JANUARY 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Challenges, changes face


young farmers Farmfest speakers pose challenges on trust, trade and the ALR


by DAVID SCHMIDT CHILLIWACK – Whether


young farmers will be able to continue producing food in future depends on their ability to maintain and enhance public trust in agriculture. With that in mind, the BC Young Farmers invited Marty Seymour to be the keynote speaker at their 2017 Farm Fest in Chilliwack on November 18. About a year ago, Farm


KIM ROSS growth.


Credit Canada hired the CEO of the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina as its director of industry and stakeholder relations with a mandate of leading a new initiative to enhance public trust in agriculture.


Seymour noted millennials (born 1985-2005) will outnumber Baby Boomers by 2030, “and they lack trust in the food system. “It matters what people think about how we’re producing food,” he stressed. “It behooves us to share our story through posts, blogs, tweets and face-to-face encounters.”


When sharing that story, farmers should talk about food rather than production and not overload the conversation with scientific data. “Trust has more currency than science. All the data I


“BC is enjoying your fourth


year in a row with growth of over 3%,” Webb told them. One reason is that BC exports more to Asia. About 38% of BC exports go to Asia while just 4% of Ontario’s exports are headed to Asia. Ontario is more reliant on US trade, which is in a state of flux because of NAFTA’s renegotiation. “There will be a lot of noise


around NAFTA for the next few months,” Webb said, adding that noise will include supply management. “The US wants to get rid of supply management and that will be a big issue across Canada.” The future of supply management is not the only cloud on the horizon. Even more threatening are BC’s skyrocketing land prices. Land prices in the Fraser Valley increased over 16% in 2016. In the Peace region, land prices


escalated 9%. “When (the increases) are so much higher than inflation, it’s unsustainable,” Webb said. The future also depends on what happens with the Agriculture Land Reserve. Agricultural Land Commission CEO Kim Grout, the fest’s third


speaker, noted the new NDP government is beginning policy discussions on “revitalizing” the ALC. What will that look like? Although Grout said “we’re on the eve of some potentially new changes,” she admitted the ALC doesn’t


know what that will look like, since it is not directly involved in drafting ALR legislation. Instead, she encouraged


young farmers to take advantage of the policy review, calling it “your opportunity to provide input into what the rules will be.”


have is irrelevant,” Seymour told his audience.


While building public trust is a long-term effort, BC Young Farmers got some good news about the immediate future from Scotiabank director of economic and fiscal policy Mary Webb. “Many of us


have a deep envy of BC,” the Toronto-based banker said, noting BC is leading the nation in economic


Outstanding effort


11


2011 Canadian and BC Outstanding Young Farmer Annemarie Klippenstein, left, presented a commemorative plaque to 2017 BC Outstanding Young Farmers Gary and Marie Baars of TNT Hay & Cattle Sales in Chilliwack during the Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers finals in Penticton, December 1. For the full story of the weekend’s events, see page 33. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


SCOTIABANK IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE 2018


BC AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY GALA


For more information on our complete suite of services, contact one of our specialists or visit scotiabank.com/agriculturalservices


Lee Gogal, BBA


Director and Group Lead BC Agriculture 604.308.1657


lee.gogal@scotiabank.com


Kimberly Ross, M.Sc. (Ag.Ec.) Director


BC & AB Agriculture 604.302.2620


kimberly.ross@scotiabank.com


Henri Peeters Director


National Accounts Agriculture 604.798.7396


henri.peeters@scotiabank.com


Jason Warmerdam, BBA Client Relationship Manager BC Agriculture 604.845.4760


jason.warmerdam@scotiabank.com


Dariann Kloot


Client Relationship Manager BC Agriculture 604.328.0494


dariann.kloot@scotiabank.com


® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52