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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • NOVEMBER 2019 UBC dairy centre signs five-year lease


Agreement paves way for modernization of facilities


by DAVID SCHMIDT


AGASSIZ – The UBC Dairy Education & Research Centre (DERC) has a new lease on life after reluctantly agreeing to pay Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada “market rent” for the land it uses at the Pacific Research and Development Centre in Agassiz. Farm manager Nelson Dinn


says DERC now has a five-year lease with an option to renew for an additional five years, allowing it to move ahead with plans to modernize the facility. He says UBC argued


strongly that DERC should get a break because its research is “for the benefit of society,” but the federal treasury board was not to be swayed from its demand that it obtain market value for all federal land assets.


Although the new


agreement gives DERC slightly less land than it had in the past, it includes flexibility to adjust which land DERC and PARC use depending on the research each is conducting. There is also a companion agreement regarding “collaborative” research that helps reduce DERC’s rent under the agreement. “We now have a stable land base but less exclusive land,” Dinn says, adding, “If we are able to demonstrate


Are you fREADY


for WINTER


collaborative research with federal scientists, we have a mechanism that we hope will ensure we never reach the point of having to pay market rent.”


UBC Faculty of Land & Food


Systems dean Rickey Yada stresses that the collaboration agreement does not mean AAFC dairy scientists will be coming back to Agassiz. “The research will be in the


area of nutrient management,” he says.


Although UBC’s long-term goal is to increase its complement of faculty members using DERC, that is also not imminent. Dinn says this is partly due to the challenge of funding additional faculty. With a long-term lease now


in place, DERC is moving ahead with plans to modernize its facilities. At the top of the list is a move to robotic milking. “Our next big purchase will


be six robotic milkers,” Yada says, adding the purchase is not conditional on receiving outside funding. “We have planned for it in our budget.” DERC plans to retrofit its facilities to accommodate the robots, but don’t expect any changes to occur quickly. “It is necessary to do much of the install work in the summer when heifers are on pasture and barn space is


FILE PHOTO


more available. Our goal for completion is fall 2021,” Dinn says. “To remain relevant within


an evolving industry, it is very important for the dairy centre


to have world-class infrastructure. Our goal is to re-emerge on the cutting edge of research and have a facility the BC dairy industry can be very proud of.”


WEED control essential


beside it. “If that is not taken care of when the corn is three, four leaves high, it’ll automatically decide to switch to shoot growth to out-compete with the weeds versus root growth. That is critical when it comes to the end of the year


and ear development,” Jantzi explains. He says delaying weed


control only results in lower yields so producers should always plan a two-spray system. Producers also need to implement a balanced fertility program that ensures the crop has enough nitrogen to make it to harvest. Jantzi says browning of the


eeding?


crop in late July to mid- August is a tell-tale sign of nitrogen deficiency. Selection of the proper seed to meet expectations, the planting area, average planting date and average first frost is another vital step in achieving success. Seed breeders typically aim


to increase yields and change hybrids every two or three years so farmers need to do their research. “If you sit behind and wait, in three years you could be


Although Dinn says the


rental rate was “not necessarily negotiable” and considerably higher than what UBC had hoped for, he believes it is “manageable.”


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up to 15 bushels out,” Jantzi notes.


Murray Gray, who farms


160 acres and milks about 85 cows alongside his son Chad, says he reluctantly put his corn growing pride on the line to take part in the corn trial but the end result was worth it. “I really pride myself in


growing really good corn. People usually say, ‘Gee you do a good job.’ and then, if I had the trials, it’ll be just the year that it’s no good or something,” he explains. “The corn turned out really, really good. (Jantzi) said it was one of the better stands he’s seen.” Gray, impressed with cob


development on the 10 hybrids planted, is using the knowledge gained to plan for next year. “There’s a couple varieties that did really, really well and I’ll definitely grow them next year,” he says.


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