At a time when local rural residents are mired in a debate about whether the size of parcels of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve should be reduced, it is worth noting that a new dairy farm on Wilson Road held an open house on Friday.
Why did a family running a successful dairy operation near Chilliwack sell its farm and relocate to the Creston Valley? Here they were able to purchase more than 400 acres on which to establish a new dairy, in an area where there is no threat of residential encroachment that too often creates conflict. People like their meat and milk, but they don’t like the odours and activities associated with farms.
Cost, of course, is a huge factor. After talking to Bryan Terpstra, who manages the new farm (the family purchased the property several years ago, but milk production started only last November), and agricultural real estate specialist Gord Houeweling (who handled the property sale), I learned that Creston Valley properties can be purchased for 10 per cent or less than Lower Mainland farm properties, where large parcels are increasingly rare.
You don’t have to be a financial whiz to figure out that the Terpstras probably sold their Chilliwack farm, paid for land and construction on the Creston flats and came out money ahead. The parcel they now live and work on is large enough to accommodate expansion of the milking operation to sustain the younger family members who want a rural way of life and a solid financial future.
There are fewer dairies in the Creston Valley now than there were several years ago. Some owners have sold their dairy quotas (more about that in a minute) and others have sold their multi-parcel properties in Lister and relocated to the Creston flats, where they can operate with less conflict.
Dairy quotas were created generations ago in an effort to create a system that would provide some assurance to both producers and consumers. Canadian consumers have benefited from a stability of supply, and farmers have functioned with a level of certainly that they won’t be overrun with competition, which drives down prices, adds to waste and encourage large producers to squeeze out smaller ones.
There are many who see supply management policies being on their way out as free trade agreements attempt to “level” playing fields among participating countries. And the loud and contentious debate that accompanied the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopsony (it was the only legal purchaser of wheat and barley in Canada for 75 years) last year fuels that fire. It’s a largely philosophical argument that pits free market proponents against those who prefer made in Canada solutions that balance the interests of producers and consumers.
When I asked Bryan Terpstra if he thought the dairy quota system would soon come to an end, he said he doubted it would happen in less than a decade. But he was surprised when I understood that supply management is one approach to promoting food security, while south of the border farm subsidies have been the norm. Who hasn’t heard stories about massive American warehouses filled with cheese that has been purchased by the U.S. government in an effort to keep the price up? As I see it, unfettered free markets are a race to the bottom, without much upside to a healthy, stable food supply (the quest for cheaper food from other countries only contributes to environmental degradation).
My guess is that trade agreements that restrict a country’s ability to create its own food security policies will, long into the future, be assessed as long term pain for short term gain. It’s another way for global corporations to wrest control of the economy from governments and it won’t be an easy trend to reverse. The U.S. is learning that hard lesson as it sees how difficult it is to regain regulatory power over its banking sector.
I think there is an analogy to be made here, with the push to encourage subdivision of rural property parcels (Houeweling scoffs at the notion, saying that the Agriculture Land Commission won’t accept any regional district recommendations for change anyway). It’s a trite but true fact that land is no longer being made, and every time we chop it up into smaller parcels it reduces the likelihood that it will be kept in, or returned to, agricultural productivity.
Lorne Eckersley is the publisher of the Creston Valley Advance.