Lots of Farmland Identified Near Houston

Sunday, July 13, 2008 03:50 AM

Houston, B.C. - Over twenty thousand hectares of undeveloped Crown land in central BC could eventually be available for farmers and ranchers to expand their farming operations. The possibility emerges from the results of a newly-completed study of crown land in the Morice Region, south of Houston, looking at the suitability of the land to grow vegetable, grain and forage crops.

The multi-year study, championed by the Pleasant Valley Cattlemen’s Association (PVCA), involved site visits, field arability analyses, and mapping. According to PVCA President Shirley Hamblin, it’s an extremely timely initiative because of the lack of good land use planning information in the region. “Unlike some resource uses that can be moved across a landscape, arable lands are a finite resource that must be identified and conserved for primarily agricultural use if we are to maintain livestock and crop production opportunities,” Hamblin says. “The knowledge gained from this project, we hope, will guide not only future land use planning exercises but also long term Crown land development for agriculture and range use; at least until we learn how to grow good crops on rocks or pavement!”

The lands identified in the study include areas most likely to be arable and least likely to result in resource conflicts with other users. Targeted areas will be further delineated to minimize inclusion of land of high value for other purposes, such as First Nations cultural resources and fish and wildlife habitat. With the completion of this additional work, farmers and ranchers will be able to apply for access to expand their operations. As with all Crown land applications, eligibility criteria will apply.

Partners in the project include Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-foods Program (ACAAF), the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, the B.C. Ministry of Forests, and the Beef Cattle Industry Development Fund. The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. delivers the ACAAF program on behalf of the federal government. According to IAF Chair Stuart Wilson, the arability maps resulting from the study are excellent tools for farmers seeking to expand their operations. “The maps show them where the good land is,” said Wilson. “The field data will even tell them what kind of soil there is in a particular area and what crops would be best adapted.”

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Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2008 03:50 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lunarbase on July 13 2008 6:37 AM

I know even I thought making more farming, in the MPB kill area would be a good idea. Then I realized that most farmers don't make enough money to survive, all the profits in food go to the middle man and the only real successful farms any more and the huge business owned farms that ex-farmers are employed to work at for next to minimum wage.

No doubt there are some family ran farms out there turning a profit, but a livable profit as well ?

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on July 13 2008 7:21 AM

Does Houston have an airport? I understand the best lands for food production are near airports.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on July 13 2008 7:44 AM

I wonder why the lands to the west of the PG Airport have never been snapped up for farming?

Prince George seems to have everything a farmer would need to make a go of it, transpotation, water, low cost power and a large population of people. Will the possibilties of using the lands by the PG Airport get better than the last 90 years?

We have land to the east of the PG Airport and the last time hay was taken off was in 1956. The land was first homesteaded in 1918 by Griffith. In those days you could burn the brush and timber, but you can not use traditional methods to clear the land in the city anymore. Perhaps the limitations on farming near Prince George means the ALR lands will never be cleared and farmed, just another committee full of politically correct daydreams.

Posted by: Bridge on July 13 2008 10:38 AM

Most of the land that the MPB has denuded is probabably not arable. Pine generaly grows on land that is mostly gravel. Great for homes and airports.

Our home sits in Pinecone sub all gravel and there isnt a crack in the basement concret.

It is great to see that someone has taken an interest in agricultural land. However it is unfortunate that it is not being used for food crops.This will probnably not happen untill the middle class becomes the low Class.

Cheers

Posted by: HD on July 13 2008 10:48 AM

With all this global warming going on farming is the solution. No more snow or frost and farmers will be able to grow crops all year around. Seems to be a great idea.
What will they be growing in gravel, though?

I know this is a dumb post but it fits right in.

Posted by: tinyapplecork on July 13 2008 11:48 AM

This is great news for farmers!

Yama: lol..yes, Houston has an airport.

Posted by: HD on July 13 2008 11:51 AM

Houston has a mayor also.

Posted by: owl on July 13 2008 1:43 PM

Houston have people too .. and, like other communities in the central and northern interior of BC, it is located in a region which is going to have difficulty trying to achieve the 100 km rule for food sufficiency unless they start building some greenhouses soon.

Then again, maybe they want to grow crops for biofuels.

Gravel? Perfect for hydroponic greenhouses...... ;-)

Pine trees????? sandy, well draining soils with some loam??? ... ideal for grape vines and other plants as well .....

Posted by: HD on July 13 2008 6:45 PM

My experience is that most farmers up here work elsewhere to support the farm.
This is poor farm country up here, where are these farm ideas coming from?
Hobby farms in my eyes!
How can anyone pull a 50.000,00 / year wage from a farm??????
And still have money to maintain the equipment??
I know guys on the prairies who can't even do THAT!

Posted by: owl on July 13 2008 10:59 PM

Stats Canada's info on total net farm income in BC over the past 5 years.

Why would the government be pushing anyone into that business?

http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/agri02j.htm

That appears to be the net farm income, as opposed to the net income of the farmer. So, are they showing a negative income on average to make sure that the farms are paying as few $ in taxes as possible?

Posted by: HD on July 14 2008 6:50 AM

Well there you.
Look at the figures.

The only prosperous farmers I know are hobby farmers selling stuff at local farmers markets and sticking the cash right in their pockets without paying income taxes.

They work their farms in the evenings and weekends when they are off from their mill jobs.

Posted by: Eagleone on July 15 2008 5:15 AM

I've got all sorts of ideas for a farm one day, but the government mostly only sell land for farms to people that already own a farm of 100+ acres, so to buy the land you want to farm you first have to buy the land you don't want to be eligible to buy the land you want... and that gets expensive.

Posted by: acrider54 on July 15 2008 5:52 AM

Farmers and ranchers will not be able to afford the fuel prices to run a farm or ranch.