CLBC December 2023

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Country Life in BC

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Vol. 109 No. 12

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 DECEMBER 2023 | Vol. 109 No. 12

RECOVERY

Proposed disaster policy raises concerns 7

ALR

Producers wary of housing bylaw implications

SUPPORT

Eby suggests ag-supportive change coming 21

PETER MITHAM

ABBOTSFORD – Unused

farmland could be the next

front in the province’s battle

against real estate

speculators.

Citing the precedent of the

speculation and vacancy tax

the province levies on

underused housing, BC

Premier David Eby said the

province is considering

applying a version of the tax

to underused farmland in the

ALR.

“There’s a very similar and

parallel issue [in housing],” he

said as part of the keynote

presentation at the BC Young

Farmers’ Farm Fest event in

Abbotsford, November 16.

BC Young Farmers is a

committee of the BC

Agriculture Council, whose

executive director Danielle

Synotte moderated the

presentation.

She said the province’s

anti-speculation efforts have

been ongoing for several

years, so a proposal to tax

unfarmed land is not a

surprise.

“This is an ongoing, anti-

speculation issue that this

government has worked on

for several years now,” she

said. “Anti-speculation in

agriculture? Of course we

support that.”

The speculation and

vacancy tax applies to homes

unoccupied for six months or

more each year. All

residential property owners

in the Lower Mainland from

Squamish to Chilliwack must

file an annual declaration, as

well as those in the Capital

Regional District and six

municipalities north to

Two years after atmospheric rivers inundated his Glen Valley farm, Ben Brandsema is ready to take what comes. While the government's response to

ooding in 2021 wasn't perfect, he's hopeful a review of the province's emergency preparedness legislation will make a difference

. See story, page 7.

RONDA PAYNE

Province considers farmland tax

PETER MITHAM

PENTICTON – A year on

from a catastrophic freeze

that killed nearly a third of

the southern Interior’s grape

vines and put the industry on

track for a 54% reduction in

this year’s harvest,

government has yet to deliver

recovery funding.

“We haven’t seen a crisis

like this in our industry, ever,”

says Christa-Lee McWatters,

chair of Wine Growers BC and

general manager of Time

Family of Wines in Penticton.

“Once you say climate

change, everybody thinks

Iced

wine

Sector says it

needs $317

million in

funding to

remain viable

Prepared for anything

Weather woes

Unfarmed land tax

7¼¼Û

¼ÀÆ©sÀ

VËËä¬ÅûËéÙËÄÄéÅ¬äû

Ý¬Åĕĝěė

;



COUNTRY LIFE IN BC DECEMBER 2023 | 11

WMP chair sits

down with BC

milk producers

Dairy price increase welcomed

despite delayed implementation

PETER MITHAM

ABBOTSFORD – BC dairy

producers had a chance to

meet with Western Milk Pool

chair Nolan Berg at this fall’s

producer meetings,

discussing the industry’s new

governance model and

industry concerns in the

privacy of closed-door

sessions that preceded the

more general updates for

farmers and stakeholders.

A packed room was on

hand for Berg’s visit

November 1 with producers

in the Fraser Valley, home to

the largest concentration of

dairy farms in Western

Canada, with the closed

portion of the meeting

running more than 75

minutes.

“I do really want to

genuinely thank you for your

questions and your

comments,” Berg said at the

beginning of the public

portion. “It is absolutely

imperative for me and all of us

to hear what’s going on, the

challenges you face, the

realities you face, raw and

unltered.”

Berg was chosen to lead

the Western Milk Pool in May

on the strength of his “record

of building organizations in a

fast-changing environment

using an extremely

collaborative approach.” He

emphasized collaboration in

his remarks to BC producers.

“There’s a strength in the

Western Milk Pool that allows

us to combine the forces, that

allows us to combine the

smarts, the insights,” he said.

“The platform of the Western

Milk Pool is whenever we nd

places to reduce costs, strip

away redundancies, increase

service levels, that’s where it

comes together.”

He assured producers that

the BC Milk Marketing Board

and BC Dairy Association

would continue to have the

independence required to

oversee the industry in BC.

“The provincial boards will

continue to have the

regulatory authority in their

respective provinces as

they’ve always had,” he said.

“None of the strategic

alignment of the Western Milk

Pool changes that in any way.”

However, the WMP would

help to advance the concerns

of producers in BC at the

national level, framing them

as a regional issue rather than

simply a local one. The

meetings in BC gave him the

information needed to

advocate for BC with

producers in Eastern Canada,

and in Ottawa.

“This is what gives us the

perspective to go to the P10

tables and [Canadian Milk

Supply Management

Committee] and to all the …

tables where we can get some

action,” he said. “We want to

hear it all.”

While domestic demand is

up 3.5% versus a year ago, BC

Milk director Kevin Mammel

elded plenty of concern over

the disconnect between retail

pricing and what producers

receive.

“This is the fullest fall

producer meeting I’ve ever

seen,” he quipped at the

beginning of his presentation,

which did its best to

accentuate the positive

factors impacting the BC

industry.

But news earlier in the day

that a proposed 1.8% increase

in the farmgate price of milk

would take eect May 1 rather

than February 1 as usual

triggered plenty of

conversation. The deferral was

a response to the concerns of

grocers, who have been asked

to limit price increases.

During the closed portion

of the meeting, producers

discussed the revenue

pooling arrangements that

have led to the current pricing

situation and left farmers,

particularly in BC, losing

money for the past few years.

The situation is lost on the

public, who are treated each

year to news of dairy price

hikes by virtue of the

Canadian Dairy Commission

being a public body that’s

required to publicize its

decisions. This makes it seem

like dairy farmers are always

getting a raise, while many

other commodities are able to

raise their prices far more

aggressively and without

fanfare.

The industry’s recent cost

of production study showed

that the price hikes are not

covering farmers’ costs.

Mammel was asked who

was making the money

farmers aren’t getting.

“Over the past two years, a

jug of milk has gone up 17%

to 20% but as farmers we’re

not getting 17%, 20% more

than a few years ago,” one

farmer pointed out.

“Consumers are still paying

the higher price. As farmers

we’re getting a lower price, so

there’s some lost money

there.”

Mammel didn’t have a clear

answer, save to say that

processors would pay more

for milk come May 1.

“The processors are going

to pay that much more for the

milk. Where the rest of the

margin goes is their business,”

he said.

Past presentations to Lower

Mainland producers have

noted that value-added

products, which have seen

higher sales relative to uid

milk, are where the margins

are made. By contrast, uid

milk is often deployed as a

loss-leader to draw in

customers.

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Wilfrid (left) and Sally Mennell present New Tree Fruit Variety Development Council chair Bruce Currie with a

botanical print of the Ambrosia apple, the focus of the council's activities prior to winding down in March

2023. The presentation was made October 24 at the council's board meeting. While an apple marketing

commission was proposed to carry on the council's work, the matter remains under discussion.

SUBMITTED

Job well done!

Postmaster, Please return

Undeliverable labels to:

Country Life in BC

36 Dale Road

Enderby, BC V0E 1V4

CANADA POSTES

POST CANADA

Postage paid Port payé

Publications Mail Post-Publications

40012122

Vol. 109 No. 12

The agricultural news source in British Columbia since 1915 DECEMBER 2023 | Vol. 109 No. 12

RECOVERY

Proposed disaster policy raises concerns 7

ALR

Producers wary of housing bylaw implications

SUPPORT

Eby suggests ag-supportive change coming 21

PETER MITHAM

ABBOTSFORD – Unused

farmland could be the next

front in the province’s battle

against real estate

speculators.

Citing the precedent of the

speculation and vacancy tax

the province levies on

underused housing, BC

Premier David Eby said the

province is considering

applying a version of the tax

to underused farmland in the

ALR.

“There’s a very similar and

parallel issue [in housing],” he

said as part of the keynote

presentation at the BC Young

Farmers’ Farm Fest event in

Abbotsford, November 16.

BC Young Farmers is a

committee of the BC

Agriculture Council, whose

executive director Danielle

Synotte moderated the

presentation.

She said the province’s

anti-speculation efforts have

been ongoing for several

years, so a proposal to tax

unfarmed land is not a

surprise.

“This is an ongoing, anti-

speculation issue that this

government has worked on

for several years now,” she

said. “Anti-speculation in

agriculture? Of course we

support that.”

The speculation and

vacancy tax applies to homes

unoccupied for six months or

more each year. All

residential property owners

in the Lower Mainland from

Squamish to Chilliwack must

file an annual declaration, as

well as those in the Capital

Regional District and six

municipalities north to

Two years after atmospheric rivers inundated his Glen Valley farm, Ben Brandsema is ready to take what comes. While the government's response to

ooding in 2021 wasn't perfect, he's hopeful a review of the province's emergency preparedness legislation will make a difference

. See story, page 7.

RONDA PAYNE

Province considers farmland tax

PETER MITHAM

PENTICTON – A year on

from a catastrophic freeze

that killed nearly a third of

the southern Interior’s grape

vines and put the industry on

track for a 54% reduction in

this year’s harvest,

government has yet to deliver

recovery funding.

“We haven’t seen a crisis

like this in our industry, ever,”

says Christa-Lee McWatters,

chair of Wine Growers BC and

general manager of Time

Family of Wines in Penticton.

“Once you say climate

change, everybody thinks

Iced

wine

Sector says it

needs $317

million in

funding to

remain viable

Prepared for anything

Weather woes

Unfarmed land tax

7¼¼Û

¼ÀÆ©sÀ

VËËä¬ÅûËéÙËÄÄéÅ¬äû

Ý¬Åĕĝěė

;

