• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Country Life In BC Logo

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915

  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Headlines
  • Calendar
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Search

Primary Sidebar

Originally published:

June 2017
Vol. 103 Issue 6

Subscribe Now!

Sign up for free weekly FARM NEWS UPDATES


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Your information will not be
shared or sold ever

Stories In This Edition

Vancouver tops BC in farm growth

Accident claims safety advocate

In Good Hands

Rain’s a pain, farmers say

Editorial: Fresh start

Back Forty: Census offers reality check

Viewpoint: Ranchers work ‘dam’ hard for public’s benefit

Agriculture council pledges to work with parties

Pork industry optimitic despite lean times

Vegetable commission priotizies trust, integrity

Fairs reach out-of-court settlement

Richmond sets large limit on farmhouse size

Drones promise to scare birds for berry growers

Small farm expo postponed

Ranchers resist expanding public roaming rights

Letter: Seasonal farm workers find

Canada a second home

Letter: Right to roam wrong

A national voice for greenhouse growers

Hothouse growers reduce risk with IPM strategies

Sidebar: Biocontrols cut costs

Training pregps advisors for growing demand

Hop growers hepped up about future

Controlling hop-loving pests necessary evil

YA mark five years of support small-scale ag

Wise Earth tracks numbers to plant savvy, sell smart

A wise approach to leases, labour and local

Garlic co-op pitched as supply, appetite expands

BC’s climate makes hardneck garlic a viable route

Northern athlete dives into beef marketing

Abattoirs target food safety, labour shortage

Volatile beef market raises questions, few answers

BC feedlot sector prepares cattle disease emergency plan

Drones ride a sky-high range in search of cattle

Spring fling connects sponsors with classroom outreach

Better management underpins farm improvement

Small farmers make it work in Alberni Valley

BCYF tour highlights fish and dairy management

4-H members on the quest for a future with food

Program delivery underway

Wannabe – All things big and small

Woodshed: How Henderson came to be at the end of his rope

Jude’s Kitchen: Summer patio treats

More Headlines

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

1 day ago

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays. ... See MoreSee Less

The Great Spallumcheen Farm & Food Festival and North Okanagan Plowing Match is happening this Sunday, September 24 from 10-3 at Fieldstone Organics, 4851 Schubert Rd, Armstrong. The outdoor festival features tastings and a market brimming with local food and beverage vendors, a horse and tractor plowing competition and vintage farm equipment displays.
View Comments
  • Likes: 8
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

Patti 😊

3 days ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments
  • Likes: 4
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

3 days ago

The top five issues the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity identified in a recent survey were the cost of food, inflation, the cost of energy, keeping healthy food affordable and the Canadian economy. “We are seeing that environmental concerns are not in the top 10,” says Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle Association’s public and stakeholder engagement program. “If you are concerned about being able to afford to feed your family, the environment becomes less important.” ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Ranchers get the backstory on public perception

www.countrylifeinbc.com

VERNON – Ranchers might be concerned about how the public sees their industry, but a producer-funded team at the Canadian Cattle Association has their back. Amy Peck, manager of the Canadian Cattle...
View Comments
  • Likes: 3
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

4 days ago

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million. ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Lake Country packing house sold

www.countrylifeinbc.com

BC Tree Fruit Co-op has sold its Lake Country packing house as part of its long-term plan to consolidate operations. The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, closed on August 31, 2023 for $15.8 million.
View Comments
  • Likes: 7
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 5

Comment on Facebook

Who bought it ffs ?

Ted Nedjelski Karen Turner

One of my first jobs was apple grading in a packing plant in Vernon

Vivian, is this where you worked?

I’d hear the company that owns the big Cannabis company that owns the green houses all around this packing plant was buying up everything around to expand. Wonder if it’s them that got it.

View more comments

5 days ago

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Association's preparation for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/ ... See MoreSee Less

The federal government has committed $1.81 million over the next three years to support the BC Poultry Associations preparation  for direct participation in responses to future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province. “The persistence of the virus in wildlife and recurrence of outbreaks globally, presents additional risks during the migratory bird season in North America later in 2023,” the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health in Vancouver advised in July. For more, visit https://www.countrylifeinbc.com/ai-risk-rises-with-fall/
View Comments
  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Subscribe | Advertise

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Richmond sets large limit on farmhouse size

June 1, 2017 byPeter Mitham

RICHMOND – Richmond council’s decision to permit farmhouses up to 10,764 square feet without having to seek a variance didn’t come without a fight.

During two long nights of public hearings in May, presenter after presenter spoke out against council’s bid to allow homes in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) double the 5,382 square feet city staff recommended.

“The principle you should be going on is to protect as much farmland as possible,” said Sandra Bourque, a retired member of the Richmond School Board. “It should not be to house as many people as possible.”

The idea that certain “cultural practices” make large farmhouses acceptable was a “red herring,” she said, referring to arguments Indo-Canadian farm owners have made in favour of residences that can accommodate several generations of a single family.

“There are many cultural practices that are not accepted, with very good reason,” Bourque said.

The staff recommendation reflected BC Ministry of Agriculture guidelines for residential development on farmland as well as surveys of existing farmhouse sizes and feedback received during an open house in early March. However, Richmond Farmers Institute supported the larger cap of 10,764 square feet. (A call to RFI president Todd May for comment was not returned.)

But many speakers echoed Bourque’s argument that farmland is for food production and that smaller houses are better. Several speakers told council it should have acted earlier.

“Council’s inaction has created a divide and instability in our community,” said Laura Gillanders, who felt council should respect the BC Ministry of Agriculture’s guidelines for residential development on farmland. “The Ministry of Agriculture expects you to be doing your job as a local government.”

Such allegations prompted council to ask staff how houses, some approaching 30,000 square feet, have been built without council review before now. Staff responded that house sizes have been unregulated, meaning permits can’t be withheld on the basis of size alone. The fact prompted farmers and farmland owners to tell council they should have as much right as anyone else in the city to build the kind of house they want.

“Farmers should have the right,” said Bruce May, one of the city’s larger cranberry growers.

Gary Brar, a blueberry grower who has been a vocal participant in the debate over the proposed bylaw, said that he currently lives with his parents in a 4,100-square-foot house but expansion is planned when he marries and the family grows.

“We need large houses,” he said, noting, “We didn’t have these problems before a few bad eggs built unreasonably large homes.” (Speaking at the open house in March, Brar considered houses of up to 15,000 square feet adequate.)

The public wasn’t having anything to do with it.

Speculation is speculation, they argued, no matter who does it or by what means. Sure, farmers have a right to make a living from the land, but not through real estate development.

“We do not owe it to the farmer to cash out for development,” Gillanders said.

David Baines, a former business journalist with the Vancouver Sun, questioned the motivations of the Richmond Farmers Institute and why council had ignored staff’s recommendation.

“My suggestion is what you’re framing as a compromise is a political cop-out,” he said.

Perhaps the most reasonable comments of the night, which Baines encouraged staff to heed, came from Helmut Pastrick a local resident better known for his work as chief economist of the Central 1 Credit Union.

Pastrick told council that by not imposing a tight limit on the size of farmhouses, they were sacrificing the potential for long-term employment opportunities.

Pointing to the recently released figures from the 2016 federal census of agriculture, Pastrick said Richmond farms had become more productive despite diminishing in number from 211 to 189 between 2011 and 2016. They now generate $58 million in farm cash receipts versus $49 million in 2011, an 18% increase. He expects that figure could easily double to $120 million if land was farmed rather than developed.

“There’s a considerable amount of land that’s under-utilized that could be used for farming,” he said. “Under-utilized farmland is not contributing to our economy.”

However, when the final vote was taken on May 17, council voted 7-1 in favour of large homes. Councillor Carol Day cast the sole opposing vote; councillor Harold Steves, venerated for his involvement in establishing the ALR, quietly left the meeting before the vote.

The vote opens the door to tighter enforcement of how owners use housing within the ALR.

The city banned short-term rentals in January but exempted farm accommodation pending tighter regulation of farmland housing.

In the meantime, 45 applications for residential construction – all in excess of the new limit – will be processed under the rules in place prior to council declaring a moratorium on new applications in late March.

The debate isn’t quite settled, however. While restrictions are in place, staff will report on the effectiveness of the new limits in six months.

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Province allows secondary homes

Previous Post: « Small farm expo postponed
Next Post: Viewpoint: Ranchers work ‘dam’ hard for the public’s benefit »

Copyright © 2023 Country Life in BC · All Rights Reserved