Minister brings sizzle, no steak
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 | by Gordon Hoekstra, Prince George Citizen
B.C.'s Agriculture Minister, Steve Thomson, made vague promises on Wednesday of policy and regulatory changes to foster the province's agriculture industry, including in areas hit by the pine beetle epidemic.
Thomson said he would be relying on the findings of a ranching task force expected to deliver recommendations in early October, and had also reviewed the Omineca Beetle Action Coalition's recent strategy to grow the industry in northern B.C. along the Highway 16 corridor.
"The biggest challenge is to ensure we can get systems and policies and programs in place to ensure that producers are viable, get a good economic return for their effort. And that's where a lot of our focus will be over the next few months and years in this position," said Thomson, the MLA for Kelowna-Mission.
But Thomson, who was in Prince George to help open the Prince George Exhibition, made no definitive promise of changes or a timeline.
The Omineca beetle coalition's recent report on the agriculture sector noted that, historically, agriculture has been important to the north-central B.C. region, but during the past decade the industry has declined relative to the province as a whole.
The report, released two weeks ago, noted that although active dairy farms remain, and chickens are farmed at non-quota volumes, much of the former dairy, poultry, and egg industries have left the area.
The ranching and cattle industry, traditionally the largest sector, has been particularly stressed.
The report noted that ranching has not been profitable in a number of years.
Ranchers are leaving due to a series of factors that have resulted in lower cattle prices and higher production costs. Infrastructure losses, research and extension decline, an aging farmer population, and difficulty attracting new participants to the industry are major issues, noted the report. There is also some concern that agricultural land may be planted to trees for use as carbon credits, which would limit the further development of some of the region’s productive agriculture land.
The Omineca coalition -- drawn from municipal leaders in the region -- concluded the agriculture sector could be expanded as productive land is available, and there is growing interest for locally-produced food and an opportunity for providing certain products for export.
The strategy made a number of recommendations, for example, a call for examining the feasibility of a beef cluster in the region, which would locate more value-added aspects of the business locally, including slaughtering and processing facilities and meat inspection.
Thomson agreed that the region's agriculture sector could be grown, and said the province would be taking a serious look at beetle coalition's recommendations. He noted that the ranching task force -- which is co-chaired by a Vanderhoof rancher -- is also examining issues like beef slaughtering and processing capacity.
"We see this industry as a very important contributor to the province, both in the agriculture and the agri-food side of things. So, we need to find those opportunities where we can," said Thomson.
The strategy also calls for government support for business planning and economic development in the sector, as well as increasing staffing with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.
Thomson said those areas will also be examined, but cautioned the province is facing significant fiscal challenges. The B.C. Liberals government, which had forecast a $495-million deficit this year, is expected to face a much bigger deficit.
The Liberals will be bringing in an updated budget on Sept. 1.
The Omineca beetle coalition's strategy is meant to help diversify the north central region's economy in the face of anticipated lower level of forestry activities in the wake of the pine beetle epidemic.
