“Big number” tough to get

Ottawa’s support for agriculture during the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn mixed reviews.

Many critics say it falls well short of the $2.6 billion the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and its members, including the BC Agriculture Council, have asked for.

Others point out that programs such as the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which offers up to $2,000 a month to individuals suffering a loss of income as a result of the pandemic, is at cross-purposes with efforts to secure workers in essential sectors like agriculture. CERB caps the additional income recipients are allowed to earn at $1,000.

Recently, staff from the federal agriculture minister’s office contacted Country Life in BC, saying that the shortfall had been greatly exaggerated. Staff outlined several programs announced in recent weeks to support Canada’s farming sector, a list recapped in an announcement this week regarding expanded eligibility for the Canada Emergency Business Account.

“Farmers can be assured that we have their back, and we are continuing to roll-out supports for our agriculture sector.”

CEBA allows farmers without payroll to access a $40,000 interest-free loan, up to $10,000 of which is forgiven if $30,000 is repaid by December 31, 2022. It is one of several programs providing access to credit and or allowing deferred payments. Similar programs include $5 billion in additional capital capacity for Farm Credit Canada, $200 million additional credit for the Canadian Dairy Commission to purchase and stockpile dairy products and $173 million for deferred Advance Payment Program loans.

Other programs aim to provide direct support through the $3 billion in wage top-ups for essential workers in partnership with the provinces and territories, a 75% wage subsidy for businesses suffering significant revenue declines and other programs designed to support employment in the farm sector.

But with many of these, the exact amount of funding for agriculture can’t be pinned down because the programs cover several sectors. In the case of the wage top-ups, federal staff have put the onus on the provinces to determine the rules.

Moreover, the amounts actually spent will depend on participation.

“It’s a big number, basically,” Bibeau’s staff replied. “It’s difficult to put out those estimates, particularly since we don’t what provinces are going to go forward with.”

Provincial supports are equally difficult to determine, with BC Ministry of Agriculture staff unable to say how much has been allocated to house foreign workers during their mandatory isolation period following their arrival from abroad.

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3 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.

The annual potato variety trial in Delta on August 27 attracted more than 300 people from across Canada, with Bill Zylmans of the BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association declaring it a gathering of "the extended potato family." With the expansion of BCPVGA's mandate to a host of field vegetable growers, the field day was a chance to network, learn and understand issues across the vegetable sector. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham and Delta South MLA Ian Paton were on hand for the event at Lundstrum Farms on Westham Island, with both applauding efforts to restore bridge access to the island earlier this year to ensure production was unimpeded. Results of the trials will be published in the new year once seasonal data has been collated and analyzed.

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Lana Popham is the hardest working MLA in the province, I don’t agree with the NDP policies, however I do recognize a hard working MLA…thanks for what you do