Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

B.C. reduces ag spending in 2020 budget

B.C. reduces ag spending in 2020 budget

The ag ministry had $2.8 million cut from its operating expenditures

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

British Columbia’s agriculture ministry will have fewer dollars to spend going forward.

As part of Finance Minister Carole James’s 2020 budget, the Ministry of Agriculture will have its operating expenditures reduced from about $98.2 million in 2019-20 to around $95.4 million in 2020-21.

The cut represents about $2.8 million.

The reduction in spending is mostly centred around travel and office expenses and hiring freezes.

In addition, Grow BC, Feed BC, Buy BC, which helps expand domestic markets for local products, won’t increase.

The Greenhouse Carbon Tax Relief Grant will continue to be funded through the ag ministry, and carbonated beverages that contain sugar and sweeteners will be subject to a 7 per cent tax beginning in July.

Industry leaders fear that failing to invest in the sector and implementing taxes on ag products will hamper the industry.

“As recent studies have reported, agriculture has significant potential to grow Canada’s economy,” Stan Vander Waal, president of the B.C. Agriculture Council, said in a statement. “We believe this is also possible in B.C., however our province still invests less money into the agriculture sector, relative to its size, than any other province in Canada. We need to invest in this sector if we want to realize the potential it can bring.”

Some parts of the ag ministry will receive more funding than last year’s budget.

The Agricultural Land Commission, which oversees the Agricultural Land Reserve, and the Farm Industry Review Board, which hears appeals and complaints and supervises the province’s commodity boards and commissions, did receive spending boosts.

Farms.com has reached out to Agriculture Minister Lana Popham for comment on her ministry’s 2020 budget.

Anyone interested in B.C.’s budget can read the full document here.




Trending Video

Funds Ditch Ag Commodities, Chase Stocks Amid an End to Middle East War, & Trade Deal Buzz

Video: Funds Ditch Ag Commodities, Chase Stocks Amid an End to Middle East War, & Trade Deal Buzz


The 12-day war between Iran-Israel came to an end sending crude oil futures plunging as the big fund speculators removed the war risk premium.

The weather risk premium in the Ag complex is sending corn, wheat and soybean futures lower on month-end selling ahead of the market moving USDA quarterly grain stocks and acreage reports on June 30th.

Instead, funds were chasing and sending tech stocks higher with the S&P 500/NASDAQ indexes setting new all-time record highs!

June 1 USDA Hogs and pigs report was slightly bearish while the U.S. $ Index traded to new contract lows as the de-dollarization that began in 2014 continues.

Feed in the form of soybean meal futures for livestock producers got cheaper, trading to new contract lows.

The Stats Canada seeded acreage update was bullish canola and wheat.