DECEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


31 Agri-tourism regulation has little impact on farmers


Popular new rules led to just eight applications in 16 months by MYRNA STARK LEADER


KELOWNA – Agri-tourism is big business in BC, with wine tourism alone contributing more than $250 million to the provincial economy. It is diversifying farming operations, providing additional revenue and boosts the profile of all BC agriculture has to offer. The public can visit orchards, see how lavender is grown and distilled into oil, feed chickens, learn about vegetable production and more. You can even get hitched up on a wagon ride or on-farm wedding. “Agri-tourism provides


necessary additional income to many farming families and it creates new connections to the farm through valuable educational experiences,” says Stan Vander Waal, chair of the BC Agriculture Council. “Agricultural production is fundamental to agri-tourism, making the Agriculture Land


Commission (ALC)’s work to preserve and encourage farming on agricultural land indispensable.” To provide additional


clarity around what’s allowed, the BC Ministry of Agriculture issued new rules in August 2016 governing activities like weddings and other events in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). Farms are allowed to host 10 events a year with up to 150 guests, on-farm parking only and no new permanent structures. Farms can also host a family event if there is no charge. Hosting more people or different events requires the ALR landholder to seek a permit from the ALC. In addition, some activities


don’t require ALC approval, such as farm tours and demonstrations, hay, tractor and sleigh rides, corn mazes, pumpkin patch tours and related activities and seasonal promotional events such as a Christmas fairs or special


Gary Moran, above, of Fantasy Farms near Chilliwack, wishes the province’s new agri-tourism regulations were clearer. PHOTOS COURTESY OF FANTASY FARMS


events to promote farm products.


When the rules were


introduced, some operators raised concerns about how the regulations could change their businesses. Now, more than a year under the new rules, reviews are mixed. Glen Lucas, general manager of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association, says the regulations initially helped to provide clarity but, since 2016, there’s been little discussion.


BCFGA consulted its 520 members, some of whom are involved in agri-tourism, before the rules were created. The organization established a position and lobbied the government directly and via the BC Agriculture Council. “We’ve had no negative


Weddings like this one at O’Keefe Ranch near Vernon are now allowed, conditionally, on farms in the ALR. JOEL JASZCZYSZAK PHOTO


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feedback about the changes so far,” he says. This isn’t surprising, he


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