search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
JUNE 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


7


Agriculture council pledges to work with parties Letnick, Popham re-elected as seat count give Greens a taste of power


by TAMARA LEIGH VICTORIA – Election night


offered little certainty and a few surprises. The final results weren't known at press time, but it's clear that BC farmers face three players on the province's political landscape. Regardless of the outcome


of the recounts and who ekes out control of the legislature, the Green Party of BC has established themselves as a stronger political presence than anyone anticipated. Should there be a minority government, the Greens will wield power and responsibility beyond what one usually expects of a three-seat party. “We try to be apolitical and


work with everybody for the betterment of agriculture,” says Reg Ens, executive director of the BC Agriculture Council (BCAC). “Could we have done more during the campaign with the Green Party? Probably. We probably didn’t engage with them to the extent we should have. If there’s a learning here, it’s keeping everybody at the table.”


Both agriculture minister


Norm Letnick and NDP agriculture spokesperson Lana Popham were re-elected in their ridings. Moving forward, Ens says


BCAC will be reaching out to the Green Party and building on the connections it has with the NDP and Liberals. Beyond the issue of who


forms government, Ens points to the urban/rural divide evident in the election results. With few exceptions, the BC NDP picked up most its seats in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island while the BC Liberals did better in Fraser Valley, Interior and Northern ridings. According to Ens, the results emphasize the importance of engaging urban people in the conversation about agriculture. “From our perspective, the division in the election results just reinforced how critical the public trust piece is for us,” says Ens.


Greens sympathetic to ag


MLA-elect Adam Olsen is familiar with bridging urban and rural issues. One of three members of the Green caucus, Olson previously served as a councillor in Central Saanich – an area only 20-minutes outside Victoria with 70% of its land base in the ALR and . Olsen assures BC farmers that the Greens understand and appreciate the value of agricultural land and food production in many different contexts.


RA 100 SERIES HELIX™ REEL AUGGIE® REEL MIXERS


• NEW Helix Reel provides faster, more complete mixing • Improved load leveling with the open-concept Helix Reel  • Handles both roughages and small grains


360 & 420 cu. ft. mixing capacities • truck, trailer & stationary models


Matsqui Ag-Repair


Abbotsford, BC 604-826-3281


Tractor & Equipment Armstrong, BC


250-546-3141 Noble


Tractor & Equipment Kamloops, BC


250-851-3101 Noble INVEST IN QUALITY® KuhnNorthAmerica.com


Visit your local Kuhn Knight Dealer today!


“One of things I talked


about over the election is that over the past few decades, we have begun to rely more on foods transported from far away. We need to understand the role that food production plays in securing our communities. For me, local food production, no matter where you are in the province, is very important,” says Olsen. “I strongly believe local food production is an important part of a sustainable, resilient British Columbia.” “We’re going to need to


have food production at a number of different levels – from small farms to large farms. We have a huge amount of respect for the agriculture industry and the risks that operators live with and assume on a daily basis. It is more affected by changing climate and market conditions than any other industry in our province,” he adds.


Paton wins Delta South Ian Paton has a lot to


celebrate – and finally a bit of time to do it – after winning the riding of Delta South for the BC Liberals. The third- generation Delta farmer and longtime municipal councillor won the seat independent Vicki Huntington vacated. Paton has a rich farming


pedigree. Both his grandfather and father were dairy farmers in Delta. His father, Ian Sr., was chair of the


MLA-elect Adam Olsen represents the Green Party of BC. FILE PHOTO


Agricultural Land Commission in the mid-1980s. “My job now is to oversee


anything that happens at the provincial level so that if there’s agricultural land lost in Delta, that it comes back in some way to farming,” he says. He uses the South Fraser Perimeter Road as an example. Agricultural land was lost but investments were made in irrigation infrastructure. “Nowadays, it’s all about mitigation,” he says. One of the first orders of business for the new


agriculture minister will be finalizing the next agricultural policy framework with the federal government. Federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) ministers met in Ottawa on May 10 to discuss the next suite of programs and services for the agriculture sector. BC did not have a minister in attendance because of the provincial election. The BC Agriculture Council is concerned that the province is falling behind on consultation and will be pressed to prepare for the


next FPT meeting in July. “We’re getting down to the


wire in negotiating the multi- lateral agreement with Canada. Ministry staff are there as observers but we don’t have a minister at the table. This is the last meeting leading up to July where the multi-lateral is going to be signed and we’re not influencing at the national table like we could be,” says Reg Ens. “We are still working with the ministry as much as possible, but it’s delaying the consultation at this point.”


SUPERIOR MIXING OF WET BYPRODUCTS AND DISTILLERS GRAINS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44