SEPTEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


29


Kootenay program aims to revive extension expertise Three-year program is busy identifying the local needs it can best meet


by TOM WALKER CRANBROOK – A new farm extension


service seeks to support commercial farmers in the Kootenays, filling shoes long abandoned by the provincial government. Kootenay Boundary Farm Advisors


(KBFA) will offer free agriculture extension services from Rock Creek to Cranbrook and north up the Columbia Valley. “It’s a need that comes up time and time again," says Rachael Roussin, program co-ordinator for KBFA. “It’s been identified in each of the regional districts’ agriculture plans as a way to support agriculture, given that extension services are no longer provided by the provincial government.” The regional districts (Kootenay


ranching, fruit growers, grains, small animals and market gardeners, so we will need to access a wide variety of expertise.” Few people are trained in agriculture


extension. “There have not been government


agriculture extension services in the province for as long as I know,” Roussin says. “What’s that going to look like today?” She says Keefer will build a team based


on producers’ needs. “Our team is going to develop a full set of technical contacts,” says Roussin. The expertise will come from


COLUMBIA BASIN TRUST PHOTO


Boundary, Central Kootenay and East Kootenay) together with the Columbia Basin Trust have jointly initiated and funded the three-year program, which launched at the beginning of August.


Roussin works with Keefer Ecological Services Ltd.,


a Cranbrook firm that was awarded the contract to run the program. “Our expertise is in agriculture program


development and management,” says Roussin. “We will work through the winter to establish the most important needs for producers and plan to be in full service by next spring.” Producer response has been encouraging, based on the number that signed up through the KBFA website to voice their needs. “We are learning what producers issues are and


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what support they are looking for,” Roussin explains. While she acknowledges there is a need to


support new operations in the region with topics such as business planning and marketing, KBFA targets producers who are working at making a living farming. “This is a technical service aimed at commercial


producers or those working towards commercial viability,” Roussin says. “Depending on the needs of producers, we will likely be working with water planning issues, soil management, production, invasive weeds and pest control.” Keefer Ecological will provide limited direct


support and match producers with technical advisors. “This is not a sector-specific program,” Roussin emphasizes. “It is open to all producers, including


connections with schools such as UBC and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, as well as industry experts. Geographic diversity is a constant challenge in the Kootenays, says Roussin. “The range management and water


issues of a Rock Creek rancher are not necessarily the same as someone working out of the Columbia Valley.”


That diversity also tends to limit connections


across the region, Roussin adds. “We hope to create more momentum behind common issues and garner more resources.” Roussin says KBFA expects to offer field days on a range of topics such as soil management and irrigation but it’s the opportunity to develop research specific to the region that excites her. “There is an opportunity to do applied research in the field in the areas of crop trials and variety selection that are suitable to the Kootenays and to tie that into other applied management practices,” she says.


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