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Country Life in BC 36 Dale Road Enderby, BC V0E 1V4


Vol. 103 No. 5


CANADA POST


Postage paid Publications Mail 012122


POSTES CANADA


Port payé Post-Publications


AG COUNCIL ELECTION HOUSING


Ag council welcomes fish farmers to table Parties offer competing visions of ag future Worker housing concerns grow across BC


3 7


16


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The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915


Wet spring sets back crops across province


by TAMARA LEIGH


FORT ST JOHN – March is a fickle month and this year it set new lows for many across BC. Growing is a delicate balance of sun, water and soil, but the lack of sun, abundance of water and saturation of soil has set crops back in almost every corner of the province. After being hit with snow in


October while some crops were still in the field, growers in the Peace could have used a break. Instead, the first two weeks of April brought two major snowstorms, leaving accumulations of over 12 inches in some places. “There’s probably still 15% of last


year’s crop out there,” says Rick Kantz, president of the BC Grain Producers’ Association. “Guys with canola and [swathed crops] will probably be attempting to harvest but any cereals that were standing, I’m guessing most guys are going to burn it.”


See COOL on next page o Growing more with less water


Visitors to flowering tulip fields in the Fraser Valley better bring their gumboots. This spring’s slow start pushed back the opening of Tulips of the Fraser Valley to its latest date in 11 years. TULIPS OF THE VALLEY PHOTO


Farmland values rise on expansion


by PETER MITHAM VANCOUVER – Strong demand from farmers


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seeking to grow their existing operations or relocate to cheaper locales drove BC farmland prices 8.2% higher in 2016, according to Farm Credit Canada’s annual survey of agricultural land values. However, the increase wasn’t spread equally


across the province. “The farmland values variance in the


province was significant, from no change to the highest regional farmland value increase in Canada, reflecting the unique circumstances and diverse markets throughout the province,” FCC said in its report.


Demand for farmland reflected the heated


market for properties of all kinds in the Lower Mainland in recent years. Lower Mainland farm properties increased an average of 17.7%, making it the hottest market in the country as farmers, residential buyers and investors alike sought parcels. Some sources report properties selling for close to $600,000 an acre. According to a 2016 report for Vancity by


researchers at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, small acreages fetch $150,000 to $350,000 an acre in Metro Vancouver, while 20-acre parcels sell for $110,000 to $120,000 an acre.


An equally active market, on account of See LAND on next page o MAY 2017 | Vol. 103 No. 5


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