search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
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
AUGUST 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Abbotsford tour puts spotlight on innovation


Robotics and food hub point path to future opportunities


by RONDA PAYNE ABBOTSFORD – The annual


Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce farm tour highlighted innovation in the dairy sector and a new food hub with big ideas. Bakerview EcoDairy has long been known for innovation and in August 2017, the farm began growing forage hydroponically to finish its herd of grass-fed beef. Designed by HydroGreen Inc. of South Dakota, the indoor system grows grass on a six-level rack, each level holding a different day’s worth of growth. “Hydroponic grass is consistent and highly nutritious,” says dairy owner Bill Vanderkooi. “The cost is very comparable to imported feed such as alfalfa and much cheaper if you compared it to buying land in the Fraser Valley. In six days you’re going from raw seed to harvest.” The system is fully automated, including a pressure washer that cuts the grass into strips. It fits into an 800-square-foot, climate- controlled building that Vanderkooi says is as productive as a 20-acre field. “The nutrient profile is primarily from the seed. Really a bit of a hybrid between grain and forage,” he says, noting that he plans to expand his own system. “The finished product is 18% protein. From a nutrition perspective, I’d say it’s unmatched.” Vanderkooi also


demonstrated the automated rail feed system used with the grass-fed beef calves. The German technology at


Bakerview is the first installation in BC. The calves are able to get up to 50% more feed than they would through conventional feed systems.


Westgen stop Another tour stop was


Westgen, Canada’s oldest bovine genetics centre, which came to the community in 2016. Pre-ovulated egg samples


are collected using a probe and scanner. They’re placed in a tube and transferred for examination under a microscope. The most viable- looking eggs are then transferred to maturation tubes and incubated before being shipped to Bovitech in Quebec where they are fertilized just 24 hours after collection. By the sixth day, scientists


know how many eggs are fertilized and viable. The best prospects are shipped back to Westgen for implantation. “Phase two [of Westgen’s


facility] is to bring the other component to Abbotsford [instead of having to ship eggs to Quebec for fertilization],” Parry says. The dairy story continues at


Vyefield Farms Ltd. with the GEA DairyProQ robotic rotary milking parlour installed in April 2016. It was the first installation in North America and milks 32 cows at a time says dairy manager Brian Kielstra. It takes 3.5 hours to milk 370 cows.


The stalls each have a 3D camera and a robotic milker. The robots mimic nature as much as possible by cleaning the teat with tepid water, massaging it, starting the milk


35


Helinda Vanderkooi and Unversity of the Fraser Valley vice-president Craig Toews welcomed guests on the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce tour with milk at Bakerview EcoDairy. RONDA PAYNE PHOTO


flow and sending the first bit to waste. The milk from each individual teat is tested. “We milk two times a day


here. For us, it’s labour-saving. We only need one [person] on this rotary,” says Kielstra. “It doesn’t matter if it’s clockwise or counter-clockwise, they just seem calm, cool and collected on it.” The Valley Farm + Food


Collective is a new initiative by Josh Vanderheide, Bonnie Friesen and Kathleen Robinson. The group has already held their first public market.


The trio hopes to create a


food culture for the Fraser Valley by working with local restaurants and food producers in a food hub. “We can be that place


where people come to experience local food,” Vanderheide says. “We believe we can use food to transform our community.” The Valley Farm + Food


collective will start with four key initiatives: creating a valley-local food market, creating standards for what local food means to the organization, building the Fraser Valley food brand and redefining the region’s chef


culture. “We want to bring that


food into the urban setting so people can access it easily,” notes Vanderheide. “If we’re all driving around all the time to all the same farms, that’s really inefficient.” The organization has


secured space in Abbotsford’s downtown for an indoor market, community co- working offices, workshops, events and a café serving locally sourced food. The initiative is proceeding


in two phases, with most of the programming to come in the second phase.


www.rollinsmachinery.com


info@rollinsmachinery.ca


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