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New online tool for organics Ag Briefs
VICTORIA – The Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC) is leading the development of a new on-line
EDITED BY TAMARA LEIGH
system will help new entrants achieve certified organic status.
COABC will conduct consultations and outreach with growers and
stakeholders over the coming months to ensure that the project considers stakeholder needs. The system will save farmers time through a more efficient and streamlined process and also be used as a source for sector-wide data to help provide ongoing, reliable, up-to-date statistics about the sector.
The accurate data will better indicate the opportunities within the organic sector for new and expanding growers and support the planning of business growth and increased revenues. The data will also be used to help identify opportunities in value-added food production and encourage strategic growth.
A pilot of the system will launch in 2017 with full implementation scheduled for January 2018 when the BC government will require all
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • NOVEMBER 2016
food and beverage products marketed as "organic" in BC to be certified under either a provincial or national
certification program. The project has received $117,000 in funding from the governments of Canada and British Columbia delivered
through programs offered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.
Tamara Leigh Fourth ode is a wrap
MAPLE RIDGE – The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets held its fourth annual Ode to a Farmer poetry contest to celebrate Farmers’ Appreciation Week
September 12 to 18. Close to 100 poems were received from six regions.
Four judges reviewed and ranked the poems to come up with a winner for each region. The grand prize winner is Gerald Eggert of Chilliwack with his poem “The Farm Wife.” Each of the winners received a gift certificate to one of the 135 farmers’ markets around the province. See the winning poems at [http://www.bcfarmersmarket. org/fresh-market/farmers- appreciation-week- 2016#Poetry].
Ronda Payne See AG BRIEFS page 19
BC agriculture minister Norm Letnick created quite the buzz last month when he had his body painted and posed in a Kelowna apple orchard to generate awareness for the farmers’ food donation tax credit. The tax break is offered to farmers who donate agricultural products to registered charities like food banks or school meal programs. (Photo courtesy of BCMA)
SAFETY
equipment account for 26% of accidents.
Orchardists have been a particular focus for the campaign, thanks to wet weather this year that made harvest conditions more hazardous.
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“There was so much more weather this year than there had been the year prior that many more people had the ladder slip or the rungs were wet,” Bennett says. “A lot of additional precautions would have had to have been taken. And some did and some didn’t.”
WorkSafeBC lists just two ladder-related investigations in the orchard sector this year on its site: one from February, in which a pruner fell from the
seventh step of a nine-foot ladder, and another in July when a ladder toppled while being relocated.
“We had a discussion with [the BC Fruit Growers’ Association] in the summer because we take a look at trends and see what’s happening,” Pasco says. “We’ve noticed that approximately 40% of their injuries are coming from falls from elevation and we wanted to highlight that for them.”
BCFGA staff have since drawn the issue to members’ attention, pointing out that fewer accidents mean fewer claims and lower premiums. Over the past decade, premiums have dropped from
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2.7% to 1.55%, and the association wants it to stay that way.
“If ladder safety accident rates are not improved, it is possible that rates could go as high as 3.5%, which is three times the current premium rate,” a recent newsletter warned. That could cost orchardists an extra $200 to $2,000 a year in premiums. BCFGA is working to determine if particular crops, such as cherries, are more susceptible to accidents involving ladders to pinpoint where training efforts should focus.
“It’s really early stages,” Pasco said. “But it is an area where they could be proactive in.”
Mark Driediger, CFP, Senior Wealth Advisor Assante Financial Management Ltd.
www.MarkDriediger.com | (604) 859-4890
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