Organic BC

BC's farms are profitable — but farming at the edge. 🌾

A new BC Agriculture Council + BC Dairy report shows BC farm debt has climbed 286% in 20 years, faster than any other province, while mid-sized family farms are quietly disappearing.

The fixes it recommends — modern risk-management programs, better access to financing, and protecting farmland through the ALR — matter for every BC producer, organic included.

Read the full report 👉 farmingattheedge.ca

🌿 What happens when agriculture works with nature?

A lot can happen beyond the crop itself.

From the microorganisms living in the soil to the pollinators moving through fields and the water flowing beyond them, farms are deeply connected to the natural world.

Here’s a closer look at what organic farming can mean for the environment around us!

👉 Special thanks to Evan Eskilson, food systems researcher and UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability PhD student, for gathering stats for us! See Evan’s current research here: agroecology4climate.net

Organic month spotlight 🌱✨
 
Did you know, British Columbians lead the nation in demand for organic products? A special shout-out to our partners who are both Buy BC and BC Organic members:
 
Amara Farm, Courtenay, B.C.
Cartwheel Farm, Creston, B.C. Cartwheel Farm
Close To Home Organics, Abbotsford, B.C.
Eatmore Sprouts, Courtenay, B.C. Eatmore Sprouts & Greens
Fresh Valley Farm, Armstrong, B.C.
Helmer’s Organics, Pemberton, B.C.
Kootenay River Organics (Just a Mere), Creston, B.C.
Northstar Organic Farm, Victoria, B.C.
Rootdown Farm, Pemberton, B.C. Rootdown Organic Farm
Spray Creek Ranch, Lillooet, B.C.
Terra Nostra Farm, Powell River, B.C. Terra Nostra Farm
Wh***ey Creek Ranch, Rose Prairie, B.C. Michelle - Wh***ey Creek Ranch
 
Choosing local organic food is a powerful way to support B.C. farmers while enjoying products grown right here at home. ✨
 
📸 Featured farm: Northstar Organic Farm
 

🌱 What’s on the agenda? There’s a lot to explore at Lakeland Farms on Oct 2nd!

This event goes beyond seeing cover crops in the field — we’ll look at how they fit into a broader farm system, the economics behind them, how they’re managed, and what’s happening in the soil.

𝟭𝟬:𝟬𝟬 𝗔𝗠 | 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿

Dig into parts of the business, stacking enterprises, cash crop rotation, cover cropping economics, moisture management, tools and equipment (on hand for viewing!), and livestock integration.

𝟭𝟬:𝟰𝟱 𝗔𝗠 | 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿

Tour the cover crop and livestock fields by tractor/trailer or on foot.

𝟭𝟭:𝟰𝟱 𝗔𝗠 | 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀

Agrologist Tanya Brouwers will focus on cover cropping for drought resilience, with hands-on soil assessments looking at aggregate stability, water infiltration, soil compaction, and soil test interpretation.

𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 | 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

We hope to see you there!

📍 Lakeland Farms, Salmon Arm
📅 Friday, October 2
🎟️ Free to attend. Registration required.

Save your spot: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cover-cropping-drought-resilience-soil-assessment-lakeland-farms-tickets-1998671910487

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

On Wednesday, Oct. 14th, join us at West Coast Seeds in Delta for our Lower Mainland Gather and Grow event!

After a season that brought plenty of challenges, come together for an afternoon of sharing ideas, getting into the field, and catching up with fellow growers.

🌾 Trial plots + seed industry: Tour West Coast Seeds’ breeding plots and hear what’s happening in the seed world.

💧 Cover crops + soil health: Tanya Brouwers will dig into drought-resilient cover cropping and lead some simple, in-field soil health tests.

🧑‍🌾 Farmer roundtable: Compare notes on cover cropping, share what’s working, and learn from each other’s experiences.

🍻 Food + drinks: West Coast Seeds and Barnside Brewing Co. have the refreshments covered.

This event is free and open to anyone interested, but registration is required. Learn more and save your spot at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/organic-bc-gather-and-grow-event-series-lower-mainland-tickets-1998997119195

This event was funded by the Climate Agri-Solutions Fund. Funding for the Climate Agri-Solutions Fund has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Climate Solutions –On-Farm Climate Action Fund.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

What are you actually paying for when you buy organic in BC?

You want food you can trust, confidence in the label — and value for your money.

But what makes an organic claim trustworthy? Who verifies it? And does choosing organic always mean paying more?

Let’s unpack what certification means, what you’re paying for, and what your choice at checkout can mean for farmers, the environment, and the future of our food system.

Coming up next week—field days at Fresh Valley Farms in Armstrong and Ikigai Farm in Chase! Dig into installing a water catchment pond, research on using a multi-species cover crop as a nurse crop, and using mulch to improve soil health and crop yields.

👉 Email [email protected] to register.

Organic BC wants more food processing in BC. So why did we ask the Province not to proceed with its proposed farmland-processing rule as written?

Because it cuts the link between processing and farming instead of strengthening it.

Today, a processing facility on farmland must source at least 50% of what it handles from the farm or a farmer co-op. The proposed rule drops that to just 5% BC-grown, meaning up to 95% of inputs could be imported, including products that compete with what BC farmers grow.

It would also:

🔹 Treat Class 4–7 land as "surplus" — the grazing, forage, berry, grape and tree-fruit land that organic production depends on

🔹 Remove Agricultural Land Commission review before development, replacing it with self-certification checked only if someone complains

🔹 Open up to ~5,250 hectares of BC's most expensive farmland to development, in a province where land access is the #1 barrier for new and expanding farms

The real barriers to processing are servicing, permitting and industrial land costs, not a shortage of farmland to pave over.

Read our full submission to Minister Popham: organicbc.org/organic-bcs-response-to-proposed-changes-to-land-use-in-the-alr/

Organic BC's Response to Proposed Changes to Land Use in the ALR - Organic BC Organic BC's response to proposed changes to land use in the ALR, which would weaken the link between processing and farming and remove review before development.

Every farm has pests. So what happens when they show up?

The answer isn’t “reach for synthetic chemicals.”

Organic farmers start with prevention: healthy soils, diverse ecosystems, resilient crops and practices that can make it harder for pest problems to take hold.

When those strategies aren’t enough, organic standards allow for targeted intervention, including naturally derived pest control options.

Wait — organic farms use pesticides? Yes, but organic pest control is fundamentally different from conventional chemical spraying.

From prevention to intervention, here’s how the pieces fit together.

🌱 See cover cropping in action! 🌿

On Friday, October 2nd, join Organic BC and Ecocert Canada at Lakeland Farms in Salmon Arm for a hands-on day exploring cover cropping, soil health, and drought resilience.

Tour Lakeland Farms and learn more about their business model and where cover cropping fits in, along with the economics of cover cropping, the tools used to manage hundreds of acres of cover crops, and how they’re integrating cattle grazing into their cover crops.

You’ll also hear from agrologist Tanya Brouwers on using cover crops to build soil organic matter, retain moisture, and strengthen farm resilience, and will have the opportunity to take part in simple, practical soil assessments you can use on your own farm.

Refreshments and snacks will be generously provided by Askew's Foods.

This event is free and open to anyone interested, but registration is required. Learn more and save your spot at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cover-cropping-drought-resilience-soil-assessment-lakeland-farms-tickets-1998671910487

Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) – On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF).

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada