Affordability in Metro Vancouver also a concern for farmers

Jennifer Grenz once farmed regularly on a plot she rented in Richmond, and was hoping to buy land in Delta to renew her passion.

But with the price of land rapidly escalating, she found her options lacking.

“It was a pretty discouraging search. You get shown properties that are way overprice for what you’re getting,” says Grenz.

While the plight of families trying enter the housing market in Metro Vancouver is well-documented, people trying to purchase agricultural land are in the same situation, say experts.

A new study from Vancity credit union says that when land prices reach $80,000 per acre, they no longer become financially viable as agricultural businesses.

However, “farmland prices in Metro Vancouver range from $150,000 to $350,000 per acre for parcels less than five acres,” according to the report.

“The fact that farm land values here far exceed the value that agriculture as a business would justify, is an economic policy failure,” argues Kent Mullinix, Director for the Kwantlen University’s Institute for Sustainable Food Systems.

He and his staff are undergoing research to see who owns farmland in the region, and why it often isn’t being valued for agricultural purposes.

“We’re already seeing the demise of agriculture in British Columbia.”

Delta councillor Ian Paton says unaffordable farmland in the region is nothing new. Unless the land is inherited, leasing may be the only option for people.

“Honestly I don’t know how at a municipal level would you control the price of farmland, how at the provincial level would you step in?” he says.

As for Grenz? She and her family eventually found a property they could afford that suited their farming needs.

They’re moving to Vancouver Island.