Farm Status Delta BC

How to Get Farm Status in Delta BC

Classification as a farm in Delta BC is entirely optional. The local assessor must receive the General Application for Farm Classification or the Retired Farmer’s Dwelling Land Application from landowners who wish to have all or a portion of their property classified as farmland. The Farm Class Regulation (BC Reg. 411/95) stipulates that farm applications and any appropriate lease must be filed to BC Assessment no later than October 31 for the subsequent tax year.

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About Delta BC farmland

The majority of the agricultural businesses in the Delta region are sizable, seasoned, and productive farms with a focus on both domestic and international markets. The magnitude of the farms in Delta’s agricultural sector makes it distinctive. Its commercial farms are some of the biggest in the Lower Mainland in terms of size, and they require a lot of land leasing to run their businesses.

Agriculture makes an important contribution to the regional economy and community:

• Farming is practiced on 42.5% (7,703 ha) of Delta’s total land area, and in 2005 the industry brought in around $190 million in gross farm receipts (GFRs).
• The industry spends more than $166 million a year on operating costs.
• Almost 50% of the province’s potato land, 50% of its greenhouse vegetable land, and around 25% of its field vegetable acreage are all in Delta.
• The highest average GFRs in BC were found in Delta, at $25,000 per ha when greenhouse production is taken into account.
• Farms in Delta employ the equivalent of 1,500 person years in agriculture.
• In 2005, $34.3 million in wages were paid.

Nevertheless, the sector of Delta agriculture is being tested by a number of changes and trends:

• The regional loss of processing choices puts existing crop options and rotations in danger, and there are no immediate replacements.
• Infrastructure is essential and needs to be continually updated, including irrigation, drainage, and the agricultural transportation network.
• Farmers must contend with local business problems related to regulatory compliance, input costs, taxes, labour, and energy while competing on the provincial, national, and international markets.
• Farmland is being taken, agricultural activities are being disrupted, and other problems in the area are getting worse as a result of public infrastructure projects and other rivals for the land base.
• Field crops are being harmed by wildlife, which is putting established farms’ economic sustainability in danger.
• Land values are rising as a result of the increasing competition for farmland between farmers and non-farmers.

Source: https://www.delta.ca/sites/default/files/2021-06/Agricultural%20Plan.pdf