The Ferment Farm

LOST THE FARM (status)!

UPDATE 25.02.28

The BC Assessment Farm Division made their ruling to our assessment review. Basically, a bunch of peeps growing food on their less than acre, would each need to make $10K to report to CRA. Not considered a farm otherwise. The panel ruled in favour of the status quo details that apparently only the Lieutenant Governor can change.

So we lost the farm(status).

On a good note….. this is a great opportunity to make a new ruling. The good that could be done to make our ALRs usable for multi crop, multi family, secure food growing places is what everyone wants. “Exceptional Circumstances”…. Eating healthy food we can all grow locally…. Sounds like when the shelves of our grocery stores empty within a couple days….. anyone remember this? Natural disaster like the rout to the coast getting blocked? Pandemics causing supply chain disruptions?

Can you picture thousands of plots on ALRs all growing food? This is possible.

We just need to make the change.

6.1 (1) In exceptional circumstances, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may waive, by order, any of the sales or production requirements of this Part for the period and on any terms and conditions specified in the order. (2) In this section, “exceptional circumstances” includes natural disasters and any other circumstances the Lieutenant Governor in Council is satisfied are of such a severity as to prevent or make impracticable compliance with certain sales or production requirements of this Part. [en. B.C. Reg. 561/2004, s. 4; am. B.C. Reg. 138/2012, App. s. 9.]

Classification of Land as a Farm Regulation

https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/411_95#section5

Reasons for large community gardens on farms:

  1. NO ROOM TO GROW FOOD IN THE CITY: As higher density living reduces home gardening areas, and taller structures block the sun from existing home gardens, the proposed large community gardens will allow the ability for average folk to grow food. The present City funded community gardens are just too small and unsecured for serious food growing. And they all have waiting lists which shows the need for more places to grow.

  2. LAND USE: Biodiverse crops and more PPA (People Per Acre). The land gets much more attention and gets healthier than mono crop farming. Pesticides and fertilizers will be carefully controlled. Soil amendments and water usage as well. Lands vary region to region and each community garden will have its own separate governing body, ruled by the land owner or manager. Agricultural Land Reserves (ALR) will have new revenue streams based upon income from leasing plots to multitudes. Too many ALRs have become burdens to their owners because of the challenges to grow profitable crops. So many ALRs are not being used to grow food, but work around the rulings to become large single resident playgrounds for the very wealthy. Large community gardens will save ALRs from these kinds of developments.

  3. COST & HEALTH: As consumers, we face the brunt of paying the price premium that comes with purchasing certified organic or regenerative organic products just to avoid poisoning ourselves with potentially harmful residues. Growing our own we know exactly what is going into the food.

  4. FUTURE FARMERS & COMMUNITY CONNECTION: With access to larger land plots, entire families get involved. City children get to work beside their parents and friends and learn to work the land like our forefathers. We get to connect with others and share growing techniques and food. Everyone learns to be good neigbors and amazing friendships happen.

An potential solution?

We are going to come up with a proposal for the newly instated (January 2025) Lieutenant Governor Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia to sign off. We will have a proposal that will give CRA more money. The BC Assessment Authority basically answers to the Canadian Revenue Agency, so if we have a bone to feed the big dawg, it is more likely to pass.

Presently, if one individual can show $2500 of income grown on a 10 acre lot to maintain farm status, and $10,000 for an individual with less than an acre, if we ask for one simple change, CRA gets more money, more land gets used, and everyone will be happy. We need to ask to have income generated from the land to include the money from people leasing the community farm/garden plots. If we can make a minimum declarable of $5,000, ir something like that, rather than the $2,500, and only to applicable to private community farm/gardens. So if someone owns a farm wether or not ALR, they could have 50 individual plots, charge $100/plot to cover the CRA requirements. BC Assessment Farm Division, can be the watchdog. Open to discussion….

UPDATE (1 week later): link

Previous Update: link