Reference Number: 800.510-72.2012 Barnston Island Summer 2010 Photo credit: Agricultural Land Commission, 2006. http://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/application_status/Barnston_is/BIortho.htm Strengthening Farming Program Ministry of Agriculture April 4, 2014 Acknowledgments The Ministry of Agriculture would like to acknowledge and thank Greater Vancouver Regional District (Metro Vancouver) for its support in this project. Metro Vancouver contributed the funds necessary to hire a GIS Technician to prepare the field survey maps and to assist with the field survey. The Ministry of Agriculture would also like to acknowledge and thank the farmers on Barnston Island who kindly took time from their busy work schedules to answer questions about farming and irrigation use on the island. Contact Information For further information on the content and development of this report please contact: Ministry of Agriculture Strengthening Farming Program 1767 Angus Campbell Rd. Abbotsford, BC V3G 2M3 (604) 556-3001 or 1-888-221-7141 (toll free) Barnston Island Land Use Inventory - Page i Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ i Contact Information ..................................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents .........................................................................................................................................ii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. iv List of Tables – Appendix A .......................................................................................................................... v List of Figures – Appendix A ......................................................................................................................... v List of Maps – Appendix B ........................................................................................................................... vi Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................... vii Definitions ................................................................................................................................................. viii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Agrologist Comments .................................................................................................................................. 3 General Community Information ................................................................................................................ 4 Agricultural Land Reserve ............................................................................................................................. 5 Inventory Area .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Agricultural Land Use Inventory ................................................................................................................. 7 Inventory Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 7 Description of the Data ................................................................................................................................ 8 Presentation of the Data .............................................................................................................................. 9 Determination of Parcels within the ALR ................................................................................................... 10 1. Land Cover and Farmed Area ............................................................................................................. 11 2. Land Use and Farm Use ...................................................................................................................... 14 3. Availability of Land for Farming .......................................................................................................... 16 Characteristics of Not Farmed but Available ALR Lands ............................................................................ 19 4. Farming Activities ................................................................................................................................ 21 Cultivated Field Crops ................................................................................................................................. 21 Natural Pasture ........................................................................................................................................... 26 Greenhouses ............................................................................................................................................... 27 Irrigation ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 Livestock ..................................................................................................................................................... 30 On-Farm Value-Added ................................................................................................................................ 36 5. Condition of ALR Lands ....................................................................................................................... 38 Parcel Inclusion in the ALR ......................................................................................................................... 38 Parcel Size & Farming in the ALR ................................................................................................................ 39 Residential Use In the ALR .......................................................................................................................... 42 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................................ 45 Appendix B - Maps .................................................................................................................................... 54 Barnston Island Land Use Inventory - Page ii List of Tables Table 1. Land cover and farmed area .................................................................................................................. 12 Table 2. Land use and farming use by parcel ...................................................................................................... 14 Table 3. Parcel use and land cover in the ALR ..................................................................................................... 15 Table 4. Status of the land base with respect to farming .................................................................................... 17 Table 5. Land use and cover on parcels “Used for farming” with land available for farming but not farmed ... 19 Table 6. Land use and cover on parcels “Not used for farming” with land available for farming ...................... 20 Table 7. Main field crop types by area ................................................................................................................ 21 Table 8. Forage and pasture crops by area ......................................................................................................... 23 Table 9. Berries by area ....................................................................................................................................... 24 Table 10. Top crop types by area ........................................................................................................................... 25 Table 11. Natural pasture vegetation types by area ............................................................................................. 26 Table 12. Greenhouses by area ............................................................................................................................. 27 Table 13. Main field crop types and managed irrigation systems ......................................................................... 28 Table 14. Main field crop types and unmanaged subsurface water ..................................................................... 28 Table 15. Livestock activities ................................................................................................................................. 31 Table 16. Number of parcels with value added activities ..................................................................................... 37 Table 16. Number of farmed and not farmed parcels in the ALR ......................................................................... 40 Table 17. Farming and residences in the ALR ........................................................................................................ 42 Table 18. Farming and residence type in the ALR ................................................................................................