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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • DECEMBER 2017


Photo bomb


An opportunity to take a moody


picture of an old barn in an Okanagan fog was interupted by an


inquisitive cow. TRUDY SCHWEB PHOTO


INCREASE CROP YIELDS


LASER LEVELLING LTD.


TRI-WAY FARMS


We service all of Southern BC


IMPROVED DRAINAGE


UNIFORM GERMINATION


UNIFORM IRRIGATION


FAST,


ACCURATE SURVEYING


CALL FOR AN ESTIMATE LARRY


604.209.5523 TROY


604.209.5524 THE CLASSIC WL52


• Hydrostatic four-wheel drive and articulated steering • The tilting driver's cab provides optimum service access • Strong lifting and biting forces • Choice of two cabin types with different heights and features • Wide range of attachments


CO-OP focus is quality


the growers,” he says. “People are really attracted to that in BC. ... The great thing about co-op versus corporations is that members themselves decide how to distribute the benefits.”


Reaping profits Conversations and


presentations weren’t confined to seeds themselves. One presenter, Daniel Brisebois, is a founding


member of Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm in Quebec. Brisebois focuses on the economics of seed growing. “Increasing production is not essential to today’s seed farmer. It is more important for farmers to manage their business well and make sure it is profitable at their current scale,” Brisebois says. “Increasing production often comes with increasing costs


and even though you increase your gross sales, your net profit may stay the same – or in a worst-case scenario, your net profit might even drop.” He says profitability usually starts with understanding farm systems, then monitoring and evaluating them. While full- cost budgets per crop are what Brisebois feels give the most accurate picture of what’s profitable, the budget exercise requires loads of data. He suggests looking instead at benchmarks of sales per bed or sales per acre. The smaller the amount of land, the greater the sales must be per acre. Boosting profits often comes from increasing prices, improving yields and reducing


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overhead. “Good management and planning are usually what makes any business profitable,” he says. “Profitability usually means growing your crop as efficiently as possible – planting successfully, reducing weed-control while staying effective, timely harvest and quick cleaning and also selling everything you grow at a good price.” Support and resources


from Farm Folk/City Folk and the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security make the annual Seed Gathering and BC Eco Seed Co-op possible. Thoreau also notes that collaborations with UBC, KPU and UFV allow the gathering to thrive from year to year.


TH522 TELEHANDLER SEE OUR WACKER NEUSON LINEUP AT THE PACIFIC AG SHOW!


Van Der Wal Equipment (1989) Ltd. 23390 RIVER ROAD, MAPLE RIDGE, BC V2W 1B6 604/463-3681 | vanderwaleq.com


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