British Columbia brewery wants agricultural land use rules changed

Persephone Brewing Company launched an online petition

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

A brewery from Gibsons, British Columbia that sits on an 11-acre farm wants to see changes to the province’s agricultural land use rules.

Persephone Brewery’s application to conduct “non-farm” use business was denied by the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC). As a result, the brewery has two years to comply with Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) rules or relocate their operation.

Breweries and distilleries are designated as farm use if the land can produce at least “50 per cent of the farm product used to make the beer, spirits or mead,” according to the ALC’s decision.

But Persephone Brewery said it can’t meet this criteria. Instead, it wants the same rules as wineries.

“They have to grow 50 per cent of the ingredients, or, purchase (them) from a B.C. farm and we’re quite capable of doing that,” Brian Smith, the brewery’s CEO, told News 1130. “You know, we are a farm and it isn’t just about us, it’s about anybody who wanted to build a brewery or a distillery or a meadery on ALR land.”

Smith added if the company is forced to close its doors, the local economy and employment could suffer.

Persephone Brewery is now letting the public voice its opinions on the matter.

The brewery started an online petition directed at B.C. Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick and Premier Christy Clarke, asking Section 2 (2.3) of the ALR Regulations to be updated to “ensure the feasibility of farm-based breweries growing agricultural crops, including hops.”

To date, 1,303 people have signed the petition with many offering words of support.

“I believe they (Persephone Brewery) are honouring the spirit of the ALR and are being held up by red tape-style definition issues,” wrote Terry Hickey from Surrey.

“The policy needs updating,” wrote Aaron Cruikshank from Vancouver. “We want to support local agricultural endeavours. Let’s not make it harder for these guys to make a go of it.”

Farms.com has reached out to the Agricultural Land Commission and Persephone Brewery for updates on the situation.

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