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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • APRIL 2019


Advisory service foresees growing demand Kootenay organization busy with outreach, referrals as industry cuts services


by TOM WALKER CRANBROOK – The


Kootenay Boundary Farm Advisors (KBFA) program has had a busy first year. “We hosted 14 events,


often at multiple locations,” reports KBFA coordinator Rachael Roussin. “To date, we have had over 400 direct farmer contacts.”


Roussin explains that the


program’s extension services to the three Kootenay regional districts fall into three categories: support, education and research. “We provide one-on-one


support,” she says. “That might be a simple as a phone call or a full on-farm visit. We hear what the farmer’s issues are, and can connect them with experts and speciality advisors depending on their needs.” KBFA has also organized


several education events. Presentations last year began with the BC Forage Council on “Forages in a Changing Climate” in Creston, Grand Forks and Cranbrook, and wrapped up with “Calculating


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the Cost of Vegetable Production,” presented by Chris Bodnar in Nelson in late November. “We have really good attendance at our events,” says Roussin. “Most topics bring between 18 and 30 people, but we had 41 in Cranbrook at our Sustainable and Profitable Farming day with Steve Kenyon in early January this year.” Other events of note included discussions of best practices for forage establishment with Lethbridge Research and Development Centre scientist Sarya Acharya, blueberry production with Fraser Valley researcher Eric Gerbrandt, and sustainable grazing with Jim Gerrish. Each speaker visited two to three communities. “We have had such amazing people coming to our region,” says Roussin. “Often a producer will get inspired by a field day but will want to do a follow up and we are able to fund a two- hour consultation with the presenter.”


Researchers and university personnel are usually willing to continue as a resource as well, she adds. But even a field day may not be enough. “We had three ranchers immediately ask about bringing Steve Kenyon in for his three-day intensive grazing course, so we are already working on that,” Roussin says. On-farm research is KBFA’s


third service. “We have been working with UBC and Thompson Rivers University and the BC Forage Council to try and include some of the farms in our region into their research projects,” says Roussin. “That is depending on grant applications right now, but is something we hope to move forward.” The key topic for research


is soil, says Roussin. “What I love about soil is that it is relevant for all sectors – from the market gardeners to the pasture people,” she says. “Improving soil quality is so important.” Soils in the Kootenays tend to be coarse-textured types that drain well and are low in


explains. “What does it actually cost to grow a head of broccoli or a pound of grass-fed beef? That is something producers want to know.”


The lack of farm workers


who are experienced and enthusiastic is another issue KBFA hopes to address. “Part of that can just be


that we don’t have a culture of agriculture in our region and we don’t have the right communication channels to get our agriculture jobs out to the world,” she says. “What our program is most


RACHAEL ROUSSIN


nutrients. “It is totally not the Fraser


Valley,” Roussin says. “With better soils, we can also get better moisture-holding capacity. With hotter, longer, drier summers, that is definitely on farmer’s minds.” Establishing true


production costs is a goal for the coming year. “We want to help veg and beef understand their true cost of production to better price their product to improve returns,” Roussin


useful for is not necessarily the technical agronomic extension, although we do that,” says Roussin. “We have been most useful and successful at communication and coordination service within the ag sector in general. At times, it is as simple as listening to producers, talking to the ministry and facilitating a field day and building those kinds of relationships.” By enhancing


communication and working across regions, Roussin says KBFA is helping maximize the use of available resources.


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Tree fruit cutbacks a concern Reaching out across


production sectors has been important to the Kootenay Boundary Farm Advisors (KBFA) program. To date, the team has focused on vegetable growers, ranchers and forage producers, and dairy. A smaller focus of its work are fruit growers. Whether that will change


following the termination of BC Tree Fruits fieldman Duane Holder is another question. When it came to commercial growers, he “did it all,” KBFA coordinator Rachael Roussin says. “We have limited resources in our program and it was a


relief to us that the commercial cherry tree fruit industry in Creston was being taken care of,” she says. Holder’s dismissal, as well as other field staff, aimed to save BC Tree Fruits money, but filling the gap left by Holder’s dismissal would be costly to KBFA. “[Commercial growers] could gobble up our budget in a heartbeat,” she says, adding that the move is unfathomable in a region where production is expanding. “They are putting in more


cherry orchards; they are not burning them down,” she


points out. “I am crushed. We can’t fill Duane’s shoes.” Roussin adds that as an


Environmental Farm Plan advisor, she has also relied on Holder’s expertise. “When I talk to cherry farmers about their spray programs, their answer is ‘Duane supports us with that,’” she adds. “He was doing prescription agronomy.” She suspects growers will


start looking to KBFA, regardless of whether or not it has the funding to do the job. “We don’t hear much from


fruit growers because they were taken care of by their industry,” she says. “That could change, though. Our phone might start ringing and we will support them in any way we can.”


—Tom Walker


Helping Y


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