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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

CPR on ALR Track

Sea of greens

Farm properties rising

Genomics lab expands service to local growers

Editorial: Put farmers first

Back 40: Knowing when to pull back on extensions

Viewpoint: A watershed moment for BC farms

Egg producer questions support for local eggs

Milk consumption up among young minorities

Nutrient recovery system in third phase

North Saanich approves Sandown proprosal

Tsartlip acquire Woodwyn Farm with provincial help

Woodwynn Farm was first known as Mawuec

Pandemic was profitable for nursery growers

Researcher brings experience to sweet role

Consultant delivered practical advice

Tributes pour in for Island farmer Colin Springford

On-farm abattoir approved for Alberni Valley

Plans for a provincial weather network move forward

Feedlots under pressure with kill instability

If you go out in the woods today …

Round bale bounty

CFIA services get a funding boost

Help available for farm business succession

Sidebar: Considering all the options

Diversification helps farms prepare for challenges

Creston advocacy group continues push for food hub

Frind matches his love of data with grape production

Greenhouse sets example for others to follow

On-farm food networks wire farms for success

OK irrigation systems have a long history

Pemberton family farms beer with deep roots

When life gives you lemons

Personal money strategy as important as farm stragegy

Farm Story: Winter brings the distractions of technology

Well-designed vegetable coolers make for hot sales

Woodshed: Janice Newberry sets the record straight

Research: Plants can recognize attacking herbivores

Jude’s Kitchen: Super simple

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5 days ago

From orchard manager to government specialist and now executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Arts brings a rare blend of hands-on farming experience and organizational leadership to an industry poised for renewal. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for BC fruit growers, with Arts expressing enthusiasm about continuing the momentum built by his predecessor and working alongside a board that signals a generational shift in agricultural advocacy.

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Arts leads BCFGA forward

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A combination of organizational management and practical farming experience has primed the new executive director of the BC Fruit Growers Association to lead the industry forward.
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2 weeks ago

A public consultation is now underway on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board. Key issues for dairy producers include transportation costs, rules governing shipments and limitations on supporting processing initiatives. Stakeholders have until May 31 to comment.

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Milk board undertakes review

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A public consultation on the powers and duties of the BC Milk Marketing Board is underway as part of a triennial review required by the British Columbia Milk Marketing Board Regulation.
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2 weeks ago

BC wool shipments drop sharply in 2023, according to StatsCan data released in mid-April. Local producers shipped just 5,200kg at 37¢/kg, down from 18,600kg at $1.08/kg in 2022. While many farmers now use wool on-farm or dispose of it due to low market value, innovative producers like Emily McIvor point to untapped opportunities. Read more in our Farm News Update from Country Life in BC.

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BC wool value, volume drop

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BC sheep producers shipped less wool for less in 2023, reversing strong growth a year earlier. BC producers shipped 5,200 kilograms of raw wool in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data released on...
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2 weeks ago

Eric Feehely and Miho Shinbo are growing 30+ crops on 2.5 acres in Vernon. Writer Myrna Stark Leader takes a look at how Silverstar Veggies is balancing CSA programs, farmers markets and restaurant sales while planning smart expansions in challenging economic times in Market farm works smarter, not harder.

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Market farm works smarter, not harder

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VERNON – Silverstar Veggies, a five-year-old mixed vegetable and herb farm in Vernon, thrives on passion and innovative ideas. A former watersport and adventure sport instructor…
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3 weeks ago

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CPR on ALR track

Rail projects not subject to ALC approval

February 1, 2021 byPeter Mitham

PITT MEADOWS – Pitt Meadows could lose more than 100 acres of protected farmland if CP Rail wins approval to expand its operations in the community.

Plans for the CP Logistics Park [cplogisticspark.ca] were unveiled in December following consultations with the municipality, Katzie First Nation and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority last summer. An initial public consultation on the project wrapped up January 15.

“CP is proposing to construct a multi-modal, multi-commodity transload and logistics facility adjacent to its Vancouver Intermodal Facility in Pitt Meadows, to meet increased rail demand in Canada’s largest trade gateway,” the rail company says.

Project documents outline plans for 13 silos accommodating 15,600 tonnes of peas, lentils and beans (the equivalent of 147 train cars, or one unit train), an auto transload facility, and 11 tanks for holding ethanol and transportation fuels from Alberta and the US Midwest for distribution locally and overseas.

The project will occupy 101 acres south of Lougheed Highway. CP acquired the properties making up the site between 2012 and 2017. The land falls within the Agricultural Land Reserve. However, railway development falls within the jurisdiction of the federal government. CP does not need to file an application with the Agricultural Land Commission to develop a rail line on the property.

This concerns Shannon Roberts of Blooming Meadows, who operates a small-lot mixed farm with her sister near the proposed facility. She also worries about site safety, light pollution and the effect of particulate matter from site activities on her laying hens and field-grown cut flowers.

“A dirty flower is not a sellable flower,” she says, noting that hundreds of trucks will be needed to bring fill to the site, which sits on the floodplain adjacent to the Pitt River.

Preload will affect the water table in the area, which already suffers from drainage issues.

“I honestly don’t feel like I’m going to be able to farm my land,” she said. “I feel like it will be flooded.”

Drainage concerns

Similar concerns were raised when CP bought 58 acres of the site in 2012. Pitt Meadows, which is set to receive at least $4 million in property taxes each year from the proposed development, said at the time it was confident CP would work to mitigate drainage problems.

During an open house in January attended by close to 100 people, CP environmental assessment manager Joe Van Humbeck said the railway is studying the project’s impact on surface water and groundwater, and drafting storm water management plans.

“This data will feed into our engineering team to ensure that our facility includes the measures required to protect the Katzie Slough, the groundwater as well as the other attributes of the environment,” he says.

CP assistant vice-president, market strategy and demand management Jeff Edwards says mitigation plans for adjacent farmland are also under development.

“We recognize the importance of this valuable land and the fact that there is a great deal of support behind the agricultural land across the Lower Mainland,” he says.

However, he adds that the site is ideal for the project, since it’s adjacent to CP’s existing facilities in Pitt Meadows. While the loss will be felt locally, the project will benefit the agriculture sector nationally.

“We are opening markets and supporting the greater Canadian agricultural community through this development,” Edwards says. “I realize that’s not as specific to the local agricultural community … but we look forward to further conversations with local agricultural organizations, and I hope we get to have more of those conversations in the near future to better understand the impacts and the mitigation that we can work with them on.”

Speaking as director of operations for Pitt Meadows in 2012, Kim Grout – now CEO of the Agricultural Land Commission – said CP has a long-term vision for its properties. The commission is among the parties that intend to provide feedback on CP’s plans for the farmland.

A summary report from the first consultation will be available in March, with mitigation plans unveiled this summer. Construction of the project could begin as early as 2026 if federal authorities approve.

 

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