SEPTEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
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Grant harnesses opportunities for farming Abbotsford’s agricultural enhancement grant seeks to bring fallow land into production
by PETER MITHAM
ABBOTSFORD – Abbotsford farmland ranks among the most productive in Canada, producing three times more per acre than second-place Niagara, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. “There’s 440 parcels of 10-
acre lands that are just sitting empty, that are privately owned. It’s not being utilized for farming,” says Bonnie Friesen, a chef who works with Field House Brewing Co. in Abbotsford.
Since she joined Field House in January 2017 to oversee the development of its food program, Friesen has sought opportunities to partner with local farms to source ingredients and bring some of those underutilized parcels into production. Ultimately, she wants to see the produce of local farms better appreciated within the Fraser Valley. “We’re really trying to
promote farming and the importance of it in the Fraser Valley. That’s something we feel needs to be promoted; the story needs to be told,” she says, earnestly. “The issue with our valley is that a good number of our foods produced here [are] being exported and meanwhile we are buying imports. … So we’re trying to create a food- secure valley because we have enough property in the valley, in Abbotsford alone, to support Abbotsford.” What’s needed, she says, is
for more farmland to be brought into production so that people see, taste and appreciate local produce. These ambitions led her to
draft an application on behalf of Field House for an agricultural enhancement grant. Abbotsford established the grant program, administered by the Abbotsford Community Foundation, in 2011 to offset the impacts of industrial development on the city’s agricultural land. To date, the program has received contributions totalling more than $1.5 million, and disbursed more than $650,000 to initiatives ranging from agricultural awareness to development of a made-in-BC hop and nutrient harvesting from manure. This spring, Field House
received $25,000 to “collaborate with farming partners to revitalize underutilized ALR property which will contribute to both the agriculture community and local food culture.” Bringing land into
production was the focus of
this year’s grant program, and Field House aims to show that partnerships can be viable and sustainable. Friesen says the funding
supports leasing five acres at Bakerview EcoDairy, where Field House harvested about 16,000 pounds of barley last month for use in its beers. The grant also covered a portion of the capital costs associated with farm development and marketing. “Starting a farm is very
hard. It takes a lot of startup costs to have the infrastructure and the labour to go into starting up the farm, to purchase all the seeds,” she explains. “Our goal was for this grant to be able to go towards a percentage of our capital costs, and then a large portion of it to promote what we’re doing.” With its working dairy, egg and beef divisions, not to mention hydroponic forage production, rice paddy and agri-tourism operation, the Bakerview EcoDairy property may not seem like your typical underutilized farm parcel. Friesen believes the 90-acre
property could be doing so much more, however. “Grain has never been
grown,” she says. “This land has just been sitting with corn and grass on it.” By making greater use of existing farm properties, Field House is helping existing farmers keep land in production, something the province says is the best way to keep farmland from being lost to other uses. The first partnership that
showed the possibilities of the strategy was with Mike and
Bonnie Friesen wants to see fallow farmland brought into production. PETER MITHAM PHOTO
Leigh Lee of JJ Mills Family Farm in Greendale. “They had been farming it as a family, doing some small CSA [community-supported agriculture] boxes, but they both have full-time jobs and they were really looking for some help to continue working their land,” says Friesen. “We really got excited about being able to grow all
of the produce that goes into our menu and beer program. So that’s when we decided to turn this into more of a business model and integrate it into the brewery.” A partnership with Don
Campbell of Maple Lane Farms Ltd., a 74-acre organic dairy in the Mt. Lehman area of Abbotsford, followed. Six acres of land is being brought
into production, with Field House initially leasing a half-acre. “Our vision is to feed
people, and that agricultural grant that Field House received is actually very timely for both of us,” Campbell says. “To have a partner has been massively important. We probably would have been half the size if they hadn’t come on board.”
Reminder of Check-off Increase BC’s Cattle Check-Off increases to $5.00 per head effective JULY 1, 2018.
BC beef producers support the industry with funds for promotion, marketing, development and research.
National Check-off $2.50/head Canada Beef Beef Cattle Research Council Issues Management (CCA)
Provincial Check-off $2.50/head Supports industry projects of these provincial associations:
www.bcacf.ca
www.cattlemen.bc.ca
www.bcdairy.ca
www.cattlefund.net Cattle Industry Development Council Ph: 250.573.3611 #4-10145 Dallas Dr. Kamloops B.C. V2C 6T4
www.bcbfa.ca
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