Last day for Canadians to write to the committee members of the House of Commons Agriculture Committee who vote on a motion for a moratorium on the approval of GM alfalfa. CBAN has ready made letters you can send to each of the committee members. Once case where a little action can help a lot!
Here are some cheesy bees to encourage you…
I spent much of this past weekend at the COABC (Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia) annual conference which was conveniently held in Sidney and attracted some great speakers and lots of friendly farm folk, with tasty organic fare to fuel the conversation (“When was the last time you saw organic milk at a conference?” we marvelled in the coffee queue; “This would be a first” we agreed.)
The two headliners for my interests were Chris Thoreau, an urban farmer from Vancouver, speaking about how to make money from farming in cities, and Todd Kabaluk, a researcher from Agriculture Canada, speaking on current research into wireworm.
Thoreau’s talk on Friday night promised to go beyond community gardens to explore some of the economic aspects of urban farming. An entrepreneurial bent is needed to make money from farming in the city, and Thoreau’s aim is to prove it’s a viable economic model for some, both by farming himself and by creating an urban farming network in Vancouver (where there are 19 urban farms – comparing poorly with the 700+ that now exist in Detroit .. but on the other hand, there is – let us be grateful – not the same degree of vacant lots in Vancouver)
City FarmBoy is believed to be the longest standing urban farmer in Vancouver, farming 14 backyards and one rooftop. Farmers on 57th work with residents of the George Pearson Centre providing food and involvment to people living in the facility. Thoreau’s own business, My Urban Farm: small scale sunflower sprouts delivered by bicycle. SOLEfood has literally taken over a parking lot on East Hastings, with the help of a grant from the city to set up. They use raised beds to grow food to sell at high end restaurants, farmers market, recreation centres and so on, using the proceeds to hire people and train farmers.
And then there was a reception, featuring Crannog Ales and Summerhill wines.
Friday night nibbles included…
On Saturday, we had opening addresses from Dag Falck,
of Nature’s Path, explaining the negative effect that “natural” food branding is having on certified organic food sales. He pointed out that only half a percent of all farmland in North America is under organic cultivation, which means that shortages of organic ingredients are imminent if the sector continues to grow. There is a widespread misunderstanding of the meaning of the term – led by marketing – that leads the public to pay a premium for goods made from agricultural products that are – and cost- exactly the same as conventional products. There is a white paper on the subject, from COTA (Canadian Organic Trade Association).
spoke about organic items topical in Ottawa, including Bill C-474. There is still a shred of hope around the topic, with a new campaign to support a moratorium on GM alfalfa in Canada. He addressed the worrying elements in CETA (Canada–European Union) trade negotiations that threaten seed-saving, and later confirmed what I’d heard about the first-time inclusion of municipal level obligations that could end institutional support for local foods (the proposed changes would “prohibit municipalities from using procurement for sustainable development purposes such as promoting food security by adopting “buy local” food practices”). So lobbying is suggested at the municipal as well as federal level.
I went on to a talk abou soil ecology and alternative mulches for organic blueberry production; basically a discussion about traditional use of sawdust vs composts. One of the reasons was to reduce the loss or injury of plants through plant-parasitic nematodes, which can more easily be kept in check by natural predators such as those found in soil enriched with organic matter.
Then there was a coffee break
and I skipped out to do some errands. After a vibrant lunch
there was a panel on Community Farms, land leasing and other ownership models with Jen Cody of Growing Opportunities; Nichola Walkden of The Land Conservancy; and Heather Pritchard of Farm Folk City Folk. There was a lot of discussion about the ins and outs of land tenure when working with a collective or community model; issues to do with zoning, neighbours and conditions of tenancy.
Then it was time to turn to the most evil insect of them all. Todd Kabaluk gave a thorough consideration to the life and times of the wireworm, mortal enemy to all potato growers and many others besides. As has been previously discussed here, it’s a long-lived pest with a big hunger and an undiscriminating palate; laying waste to seedlings and rendering root vegetables unsaleable. There are no known enemies, though research is looking for these; and it’s hard to kill since its whiskers allow it to whisk up and down in the soil, so you can’t be sure exactly where it is. As Kabaluk wryly observed, “Wireworms are where you find them”.
One place you will certainly find them is in forage crops/ set-aside/ any longer-term grass (like lawns and turf) where moisture levels are steady and there’s lots of food in the roots of grasses. Till that under and you move the grass and the wireworm beneath the soil; when the grass decomposes, and the wireworm loses its food source, you have created a situation where the wireworm must seek a new food source. If you’ve planted a crop, expect visitors, as they’re attracted to the CO2 emitted by the roots.
Although some useful research has been done – involving brown mustard as a rotation crop; use of aromatic oils like citronella; and use of a fungal biological control – there is no quick fix available yet. Kabaluk is focusing on better methods of monitoring their numbers (to reduce the need, e.g., for corn farmers to automatically treat seed with clothianidin even where wireworm numbers are not known). The best summary he could recommend of non-chemical treatments is this article from 2008.
Supper was good and featured lots of salmon from Sointula, as well as local cheese and charcuterie. And a very nice apple and berry crumble to finish.
A last look at the silent auction items
– I was outbid on everything (luckily) – and some jolly tunes from the Jugbandits, and that was it for me. I couldn’t make it to the Sunday sessions as I had a bee talk to attend.
Following on the heels of the Farmlands Dispute program, here’s a video about a long-running local battle for farmland south of Vancouver. The current owner is a developer..
“Saving the Southlands” tells the story of the 30-year battle to protect a 500-acre parcel of prime farmland in Tsawwassen from proposed housing development – set against the backdrop of an emerging food security crisis in BC. The film features a number of Tsawwassen residents, Richmond City Councillor and ALR co-founder Harold Steves, agrologist Arzeena Hamir, and also profiles several local community farming success stories. Funded entirely by local citizens, a number of whom were also involved in the production, its release comes in the midst of a landmark public hearing after which council will vote on whether to apply to the Agricultural Land Commission to return the Southlands to the ALR. The property was removed 30 years ago under questionable evidence, but has remained protected by its municipal agricultural zoning thus far. Owner Century Group has been ramping up its efforts over the past year to get that changed. Now inclusion in the ALR could finally bring this saga to a close, opening the door to other potential models, such as a land trust with urban farming and nature conservancy components, favoured by many in the community.
– Common Sense Canadian
Yesterday’s episode of CBC’s The Current included a segment called Farmland Disputes, a discussion of what happens to farms that are swallowed by cities. It’s uncomfortable territory.
There is no doubt we need to protect growing land for food, but those lands, particularly when they are overtaken by the city limits, are too expensive for farmers to buy, particularly when farmers are paid so badly – and in careers that lack pension plans. When retirement comes, many of our aging farmers hope to sell their land, or rezone it for development, in order to make up a retirement fund. But that takes more land out of the food production picture. The program reported that
Where land is being protected – and developers do tend to be winning the battles – much of the land sits idle, because there are not enough new farmers. And aspiring farmers often cite the cost of land as one of their chief obstacles. Until we have governments that back farming and promote a national food policy, we’ll go on losing land. Meanwhile, we must sit watching it slip away until the crisis point is passed.
Turning one’s worried face to the sea, here’s another handy fridge guide for sustainable seafood, courtesy David Suzuki:
Ah, Spring. Victoria’s Seedy Saturday was heaving again this year. I didn’t make it to any of the talks, and was too preoccupied to make thorough visits to all the stands, but once again the interest in seeds – both flower and vegetable – was there in (ahem) spades.
The seed swap was as popular as ever. Bring something to trade, or put a loonie down and take your pick of local seeds:
Gabe and I were there representing the Gorge-Tillicum Urban Farmers (GTUF) on the CR-FAIR table, and were pleased to find so much interest in neighbourhood food security.. and meet a couple of new members too.
Linda Geggie’s “Test Your Seed Smarts” was hugely popular. A few sniffed they didn’t need to see the back of the card to know what the seeds were, but most who stopped found the self-test highly entertaining,
particularly the younger gardeners.
Haliburton Farm was there; and LifeCycles.
Dan Jason with some Salt Spring Seeds.
And many more besides.
Can’t believe it’s over.
Actually, it’s not: many more Seedy Saturdays (and Sundays) still to come across the country.
