Delta approves new agriculture plan

PHIL MELNYCHUK

Contributing

Writer

Delta farmers can feel a bit better now that a new water irrigation intake pipeline is part of the city’s new Delta Agricultural Plan.

Staff will start a feasibility study for the pipeline, according to the new plan approved at council’s July 24 meeting.

According to a staff report accompanying the plan, farmers had a “high degree of concern ” about possible loss of farmland as a result of flooding, increased salinity, extreme heat and erosion. Installing a second irrigation intake pipe could mitigate those concerns.

“It was a really great process to work through with staff,” Coun. Alicia Guichon said of the plan. “We were able to get lots of feedback not only from farmers and producers, but also residents of Delta”

There’s lots of support for farming, in Delta, she added.

Installing a second irrigation pipe farther upstream on the Fraser River would help farmers avoid the salt water that moves up the river in late summer

Council unanimously approved the 80-page document that sets out how the city can strengthen long-term viability in farming and shows how the city can play its role.

The plan notes that based on 235 farms in Delta, the average age of farmers in Delta is 57 years, but only a fifth of them have a written succession plan that will spell out how the farm keeps operating after retirement.

That could allow the city to support second residences on farm properties, the plan adds

It notes there’s now a trend away from centralized processing of farm products and more on-farm processing

As house prices rise, so too does the price of farmland, which has almost doubled since 2011, to a 2020 price for an acre of $100,800 That makes it “ prohibitively expensive” to buy farmland, the plan notes.

When it comes to climate change, the plan predicts that winter frosts will disappear in Delta by 2050. A modest rise in rainfall is also predicted, with drier summers and wetter winters.

Higher freshet levels in the Fraser River, earlier in the season, will reduce flow in the summer.

Rising sea levels could contribute to salt water moving farther up the Fraser River sooner, making the water unusable for irrigation, hence the need for a second water intake.

“Climate change is also expected to create water-scarcity events during the hotter months when the Fraser River is running at lower levels,” said the plan

By 2100, sea levels are expected to have increased by a metre.

The agricultural plan has four goals that it says will support farming:

• support farming through policy and regulations

• continue to prioritize farming in infrastructure planning and maintenance

• encourage communication, education and celebration of Delta farmers

• promote sustainable farming practices.

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