Herein: part of my conversation with Jerome Lenkeek, Senior Policy & Market Analyst with the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission, who gave me an interview to fill in some gaps that Lillian Pusch and I didn't cover in our conversation in episode 28.

In this segment of our conversation, Jerome explains how exemptions work within BC's Vegetable Scheme, which is kind of cool name for the regulatory system that oversees the orderly marketing of veggies in BC.

I really wanted to include this segment because I was a small-scale veggie producer for around ten years and for most of that time was unaware that I was bumping up against regulated production limits for certain crops. Based on what Jerome told me, I probably should have applied for a license in a couple of cases! Maybe you should too!

My guest today is Lillian Posch, General Manager of Okanagan Grown Produce Ltd., a veggie marketing agency located in Vernon. Marketing agencies like OGP play an important role in the orderly marketing of BC Vegetables. For those unfamiliar with the term, Orderly Marketing is the weaker yet earnest cousin of Supply Management. And in BC, it's the term we use to describe a legislated regulatory scheme that organizes the production of a whole bunch of vegetable crops. All of which is overseen by the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission.

You should listen to this because a lot of our conversation is relevant to the trade war we now find ourselves in. And because Lillian is a delight to listen to.

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.

Today on the show, a tip from a listener takes me up to Northern BC, where some farmers and their co-conspirators are playing with fire! My guest is rangeland agrologist Nadia Mori, the coordinator of the Peace River Forage Association. She joined me to talk about her role as the coordinator of the Peace River Forage Association and a couple of its current projects. One explores the potential benefits of prescribed burning of pasture lands; the other gives farmers the tools and knowledge to fight wildfires on the farm.

Nadia's media production company is called Fairfield Productions

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.

Today on the podcast, a return to a topic that, if download numbers are any indication, many of you are interested in. Way back in episode six of the show I released an episode I titled The Current State of BC’s Farmers Markets. It featured an interview with the board chair of the BC Association of Farmers Markets. And Wylie and I did talk about the state of BC’s Farmer’s Markets in that episode, but given its popularity in my podcast feed, I decided I’d like to take another crack at this subject, only ideally, this time around I’d talk about farmers markets with the farmers who attend them. I wanted to ask them how it’s going, what the vibe at their market is like, and whether they’re committed to their farmers’ market for the long haul. Over the last week, I spoke with six farmers from around the province, and you’re about to hear from all of them.

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.

Today on the show, BC’s recently re-elected premier David Eby finally issued mandate letters for his new cabinet, so I asked a politically-minded farmer to join me to talk about what’s contained in the one for our brand new but also returning Minister of Agriculture and Food, Lana Popham.

We reference the BC Ag Council's Strategic Priorities released during the last BC election. Here's that document.

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.

Hey everyone! This is Jordan with some bonus listening for you. As you may know, I’m the producer and host of The Organic BC Podcast, and over there, I’ve been busy producing a miniseries about whether GAP certification is a viable option for small-scale farmers who want to gain, preserve, or expand access to wholesale marketing channels. You’re about to hear episode one of that series, exactly as it dropped on The Organic BC podcast feed. If you like it, you can go find the organic BC podcast and listen to episode two right now, and episodes three through five will drop over the next few weeks. 

One quick additional note is that I produced this series about GAP certification under a paid contract, but I was not paid to cross-post what you’re about to hear on my other two podcasts, Farming in British Columbia and The Ruminant. I’m posting episode one of the series here because I think it’s good and because the topic is relevant to a lot of my listeners.

This episode, Emily Huxter of Wild Antho (and also episode one of this podcast) is back. The first time around, I had too much good tape to work with so I omitted this chunk of our conversation, which is about the practice and business of breeding & selling queen bees. I learned a lot about bee love-making, and now you will, too.

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.

Many of you must have been very good this year, because for this episode, our colleague Tristan Banwell of Spray Creek Ranch wrote something special for all of us!

The score used underneath Tristan's piece is royalty free music from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com , specifically: Twas the Night Before Christmas by Steve Oxen.

Vanessa Samur wrote the intro/outro music for the show. I gave her a smooch for her trouble.

In this episode, I hope to give you a sense of how our agricultural community responds to emergent agricultural pests, with a focus on the activities of BC’s Ministry of agriculture.

Later on in the episode, you’re going to hear a conversation I just recorded with Susanna Acheompong, an extension entomologist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture based in Kelowna. Susanna spends a lot of her time focused on the detection, monitoring, impact, and management of emergent agricultural pests in the southern interior, and she joined me to give us an update about two pests in particular: the western yellow striped armyworm and the western corn rootworm.

My interest in this topic began when I found an emergent pest on my farm in Armstrong. I had recently read a bulletin about the detection of the western corn rootworm in the North Okanagan, and lo and behold, I found a couple of specimens in my own corn crop that October. I reported my discovery to BC Ministry of Ag Extension Agrologist Susanna Acheampong ([email protected]), and that led to sitting down for a couple of interviews with her, a year apart.

BC Ministry of Ag Bulletin on Western Yellowstriped Armyworm

BC Ministry of Ag Bulletin on Western Corn Rootworm

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 features a score called Italian Opera by Steve Oxen with an open source license.

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.