervisors
and managers are
also in demand.
“There’s not
necessarily a
shortage of
people that can
work; I think
there’s a shortage
of people that
want to work, that want to do
the jobs,” Ellis said. “More and
more [employers] have to get
back on the tools because
people just don’t want to stick
with the jobs very long.”
While training programs are
in vogue among students who
want skills, graduates are often
surprised at what those skills
will earn them in the eld.
Workers who have been
laid o in Alberta, by contrast,
want work but they’ve also got
no qualms about returning to
their old jobs when they
become available because the
wages are better.
“There’s lots of them that
say they don’t want to go back
but as soon as the job
becomes available again,
they’re gone,” Ellis said. “They
make such good money that if
the oil company calls them
tomorrow, they’re willing to
say, ‘I’m outta here.’”
Then there are the new
graduates who don’t want to
receive minimum wage.
The challenges are the
frontline face of an issue the
Canadian Agricultural Human
Resource Council highlighted
in a series of
reports released at
a special event in
Winnipeg this
spring.
A report
prepared by the
council in
partnership with
the Conference
Board of Canada
found that
Canada’s
agriculture sector
faces a shortfall of
59,200 workers,
and the gap costs the industry
$1.5 billion in lost sales each
year.
BC, where berry farms lost
tonnes of fruit last year when
crops came on too fast and
workers couldn’t keep up,
hasn’t even seen the worst of
the job crunch.
It is losing just $60 million in
sales each year – just 4% of the
national total – but the losses
are set to deepen as the sector
loses workers to retirement
and other factors.
By 2025, more than 27.5%
of the current workforce will
have retired, the least of any of
the four western provinces but
more than Ontario and
Quebec. While immigration
will oset some of the losses,
the gap between demand and
BC producers, processors facing labour crunch
available workers will continue
to grow.
The shortage will come at a
cost, especially as the province
has pledged to grow the
province’s agri-food revenues
to $15 billion a year by 2020
from $12.3 billion in 2014.
That’s already a longer time
frame than last September
when the province forecast
that sales would reach $14
billion by 2017.
To address the shortfall, the
province has pledged to give
BC residents the skills needed
to ll the vacancies through
the BC Skills for Job Blueprint.
It met with processors this
spring as part of its
commitment under the BC
Jobs Plan to develop the
agricultural workforce.
However, the province’s
announcement was silent on
training for farm workers,
where unemployment has
leapt from a low of 5.9% in
2007 to 12.6% last year.
The agricultural workforce
dropped from 37,100 people
to 25,400 over the same
period, but had gone largely
unnoticed by the province.
BC agriculture minister
Norm Letnick told Country Life
in BC last fall that the issue of a
declining farm workforce had
never come up on his watch,
but that he would ask ministry
sta to see if unemployment
was prevalent in any one
sector. While the BC Agrifood
A more accurate picture of BC agriculture sector is set
to emerge in the months ahead as Ottawa launches the
next census of agriculture on May 10, 2016.
The census, which takes place every ve years, provides
a picture of the farm sector across the country, giving
government and industry a picture of who’s running the
country’s farms, who’s doing the work and the kinds of
crops and livestock they’re managing.
Concerns about the aging farm population should be
answered in the rst data release from the survey on May
10, 2017. The initial results will provide information on
farms and farm operators.
However, the 2016 census will address four new topics,
including succession planning, a nod to the growing
attention generational transfers of farm businesses are
receiving.
Direct marketing, the adoption of new technologies
and the use renewable energy systems will also feature.
“These topics reect changes in the industry and strong
user demand for this new information,” Statistics Canada
explains. Participation in the survey is mandatory.
Most farmers will receive two census questionnaires, in
case the rst is lost or forgotten. An enumerator typically
contacts farmers in late June if a response hasn’t been
received.
Census set to take stock
and Seafood Strategic Growth
Plan has promised sector-
specic training, Country Life in
BC wasn’t told of a specic
sector that's of concern.
He countered that
mechanization and the growth
of farm revenues meant that
even if the workforce was
smaller than it used to be,
agrifood revenues were
continuing to increase.
“While the count of the
number of jobs is down, the
quality of the jobs is
improving every year,” he told
Country Life in BC. “I talk to
farmers and ranchers and
producers all year round, and
for the most part what I’m
hearing are good news stories
– stories of increased sales,
stories of increased condence
in their future.”
Crystal Ellis
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 9
Lengthy learning curve
for antibiotic-free poultry
by DAVID SCHMIDT
VANCOUVER – For years,
chicken growers have relied
on the preventative use of
antibiotics to help them
manage coccidiosis and
clostridium in their ocks. It
has been an eective way to
minimize mortalities and
maximize production.
Increasingly, however,
government, health
practitioners and consumers
are demanding the poultry
sector stop using Category 1
and 2 antibiotics, saying their
continued use in poultry could
lead to a buildup of resistance
in both birds and humans. That
would be catastrophic as there
are few if any alternatives to
their use to manage human
disease outbreaks.
While many growers have
recently started experimenting
with antibiotic-free chicken
production, Derek Detzler of
Fisher Farms in Ontario, who
grows 90,000 birds per cycle in
“normal” two-storey barns, has
been doing it for the past
decade. When he started,
there was no demand for
antibiotic-free chicken. So why
change?
“We started to see
coccidiosis outbreaks in our
ocks,” he told growers in a
well-attended seminar during
the BC Poultry Conference in
Vancouver. “The drugs we
were using were losing
ecacy and we expected we
wouldn’t get any new
products.”
He found some cocci
vaccine to displace the wild
coccidiosis endemic in his
barns and now uses vaccines,
probiotics and essential oils
instead of the antibiotics and
medicated water he had been
relying on.
Although he is now able to
achieve a target weight of 2.25
kgs at 39 days, there were a lot
of challenges along the way.
“There’s a denite learning
curve,” Detzler says, noting
management factors have a
“huge impact” on cocci
vaccine cycling.
Mortality was a major issue
at rst, averaging 7% in the
rst year. However, that has
dropped dramatically as the
farm learned how to manage
antibiotic-free rearing and is
now down to just 4%.
Chicks are started at
“whatever it takes to get their
temperature up to 104°F,” he
says, noting it changes from
ock-to-ock and barn-to-
barn. To achieve that, he uses
border guards to keep the
chicks under the brooder and
provides supplemental heat
and feed as necessary. He has
also changed the feed to make
it more digestible and include
less animal proteins.
“Animal proteins make the
birds more predisposed to
necrotic enteritis,” he states.
Detzler admits there is a
cost to antibiotic free
production. Feed conversion
drops by 4-8 points, mortality
is up by 1-3%, and feed costs
are up to 10¢ per kg higher.
Farmers, agribusinesses continue to make a difference
Another good crowd turned up at McClary Auctions for the annual Farmers Make A Dierence
auction in support of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. (David Schmidt photo)
by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD – BC farmers and agricultural suppliers are making a dierence in the lives
of people aected by the continuing conict in Syria.
Although it didn’t quite reach last year’s record total, the annual Farmers Make a
Dierence sale at McClary Auctions in Abbotsford March 24, raised around $145,000 for the
Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The money will be matched 4:1 by the Canadian International
Development Agency and used to feed Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
“Given the Syrian situation and the fact we now have some Syrian refugees in our own
communities, we thought that was the right place to put our donations this year,” says
spokesman Bob Brandsma.
He continues to be impressed with the support the auction receives from both farmers
and agribusiness.
“We didn’t get as many cattle from Vancouver Island and the Interior this year but we
probably had more donations from merchants and farmers in the Fraser Valley. We had so
many generous people.”
Brandsma notes some of the people who had been organizing the sale in the past,
including long-time chair Clarence Tuin, have now retired, replaced by “younger blood.”
He believes it’s been a healthy transition, saying the change is generating more interest
among a broader range of people.
“This year’s sale was just awesome and I think we’re going to be in good shape for next
year as well.”
The annual sale is held on the third Thursday of March each year and has spawned a
number of similar sales throughout Western Canada.
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by PETER MITHAM
ABBOTSFORD – Farm Credit
Canada’s annual survey of
farmland values across the
country pointed to ongoing
strength in BC, with values up
6.5% in 2015 – the greatest
annual increase since the
heady days that preceded the
nancial crisis of 2008.
But unlike in previous years,
the report made no mention
of competition from non-farm
buyers. While retirees and
hobby farmers have upped
the ante on commercial
growers, FCC made no
mention of their inuence on
land markets.
Rather, competition for
large parcels in the Lower
Mainland was cited as the
cause of stronger values in the
Fraser Valley while cherry
growers drove gains in the
Okanagan. The increases
elsewhere pushed more
buyers into the Kootenay
region and one might expect
– given trends in the
residential market – to
Vancouver Island, where fewer
properties were on the market
for extended periods of time.
Despite anecdotal reports
of locals being outbid on
properties in Northern BC,
FCC said the Cariboo and
northwestern BC had seen
“minimal changes in land
values.”
The prosperous state of
farmland markets was
undercut, however, by the
dire eects the increases have
had on farm economics,
according to a report
Kwantlen Polytechnic
University researchers wrote
for credit union Vancity.
The report indicates that
the smallest parcels typically
sell for upwards of $350,000
an acre, while larger parcels of
20 acres and more start at
$50,000 an acre (that’s $1
million right there) up to
$120,000 an acre.
FCC doesn’t report actual
values in its annual survey of
benchmark properties across
the country but it told the
authors of the Kwantlen
report “the nancial viability
of farm businesses becomes
questionable when land
prices reach $80,000 an acre.”
While producers of supply-
managed commodities are
insulated from the impact of
land costs, the Kwantlen
report said that Metro
Vancouver and Fraser Valley
farmland simply isn’t
attractive to prospective
farmers – a point noted by
Toronto investment rm
Bonneeld Inc., which told
Country Life in BC that land
economics in the region rule
out investment.
Kwantlen’s report for
Vancity came to a similar
conclusion.
“Existing farmers are
challenged to come up with
enough money to expand
their operations and new
farmers are all but shut out of
farmland purchases,” it said.
“Some local vegetable and
fruit crop farmers have
purchased land in the United
Country Life in BC • May 201610
Farming is no longer “economically serviceable” in the Fraser Valley, where farmland values have
skyrocketed to as much as $120,000 per acre, according to a study out of Kwantlen Polytechnic.
(Randy Giesbrecht photo)
States and are looking at
other provinces for less
expensive land than that
available in Metro Vancouver.”
The report encourages
“stronger policy solutions” to
address rising farmland values
and prevent properties from
being priced out of
production.
“There is no direct
connection between farmland
prices and the price we’re
paying for food, now or in the
future,” said Kent Mullinix,
director of the Institute for
Sustainable Food Systems at
Kwantlen Polytechnic
University and a co-author of
the report. “The value of
farmland in Metro Vancouver
… really isn’t economically
serviceable by agriculture.”
To protect farmland,
Mullinix said the speculative
value has to be taken out of
the equation – but more
often, farmers are taking
themselves out of the
equation and nding land
elsewhere.
The report’s authors believe
the supply of farmland could
be increased if unfarmed land
within the Agricultural Land
Reserve (ALR) were brought
into production. Programs
assisting new farmers to
access new acreage are also
proposed.
To make sure properties
remain in production, the
report urges “bold, forward-
thinking” steps to prevent the
loss of farmers, such as
excluding those who lack
appropriate training or skills
from operating in the ALR.
Registering long-term
leases to protect farmers in
the event a property sells to a
new owner who might want
to terminate the lease is
another proposal.
REASON 3: Our Alexander Knives, when paired
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coated cutting edge and angle of the Alexander
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SIX REASONS WHY OUR SQUARE-CUT AUGER
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with our patented Vertical Knives, create an
unparalleled cutting action. The curved carbide
coated cutting edge and angle of the Alexander
Knives increases the aggressiveness of cut
to improve the processing rate of round baled
forages, especially coarser forages. Our Vertical
Knives, which are mounted on our slide plate,
improve processing and feedout of high forage
rations. Together with our four other exclusive
auger features, we produce a faster and more
uniform mix than sluggish conventional augers,
which typically take too long to process forage,
resulting in too many fine particles in the shaker
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Your Farm. Your Family. Your Future.
May 2016 • Country Life in BC 11
by PETER MITHAM
FORT ST JOHN – With overseas investors
outbidding locals for farmland in northern BC and
retirees snapping up acreages from Delta to Dawson
Creek, nding a way to acquire land for food
production can be challenging.
Urban farms are seen as a launch pad for new
farmers in Vancouver while other municipalities in
the Lower Mainland have considered leasing land to
growing operations.
Recently, a Toronto investment rm entered the
BC market with the purchase of an 8,345-acre ranch
north of Fort St John. It has since leased to an
Alberta operation – all part of its plan to acquire
farm properties in support of farming, rather than in
competition with it.
The acquisition was made through Bonneeld
Canadian Farmland LP III, a $261 million fund
backed by some of the country’s major institutional
investors. Bonneeld Inc., the investment rm that
set it up, launched two earlier funds in the series
totaling approximately $60 million. Those drew
backing from individual investors, typically high net
worth individuals with an interest in real estate.
But the farmer is key, says Marcus Mitchell,
director, portfolio operations, with Bonneeld.
“You want to make sure you have a local partner
with which your interests are aligned,” he explains.
Bonneeld uses its capital to acquire properties
from farmers who are retiring and seeking a buy, or
expansion-minded growers who want to free up the
accumulated equity in their properties for capital
projects. (With existing farmers, it never acquires full
title to a property.)
It then leases properties to growers who need
land, entering long-term leases that provide them
with the assurance that they won’t be kicked o the
land two or three years down the road.
“We are always looking for opportunities whereby
our investment creates value; it’s
not a zero-sum game,” Mitchell
says. “We view ourselves as a
nancial partner to progressive
farm operators.”
Bonneeld works strictly with
parties based in Canada,
ensuring that investments are in
the national interest and respect
local legislation regarding
foreign ownership of farmland.
“There’s a case to be made that the assets in
Canada are benetting Canadians,” Mitchell says.
“It’s a pretty happy marriage. We look at the
attributes of Canadian farmland with respect to its
ability to provide a Canadian person with a return.”
The return benets investors who want exposure
to the agricultural sector and it benets farmers who
are able to develop their operations with the help of
the kind of investor who might otherwise be
competing with them for land opportunities.
However, competition hasn’t been a signicant
issue for Bonneeld, Mitchell says, because it is
building relationships with farmers who want to see
their properties remain in production. They’re not
the kind apt to sell to just anyone.
Bonneeld now owns more than 75,000 acres in
every province except Quebec, PEI and
Newfoundland.
The acquisition in the Peace region last fall was
the company’s rst in BC, but it won’t be the last.
“We have very high hopes for BC. It’s got some
interesting attributes about it,” Mitchell says. “I
suspect in 2016 we’ll probably see Bonneeld do
another deal in BC.”
It is focusing on opportunities
in the central and northern
Interior thanks to the availability
of the large tracts of land, a type
of property that’s rare in the
urbanized and heavily
parcelized Lower Mainland.
“We haven’t really looked,
frankly, in the Lower Mainland
area because valuations tend to be a bit stretched
and inuenced by urban inuences,” he says.
These factors limit the return possible to investors
and also tend to shorten the timeframe that
operators see their farms as being viable. With
ongoing development in the Lower Mainland, many
farmers have opted to relocate to the Interior or the
Prairies. Those farms that continue to operate on the
urban fringe tend to be smaller, niche operations.
While they might follow best practices, the
limited growth prospects don’t oer the kind of
value that Bonneeld seeks.
“The major driver of value in a farm investment
over time is clearly derived from the operation that
is involved with it,” Mitchell says. “The degree to
which they run a business that practices best
agronomic practices over time will certainly build
value in the business, but also in the land.”
Toronto investors aim to keep farmland in farming
Fort St John ranch is first acquisition of Canadian-based investment fund created to preserve farming operations
The measure of success.
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Country Life in BC • May 201612
May 2016 • Country Life in BC 13
Steadfast advocacy by ag council decisive for BC farmers: AGM
by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD – More than
ever, agriculture needs strong
organization, says BC
Agriculture Council chair Stan
Vander Waal.
In his opening address to
the BCAC annual meeting in
Abbotsford, April 14, he listed
government regulations,
transparency, employee
safety, worker availability and
climate adaptation as just
some of the reasons industry
needs a strong council.
Since BCAC is “an advocacy
group,” Vander Waal called
Ag Days in Victoria one of its
most important and most
successful programs.
“We had the highest farmer
participation last year with
over 80 farmers attending
over 30 meetings,” he
reported.
Two-edged sword
Although three BCAC
directors are members of the
Minister’s Agriculture
Advisory Committee (MAAC),
Vander Waal stressed they are
there as primary producers
rather than as BCAC directors.
While he believes they make
an important contribution, he
acknowledges that industry
involvement in MAAC is a
two-edged sword.
“BCAC is often asked to
validate (MAAC’s)
recommendations,” he notes.
“In a certain way, we’re
endorsing the government’s
plan.”
He said the BCAC is making
great headway into getting
workable agricultural waste
control regulations. “We
toured some farms which are
using wood waste with
Ministry of Environment staff
and MOE has started to listen
to us.”
BCAC is now waiting for a
two-page summary version of
the proposed new
regulations which Vander
Waal expects will come into
effect this fall.
Lorne Hunter cited
He had high praise for the
way MOE worked with BCAC’s
water committee to develop
regulations around the new
Water Act. He particularly
credited Lorne Hunter, who is
retiring from the BCAC board,
for his leadership on the
issue, saying one of the
committee’s greatest
accomplishments was to see
the FITFIR (first-in-time, first-
in-right) principle retained.
While a lot has been
accomplished, he stressed
the work is not done, noting
outstanding issues include
livestock watering, the
methodology for measuring,
recording and reporting
water usage, and
development of a dedicated
water reserve for agriculture.
“There is still a great need
for commodity involvement
so we get it right as we
change policy into practice,”
Vander Waal said.
Changed his tune on CFA
He also told members he
has changed his tune about
BCAC’s participation in the
Canadian Federation of
Agriculture after attending
some of its recent meetings.
Once one of its detractors,
Vander Waal now says BC is
getting “good value” from
the CFA.
“Our involvement with CFA
raises BC needs at the federal
level,” he noted, saying Linda
Atkinson is doing a great job
as BC’s representative at the
CFA.
Since Atkinson, who
represents the horse industry
on the BCAC board, is now on
the CFA executive
committee, she has stepped
down from her member-at-
large position on the BCAC
executive. Replacing her on
the BCAC executive
committee is poultry rep
Raymond Bredenhof.
While Vander Waal
(floriculture) continues as
chair and Ray Van Marrewyk
(greenhouse vegetables)
continues as BCAC treasurer,
there was a change in the
vice-chair position, with
Rhonda Driediger (coastal
horticulture), who has
formerly served as both chair
and vice-chair of BCAC,
replacing BC Fruit Growers
Association president Fred
Steele in that position.
There was only one change
in the board of directors as
the BC Dairy Association
appointed Jared de Jong to
take over from Hunter.
Following the meeting,
members met to discuss their
“asks” during the upcoming
provincial election campaign.
Vander Waal told them to
consider the advice they
received from former federal
Minister of Agriculture Chuck
Strahl.
Set priorities
During his address at Ag
Days, Strahl stressed the need
for industry to limit its
requests to only three or four
high priority items, saying a
scatter gun approach would
be ineffective.
After listening to Farm
Credit Canada vice president
Stan Vander Waal
of Western Operations Don
Anderson talk to them about
public trust and social
licence, the group also met
privately to discuss how best
to go about building
increased public trust.
Anderson said farmers
need public trust to have the
freedom to operate, adding
that while farmers still enjoy a
lot of trust, they are losing
ground as regards
trustworthiness.
He said trust used to be
based on competence, i.e.,
science, but is now
increasingly based on values.
“Having shared values with
consumers is three to five
times more important than
demonstrating competence,”
he told farmers, saying “there
is not enough science in the
world to overcome emotion.”
Don Anderson
I. Paton & Associates Ltd.
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Country Life in BC • May 201614
by DAVID SCHMIDT
CHILLIWACK – The number
of registered BC hog
producers continues to
dwindle but that doesn’t
mean there aren’t a lot of
people growing hogs in this
province.
Four more producers exited
the industry last year, leaving
the BC Hog Marketing
Commission (BCHMC) with
just 18 registered producers. A
producer must produce at
least 300 hogs per year to
register with the BCHMC and
become a member of the BC
Pork Producers Association
(BCPPA). Since most
remaining producers
increased their output, the
regulated hog sector still
produced about 120,000
market hogs and 20,000
round hogs for a total farm
gate value of around $23
million last year, BCPPA
president Jack DeWit reported
at the BCHMC/BCPPA annual
meetings in Chilliwack, March
31.
The federally-mandated
PigTrace program initiated by
the Canadian Pork Council is
nally starting to put actual
numbers to the BCPPA’s
contention that there are
more backyard hog producers
in BC than in any other
province. As of July, all
premises with pigs must be
identied with PigTrace.
“Currently, 338 premises
have been entered into
PigTrace for BC,”
BCHMC/BCPPA manager
Geraldine Auston reported.
That has added to the
BCPPA’s workload as many
backyard producers have
been contacting the
association for help with
PigTrace.
“There were lots of
questions about the program
and more work needs to be
done to streamline the
entering process,” Auston
said, asking “how do we deal
with those 320 backyard
producers?”
BCHMC director Michael
Soth noted Britco and
Johnston Packers, the
province’s two major hog
processors, are now collecting
and remitting levies on all
Backyard BC hog producers beef up farm gate value
custom slaughter hogs “so we
are seeing small lot farmers
contribute to the levy system.
This is a positive step.”
For many producers, the
meeting was a chance to
welcome Bert van Dalfsen to
the commission and to bid a
fond farewell to Dr. Chris Byra
of Greenbelt Veterinary
Service.
Soth served as acting chair
for most of 2015 as previous
chair Gary Rolston lost a
private battle with cancer in
April 2015 and van Dalfsen
was not appointed as his
replacement until December.
Byra announced he is
moving into semi-retirement
and will therefore no longer
provide on-farm services
through the BCPPA. From
2011 through April 2015, he
was contracted to
deliver the
commission’s on-
farm management
upgrading
program. Since
last April, he has
been delivering
the BCPPA’s on-
farm swine health
and welfare
program,
intended to
support the “BC
Pork – Proudly
Grown Close to
Home” brand.
Auston said the BCHMC has
almost completed registration
of the brand, which she calls a
“descriptive logo” rather than
a logo.
“We will have a standard
that goes with the mark,” she
says, claiming that will make
the brand “more meaningful”
to consumers.
She also said BC Pork will
continue to sponsor CFOX
Radio’s “Grills Gone Wild”
promotion in the Lower
Mainland and the Great
Canadian Bacon Chase in
Kelowna.
She noted Grills Gone Wild
created huge trac jams
when it took place (on ve
Friday mornings in the
summer) while the Great
Canadian Bacon Chase was
featured in national television
and print media.
“The more we’re involved in
these fun events, the better,”
Auston says, noting they help
to oset some of the ever-
increasing negative press
animal agriculture has been
getting.
The swine health and
welfare program provides
twice-a-year on-farm visits to
review production and health
parameters and ensure the
farm is meeting animal
welfare expectations. Byra has
also been performing the BC
Pork Farm biosecurity audits
and the annual Canadian
Quality Assurance audits for
all registered producers in the
Fraser Valley and on
Vancouver Island. He has also
been performing semi-annual
slaughter checks and tracking
demerits, DOA’s and
condemnations. The slaughter
information is used to develop
a benchmarking system, a
summary report for the BCPPA
and specic reports for
individual producers.
He says there is a huge
variance among producers,
with the number of pigs
weaned per mated female
ranging from 22 to over 30.
Achieving 30 pigs per litter
“can be done,” Byra told
producers, saying the benets
are immense. He notes sow
feed costs are $6 per pig less
for a 30 pig litter than a 20 pig
litter.
On the whole, however, he
says BC producers are doing
well, noting sow mortality on
BC farms ranges between
three and eight per cent. By
comparison, the US average is
about 10%.
Even though Byra is giving
it up, Dr. Josh Waddington has
bought his practice and will
continue the program.
The federally‑mandated PigTrace program initiated
by the Canadian Pork Council is finally starting
to put actual numbers to the BCPPAʼs contention
that there are more backyard hog producers
in BC than in any other province.
As of July, all premises with pigs must be identified
with PigTrace.
BCHMC chair Bert van Dalfsen BCHMC co-chair Michael Soth
www.AgSafeBC.ca
WORKER SAFETY
SHOULD BE YOUR
TOP PRIORITY
www.AgSafeBC.ca
WORKER SAFETY
SHOULD BE YOUR
TOP PRIORITY
www.AgSafeBC.ca
WORKER SAFETY
SHOULD BE YOUR
TOP PRIORITY
jeffmc@shaw.ca
250-616-6427 or 250-758-8454
JEFF MCCALLUM
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 15
by TOM WALKER
VERNON – The BC
Cattlemen’s Association
(BCCA) has launched an
enhanced Livestock Protection
Program (LPP) to be delivered
for the next three years.
“This is something that BC
cattlemen have been lobbying
for,” BCCA general manager
Kevin Boon told North
Okanagan Livestock
Association (NOLA) members
at their annual meeting in
Vernon in late March. “But also
zones and individual ranchers
have been working for it as
well.”
The LPP will provide
verication and mitigation
services to beef, dairy and
sheep producers across BC for
injury, harassment or death
loss caused by wolves or
coyotes.
“It’s similar to the old
program we used to run prior
to 2011 when the CO’s
(conservation ocers) took
over,” says Boon.
Incidents involving other
wildlife, such as bears and
cougars, human conicts, or
other livestock such as pigs or
chickens remain the
responsibility of the
Conservation Ocer Service.
While the program can
operate on private lands, the
BCCA worked extensively with
the Ministry of Forests, Lands,
and Natural Resource
Operations (MFLNRO) to
consult with First Nations to
gain approval for crown lands.
“There is a permit for the
majority of the province and
we have to run two separate
permits – one for the
Kootenays and one for the
Peace – where there are
treaties,” Boon says. “We have
to do consultation on the
permit itself which could delay
60-90 days. We are pushing
really hard, especially in the
Peace, for when the cattle go
out on Crown, as that is when
we really need it.”
MFLNRO funding of
$250,000 per year and $50,000
from BCCA for this year
provides for LPP co-ordinator
Mark Grafton and the services
of trained wildlife specialists to
carry out verication and
mitigation work.
“Mark Grafton is a past
director of ours and a past
rancher. He got to retire for
about 10 minutes from
ranching before we snapped
him up to run this program,”
chuckles Boon. “He informed
me the other day that he
didn’t think I gave him a full
detailed description of exactly
what he was going to have to
do. We are really happy to
have Mark there. “
Education
Education around Best
Management Practices (BMP)
to prevent or reduce
predation is a cornerstone of
the program. Indeed, if the LPP
co-ordinator is not satised
that sucient BMPs were
followed, claims for
verication, mitigation and
compensation may be denied.
It starts with a call to the 24-
hour livestock protection
hotline where a le is started
and the program co-ordinator
is notied. The aim is to
inspect (verify) a kill within 36
hours and to begin mitigation
measures within 24 to 48
hours of positive verication.
A good number of
producers have completed the
verication training course
oered by the Conservation
Ocer Service and are able to
self-verify predator attacks by
completing the
verication/compensation
request form.
A $150 self-verication fee
will be issued by the LPP to
self-veriers once a verication
form has been submitted.
The program has hired 31
wildlife specialists to conduct
verication and mitigation.
The specialists all hold a
trapper’s license and a
verication certicate. If the
producer is not qualied to
self verify, a wildlife specialist
will investigate the incident
and upon approval of the co-
ordinator, initiate mitigation
work.
“This is dierent from
previous programs in that it
targets whole pack removal.”
says Boon. “The objective is to
take out the entire oending
pack. We were getting a lot of
criticism from dierent
advocates on the other side as
well as the trapper’s
association that we were
splitting packs and creating a
bigger problem.” The wildlife
specialist will then report their
mitigation work to the co-
ordinator.
The verication report also
starts a compensation claim
with the business risk
management branch of the BC
Ministry of Agriculture.
Compensation will be
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provided based on age of the
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committee will represent
producer needs and guide
program design and delivery.
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Country Life in BC • May 201616
Raspberry crops feel pressure from blueberry plantings
by PETER MITHAM
ABBOTSFORD – Twenty million pounds of berries
is enough to maintain Abbotsford’s claim to be the
raspberry capital of Canada but Jennifer Dhaliwal of
Pacic Coast Fruit Products Ltd. said growers have
to keep investing in their elds if they expect the
industry to survive.
“One thing that people might not think about as
a negative in the market is a lack of new plantings,”
Dhaliwal told growers attending a state-of-the-
industry presentation at the Pacic Agriculture Show
in January. “This has to change. We need to keep up
with the industry. While there is no doubt that we in
the Pacic Northwest do a great job of producing
some of the best raspberries, if we don’t keep
planting and keep producing, we’ll lose our voice.”
Some eects have already been seen; in 2015, the
raspberry crop was down from the 2014 harvest of
22 million pounds, thanks not only to a light-weight
crop driven by dry conditions, but a loss of acreage.
While growers themselves have seen
opportunities in blueberries – this past year, many
stopped harvesting raspberries altogether as
blueberries broadsided them with an early crop –
nurseries have cut back on propagation, too.
“The growers that do want to plant more
raspberries can’t seem to nd any plants,” she said.
“So much focus in the last few years has been on
blueberries that nurseries simply stopped producing
raspberry plants. We really need to plant more
raspberries if we want to stay in the market.”
Supplies of plants and fruit aren’t the only things
that concern Dhaliwal.
Pricing has also been sensitive, with strong
pricing giving growers a much-needed boost after
years of weak revenues, but also tending to make
buyers shy of drawing down contracted volumes.
Some have pursued more aordable options as
prices have increased, with Mexico supplanting
exports to Europe and the US.
Solid prices for three years
“The price for raspberries has been fairly solid for
the past three years, which is great for growers,”
Dhaliwal said. “However, if the price climbs too high,
customers will simply reformulate their product and
purchase less raspberries. This is something that
we’re starting to see.”
Dhaliwal said pricing will likely be critical in
fortunes for the 2016 season.
She expects the grower price for 2016 will likely
be lower than pricing of $1.60 to $1.70 a pound
seen in 2015. Prices for frozen berries have already
declined in Chile, suggesting declines in pricing on
the world stage; however, storage costs are 50%
higher in Chile than in Canada, meaning smaller
packers there could face diculties as prices decline.
The emerging competitor, especially for fresh
berries, is Mexico.
“Mexico is exploding on the fresh market. Not
only did Mexico double its production, but the
pricing remains manageable,” Dhaliwal said, noting
that this will inuence pricing for BC growers in
2016.
“We really need to keep an eye on our pricing,”
she said. “We have to be careful not to out-price
ourselves from the market.”
Raspberry prices have been good for BC growers but
imports from Chile and Mexico could put pressure on
protability. (Randy Giesbrecht le photo)
Nursery stock hard to source; pricing pressure from Mexico
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Now, take your empty fertilizer containers along for the ride!
May 2016 • Country Life in BC 17
BC’s strawberry “season” may become a thing of the past if researchers are able to deliver on day-
neutral (ever-bearing) varieties suitable to climate, consumer palates and bottom lines for growers.
(Randy Giesbrecht le photo)
by PETER MITHAM
ABBOTSFORD – Albion is
the standard-bearer for BC
strawberry growers, but that
doesn’t mean it’s a natural t
with local conditions.
Bred in California, the day-
neutral (ever bearing) berry
accounts for about a third of
the BC crop – or just over a
million pounds of fruit.
But researchers at the Pacic
Berry Resource Centre believe
that with a few tweaks to their
management, Albion and
other day-neutral varieties
could be a better t with local
growing conditions. And if day-
neutral varieties – which many
believe represent the future of
BC production – could become
more productive, then it might
make sense of the economics
of producing the sweet
summer fruit.
“We have to replant
strawberries every two years
because otherwise the plants
are just too dicult to
harvest,” explained Eric
Gerbrandt to an audience of
growers at the Pacic
Agriculture Show this past
January.
Regardless of the old
Beatles song, strawberry elds
aren’t forever. By the second
year of production, the plants
are producing smaller fruit
that easily become lost under
a thicker canopy.
“It costs more to pick them
than it’s worth to sell them,”
Gerbrandt said.
While breeders work with
the long-term goal of nding
new varieties, near-term hopes
are pinned on understanding
existing varieties and trying to
give them the care they need
to perform better.
“You can’t change the
genetics of a plant, but you
can try and take those
genetics and do something
dierent with them,”
Gerbrandt said. “We’re trying
to improve what we can do
with the existing genetics to
try and get a better return on
investment by increasing the
revenue, hopefully decreasing
the cost of production, and
improving the bottom-line for
growers.”
Promising
One promising option is
working with runner-
propagated plants rather than
bare-rooted plants in order to
improve establishment and
boost productivity.
“The key to this is nding
better planting materials and
timing plantings to improve
the return on investment,”
Gerbrandt said.
Recent trials have
investigated the eect of
timing on establishment and
yields of Albion. Bare-rooted
seedlings, typically planted in
spring, were compared against
frigo plantlets – eectively, a
bare-root plant held over the
summer and managed like a
runner-propagated plant – and
runner-propagated plantlets.
PRT Nurseries produced
runner-propagated plantlets
for the trials, which saw
plantings in the spring, on
August 12, September 2 and in
late September.
Gerbrandt said the
experiment showed mid-
season plantings performed
best, delivering a good crop
early in the season while all
the plantings came through
late in the season.
The results suggest plants
need time to get established,
but also that if runner-
propagated plants have a
head-start in the previous
season, they’ll wake up in
spring ready to perform.
“The big advantage to using
these runner-propagated
plants in the fall is that we’re
going to get an early, early
season yield in that rst year,”
Gerbrandt said. “We’re getting,
like, 40% more fruit in that rst
year using those early and
mid-season timings.”
Productivity in the second
year wasn’t compromised,
though there was a slightly
lower yield in the plants that
went in the ground rst.
Gerbrandt cautioned the
Strawberry research focuses on better day-neutral berries
results, while promising, came
from one eld managed by
one grower over one
production cycle and might
not be repeated in other
locations or under the care of
other growers. However, the
results bear further
investigation.
“We don’t know whether or
not this is entirely replicable
on all locations, on all soil
types or all production
schemes, so it really requires
validation by each individual
grower,” Gerbrandt said. “[But]
I think this is a signicant
opportunity for the strawberry
industry. … With the dollar the
way that it is right now, and
the ability to use fall plantings
and runner-propagated
plantlets to increase yields in
the rst year, is this an
opportunity for the BC
industry to start competing
more directly with imported
strawberries from California?”
That’s a point growers will
have to answer, based on their
own costs of production.
Runner-propagated plants are
more expensive, but as the
cost of produce increases – a
clamshell of California
strawberries was retailing for
about $3 a pound this spring –
there may be an opportunity.
“The question is whether or
not the added costs involved
in getting the eld established
with runner-propagated
plantlets is going to be worth
the pain,” Gerbrandt said.
“With the change in the dollar
recently, we may see the
competitiveness of this
strategy be more viable.”
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Country Life in BC • May 201618
by TOM WALKER
VERNON – If you have a
cow, sooner or later you are
going to need a fence. Or your
neighbour will need one, or
one needs to be built along a
highway.
BC Cattlemen’s Association
general manager Kevin Boon
summarized the diculties of
livestock at large during a
presentation to members fo
the North Okanagan Livestock
Association in late March.
“There are three Acts
involved: the Livestock Act,
the Transportation Act and
the Range Act. If you don’t
look at the wording on all
three of them, you don’t get
the meaning and they are
very convoluted.”
If you have cattle on private
land, it is your responsibility to
fence them in. If your cattle
are on Crown Range, you do
not have to fence them. If the
private landowner beside your
range doesn’t want them on
his property, it his
responsibility to fence the
cattle out. It’s ne if your
neighbour doesn’t care but
the cattle may stray through
his land to the distant
highway. And if he wants to
be a miserable neighbour, he
may not want you trespassing
on his land to fetch them.
“So, we have nothing but
an opportunity there for
conict and it is happening,”
says Boon. “A bull came in o
the range into a guy’s 20 acres
near Williams Lake and the
guy shot the bull. It was
clearly a case where the guy was wrong but the judge
didn’t agree and threw it out.”
The bull owner took the
case to civil court and won.
“It set a bit of a precedent
but we have this problem and
it has got to be resolved,” says
Boon. “It is a hard one because
government is not going to
want to fence crown land. I’m
not sure where this is going.”
But there is money for
highway fencing.
“Last year, we nished up a
ve year program of highway
fencing,” says Boon. “With just
under $10 million, we did a
little over 750 km of fencing.
“I want to make sure that
you understand that this does
not include the Rock Creek
re fence. That was extra
money,” says Boon. The
government came forward
with about another $500,000
for fencing in that area.
“Michelle Evans out of the
MOTI (Ministry of
Transportation and
Infrastructure) was just
Cattle and highways don’t mix and that’s why the BC Cattlemens’ Association and the provincial
government have partnered up on a highway fencing program that will help reduce the risks to
livestock and motorists. (Photo courtesy of BCCA)
fantastic to work with on this,”
says Boon. “She got the
problem right o the bat. We
were building fence while the
re was still burning. That was
astronomical!”
“Fences are not going to
quit deteriorating,” Boon
pointed out. “In fact, when
they gave us the $10 million
ve years ago it was to cover
the 750 km on the application
that had been made on the
previous program and we
have another 1600 km of
application in front of us
now.”
“We have suggested that
government give us about $2
million a year in perpetuity
and we will just keep building
fence,” says Boon. “They
decided they can’t do that,
but they will give us another
$2 million for two years so we
have $4 million.”
He says criteria has
changed so it doesn’t have to
be a Schedule 2 highway and
some side highways can be
considered. It will take into
account how many cattle are
behind the fence for how
much of the year and what
the trac counts are.
“If you have a fence and
you think, ‘I’m not going to
maintain it so it looks worse
and I’ll get a new highway
fence,’ you are going to get
nicked,” Boon warned. “If you
are not out there making a
reasonable eort to hang
those wires, you are going to
get cut out.
“The applications come in
three or four a day now, so we
are not going to get them all
done,” says Boon. “But we
have an election next year so
we are going to push to see if
we can get an election
promise.”
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Fences aren’t forever
Program has replaced
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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:
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Provincial Livestock Fencing Program
May 2016 • Country Life in BC 19
by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD
–
At just over
1.8 million pounds, last year’s
strawberry crop was down
almost 20% from 2014 but still
higher than in 2013, BC
Strawberry Growers
Association (BCSGA) manager
Lisa Craig reported at the
association’s annual meeting
in Abbotsford, March 30.
Even though growers saw
less red in their elds, there
was none on their balance
sheets.
“I got the best prices ever
for my strawberries last year,”
Alf Krause stated.
Because most BC
strawberries are sold on the
fresh market, the BCSGA has
been putting most of its
eorts into fresh market
promotion. Fresh market
promotion represented
almost half the association’s
expenditures for the year and
that will continue.
“We had 13 growers
Volume down, but fresh market strawberries keep receipts up
by RONDA PAYNE
ABBOTSFORD – Change is constant. For
some, like hazelnut growers, change can be
dicult. But, instead of complaining about the
changes and challenges, lbert fans kept it
positive at their late January meeting – looking
toward future potential rather than the
lingering issues of Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB).
At the BC Hazelnut Growers Association
AGM held during Pacic Agriculture Show, a
number of issues were presented to help
growers move forward, including presentations
on tree varieties best suited for the Lower
Mainland.
Bryan Gingerich read out president Neal
TeBrink’s report.
“It was a year of challenges,” Gingerich
spoke. “The variety trials of Jeerson and
Yamhill are in progress and the results are
looking promising.”
Gingerich added, in his own words, that
growers know hazelnuts grow well in the
Lower Mainland.
“It was a discouraging year,” he says. “But I
think we’ve hit rock bottom.”
Short fiscal year
Members voted that the number of directors
for the organization would stay at seven. Paris
Peters was elected by acclamation for the one
vacant position on the board. Financials were
presented by Walter Esau who explained the
organization was re-incorporated as a BC
society as of June 23, 2015 resulting in a short
scal year running from June 23 to October 31.
Members also voted on annual dues,
passing the motion for the annual BC
membership be $50 per year and the
combined membership with BC, Washington
and Oregon be $75 a year. One benet of the
combined
membership is the
ability to attend the
summer eld day in
Oregon.
In the presentation
that kicked o the
afternoon, one of the
owners of George
Packing Company in
Oregon outlined the
hazelnut varieties he
recommends to
combat issues with
EFB. Shaun George could see the potential for
hazelnuts despite the challenges.
“We’re facing quite a dilemma with this
EFB… it’s discouraging, but I also see
opportunity,” he said.
In the company’s own variety trials, George
identied three varieties as his top choices:
Wepster, Yamhill and Jeerson.
Although these were the varieties George
pointed to as having the most potential, Thom
O’Dell, biologist with Nature Tech Nursery,
explained that Jeerson, Yamhill and
Sacajawea are those in the trials that began in
BC in 2011. Wepster is not yet part of the mix
available to BC growers.
Along with these three varieties are the
pollinizers: Eta, Gamma and Theta.
“These varieties are resistant [to EFB] but not
immune,” O’Dell said. “It’s recommended to use
fungicide in the rst year. We want to
encourage anyone who still has old plantings
to really think about getting those out.”
EFB has been a dicult change for hazelnut
growers to adapt to but with new varieties on
the horizon, there is still potential ahead to
regrow the industry and capitalize on a
growing market.
Hazelnut growers embrace potential
Shaun George
involved in the fresh market
campaign last year, up from
10 in 2014, and we are hoping
for more in 2016,” Craig said.
Development fund
The strawberry industry
development fund provides
$1.50 for every dollar put up
by a grower, to a maximum
expenditure of $3,000 per
farm. At least 50% of the
advertising content must
promote the industry as a
whole and include the BCSGA
logo and website address.
Although very few berries
went to the processors last
year, that might change in
2016. Rhonda Driediger of
Blueridge Produce told
growers she would be
prepared to take some
strawberries, and Pacic Coast
Fruit Products and Snowcrest
Foods may also be interested.
Since each serves a dierent
market, the type and amount
of berries each would accept
will vary. Driediger will only
take berries suitable for IQF
(individual quick freeze) and
only if she gets sucient
quantity to make running the
IQF equipment viable.
Because of the limited
interest and production, BC
berry breeder Michael Dossett
said he has stopped breeding
June-bearing strawberry
varieties and is only doing
day-neutral (ever-bearing)
crosses. Although there are
still some June-bearing
selections in the pipeline, he
says “nothing jumps out” as
being particularly appealing.
Both he and researcher Eric
Gerbrandt are more optimistic
about the day-neutrals.
Dossett has high hopes for BC
10-2-1, saying grower trials in
Quebec have been giving it
“very favourable reviews.” The
variety is undergoing virus
cleanup and he hopes to have
some plants available for local
growers to try this fall or next
spring.
Gerbrandt and Dossett are
also bringing in six new
varieties from Quebec and
two from the US for local
grower trials. Two – Summer
Evening and Valley Sunset –
are June-bearing varieties so
there may be hope for those
berries as well.
Although restructuring has
given growers more control of
the breeding program, Krause
laments that it has come at a
cost. He points out Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada
provides 100% funding for the
berry breeding program in
eastern Canada but only 75%
funding for Dossett’s program
at the Pacic Agriculture
Research Centre.
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CASE IH 8330 1998, 9’2” CUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,950
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NH BR7090 2012, 5’X6”, TWINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,500
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Caring for cows that lie
down and are unable to get
up is a constant concern to
farmers. If they are unable or
unwilling to stand and remain
recumbent for more than 12
hours, they are referred to as
“non-ambulatory” or downer
cows and how well they are
treated will depend
completely on the combined
experience of both the farmer
and the veterinarian.
But why do cows become
downers? Reasons include
hypocalcaemia, or milk fever,
complications from dicult
calving, injuries from falling, or
infections such as endotoxic
mastitis or septic metritis. Yet,
surprisingly, there is little
research for best practices for
managing and treating
downer cows, with few
Canadian statistics available.
“Unfortunately, in Canada
we do not have very good
estimates of how often this
happens,” says Prof. Marina
von Keyserlingk with the
Animal Research Program at
the University of British
Columbia. “Also unfortunate is
that most farms do not
routinely keep track of how
many cows go down, where
they went down or why. The
most recent USDA
statistics realized in
early 2016 state that
between 1.1% to 2.6%
of cows went down in
2014, equating to
over 234,000 dairy
cows of the approximately 9
million lactating cows. Of
these, approximately 18%
(42,000) died naturally on the
farm (ie, were not
euthanized).”
Searching for a solution,
researchers at UBC and
veterinarians with Agwest
Veterinary Group in
Abbotsford have developed
an innovative otation device
that could be a game changer
for downer cows. Flotation
therapy involves moving the
cow on a mat into a water-
tight chamber that is lled
Country Life in BC • May 201620
As many as 70% of downer cows will recover if exposed to otation therapy, part of a study
undertaken by researchers at UBC and the Agwest Veterinary Group. (Photo courtesy Yanne Jane
Stojkov, Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC)
Rub a dub dub! There’s a cow in the tub!
UBC and veterinarians have developed innovative flotation device that could be a game changer for downer cows
Research
MARGARET EVANS
with 2,400 litres of warm
water. The buoyancy of the
water supports the cow’s
body and encourages her to
stand. The warm water is itself
therapeutic, helping to sooth
muscles and nerves that have
been pinched or damaged
from prolonged lying.
Commercial dairy
producers in the Fraser Valley
were asked to enroll in the
program whenever they had a
downer cow. In total, 34 dairy
cows entered the study. Each
received a detailed physical
examination by the
veterinarian including an
evaluation of the nursing care.
“In the otation phase, the
buoyancy of the water
supports around 80% of the
cow’s body weight,” explains
von Keyserlingk. “The heart
rate measures were almost
the same when oating as
they were when the cows
were lying down (pre-
otation) but the advantage
being that they had improved
circulation while being oated
which increases the chances
for muscle regeneration and
recovery. In the draining
phase, the water is removed
from the tank and the cows
were allowed to remain
standing in the otation tank
without the water support to
adapt to carrying their full
weight. The gate is then
opened and cows are
encouraged to exit the tank at
their own speed.”
Once the cows were
standing comfortably on all
four limbs, they were
provided with fresh food and
water. They stayed in the
otation device for
approximately eight hours.
However, those still unable to
stand comfortably on all four
limbs and showed no
initiative to eat were
recommended for euthanasia.
The quality of nursing care
given the downer cow while
Please see “DOWNER” page 21
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LANGLEY •
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 21
DOWNER COWS From page 20
Cattlemen want clarity on livestock watering
BCCA will begin holding workshops across BC to help ranchers license their wells
by TOM WALKER
VERNON – BC Cattleman’s
Association (BCCA) general
manager Kevin Boon gave
members of the North
Okanagan Livestock
Association (NOLA) an
update on current issues at
their annual AGM, March 30,
in Vernon.
“A lot of the stuff from last
year is still there,” says Boon,
“but that doesn’t mean we
aren’t working on it.”
The recently launched
Livestock Protection Program
was at the top of Boon’s list.
The three year program
funded by the Ministry of
Forest, Lands and Natural
Resource Operations will
support producers of beef ,
dairy and sheep to expand
Best Management Practices
to reduce predation from
wolves and coyotes.
The Water Sustainability
Act (WSA) continues to
bubble up for cattlemen.
“This has not been a short
process,” says Boon. “One of
the first things I did when I
came on the job in 2009 was
consultation on the WSA.”
Need all the info
“We still don’t have a
regulation for livestock
watering and that’s a concern
to us,” he adds. “As you go to
license your wells, if we don’t
have that regulation in place
we are just not sure we are
getting all the information
that we need to have to do
that licensing.”
Boon says BCCA is going to
be holding workshops across
the province to help
Professional
Services
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Cell: 604/793-8660
GREG WALTON
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contact:
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Phone: 604-858-1715 Cell: 604-302-4033
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CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEED
producers license their wells.
“We are anticipating quite
a bit of confusion and
difficulty getting this done,”
he says. “(BCCA water sub
committee chair) Linda
Allison and I spent over an
hour and a half together on
the phone and we had
difficulty licensing a fictitious
well.”
The new BC Agriculture
Waste Act remains a concern
as well, says Boon.
“We thought we were
doing well with our access to
water but it seems to be
getting switched around by
the bureaucrats in Victoria so
we have had to tell them you
can’t develop this until we
know where it is at in the
Water Sustainability Act. The
two have to correspond.
“The problem is not so
much our access on range.
The government can’t lease
out the grass without the
water,” says Boon.
Mounties not consistent
Members were reminded
of the mandatory $48 Off
Road Vehicles one time
registration. There is not a
consistent approach by RCMP
across the province to issue
letters of permission. Lumby
and Enderby ranchers can get
a two year permit from their
detachment while Williams
Lake requires a permit each
time you go out on public
roads.
“Williams Lake ticketed a
guy out looking for a cow
and sent him back to get his
pickup,” Boon recalls. “In the
meantime, the animal gets
hit. No one was hurt, thank
God, but now the rancher is
liable. Common sense should
prevail. Get the damn animal
off the road.”
The BCCA has been
following treaty negotiations
with North Shuswap First
Nations.
“This is very significant to
us in that this is the first
treaty negotiation that has
involved crown land that we
use for rangeland as a part of
the settlement,” says Boon.
Some range lands were
turned over to the First
Nations as part of an
agreement in principal, Boon
explains.
“It will establish how this
rangeland is going to be
treated. Basically, they are
not going to lose any AUMs
(animal unit months). They
will be guaranteed for that
owner of that license for as
long as they want. They also
set out guidelines for water
access and fence lines, so
that none of that will be
lost.”
Dustin
Stadnyk
CPA, CA
Chris
Henderson
CPA, CA
Nathalie
Merrill
CPA, CMA
TOLL FREE 1-888-818-FARM | www.farmtax.ca
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ARMSTRONG 250-546-8665 | LUMBY 250-547-2118 | ENDERBY 250-838-7337
recumbent had a huge eect
on the outcome of the
otation therapy.
Approximately 70% of those
receiving good care recovered
after undergoing the therapy
whereas 90% of those that
had not received adequate
care failed to recover.
“Regardless of the initial
cause, lack of movement for
extended periods can initiate
a cascade of events including
problems such as secondary
compression damage to the
muscles and nerve tissue,”
says von Keyserlingk. “The
large muscles of the hind
(pelvic) limbs that are usually
non-functional in non-
ambulatory cows and
positioned under the cow’s
body are most susceptible to
compression damage.”
Extensive compression
damage to the muscles and
nerves of the pelvic limbs can
be fatal. Good nursing care
and helping the cow to stand
is essential for recovery.
Cows recumbent for 24
hours or less before treatment
were more likely to recover
following otation therapy.
The treatment’s success
declined with every hour
treatment was delayed and
those recumbent for 48 hours
had just a 50% chance for
recovery. The best outcomes,
she said, were for cows
treated within 12 hours.
“To the best of our
knowledge, Agwest Veterinary
Group, Abbotsford is the only
veterinary clinic that oers
otation therapy for downer
cows,” says von Keyserlingk.
The hope is that producers
will consider incorporating a
otation tank as part of their
standard farm equipment.
They should also have a clear
standard operating
procedure for best care for
downer cows.
“We are anticipating quite a bit of confusion and difficulty
getting this done. (BCCA water sub committee chair) Linda
Allison and I spent over an hour and a half together on the
phone and we had difficulty licensing a fictitious well.”
BCCA general manager Kevin Boon
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#61608701
Country Life in BC • May 201622
Items may not be exactly as shown, accessories & attachments cost extra. Taxes, set-up, delivery, freight, and preparation charges not included. Prices are based on the US exchange are subject to change. A documentation fee of up to $250 will be applied on all finance offerings. Additional fees may apply. Programs and prices subject to change without notice, at any time, see dealer for full details on Green Fever offers, Some restrictions apply. Compact Tractor Lease Offer: Valid from April 8 2016 to June 30 2016. Items may not be exactly as shown, accessories & attachments cost extra. Taxes, set-up,
delivery, freight, and preparation charges not included. Pricing may vary between models, see dealer for details. Additional fees may apply. Programs and prices subject to change without notice, at any time, see dealer for full details, some restrictions apply. Lease offer: 60 months / 5 year term at a finance rate of 2.9%. The personal lease max hour usage will be 100 per year. 500 in total. A charge will occur if the equipment goes over these hours. The residual value at the end of the term will be 60%. Quoted Prices may or may not include property & sales tax. Insurance, warranty, and fees quoted with this
offer are included in the Cost/Hour Calculation. Please see in store for full lease details. *Offer valid from February 1, 201 6 until May 31, 2016 . Financing on approved John Deere Financial credit only. 0% APR purchase financing for 60 months on new John Deere 1 Series Sub-Compact Utility Tractors. Representative Amount Financed: $10,000, at 0% APR, monthly payment is $166.67 for 60 months, total obligation is $10,000, cost of borrowing is $0. Monthly payments/cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed/down payment. MSRP cash price based on highest priced product in series:
$14,696 (includes $50 documentation fee). Cost of borrowing based on Representative Amount Financed not MSRP cash price. Minimum finance amount may be required; representative amount does not guarantee offer applies. Charge for amounts past due is 24% per annum. Maximum Cash Discount Offer cannot be combined with advertised financing. * Attachments and implements sold separately. Some conditions may apply. See your participating dealer for details. Offer subject to availability and may be discontinued or modified. Taxes, set-up, delivery, freight and preparation charges not included. 0%
APR purchase financing for 4 years on new John Deere Select Hay Tools. Down payment may be required. Representative Amount Financed: $50,000, at 0% APR, semi-annual payment is $6,250 for 4 years, total obligation is $50,000, cost of borrowing is $0. Semi-annual payments/ cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed/ down payment. MSRP cash price based on highest priced product in series: $75,087 (includes $50 documentation fee). Cost of borrowing based on Representative Amount Financed not MSRP cash price. Offer valid from February 1, 201 6 until May 31, 2016. Minimum
finance amount may be required; representative amount does not guarantee offer applies. The charge for amounts past due is 24% per annum. Financing on approved John Deere Financial credit only. See dealer for details. Limited time offer which may not be combined with other offers. Discounts or other incentives may be available for cash purchases. By selecting the purchase financing offer, consumers may be foregoing such discounts and incentives which may result in a higher effective interest rate.
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 23
Stories by TOM WALKER
KELOWNA – The BC Fruit
Growers Association (BCFGA)
is taking the lead to gain
federal government support
for a bare ground replant
program.
“We are doing it through
the apple working group of
the Canadian Horticulture
Council (CHC),” says BCFGA
president Fred Steele. “That
includes BC, Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
and some small plantings on
PEI.”
“We are talking about bare
land that has not had trees
growing on it for quite some
time,” says Steele, “as opposed
to the current replant
program in BC which takes
out older trees and replaces
them with higher value
varieties.”
Steele says CHC members
have reached a consensus
that it would be good to
pursue support for replanting
bare land and administrators
in the various organizations
are working out the details.
The plan would rely on
private sector funding.
“But like the old student
loan program, the
government would pay the
interest costs for the rst few
years (we are asking for ve
years) until you actually get a
crop,” Steele explains. “When
you look at the return on new
varieties and 50-75 bins an
acre, you should be able to
pay most of the loan o in six
or seven years.”
“We have been trying to do
this on our own for years,”
says Steele. “What we learned
from talking to Ag Canada
parliamentary secretary Jean-
Claude Poissant was that we
were doing it wrong. He told
us to put together a national
proposal and they would
consider it.”
Steele says they focused on
plantings of high value apples
for the premium market.
“We are not talking about
apples for pies or apple juice;
we are talking about an extra
fancy grade that can fetch $5
an apple in the export
market.”
BC fruit growers are now in
the second year of their seven
year $8.4 million replant
program. This provincially-
funded program supports
growers to remove lower
value plantings such as Red
Delicious apples or Lapin
cherries and replace them
with higher value varieties
such as Ambrosia or Skeena.
The program is popular.
“It’s been over subscribed,”
says Steele. Growers made
132 successful applications for
a total of 216 separate blocks
to be funded. Applications
were ranked according to
criteria such as variety,
planting plan, soil testing and
business plan. At the current
level of funding, only about
115 blocks are expected to be
funded.
“There is always slippage,”
Steele explains. “A project
may end up being smaller
than the grower rst planned.”
Country Life in BC • May 201624
Industry insiders are
hopeful a vote to reduce
the levy paid by Ambrosia
apple growers and used to
support marketing and
research activities will be
approved. The vote took
place during the Hort
Forum in Kelowna in March.
The levy, if approved, would
be reduced from .25 per
pound to .20 and fund the
Ambrosia Council for
another ve years.
BC plantings of the
premium, locally-developed
variety are expected to
double over the next ve
years. More Washington
growers are also likely to
plant the apple when
patent protection expires in
2017.
Waiting
on results
BC fruit growers want to expand
program to include bare ground replants
That money then can be put
towards the next grower on
the wait list.
The program was drawn up
expecting that early years
would require less funding
but BCFGA sought extra
dollars last year to fund all of
the applications.
“We are going to have to
have a discussion with the
government about moving
some of the money forward
again like we did last year,”
says Steele.
Ambrosia growers line up to vote at the BC Tree Fruit Hort Symposium in Kelowna in late February. If
approved, the levy will actually be reduced as production ramps up in BC over the next ve years.
(Tom Walker photo)
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 25
An orchard
east of
Vernon is
under re
for its use of
windmills to
protect its
crops from
frost and
splitting.
(Jennifer
Smith
photo)
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Ag turbine noise
fuels windy debate
by JENNIFER SMITH
VERNON – Complaints have
cropped up over a Lavington
farm’s attempts to protect its
harvest. But not wanting to
hurt agriculture, some
Coldstream ocials don’t
want to bite the hand that
feeds them.
Coldstream mayor Jim
Garlick is pleased to see Coral
Beach Farms operating two
orchards in the district.
“It’s a renaissance of
agriculture,” says Garlick.
Meanwhile, one of the
orchards has stirred up several
issues, the largest (quite
literally) being towering wind
machines which dot the land.
Some resident complaints
have been made about
“unacceptable noise” from the
windmills, which are used to
protect the crops from frost
and splitting.
“We only turn them on
when it’s critical to protect the
crop,” says Gayle Krahn, who
manages the Vernon-area
orchards for Coral Beach.
Equipped with thermostats,
this year the turbines have
been used minimally.
“Last year, because of the
early year and frosty nights
they came on a bit more
often,” says Krahn.
No matter the issue, some
Coldstream politicians are
concerned they are not
equipped to deal with farm
complaints due to agricultural
protection.
“Pro-actively, we should
have the ability to have
bylaws on agricultural land,”
says councillor Doug Dirk.
“It’s the same with issues
we’ve had in the past with
manure.”
But others question forcing
a heavy hand on agriculture in
a farming community.
“I’m really, really leery on
going down this path,” says
councillor Peter McClean. “It’s
a knee-jerk reaction. Most of
the people that live in this
community know it’s an
agricultural community.”
Councillor Pat Cochrane is
also cautious of the approach,
while councillor Richard Enns
sees a benet to being pro-
active for when a
questionable farm operation
does arise. But, he points out,
“Clearly, Coral Beach is really
striving to be a responsible
grower.”
Enns did ask Krahn whether
quieter mills have been
investigated; she says Coral
Beach has looked into but
learned they are unsafe and
not as ecient.
“We’ve chosen these ones;
they are safe and reliable and
the best in the market. They
are popular amongst fruit
growers worldwide,” she says,
adding there are 500 wind
machines in the Okanagan.
Coral Beach also does not
use cannons to scare o birds
but instead has been doing
some trial work with lasers.
“It does not disturb the
neighbours at all,” says Krahn.
McClean applauds the farm
for being conscientious.
“It shows that you are
doing it responsibly,” says
McClean.
Following neighbourhood
concerns last year, Coral
Beach also met with MLA Eric
Foster’s oce and hosted a
meeting on the property.
“Ironically, no one showed
up,” said Krahn, who sent
invites to everyone she had
been in contact with.
“We also removed over 110
trees to create more of a
buer between us and
neighbours and ensure there
wasn’t a spray drift.”
Farmer defends crop protection
Country Life in BC • May 201626
Regional District of North Okanagan’s purchase of the
BX ranch lands is a small deal next to the 11,200 acres of
Columbia Valley grassland protected in January under a
conservation covenant granted to the Nature
Conservancy of Canada.
But ranchers in the South Okanagan have yet to receive
word on one of the biggest and most contentious deals in
the ong, the potential consolidation of thousands of
acres west of Okanagan Falls and south to the US border
between Oliver and Cawston.
The province launched a public consultation last
summer regarding the future of three swathes of land it
has proposed consolidating into a provincial conservation
area or – which many ranchers fear – a national park
reserve.
A national park has largely been ruled out but the
concept continues to stoke fears.
The consultation ran from August 13 to October 12,
with the announcement of the consultation promising a
report and nal recommendations “in early 2016.”
However, the discussion paper regarding the South
Okanagan protected areas has disappeared from the BC
Ministry of the Environment website, with the original link
redirecting to the BC Parks site.
The Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment
Act 2016, introduced in the legislature in March, was also
silent on the topic.
Ministry sta told Country Life in BC that they’re “still
reviewing feedback” with “no time line” for nal
recommendations.
South Okanagan decision deferred
by PETER MITHAM
VERNON – Yet another
historic ranching property has
been sold in the BC Interior.
The Regional District of
North Okanagan (RDNO) has
acquired 167 acres of the BX
Ranch property for $2.3
million with funds from the
Greater Vernon parkland
acquisition reserve.
The purchase was
contingent on the
Agricultural Land Commission
approving subdivision of the
property to allow for the
incorporation of 40 acres
largely unsuitable for
agriculture within a regional
park network. The district will
develop a walking trail on the
acreage and enhance
wetlands at the south end of
the parcel.
The remaining 127 acres
will be down-zoned from
Country Residential to Large
Holding, boosting its
protection for agricultural
use. The land commission
required the rezoning as a
further condition of purchase.
“My goal and my wish and
desire is to retain it within the
park function but to use it for
agriculture,” said Mike
Macnabb, director for RDNO
Electoral Area C, which
includes the historic BX range.
“If it remains in park, it is
controlled and wouldn’t be
subdivided. So that’s the
protection we’re seeking to
support agriculture.”
The district’s agricultural
advisory committee supports
the idea of retaining the
property as parkland for
agricultural purposes.
Macnabb points out that
the property comes with its
own water, ensuring that it’s
self-sucient. This makes it an
ideal site for the district for
incubator farms where new
growers could develop their
skills. Kelowna is looking at
the concept, and the Capital
Regional District and other
jurisdictions around the
province have similar plans.
“We could certainly do the
same,” he said. “It would give
an opportunity to young
farmers to learn the trade
with some certainty that the
land would be available for a
period of time.”
Since the district is
prevented from competing
with private enterprise, it
couldn’t provide the land
under an arrangement that
would give growers an undue
advantage in the market.
However, a portion of
production could be donated
for distribution to low-income
families within the district,
Macnabb said. A portion of
the production could also be
sold, giving growers the
experience needed to market
their products.
There’s also the potential of
working with local schools to
provide eld experience to
students.
“In my view, it has a lot of
potential as an agricultural
park,” he said. “There’s
denitely an interest in doing
this and I think our biggest
struggle will be convincing
our partners at the Greater
Vernon Advisory Committee.”
The committee asked that
the property be bought solely
to acquire the parkland and
the remainder sold to
recharge the parkland
acquisition fund.
Subdividing the property
facilitates this intention but
Macnabb said he hopes to
secure the rezoned portion
for future agricultural use.
“Once it’s sold, we would
have no further control on
that,” he said, saying that his
area would consider
purchasing the property for
its own use if the district
doesn’t want to hold it.
The move would require
plenty of consultation,
however, something
Macnabb is keen to pursue in
the long-term interests of
farming. Rezoning, then
selling 127 acres of ranchland
for purposes unknown
doesn’t sit well with him.
“We see a lot of urban
sprawl and we are concerned.
As electoral areas, we
generally are not the growth
centres for residential; we
don’t want to be,” he said.
“Growing more houses, to me,
that’s not necessarily
progress. But looking at
sustainable agriculture for our
area, that is.”
Regional district intends to turn purchased historic ranch into park
Barnard's Express, later known as the British Columbia Express Company or BX, was a pioneer
transportation company that served the Cariboo and Fraser Fort George regions in British Columbia
from 1861 until 1921. The company's beginnings date back to the peak of the Cariboo Gold Rush.
(Photo courtesy of BC Archives, Victoria)
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 27
Moira and Jorge Prieto are all smiles as they hold the top seller at
the Westcoast Classic Holstein auction. Standing with them and
Morsan Doorman Missy 3362 is consignor Je Kooyman of
Westcoast Holsteins in Chilliwack. (David Schmidt photo)
Lewisdale Gold Missy tops Westcoast Classic
by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD
– “They saved
the best for last” proved to be
more than just an expression
at the Westcoast Classic
Holstein sale in Abbotsford,
March 16.
Morsan Doorman Missy, a
September Doorman daughter
of Eastside Lewisdale Gold
Missy, the supreme champion
of both the Royal Dairy Show
and the World Dairy Expo in
2011, was paraded in front of
the large crowd of admirers
before the sale began, then
brought back for sale at the
end of the auction.
Although the crowd had
thinned considerably by the
time she was nally available
for auction, this did not
diminish interest in the stylish
young heifer. Missy attracted
the top price at the annual
auction, $20,500. Making the
purchase was Jorge Prieto, a
Colombian now living in
Victoria. Interestingly, Prieto
paid the same price, $20,500,
for the top seller in last year’s
Westcoast Classic.
This was the second year
Westcoast Holsteins of
Chilliwack organized the
spring sale of elite Holstein
genetics and they have
promised to continue with it
for at least another year.
This year, the auction
featured 74 animals, one more
than in 2015. The sale
averaged $4,400, a drop of
$900 per animal from last
year’s average, reective of
this year’s generally lower
cattle prices.
Stanhope-Wedgwood of
Victoria and Cobble Hill hoped
to add to their award-winning
collection of show cattle by
buying the second and third
highest selling animals in the
auction. They paid $15,200 for
Siemers Deant J-Bright, a
Very Good two-year-old with
at least eight generations of
Very Good or Excellent dams
behind her, and $12,700 for
Morsan Kingboy Aubry, a
September daughter of Ms
Atlees Shottle Aubry, a full
sister to Aftershock, one of the
breed’s top bulls.
All three top sellers were
consigned by Westcoast
Holsteins.
Farmers’ markets prez
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QUESNEL – When Wylie Bystedt stepped up as president of
the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM), she became
the rst president in the organization’s history from the BC
Interior, and the rst livestock producer to take the helm.
Bystedt runs Coyote Acres Ranch near Quesnel, where she
raises beef, pork, chicken, lamb and llama. Her llama meat, a
common South American protein, has
also earned her a loyal following at
markets in Quesnel, McLeese Lake and
beyond.
“I feel very lucky to be stepping into
the president’s role at this time. I’m
coming into an organization that is really
strong,” says Bystedt. “In terms of our
market presence and where we t into
agriculture provincially, we are not quite
where we want to be yet, but there’s a recognition that the
BCAFM is a pretty outstanding group.”
She points to the BCAFM’s BC Buy Local campaign,
#MeetYourMarket, and the nutritional coupon program as
initiatives that have helped farmers’ markets across the
province increase sales for their vendors.
Looking ahead, Bystedt would like to leverage those
successes and explore opportunities to expand their impact.
She points to her own experience as an example of how
markets can help launch farm businesses and increase
protability. “I’m an example of how markets can help
incubate farm businesses,” Bystedt explains. “For the rst two
years at the Quesnel market, I shared a spot with a bread
maker so we could support each other and help with
manpower. I needed that time to learn the ropes.”
This fall, BCAFM will embark on a new strategic planning
process and Bystedt is keen to bring some substantive issues
to the table; supporting more First Nations participation,
helping young farmers access markets and continuing
education and outreach programs for members.
“Our focus is on markets, but within that, what kind of value
building can we do? What’s our role in engagement?” she says.
“Farmers’ markets are in every region of the province. We have
markets in places where other agricultural activities just don’t
happen. We need to start putting it all together. We have
organizations and infrastructure in 107 communities with
strong grassroots partnerships in place – what do we do with
all of that?”
Wylie Bystedt
Country Life in BC • May 201628
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 29
The grass outside looks
green and lush. The warm
weather has allowed it to
grow to four or ve inches
several weeks ahead of usual.
It has been free of livestock for
months and is fresh and clean
looking. The sheep (already
fed hay to ll them a little in
case they overeat and bloat)
rush in and start gobbling,
tearing quickly at the tender
young shoots.
Where would we be
without grass? It sustains
livestock, beauties our
homes and serves as our
playground.
Yet grass and the soil from
which it grows needs to be
managed for good
production. Like a vegetable
garden, water, soil conditions
and nutrients below the
ground contribute as much to
the ultimate quality of the
grass as the sun and carbon
dioxide above.
Well drained soil with a
good top layer forms the ideal
environment. The acidity and
chemical contents in the soil,
such as nitrogen, phosphorus
and potash, calcium and
minor nutrients, will
determine the growth of top
quality grass, its value to
livestock and its purpose.
“The soil provides water,
nitrates and essential minerals
assimilated through the roots:
Carbon dioxide and sunlight
taken in through their leaves
provides the energy used by
the plant to make
carbohydrates, proteins and
other organic constituents
from these basic nutrients,"
writes former BC Ministry of
Agriculture livestock
nutritionist Dr Steve Mason.
Is it to be mainly for grass
or hay, for cattle, sheep or
other, and if so what sort of
grass seed is best? All will
work but some are more
productive and palatable for
sheep overall, or specic to
conditions.
Acidity can be corrected
Soil testing helps. Acidity is
important and can be
corrected with lime
applications over time and
aects uptake of nutrients.
Fertilizer applications will be
recommended, organic or
inorganic, although
improvements by organic
means alone can take years.
Animals grazing on it use
these nutrients not only to
sustain life (breathing,
digestion, excretion) but to
grow bones, teeth, hooves,
muscle and wool. Muscle or
meat, followed by fat, are put
on when basic needs have
been met.
Supplementation is
necessary when grass gets too
short, too mature or if animals’
needs are not being met.
Grass will grow more
quickly once it has a
few inches of leaf to
utilize sunlight and
stimulate roots. It has
been commonly
understood that most
of the grass should be
about four inches above the
ground before sheep were
turned out onto a rested eld.
Filling guts
Leave it to grow many
inches longer and grass tends
to get too mature; the stems
start to elongate, it begins to
go to seed and there is a
rapidly decreasing protein
and sugar content, lowering
of its palatability and nutrient
value. There is also an
increasing amount of lignin
which lls guts for longer
periods. At this point,
palatability and digestion
decrease rapidly; sheep begin
to feel full and stop eating,
even if their nutrient
requirements have not been
met.
"Keep grass in its vegetative
state," Mason advises small
acreage sheep producers, "by
pasture rotation, grazing and
mowing, and when it has
been grazed down, put your
ewes into another paddock
and let the last one recover
until it has a few inches of leaf.
If it is not yet ready, keep
them in dry lot and feed
purchased hay and grain if
necessary. If one eld gets
overgrown, as may happen
during fast growth periods in
early summer and you cannot
mow or make hay, let it go to
seed and keep the others in a
good growing state.
“You may not get much
more out of it for that year but
in times of low need, such as
for newly weaned ewes in
moderate to good condition
with lower nutritional needs,
they may get enough from
that paddock to utilize the
residue."
Total intake is important.
The quantity, palatability,
availability and density of the
pasture determines how
much a sheep can and will
take in with one bite. If the
grass is very short or even
barely visible, the animals can
take in very little with one
bite. With longer grass they
may get more than 10 times
that amount. Hungry sheep
seem to be constantly
grazing. Researchers have
shown that few sheep can
graze for more than nine
hours in a 24 hour period.
Those with good dense
pasture will take far less time.
Sheep need more feed
during the last few weeks of
pregnancy when most fetal
growth takes place and even
more so after giving birth and
there is an increased need for
protein, energy and specic
minerals and vitamins to feed
their lambs. Total intake is
important for healthy lambs
and good growth.
Grass management regime leads to higher production
Good grass management ensures healthy, marketable livestock. Pasture rotation and proper nutrient
applications can extend the growing season and increase prots for sheep producers. (File photo)
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Country Life in BC • May 201630
by PETER MITHAM
ARMSTRONG – A
contaminated aquifer that’s
been under a “do not drink”
order for more than two years
won’t be available to drink any
time soon, critics charge.
Residents in the Steele
Springs Water District near
Spallumcheen depend on
ground water from the Hullcar
aquifer, where nitrate levels
routinely test at more than 10
parts per million (ppm), the
level government standards
consider the maximum
concentration for potable
water.
The source, in the eyes of
many, is H.S. Jansen & Sons
Farm Ltd., which relocated to
the area from Matsqui in 2006
and now has approximately
1,000 head of dairy cattle.
But the province, which
local residents have looked to
for action, isn’t so quick to
assign blame.
“While there are times when
a single factor may cause a
water quality issue, most often,
there are a combination of
factors at play,” the BC Ministry
of the Environment told
Country Life in BC last year
when asked about the
situation.
Environment minister Mary
Polak held to the position in
announcing a working group
to address the situation. The
announcement noted the
Jansen property, which totals
1,200 acres, has hosted
“intensive agriculture activity
for the past century” so the
spike in nitrate levels can’t be
entirely attributed to farm
practices.
“The interaction between
activities on the landbase and
groundwater are naturally
occurring, and have proven
challenging for this particular
aquifer,” she said in a
statement released to media.
“Working with the local
community, we will take all
necessary actions to make sure
the residents of Spallumcheen
have safe drinking water, while
preserving the region's
agriculture economy."
But in previous
conversations with Country Life
in BC, water district chair Brian
Upper said previous spikes in
nitrate levels have occurred in
the aquifer in tandem with
practices on the property
above. He doesn’t think the
latest series of spikes are
normal, or necessary.
The farm sits on zoned
agricultural land within the
Agricultural Land Reserve and
is theoretically a compliant use,
but Upper explained following
the initial uproar in 2014 that
by locating above the aquifers,
it became a direct threat to the
environment and the 150
people the water district
serves.
While the farm developed
an Environmental Farm Plan to
guide operations, it was ned
$575 in 2012 under BC’s
Environmental Management
Act for introducing waste into
the environment.
A moratorium was issued on
spraying euent for the 2015
growing season with the intent
of giving the district time to
seek funding for a
comprehensive study of the
aquifer and possible methods
of remediation, but it was of
limited eect.
Two years after ...
Now, two years after the
initial order declaring water
from the aquifer dangerous to
drink, the province has taken
action.
The working group
announced in March brings
together representatives from
the ministries of the
Environment, Agriculture, and
Forests, Lands and Natural
Resource Operations as well as
the Interior Health Authority,
industry and local First Nations.
The group will:
• review all available water-
quality data as well as
relevant legislation;
• promote best farming
practices including best
practices for nutrient
management;
• implement an enhanced
monitoring program along
with continued compliance
and enforcement actions;
• collaborate with UBC
Okanagan and the Okanagan
Basin Water Board to develop
long-term water-quality
solutions.
Spallumcheen Township
welcomes the action as there’s
limited room for local
government to address the
issue thanks to Right to Farm
legislation and the fact
groundwater is provincially
regulated.
“The township has been
encouraging those with the
jurisdiction to do what they
can do to improve the
situation,” said Corey
Paiement, the township’s chief
administrative ocer.
No concrete change
But he said residents who
packed into a public meeting
with provincial representatives
on April 14 were clearly
frustrated that there’s been no
concrete change for the better
after two years.
“They want it xed, and they
want a clear solution,” he said.
Al Price, a hay farmer who
co-chairs the Save Hullcar
Aquifer Team, said many left
the meeting feeling like they
were being told what was
good for them, rather than
consulted.
“Christine Zacharias-Homer,
who is the leader of the Hullcar
Aquifer interministry team, has
come up with a nine-point
action plan,” Price said. “The
same sort of thing was
proposed on February 26
[2015] by the same ministries.”
The meeting was positive
insofar as the 2015 proposals
were never implemented’ Price
said there’s plenty that local
residents don’t know two years
on.
“They seem a little bit more
serious this year, a little better
organized, but we’re still a little
skeptical,” he said. “When a
compliance order and a
drinking water advisory and
the water advisory in Hullcar
Valley were issued in 2014, the
health ministry said they were
working with the Ministry of
the Environment to do testing
and to determine the source of
the contamination. That’s two
years ago – two years that we
haven’t been able to drink our
water. What did they nd out?
They won’t tell us.”
George Heyman,
environment critic with the BC
NDP, has grilled the
government over the failure to
disclose the report. The
province says because the
study was actually carried out
by a third-party engaged by
the Jansen family, its hands are
tied.
Without the most recent
tests showing nitrate levels still
elevated at 13.3 ppm, and
none of the reports having
resolved the issue, Price is
skeptical that government
involvement will produce
results.
“We would like to believe
that they want to solve our
Provincial pledges on aquifer run dry, say critics
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 31
WATER PROBLEMS From page 30
Buddaa-bing! Budda-boom!
Bulls are bouncing all over BC
and beyond! Since sometime
in February, it's been all about
the bulls in sales rings all
around the province. The 79th
annual Williams Lake Bull
Show and Sale is generally
considered the last major bull
sale in the province for the
coming breeding season. It is
often the bull sale of choice for
some of the small ranchers,
many of whom do not have
the space (or a secure pen) to
hold bulls back from the cow
herd until breeding season is
scheduled to begin.
The prices at the bull sales
have been pretty solid –
certainly compared to the
dismal lows of a few not-too-
distant years back, even
though prices in the regular
sales have dipped noticeably
in the past months.
At BC Livestock’s April 19
sale in Williams Lake, there was
a noticeably larger crowd of
ranchers on hand and almost
all of them were there to buy.
There was heavy competition
for the cow/calf pairs, late
calving heifers and cows,
calves and lighter groups of
yearlings on oer.
Bull show
The Williams Lake Bull
Show, April 14, was opened
with commentary and
introductions by BC
Cattlemen's Association
director Grant Human
from Riske Creek. Then,
it was on to the
business of parading
the bulls in front of
judge Stan Jacobs from
Douglas Lake Ranch.
Here’s a recap of some of
the winners:
Hereford Classes
Champion Yearling (Louise
Newberry Memorial): Lot 12
owned by Jody Siemens
Reserve Champion Yearling:
Lot 8, North Blu Farms
Junior Champion (CIBC):
Lot 29, Haley Bell
Reserve Junior Champion
(BMO): Lot 41, Little Fort
Herefords
Senior Champion (RBC): Lot
2, Cli and Kari-Ann Pogany
Reserve Senior Champion
(Beaver Valley Feed): Lot 3, Neil
Turner
Grand Champion (Finning
Tractor & Equipment): Lot 29,
Haley Bell
Reserve Grand Champion
(The Tribune): Lot 2, Cli and
Kari-Ann Pogany
Best Pair of Bulls (Ray and
$5894.05 on 42 head.
The high selling Angus bull
was lot 129 from Charles
Dwinnell and Diane Fletcher.
He sold for $10,000.00 to
Springeld Cattle Co. Sealin
Creek Ranch sold the second
high seller. Lot 88 went to
Durness Angus (Neil McLeod)
for $9,500.00. The Angus
average was $4835.92 on 71
head.
The Gelbvieh average was
$4812.50 on four head. The
Simmental average was
$2933.33 on three head and
the Charolais average was
$4000.00 on ve head.
Chrissie Pigeon): Lot 24/25, Neil
Turner
Best String of 3 Bulls (Alkali
Lake Ranch): Lot 35/36/38,
Deaneld Ranch
Get of Sire (Gung Loy Jim
Memorial): Lot 24/25/26, Neil
Turner
Angus
Grand Champion (Norm
Wade): Lot 88, owned by Sealin
Creek Ranch (Dan and&
Janette Speller)
Reserve Grand Champion:
(BC Angus Association): Lot 66,
Schochaneetqua Angus (Todd
Marchant and Pam McGuiness)
Best Pair (BC Angus
Association): Lot 117/118,
Vallee Creek Angus (Jamie Bell)
Get of Sire (BC Angus
Association): Lot 61/66/68,
Schochaneetqua Angus
Angus Pen Show (Circle S
Western Wear): Lot 106/107,
Punchaw Red Angus (Albert
and Jackie Toso)
Sale results
While winning a ribbon on
show day makes a breeder feel
good, selling bulls for big
bucks on sale day tends to
validate your breeding
program in a more tangible
way.
The high selling Hereford
bull was the senior and reserve
overall champion, lot 2,
consigned by Cli and Kari-
Ann Pogany. He sold for
$10,500.00 to Lois and Cli
Hinsche.
Haley Bell consigned the
grand champion, lot 29, and
he sold for $8750.00, also to
the Hinsche family. The
Hereford average was
Prices at spring sales have been solid, and that’s no bull!
MONTH
OF THE
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drinking water problem, but
we haven’t seen any evidence
so far,” he said.
In the meantime, residents
continue to pay $800 a year to
the water district for water they
can’t drink. Some, like Price, have
invested in a nitrate ltration
system at a cost of $3,000 (and
annual operating costs of $250).
Others are dependent on
bottled water, and a small
number remain dependent on
the polluted water.
“We are paying for a
problem we had no part in
creating,” Price said. “It’s an
abomination in this day and
age when we can’t protect
drinking water.”
Market Musings
LIZ TWAN
Editor Angie Mindus presents the Williams Lake Tribune trophy to Joe
Pogany, owner of the reserve champion Hereford bull at the Williams
Lake Bull Show. CKP 211Y Chinook Rambo 6B sold the next day for
$10,500.00, making him the high seller overall. (Liz Twan photo)
Country Life in BC • May 201632
Thank you to three blue ribbon directors from BC. Westgen president Tony DeGroot, left, and chief
executive ocer Chris Parry, right, present parting gifts to retiring directors Rudy Russenberger,
David Janssens and Raymond Brink. (David Schmidt photo)
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by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD
–
Last year
was lled with exciting
developments including the
start of construction of their
new oce building in
Abbotsford, Westgen
president Tony DeGroot told
members at their annual
meeting, March 22. Since the
meeting was being held just a
kilometer from the new oce,
many attendees took up the
invitation to tour the
building’s shell at the end of
the meeting.
With the new oces
expected to be completed by
the end of June, Westgen is
starting to divest itself of its
other properties. One was sold
in 2015, another is in the nal
stages of selling and a third
had just been listed.
“Our goal is to have only the
Angus Campbell property in
future. We will liquidate all
other holdings,” treasurer
Raymond Brink stated, saying
the gains will be used to pay
for the new facilities.
While Westgen’s
landholdings are shrinking, its
Westgen’s business expanding as real estate shrinks
business is not, says chief
executive ocer Chris Parry.
“We have returned to
growth,” he said, noting
revenues exceeded expenses
by over $1 million last year.
“Our gross revenue was up
18% and our net revenue was
up 15%.”
Much of the surplus came
from Westgen’s 10% interest in
Semex, which returned almost
$1 million in dividends last
year. Future returns could be
in jeopardy as Semex’s other
two partners appear to be
bullying Westgen. Although
no one would comment
openly, the situation is serious
enough to cause Westgen’s
board to close a portion of the
meeting so members could
discuss their options in private.
Westgen achieved its
operating surplus despite
returning almost $1 million to
customers and the Western
Canadian industry. Almost
$250,000 went to genetic
leader program incentives,
over half a million dollars was
used for Westgen’s customer
loyalty program, and almost
$200,000 was spent on
industry research and
development. In addition, the
Westgen Endowment Fund
(WEF) provided $110,639 to
support 4-H and other
projects.
Since the $5 million
endowment fund was
established in 2004, it has
invested over $1.5 million in
projects benetting the
Western Canadian dairy
industry, WEF chair Tim
Hofstra noted.
The meeting marked the
retirement of three of
Westgen’s directors: former
president David Janssens, Brink
and Rudy Russenberger. Ridley
Wikkerink succeeds Janssens
as one of BC’s two designated
directors while Richard Bosma
and Tony van Garderen were
elected as at-large directors.
Like the directors they
replaced, all are from BC.
Apple orchards cropping
up in Vernon area
by JENNIFER SMITH
VERNON – Coldstream
agricultural is going back to
its roots.
History is repeating itself on
the chunk of land between
Highway 6 and Aberdeen
Road known as the Spicer
Block. Until recently the land
was used as forage for
Coldstream Ranch’s cattle. But
the ranch recently sold o the
land and there are plans to
plant an apple orchard, its
original use.
“It’s going back to what it
used to be,” said Mayor Jim
Garlick.
Coldstream Ranch’s Ted
Osborn notes this isn’t the rst
repeat of history as tree fruits
are making a comeback lately.
“We see a resurgence of
apples and cherries and
dierent fruits,” said Osborn.
As for Coldstream Ranch,
Osborn says the ranch core is
remaining and the sale is just
a continuation of original
plans for the property.
“When Lord Aberdeen
bought it in 1891, his idea was
to develop it and sell it o,”
said Osborn, mentioning
ownership changes on
outlining lands in the late ‘60s
and early ‘70s.
“It’s just what happens over
time, land appreciates in value
and some peripheral lands are
sold o.”
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by RONDA PAYNE
ABBOTSFORD – The news
was generally positive at the
2016 BC Raspberry Growers
Association and Raspberry
Industry Development Council
(RIDC) annual general meeting
in Abbotsford in late March.
“We’re still in the process of
nalizing the shareholders
agreement,” announced chair
Arvin Neger, “but the new BC
Berry Cultivar entity is now set
up.” The new company is a
combined eort of the
raspberry, blueberry and
strawberry councils. Neger
noted that any money from
selling cultivars will be put
back into the breeding
program.
He also conrmed an
increase in the RIDC levy from
a half cent to one cent per
pound has been approved.
The increase will help oset
the shortfall in the 2015
budget and ensure a minimal
likelihood of a shortfall in the
foreseeable future.
Neger noted there were
“signicant costs” in setting
up the BC berry cultivar
company.
“We want to make sure this
is set up right … so it can be
self-sucient,” he told
growers.
Estimates for the 2016
harvest were set
conservatively at 13. 5 million
pounds.
“We assume it will be
higher than 13. 5, but wanted
to be conservative,” said
Neger.
Research scientist and plant
breeder Michael Dossett
spoke about the current status
of the breeding program.
“The raspberry breeding
program performed 99 new
crosses last spring. The focus
of those was root rot tolerance
to superior fruit quality and
yield,” he said.
The approximately 6,500
seedlings from the crosses are
now being planted, which is
welcome news as the changes
to the breeding program in
2013 caused setbacks.
“We didn’t have very many
selections last year,” Dossett
noted. “Everything kind of got
pushed back a year.”
Dossett noted the potential
viability of one selection made
in 2010 from the 2007 crosses.
BC 7-20-30 has a high yield,
ability to be machine picked
and potential for root rot
tolerance. It is susceptible to
bushy dwarf virus but is
undergoing propagation to
determine the level of root rot
resistance. Research is
ongoing for bushy dwarf virus,
Dossett explained; two
dierent genetic markers for
resistance have been
Raspberry growers set conservative crop forecast
identied.
Machine
harvest trials
from crosses of
2008 to 2010 will
be assessed this
year.
“This will be
the stu that was
selected in 2013,”
said Dossett. “We
are cautiously
optimistic that
there’s going to
be something in
there that
machine harvest
well and has some root rot
resistance.”
Varieties that exhibit both
root rot resistance and good
machine harvesting qualities
will go into larger trials with
the potential of plants being
available in the spring of 2017.
Although growers had
previously asked for earlier
ripening varieties, Dossett
noted better root rot
resistance is found in later-
ripening plants. He will
continue to explore options to
see if there is a plant that goes
against this trend.
Researcher Eric Gerbrandt
spoke about replicated plots
being used in trials in Lynden
to explore strategies to
combat declining fruit yield.
Gerbrandt has been visiting
the Lynden location for three
years in what he described as
implementing precise tactics
that are paying
o in fruit
weight and yield.
A large plot in
Clearbrook is
also being
studied in terms
of the benets of
various
management
practices.
Gerbrandt
discovered plots
that had grass or
turf between the
plantings saw
lower yields than
those plots with fall crops or
no cover crops.
“There’s options [for cover
crops],” Gerbrandt said. “It’s
just a matter of nding out
what works over the long
term.”
James Bergen gave an
update on the minor use
program which Neger
described as positive news.
However, due to the nature of
the program, the products
Bergen spoke of are at least
three years away from being
in growers’ hands.
Ministry of Agriculture
berry specialist Carolyn
Teasdale said an update of
current use changes will be
emailed to growers. There is
conditional usage of Capture
until fall of 2017. With the loss
of Diazepam for fruit worm
beetles, she noted that
Delegate and Entrust may
deliver some
control.
Insecticides
released in the
past year include
Assail, Entrust,
Delegate and a
group 21 –
Torent. Prizm
was noted for
being a post-
emergence
herbicide.
Spotted Wing
Drosophila
(SWD) was
discussed in a
panel with Teasdale noting,
“numbers are a little bit lower
than last year, but similar.”
Steve Phillips of Berry Hill
Foods added that the
assumption should be that
SWD levels will be similar to
last year.
“Stay on your ve to seven
day intervals [for spraying],
alternate your chemistry and if
it does rain, get on your
spray,” he said.
Another panel member,
Mike Boot, reported that while
there is variability from eld to
eld and some signs of
possible stress and root rot,
bud survival is looking good.
“There is a lot more cane
botrytis and spur blight than
I’d like to see,” he said. “If your
elds are struggling, just burn
the sides. Make sure your pH
levels are in line. The older
elds are the ones at issue.”
Phillips also
presented a
market report
stating that the
high prices may
push some berry
customers to
reformulate or
look to other
markets like
Mexico for
berries.
“Keep the
quality as good
as you can,” he
said. “These
customers are
still looking for good quality.
As far as the market goes, it’s
tough to say. They’re lean, but
I would say the pipeline is
fairly empty.”
Labour changes were
discussed by David Mutz who
noted that while there were
changes to regulations, they
weren’t as signicant as
suspected. The Mexican
consulate will no longer input
LMIAs. This work will be done
by Mi Tierra Holidays going
forward.
“Most of you probably
won’t notice the change,”
Mutz said.
The meeting closed with
the election of board
members. With four positions
expiring and four names
standing, Neger, Mark Van
Klei, Paul Sidhu and Mel Sidhu
were all elected by
acclamation.
Michael Dossett James Bergen
Country Life in BC • May 201634
SALES EVENT
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 35
Gracemar Farms
flush with firsts
Dairy expansion results in the first robotic
rotary parlour in BC and North America
by DAVID SCHMIDT
CHILLIWACK – It’s a rst for
BC, a rst for North America,
even a rst for the world!
Since it had only been in
operation for two weeks,
Westgen members were
among the rst to see the new
GEA robotic rotary parlour at
work when they toured
Gracemar Farms in Chilliwack,
March 23.
This is not only the rst
robotic rotary parlour in BC, it
is the rst in North America
and only the seventh in the
world. At 60 stalls, it is the
largest in the world, although
work has begun on a 72-stall
version on a US dairy.
The new parlour is part of a
massive expansion which also
includes a fourth freestall barn
and a new manure
management system. When
complete, it will allow Wally
Tenbrinke, his sons, Michael
and Richard, and son-in-law
John Kampman to merge the
300-cow herd they now milk
on a second farm in the North
Okanagan with the 700-cow
herd they already have in
Chilliwack.
“We will keep the North
Okanagan farm for our dry
cows and heifers,” Kampman,
the farm manager, states.
The project was a year in
the making.
“We looked at the
prototype in Germany at the
beginning of March 2015, and
began digging ground for the
new parlour and barns in mid-
June,” Kampman says.
Programming the system
took close to two months.
Each stall has its own Linux
computer, i.e., there are 60
individual computers, and
each took about a day to
program and link into the
overall system, explains David
Reiman of GEA Farm
Technologies, adding that
once the initial programming
is in place, any required
changes or adjustments take
only a few minutes to
complete.
Unlike a conventional
robotic milker, the robotic
rotary is not voluntary. Like in
a conventional parlour, the
cows are milked three times
per day at set times and
brought into the holding area
in groups. That’s where the
similarity between a traditional
parlour and a robotic rotary
ends.
Unlike a traditional rotary
parlour, the robotic rotary
requires only one milker and
milking is much more
consistent from one cow to
the next.
“We have gone from four
Above, Wally Tenbrinke, John
Kampmann, Michael Tenbrinke
and Richard Tenbrinke stand in
front of their new GEA robotic
rotary parlour at Gracemar
Farms in Chilliwack. The 60-stall
parlour is the largest robotic
parlour in the world.
Right, John Kampmann shows
some of the controls behind the
robotic rotary parlour.
(David Schmidt photos)
Please see “YIELDS” page 36
people in the parlour to just
one,” Kampman says. A colour-
coded master display shows
the status of each cow. It
details which cow is in each
stall, if it has been treated
and/or has high conductivity
in one or more quarters, when
the prep is completed and the
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Country Life in BC • May 201636
YIELDS From page 35
milking has begun. It even
shows how far along it is in its
milking, i.e., what percent of
the cow’s projected yield has
already come out. The
information is also fed to an
IPad the operator carries with
him so he can see the status of
each cow even if he is on the
opposite side of the parlour.
If the cow has been treated,
the milk is automatically
diverted from the milk line.
The valve to the milk line
won’t reopen until the milking
is complete and the diversion
line has been closed.
Before milking begins, each
teat is automatically washed
with warm water. After milking
is completed, the cow receives
a post-dip with a peroxide
solution. To ensure no cross
contamination, each unit is
backushed with a solution of
iodine and cold water after
each cow is milked.
In that way, each cow is
treated exactly the same every
milking and exactly the same
as every other cow, making
the system incredibly
consistent.
The entire parlour is
washed down between each
of the three daily milkings. If
an issue arises with a stall
during a milking, the operator
simply blocks that stall with a
barrel and works on xing it
after milking has been
completed.
“It’s simpler and faster to
block that stall and take care
of the problem when the
system is not used than to try
to correct it partway through a
The world’s
largest robotic
rotary parlour is
now in
operation at
Gracemar Farms
in Chilliwack.
The 60-stall GEA
parlour is only
the seventh in
the world and
attracting
attention from
farmers around
the globe.
(David Schmidt
photo)
milking,” Kampman says.
His herd is divided into six
groups including a two-year-
old group, a fresh group and a
“non-conforming” group.
“About 5% of cows are
unsuited to the robot,” he
explains. Those cows are either
culled or put in the “non-
conforming” group. At
Gracemar, this group numbers
about 50 and is the rst into
the parlour so the machines
can be attached manually to
each cow before the main
milking begins.
Kampman says production
dropped when the cows were
introduced to the new parlour
but is rebounding quickly.
“We were averaging 38.5 kg.
That dropped to 33 kg the rst
three days in the new parlour
but after just two weeks is
already back to 37.2 kg,” he
notes, adding the somatic cell
count is also improving. “We
were at 200,000 SCC when we
started but we’re already
down to 150,000 SCC.”
Although designed in
Europe, Reiman notes the GEA
robotic parlour owes a lot to
Canada.
“This is the rst rotary built
on a platform built in Canada
by Houle (a GEA subsidiary). It
has industrial strength
bearings and steel and will far
outlive the robots themselves,”
he says, saying he expects the
robots to have a 15-20 year
lifespan.
“The robots can take quite a
beating,” Kampmann adds.
Gracemar’s robotic rotary
parlour may be a rst but it will
denitely not be a last.
“We have had interest from
all over the world,” says John
Bruinsma of Pacic Dairy
Centre, which represents GEA
in BC, saying he expects
Gracemar will be asked to host
over 1,000 interested dairymen
over the next months and
years.
Kampman says the robotic
rotary is the only option for
automating the milking of
large herds. Even though it is
expensive, he notes the
robotic parlour is “about half
the cost” of installing 60
individual robotic milkers.
1.866.567.4162
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May 2016 • Country Life in BC 37
Trophy Class. In the grand championship picture at the BC Holstein Spring Show in Abbotsford, March
17 were, from left to right, sponsor Gord Houweling of BC Farm & Ranch Realty, reserve grand
champion Springbend Windhammer Slash, led by Herb de Ruiter for Springbend Farms in Enderby
and T & L Cattle of Chilliwack, grand champion Wendon Dempsey Prude, led by Barclay Phoenix for
Westcoast Holsteins in Chilliwack, judge Nathan Thomas of Ohio and BC Holstein Princess Nicki Meier.
A diamond in the rough.
Judge Nathan Thomas of
Ohio (far right) stands with
the junior champions of the
BC Holstein Spring Show.
They were reserve junior
champion Goldenset
Doorman Pandora, led by
Dave Hamming of Hamming
Holsteins in Vernon and
junior champion
Diamondpark Bookkeeper
Penny, led by Barclay
Phoenix for Westcoast
Holsteins of Chilliwack.
(David Schmidt photos)
by DAVID SCHMIDT
ABBOTSFORD – Chilliwack’s two top showstrings, Westcoast
Holsteins and T & L Cattle, split the top awards at the 2016 BC
Holstein Spring Show in Abbotsford, March 17.
The biggest news was not the winners but the amount of
prize money available. With the support of generous sponsors,
the BC Holstein Branch was able to oer over $50,000 in prize
money this year, the largest prize pool ever oered at a Spring
Show. As a result, it was the rst time in recent memory that the
show was not only contested by BC’s top Holstein breeders and
exhibitors, but by top show strings from Alberta and California.
That gave Nathan Thomas of Ohio a lot of outstanding
animals to judge, many of which would hold their own in any
North American show. After looking at 64 heifers in the junior
show and 51 cows in the intermediate and senior classes, he
chose four-year-old Wendon Dempsey Prude as the senior and
grand champion of the show. Prude earned $10,000 as the
grand champion and another $750 as the senior champion for
her owners, Westcoast Holsteins.
Earning $5,000 for the reserve grand championship, $750 for
the intermediate championship and another $2,000 for being
the best bred-and-owned animal in the show was Springbend
Windhammer Slash. The extremely stylish senior three-year-old
is co-owned by T & L Cattle and Slash’s breeder, Springbend
Farms of Enderby.
Westcoast also showed the junior champion, Diamondpark
Bookkeeper Penny, and was named the show’s premier
exhibitor. T & L also showed the reserve senior champion,
Tolamika Goldwyn Mercedes. Mercedes is co-owned by Bienert
Holsteins, Southrise Holsteins and Dardel Holsteins of Alberta.
Skycrest Holsteins of Alberta was named the show’s premier
breeder. Their championship winners included Skycrest Mincio
Prickles, the reserve intermediate champion and reserve senior
champion bred-and-owned animal, and Skycrest Doorman Live
Wire, the junior champion bred-and-owned animal.
Other championships went to Goldenset Doorman Pandora,
shown by Hamming Holsteins of Vernon (reserve junior
champion), and Blossomdairy Fever Royalty, shown by Blossom
Dairy of Chilliwack (reserve junior champion bred-and-owned).
Hamming was named the premier exhibitor of the junior show
while Blossom Dairy took the honour as premier breeder of the
junior show.
The 2016 show was dedicated to former Holstein Canada
president Richard Bosma and his wife, Judy, of Vedderlea Farm
in Abbotsford.
Holstein Spring Show
sets prize money record
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NXK
The Mobile Dairy Classroom Experience is looking for dairy diplomats to educate consumers about dairy
farming in BC. The program visits over 160 schools a year and over 53 events, May through October. The
dairy classroom program is a fun and rewarding work opportunity that is open to staff of all ages and
backgrounds. We are currently looking for facilitators and presenters and offer on-call (based on your
schedule and availability) and part-time (two-three shifts per week) employment.
Help wanted ...
FACILITATOR - $25/hr
A Mobile Dairy Classroom Experience Facilitator is responsible for
arranging, handling and hauling the animals used for the program,
as well as basic maintenance of the trailer. A dairy classroom facil-
itator has a passion for animal handling. Hauling experience is not
mandatory but is preferred. Individuals with a high level of animal
handling experience and are willing to learn to haul the trailer, will
be provided registered training courses.
PRESENTER - $15/hr
A Mobile Dairy Classroom Experience Presenter is responsi-
ble for conducting presentations at school visits, agricultural
exhibitions and urban events to a variety of audiences. A
dairy classroom presenter is eager to educate people about
dairy farming, willing to assist the facilitator with requested
tasks and is a fantastic team player.
REQUIREMENTS FOR BOTH POSITIONS:
• Team Player • Takes direction well • Good attitude • Hard working
• Respectful of others • Open to learning
If you or someone you know might be interested in this position please feel free to contact
NADIA SHAH AT nshah@bcdairy.ca or 604.294.3775
Van Der Wal Equipment (1989) Ltd.
23390 RIVER ROAD, MAPLE RIDGE, BC V2W 1B6
604/463-3681 | vanderwaleq.com
Visit our showroom to see more!
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TH522
TELEHANDLER
Country Life in BC • May 201638
Ken Bates may be chair of the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC and run a large Delta potato
and blueberry farm with his brothers but his love is heavy horses. He and his team competed in the
sulky division of the Chilliwack Plowing Match, April 2. (David Schmidt photo)
Horses, antique tractors
wow at plowing match
by DAVID SCHMIDT
CHILLIWACK
– A beautiful
sunny day drew a good crowd
to the 2016 Chilliwack Plowing
Match on April 2.
While the BC championships
were the main attraction for
the plowmen, the spectators
seemed more interested in the
horses and the antique
tractors.
Topping the horse walking
plow competition was Dugan
Mountjoy of Lilloett. Placing
second in the class was Adam
Degenstein of Armstrong,
whose well-decorated team is
always a main attraction.
After a year’s absence, Ken
Bates of Delta returned to win
the horse sulky plow class. As
the only entry in the class, he
was an easy winner.
As he was also an only entry
in his class, the BC
championship reversible plow
class, Francis Sache of Rosedale
was another easy winner.
Francis’ brother, Pierre,
emerged as the winner of the
single plow BC championship.
He reclaimed the
championship after nishing
second last year. Earning
second place honours in the
largest class in the competition
was Philip Graham of
Abbotsford.
Earning the top award in the
antique tractor class was Brent
Holcik of Chilliwack. Placing
close behind was another
long-time Chilliwack plowman,
Gerry Norrish. Although he
nished well out of the money,
John Nessel of Chilliwack
attracted the most attention
with his steel-wheeled oil-
cooled 1928 Rumley tractor.
There were only two entries
in the politicians’ class this year
with Chilliwack alderman and
chicken grower Chris Kloot
defeating his counterpart from
Agassiz, John Vanlaerhoven.
Al Pearson of Kelowna
rounded out the list of
winners, placing rst in the
open tractor class.
SIR program is a waste
Editor,
Apple growers in the
Okanagan and Similkameen
received notication from the
provincial government’s
Sterile Insect Release (SIR)
program relating to how they
would improve or change the
program.
To date, this program has
cost approximately $100
million to growers and
taxpayers.
This is just to tackle
problems associated with one
insect. Growers still spray for
many more insects to keep
them under control.
The end result is $100
million has disappeared and
the insect is alive and well.
Washington state is one of
the largest apple producing
regions in the entire world,
and they don’t have this
program.
They use articial
pheromones to cause the
mating disruption of insects,
rather than raising and
sterilizing them.
Wouldn’t it be more
intelligent to raise predators
rather than the insect you’re
trying to eliminate?
Predators would reduce
many pesticides we are using
today and help the
environment.
Gerry Hesketh, Osoyoos
Letters
DEALER INFO AREA
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