When most people think of British Columbia, they think of ocean, mountains, forests, fishing and perhaps fruit orchards.
Yet the province boasts more than 200 agricultural commodities, ranging from fruit to flowers, honey to wheat, cranberries to dairy, eggs to exotics.
Agriculture is among the top three revenue-producing industries in B.C.
The provincial agriculture department points to figures showing success: more family farms in 1991 than 1971; growing numbers of farmers are making over $100,000 per year. There are very few bankruptcies, “only something like four last year,” deputy associate agriculture minister Tony Pringle said recently.
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Last week the B.C. entrepreneurs showed farm writers from across the country some of the things they produce. A reception in Vancouver provided everything from honey-flavored cocktails to rabbit meat, goat cheese to edible flowers, salmon to bacon wraps.
The main message was that diversification is the key to a thriving agricultural industry in the province.
The consensus was that it is no longer feasible to just produce raw products for market; they need to be made into flavored yogurts, blended fruit drinks, and so on. Farmers and companies reported highly successful campaigns to sell their new products.
There were hints that other provinces may want to look beyond their “wheat board mentality” of just delivering the raw product to market.
But beneath every success story there needs to be caution: to be successful, one must have more than just raw product. One needs to research and develop the markets, and be able to adapt quickly to changing consumer interests.
Success hasn’t come overnight to B.C., and not every business has been successful. However the agricultural industry here can be proud of what it has accomplished.
