Saanich farmers are speaking out against a new CRD agriculture bylaw that would establish a new resource for farmers.
B次元官网网址淭he CRD proposal is based on a discredited 2019 study, which is a fantasy vision of rosy-cheeked young folk striding across the fields carrying baskets of vegetables,B次元官网网址 Jason Austin, a Central Saanich farmer and retired CPA, said in an email to the CRD that was shown to Peninsula B次元官网网址 Review.
Austin and Brett Smyth are established farmers in Central and North Saanich, respectively. Austin has operated Gatton House Farm in Central Saanich since 1992 and has been one of the largest single donors of produce to Victoria food banks, averaging 40,000 pounds donated each year. SmythB次元官网网址檚 family has operated their small-crop Smyth Farm since 1978, and he is also a former North Saanich Councillor.
The new Foodlands Access Service bylaw is intended to coordinate preservation and access to farmland for agricultural use and promote regional food security. Essentially, it would allow the CRD to facilitate farmland access, acquire new farmland and bring it up to standard. The goal is to make it easier for young farmers to get started and to access farmland with less barriers, in the hopes of combatting food security in the region.
The service would be paid for by an annual requisition fee from CRD municipalities for up to $1 million annually.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a squandering of taxpayer money,B次元官网网址 said Austin.
Austin and Smyth believe the bylaw will not improve the viability of local agriculture within the CRD and that the alternative approval process (AAP) used to approve the bylaw did not properly consider the opinions of existing farmers or municipalities.
The AAP allows electors to indicate whether they are against a local government proposal. They can submit a form to the CRD, and if 10 per cent of electors within the CRD submit the form in opposition, the proposal will not be approved, the deadline has since passed.
B次元官网网址淭he CRD advanced their proposal as an alternative approval process (AAP), which, of course, no one saw, so there has been no public discussion,B次元官网网址 Austin said in an email to the CRD. Both farmers feel neither residents nor the municipalities were given enough opportunity to voice their opposition to the proposal.
A recommendation from the planning and protective services committee was made to the CRD in 2023 for staff to canvas local governments for their feedback, interest and input on the Foodlands Access Service bylaw. This recommendation was rejected, and municipalities were not canvassed.
The CRD cites the aging of current farmers, challenges in maintaining the viability of farming, high land costs, and the CRDB次元官网网址檚 lack of authority over food programs as justification for the bylaw. But, Austin says this is a mischaracterization of the reality of farmers' current struggles.
B次元官网网址淭he amount of stuff we grow here to contribute towards food security in the region is about that big,B次元官网网址 Austin said, holding his thumb and index finger about one inch apart.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nothing there. Look at the grocery carts when you leaveB次元官网网址攁nything thatB次元官网网址檚 in a package has not come off a farm.B次元官网网址
For small-scale farmers, making money, at least by selling to grocery stores, is extremely difficult. Selling products at farm stands or markets is an option, but itB次元官网网址檚 a tough way to pay the bills, even for established and experienced farmers. Smyth has residents purchase produce from him discreetly and daily; they slip into the building where he stores product, leave money in his donation box, and slip out.
B次元官网网址淭he best year we have ever had was the first COVID year, with $75,000 gross. That year was the best year for me because I made $15,000 bucks, and I worked 3,500 hours,B次元官网网址 said Smyth.
For Smyth and Austin, small-scale farming has largely been an act of philanthropy.
B次元官网网址淔or young people to make a living of any kind on small property, some of them are farming like an acre or half an acre. TheyB次元官网网址檒l be lucky if theyB次元官网网址檙e making enough money to live on,B次元官网网址 said Smyth. They believe this is the reality of why fewer young people are entering farming.
B次元官网网址淵oung people are not in small-scale crop farming because they know they cannot make a living at it,B次元官网网址 Austin told the CRD.
The pair recognize that the CRDB次元官网网址檚 proposed bylaw is attempting to have a positive impact.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e doing their best to try to pull things together and acknowledge some of the problems that exist, and it is a problem for younger farmers to buy land, for sure,B次元官网网址 said Smyth. However, they are concerned that if the bylaw is implemented and brings in more farmers, it will cut into established farmersB次元官网网址 businesses.
They arenB次元官网网址檛 the only ones who feel this way. In a Jan. 22 email Austin sent to the CRD outlining his opposition to the bylaw, six additional farmers signed off in agreement with his statements.
While the CRD stated in its FAQ that B次元官网网址渁 variety of members of the agricultural community were engaged through stakeholder meetings and with the Peninsula and Area Agriculture Commission (PAAC),B次元官网网址 Anita Bull, a former PAAC board member, said that while the CRD did deliver some information on the project during her time on the board, it was not met with enthusiasm.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 recall any member speaking in favour of the project. Some of the PAAC comments were about how existing farmers could compete with these would-be farmers getting cheap land to use, free water, fencing, etc.,B次元官网网址 said Bull.
Andy Orr, senior manager of corporate communications and engagement for the CRD, stated, B次元官网网址淎t [the] committee over the past couple of years, some farmers came and offered support.B次元官网网址 Orr further acknowledged that there are mixed views in the community on the bylaw and said residents could register to speak at the board meeting to voice their opposition.
"If they followed the AAP process those responses would be captured," Orr said.
The results of the AAP will be certified at a Feb. 12 CRD board meeting, where the bylaw will be adopted if fewer than 10 per cent of electors oppose it.