APRIL 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Staying on top of soil health is key


to sound farming Potential for haskap production also discussed at all-day event


by ROB BORSATO QUESNEL – Kersley Farmers


Institute held an all-day agricultural workshop March 4 at the Quesnel campus of the College of New Caledonia. Approximately 50 people registered for the event, which featured four presentations, including a producer panel and lots of opportunities to ask questions. Two of the presentations


focused on soils and soil nutrient management. David Poon and Jeffrey Nimmo, soil specialists with the BC Ministry of Agriculture in Abbotsford, led those workshops. Poon and Nimmo stressed the importance of farmers knowing their own soils. Without this basic knowledge, many soil management issues – particularly those dealing with soil amendments – become less efficient and thus less cost-effective. Soil tests, especially soil tests over the long term, provide an important part of the picture, but equally important is a keen sense of observation and some local knowledge. An afternoon workshop


looked at green manures and cover crops as part of a soil nutrient management regime. A panel of five producers ranging from market gardeners to dairy and beef farmers, described their experiences with cover crops including traditional grains, sunflowers, radishes and annual clovers. Cover crops can help


control erosion, suppress weeds, as well as supply important nutrients to the soil. They can also provide extra forage by being interplanted with a commercial crop, allowing for livestock integration. Travelling from his Silver


Hills Ranch near Lumby, Lee Hesketh focused on land


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stewardship issues as pertaining to livestock grazing. He also emphasized the importance of soil testing, principally to avoid nutrient overloading, and the compromising of riparian areas. He also discussed the management of grazing to ensure adequate recovery and regrowth. In recognition of Lee’s work and Silver Hills Ranch’s commitment to environmental management practices, the ranch received the BC Cattlemen’s Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award in 2012.


Haskap potential A fourth workshop


introduced participants to the growing and marketing of haskap berries. Haskaps are in the honeysuckle family; they are a longish, blue berry, tasting somewhere between a raspberry, a blueberry and a Saskatoon berry. They have gained in popularity with consumers over the last while, so commercial interest and production have been ramping up. The presenter of this discussion was berry specialist Eric Gerbrandt of Sky Blue Horticulture Ltd. in Chilliwack. His main message was that aspiring producers should first try things on a small scale, learning both how to grow haskap, and also how to market them. Gerbrandt’s presentation was done via webinar. This was the first exposure some participants had to this delivery method.


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No small potatoes here! BC Agriculture in the Classroom sent out 12,125 seed potatoes to teachers in its Spuds in Tubs program courtesy of W&A Farms and CY Growers last month. Volunteers helped get the program out the door. Teachers and students plant their potatoes in March so they’re ready to harvest in June, before school lets out for summer. AITC PHOTO


“I was really pleased with


how well the webinar format was received,” remarked workshop co-organizer and Kersley Farmers Institute secretary Lynda Atkinson. “I can see us using this more often as we plan for future workshops.” The workshop was made possible by support from the Governments of BC and Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and help from regional agrologist Nicole Pressey, Community Futures North Cariboo, and the Quesnel Farmers Market.


Watch Farmwest T-Sum calculator:


T-Sum is a method to determine when to make the first application of nitrogen fertilizer in spring. The 'T-Sum' value is the accumulated mean daily temperatures (in °C) above zero, starting on January 1.


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