By Tim Collins

Contributor

Robin Herlinveaux was not always a farmer.

The 72-year-old didnB次元官网网址檛 even hail from a farming family and, as a young man, had little inclination to make his living from the land.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 worked about a million jobs but in about 1973, my father thought weB次元官网网址檇 give farming a try. HeB次元官网网址檚 long gone now, but IB次元官网网址檝e been doing this for about 45 years now and I still like it,B次元官网网址� Herlinveaux said.

B次元官网网址淲e went from raising sheep to selling hay to growing vegetables and I still love doing it.B次元官网网址�

But Herlinveaux is quick to dispel any romantic notion about farming being a lifestyle or B次元官网网址渨ay of lifeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� at least for him.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nothing romantic about it. This is a business, plain and simple. ItB次元官网网址檚 how we make a living. But things have changed and gotten harder over the years. ThatB次元官网网址檚 for sure,B次元官网网址� Herlinveaux said.

The statistics confirm that assessment.

According to the Capital Region Food and Agricultural Initiatives Roundtable, Vancouver Island produced as much as 85 per cent of the IslandB次元官网网址檚 food supply in the 1950s. That number has plummeted to about six per cent today, according to Herlinveaux, and the situation shows no signs of improving.

One of the most significant obstacles for Herlinveaux and other farmers in the region is rooted in the value and associated cost of land on the South Island.

The value of land has skyrocketed in recent years and, according to Jodie MacLennan, the Island deputy assessor, those values rose by up to 35 per cent in 2022 alone.

B次元官网网址淲e canB次元官网网址檛 afford to buy the land, so we have to rent it, but the landowners donB次元官网网址檛 want to rent to farmers,B次元官网网址� Herlinveaux said.

B次元官网网址淭here are a lot of places where people have made so much money in the appreciation of their property over the last three, four, five years they donB次元官网网址檛 need farmers on there anymore. And they arenB次元官网网址檛 concerned that we all need food B次元官网网址� that donB次元官网网址檛 mean anything to these people. They can go to the store and buy their food, so thatB次元官网网址檚 all they care about.B次元官网网址�

But, according to Herlinveaux, the lack of interest in farming doesnB次元官网网址檛 translate into a lack of interest in money.

B次元官网网址淭hese same people who wonB次元官网网址檛 rent their land to farmers will still do things to qualify themselves for a farming tax credit on their tax bill,B次元官网网址� said Herlinveaux. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just wrong.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e token farmers. They do the bare minimum and then sit around patting each other on the back and laughing about how they saved $7,000 on their taxes.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址�(For example) they wonB次元官网网址檛 fertilize their land, but theyB次元官网网址檒l B次元官网网址榤ineB次元官网网址� it year after year for a hay crop that they have someone take off for them and they get the same credit that I do for actually farming. On the Saanich Peninsula alone, there are probably about 3,000 acres of farmland that arenB次元官网网址檛 even fertilized.B次元官网网址�

That observation was backed up by another farmer, who wished to withhold his name for fear of negative reactions from neighbours.

B次元官网网址淚 have an apple orchard with 75 acres and itB次元官网网址檚 a lot of work. But the people across the road have someone bring in a couple of sheep for a few weeks and laugh about how they get the same tax credit on their land,B次元官网网址� he said.

Regulations governing food production are also an impediment.

B次元官网网址淚f you want to sell carrots, you have to build a washing plant, get your Food Safe, meet regulations on water testing and have calibrated weigh scales. By the time youB次元官网网址檙e done itB次元官网网址檚 cost you a quarter-million just to sell a bag of carrots.B次元官网网址�

The net result of these issues leads Herlinveaux to the conclusion that there wonB次元官网网址檛 be a legacy of farming to pass on to future generations. He has four children and only one of them has chosen to do any farming.

B次元官网网址淭here wonB次元官网网址檛 be any succession. How in the hell are young farmers going to buy a place with land prices going up driven by speculators and big corporations? This little piece of land here would sell for more than four million.

B次元官网网址淎t best you might see some hobby farmers out here soon,B次元官网网址� he said.

Asked if he had any suggestions for improving the situation, Herlinveaux said that the tax regulations that reward people who arenB次元官网网址檛 actually farming should be addressed and that benefits should only go to legitimate farmers.

But despite the gloomy situation facing farmers, Herlinveaux and his wife, Maureen, have persisted.

HeB次元官网网址檚 continued to farm several parcels of land and sells some of his produce through established retail outlets, like Red Barn Market.

B次元官网网址淲e also have the roadside stand (on Tatlow Road) and we go to the farmerB次元官网网址檚 market at the Saanich Fairgrounds every week. That helps to advertise our stand here as well,B次元官网网址� Herlinveaux said.

B次元官网网址淒espite the problems, itB次元官网网址檚 a business that IB次元官网网址檝e done for 45 years, and I still love it.B次元官网网址�