This episode you’re going to hear my conversation with Julio Senties, a migrant farmworker from Mexico who has been coming to BC for seasonal work since 2017. In recent years Julio has been returning to Carcajou Fruit Company, a farm in Summerland that grows cherries, mainly for export. I interviewed one of Carcajou’s owners, Erin Carlson, for a couple stories for CBC radio a couple of years ago, and during my reporting she had connected me with Julio over email. Recently I invited Julio to sit down with me to share his perspective, and he accepted. So I went out to his farm in Summerland and recorded this interview.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

My guests on the show today are Rebecca Kneen and Bryan MacIsaac of Left Fields Organic Farm in Sorrento. Their ten acre farm is a diversified operation that includes hops, veggie gardens, poultry and sheep. Until very recently, Left Fields was not the only business running on the property, though. Bryan and Rebecca were the founders of Crannog Ales, an on-farm craft brewery they founded in January 2000, back when there were just a handful of craft breweries in the whole province. If you’ve ever enjoyed a pint of Crannog’s Backhand of God Stout or its Potato Ale you already know about the outstanding beer that was made at this little farm brewery for 25 years.

What you’re going to hear is a wide-ranging conversation with two people who have always farmed and brewed with a devotion to quality and equality and with a hell of a lot of integrity. And along the way you’ll hear some fun opinions.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

This episode: updates from around the province, including a smattering of the kinds of complaints some of you have received while working in the ag sector.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

This episode: a conversation about agrivoltaics--the integration of solar power generation with food production--with guest Omri Haven, who believes agrivoltaics can and should play an important role in energy generation in BC in the coming years.

Reach out to Omri on Linkedin or email him.

Youtube explainer on agrivoltaics referenced in the episode: https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE?si=IQMdRs9NdUx8izOR

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

This episode, an interview with Helen Schwantje. Helen was the Wildlife Veterinarian for British Columbia from 1992 to 2021. To this day she continues as an emeritus and conducts contract work for government and NGOs on a variety of wildlife health issues. Helen has spent a lot of her career focused on the health of BC’s wild sheep herds, and she joined me to talk about the relationship between a specific virus, the domesticated sheep that carry it, and the wild sheep populations that are under threat because of it. And how she hopes to see more action by our governments and by farmers to do what’s necessary to contain this threat.

I’ll also be sharing some updates from our colleagues in the BC farming sector in the middle segment.

Links:

Transmission, the full length documentary about MOVI and its effect on wild sheep.

Wild Sheep Society of BC

A Helen Schwantje bio from the web

This recent interview with Helen provides a broader perspective on her career.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

Tristan Banwell can't be the only farmer whose volunteer commitments clash with the needs of his farm. But he was the only one who **volunteered** to talk to me about this. This episode, Tristan explains why he can't seem to reign in his volunteer obligations and what that means for his farm. Then he gives some advice to future Tristan. Then I talk to future Tristan. Hijinks ensue.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

Herein: my conversation with Liz Blakeway, Executive Director of the Land To Table Network, an Okanagan-based society seeking a more properous and interconnected regional food economy.

Liz and her colleagues have advocated for institutions like universities and health authorities to devote more, or in many cases, some, food-procurement dollars to purchasing regionally-produced food. I've been skeptical of this idea and asked Liz if I could express my doubts in an interview. She kindly accepted my invitation, and met me in the studio in late March.

I enjoyed our conversation. I hope you do too!

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

This episode started out as an effort to learn about a PhD thesis focused on how farmers feel about data-sharing, but discovered some sidebars that were also worth sharing with you.

First up: former British Columbian and perennial soil nerd Clare Sullivan on a circuitous path to an Ag-focused PhD in Greece by way of Oregon State University's extension program. Clare compares extension services in the states to what we have in here in BC, with some help from a special friend of the podcast.

You can help Clare with her PhD research on farmers' willingness to share their farm data by visiting farmingbc.ca/data. I've filled out the survey...it's relatively quick!

Also: in today's metaphorical middle, some BC farmers tell us what the were up to in late March, and talk a little about the impact of tariffs.

Other links:

farminginbc.ca/submit if you'd like to contribute your thoughts for a future episode of the show. You're also welcome to send an audio recording to Jordan via text/whatsapp/signal Jordan at 250 767 6636 or via [email protected]

farminginbc.ca/sponsorship to learn more about buying ads on the podcast or other forms of sponsorship.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.

This bonus episode was produced on behalf of the Small Scale Meat Producers Association with funding it received through the Farmed Animal Disease Program. The funding was delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation on behalf of the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

This episode, two conversations aimed at helping us understand the risks posed by highly pathogenic H5N1. This strain of Avian Influenza has been circulating widely among wild birds in North America and over the last couple of years has had serious impacts on poultry flocks across Canada and the US.

My first guest is Dr. Gigi Lin.

Gigi is the Animal Welfare & Extension Emergency Management Veterinarian in the Office of the Chief Veterinarian at the BC Ministry of Agriculture & Food. She joined me specifically to talk about the H1N1 virus: what it is, how it spreads, and risk mitigation practices for farmers with outdoor flocks in BC.

My other guest is Christian Alexandre of Alexandre Family Farm. Christian and his family operate a large organic dairy and pastured poultry operation in northern California. He joined me to talk about a major outbreak of avian influenza his farm experienced and how it impacted his business.

A couple more useful links:

BC Ministry of Agriculture webpage on Avian Influenza

BC Ministry of Agriculture webpage on Premises ID

In 2019 BC's Ministry of Agriculture & Food launched the BC Food Hub Network, a major component of which was significant funding for new food hubs in the province.

This episode, a couple of conversations with people for whom Life Is Food Hubs; the rest being Just Details.

Sarah-Patricia Breen is the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development at Selkirk Innovates, the applied research department of Selkirk College.

Lindsay Harris and Kent Fawcett work for the Kamloops Food Policy Council; Lindsay is their Food Policy Implementation Lead and Kent Manages a food hub called The Stir.

With these guests, I'll explore how the BC Food Hub Network came to be and whether it's currently living up to its promises and potential.

Other links:

farminginbc.ca/submit if you'd like to contribute your thoughts for a future episode of the show. You're also welcome to send an audio recording to Jordan via text/whatsapp/signal Jordan at 250 767 6636 or via [email protected]

farminginbc.ca/sponsorship to learn more about buying ads on the podcast or other forms of sponsorship.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd.