Commonwealth_ British Columbia’s farm sector posted the biggest net loss in Canada in 2024 as farmers lost $456.9 million, fresh figures from Statistics Canada indicate. It was the newest installment in a troubling storybook: B.C. farms have not been profitable as a whole since 2017. The losses have mounted year-over-year since 2020, and they are scaring farmers, stakeholder groups, and policymakers.
The B.C. Agriculture Council listed some of the leading causes of this condition, attributing them to economic, environmental, and systemic reasons. Land prices soaring, debt levels on the rise, climate change, and emerging global trade disruptions have all come together to make it an unfavorable environment for farming by B.C. farmers in a sustainable manner.
B.C. agricultural land is the most costly in the nation, especially in the Lower Mainland, where competition for land is intense. The cost of buying productive farmland is making it necessary for most producers to carry enormous debt loads, often reaching into the millions. For smaller and medium-sized businesses, the expense is becoming prohibitive. As a result, the industry is becoming increasingly prone to economic disruption and environmental volatility.
Global warming has been particularly ruinous. Since 2021, B.C. farmers have faced a series of severe weather events. The 2021 “heat dome” destroyed fruit crops across the Okanagan and Fraser valleys. Widespread flooding later in the year covered thousands of acres of farmland. The province had its worst-ever forest fire and drought season in 2023, followed by a record-cold spell in 2024 that wiped out an entire year’s harvest in some regions.
Despite the implementation of government climate adaptation and disaster relief programs, most farmers perceive the assistance as slow and insufficient. Bureaucratic red tape impedes application processes, and compensation fails to equate to the extent of damage. Relief payments only manage to pay for a fraction of the loss; that is, farmers must pay for the remaining amount at a time when margins are already tight to zero.
Adding to the uncertainty is the looming threat of U.S. tariffs on farm exports and farm inputs that are required. B.C. farmers depend significantly on imported pest control chemicals and pest management equipment, as Canadian manufacturing falls far short of the requirements of the province. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions in global supply chains have driven prices of these essential inputs skyrocketing. Some of those products now cost as much as double what they did only two years ago, which further reduces farm profitability.
To address these increasing demands, the B.C. Agriculture Council is asking the provincial government to respond with urgency and substance. Suggestions include increasing rates of compensation for relief from climate disasters and revising the province’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), not significantly updated since its inception in 1973.
Established to maintain land under production for farming and ranching, the ALR currently safeguards approximately 4.6 million hectares. Supporters of re-establishing the program argue that it would allow subsequent generations of farmers to continue to access cheap land on which to grow crops and build sustainable farming businesses. With the competition for land increasing due to urbanization, tourism, and other purposes, maintaining land under production is more imperative than ever.
The provincial government has observed the growing concern of the agricultural industry. In early 2024, it established a new Premier’s Task Force to advance the province’s food and agriculture industries. The task force is searching for solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the industry, including profitability, competitiveness, and climate resiliency. While B.C. farmers face a complex set of environmental, economic, and policy problems, everyone agrees that the future lies in sustained and collaborative effort. Unless there is extreme intervention, the future for B.C. agriculture and the province’s ability to produce local food remains uncertain.
