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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JUNE 2018 Island farmers on lookout for armyworm PORT ALBERNI – Forage
producers in the Alberni Valley are coming to grips with the legacy of last summers devastating armyworm infestation. Some field counts yielded populations of more than 150 larvae per square foot.
Ag Briefs EDITED BY PETER MITHAM
The valley was ground zero
for the invasion of Mythimna unipuncta that subsequently spread throughout Vancouver Island and into the Fraser Valley. Producers reported crop losses as high as 75% in 2017 and are seeing early yields down 20% in fields still stressed from that devastation. Grasses are
showing a slow and weak recovery and weeds have thrived in their absence. Buttercup, in particular, is blighting many fields. Trapping to monitor the adult moths began on May 1 with the first moth identified on May 13. A sample was sent for isotope analysis to identify the moth’s origin and determine whether it had overwintered. More wing traps
were distributed in late May to expand
monitoring throughout the Alberni Valley. BC Ministry of Agriculture
staff report no evidence of overwintering and say there is no reason for concern at this point. The jury is still out for worried producers who are watching the traps and weighing their options.
—Bob Collins
AgSafe elects new chair Retirements have proven a
boon for WorksafeBC and its farm and ranch safety partner, AgSafeBC. WorksafeBC’s former
industry and labour services director Don Dahr was elected chair of AgSafeBC at the end of April, replacing long-time chair Ralph McGinn. “Don has a very extensive
background in occupational health and safety. Your board will be in good hands,” McGinn remarked in handing the reins to his successor. Dahr’s background includes work an electrician addressing workplace safety needs in the agricultural and farming sector throughout Alberta and northern BC. When he retired from WorkSafeBC in 2014, he had oversight of three high-risk industries: agriculture, oil and gas, and forestry. During that time he was a non-voting member of the association’s board, providing guidance and updates on safety issues
affecting agriculture. McGinn, for his part, retired
from the board after 12 years as chair. During that time, he brought to bear the weight of his own experience as president and CEO of WorkSafeBC from 1998 to 2003, a period during which the province revised its Occupational Health & Safety regulations. The province appointed him chair of WorkSafeBC’s board in December 2017, noting that it was done with a view to “the experience and skills needed to deliver a new vision for British Columbia's workers’ compensation system.”
—Peter Mitham
No flood of licences
A flood of groundwater licence applications has yet to materialize, according to the BC Ministry of Environment. While the province expects
to register 20,000 groundwater wells, just 2,193
groundwater licence applications had been received as of May 17. The actual number of licences issued stood at 148, up from 98 six months earlier. The province originally began accepting applications in spring 2016, waiving applications fees on two successive occasions to encourage well registration and applications for groundwater licences. Registration will establish priority rights to water as part of the province’s shift to a first-in-time, first-in-right system. Well owners must pay for water drawn from wells since February 29, 2016. The province has taken its
share of criticism over the challenges facing landowners who have attempted to register their wells. While the government has worked to make improvements, the latest numbers show that registration efforts continue to move at a glacial pace. The province wants
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landowners to step up, register their wells and file applications to use them, regardless of how long it takes to issue an actual licence. “Processing the applications is taking government longer than anticipated,” government staff tell Country Life in BC. “However, existing use applicants can continue to use the water lawfully beyond March 1, 2019, as long as an application has been submitted.”
—Peter Mitham
Direct delivery
Getting local produce into the hands of locals is becoming easier this summer as farmers take online orders for pickup at local markets. While many savvy
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producers have long given consumers the option of pre- ordering seasonal items for pick-up at farmers’ markets, helping them gauge quantities and reduce waste, Vancouver Farmers Markets has expanded its three-year- old VFM Direct service for restaurants. The service ran throughout this past winter for the first time, and now serves more than 40 restaurants. Meanwhile, on Vancouver
Island, the Cowichan Valley Co-operative Marketplace (Cow-op) allows consumers to place orders from its member farmers for pick-up at the Cowichan Green Community in Duncan and Olive the Senses at Victoria Public Market in Victoria. —Peter Mitham
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