JANUARY 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


market, including the impact of trade talks and increasing production in Mexico.


Floriculture Thursday afternoon in the


Evergro Room, the focus shifts to floriculture. Growers will be told why and how they should establish biocontrol agents during propagation.


They will learn which


biocontrols work on specific pests and how they are impacted by the concurrent use of pesticides. Will Healy of Ball


Horticultural and Ted van der Gulik of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC will discuss how to use irrigation to maximize production while minimizing water usage.


Organic production When you can’t use


inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, what options do you have to manage pests and provide nutrients to your organic vegetable crops? Answering that question is


the focus of the organic production sessions in the BASF Gallery on Saturday. Options to be discussed include using the right varieties for BC conditions, biopesticides and other biocontrols and managing crops to maximize soil nutrients. There may even be


opportunities to use tunnels to extend the season.


Hazelnuts The BC Hazelnut Growers


Association will be meeting in the FCC Loft Friday morning to discuss how the industry is rebounding from Eastern Filbert Blight. Growers will hear how the


new EFB-resistant cultivars are doing and how those young trees can be protected from emerging diseases. TJ Schur of the BC Ministry of Agriculture will describe the support government is providing while Oregon extension specialist Nik Wiman will detail lessons learned in Oregon.


Direct farm marketing


Now that all types of alcohol production are being allowed in the Agricultural Land Reserve, what do farmers have to do to capitalize on the opportunity? Randy Brown of the BC


Liquor Control and Licensing Branch will provide some of the answers during the direct farm marketing session in the Evergro Room Friday afternoon. Direct farm marketing is becoming more prevalent, but how do you do that effectively? Offering their insights are Alberta organic beef and potato grower Will Bilozir and Nova Scotia retail marketing consultant Peter Chapman.


Agroforestry After a short absence,


agroforestry is back. Thursday afternoon in the BMO Room, BC Ministry of Agriculture agroforestry specialist Dave Trotter will chair a session describing the potential of agroforestry. Key opportunities include mushroom cultivation, marrying Christmas tree, cattle and forage production, and producing syrup.


Hops With hop production is


attracting so many new growers, the need for reliable information is becoming more critical. That’s what the BC Hop


Growers Association will provide in the BASF Gallery Friday afternoon. Local experts will inform growers how to manage nematodes, downy and powdery mildew and aphids while Paul Sweeting of Ravens Brewing will tell growers what BC craft brewers want from them.


27


BLACK KNIGHT PHOTO Dairy, innovation expos part of show ABBOTSFORD – This past


summer, most Fraser Valley dairy farms had to face their first infestations of corn rootworm and armyworm. The results were devastating so it’s no surprise this year’s BC Dairy Expo seminars at the Pacific Ag Show, January 25, will focus on these two new pests. BC Ministry of Agriculture entomologist Tracy Hueppelsheuser and University of Western Ontario professor Jeremy McNeil will describe what occurred in the 2017 growing season and offer their tips for managing these pests in 2018 and beyond. Since the emphasis is on corn, Matzek Seed agronomy lead Greg Stewart will offer environmentally sustainable nutrient and soil management strategies to improve corn performance. The 2.5-hour morning session will conclude with short presentations on safety on the dairy farm and results of last spring’s trial of a centrifuge to extract phosphorous from BC dairy manure. Tickets to the BC Dairy


Expo are available at the door on Thursday morning. Cost is $20 and includes the Scotiabank dairy producers luncheon following the seminars as well as access to the trade show all three days.


Innovation Expo Last year, the Pacific


Agriculture Show added an Innovation Expo on Friday afternoon. It was an opportunity for local innovators to display their wares and for entrepreneurs to learn how resources like the Sumas Regional Consortium for High Tech (SRCTec) could


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help the develop their innovations and bring them to market. This year, the Innovation


Day is not only back but has moved into the BMO Room Friday afternoon to make it more accessible to show attendees. “We will have displays from


a group of the technologies we are working with,” says Mike Manion, who has moved from SRCTec to the BC Innovation Council but is still


working with the agricultural technology sector. “The SRCTec’s funding ran out last fall so the program is now being run through BCIC,” he explains. Up to a dozen BC


entrepreneurs will be displaying their wares. Two entrepreneurs Manion is most excited about is one who has developed a robotic weeder and another which has created a feed additive intended to prevent


salmonella in poultry. “As the poultry industry


moves away from the use of antibiotics, feed additives like this will become increasingly important,” he says. Included in the innovation


day will be a 45-minute mid- afternoon seminar detailing how artificial intelligence is being and can be used in agriculture. There is no extra admission


charge to attend the Innovation Day.


Come visit us at the Pacific


Agriculture Show, January 25-27, Abbotsford Tradex. Booth #752


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