B.C. Land Matching Program Overview
Connect with a Land Matcher
See Who We’ve Matched to More than 10,375 Acres!
Meet the Land Matchers
History of Young Agrarians Land Access Programming

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B.C. Land Matching Program

The BCLMP provides:

• An online and searchable inventory of B.C. land opportunities
• Personalized, regional matchmaking services for farmers and landholders, including support to develop land use agreements
• Referrals to business and technical support services
• Educational events and resources to increase knowledge and facilitate matches between new farmers and landholders

Who can participate in the BCLMP?

• Farmers seeking land to start or expand their agricultural business
• Landholders looking for someone to farm their land
• Farmers and farmland holders who matched independently and want support to develop agreements

The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded by the Province of British Columbia, with support from Columbia Basin Trust, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Real Estate Foundation of B.C., Bullitt Foundation, and Patagonia.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

 

1. CONNECT: Reach out to a land matcher by email or phone. They will reply to set up a phone call to learn more about your vision and needs.
   • Landholders: be ready with information about your land, expectations from a land match, and vision. Land matchers will help you evaluate your land for agricultural viability.
   • Farmers: be ready to discuss your business model and provide or develop a business plan with our support as part of your land search.
2. REGISTER: Land matchers will follow up with a site visit for landholders, or further meetings with farmers, to register you for the program. Depending on your location, land matchers may connect remotely.
   • Once registered, land matchers will help you list yourself in our digital inventory U-MAP and post land opportunity/land seeker blogs.
   • Land matchers will help farmers develop or refine your business plan to get you ready to access land.
   • If you have questions or need resources/advisors in your region, land matchers can provide information and referrals at any point in the matching process.
   • *Please note that timelines vary for all participants and matches, depending on your needs and the availability of farmers/land.
3. GET MATCHED: Land matchers will provide hands-on, personalized matchmaking to make introductions and help landholders and land seekers find the most suitable match for their vision and needs.
4. DEVELOP AGREEMENT: Once you’ve found a match, or if you meet someone independently of the BCLMP, land matchers will facilitate negotiations and help develop a land use agreement.
   • A written agreement is an essential part of a successful land match.
   • Land matchers will work with you and your land match partner to help you agree on the terms of your agreement, and will provide a lawyer-reviewed agreement.

We’re always here for you. Once you’ve been matched and your agreement is signed, land matchers are available to help with additional resources and referrals, or to answer any questions you may have about processes related to your land access needs.

SEE WHO WE’VE MATCHED

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YOUNG AGRARIANS LAND MATCHING TEAM

Darcy Smith, BCLMP Manager – land@youngagrarians.org
Darcy Smith has spent the last decade working to support farmers and food systems. She lives and works on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories. As the first Land Matcher in B.C. and now as BCLMP program manager, she’s worked with many new entrants, seasoned farmers and farmland holders across the province, who all share a vision to help the next generation of farmers get on the land and to see the land producing food into the future. Darcy also edits the BC Organic Grower, a quarterly magazine showcasing organic farming across B.C.

Kiyomi Ito, Vancouver Island-Gulf Islands Land Matcher – kiyomi@youngagrarians.org
Kiyomi Ito is a city girl turned cow lover turned farmer and local food enthusiast. Growing up in a city in Japan, Kiyomi’s journey into agriculture started when she accidentally fell in love with dairy cows during her studies at the University of British Columbia. Her love of cows took her on a wild tour across Canada and the United States, working as a cow behaviourist and dairy scientist. In 2013, she landed on Vancouver Island, where she has expanded her interests, learning to be an organic vegetable grower, free-range egg grader, farm store clerk, and Integrated Pest Management specialist, alongside starting her own microgreens and market garden ventures. She further cultivated her commitment to farming and farmers through her volunteer work with a local farmers’ institute. In 2022, Kiyomi’s winding journey led her to her role as a Land Matcher. She is grateful for this opportunity to support fellow farmers and landholders in realizing their visions, and to take part in growing vital farming communities across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Fai Hui, Metro Vancouver-Fraser Valley Land Matcher – fai@youngagrarians.org
Fai is an avid farmer and committed environmentalist. After a decade in the corporate world, Fai embarked on his farm journey by enrolling in a farming program and gaining experience through WWOOFing before setting up his own farm. He then built a farming enterprise focused on designing, building and maintaining rooftop farms for schools and companies. He has taught many urban farming and sustainability workshops at the University of Hong Kong, the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and the Canadian International School among others. He loves seeing the immense satisfaction and eye opening experiences students gain from growing their own food. He has Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) level 2, and IFOAM Organic Agriculture Inspection certifications. As a Land Matcher, he enthusiastically uses his business and farming experience to help others embark on the challenging but life-changing journey of farming.

Pascale Schittecatte, Okanagan-Thompson Land Matcher – pascale@youngagrarians.org
Originally from Gabriola Island, Pascale Schittecatte spent her earliest years climbing hay bales and feeding bottle calves on Somerset Farm. After many years spent living in cities large and small, Pascale found her way back to farming through food and wine. For the last five years, she has been working as a winemaker and farm hand in the UK and the Okanagan. Pascale is looking forward to applying her farming knowledge, as well as her skills in non-profit management, to support farmers and landholders in the Thompson-Okanagan.

Nyree Marsh, Columbia Basin Land Matcher – nyree@youngagrarians.org
Nyree is a hands-on business owner with over 20 years of experience in farming. She was raised in the foothills of Alberta, leaving after graduation for coastal BC, where at 21 she leased her first market garden on Salt Spring Island. From there the passion grew with opportunities to establish farm businesses and work with existing farmers within Canada and overseas before settling in the Kootenays in 2005. Nyree’s great joy and interest is in feeding people, she has worked extensively in providing food to her community through subsistence and commercial farming, working as a sous chef in restaurants, and as an artisanal gelato maker in Nelson. She has deep roots in the local farming community, working as a certified organic farmer and as a volunteer with Kootenay Organic Growers Society and executive board member of the Central Kootenay Food Policy Council; she is a familiar face at many farm networking events. In 2020, Nyree joined the Basin Business Advisors Program as the Agriculture Business Advisor and during her time with the BBA, enjoyed working with regional farmers and ranchers on tailored business solutions. Nyree is excited to apply her skills and knowledge to support farmers and landholders as the Columbia Basin Land Matcher.

Morgan Kitchen, Central & North Land Matcher – morgan@youngagrarians.org
Morgan Kitchen lives on Saik’uz territories in Vanderhoof, B.C. She moved here with her husband and two young children in 2019 from the Fraser Valley. They purchased their ranch in 2021 where they implement regenerative agriculture principles through integrating Hereford/Angus-influenced cattle, Berkshire pigs, and laying hens into their farming practices. Passionate about agriculture, Morgan is “a lover of land & livestock” – she can always be found with her hands in the soil and out working with livestock (with her kiddos in tow)! Having grown up around horses, her journey into agriculture started while attending the University of the Fraser Valley and deepened through her agriculture consulting work. As a first-generation rancher, Morgan understands the importance of the support needed to develop an agriculture business. As the Central & North Land Matcher, she is so excited to be a part of the process in helping farmers and landholders grow their vision!

Andrew Adams, Central & North Land Matcher – andrew@youngagrarians.org
Andrew grew up in rural Kansas and spent much of his childhood roaming his family’s small farm and forest. Andrew attained a BSc in Agricultural sciences at Kansas State University with a major in conservation. He moved to Alaska and lived there for a few years before meeting and marrying his French-Canadian wife and immigrating to the unceded territory of the Lheidli Tenneh. Andrew worked as a forest ecologist mapping ecosystems and soil while building his farm on 150 acres starting in 2011. Andrew’s farm currently produces certified organic vegetables and fruit to local markets and wholesale distributors in B.C. Since 2018, Andrew has been a commissioner for the Agricultural Land Commission on the North Panel, implementing the mandate of protecting BC’s farmland. A lover of the land and nature, Andrew can be found hunting, foraging or fishing with his two boys and wife when he isn’t farming.

Emi Do, Co-op Coordinator – emi@youngagrarians.org
Emi Do came to cooperatives as a small-scale urban farmer trying to find a viable alternative to the dominant food distribution chain. Though her interest in agricultural cooperatives led to a PhD and an assistant professorship at Tokyo University of Agriculture, the empowerment, mutuality and solidarity underlying cooperatives sparked an interest in the co-ops as a means to democratize and transform relationships across different workplaces and contexts. She has also been an active member of the Community Working Group Operations Team at social.coop for over two years, helping to navigate the challenging waters of online moderation cooperatively. She recently co-authored a book on the transformative potential of cooperatives entitled Cooperatives at Work. Emi is excited work with YA supporting farmers to help find opportunities for collaboration and fostering cooperation to solve gaps in the food system in B.C.

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HISTORY OF YOUNG AGRARIANS LAND ACCESS PROGRAMMING