14 BC agriculture investment set to drop by PETER MITHAM


OTTAWA – Statistics Canada is predicting a round of belt- tightening on the province’s farms, a month after federal analysts suggested that net farm incomes were set to drop. Ottawa’s annual survey of capital spending by the nation’s businesses points to a 3.3% uptick in capital expenditures in BC in 2017, slightly slower than last year’s growth rate of 4.8%. But after


capital


expenditures in the farm sector missed their targets in each of the last two years, federal analyses


anticipate new capital


spending in the sector will be 3.9% less than in 2016. According to


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1 preminarly 2 forecast


federal projections, investment by livestock and crop farmers was supposed to rise 1.3% in 2015 then drop 2.8% in 2016. But the latest numbers indicate a 1.2% drop in 2015 and a


3% drop in 2016. The turnaround is due largely to livestock operations, where


investment has slid steadily since its most recent peak of $134.2 million in 2014. It’s now set to total $115.6 million in 2017, a shift of more than $18.5 million a year. Crop farmers have invested an average of $110 million a year in their operations since 2013. The expectations for agriculture spending reflect the farm


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CAPITAL moves New capital investment in BC farms, 2008-2017 ($ millions)


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income forecast Agriculture and Agri-food Canada released last month, forecasting a 6.8% drop in net farm income nationally in 2017. The main drag on net cash incomes are livestock prices, with grain prices being a secondary factor. The beef industry alone isn’t responsible for the decline, said Kevin Boon, general manager of the BC Cattlemen’s Association. While beef prices have backed off the highs seen in 2014, with investment in operations following suit, many ranchers took advantage of good prices to reinvest in their operations. “Growth and


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Source: Statistics Canada


investment into equipment is something that is done as they can afford it and when they can afford it, and based on need,” Boon says.


Now that the need and the means to serve it are reduced, he says ranchers will


work to keep equipment – largely tractors, mowers


and balers – in good repair until they need replacement. Ideally, this will coincide with another round of good prices. “We’re in decent equipment shape right now,” Boon says. “I


don’t see them rushing out to buy a bunch of new stuff, but they will buy as required.” Part of the decline in spending Statscan anticipates for the


livestock sector is also due to modest expansion programs in the dairy and poultry sectors. While the two sectors operate under supply management,


poultry growers have complained the current pricing formula has limited their ability to invest in new barns.


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • APRIL 2017 Birds of a


feather Conference unites poultry producers


by DAVID SCHMIDT


VANCOUVER – The second annual BC Poultry Conference, March 1-3, was a huge success. “The new venue (the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver) was a step up and we had 25% more people than last year,” conference chair Dale Krahn said. The new location on


Burrard Street also permitted interaction with more passersby during the public outreach Friday morning. “More than 50 poultry farmers participated in the outreach,” BC Broiler Hatching Egg Commission executive director Stephanie Nelson said, noting the group handed out 500 free White Spot Sunny Start breakfast sandwiches during the three-hour event. “The response was pretty


good,” Krahn said. “Most people were interested in what we were doing.” Each of the four poultry


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groups (chicken, hatching eggs, turkeys and table eggs) used the conference to hold their annual meetings. When not attending their specific commodity meeting, producers could take in sessions on poultry stewardship, animal welfare and animal rights, farm succession planning, probate fees and intergenerational transitioning and social media, hear reports from BC’s four main chicken and turkey processors and learn about poultry diseases and euthanasia from a panel of BC Ministry of Agriculture poultry veterinarians.


The most popular session


featured Geraldine Auston’s return to BC. Last fall, she left the BC hog and cranberry marketing commissions to focus on animal rights and animal welfare issues with the Ag & Food Exchange in Ottawa. Auston told farmers not to debate with animal activists, saying “anything you say won’t change their minds. You don’t need to respect what they do but you need to respect their beliefs.” Instead, she said, “we


believe you should talk about what you do and be careful how you term some things,” adding “if you don’t tell consumers what you do, others will do it for you.” She admitted that can be


challenging, noting advocating science-based farming “doesn’t strike a chord with people who want guilt- free food.”


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