Volume 12 • Issue 2 June, 2012Free rural delivery from Langley to Agassiz

Inside your

• B.C.’s labour minister

says most of the 15

recommendations

made by a coroner’s

jury into the deaths

of three mushroom

farm workers will be

implemented.

• The Investment

Agriculture Foundation

of B.C. and the BC

Agriculture Council

hold a joint session

for their annual

general meetings in

Abbotsford.

• Chilliwack says it is on

a path to becoming “a

centre of excellence”

for agriculture under

its new Agriculture

Area Plan.

• Bob Ingratta talks

about the future of

the BC Milk Marketing

Board.

• Does Canada need a

United Nation's lecture

on food distribution?

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CLOSE SHAVE – Chilliwack farmer Martin Lubben prepares to shear a Romney-cross sheep at the Surrey Museum during a Sheep to Shawl Competition. The event featured local weaving and spinning teams plying raw sheep's wool into yarn, then weaving it into shawls – all in four hours. BOAZ JOSEPH / BLACK PRESS

UFV's Ag FutureMLA sees a larger agriculture faculty at UFV’s Chilliwack campus.

Page 5

Don McRae, B.C. Minister of Agriculture :

“I would like to clarify provisions within the new Animal Health Act and allay concerns expressed by some, spe-cifically around privacy issues and dis-closure of disease outbreaks.

“To be clear, the restriction on dis-closure of animal health information provided in confidence only applies to a “person engaged in the administra-tion of the act”, for example inspectors and government employees directly involved in animal health. It does not apply to journalists or other members of the public. The rules on reporting news of a disease outbreak do not change with the new Animal Health Act. As soon as a disease is actually con-firmed, that information would be made public just the same way it has always been, typically through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), or the Province’s chief veterinarian.

“What the new Animal Health Act guards against is incomplete or uncon-firmed information being made public that would unfairly harm the reputation and livelihood of the families that make their living as farmers. We recognize that upon confirmation of a disease it is essential the public receives complete, accurate, and consistent information and advice on how they can protect their health.

“The best way to ensure that disease outbreaks are reported early is to assure farmers that their information will be treated in a strictly confidential fashion.

“Section 16 of the new Animal Health Act is actually designed to encourage the reporting of potential animal dis-eases and participation in traceability programs, by guaranteeing the confi-dentiality of the information. It simply makes animal medical records held by the Province protected by the same confidentiality rules that apply to pri-vate veterinarians and private laborato-ries. The wording is very similar to that used by Alberta and Ontario.

The Animal Health Act is a rewrite of a bill that was originally passed in 1948. The act was rewritten based on best practices and similar legislation in other provinces. The changes bring us up-to-date so that we have the tools to

protect human and animal health while ensuring our producers can compete in the global marketplace, as animal health has become a major global trade issue.

“Under the act, as well as federal legislation, people with knowledge of a reportable disease are legally obligated to provide that information to provin-cial and/or federal authorities. Failure to do so is an offence.

“Maximum fines under the act have been increased to $75,000 because ani-mal disease control is a serious matter. The maximum fine applies upon convic-tion in a court of law.

“I assure you that the new act bal-ances the need for protection of con-fidential information in the ministry’s possession with the public interest in receiving timely disease information.”

No National Council After months of effort to certify close

to 200 blueberry growers so they could vote for or against the formation of a National Highbush Blueberry Council has resulted in rejection of the idea by a slim margin of 107 (against) to 93 voters (for). An additional 21 per cent of the total ballots were determined to be spoiled ballots. These ballots were either incomplete, not having one of more of the ballot questions checked or the voters could not be verified as BC blueberry growers.

Due mainly to the large number of spoiled ballots the results of the vote cannot be construed as a clear assess-ment of grower opinion with respect to the formation of a national council. The National Farm Products Marketing Council requires documented and accu-rate information when considering the

BC Blueberry industry’s application.BC Blueberry Council chair Mike

Makara is not only disappointed, but upset the plan to form a national coun-cil did not get the approval it needed. However he says as a result of the negative vote the council will continue working with first receivers to develop a complete and accurate listing of eligible blueberry growers with a view to con-ducting another vote in the future.

Meanwhile BC Raspberry growers have endorsed the idea of a National Council and work on bringing that into being is now underway.

And Strawberry growers have also cleared the way for BC to be part of a new national council by renaming the growers’ group the BC Strawberry Growers Association. Caroline Thibault from Quebec is organizing this venture which includes only four provinces.

Genomic TestingHolstein Canada is pleased to

announce a new genomic (DNA) testing service available to Holstein breeders. In the past, genomic testing was only available for animals registered in the Association Herdbook. GenoID com-bines genomic testing with Herdbook registration to provide a convenient one-step process for parentage discov-ery and genetic evaluation. Genetic evaluations provide valuable informa-tion allowing producers to make bet-ter selection, mating and sales deci-sions. GenoID will also automatically register animals in the Holstein Canada Herdbook.

GenoID is geared towards non-regis-tered herds but available to all Holstein breeders. GenoID provides more accu-

rate information allowing better deci-sions and faster genetic improvement. GenoID works best on herds using A.I. sires as they are already genotyped and included in the genomic database.

Complete program information is available on the Holstein Canada web-site www.holstein.ca (Genetics >> Genomics).

Flood

It doesn’t appear as though we are going to have a flood this year. High water, yes. Runoff from the heavy snowfall on our local mountains has been slow and steady. The runoff from up north still has not materialized. Nonetheless the agriculture sector has dusted off its emergency plan and is prepared to implement it should it be necessary.

Chilliwack Farmers’ Market

What a wonderful season we had last year at the Chilliwack Farmers Market with the extended season running to Thanksgiving because of popular demand. We are successfully achiev-ing new growth benchmarks each year because of your help and support.

The 2012 Chilliwack Farmers Market will open on Sat. Jun. 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and each week after that through Sep. 15.

If you know anybody who grows vegetables or livestock, makes crafts or bakes goodies tell them to get a stall at the 2012 Chilliwack Farmers Market by sending a request to the following e-mail address…info@ChilliwackFarmersMarket.com

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3 Mushroom farms

3 Animal health

5 Agriculture Plan

6 UBC program to UFV?

10 Profile

12 Beyond the Barn

INDEX

Published by

Minister clarifies B.C.’s new Animal Health Act

What the new Animal Health Act guards against is incomplete or unconfirmed information being made public that would

unfairly harm the reputation and livelihood of the families that make their living as farmers

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Changes coming to B.C. mushroom farmsBy Monique TammingaBlack Press

B.C.’s Labour Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said most of the 15 rec-ommendations made by a coroner’s jury into the deaths of three mush-room farm workers will be imple-mented — but there are challenges.

“All of the recommendations make sense,” said MacDiarmid on Tuesday. “I think we heard the jury’s recom-mendations on a Wednesday, and that night the CEO of WorkSafe BC started working on them.”

The jury made numerous recom-mendations aimed at WorkSafe BC after a series of safety mistakes led to

the death of three farm workers of Vietnamese background and serious, permanent injuries to two others on A-1 Farms in south Langley in 2008.

The three workers died and two others have severe brain injuries as a result of toxic gases being released in a confined brown water shed, where a worker unclogged a pipe stuffed with straw and chicken manure.

The owners were fined $300,000 but have since declared bankruptcy. The fines have not been paid. The mushroom farm is now up for sale.

MacDiarmid said despite a recom-mendation by the jury to increase the number of inspections, her govern-ment had already been doing that.

“Immediately after this terrible

tragedy we increased the number of prevention officers who went around to all the mushroom composting farms in B.C. and spoke to workers about confined spaces,” she said.

Some of the recommendations will prove to be difficult, such as making it mandatory for all farm workers to take two days of occupational safety training and be given a certificate, similar to the Food Safe program.

WorkSafe BC said there are too many farms out there for them to go to. MacDiarmid said the other issue is many farms have transient workers, like berry pickers, who only stay for short stays.

WorkSafe confirmed that it already met with the FARSHA (Farm and

Ranch Safety and Health Association) to implement the jury’s first two rec-ommendations.

Those are to require active aera-tion of all brown water tanks in mush-room composting farms and require that a registered engineer supervise and approve the design and construc-tion of all new mushroom compost-ing facilities, including the brown water system, before they are allowed to operate.

As for the recommendation that all ambulances be equipped with an oxygen sensor, MacDiarmid said that is up to BC Ambulance.

In 2006, the same recommenda-tion was made after two paramed-ics died going into a confined space

to save mine employees in Kimberly. Ambulances are still not equipped.

MacDiarmid said WorkSafe BC has had a “tremendous focus” on work-ers’ safety in the past few years.

Workers being killed on the job are down almost 40 per cent in B.C., she said.

“Still, no one should die at work. There is still more work to be done,” she said.

MacDiarmid said she has never met the families who lost loved ones on this farm but watched them speak out on the TV.

“I think the key message I get from the families is they don’t want this to happen to more families. We can and will learn from this tragedy,” she said.

Animal disease secrecy questionedBy Tom FletcherBlack Press

VICTORIA – When discovery of mad cow disease prompted 30 countries to ban imports of Canadian beef in 2003, former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein famously suggested the rancher who found an infected animal should have “shot, shovelled and shut up” rather than report the case to authorities.

The risk of farmers protect-ing their operations by hiding sick animals is behind strict new regu-lations on the handling of animal disease reports, B.C. agriculture officials say.

Agriculture Minister Don McRae introduced a new Animal Health Act amid a flood of other legislation last month. Debate has focused on measures to exempt animal disease reports from free-dom of information legislation, and to impose steep fines and jail time on officials who release infor-mation on disease reports without authorization.

McRae said in an interview he has been assured by the provincial veterinarian and ministry staff that the restrictions are an important part of getting voluntary reports from farmers. Journalists, mem-bers of environmental watchdog organizations, or the effected farmers themselves can speak publicly about outbreaks without fear of penalties, he said.

NDP critics are question-ing exempting animal disease reports from freedom of informa-tion law, citing objections from B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham. McRae noted that a 2010 require-ment for salmon farms to release regular disease inspection reports prompted the operators to stop

providing samples voluntarily.(Regulation of fish farms has

since been taken over by the fed-eral government.)

“We need to make sure we have as much information as possible from farms from Fort St. John to Vancouver Island,” McRae said. “Without data, the Animal Health Act is going to be ineffective.”

NDP agriculture critic Lana Popham said freedom of informa-tion law should apply, and the leg-islation goes too far in protecting the business interests of the indus-try. She noted that restaurants are regularly inspected for cleanliness and the reports are made public routinely, despite the effect on the reputation of a business.

Disease outbreaks have affected poultry farms and fish farms in B.C., as well as cattle in Alberta. BLACK PRESS FILES

Farmers unhappy with fish habitat enforcement

This issue has been a thorn in the side of many farmers for a long time.

John Les, as the former Mayor of Chilliwack, had first hand involvement with fisheries regulations governing fish bearing streams and more importantly fish habitat for over a decade. Now the federal government has indicated it wants to modify the rules pertain-ing to fish habitat and has included a measure to do in their much criticized ominbus bill. However a large group of farmers and others from the Fraser Valley went to Vancouver to protest the fish habitat restrictions which are clearly hampering cleaning of many drain-age areas declared to be fish habitat. They also expressed their concern over measures to protect two species of fish, namely the Salish Sucker and the Nooksack Dace.

They want federal fisheries to either change the regulations and let farmers farm all of their land, or else compensate them for land used to protect fish.

Les says everybody wants fish habitat to be in good shape. There is strong support for good healthy salmon runs and everything else. However I think that in many cases the pendu-lum has simply swung too far in terms of the enforcement. “You will find so-called streams that are completely dry and they are being protected as if they were valuable fish habi-tat. You have farmers becoming increasingly apprehensive and rightly so. Many feel they won’t be able to farm their land as they have in the past because a lot of it was being deemed fish habitat. In many cases farmers had dug drainage ditches and then when they wanted to keep them clean and clear, fisheries person-nel would come along and tell them they can’t continue to clean them. This is pretty bewilder-ing for farmers who have in some cases spent thousands of dollars improving the drainage of their land. So I think we have gone too far.”

“The same is true for some so-called rare and endangered species of fish which are apparently not as rare and endangered as some people would have us believe. Protecting these fish species may lead to farmers not being able to do the normal things on their land. So there has been a backlash – no question about that – the federal government seems to be responding and (I hope) lightening some of the regulatory load,” stated Les.

The current controversy we have in the Fraser Valley involving the Salish Sucker and Nooksack Dace potentially could affect about

The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. (IAF) joined with the BC Agriculture Council and held their annual general meetings in Abbotsford on the same day. The joint ses-sions were led off with the IAF-AGM followed by the BC Ag Council AGM. It was the first year for this arrangement and it proved to be an excellent undertaking. The shared day of events included a special luncheon presenta-tion on Food and Farming in 2020 which was very well attended, and followed by a showcase of IAF and BCAC programming.

The meeting was especially significant for IAF chair, Stuart Wilson, as it marked his sixth and final year as an IAF director. It was also the final meeting for BCAC Chair Garnet Etsell, who also stepped down.

In his final address, Wilson said, “Knowing

we have constructive and positive relations with our industry and govern-ment partners has been one of the highlights for me during my six years as a director and Chair of IAFBC. Our priorities reflect industry priorities,” he said.

“Acting on the input from industry and in keep-ing with the priorities of

the three-year Corporate Plan we introduced last year, we committed nearly $4.2 million to a wide variety of new projects and initiatives.”

Wilson’s emphasis on the need for collabora-tion was illustrated during an overview he gave

on project successes within the crop, livestock, pan-agricultural and value-added sectors. IAF contributions together with industry leadership have made tremendous impacts on producers, processors and local agriculture communities.

A showcase of B.C. projects further high-lighting some of these impacts was held, featur-ing recipients of IAF funding. Presenters includ-ed the B.C. Food Processors’ Association, B.C. Blueberry Council, City of Abbotsford, Horse Council of B.C., B.C. Landscape & Nursery Association, B.C. Agriculture Council, Certified Organic Associations of B.C., and several other organizations.

Included in Wilson’s discussion was the broadening program delivery role IAF has assumed, as with the $1.5 million Canada-B.C.

Stuart Wilson

Joint annual general meetings prove successful

Continued: FISH/ p4Continued: IAF/ p4

4 JUNE, 2012

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Agri-Innovation program funded through Growing Forward: a federal-provin-cial-territorial initiative. He also emphasized IAF’s ongo-ing role in delivering the fed-eral Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program in B.C., which is scheduled to be dis-continued as of Mar. 31, 2014.

In the financial report, vice chair, Peter Levelton reported that IAF paid out nearly $5.2 million toward new and con-tinuing projects and initiatives.

Finally, Executive Director, Peter Donkers wrapped up the meeting with a look at IAF’s priorities for 2012.Donker’s Report

Donkers noted that agricul-ture is now part of a glob-al market. Moving from a BC-based market to a national

or an international marketplace requires support on many lev-els, and specialized knowledge and learning. Partnerships and alliances for agri-businesses and sector associations and organizations, in collaboration with governments, provide a network to support companies which have difficulty moving to a new economic model, brand-ing their product, or finding niche markets.

Innovation has contributed to the competitive edge of BC but there is difficulty in moving to commercialization by the high cost of accessing venture capital.

BC agri-businesses can be and many have been success-ful in the domestic and inter-national marketplace and will continue to be so. However the Foundation now needs to consider how to adapt to be

more relevant in partnering with the industry in the future.

In this year 2012, we have begun piloting an on-line appli-cation submission process. Our goal is to provide clients with the necessary technological tools that cut down on the paperwork and will provide improved access to a range of resources.

Our outreach activities will continue to be expanded with program managers spending more time in the field with clients.

In partnership with the BC Ag Council we need to be aware of and act on activities that have a Pan Ag benefit. Already under discussion is an Ag-environment forum that will help industry to determine its priorities and strategies for the next decade.

800 acres of fine agricultural land in Chilliwack alone simply to protect Salish Sucker habitat. Was the Salish Sucker ever very prevalent? I am not really sure if it was. I have lived here all my life and the first I heard of the Salish Sucker was

not more than four or five years ago. I believe that in some cases the need to protect some species of fish has been widely overstated and people are being asked to make concessions that are unrealistic. And when people feel they are starting to be pushed around they push back. And that is what has been happening lately.

FISH from p3

Farmers have fish habitat concerns

IAF from p3

Donkers outlines IAF priorities

Agriculture a major contributor to a successful economy

The agriculture and agri-food sector is becoming increasingly modern, innovative, and competitive, and is a significant part of Canada’s economy. An economic report released by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AAFC), Canada’s agriculture industry is turning the corner from facing unprecedented challenges to meeting exciting opportunities.

“We have plenty to be proud of here in Canada when it comes to the sector,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “If we look back a few years, we see that our farms have become more modern, more productive, and more innovative. We see that the industry has been restructuring and adapting to consumer demands, advancing technology, and other global trends.”

Food safety is a paramount concern for con-sumers today, and the federal governments’ 2012 Economic Action Plan includes an addi-tional $51M over the next two years to enhance food safety, building upon the $100M allocated in last year’s budget. Ensuring safe food for Canadian families is a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) mandate and the federal govern-ment has provided investments for the CFIA to hire 733 new inspection staff.

In 2010, the agriculture and agri-food indus-try directly provided 1 in 8 jobs, employed more than 2 million people, and accounted for more than 8 per cent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The food and beverage process-ing sector was one of the top manufacturing industries in Canada in 2010.

The agriculture and agri-food sector has become increasingly internationally focused over the past 15 years. In 2010, Canada was the fifth-largest exporter of agriculture and agri-

food products in the world, with exports valued at more than $35 billion.

Canadians still enjoy some of the lowest food costs in the world, with food spending from stores accounting for almost 10 per cent of per-sonal household expenditures in recent years.

The increase in total government expendi-tures in support of the agriculture and agri-food sector was 9.5 per cent between 2009–10 and 2010–11, from $7.2 billion to $7.9 billion.

“It wasn’t that long ago that producers and processors were reeling from BSE, Bird Flu, reduced market access, and weather-related disasters,” continued Minister Ritz. “As farm businesses evolve to meet changing demand or issues, so too must government adapt its approach to support industry’s need for increased innovation, market access, and reduc-tion of red tape.”

The annual overview report provides basic information about the agriculture and agri-food sector, tracks how the sector has been perform-ing over time, and reflects the challenges and changes that have occurred in recent years. It reviews in detail all segments of the sector, covering not only primary agriculture and input suppliers, but also food and beverage process-ing, food distribution, consumer trends, and government investment. This year’s report also included a special feature on employment trends in Canada’s agriculture and agri-food system.

“These changes are part of the on-going transformative agenda focused on allowing farmers to maximize returns from the mar-ketplace. As the agriculture and food industry evolves so too must the government,” noted Minister Ritz.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz sees promise in changes

JUNE, 2012 5

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Chris Byra chaired the steering committee that drafted the new Agriculture Area Plan.

JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS

Jennifer FeinbergBlack Press

There may always be some sort of urban/rural divide when it comes to farming in Chilliwack.

But the city is on a path to becoming “a centre of excel-lence” for agriculture under a new Agriculture Area Plan, with a keen emphasis on edu-cation, best practices and sus-tainability.

“This is a land-use plan to support agriculture, but it’s also looking at the urban/rural divide,” said Chris Byra, a local veterinarian who chaired the plan’s steering committee.

Contained in the plan are strategies to address some of challenges, ways to support land-use planning and the long-term sustainability of the agricultural industry.

The plan’s preamble makes it clear what a critical economic engine the ag sector represents in Chilliwack, with 800 farms providing more than 4,500 jobs and generating $600 mil-lion in economic activity.

“The plan provides a strong map of what the agricultural community is all about, and a good steering document for the future,” said Chilliwack Economic Partners president John Jansen. “It inventories

the requirements of agricul-ture, along with demonstrating its impact.”

Drafted under the leadership of the Chilliwack Agricultural Commission, and with input from stakeholders, the plan was first presented to council in March.

Council approved introduc-tion and first reading of the text amendment to include the ag plan in the OCP last Tuesday.

One of the long-term goals is to help make the agricultural industry become increasingly progressive. The ag landscape in Chilliwack is dominated by dairy, poultry, nursery and greenhouse producers, and 67 per cent of the land base is located with the Agricultural Land Reserve.

“Chilliwack will become a centre of excellence in agri-culture focusing on industry innovation and sustainability and emphasizing education, communication, conservation, and environmental responsibil-ity,” reads a section of the plan. “The agricultural industry will become increasingly progres-sive.”

The plan looks at the inter-face irritants like noise, dust and odours, and recommends solutions within a timeline, as well as the potential oppor-tunities and new partnerships

arising.The vision includes stron-

ger working relationships between city representatives, the agricultural industry, and University of the Fraser Valley, to encourage broader educa-tional options, as well as mar-ket opportunities like value-added and food processing options.

City staff is working on drafting a recommendation for council to create an agri-cultural advisory committee, which would provide advice and support on Agricultural Land Commission applica-tions, and to provide input on proposed bylaws, and other land-use proposals that impact agriculture, according to a staff report.

“I think that is one of the more concrete ideas,” said Byra.

A public hearing is set for June 5 at city hall, to include the new plan as an appendix to the Official Community Plan. Then it comes back to council for final approval.

The OCP amendment and creating the advisory commit-tee of council are seen as the first two steps toward imple-mentation.

The plan can be found on the city’s website at http://chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=1979.

Chilliwack ag plan hopes to bridge urban/rural divide

The Canadian Pork industry is disappointed to learn the United States has decided to appeal a World Trade Organization panel decision that struck down discriminatory and trade distorting elements of the US Country of Origin labeling (COOL) legislation as it applies to imported livestock.

“COOL increases costs and creates inefficien-cies without improving consumer information,” stated the Canadian Pork Council’s Chair, Jean-Guy Vincent. “An integrated North American market is more competitive and sustainable for all producers in the long run, and allows all of us to be more competitive globally.”

The Canadian Pork Council and its mem-bers from Ontario and Manitoba worked in

collaboration with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to provide the analysis to sup-port the government’s efforts to establish that important elements of COOL are not consistent with US WTO obligations. The WTO Panel confirmed that the legislation restricted market access and was a technical barrier to the move-ment of live swine into the US market.

“Canada clearly won all three points that we challenged and the WTO panel ruled that COOL discriminates against Canadian livestock and is inconsistent with WTO rules,” added Vincent. However the U.S. has chosen to challenge the WTO ruling, an action considered detrimental to the Canadian Pork industry.

Appeal to WTO disappoints pork industry

6 JUNE, 2012

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RAVEREVIEWS!

Garnet Etsell has stepped down as Chair of the BC Agriculture Council and Rhonda Driediger is now the new Chair. Etsell is maintaining his position with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. His CFA association coupled with his many years of involvement in BC agriculture make him a good sounding board on a number of issues important to agriculture.

At the top of his list is the nagging realiza-tion that the BC agriculture industry is under-funded.

“Governments across the board, both feder-ally and provincially are not putting enough public dollars into the agriculture industry. We need to develop a mechanism that puts BC, in particular, in better fiscal shape than what it is. But I think that industry is going to have to wake up to the fact of having to do it on their own. For too long we have had our hands out to govern-ment and you can’t have the lowest taxes in the world and government handouts at the same time. The fact of the matter is that public funds are just not there. And when you look at other industries and how they are able to finance and fund their organizations, farmers and growers are going to have come up with a way to do the same for agriculture,” says Etsell.

Etsell doesn’t rule out some type of check-off, either provincially or nationally, that would out-line the collection mechanism and allow the Ag sector to benefit from a pool of stable funding.

Etsell applauds the Provincial government’s plan to away with the hated carbon tax. It is well known that BC is the only jurisdiction in Canada that has a carbon tax.

“It’s the silliest tax in the world when it comes to agriculture,” notes Etsell.

Step one in the eventual elimination of the carbon tax was made by BC Agriculture

Minister Don McRae. Victoria is providing an estimated $7.6M to provide financial relief to the Greenhouse and Floraculture sectors. The funding will be paid out in the form of a rebate. Growers must make application for that funding based on what their purchases over the past number of years have been. “I think it is a good first step, stated Etsell, “I was concerned when we started to get wind of the fact that they just going to do something for greenhouse growers. There is a whole lot more to the industry than just the greenhouse sector. Admittedly it was the greenhouse industry that was hardest hit. So I take some solace in the fact that BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon is indicating that they are going to do more. How much more, we will have to wait and see,” says Etsell.

The Canadian dollar has been above par with the US dollar for many months now. It is not good for exports, but great when it comes to bringing in goods from other countries. And Canada is an exporting nation, even when it comes to food.

“We produce way more food than we can consume nationally and if we are going to com-pete internationally we have to recognize that there are ramifications to having a high dollar or having a dollar that fluctuates from day to day. One of the ways we can get around that is by diversifying our markets. For all too long we had a low Canadian dollar and we concentrated on exporting to the US to the point where the US almost became our sole market. As a result when the Canadian and US dollars started to change we were hurt. Whereas had we diversi-fied our markets and were exporting to other nations we wouldn’t have been hit nearly as hard.

Etsell still has strong views about B.C. agriculture

Continued: TRADE/ p12

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Currently the facilities of the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) are being moved from the Airport and Yale location in downtown Chilliwack to a new home in a brand new building in Canada Education Park. Classes are expected to begin in the new location in Sept. It is the first part of an expanded university footprint at the former Canadian Forces Military base with UFV owning 85 acres of land on which to build.

Among the facilities being re-located to the Vedder Crossing complex is the agriculture department which leaves behind a building that houses an office area, classrooms, and a lab and a poly covered greenhouse. The greenhouse is to be moved to the new location and another glass greenhouse is to be built as well.

MLA John Les, a former Mayor, and longtime supporter of UFV feels that other countries, like Holland, are using intensive agriculture methods to grow their crops, and Canada has a long way to go to catch up.

“Personally, I think we can do new things to enhance our small fruit industry.

We have got to make UFV something that is modern and real. A university is not a milker training program. Robots do most of that now,” he says.

There is now a potential for a much larg-er agriculture faculty at UFV’s Chilliwack campus.

At present the UBC Dairy Course requires students to attend both classes in Agassiz and Vancouver. If the entire course

were transferred to Agassiz it would be more efficient for students.

Les’ responded by saying, “It is prob-ably the first time I have said it publicly but (and he asks) why isn’t the UBC agri-culture faculty at UFV? It seems to me that if you were to start over you would house an agricultural faculty at UFV and perhaps not at UBC. I am of the opinion that you need to have your agricultural

faculty where agriculture happens, Last time I checked there wasn’t much agricul-ture activity at UBC’s Point Grey campus in Vancouver. This kind of change is what we need to think about, talk about, and rationalize for everybody’s benefit.”

Les also noted that the planned Food Technology Center to be built in the Fraser Valley would be a welcome addition at UFV. “It certainly makes sense to me.”

Chilliwack MLA favours moving ag faculty from UBC to UFV

Chilliwack MLA John Les, UFV interim advisor Harv McCullough and Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon MP Mark Strahl talk before a ribbon-cutting at UFV’s new Chilliwack campus last month. ROBERT FREEMAN/ BLACK PRESS

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By Don McRaeBC Minister of Agriculture

One of the critical factors in our ability to grow B.C.’s agrifoods sector to a $14-billion-a-year industry by 2017 is a solid working relationship between the governments of B.C. and Canada.

Given the global market place and shared areas of jurisdiction, a strong federal-provincial partner-ship is crucial to agricultural progress. The coop-erative relationship will also help B.C. achieve the main goals of our Agrifoods Strategy: developing high-quality, high-value products, expanding domestic and international markets and increasing competitiveness.

In an effort to continue that constructive rela-tionship, I just attended a conference of Canadian agriculture ministers in Gatineau, Quebec. The goal of my attendance was to ensure B.C.’s diverse agriculture sector was well represented as we near final negotiations for a new funding agreement for B.C. producers.

The agreement is a new five-year agriculture policy framework that will build on the success of the Growing Forward suite of risk management, food safety, environmental and business develop-ment programs that conclude in the spring of 2013. The current agreement has brought $553 million of funding to B.C., in a 60/40 federal pro-vincial sharing ratio.

Following our meetings in Quebec, there was wide consensus that the new agreement, Growing Forward 2, should focus on supporting and rewarding innovation, increasing competitiveness in agriculture, building market opportunities, and supporting adaptability and sustainability.

Growing Forward 2 will build stronger con-nections between federal and provincial govern-

ments in order to increase market opportunities for farmers, producers and food processors. The reputation and international demand for B.C. foods as a trusted, high-quality source of nutrition results in about $2.5 billion in agrifood exports a year to about 140 countries. With record exports to China in both 2010 and 2011, and increased emphasis on building our trading relationships in Asia, the opportunities for B.C.’s food producers and processors continue to grow.

I believe farmers and producers who partici-pated in the consultation process to date will be pleased to see their view regarding the involve-ment of the entire value chain has been heard, and will likely form part of the agreement. At the Gatineau meeting we agreed to further indus-try consultations with the goal of signing the Growing Forward 2 agreement in September and to have the new framework in place by this time next year.

With much of the discussions focused on expanding market opportunities, federal and provincial agriculture ministers jointly reiterated our support for liberalized trade arrangements. We agreed creating new trading blocs will benefit farming and food producing families but that these negotiations should clearly maintain our support for Canada’s supply management system.

British Columbian food producers and com-munities are well positioned to benefit from our province’s strong relationships with the federal government and trading partners around the world. By working together and continuing our emphasis on high quality products, new markets, and industry competitiveness, producers and processors will continue to invest in an agrifoods sector that employs more than 61,000 British Columbians, and directly contributes to the social, health and economic benefits of us all.

New agreement for B.C.’s food producers coming soon

JUNE, 2012 9

Profile

Bob Ingratta was born and raised on the family farm near London, Ontario.

“It was a supply-managed tobacco farm as well as cash cropping”, he explains. “We grew lots of vegetables and we had cows and horses. My Dad and his two brothers owned two farms of about 150 acres.”

Once off the farm, Ingratta attended the University of Guelph (in Ontario) where he obtained his Masters of Science degree. Every summer while at university he would return to work on the family farm, but in his last year of university he realized he needed to get some other experience because he was going to require a job. Bob was hired by the Ontario government as a summer specialist and did a lot of analyzing of fruit trees around Simcoe, Ontario looking for diseases on apples, moni-toring apple scab and evaluated different agri-culture issues.

His first full time job after graduating from university was with the well known interna-tional agricultural enterprise Monsanto,

“I worked for them for a number of years starting in Calgary as a sales rep., and then moved to Saskatoon where I was involved with research and development. From there I moved to a number of places with increasing respon-sibilities and back to Calgary as sales manager. I lived in Winnipeg for three years as a market-ing manager.

Bob finally settled down in Ottawa for about 20 years, where he was the lead of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs, before com-ing to BC and starting his own business as an Agriculture Consultant living and working in Vancouver. More recently working for three years as a consultant in the Bio Energy and Bio Products sector.

“The bio-energy field is really just develop-ing,” stated Ingratta. “Anaerobic digestion is a big part of it and expanding. It was an exciting new area to work in. Both renewable energy and bio-energy, and renewable bio-products were areas I supported and worked to develop, not only in agriculture but in forestry as well. Another convergence of technology occurs when you combine the waste from agriculture with municipal waste to create renewable prod-ucts and energy.”

In the past Ingratta was Chair of the Board of BioTalent Canada in Ottawa which is a national human resource sector council for government where he developed some new strategies for them as well as being a member of the Board of the Food Innovation Center of BC which started up in Chilliwack. He is now off both those boards having agreed to be the General Manager of the BC Milk Marketing Board.

Early into his new job as G-M of the BCMMB Bob took the opportunity to go on the annual dairy tours with one of the Milk Board mem-bers and got a first hand look at some of the

progressive dairies in the Fraser Valley.“It is absolutely amazing,” he says, “to see

how quickly the cows catch on to the opera-tion of a robotic milker and seem so comfort-able with it.”

Ingratta’s assessment of the Milk Board and how he feels about the administration of the dairy industry in B.C. is extremely positive.

“I was told that being the general manager of the Milk Marketing Board was a really inten-sive and tough job and I certainly have not been disappointed. The dairy industry is very complex; a lot of change is taking place. It is exciting to be part of it and I am really delight-ed to see that I can use my skills to help the Board move forward and work toward enhanc-ing the vitality of the BC dairy industry through a culture of sound governance.

“We have a tremendous Board of Directors. Jim Byrne is Chair and a dairy industry expert - extremely knowledgeable, great negotiation skills and just a great guy to work with. As well, we have other hard working producers and one appointed member on the board that are really knowledgeable.

“We have a lot of issues we are trying to sort through and we work closely with the Milk Industry Advisory Committee. For me it is a great opportunity to learn skills from them as quickly as I can and provide my skills in a team-based approach. It has been a lot of fun, excit-ing, and tough.”

As general manager of the BCMMB over the past four and a half months Bob says he has been sorting through what works, and what doesn’t work.

“We need to continue on with what is work-ing and change what needs to be changed. So there are three key things that I would like to accomplish over the next eight to ten years in the dairy industry.

“We need to look at the depth of change that is happening, and the variable forces of change from the demographics of fact that dairy farmers are growing older and we need to be cognizant of that. Ownership of a lot of dairy farms is going to change over the next ten years. How do we support the consumer need? Can we feed a global population of three billion people with abundant and nutritious food that must be produced on a decreasing agricultural land base, faced with ever increasing environ-mental challenges, such as the issue of local water supply?

“What I am trying to do is take all those dynamics and input from our key stakehold-ers to develop a vision and a strategy for the future. It will be a year 2020 strategic plan that analyzes and crystallizes what our vision for the future should be. In concert with the Board, we want the dairy industry to be a dynamic, responsive, sustainable, and consumer focused dairy industry.

Bob Ingratta: General manager BC Milk Marketing Board

In concert with the Board, we want the dairy industry to be a dynamic,

responsive, sustainable, and consumer focused dairy industry.

“

”

Continued: INGRATTA/ p13

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Next Issue

Tuesday,September 4th

10 JUNE, 2012

News

True ColoursAcross 1 Spanish grocery 7 Slightly open 11 Neither vegetable nor

mineral 12 Maize 13 State again 14 Cassowary’s cousin 15 Dried grape 17 Risqué 20 Piece of tack 23 In the past 24 Play part 25 Aquatic shocker 26 Elmer, to Bugs 27 Your of yore 28 Outback runner 29 Biblical boat 30 Something to lend 31 Curtain holder 32 Mischievous one 34 Nota ___ 35 Carpenter’s tool 37 Pudding fruit 39 Oozes 43 Ceremony 44 One way to fi x a shoe 45 Camp Swampy dog 46 Plot

Down 1 Tavern 2 Half and half 3 Morse tap 4 Manicurist’s board

5 Hearty party 6 Orange tractor 7 Pungent 8 Green tractor 9 Exist 10 Retrovirus component 16 Mythical creature 17 Speeder’s bane 18 Greek marketplace 19 Red tractor, usually 21 Costly car 22 Avoid 24 Elite military unit 33 Small part

34 Grooming device 36 Business V.I.P. 37 Paid player 38 Burning 40 Buck’s mate 41 Shade tree 42 Observe

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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Agriculture Canada’s John Berry is retiringJohn Berry, the BC Regional

Director for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will enter retirement around mid-June after 40 years of working for the government.

John spent 33 years in Vancouver (and Victoria) as Regional Director, and another seven years working in Ottawa. He told West Coast Farmer that he enjoyed working so much that he didn’t mind putting in 40 years.

John is a descendant of a Langley farm family that established itself in the Fraser Valley community back in the late eighteen-hundreds. His grandfather started the farm in Langley and had a family of seven, the youngest of which was John’s Dad. He died last August at the age of 101.

“My grandfather’s family was a remarkable group, and were really a part of the development of BC. My grandfather was very much a pioneer, very active in the farm community and in the dairy indus-try. He was part of the initial Board of Directors of Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association. He later became its President, was an MLA, and served as a trustee on the local school board.

My generation had a Rhodes Scholar – my Dad’s older brother. His other brother Jack taught animal science at UBC for many years. And the daughters were both university educated in days when ladies on

farms didn’t do that very much. So I certainly had an active agricultural background going way back. It was a great family to be part of,” says John.

John’s Father and Mother wanted to establish their own farm, so when John was seven years old they bought a farm in the Courtenay area on Vancouver Island.

“That is where I grew up and went to school. After finishing high school, I decided I wanted to stay active in agriculture so I went to UBC with the intent of returning to farm-ing. However at university I started looking at other opportunities and decided in 1972 to work for the government. I went to Ottawa for a couple of years to see if I liked that kind of work and ended up staying a

little longer – seven years in Ottawa. I wanted very much to get back to BC. At that time they were opening up a new position in agriculture in Victoria. I got the job and moved back into the agriculture world in BC as Regional Director for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 1979. I was very lucky getting started pretty much right out of University. I hit the Director level at the age of 27. In fact, it was David Dodge, the same David Dodge who later became Governor of the Bank of Canada who promoted me to Regional Director,” John stated.

John was involved with Steve Thomson in the formation of today’s BC Agriculture Council. It replaced the BC Federation of Agriculture.

John stated support varied across

the different commodity sectors as to what to do about a new province wide farm organization.

“While there were differences of opinion there was agreement that there should be another umbrella farm organization. So the challenge was to try and find the common denominator. They asked me to facilitate the process because I had a bit of background and they had seen what we had gone through in forming the Investment Agriculture Foundation. We were able to follow a process that really brought people together for some brain storming and coming to a consensus and a very different kind of organiza-tion materialized. The group then decided to hire a consultant – Steve Thomson – to prepare a road map

for the new organization and he later became the Executive Director of BCAC, and today is a BC Liberal Cabinet Minister.

Berry set a high standard while Regional Director for AAFC

“I think the federal government – in fact governments generally – really need to work with the sec-tor they serve. We have to work in ways that are going to be effective, because in the agri-food sector really you see a lot of integration – on the farm and through processors and retailers. Whether we like it or not governments have an important role in overseeing how the sector works and governments have to work with each other. The other part that is really important is having really good cooperation with federal and provin-cial folk as we work together in BC. It is also in the public’s interest that everyone works well together.”

Eugene Whelan (the architect of supply management) is the one Federal Agriculture Minister that John remembers with a degree of fondness.

“He had been Minister well before I was back in BC. But when I came back in 1979 he was on what he called his sabbatical when the Joe Clark government was in power. He stands out in my mind because he spent so much time out of Ottawa and he was always spending time in the regions. I spent a lot of time with

Whether we like it or not governments have an important role in overseeing

how the sector works and governments have to work with each other.

“

”

Continued: BERRY/ p11

JUNE, 2012 11

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him working in many areas. He was such a colorful character, a very interesting person indeed. And you could not miss seeing him coming. Everywhere he went he wore his big green stetson.”

Later this month, the Regional Director’s positions in BC and Alberta/North West Territories will be com-bined with the Alberta director Rodney Delugos heading up the combined regions. However the Vancouver office will continue to operate, although remaining personnel will be assuming some of the duties previously per-formed by John Berry.

John is not planning to become a couch potato in his retirement years.

“I have been very active in the volunteer world – I am involved in youth sports, in soccer, in baseball as President of the BC Amateur Baseball Association for the past six years. I am also involved with the New Westminster Rotary Club, and been on the board of a small hospital founda-tion. I have done a number of things outside the work world and I will continue to be active doing volunteer work. I would also like to continue doing some things in the agriculture sector. We still own our farm in the Courtenay area which we rent out, but we are not planning on returning to the Island. We prefer to continue to live in Burnaby.

Conversation with John BerryBERRY from p10

AITC programs continue to expandBy Emma SweeneySpecial to The West Coast Farmer

BC’s Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation brings BC agriculture to students in our ele-mentary and high schools. Together through partnerships with various producers, AITC has developed programs that help educate students on the value of agriculture.Fruit and Vegetable Program

The School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program is now serving fresh BC produce to 409,000 students in over 1300 schools through-out BC.

The program is presented to BC K-12 public schools and First Nations schools as part of Healthy Families BC with funding from the BC Ministry of Health. In September 2011, First Nations Schools joined the program for the first time. Some of the schools are in very remote regions of the province but thanks to the pro-gram’s partners - Saputo BC, the Overwaitea Food Group as well as the program’s many vol-unteers - the product will be delivered.Take a Bite of BC

The program Take a Bite of BC partners with local suppliers and donates fresh, BC grown product to Secondary school teaching kitchens at no cost to schools over a four month period. There are over 30 supplier and/or commod-ity groups and associations that support and donate to this Program. With these generous product donations students learn the value of working with fresh BC product under the direc-tion of their Chef Instructors which they serve to students. The program has been thriving and growing since it started as a pilot in 2009, and now includes 37 schools for the 2011/2012 year.

Spuds in TubsStudents participating in the Spuds and Tubs

program not only get to experience eating fresh potatoes, but they will be able to grow the plants themselves. The program gives teach-ers and their students the tools and directions to grow their very own potatoes. Through the planting and tending of the potatoes, students not only learn the value of growing their own food, but teachers can also connect the pro-gram to other areas of study such as science, math and language arts.

A classroom starts by planting the seed potatoes in tubs of soil and carefully tending them until they are ready to be harvested. The program provides students with a hands-on approach to learning, letting them dig in the soil, and harvest their own produce at the end of the school year. Now in 198 schools for 2012, the program promotes the importance of growing food and gives students a better understanding of how farmers produce food.Community Garden

The Community Garden program lets stu-dents take a trip out to enjoy the many wonders of a growing garden. BCAITC has partnered with the Abbotsford Community Garden Society and the City of Abbotsford to encourage people of

all ages to participate in the growing of food. A large section of the garden was set aside for BCAITC to work with local schools. Students learn when to plant and how to weed and care for growing things.Summer Institute

This course is designed for teachers in the BC school system to explore practical ways to integrate concepts related to food produc-tion and consumption, food safety, agricultural issues, and sustainability across the curriculum at all grade levels. Through active participa-tion, field trips, guest speakers, video presenta-tions, and the like, participants will expand their knowledge of agriculture and food concepts and issues and reflect on their own values and orientations to the topic.

The BC AITC Summer Institute is held in partnership with the UBC’s Faculty of Education Office of External Programs. The course offered this year will be held from July 23-27, 2012, in Abbotsford, BC.New for 2012

BC Agriculture in the Classroom will be partnering with Science World this June to bring programs that will enhance the students’ knowledge of agriculture and healthy eating.

12 JUNE, 2012

OpinionBeyond The Barn

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It’s too bad Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, didn’t spend more time during his recent visit to Canada looking at com-munities where agricultural production is both valued and central to local econo-mies and where fishing rights are actually inclusive of First Nations, commercial and recreational fishers, depending on the seasonal abundance or scarcity of the resource.

Of all the countries he could have visited for a right to food rant, I’m still not sure why he chose Canada. But Schutter levied some pretty heavy criticism on Canada (much to the feds’ scorn and the NDP and food rights activists’ delight) for our lack of a national strat-egy that would enable fami-lies to feed their children with a diet that meets their nutritional needs. But did his criticism take into account all the other complex socio-economic variables that can lead to a lack of food on the table such as employment, transportation, and educa-tion?

“Canada has long been seen as a land of plenty,” Schutter wrote in a press release. “Yet today one in ten families with a child under six is unable to meet their daily food needs. These rates of food inse-curity are unacceptable and it is time for Canada to adopt a national right to food strategy. What I’ve seen in Canada is a system that presents barriers for the poor to access nutri-tious diets and that toler-ates increased inequalities between rich and poor, and Aboriginal-non-Aboriginal peoples.”

Increasing production of safe, local, affordable food that reduces the carbon footprint of long distance transportation

has been in the sights of many communities, none the least Chilliwack where the city has floated a new

Agricultural Area Plan dove-tailed with the city’s Community Plan with a focus on edu-cation, best production practices, and sustain-ability.

Chilliwack’s heritage has been and continues to be truly agricultural with 800 farms generating $600 mil-lion in economic activity and supporting 4,500 jobs. The city has a population of some 80,000 with a land base of 25,900 hectares of which two-thirds are in agri-culture with dominant activ-ities being in dairy, poultry and nursery/greenhouse activities. Like many farmers in regional municipalities, Chilliwack farmers are well aware of the challenges to get product to market and healthy food on the table.

In any production system, there are always flaws in the processing and delivery system and maybe we’re not keeping pace with demand as much as we could/should. But in the bigger picture, I hardly think Canada needs to be answerable to the U.N. and threatened with some tough questions for its agricultural policies and practices.

Yes, there are regions in Canada where food must be flown or trucked in with resultant high costs to consumers. But Schutter forgets that in some regions of the country farmers and ranchers are challenged by landscape, water resources, overhead costs, and climate. Despite that, the push in the past decade has been to fos-ter locally grown food when

products can be sold com-petitively at farmers’ mar-kets, roadside stands and farm gates and where stores will carry locally grown and processed produce for rea-sonable prices..

Five years ago, the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands released its B.C.’s Food Self-Reliance report and even then it was clear that B.C. farmers could only produce 48 per cent of all food consumed in the province. It takes over half a hectare of farmland to pro-duce food for one person for one year, sort of equiva-lent to six city blocks. And as the province’s population increases, the pressure will be constantly on to increase crop yield and hasten prod-uct to market.

Yet on a national scale, Canada has the third largest amount of arable land per capita in the world behind Australia (which struggles with water supply) and Kazakhstan (which lacks substantial infrastructure). According to the report Sector in Decline or Industry of the Future: The Choice is Ours published last year by the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute, we are at a crossroad of either being leaders in food production or lagging behind because we lack innovation, research and development.

That’s fixable, but requires a federal re-set. Harper’s government recently made wide-sweep-ing cuts in all ministries to meet budget restraints. Those cuts will complicate progress and will likely end up counter-productive to long range investment in leading-edge agricultural and food policies that allow Canada to be competitive in world markets.

And that is all part of putting food on the table.

Canada doesn't need any lectures on food distribution

Margaret

EVANS

Canada must continue to build trade deals with other countries: Etsell

The federal government has been very active over the past year in particular, in entering into new trading partnerships and free trade agreements with as many coun-tries as possible. The biggest agreement, still in the negotiation stage, is the Canada-Europe free trade agreement, and of course the TPP (the Trans-Pacific Partnership) with Asia. But Etsell cautions not to put too large an emphasis on Asian trade, or Canada could end up where it did with the US. Canada must continue to build trade deals with as many other countries as possible.

Growing Forward Two, the new Federal Agriculture Policy will be implemented by next year. Etsell doesn’t anticipate any mas-sive changes to the federal guidelines.

The reason he says that is because there is going to be a cutback in the federal alloca-tion of dollars, that’s a given he says.

“Ottawa is in a hurry to implement the new agreement because they don’t want a transition year like they had with Growing Forward 1. And if they are going to do that they have to have an agreement signed by this coming September with the Ministers so that the program is implemented by the following April 2013. You can’t do that with any massive change.”

TRADE from p6

JUNE, 2012 13

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Is there a new technology or new process being used elsewhere that you would like to test here in BC? Would you like to try out a new solution for managingpests or addressing an ongoing problem or threat facing your region or your sector? Are you willing to share the results of your project with other producers to increase production or reduce production costs?

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“A strategic plan is important for us and we will be having a meeting next month with our board experts. I have already surveyed the industry to determine what they think the future should look like and to come up with challenges the board needs to address. What will be our priorities, what is the vision going to look like – that will be our strategic plan for the future.

“The second part is how do we organize ourselves once we have the strategic plan in place and the strategies that we will be follow-ing. How do we organize people around our work? How do we develop the people and the skills to not only meet the needs of today, but also the needs of tomorrow? The third part is enabling a growth agenda that secures our base while providing industry growth through inno-vation and renewal.

“My goal is to get what I have outlined put together by August of this year even though it may take another year to fine tune everything.”

On the subject of Canada’s supply manage-ment system Ingratta does not agree with rumors that it could be the next to go with the federal government recently dissolving the Canadian Wheat Board.

“There has always been a lot of pressure for change. Trade is an important area that we need to think through. Part of what I am work-ing on now is trying to think through a trade strategy for the future – an Asian strategy as well – what is going to happen with the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) agreement which Canada wants to be part of. He noted that the Federal and Provincial governments have com-

mitted to, and stated their strong support for supply management.

“There is going to be a continuing need for expansion of trade including domestic trade across Canada as well as internationally. Not just with the U.S., but also in the Asian Pacific corridor as well, where we have an opportu-nity to maximize our trade agreements. As we reflect upon trade issues, we need to under-stand that it is a fundamental pillar of supply management. Another is meeting consumer demand and the third is managing the right price so that farmers can be profitable and stay in business. I think we have done a good job of finding the right balance.”

Ingratta says the Board is now in the midst of negotiating a national pooling (P10) system for milk.

“We are trying to sort through how we can best manage risk and supply to ensure we are meeting customer demand. We also have trade changes that are happening and how do we accommodate those and maintain support for our domestic industry. Those are tremendous challenges we are going to be sorting through in our new strategic plan.”

Ingratta says, "What I have learned as an ex-farm boy and what he has seen in his short time in his new position is that farmers are the most innovative, entrepreneurial people in the world and are up for the challenge!

“My key goal is to develop a new 2020 stra-tegic plan that creates a clear path for the next eight to ten years. We know change is going to happen – change is the one thing that is constant in this world. And it is better that we be competitive and ready to address those chal-lenges rather than wait for someone to tell us what we are going to do.”

INGRATTA from p9

Ingratta looks forward

JUNE, 2012 14

Dairy

McCLARY STOCKYARDS LTD.REPORT

Sale Days: Monday - Slaughter, Feeder & Misc. Livestock 11:00 AM start. Wednesday: Dairy and Slaughter 1:00 PM start

McCLARY STOCKYARDS LTD. • 34559 McClary Ave, Abbotsford • 604-864-2381w w w. m c c l a r y s t o c k y a r d s . c o m

SLAUGHTER CATTLE (Prices Quoted CWT)Choice Holstein VealChoice Holstein Veal .................................... .................................... (600-700) (600-700) ...................................................................... ...................................................................... $110.00 -121.00$110.00 -121.00Holstein Feeder VealHolstein Feeder Veal .................................... .................................... (175-300) (175-300) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $111.00 - 121.00$111.00 - 121.00Good Beef Type CowsGood Beef Type Cows .................................. .................................. (Exportable) (Exportable) ................................................................... ................................................................... $72.00 - 80.00$72.00 - 80.00Medium Beef Type CowsMedium Beef Type Cows.......................................................... (Over 10 Years Old) (Over 10 Years Old) ....................................................... ....................................................... $62.00 - 71.00$62.00 - 71.00Young Cows and HeiferettesYoung Cows and Heiferettes.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. None On Offer None On OfferBest Holstein CowsBest Holstein Cows ................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................ $72.00 - 81.00 $72.00 - 81.00Medium Holstein CowsMedium Holstein Cows ........................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................... $60.00 - 71.75$60.00 - 71.75Poor Holstein CowsPoor Holstein Cows .................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................. under $59.00under $59.00Holstein HeifersHolstein Heifers ........................................................................................................................................ ........................................................................................................................................ $73.00 - 79.00$73.00 - 79.00Slaughter BullsSlaughter Bulls .............................................. .............................................. (1200-2400) (1200-2400) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $83.00 - 93.00$83.00 - 93.00Good Slaughter LambsGood Slaughter Lambs ................................. ................................. (80-100) (80-100) ....................................................................... ....................................................................... $125.00 - 150.00$125.00 - 150.00Good Slaughter GoatsGood Slaughter Goats .................................. .................................. (67 lbs) (67 lbs) .......................................................................... .......................................................................... $50.00 - 175.00$50.00 - 175.00Good Slaughter HorsesGood Slaughter Horses ................................ ................................ (800-1200) (800-1200) ....................................................................... ....................................................................... $15.00 - 32.00$15.00 - 32.00

FEEDER CATTLEBred CowsBred Cows .......................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... $880.00 - 1050.00 $880.00 - 1050.00Cow Calf PairsCow Calf Pairs ................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................$1375.00$1375.00Beef Type CalvesBeef Type Calves .......................................... .......................................... (200-399) (200-399) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $143.00 - 160.00$143.00 - 160.00Beef Type SteersBeef Type Steers ........................................... ........................................... (400-600) (400-600) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $135.00 - 155.00$135.00 - 155.00Beef Type SteersBeef Type Steers ........................................... ........................................... (600-800) (600-800) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $125.00 - 150.00$125.00 - 150.00Beef Type SteersBeef Type Steers ........................................... ........................................... (800-950) (800-950) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $110.00 - 127.50$110.00 - 127.50Beef Type SteersBeef Type Steers ........................................... ........................................... (1000-1250) (1000-1250) ................................................................... ................................................................... $95.00 - 110.50$95.00 - 110.50Beef Type HeifersBeef Type Heifers ......................................... ......................................... (400-600) (400-600) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $135.00 - 155.00$135.00 - 155.00Beef Type HeifersBeef Type Heifers ......................................... ......................................... (600-800) (600-800) ..................................................................... ..................................................................... $110.00 - 140.00$110.00 - 140.00Beef Type HeifersBeef Type Heifers ......................................... ......................................... (800-950) (800-950) ....................................................................... ....................................................................... $98.00 - 115.00$98.00 - 115.00Beef Type HeifersBeef Type Heifers ......................................... ......................................... (1000-1250) (1000-1250) ................................................................... ................................................................... $90.00 - 100.00$90.00 - 100.00

BABY CALVES (By The $)Started Holstein Bulls (4 Weeks Old+)Started Holstein Bulls (4 Weeks Old+) ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................ $110.00 - 197.00 $110.00 - 197.00Good Holstein Bulls (100 lbs+)Good Holstein Bulls (100 lbs+) ............................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................. $60.00 - 100.00$60.00 - 100.00Small Holstein BullsSmall Holstein Bulls ................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................$ 20.00 - 50.00$ 20.00 - 50.00

DAIRY REPLACEMENT - Wednesday(ALL COWS CMT TESTED - HEIFERS VET CHECKED)Good Fresh & 2nd Calvers Good Fresh & 2nd Calvers .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... $1500.00 - 1975.00$1500.00 - 1975.00Springing Holstein HeifersSpringing Holstein Heifers ............................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................. $1200.00 - 1600.00$1200.00 - 1600.003rd & 4th Lactation Cows3rd & 4th Lactation Cows ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. $900.00 - 1300.00$900.00 - 1300.00Good Open HeifersGood Open Heifers ....................................... ....................................... (630 - 800) (630 - 800) ................................................................... ................................................................... $700.00 - 950.00$700.00 - 950.00Good Open HeifersGood Open Heifers ....................................... ....................................... (840 - 970) (840 - 970) ................................................................. ................................................................. $990.00 - 1050.00$990.00 - 1050.00

6-11

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Direc is the Dairy Industry Research and Education Committee. It comprises dairy producers from across the province along with industry affiliate representatives from across the province, including feed industry reps, DHIA, computer resource personnel, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Direc is not a new organization. It evolved out of DERA, the Dairy Education and Research Association which was part of the South Coast Dairy Education and Research Association. It is now its own independent provincial organization.

It’s mandate is to fund projects that will benefit dairy producers in BC. In order for a project to be funded proponents must show how their project will benefit the province, and how they plan to inform producers about what they have learned once the project is complete.

Individuals or organizations wishing to apply for Direc funding should use the application form which can be found on the BC Dairy Association web site.

The application form is very clearly laid out. Applicants need to include a bud-get, how and where they may be getting any other money from, a time-line that shows how you want to do your research, how are you going to communicate that research information to dairy producers in the province, and how it will benefit producers in the long term. There are also a few questions pertaining to the appli-cant to be answered as well. The funds we allocate from Direc are usually pro-

vided through the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAFBC) or through Westgen Development Fund.

Direc’s startup funding came from those previous organizations which have been merged into the current organization. Some of our funds also come from BC Dairy Expo that we work together with the Ministry and we make a little bit of money off that. And then the BC Dairy Association kicks in about $15,000 each year. And that gives us about a $100,000. to work with right now.

Direc funds some special projects annu-ally. It is a consistent donor to the UBC

Chair; and we are a consistent donor to the Pacific Field Corn Association. As far as being Innovative with our funding, Anaerobic Digestion is one area we will support as it provides a solution to the effluent problem on dairy farms as well as creates renewable energy for use on the farm. Currently Direc is working with the dairy industry to better prepare producers to deal with hoof health problems.

Carla Soutar, the Communications Coordinator for the BC Dairy Association says Direc is seeking applications for its funding, and if anyone knows someone who wishes to do a research project and requires funding assistance, he or she can apply by submitting an application (again available on BC Dairy Association web site) and ask for their support. DIREC is eager to support worthwhile projects.

Lameness is the No, 1 animal welfare issue facing the North American dairy industry. It was the topic at the BC Dairy Expo this year, and more recently the subject during a series of Hoof Health seminars held in Nanaimo, Abbotsford, and Salmon Arm. It has also been studied at the UBC Dairy Education and Research center in Agassiz where it was determined that lameness is pain-ful, and cases can last from weeks to months. Severe cases that do not improve can result in the cow being culled from the herd. Cows experiencing pain are less like-ly to show signs of estrus, such as mounting and standing for mounting, since these behaviors are likely to induce further pain.

A growing body of research is showing that problems with cow comfort can increase the risk of lameness. In particular, increased time spent standing outside stalls on wet concrete and in manure slurry is associated with higher rates of lameness.

There is also now increasing evidence that lameness may be triggered during the transition period (generally accepted as the period beginning 3 weeks before and ending 3 weeks after calv-ing). Physiological and behavior-

al changes during transition can damage the corium (the tissue that produces healthy hooves). This damage is not immediately apparent but results in poor hoof growth. The natural cycle of hoof growth

and wear means that the dam-aged sections take 2-3 months before they become visible on the surface of the sole as hemor-rhages and ulcers.

This means that lameness cases that emerge during mid-lactation may have been triggered by changes that occurred during the transition period months earlier.

Two recent studies at the University of British Columbia’s Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz were designed to investigate behaviors during transition associated with lame-ness and hoof lesions in lactating dairy cows. All of the cows in these studies were housed in free stalls.

In one study researchers at Agassiz measured the standing behavior of Holstein cows for 2 weeks before calving. They used video cameras to score where cows were standing (feeder, the feed alley, the alley adjacent to the stalls or in the stall). When cows were in the stall, they recorded if

they were perching with two fore feet in the stall or standing fully in the stall. They also scored their hoof health for 3 months after calving.

At the seminars organized by the BC Dairy Hoof Health group 36 took in the Nanaimo session, 116 at Abbotsford, and another 43 in Salmon Arm for a total of 195. Organizers were quite happy with the turnout which included producers, hoof trimmers, veteri-narians, industry reps, and some research students. Ninety-One percent of those who attended the seminars say they now have a greater awareness of the signifi-cance of dairy cattle lameness.

Planning is now underway for a Dairy Housing Design Conference this coming November 13 to 15. This will be an in-depth work-shop on Robotic milking systems, and what producers should know about housing design and man-aging robotic dairy systems vs traditional milking systems.

IAF-BC, the Westgen Endowment Fund, and the BC Dairy Industry Research and Education committee along with both the Federal and Provincial Ministries of Agriculture pro-vided financial support for the seminars.

Need funding for a dairy project?

Lameness: A key concern in the dairy industry

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Our client, a Langley based international ven-ture is looking for an experienced Heavy Duty Mechanic who will be responsible for assem-bling, installing & testing drive train & transmission equip. This is an indoor role for someone who enjoys daily challenges that come with working on new and innovative technologies.

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563 MISC. WANTED

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636 MORTGAGES

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806 ANTIQUES/CLASSICS

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818 CARS - DOMESTIC

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821 CARS - SPORTS & IMPORTS

2001 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA, 1.8T turbo, 4 dr sedan, std, all options, exc cond. $5300 obo 604-780-8404

2007 Honda Civic DXG 5 speed standard, 2 dr., grey, 135K, p/w, p/l, a/c, am/fm/cd, no acc. $10,000 604-793-3819 6-9pm

827 VEHICLES WANTED

WANTED: 1980-1981 Celica GT liftback, 5-spd; or a 1979-1981 Su-pra 5-spd. Cell 250-307-1215.

830 MOTORCYCLES

2001 VICTORY CRUISER deluxe 46,000 kms. 1500 cc, 80 H/P $6,500. Call 604-534-2503.

WANT TO REACH THE RESTOF CANADA? Advertise in 600+

community newspapers across Cananda.Call 1-866-575-5777

TRANSPORTATION

838 RECREATIONAL/SALE

1981- 8’10” Vanguard Camper. Fully loaded and exceptionallyclean, well maintained. Call for details. $2300 obo. (604)796-9612

2000 Dodge Grand Caravan GTRV conversion, 1st class cond, sleeps 4, det gas stove, ac/dc elec fridge, sink, water sys-tem, storage, 1 owner, all re-pair/maint records, RV class for insurance purposes, camping gear avail. $7000. (604)858-0622

2004 ITASCA SPIRIT 29.4 ft. Class C motorhome, 50,000km. 2 slide outs, awnings, generator & ext. warranty. Exc. cond. $39,900. 604-856-8177 / 604-308-5489(Aldergrv)

2007 NASH, 23’ fi fth wheel, great cond., low mileage, loaded, dry weight 4900 lb, 1/2 Ton towable, $11,400, clear title. Call (604)860-4335 for more details.

2008 FREEDOM SPIRIT 20’ travel trailer, like new, hardly used, a/c, f/s, dble bed, dble sink, nook, couch 2 prop tanks/2 batteries, $10,500 obo. Must sell. (604)581-5117

840 RECREATIONAL/RENT

1991 SUNCREST, 34’ Sunliner M/H, basement mod, just like an apt. $9000obo. Call (604)869-3355

TRANSPORTATION

847 SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES

1997 Toyota 4Runner Ltd. loaded,350,000k, easy hwy kms, 1 owner $6,400. Dale, 604-220-5005

2002 KIA SPORTAGE 4 X 4, green 181,000 kms. Aircared for 2 years $3,000. Call 604-832-0839.

851 TRUCKS & VANS

1988 CHEVY SILVERADO 2500,3/4 ton, loaded, a/c, Air Cared, pre-mium cond. 178K. $3500 obo (778)565-4334

1997 VENTURA Mini Van, likenew cond in/out, loaded, tintedwindows, 4 16” extra new highperformance tires on allied wheel avail. $350. AirCared.Picture avail. $1200. 604-996-8734.2000 DURANGO 4X4, loaded,seats 7, AirCrd, exc. cond. $4100obo. Call 604-780-8404

2003 CHEVY VENTURE LS, 7 pas-senger, auto, 5 door, 189K, $3500 obo (604)298-2659

2004 FORD PREVIA, 4 dr, fullyloaded, air cared, LIKE EW. $2600 obo. Phone 604-504-0932

MARINE

912 BOATS

MERCURY D300 infl atable boat with trailer, Mercury 9.8 motor, and lots of extras. $2200 obo. Call 604-853-2291 Abbotsford.

15 JUNE, 2012

CLASSIFIEDS TO ADVERTISEPHONE: 604-702-5550 OR FAX: 604-702-5542

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