Budget recognizes climate risks

The province’s agriculture ministry will see a 16% increase in funding this year, entirely due to the ongoing losses farmers are experiencing from extreme weather.

The provincial budget delivered February 22 allocates an additional $18.4 million to the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The increase gives it a total of $130.1 million, up from $111.8 million last year.

However, overall ministry operations will see funding increase by less than 2%.

The entirety of the increase is destined for Production Insurance, which will receive a boost of $18.6 million to $41.7 million in the current year. (The difference is offset by a $200,000 transfer from ministry operations.)

However, the BC Agriculture Council was most thrilled with the announcement of an additional $83 million for the Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program, boosting funding for the three-year program to $113 million from the initial $30 million announced last year as part of a $200 million food security package initially announced March 7, 2023.

“We would like to thank the Government of BC for this investment as it comes at a critical time,” says BCAC president Jennifer Woike says. “This was a needed investment – one we hope will serve as a stepping stone to providing long-term, generational sustainability for the sector.”

The funding for water infrastructure, including water storage capacity such as dugouts, is part of $405 million designed to address climate emergencies. The allocation will also pay for a $76.6 million upgrade to the Barrowtown pump station announced February 14.

In addition to boosts to Production Insurance and infrastructure funding, the budget also announced that farmers and ranchers will be exempted from the province’s insurance premium tax when paying premiums for provincial agricultural insurance, making these programs more affordable.

The budget also doubled the threshold for paying the Employers Health Tax from $500,000 to $1 million, which means about 90% of businesses in BC will be exempt from paying what many considered a significant payroll expense.

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12 hours ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

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5 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

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Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

6 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

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Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

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Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

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What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC