livestock production in the Fraser Valley, BC

 

Intensification (move toward factory farming)

The Fraser Valley has the highest concentration of very large farms in Canada, with 30 large farms for every square km of farmland available. Between 1991 and 2001 the number of large farms increased by 88 to 146, the biggest increase in Canada during that period. (2001 Agricultural Census – Vista paper).

 

Fewer farms with more animals: While the number of chickens in the Fraser Valley has increased, the number of poultry farms is dropping. The number of poultry farms dropped from 1487 in 2001 to 1179 in 2006. (2006 Agricultural Census).

 

During the 1990s the number of chickens per farm in the valley increased by 78 per cent.
(H. Schreier, R. Bestbier and G Derksen. 2003 A Quantitative Assessment of Agricultural Intensification and Associated Waste Management Challenges in the Lower Fraser Valley).

 

The Fraser Valley has the highest animal stocking density in Canada (UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Dr Hans Schreier).

 

There are approximately:

 

The number of chickens in the valley has nearly doubled since 1991. The number of dairy cows and the number of goats have both increased by more than 20 per cent. The number of pigs and sheep has dropped because operations have moved to other provinces. The number of cattle overall is down slightly. (Dr. Hans Schreier, UBC).

 

The Lower Fraser Valley has the largest number of dairy cows per farm in Canada. (Schreier, 2003).


Contamination of soil and groundwater
A study released in Feb. 2007 by BC Agriculture Council found “high to very high environmental risk” levels of nitrates in soil on Fraser Valley farms. (Fraser Valley Soil Nutrient Study 2005).

 

A multi-agency study released in 2005 found groundwater nitrates in excess of the maximum acceptable concentration for drinking water in several areas in the Fraser Valley. The study stated: “Intensive agricultural land use over the study area appears to remain the primary source of nitrate in the aquifer.” (Nitrate and Coliform Bacteria Distribution in the Abbotsford Aquifer – results of a Groundwater Quality Survey 2004-05, BC Ministry of Environment; Environment Canada; Fraser Health).


A UBC and Environment Canada report in 1999 concluded that: “agriculture is a significant contributor to pollution in the Lower Fraser Valley.” (Schreier, H., K. Hall, S.J. Brown, B. Wernick, and C. Berka. 1999. "Agriculture: an important non-point source of pollution).


Additional reports:
Hall, K. and H. Schreier. 1996 Urbanization and agricultural intensification in the Lower Fraser Valley: Impacts on water use and water quality. GeoJournal: 40, 1-2: 135-146; Berka, C., H. Schreier, and K. Hall. 2001. Linking Water Quality with Agricultural Intensification in a Rural Watershed. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 127:389-401; Brisbin, P.E. 1995. Agricultural Nutrient Management in the Lower Fraser Valley. Report 4. DOE-FRAP, Environment Canada, 81pp.

 

High levels of nitrates in drinking water are linked to Blue Baby Syndrome, a condition which reduces babies’ ability to carry sufficient oxygen in the blood. (Environment Canada).


Air pollution - Ammonia

Ammonia is a colourless gas with a sharp pungent odour. Agricultural activities such as cattle, pig, and poultry housing, manure spreading and storing, and fertilizer application account for more than three-quarters of ammonia emissions in the Lower Fraser Valley.

 

Ammonia can react with other pollutants in the atmosphere to form fine particulates. Scientific investigations in the Lower Fraser Valley indicate that combined reactions of chemical compounds like ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate represent a significant portion of ambient fine particulate. (Metro Vancouver website).

 

Hugh Sloan, Director of Planning for the Fraser Valley Regional District, told the FVRD Agricultural Committee in March 2006 that “the Fraser Valley is going to need major, structural solutions within the next five to seven years. By then, agriculture will be more responsible for air pollutants than all the vehicular transportation the valley produces.” He also reported that “of all the common air contaminants being measured, only ammonia is increasing.” (Minutes of FVRD Agricultural Committee meeting, March 31, 2006).


Poultry appears to be the biggest problem.

The Fraser Valley poultry industry was producing 736,500 cubic yards of manure in 2000 and this is expected to rise to 1 million cubic yards by 2010 (according to the Sustainable Poultry Farming Group: 604 556 7781). The manure is used as fertilizer (on raspberry and blueberry farms).


Disease – avian flu
The Fraser Valley was the scene of Canada’s largest avian flu outbreak in 2004. The virus emerged in a broiler breeder barn and mutated from low pathogenic to high pathogenic avian influenza. In June 2007, a UN study, Industrial Livestock Production and Global Health Risks, states that: “The proximity of thousands of confined animals increases the likelihood of transfer of pathogens within and between these populations, with consequent rates of pathogen evolution.”