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Country Life in BC 36 Dale Road Enderby, BC V0E 1V4


Vol. 105 No. 8


CANADA POST


Postage paid Publications Mail 40012122


POSTES CANADA


Port payé Post-Publications


DAIRY RANGE FRUIT


Marketing board names new entrant winners Governments agree to national park reserve Apple dieback investigation underway


9


16 18


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Province allows family


on farms Year’s reprieve for second homes


by PETER MITHAM VICTORIA—The province is


giving families living in the Agricultural Land Reserve until February 22, 2020 to obtain approvals for second homes for immediate family. “We’ve worked to make


long-overdue changes to help farmers farm,” said BC agriculture minister Lana Popham in announcing the changes. “We heard from people living in the ALR, many who said they aren’t farming but purchased ALR land for residential use. We understand that some have


See DEADLINE on next page o Growing more with less water Rain hammers cherry crop


by TOM WALKER LAKE COUNTRY—July rains


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were hammering cherry growers as this edition of Country Life in BC was going to press. Coral Beach Farms president David Geen described it as a “battle,” saying he would be happy to talk when the weather clears but was currently running on two or three hours of sleep a day. The forecast showed clearing by the end of July. According to the BC


Ministry of Agriculture, as of July 17, 260 production


insurance claims had been filed by cherry growers. Both the ministry and Geen say it’s too early to know the extent of losses across the sector as rain events were still occurring and varieties will continue to ripen over the next two months. Wet cherries absorb water


and swell, which splits the skin, making them unsuitable for fresh market sales. “The damage is expected to range widely depending on the variety and location,” the ministry notes. “However, in some cases, the damage is


severe.” Growers often use helicopters to dry the cherries, as well as tractor- towed wind machines. With multiple rain events during ripening, the costs of the battle will be significant. “This damage follows a poor fruit set in the spring that saw the crop at only 70% of average,” notes Hank Markgraf, a former fieldman with BC Tree Fruits and now an industry consultant. “What fruit is left after the rains will have been very expensive to produce.”


The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 AUGUST 2019 | Vol. 105 No.8


TEAMWORK! Five mother-daughter teams joined the summer tour of Pacific Northwest Society for Range Management in Cache Creek at the end of June. The tour attracted 80 ranchers, range agrologists, government staff and foresters to the Cariboo for a closer look of rangeland recovery following the Elelphant HIll fire of 2017. See story starting on page 21. TOM WALKER PHOTO


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