Comox Valley Farmers’ Institute Annual Report Ben Vanderhorst, President It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone so quickly. Psychologists say that me seems to move so much more quickly as we get older partly because there are so many things to do, and we become aware we don’t have enough me to do everything we want to. That seems to be the case for the instute this year as well. We started the year with the launch of our website, hosted by Comox Valley Eco- nomic Development Society. We are working with CVEDS now to provide us with direct access to the content management and funconality control, so we can add features that will benefit all our members. Stay tuned for more in this regard in the near future. The instute hosted the biannual equipment aucon April 2, where we disposed of some of the items from our equipment pool – the brush mowers and the no-ll drill, which was replaced with a new model in the spring. The sale realized $49,000 of transacons. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the sale, through consignment or purchase. Work has connued on the mul-purpose building dubbed the ‘Agriplex’ through- out the year, with several of the directors aending numerous meengs to ensure the project connues to move forward. As this is a major and complex project, a separate report is included elsewhere in this newsleer to give a more thorough descripon of what has transpired over the year. In October, Marc Vance agreed to assume a project to acquire ferlizer, and po- tenally lime, in bulk for our members. The objecve is to obtain the best possible pricing by placing one large order for all. Marc has done a tremendous amount of work to pull this together for us and we owe him a special vote of thanks for it. The good news is the supplier ended up being local as well – Black Creek Farm and Feed. The equipment co-op was busy as usual with the new Haybuster no ll drill geng plenty of use. Special thanks to Brian Geiger and Terri Huxham who manage this for us so expertly. November saw us host the annual Harvest Banquet again, with a great turnout as we enjoyed the potluck dinner and me to socialize for an evening. Thanks to eve- ryone who helped make this event successful for the umpteenth year. In the new year, the instute will have a connuing leadership role in the building project. As well, we have agreed to become involved in the steering commiee for March 2017 Inside this issue Comox Valley Farmers Market ....2 BC MOA Wildlife Damage ............3 Mulpurpose Building Project .....4 Equipment Co-op.........................6 BC Ministry of Agriculture ...........7 Comox Valley Exhibion ..............8 Comox Valley Growers Guide ......9 BC Ministry of Forest, Land .......10 Comox Valley Farmers’ Institute 2017 AGM Tuesday March 21, 2017 7:30 pm Dove Creek Hall Burns Road Courtenay, BC Comox Valley Farmers Institute Continued on page 2
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Comox Valley Farmers’ Institute
Annual Report
Ben Vanderhorst, President
It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone so quickly. Psychologists say
that time seems to move so much more quickly as we get older partly because
there are so many things to do, and we become aware we don’t have enough time
to do everything we want to. That seems to be the case for the institute this year
as well.
We started the year with the launch of our website, hosted by Comox Valley Eco-
nomic Development Society. We are working with CVEDS now to provide us with
direct access to the content management and functionality control, so we can add
features that will benefit all our members. Stay tuned for more in this regard in
the near future.
The institute hosted the biannual equipment auction April 2, where we disposed of
some of the items from our equipment pool – the brush mowers and the no-till
drill, which was replaced with a new model in the spring. The sale realized $49,000
of transactions. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the sale,
through consignment or purchase.
Work has continued on the multi-purpose building dubbed the ‘Agriplex’ through-
out the year, with several of the directors attending numerous meetings to ensure
the project continues to move forward. As this is a major and complex project, a
separate report is included elsewhere in this newsletter to give a more thorough
description of what has transpired over the year.
In October, Marc Vance agreed to assume a project to acquire fertilizer, and po-
tentially lime, in bulk for our members. The objective is to obtain the best possible
pricing by placing one large order for all. Marc has done a tremendous amount of
work to pull this together for us and we owe him a special vote of thanks for it.
The good news is the supplier ended up being local as well – Black Creek Farm and
Feed.
The equipment co-op was busy as usual with the new Haybuster no till drill getting
plenty of use. Special thanks to Brian Geiger and Terri Huxham who manage this
for us so expertly.
November saw us host the annual Harvest Banquet again, with a great turnout as
we enjoyed the potluck dinner and time to socialize for an evening. Thanks to eve-
ryone who helped make this event successful for the umpteenth year.
In the new year, the institute will have a continuing leadership role in the building
project. As well, we have agreed to become involved in the steering committee for
March 2017
Inside this issue
Comox Valley Farmers Market ....2
BC MOA Wildlife Damage ............3
Multipurpose Building Project .....4
Equipment Co-op .........................6
BC Ministry of Agriculture ...........7
Comox Valley Exhibition ..............8
Comox Valley Growers Guide ......9
BC Ministry of Forest, Land .......10
Comox Valley Farmers’ Institute
2017 AGM
Tuesday March 21, 2017
7:30 pm Dove Creek Hall
Burns Road Courtenay, BC
Comox Valley Farmers Institute
Continued on page 2
2016
Comox Valley Farmers’ Institute Board of Directors
President Ben Vanderhorst
Vice Pres Marc Vance
Treasurer Mike Huxham
Secretary Brian Geiger
Director Trevor Stevenson
Director Sarah Kehler
Director Gerry McClintock
2
Comox Valley Farmers' Market Applications are open for 2017. They are available online at cvfm.ca (under the member tab). If you're a local farmer - we want you! We're growing more markets cause everybody wants one in their neighborhood. We are now looking for vendors for our Wednesday and Sunday Markets through the summer and may have some space at the Saturday Market as well. This is a fabulous way to test new product, connect with local purchasers and build your network while selling your quality local food product to our committed customers.
We're turning 25!
We want to celebrate all the fabulous farmers that have been a part of the Comox Valley Farmers' Market over the years. If you are a former vendor, or know one, please contact us so we can capture your story and invite you to celebrate with us! We'll be hosting celebrations and events throughout the year. Keep in touch through the web-site, at the market, or through the contact info below.
Trumpeter Swan damage to perennial forage fields. During wet field conditions, swans excavate the plants in order to consume the nutrient rich roots. Photo: G.Fowler
We started this year with an ad hoc committee con-
sisting of 3 members of the Comox Valley Exhibition
Association, Edwin Grieve, Don McRae, Murray Presley,
3 CVFI directors – Brian Geiger, Mike Huxham, and Ben
Vanderhorst – and chaired by Darryl Pippin. We had
set an objective of working towards a joint building
project between CVEX and CVFI to put our separate
proposals for buildings on the fair grounds into a single
project. After working together and coming up with
the initial proposal for a building dubbed the ‘Agriplex’,
CVEX decided to back away in late June and concen-
trate on their main task of putting on the fair. CVFI
decided to move forward with the Agriplex concept on
our own at that point.
In July, we completed an application under Growing
Forward 2 for a grant to complete a business case for
the project. With the help of Jill Hatfield and senior
ministry of agriculture staff, we were approved for a
$10,000 grant in early September, and engaged MNP to
assist us with writing the plan and presentation materi-
als. By mid-October, we had completed architectural
renderings, a written business case for the Agriplex,
and a packaged presentation to go to the public with.
Special thanks to MNP for providing this professional
and high quality package to us at a significantly dis-
counted price as a service to the institute.
Our first opportunity to present our building proposal
was to Bob Yates, the consultant hired by CVRD to pre-
pare a review of the master plan for the Comox Valley
fair grounds. In May, CVRD had expanded the size of
the fair grounds by acquiring the site beside it known as
Stonehenge Farm, and decided to review the entire fair
grounds plan incorporating this additional space. We
were pleased to be able to present a clear picture of
what we were proposing for consideration in the mas-
ter plan. The draft plan is expected to be delivered to
the CVRD in the latter part of February. We look for-
ward to seeing how our proposal fits in with the new
master plan.
Subsequent to the presentation for the master plan
review, the presentation was delivered to the CVRD
committee of the whole, Town of Comox council, Vil-
lage of Cumberland Council, and City of Courtenay
council during November and early December. We
were pleased to receive unanimous support from the
CVRD, Comox, and Courtenay councils. We have also
presented to the Farmers Market board of directors,
and two rotary clubs – Cumberland and Strathcona
Sunrise. Scheduled to be delivered in February are
presentations to the Chamber of Commerce directors,
Comox rotary, and Courtenay rotary clubs. More
presentations are being arranged. The purpose of all
the presentations is to seek supporting letters and com-
mentary from the communities to demonstrate broad
community support in principle for the project, for our
requests for funding from governments and, in due
Multi-purpose Building Project Report
5
course, other funding sources.
In December, a meeting between Edwin Grieve, Don
McRae, Mike Trimble, president of CVEX, and Ben
Vanderhorst, president of CVFI, was convened to
discuss the potential to re-instate the single project
concept for the building. It was agreed to form a
partnership between the attendees to move the
project forward as one building project at this time.
A revised architectural rendering of the combined
building was obtained and is provided with this arti-
cle. The presentations to the public at this time are
delivered as a joint project of the two organizations.
On a go forward basis, presentations will continue to
community groups who may be interested in what
we are proposing. The draft master plan review of
the fair grounds will be considered for any indicated
adjustments required to our proposal. We will con-
tinue to work towards initial funding requests to the
province through our MLA. And last but not least,
we will continue to work in partnership with CVEX
and our politicians to make this project a reality.
I wish to extend a special thank you to Mike Huxham
and Brian Geiger for all their work on this to date.
Mike has been advocating for a project like this for
years, with location being the biggest hurdle. This
has hopefully been addressed with the expansion of
the fair grounds to accommodate a project like this.
The committee has spent considerable hours on be-
half of the institute to get to this point, and we can
see a light at the end of the tunnel which is not a
train!
Multi-purpose Building Project Report (cont.)
CVRD had expanded the size of the fair grounds by acquiring the site beside it known as Stonehenge Farm
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250.334.0801
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6
Equipment Co-op Report
Our equipment was well used again last year by our members. The most popular ones being the lime spreader & no till drill (drainage plough can now be hired through Boondock). A complete list of our equipment is below. No-till drill $15/acre
Lime spreader $ 5/tonne of lime or chicken manure
AerWay $100/day
Laser level $40/day
Measuring wheel n/c
Soil probe n/c
To reserve equipment contact: Brian Geiger Phone 250-897-8280
7
Port Alberni hosted the Islands Agriculture Show on
February 3-4, 2017. What we long feared materialized
in an unprecedented amount of snow. This was a
challenge however despite the weather the show went
ahead. A huge thank you goes out to all the vendors,
presenters and attendees that braved the unusual
west coast weather. Next year’s show will be in the
Cowichan Valley and it’s hoped the “Warm Land” lives
up to its name!
Growing Forward 2 a five-year federal-provincial-
territorial policy framework for Canada’s agriculture
and agrifood sector provided funding for the Comox
Valley Farmer’s Institute to develop a proposal for an
Agricultural Exhibition Centre - Agriplex in the Comox
Valley. Other agricultural organizations on the North
Island also benefited from Strategic Outreach Initiative
Funding were the Islands Agriculture Show Society and
the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Town Hall
Meeting on Agriculture both held events in Port
Alberni. The Strategic Outreach Initiative should be
available in mid-April to receive applications for the
2017-2018 year. Please contact me for more
information.
A deadline extension is in place for registering your
groundwater source. If you apply for a licence as an
existing non-domestic groundwater user on or before
December 31, 2017, your water licence application
fees will be waived. After December 31, 2017, regular
application fees apply. Application fees for new non-
domestic groundwater will apply. Below is a
publication link from the BC Cattlemen’s Association
Canada 150 & Growing With the fair nearly as old as Canada, our theme of Canada 150 and Growing is a natu-ral fit.
The Comox Valley has always been an agricultural area with a rich history of crop pro-duction and butter creameries as far back as the steamship era. CVEX is the main con-nection between the rural and urban populations and, therefore, focuses on showcas-ing the agricultural element, which historically has been the backbone of our local economy.
But with the task of effectively entertaining as many patrons as possible we have de-veloped a very diverse program of features to stimulate their senses. Sure there are animals and poultry (this year featuring the rooster) and back by popular demand we have the AquaDogs, along with an entire area dedicated to dog events and vendors, the military Lord Strathcona Musical Ride, the award winning KidZone and the Antique Heritage Equipment gang!
New this year we have the ‘Laughing Logger’ show, an entire village of vendors and artisans, and a daily show hosting the ‘Island Bug Jam’ and ‘First Responders’ show. In addition, there will be a cornucopia of live, local, diverse entertainment with plans of staging a big event to generate added revenue.
As a community service, CVEX continues to provide tents, staging, tables and chairs to non-profit agencies through-out the year. Last year the equipment donations generat-ed almost $200,000 invested back into the local community. This community vision will continue as we proceed to move closer to achieving the long awaited multipur-pose facility, capable of hosting a wide variety of activities!
We continue to focus on our fundamental successes while adding new flavours but keeping the basic recipe which is our heritage. CVEX has a long history and we are very proud of how far we have come the last 143 years.
Mike Trimble, President
Comox Valley Exhibition Phone: 250.338.8177 Like us on Facebook
That means we are starting to plan the 2017 Grower`s Guide. Last year we saw tremendous growth in the number of farms participating, the number of advertisers supporting the project and, therefore, increased the size of the Guide - AGAIN !!!.
Over 100,000 copies were distributed from Parksville to Port Hardy in newspapers, in Visitor Centres, in Chambers of Commerce - wherever we could get them distributed for you. The de-mand is always there - the shelf life of this product is long - it`s great value for your advertising dollar.
The Comox Valley Echo will be orchestrating the Guide again in partnership with the Comox Valley Farmers Institute, Comox Valley Economic Development, and the Comox Valley Farmers Market, and will start selling ad space in late March or early April with the first release of the Guide in early June. Don`t wait to be contacted. Book now ( before March 30th ) at last year’s rates. Contact Keith Currie:
I am Ben Robinson, the Groundwater Protection Officer with the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations on Vancouver Island. If you use a well to supply water to your proper-ty, please continue to read this email. You may be aware of the new Water Sustainability Act and Groundwater Protection Regulation (that came into effect on Feb 29, 2016) that regulates the construction, operation and maintenance, and clo-sure of wells in the province. These regulations help to protect our groundwater resources for current and future users. One of my goals in 2017 is to reach out to well owners to let you know that I am avail-able to help with questions around well construction, operation, maintenance and closure and also pro-vide advice on groundwater protection best practices. By way of this note I am offering to visit your property to meet the site operator and assess your well(s). The visit will provide the opportunity for you to ask questions related to the Groundwater Protec-tion Regulation and I will also provide feedback on the well assessment, which may include recommen-dations for bringing your well(s) into compliance with the Groundwater Protection Regulation. Details of the assessment will also be provided in a report for your records. The site visit should take approxi-mately half an hour. It is not necessary for you to be present for the entire well assessment, however, it is helpful if you are available to answer questions.
Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations
10
You may also be aware that all non-domestic users of groundwater in BC now require a groundwater li-cense. This well assessment is an opportunity for you to ensure that your well(s) is compliant with the Groundwater Protection Regulation, and that your well records are up to date, which may facilitate your groundwater license application. If you would like to schedule a site visit, please respond to this email and I will contact you to set up a time and date. All of the information collected from well assessments provides valuable data that helps us manage local groundwater resources sustainably. For more information on wells and groundwater protection visit the Groundwater Wells website Kind regards, Ben Robinson, MSc, A.Ag. Groundwater Protection Officer Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Water Protection Section, West Coast Region 2080A Labieux Rd Nanaimo BC V9T 6J9