12


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • DECEMBER 2018


Safe Food regs require producer registration Reus receives


Despite the popularity of honey at farmers’ markets, it is among the products not eligible for purchase under BC’s widely acclaimed


Association annual meeting in Victoria on October 26 reported conflicting guidance from the CFIA, and plenty of confusion.


Nanaimo


Ag Briefs EDITED BY PETER MITHAM


nutrition coupon program that allows low-income residents, mothers and seniors to access nutritious local products.


But honey producers now face the potential of even greater restrictions on honey sales as new regulations under the Safe Food for Canadians Act take effect January 15, 2019. “All honey producers in


Canada currently must be registered, and those who sell interprovincially, import or export require a licence,” according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But beekeepers attending the BC Honey Producers


beekeeper Stan Reist, who represents BC on the Canadian Honey Council, said he’s been told he requires a licence, despite selling


exclusively within BC. A licence costs $100. Rod Scarlett, executive


director of the Canadian Honey Council, shared Reist’s confusion, and said beekeepers need to go online to figure out if they need a licence. “They may require people who sell commercial honey to outlets within their province to have a licence,” he said. However, CFIA told Country


Life in BC the exact opposite. “Producers only selling within their own province will not need a CFIA licence,” the agency’s media relations staff said.


—Peter Mitham


greenhouse sector. Reus established Prins


recognition Peter Reus, co-owner with


his wife Ria Van Eekelen of Van Eekelen Enterprises Ltd. in Abbotsford and founder of Prins Greenhouses Ltd., received a meritorious achievement award from the BC Greenhouse Growers Association at its annual industry reception for his contributions to BC’s


Greenhouses in 1981, steadily developing the business and keeping pace with changes in greenhouse construction and technology. Van Eekelen Enterprises is


best known for its Witloof endives (it’s the biggest producer in Canada), but also farms leeks, legumes, cereals and brassica crops on nearly 600 acres in eastern Abbotsford. The farming operation has seen Reus


NETWORK building


Thursday mid-week markets and did just restaurant deliveries.” Similarly, one restaurant’s


request led to a stable market for Glorious Organics’ lemon verbena. “Once one chef asks for it and it gets established, then more chefs want it,” Rattray says.


And what happens when


chefs move on to a new restaurant?


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restaurants, we go with them to the new restaurant and we also keep the old restaurant,” explains Rattray. “If they decide they don’t want it, we’ll send it to a farmers’ market, we’ll mention it to our other chefs and see if we can sell it that way.” Pricing is a key concern, especially when shifting between channels. Selling through a farmers’ market


engage actively in soil conservation activities, and advocate for a fair deal for landowners impacted by pipeline development. Prins is now among the


largest greenhouse builders in the Lower Mainland, and a strong supporter of industry development and innovation. To this end, it is sponsoring the keynote speaker at the 2019 Pacific Agriculture Show, who will address artificial intelligence in agriculture. —Peter Mitham


nfrom page 11


usually generates the best price, whereas restaurants are more cost-conscious. However, they’re also stable. So long as they’re not too demanding, they’re usually more lucrative despite US Department of Agriculture estimates that farmers see just 4% of what consumers pay for the final meal. “Pricing was one of the biggest intimidating factors when we got into restaurants,” says Gemma McNeill who with Doug Zaklan run Zaklan Heritage Farm in Surrey. “It definitely is sometimes a shot in the dark.” Most restaurants are understanding, however. “A lot of chefs understand


that we need to charge a certain amount because of our costs and are willing to pay for it because it’s a high- quality product that lasts a really long time in their fridges,” she says. The quality and longevity


of produce is appealing to chefs, who want to eliminate waste and get a greater bang for their buck. “We’re still trying to run a


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profitable business, so we have to look at our costs on the farm and basically figure out how much these carrots are going to cost us, and we have to make that price,” says Klippenstein. “Some things are cheaper through GFS by whatever, [but] they’ll still buy our product because they know the product is fresh and we’re bringing it right to them and there’s less wastage.” BC agriculture minister


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Lana Popham is living proof that farmers can sell direct to restaurants and survive. She sold produce to Spinnakers, Brio and other restaurants in Victoria during her years growing for Saanich Organics. “When you get to know the chef and the restaurant and vice versa, I think there’s an expectation that everyone can make a living wage. Otherwise, you’re not going to have the growers,” she told Country Life in BC. “I always got a fair price for what I was selling.”


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