Ground broken for new feed mill in North Okanagan

“Our nutrition team is formulating all of our poultry and turkey recipes without ruminant meat meal. What does this mean? It means there will be no animal byproducts in our feed, and thus eliminates any chance of cross contamination which can result in mad cow disease.”

The mill is expected to be able to process up to 30 metric tons of feed per hour and have a housing capacity of 10,000 metric tons of feed once fully operational.

“That’s 100 rail cars of extra food sitting right here in the valley, and that’s just one of the many benefits we’re bringing to local food stability and security,” said Couch.

Following the groundbreaking ceremony, Couch explained to Vernon Matters the kinds of feed produced at the new site.

Jon Couch speaking with Vernon Matters about what the new feed mill in Spallumcheen will be able to produce

“Sometimes you make a complete feed, which means that’s all the animal eats, and sometimes it’s more of a supplement or a top dress, and it’s more of a portion of what they eat,” Couch told Vernon Matters.

“So dairy animals get a portion because they eat a lot of grass or silage, but chickens, on the other hand, eat straight what we manufacture.”

He noted that a majority of the ingredients needed to make the feed, such as canola, soy meal, wheat, barley and corn, a majority of which will need to be transported in from the prairies or the United States, but did add there was room for local farmers to get involved.

“We have a desire to buy as much locally-grown because we find the quality is fantastic and we want to support our local farmers,” said Couch.

Couch also stated that OVF will look to supply or help facilitate area farmers who wish to grow cereal crops to be used for the feed in the future.

It’s expected that the feed mill could be open and operational within the next 18 months.

During the ground breaking ceremony, Couch stated that it has been over 20 years since the last feed mill was built in B.C., which is located in the Lower Mainland, and that it’s been over 50 years since a feed mill of this capacity had been built or redesigned in the Okanagan.

Couch also stated that the “innovative layout and modernized equipment” designed to be used for the feed mill will reduce its carbon footprint, noting specifically that the roller crusher by itself cuts the need of power to grind grain by 50 per cent over traditional hammer mills.

“We looked at every piece of equipment, the entire milling process, with the intent on having a positive impact on the environment when it comes to manufacturing feed. You won’t find a better example of vertical farming compared to a feed mill,” stated Couch during his speech

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Couch noted that the feed production is a usually overlooked but essential part of the process of getting food from the farm eventually to the table.

The feed mill, which has been in planning for over three years, is the first step in Spallumcheen’s plan to building an agricultural hub.

“This is our first business here in our agricultural hub and we’re just at the start of, hopefully, [having] a lot of businesses to support agriculture,” Spallumcheen Mayor, Christine Fraser, told Vernon Matters.

Fraser added that having the feed mill in the community is essential now more than ever.

“I think it’s more important than ever now with flooding and wildfires and the natural events that have been happening to try to source and produce, process and supply locals with locally produced food,” said Fraser, adding this work will also support local farmers, retailers and residents in the long run.

“We have the ability in the North Okanagan to produce and feed almost all the things we need here to sustain our population, so this is the first step to being able to do that.”

B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture, Lana Popham, was also in attendance for the groundbreaking.

“Over the pandemic and over the climate change challenges that we’ve seen, we are in a really prime position as an agriculture industry to move forward in ways that we haven’t before,” Popham told the crowd.

“Consumers are putting farmers up on pedestals, and there’s a real understanding that if we don;t support our local farmers, then we’re in trouble.”

She noted that establishing a resilient food system is also an important step to take at this time, stating that being able to produce primary and value added products that can be used in and out of B.C. will help move the agricultural industry forward.

“This mill is going to support this community, but it’s also going to make a big statement right across the province around how communities can support the agriculture sector by doing projects like this,” added Popham.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Popham stated that the feed mill project does instill some hope for moving the industry forward while remaining regionally sustainable.

Agriculture Minister Lana Popham told Vernon Matters the feed mill project will help build resiliency and support local food producers

“We have seen some incredible challenges over the last few years around interruptions of supply chains and, in my mandate letter back in 2017, I was actually tasked with looking at regional food systems and I think now that we’ve seen how those can get disrupted, it’s even more important to have community resilience and be able to create the feed that the animals are eating right in the region once we get cut off, like we did over November/December. It really starts to affect our food system in a way that has been very scary for consumers,” said Popham.

“So we’ve got a lot of things that are coming together that are making this a good news story: agriculture is more important than it’s ever been; consumers are more aware of where their food comes from; and farmers have some hope that, with these regional food systems, not only can they make sure that our food system is more resilient, but they can probably make some more money. So it’s all a good news story.”

Popham also told Vernon Matters that this project could have some positive economic impacts, as all industries that support primary agriculture helps the entire sector grow.

She also noted that the work will help local producers, which in turn will support the Buy B.C. and Shop Local messages, which have been touted as ways to support local businesses, entrepreneurs, farmers and suppliers in the North Okanagan and across the province.

by Liam Verster

Ground broken for new feed mill in North Okanagan

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