4 Unsung heroes Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and some of the most thankless jobs


in agriculture are those of government employees. Sure, we lament the hardships of the thousands of migrant workers who tend, harvest and pack our food each season, but even this upholds them as worth our attention. The civil servant, on the other hand, is usually cast as the turkey. An intelligent bird, perhaps, but one that gets a good basting. This is what unfolded at the meeting in Merville last month, where


Agricultural Land Commission chair Jennifer Dyson, CEO Kim Grout and assistant deputy minister of agriculture James Mack faced an angry crowd. Government said it wanted feedback on supporting farmers, but the hard work of hearing out everyone wasn’t undertaken by the agriculture minister (absent) or local MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard (whose official role was that of host). Rather, it fell to government staff. Mack pointed out that he was there representing the government, not the party in power, while Dyson – a government appointee – and Grout both said they took their lead from government. “Government sets the rules,” Dyson said as the crowd howled at what it considered an evasion of responsibility.


But the meeting revealed just how great a distance exists between the


current government and the people it expects to implement and enforce its approach to farmland protection, not to mention the landowners impacted by those changes. While landowners are angry, staff came across as equally frustrated. Grout, asked how farmers were expected to deal with the steady stream of


regulatory changes, said her staff are having trouble themselves carving out the time needed to smoothly implement the new rules. Meanwhile, ministry staff don’t know what will replace the grandfathering


provision for second homes, announced in July, when it expires February 22, 2020. “We want to figure out what comes next,” said Mack. To their credit, Dyson, Grout and Mack stayed more than 90 minutes beyond


the official close of the meeting in Merville to listen to people’s concerns. We don’t doubt they’ll give the same ear to those attending meetings planned across the province this month to listen to the concerns of those in Delta, Kelowna, Prince George, Dawson Creek and Castlegar. It’s a thankless job, but we’re glad they’re listening. Whether the minister listens, too, is another story.


It’s time government changed its narrative


Be creative. Be resourceful. Take the road less travelled. Think outside the box. A mantra for entrepreneurs and risk-takers of all stripes. At the heart of most great human


The Back Forty BOB COLLINS


discoveries and innovations is someone who dared to think outside the box that held the conventional wisdom of their time. John Deere, Cyrus McCormick and Harry Ferguson were three such thinkers who revolutionized agriculture.


As the pace of change in agriculture and the society it serves accelerates,


everyone making a living from the land – or trying to – will need a well-honed ability to think outside of their particular box. Of course, thinking outside the box is of little value to those who are unable


to act outside of the box. And herein lies the dilemma for many BC farmers and would-be farmers. The Agricultural Land Commission, with newly amended regulations, seems intent on nailing the lid securely on the Agricultural Land Reserve box. Fine, if your circumstances are workable there or you have a pass to get out, but problematic if you are stuck inside without the hope or opportunity to make things work.


Neither the BC Ministry of Agriculture nor the ALC has a business template to


offer those living in the ALR. Nor could they hope to. The diversity of land types, parcel sizes and location makes nearly every farm


parcel in BC unique. It is the farmers and ranchers on the land who can best determine how to be successful. In fairness to the ALC, it exists to protect land in the ALR and appears to see heightened regulation and enforcement as the only realistic way to achieve that end. What goes unaccounted for is the collateral damage: the farmers and ranchers locked in a regulatory box without the flexibility or opportunity to succeed – the very things the agriculture minister believes should increase if land in the ALR is to be protected. Two recent rulings have placed the ALC in the public spotlight. The first


resulted in the closure of the Rusted Rake restaurant located on Rusted Rake Farm in Nanoose Bay. While there are numerous reasons for the ruling, the


public take-away is that the owners bought a run-down property and started farming it; they opened a restaurant to serve what they grow; the ALC told them they couldn’t have a restaurant unless they made wine or beer; the owners spent more than $100,000 on equipment and grew barley so they could start a brewery, and the ALC turned them down anyhow because they wouldn’t be making enough beer. Comment from beyond the farm community has been harsh. Few people seem to grasp the logic of mandatory alcohol production for restaurant approval.


Another ruling is aimed at the Fraser Valley Gleaners Society in Abbotsford (Land commission orders Gleaners off ALR, Country Life in BC, September 2019). The society is a non-profit organization, wherein volunteer labour turns 900 tonnes of recovered cull and excess produce into 15 million soup servings which are distributed internationally to hungry and displaced people. The Gleaners have been on site since 2001 when the ALC allegedly gave permission to construct the facility. But the commission now says the Gleaners have to leave, and have given them two years to do so. This comes against the backdrop of a UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that identifies food waste – as much as 30% of global food production – is a key way agriculture contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.


While the ALC no doubt has the regulatory clout to expel the gleaners, it is


hard to see any real upside for anyone. It seems mildly reminiscent of the 2003 debacle where the BC Lottery Commission denied a licence to the Vancouver Quilters Guild for its annual fundraising lottery. The guild used the lottery proceeds to buy supplies to make quilts that were given to the BC Children’s Hospital nursery and extended care at UBC Hospital, among others. The backlash was swift and fierce and the associated political backpeddling even more so. It is still a sore point with some quilters. The government recently launched a new round of meetings with farmers, the public and stakeholders to discuss “how we can support more value-added activities on farms within the ALR.” Let’s hope the narrative changes from what you can’t do to what you could


do IF. Bob Collins raises beef cattle and grows produce on his farm in the Alberni Valley. Publisher Cathy Glover


The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 Vol.105 No.10 . OCTOBER 2019


Published monthly by Country Life 2000 Ltd. www.countrylifeinbc.com


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