BCAC plans farmland trust

A farmland trust will be established this fall to help BC farmers transition land at affordable rates to a new generation of farmers, the BC Agriculture Council announced at the inaugural BC Agriculture Forum in Penticton, June 24-25.

“We are building it ourselves and we are inviting government to come alongside us,” BCAC president Jennifer Woike said at the event’s closing reception.

The initiative aims to support a more resilient future for the province’s agriculture sector, giving young farmers access to land at affordable rates in an environment where costs are rising and production margins squeezed.

BCAC says it will be “urging the federal government to modernize tax and charitable policy tools needed to help make the model viable at scale.”

The reception also saw industry leader Jack DeWit honoured with the BCAC Excellence in Agriculture Leadership Award.

DeWit has been a prominent figure in the industry as a farmer of cranberries, hogs and cattle, and has served in myriad roles on various associations, including as chair of the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

“I guess I was the boss for some time, but I never really felt like I was a boss,” he said in accepting the award. “We accomplished a lot of things and it was a really good time.”

DeWit was among more than 225 participants in the conference, dedicated to exploring agriculture regulations, hurdles and policies. The first day included a tour of Summerland growers Savanna Ridge Cherries and Brar-Star Farms, as well as the Summerland Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre for a first-hand look at their challenges, innovations and successes.

The reception also saw the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation present its Outstanding Teacher in Agriculture Award to Cailyn Morash, a Grade 6 teacher at Glenrosa Middle School in West Kelowna.

Another first at the forum was the BC Young Farmers Scholarship presented to Danielle Groenendijk-Westwood, who plans to return to Vancouver Island after completing her veterinary studies at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan.

BC agriculture minister Lana Popham announced the province is adding $20 million to the Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program in her opening remarks for the conference.

“We’re going to support up to five community-led projects in drought-impacted watersheds with a focus on agriculture,” she said.

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