Regional District of Central Okanagan Agricultural Strategy

Upland was contracted in collaboration with Urban Food Strategies to update the Regional District of Central Okanagan’s (RDCO) Regional Agricultural Strategy. The RDCO’s original Agricultural Plan was established in 2005. The necessity to update the plan emerged as a priority within the Regional Growth Strategy Priority Projects Plan in 2017. Phase 1 culminated with the completion of the Central Okanagan Agricultural Background Report in winter 2022. Phase 2 commenced in October 2024 and set out to update the Regional Agricultural Strategy (RAS).

The purpose of the RAS is to provide a regional and comprehensive approach to preserving and protecting the agricultural land base to support the long-term viability of agriculture in the Central Okanagan. The RAS identified 5 priority areas:

1. Develop a regional strategy to protect agricultural land
2. Promote resilience and economic viability of farming
3. Encourage economically, environmentally, and socially beneficial agricultural practices
4. Promote food security, equity, health and wellbeing of all residents and;
5. Develop regional soil management policy

The RAS includes a set of recommendations and a detailed plan to ensure a smooth transition into implementation.

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Agriculture Emergency Plan

Pitt Meadows Agricultural Viability Strategy

The City of Pitt Meadows launched a project to update and modernize the Agricultural Plan, which was initially created in 2000. The updated document, titled Grown in Pitt Meadows: Our Agricultural Viability Strategy seeks to provide direction in developing a sustainable, viable, and resilient local agri-food sector. The Strategy aims to address the many changes that have influenced agriculture in Pitt Meadows over the last 20+ years and focus on solutions that are within the jurisdiction of local government.

A copy of the Strategy can be downloaded from the City of Pitt Meadows website.

City of Delta Agricultural Plan

Upland Agricultural Consulting partnered with Urban Food Strategies to develop a new Agricultural Plan for the City of Delta, to update the 2011 Agricultural Plan. The new Agricultural Plan reflects the many changes, from economic to environmental to regulatory, which have influenced the local agriculture sector since 2011.

The two key objectives of the new Agricultural Plan are to:

1. Identify current issues facing Delta’s agriculture industry and actions the City could take to respond to these issues; and,
2. Recommend changes to Delta’s current Official Community Plan policies and zoning bylaw as needed to support and protect the long-term viability of local agriculture.

For Phase 1 of this project, we conducted background research and preliminary engagement with the Agriculture Advisory Committee to better understand Delta’s current agricultural sector.

Phase 2 saw the development of draft recommendations to address the needs identified in Phase 1. Through the input of the Agricultural Advisory Committee, stakeholders, and the broader community, those strategies were further refined and incorporated into a draft Agricultural Plan.

In Phase 3, the draft Agricultural Plan was finalized and endorsed by the Agricultural and Hunting Regulation Advisory Committee. Following that endorsement, Delta City Council approved the City's new Agricultural Plan on July 24, 2023.

Comox Valley Agricultural Plan - Interim Report

Upland Agricultural Consulting partnered with Urban Food Strategies to develop an Interim Report that would serve to inform a final Agricultural Plan for the Comox Valley Regional District. The objective of developing the Report was to create an up-to-date profile of the Comox Valley agricultural sector which describes the land base, agricultural activities, and economic indicators. Additionally, the Report set out to identify key issues, opportunities, and themes for the sector through engagement with agriculture and food stakeholders and the general public.

The Report process included a comprehensive review of dozens of plans, datasets, reports, websites, and other resources which were relevant to the agriculture sector in the Comox Valley. Engagement took place through one-on-one interviews, focus group meetings, themed-workshops, and the formation of a Project Advisory Committee. The project culminated in the creation of the Interim Report as well as preliminary recommendations for the direction of the final Agricultural Plan in Phase 2.

Multi-Year Development Plan for Yukon Agriculture

The Government of Yukon (Agriculture Branch) contracted Upland Agricultural Consulting to update the Multi-Year Development Plan (MYDP) for Yukon Agriculture. The MYDP captures the present (2022) state of Yukon’s agriculture and agri-food industry, and provides a well-researched, realistic vision and road-map for future sector development over the next 5 years. The MYDP will serve as a guiding document to inform both private and public investment in Yukon’s agriculture and agri-food industry. The MYDP is intended to be relevant and useful for First Nations, territorial, federal and municipal governments, investors, the agriculture and agri-food industry, including producers, processors and retailers, and NGOs that intersect with the agriculture and food sector.

To develop the MYDP, engagement during the process was vital in ensuring that key themes and recommendations represent the needs of the agri-food industry now and into the future. Engagement activities included attending conferences; facilitating focus group sessions with producers and government staff;  conducting over 50 interviews with First Nations, farmers, ranchers, industry associations, food retailers, food processors, and government representatives; conducting over 25 in-person site visits to First Nations communities and farms in the vicinity of Whitehorse, Lake Laberge, Carcross Tagish, Marsh Lake, Dawson City and Mayo.

Key deliverables included an Engagement Plan and Summary Report, a Market Capacity for Yukon Foods and Agricultural Products Memo, and the MYDP Interim Report.

Denman Island Farm Regulation Review

Upland Agricultural Consulting was contracted by Islands Trust to undertake engagement of the Denman Island community and draft amendments to the Denman Island Official Community Plan and Land Use Bylaw. The objective of the amendments were to better align current policies and regulations with community needs and priorities, while also bringing the documents up to date with provincial legislative changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The amended OCP and Land Use Bylaw was adopted unanimously in 2022. More information about the project is available on the Islands Trust website.

Regional District of Central Okanagan Agricultural Strategy Background Report

Upland Agricultural Consulting partnered with Urban Food Strategies to develop a Background Report for the RDCO's Agricultural Strategy. The Report serves as the first phase of a Regional Agricultural Strategy. The objective of developing the Report was to create an up-to-date profile of the Central Okanagan agricultural sector which describes the land base, agricultural activities, and economic indicators. Additionally, the Report set out to identify key issues, opportunities, and themes for the sector through engagement with First Nations communities, member municipalities, agriculture and food stakeholders, and the general public.

The Report process included a comprehensive review of dozens of plans, datasets, reports, websites, and other resources which were relevant to the agriculture sector in the Central Okanagan; Engagement with first nations communities and industry stakeholders through one-on-one interviews, meetings, a public survey, an open house and the formation of a steering committee. The project culminated in the creation of the Report as well as preliminary recommendations for the direction of the final strategy in Phase 2.

The Report is available on the RDCO YourSay website.

South Kootenay Agricultural Strategy

Upland Agricultural Consulting was contracted by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary to develop an agricultural strategy for the South Kootenay region. The objective of the South Kootenay Agricultural Strategy (SKAS) was to develop a framework for decision-making over the next 10 to 20 years, in helping communities shift towards self-reliance for food production and collaboration for agri-sector business growth. The SKAS provides a vision and roadmap of actions to maximize the agriculture and food sector potential of the South Kootenay Region.

The creation of the SKAS included comprehensive review of background information including local policies and strategies, agricultural trends and market capacity; Engagement with industry stakeholders through one-on-one interviews, a virtual public open house and the creation of a steering committee; development of the final strategy including vision, goals, objectives and actions, and implementation plan and monitoring and evaluation framework.

The South Kootenay Agricultural Strategy is posted on the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary website.

Fraser-Fort George Regional Agricultural Strategy

Upland Agricultural consulting worked in collaboration with project lead, Urban Food Strategies to develop the Regional District's Fraser-Fort George Regional Agriculture Strategy. The Regional Agriculture Strategy is a non-statutory plan that identifies a shared vision, goals, and actions for supporting food and agriculture systems amongst producers, the public, local government, Indigenous governments and other key players within the region. The Strategy culminated in 5 goals, and 30 actions to support and grow the agriculture sector in the Fraser-Fort George region.

In addition to the Strategy, the project delivered a Foundations Report, which served as a comprehensive overview of the current agricultural sector in Fraser-Fort George including an agriculture profile, Indigenous food and farming history, biophysical and environmental context, emergency preparedness and available agricultural support services.

More information is available on the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George's project website.