Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
Reference Guide
This guide is composed of a series of factsheets on Farm Practices and is divided into three categories and an appendix.
Use one of the category drop-down boxes to quickly find the Farm Practice factsheet you require. Select your factsheet, then click the GO button. A list of factsheets is available under Appendices.
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of this guide
This document is an update of the initial Farm Practice Reference guide published in 1996. It is an attempt by the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands to list and describe many of British Columbia's diverse farm practices in general terms. It also refers the reader to existing government legislation, industry guidelines and other sources of information related to farm practices in British Columbia.
Information contained in this guide, and all material that is referenced, is intended to serve as a guideline for considering farm practices in British Columbia's agriculture industry. Reference material may provide suggestions for "beneficial management practice" to mitigate the impact of certain farm practices in specific situations and conditions. However, it should not be inferred that these "best management practices" should be implemented on an industry wide basis. These guidelines are also not intended to serve as formal standards, but rather serve to describe current practices used by farmers throughout British Columbia.
The guide is intended to be used by people seeking information related to issues and concerns raised about farm practices (e.g., farmers, peer advisors to farmers, local governments, neighbours living near farms, etc.). This guide may also be used by the Farm Industry Review Board, the statutory body established under the Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act to hear formal complaints about farm practices.
Aquaculture
The Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act (FPPA) includes licensed aquaculture as a farming activity. The BC Fisheries Act defines "aquaculture" as the growing and cultivation of aquatic plants, or fish, for commercial purposes, in any water environment or in manufactured containers of water and includes the growing and cultivation of shellfish on, in or under the foreshore or in the water. Aquaculture activities can occur on the land (e.g. commercial finfish or shellfish hatcheries), above the bed of the ocean or lakes, (e.g. oyster longlines or cages for salmon culture), or on beaches (e.g. beach culture of oysters).
How is the "Farm Practice Reference Guide" organized?
The farm practices described in this guide are divided into two categories; commodity specific and activity specific. A third category of nuisance references on dust, noise, and odour is also provided. The intent of the nuisance references is to provide more detailed information on dust, noise and odour that is referred to in some of the farm practice documents.
The commodity specific practices provide a description of the commodity, farm practices that are of particular interest to that commodity, information on legislation that is specific to the commodity and publications that can provide more information. The activity farm practices that pertain to the commodity are referenced.
The activity farm practices provide more details on typical farm practices used by BC farmers. Reference to other activities is made when necessary. There is also a description of the nuisance concerns that may be of particular concern to the farm activity. Information on specific legislation that is specific to the activity is listed along with publications that can provide additional information.
Act protects "normal farm practices"
The fundamental policy of the new Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act is that farmers have a right to farm in BC's important farming areas, particularly the Agricultural Land Reserve, provided they use normal farm practices and follow other legislation listed in the act (Environmental Management Act, Integrated Pest Management Act, Health Act and their regulations).
The FPPA also protects licensed aquaculturists provided they use normal farm practices and are compliant with other legislation. (e.g. Environmental Management Act, Integrated Pest Management Act, and Health Act).
The FPPA applies to all commercial aquaculture operations in the Province. For Crown land operations, land tenure is prerequisite to Aquaculture Licence issuance. Consequently, an aquaculture operation must meet all Crown land siting requirements in addition to the requirements of the Aquaculture Licence, before the FPPA applies. For land-based operations on private land, such as hatcheries and trout farms, the aquaculturist requires only an Aquaculture Licence for the Act to apply.
A "normal farm practice" is defined in the act to include an activity "that is conducted by a farm business in a manner consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards as established and followed by similar farm businesses under similar circumstances."
Regulations may also be enacted to further define normal farm practices. Farm practices vary among different commodities and with local or regional conditions across the province.
