Opportunity for farmers also raising concerns
While some see weed as an opportunity, others see it as a waste of food cropland
Cannabis is likely to be a cash cow for companies angling to get in on the business and it’s looking more likely that it will also be a full-on, agricultural-crop opportunity for farmers once recreational weed is legalized in October.
Existing licensed cannabis growers have already bought into large greenhouse operations to rampup production, but federal regulations approved with the Cannabis Act that allow for outdoor cultivation opens new potential opportunities for farmers.
“There are some who see (cannabis) as a great opportunity and some who see it with a lot of concern,” said Reg Ens, executive director of the B.C. Agriculture Council, the province’s main farming lobby group.
However, if cannabis as a plant is going to be a legal product, Ens said the council’s take is that “farmers should have the choice to grow or raise that product on their farms.”
Where cannabis might fit under Canadian agricultural support programs made it onto the agenda of the annual meeting of federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers last week in Vancouver.
“It’s important to recognize that cannabis is an agricultural product like any other agricultural product,” said federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay Friday at the close of the Vancouver meeting.
And farmers will even be eligible for support for cannabis cultivation under the $3-billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership, though B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said marijuana growers wouldn’t qualify for parts of that program related to backing business risks for farmers.
“There may be supports coming from our own province, but we really haven’t landed on that yet,” Popham said.
Outdoor cultivation is one way to introduce less-expensive cannabis for the recreational market, said Deepak Anand, vice-president of business development and government relations for the consulting firm Cannabis Compliance.
“It would be significantly cheaper,” said Anand, if growers don’t have to factor in building indoor facilities, “but keep in mind security, which is the biggest cost, still applies.”
The prospect, however, raises concerns about food security, that higher-value cannabis production would displace lower-value food crops and drive up already expensive agricultural land prices, particularly in B.C.
The Union of B.C. Municipalities, through a resolution, sought a moratorium on new proposals to grow cannabis on agricultural land and a comprehensive review on potential impacts on the Agricultural Land Reserve.
The province, July 13, responded with a change to its rules giving local governments and First Nations the authority to prohibit new concrete-floored, industrialstyle cannabis facilities on ALR land in their communities.
However, the regulation change specifies that growing cannabis in the ALR “cannot be prohibited if grown lawfully” in an open field, a structure with a soil base or a facility that was legally permitted before July 13.
“It’s clear that (outdoor cultivation) is contemplated,” said Agricultural Land Commission CEO Kim Grout.
Grout said farmers have brought a lot of questions to the ALC since the regulation change was announced, but said she, the commission’s legal counsel and government are still working out the answers.
“It’s a good first step,” Delta Mayor Lois Jackson said about B.C.’s regulatory change, “but I’m still pretty concerned about displacement, even on open land.”
If a farmer wants to buy four hectares to expand a potato field, Jackson said it would be hard to stay in the bidding with a cannabis grower who has deeper pockets.
“Pretty soon you don’t have any farmers left growing anything,” she said.
To her, the step seemed to be another case of leaving the responsibility for sorting out issues related to legalizing recreational cannabis to municipalities and First Nations.
“Is growing pot more important or is being able to feed ourselves with the best land we’ve got?” Jackson said.
The Senate’s standing committee on agriculture and forestry voiced a similar concern in its consideration of the federal legislation.
“It is another loss of cropland in a long history of development in Canada,” said Diane Griffin, a senator from P.E.I. and chairwoman of the committee.
Ens cautioned that cannabis isn’t an open opportunity.
From licensing to abiding by tight security requirements, it’s a heavily regulated product.
However, Ens said farmers grow other non-food-related crops, such as Christmas trees or other flowers, and cannabis would just be another product that can be worked into a producer’s business model.
“We definitely expect regulations to evolve over time,” Ens said.
“It’s going to be a push-pull as we figure out what’s reasonable and what allows the business side (of cannabis production) to operate in a way that’s respectful to neighbours and creates opportunities to utilize farmland for society.”
Existing growers, however, don’t expect a huge demand for outdoor-grown cannabis because matching the quality indoor growers have achieved will be more difficult in a less-controlled environment, according to the industry association that represents major producers.
“I do not believe we will see endless fields of cannabis replacing other crops,” said Allan Rewak, executive director of the Cannabis Council of Canada.
The council’s members are the existing, licensed growers that have invested millions of dollars in large indoor facilities, so Rewak said the group remains “relatively agnostic” about the idea of allowing cannabis to be cultivated outdoors.
Their big concerns include cross-contamination by agricultural pesticides and maintaining the security of outdoor crops, Rewak said.
However, Anand said Canadian farmers should have the opportunity to grow a higher-value crop.
“From an industry perspective, we’d like to see cannabis be able to be grown on farmland,” Anand said. “It can and should be.”