DECEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Producers take


concerns to Victoria Ag council asking for review of assessment threshold for farm status


by PETER MITHAM


VICTORIA – Keeping farm operations environmentally and financially sustainable were key to the case farm leaders made for the industry when they met with government officials in Victoria at the beginning of November.


Big enough now to span


two days, BC Agriculture Day is a biennial networking event that attracted close to 80 participants from the farm sector this year for meetings with Premier John Horgan, agriculture minister Lana Popham and six of their cabinet colleagues among other government members. The formal meetings took place November 7, but many agriculture representatives arranged meetings the day before to make the most of their trip to Victoria. Organized by the BC


Agriculture Council (BCAC) with the support of proceeds from the annual gala dinner that precedes the Pacific Agriculture Show each January, the event – like the gala – is about networking. “Ag Days is really a


foundational way to meet up with ministers and people in government regarding the specific things that agriculture has near to its heart,” says greenhouse grower Stan Vander Waal, chair of the BCAC. “I think we’ve made some very good connections in that way and, overall, the meetings went exceptionally well – I heard that from both the industry side as well as the government side.” Appropriately for


agriculture, land was a


fundamental element in the conversations. “It’s something that’s


always being discussed: how do we better utilize land?” Vander Waal says. While government’s


promise to consult on appropriate uses within the Agricultural Land Reserve didn’t figure into the conversations, initiatives to keep farmland affordable and limit speculation did. Any intervention in the


market that limits the price of farmland doesn’t sit well with Vander Waal, who says the focus should be on ensuring that farm properties are used for farming. Rising farmland values aren’t necessarily bad if a farmer can leverage the value to expand a viable farm operation. Government’s role is to


ensure legitimate farms are using the properties in the first place. “We’re looking to increase land usefulness, but also to make sure that the benefits are not extended to non-ag uses of farmland,” Vander Waal says.


While the federal


agriculture census counts anyone who grows food for sale as a farmer, BC Assessment grants farm status to owners of agricultural properties generating revenue of least $2,500 a year. Vander Waal wants government to review that threshold. “We don’t think $2,500 is


viable. No one can make a living off $2,500,” Vander Waal says. “We think it’s something that needs to have a solid review.” Tenure is another hot topic


“Next-gen” hatching egg producer Sharmain Bennie and BC Agriculture Council chair Stan Vander Waal took the podium during Ag Day at the BC Legislature in early November. BC MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE PHOTO


that cropped up, which Vander Waal said would be a bellwether for how the NDP might handle other files impacting agriculture, such as new agricultural waste regulations and the high- profile issue of aquifer contamination in the Hullcar Valley. Access to labour,


particularly skilled labour, was another key issue farm organizations raised in Victoria. The cost of labour also figured into the discussions, particularly since agriculture wasn’t included in the Fair Wage Commission the government established in October to explore ways to


boost BC’s minimum wage to $15. “We were a little disappointed to find agriculture didn’t have a seat at the table,” Vander Waal says. “It’s not so much the $15 an hour that’s really the issue, it’s the ripple effect throughout your full staff when you actually have the minimum wage going up. The expectation in general is, ‘Hey, what about me?’”


The ongoing challenge of finding skilled workers was high on the agenda of Nova Woodbury, executive director of the BC Association of Abattoirs, who travelled to Victoria with her board to


raise the concerns her sector faces, which have an impact on livestock producers. Association members met with the BC Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology to discuss the need for abattoir workers and skilled meat cutters in the province. The meetings on BC


Agriculture Day – last held in 2015 – seldom bear immediate fruit, but Vander Waal is optimistic. “We’ve been very happy with the engagement so far with the government, but we have no results to really show at this point,” he says. “We need to see where the rubber is going to meet the road here.”


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DIANE MURPHY VICE PRESIDENT AGRICULTURE MARKETS BC FRASER VALLEY


604-504-4980 diane2.murphy@bmo.com


LANA DUECK VICE PRESIDENT AGRICULTURE MARKETS BC INTERIOR & VANCOUVER ISLAND


250-828-8825 lana.dueck@bmo.com


AGRICULTURE MANAGERS


IAIN SUTHERLAND, P .Ag AGRICULTURE MANAGER 604-571-0292 iain.sutherland@bmo.com


LYNN LASHUK, P .Ag AGRICULTURE MANAGER 250-979-7827 lynn.lashuk@bmo.com


AgSafe WISHES EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS & SAFE, HAPPY NEW YEAR


Call: 1.877.533.1789 Contact@AgSafeBC.ca


www.AgSafeBC.ca


ORLANDO SCHMIDT, P .Ag AGRICULTURE MANAGER 604-504-4978 orlando.schmidt@bmo.com


KEN NICKEL, P .Ag AGRICULTURE MANAGER 604-504-4970 kenneth.nickel@bmo.com


Let’s grow together. Talk to a BMO Agri-Specialist for assistance. We’re here to help.


ABBOTSFORD Randy Lam 604-504-4626 Satpal Gill


604-504-4975


Greg Ksinan 604-504-4973 Raza Qureshi 604-226-4352 Krystine Mirza 604-504-4635 Doug Bonsteel 604-504-4967


CHILLIWACK Carlie Fleenor 604-793-7256 David Fuerst 604-793-7274


CRESTON / CRANBROOK Christine Cooper 250-426-1179


CLOVERDALE John Howard 604-574-6855 Ross Pringle 604-574-6885 Phillip Kunz 604-574-6878 Roland Lazar 604-574-6890 Chris Zizek


NORTH OKANAGAN Teri Kopp


250-838-5820


VANCOUVER ISLAND Ryan Wettlaufer 250-715-2705 Caroline Neumann 250-703-5330


WILLIAMS LAKE Ryan Adams 250-305-6828


Committed to Agriculture


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