1 of 3
Norm Letnick with Farmers Market
2 of 3
Photo by Province of British Columbia
The Royals
Christie Clarke and Norm Letnick host the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Mission Hill Family Estate Winery for the Taste of British Columbia event.
3 of 3
Photo by Province of British Columbia
Sooke
Norm Letnick, Minister of Agriculture, joined the 96-year-old Margaret Baird of Cobble Hill, on August 27, 2016 to celebrate the agricultural industry in the area. Margaret is the proud matriarch of four generations of Cobble Hill farming families.
O & V
What were the highlights for the tree fruit and orchard sectors from the ministry this year?
Norm Letnick
We bumped up the amount of money for the replant program last year. We were at $8.4 million, and raised it up to $9.4 million because of the pent up demand for funding, particularly up front. We found the money within the ministry, so we didn't have to go begging to anyone else, and were able to use those funds to help out with the replant program.
The ministry published our first ever export catalogue. It contains items in there from food and orchards, wine and blueberries, tree fruit products as well. There are 100 companies in the export catalogue that are ready for export. It includes pictures of their products, contact information, descriptions of what they are producing, and minimum order quantities. The catalogue will be used by our trade representatives around the world to continue to increase sales that our BC companies have.
We also continued with the Buy Local program for another year, so it is up to $8 million over four years. We have local companies across BC taking advantage of these 50-cent dollars to help people recognize the importance of buying local products.
O & V
This fall you made a unique pitch for the new food donation tax credit, what inspired that?
Norm Letnick
The food donation tax credit was announced in February as part of budget speech. It allows orchardists, farmers, ranchers, fishers, anybody with primary agriculture can donate their products to a registered non-profit like a foodbank or school meal program, and not only would they get charitable donation receipt, but now they will also get 25% tax credit.
This summer when I was travelling around the province talking to producers, I asked them if they were aware of the tax credit, and very few people were. It's very expensive to advertise around the province, and we didn't want to use taxpayer dollars for advertising a tax credit. I wanted to find an inexpensive way of drawing attention to a good program, then I came across a picture of a woman body painted in mixed vegetables, and it sparked the idea.
We've done a lot in the past four years, everything from the Buy Local program to the replant program to money for high tech, helping new entrants get into the industry, a new agri-foods plan, the export catalogue, but when this is all said and done the only thing people will remember me by is that picture.
Norm Letnick in body paint
The only thing people will remember me by is this picture.
O & V
Can you tell us about the latest updates for production insurance?
Norm Letnick
We decided that the calculation for depreciation should change for quality loss claims, like hail damage for example, because we wanted to better reflect true value of losses. Moving forward with that decision that will align with picking and abandonment decisions made when crops are severely damaged. There is no cost increase to the new calculation, and it applies to all tree fruit crops except cherries. We've also added wind as a quality peril to the BC production insurance program. Fruit damaged by wind and remaining on the tree will be treated the same as hail damage.
There will also be changes for cherry growers, including additional coverage for new cherry plantings and the time between purchasing coverage and coverage coming to effect has been extended from two days to four days.
O & V
With the release of the Okanagan regional adaptation strategy, what priority is the Ministry giving to climate change adaptation, and what is available to assist growers in the Okanagan?
Norm Letnick
There are a lot of opportunities in BC agriculture, and some of them are being brought forth by climate change. We have more heat units out there, so a greater variety of crops in parts of the province than we have ever seen before. At the same time, that brings us the challenge of needing to store water. If we are looking at earlier freshets and less water in the late summer season then we have to think about how we are going to store fresh water available earlier in the year so that later in the year when we really need it, it will be available for agriculture.
Region by region, the government has invested about $3 million to help farmers and ranchers throughout the province prepare climate change strategies, how to adapt to the different climate change opportunities and challenges. We now have regional adaptation strategies developed in six key areas of the province through that project.
We've also funded over 40 projects that address related risks that come with drought or excessive moisture and pests, etc. Work with our counterparts in the federal government to continue to work on identifying opportunities and threats, and also look at how we can develop proper water policies that will help us around the province in different areas.
With my colleague from the federal government, MP Stephen Fuhr, I was recently looking at new software being adapted from Washington State that will help farmers understand when is the best time to apply their pesticides to reduce the amount they apply, or frequency of application. That’s one more tool in the toolbox in the fight against pests that we will see more of with climate change coming to an orchard near you.
O & V
What does the Climate Leadership Plan hold for agriculture in the Interior and Okanagan?
Norm Letnick
There are two parts of that for us: what we can do to reduce carbon footprint, and adaptation. Part one is done. We calculated that agriculture plays a role in about 3% of emissions in the province, and we're looking at helping the industry reduce that. Things like how we work the land is one of the key areas, and we will provide our support to the industry based on that particular plan.
Next phase is adaptation, and a big part of that is based on regional strategies. We’ll be trying to take advantage of more heat units, and looking at partnership with our federal partners for some infrastructure dollars to help with water storage.
O & V
With the pending legalization of marijuana, will BC consider it an agricultural crop?
Norm Letnick
Last year, the government passed new policies and regulations. That said, if you want to grow medical cannabis on your farm, you should be able to do so under the protection of the right to farm act, but not benefit from the tax reduction that you would get if you were growing potatoes. The purpose was to make sure people didn't have incentives to move their facilities out of industrial areas and onto cheaper farmland.
Now the new federal government is planning to decriminalize marijuana. Provincially, we are working to identify with the Ministry of Health and other ministries that have something to do with growing and distribution of marijuana, what that might mean if the federal government actually follows through on that commitment. If they follow through on their commitment, marijuana will be a crop. If they don't, it will continue to be treated as medical marijuana.
O & V
What is the highlight of your fourth year as agriculture minister?
Norm Letnick
I'm bolstered by the strength of the industry. When I first started this four years ago, there were a lot of struggles, and a lot of people in the industry were not making money. We brought in some programs, we bolstered export capacity, we worked closely with BCAC, and we modernized the ALC. A number of initiatives that we have done with the industry are paying off. We've had record growth and record profits over the last few years. People now come see me with different challenges like how do I get to the export market, or where do I find labour. These are all good challenges to have as opposed to the ones you have when people are losing money.
#bcfoodtaxcredit program launched
To increase awareness of the farmers’ food donation tax credit that the British Columbia government announced in Budget 2016, Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick is reaching out to B.C. farmers to get social, get giving and get an income tax credit.
Farmers and producers who donate qualifying agricultural products to registered charities (such as food banks and school meal programs) are eligible to receive a tax credit for their donation.
“B.C. food banks rely on B.C. farmers to provide low-income families and individuals with a variety of healthy food. Food bank clients are vulnerable to rising food prices. Greater awareness of the new tax credit will encourage more farmers to donate to food banks resulting in more nutrition for our clients.”said David Purdon, operations manager, Central Okanagan Food Bank.
The credit is worth up to 25% of the fair-market value of the qualifying agricultural product and must be claimed in the same year that a charitable-and-other-gifts tax credit for individuals or deduction is claimed for the donation by a corporation. The farmers’ food donation tax credit is in addition to the charitable-and-other-gifts credit or the deduction.
To help people become aware of the program, Letnick is encouraging everyone to post pictures on social media of themselves with agricultural products that are eligible for the credit with the #bcfoodtaxcredit.
“You can have the best program in the world, but if no one knows about it its effectiveness is limited. I hope these pictures and other social media postings will increase awareness and result in more donations. I am thankful such a wide range of great tasting and healthy food is grown and raised in British Columbia, as I am for the community spirit and benefits that the agrifoods sector brings to communities across our province…I challenge B.C. farmers to help spread the word about the B.C. government’s tax credit, and the roles and benefits farmers bring to our communities." Norm Letnick, Minister of Agriculture.
B.C. Government Publishes Export Ready Business Catalogue
Catalogue
This catalogue will help more B.C. companies start their journey of exporting high-quality B.C. foods.
The catalogue features close to 100 B.C. producers of fruits and vegetables, seafood, meat, packaged food, natural health products and beverage makers, and all of them are ready to sell. Each profile includes an introduction to the company or association and their products, their current export markets, and markets they are interested in expanding to. The guide represents B.C.’s diverse agri-food and seafood sector, and includes everything from sea urchins to cereals, and waffles to wine. The guides will be available in multiple languages, online and at trade offices and shows.
