JANUARY 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Do you know what skills are


required or what the challenges will be? Get answers to all these questions and more at the direct farm marketing workshop in the Evergro Room on Friday afternoon. Speakers include Heather


Watson, executive director of Farm Management Canada, Nicole Faugeois, associate vice-president of scholarship, research and creative activity at Vancouver Island University, and Melissa Bobernigg, co- owner of BX Press Cidery & Orchard in Vernon.


Organic


In recent years, BC has seen booming demand for organic produce and more farmers – particularly small farmers – are turning to organic production in search of viable markets. But producers have to learn how to farm without conventional fertilizers and pesticides, and they have to be able to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment. That’s why the organic sessions in the BASF Gallery on Saturday will be extremely helpful. There will be tips on


growing sweet potatoes and apples organically; tips on


managing wireworm, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) and apple clearwing moth; use of cover crops, composting and managing risks. BC Ministry of Agriculture


food safety specialist Elsie Friesen will tell growers how to prepare for a food safety audit while Renee Prasad, a University of the Fraser Valley instructor and member of the Certified Organic Associations of BC accreditation board, will explain the organic accreditation process and review allowable inputs.


Potatoes and field vegtables


Thursday morning, January 24, field vegetable growers are invited into the BASF Gallery to learn about new invasive insect pests, biodegradable mulches, problem weeds and on-farm biobeds. The morning will conclude with a presentation on apomixis from Tim Sharbel of the University of Saskatchewan.


Something most growers


have never heard of, apomixis is a disruptive breeding technology with the potential to transform agriculture by giving growers the ability to save and propagate their own hybrid seeds. The field vegetable session


23


MYRNA STARK LEADER PHOTO


continues Thursday afternoon with presentations on vegetable varieties for 2019 and specific instructions for alternaria management in cabbage, harvest


management of table beets and garlic insect pests. BC Ministry of Agriculture


vegetable specialist Susan Smith will close the day with


Budding interest Now that recreational cannabis is legal in


Canada, many growers see opportunities, and the Pacific Agriculture Show wants to help them by introducing a new component: CannaTech West. The one-day event will be held on Friday,


January 25, in a separate hangar just east of the Tradex building. Registration for this special event is $120 a person and includes a box lunch on Friday and a three-day trade show pass for the Pacific Agriculture Show. CannaTech West brings the same level of technical information, the latest scientific research and networking opportunities to the BC cannabis industry as other ag sectors have long received at the PAS. “We aim to make the Fraser Valley and BC


a centre of excellence for cannabis technology,” says PAS show coordinator Jim


Shepard, noting CannaTech West is a first step in that journey. Shepard says CannaTech aims to connect


producers, government agencies and universities so production practices, regulation and research are coordinated and evolve to assist each other. During the day, growers will learn how cannabis is being transformed into a horticultural crop grown in large-scale greenhouses. Industry exports from across BC, the University of Guelph and California will provide advice and tips on biocontrols, emerging diseases, nutrient management and lighting. The conference will conclude with a


networking reception and an opportunity to visit displays from a variety of suppliers to the budding industry.


an update on the ministry’s vegetable production guide. The focus shifts to potatoes


on Friday morning, with a discussion of whether sweet potatoes could be an option as a rotation crop. Renee Prasad of the


University of the Fraser Valley has been conducting field trials on Sumas Prairie and will offer her insights. As well, Kathy Ma and Heather Meberg of ES Cropconsult will report on other potato trials underway in BC. Potato growers will also


learn how to manage late blight, weeds, lenticel rot and find out what impact recent


pest control regulatory decisions could have on growers’ access to important pest management tools.


Hops After being absent from the


Fraser Valley landscape for more than a decade, hops are once again being grown here. Last year, local growers


formed the BC Hop Growers Association and held their first seminar at the Pacific Agriculture Show. They are back this year with another informative session on Saturday morning in the Evergro Room.


See THIS on next page o


SHORTCOURSE HORTICULTUREGROWERS’ 2019 THURSDAY Raspberries t Agro-Forestry


Strawberries Vegetables Greenhouse Floriculture Opening Reception


t t t t FRIDAY Farm Business Management Keynote Address t All Berries Direct Farm Marketing Cannabis Potatoes t t t


Agricultural Water Management SATURDAY


Blueberries Organic Hops t t


REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.AGRICULTURESHOW.NET Registration includes Trade Show entry and all Growers’ Short Course Sessions


Ph: 604-857-0318 | growers@agricultureshow.net Innovate. Grow. Prosper. t Hazelnuts


January 24-26 Tradex, Abbotsford


In partnership with the Pacific Agriculture Show


Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association


Permanent and portable fencing solutions play a key role in improving your livestock grazing management.


Stop by our booth at the Pacific


Agriculture Show for a demonstration of all our innovative fencing solutions.


info@fencefast.ca 778.888.4355 Making your fencing


Better. Faster. Safer. Shop


Shop On in Online fencefast.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