B.C. providing support for growers

Feb 20, 2025
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content, Farms.com

The government will provide $10 million in payments to tree fruit growers

British Columbia’s provincial government is providing one-time support payments to tree fruit growers.

Agriculture and Food Minister Lana Popham announced the government is setting aside $10 million to support eligible growers affected by crop loss and market issues through The Tree Fruit Climate Change Response Fund.

“These past years have been very challenging for B.C. tree fruit farmers, and we want to make sure they are ready for this season and seasons to come,” Popham said in a statement. “We want farmers to be successful and this $10 million will help them rebuild to ensure a resilient, sustainable future for B.C.’s tree fruit industry.”

About 720 producers will be eligible for payments on a per-acre basis, up to a maximum of 70 acres.

Farmers can use the money to invest in tools, training, or farm improvement. Recipients can also use the payments for farm debt repayment or farm wages.

Tree fruit producers in B.C. have had a challenging time recently.

In early 2024, for example, a deep freeze wiped out cherries, peaches, plums and nectarines.

“Out of about eight or 10 different locations in the valley, we saw every one with those samples showed 100 per cent bud kill,” Frank Wloka, owner of Wloka Farms Fruit Stand, told Global News in February 2024.

The BC Fruit Growers’ Association (BCFGA) has lobbied the government to support its members.

These support payments are an example of that work, said Peter Simonsen, president of the BCFGA.

"This $10-million, one-time payment from the Province recognizes the resilience and dedication of our farmers and their families, but also is a testament to the relentless advocacy and efforts of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association on their behalf,” he said in a statement.

Details on the rollout and the next steps for producers to apply for payments are still in development. More information is expected in the coming weeks, the provincial government says.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.