Saanich Peninsula farmers are speaking out against a new CRD agriculture bylaw that would establish a new resource for farmers.
鈥淭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,鈥� Jason Austin, a Central Saanich farmer and retired CPA, said in an email to the CRD that was shown to Peninsula News 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. Smyth鈥檚 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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a squandering of taxpayer money,鈥� 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.
鈥淭he CRD advanced their proposal as an alternative approval process (AAP), which, of course, no one saw, so there has been no public discussion,鈥� 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 CRD鈥檚 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.
鈥淭he amount of stuff we grow here to contribute towards food security in the region is about that big,鈥� Austin said, holding his thumb and index finger about one inch apart.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing there. Look at the grocery carts when you leave鈥攁nything that鈥檚 in a package has not come off a farm.鈥�
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 it鈥檚 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.
鈥淭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,鈥� said Smyth.
For Smyth and Austin, small-scale farming has largely been an act of philanthropy.
鈥淔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. They鈥檒l be lucky if they鈥檙e making enough money to live on,鈥� said Smyth. They believe this is the reality of why fewer young people are entering farming.
鈥淵oung people are not in small-scale crop farming because they know they cannot make a living at it,鈥� Austin told the CRD.
The pair recognize that the CRD鈥檚 proposed bylaw is attempting to have a positive impact.
鈥淭hey鈥檙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,鈥� said Smyth. However, they are concerned that if the bylaw is implemented and brings in more farmers, it will cut into established farmers鈥� businesses.
They aren鈥檛 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 鈥渁 variety of members of the agricultural community were engaged through stakeholder meetings and with the Peninsula and Area Agriculture Commission (PAAC),鈥� 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.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 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.鈥�
Andy Orr, senior manager of corporate communications and engagement for the CRD, stated, 鈥淎t [the] committee over the past couple of years, some farmers came and offered support.鈥� 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 may be adopted if fewer than 10 per cent of electors opposed it.
