LAND OPPORTUNITY: Up to 15 Acres of ALR Land for Vegetable and Greenhouse Growers – Fanny Bay, BC

We always have new land opportunities coming into our inventory, some of which aren’t on our blog yet! Get in touch with a Land Matcher at bclmp@youngagrarians.org to learn about the latest opportunities and to access free B.C. Land Matching Program services in your region.

ABOUT THE LAND

Located in Fanny Bay, just an hour north of Nanaimo, this 98-acre parcel has space available for a vegetable farmer or greenhouse grower!

The available land consists of a flat, open 15-acre field with excellent sun exposure. The field has historically been used to grow hay and graze cattle, but the landholder is hoping to see a greater diversity of food production on the land, and would love to connect with farmers who are passionate about building soil health. The soil is a glacial till, meaning that it is fairly rocky and has some wet spots in the winter, so may require some amending to support field agriculture.

There are also eight fully fenced 30 x 100 foot greenhouses on the property, which may be made available to an incoming grower. These greenhouses have previously been used to grow cannabis and strawberries, so they have some established bed infrastructure, plus climate controls and automatic rolling sides. In addition to the greenhouses, there are several wooden outbuildings that have historically been used for hay storage and livestock shelter, and could now be adapted for storage purposes. The land has a dedicated electricity line for farm operations, which was previously used to power the greenhouses.

It is important to note that the site has only a residential well, meaning limited water access. The landholder is planning to drill additional wells and would be open to an incoming farmer helping to plan that infrastructural investment.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

The wide open fields on this property offer a blank canvas for an experienced farmer who is excited to develop systems and infrastructure to support their dream farm. Moreover, the greenhouses provide the added opportunity of producing food year-round on this site.

The landholder is excited to connect with farmers who are looking for a long-term land sharing arrangement and who share their passion for regenerative land management. The landholder purchased this property with plans to establish a land-based trout farm and would love to contribute to a closed-loop nutrient cycle on the farm wherein the high-quality fertilizer produced by the aquaculture operations is used to support the field-based agriculture on the property.

ABOUT THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate for this opportunity is an experienced vegetable farmer or greenhouse grower who has the skills necessary to develop infrastructure on a new site, as well as the desire to work with a landholder to foster a strong collaborative relationship, while managing their own operations.

As there is no capacity for on-site housing, this opportunity would be best suited to a grower who is already living in the area, or has the ability to find off-farm housing.

If this sounds like you and you’re looking for land in the mid-island region, please do not hesitate to reach out!

GET IN TOUCH!

This land is available through the B.C. Land Matching Program. If you are interested in this land opportunity, please contact the Vancouver Island Land Matcher, Ari Westhaver, at ari@youngagrarians.org with the link to this post any relevant photos, and a paragraph or two on each of the following:

• About you
• Your farming experience
• Your plans for the land

For more details about this opportunity, check out the UMAP Listing for this property.

For more land opportunities, and to learn about the B.C. Land Matching Program, please visit youngagrarians.org/land.

The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, with additional support from Cowichan Valley Regional District and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.