B.C.’s commercial greenhouse operators have until May 19, 2014, to take advantage of the B.C. government’s 2014 greenhouse carbon tax relief grant program.

The grants cover 80% of the carbon tax commercial greenhouse growers pay on the natural gas and propane they use for greenhouse heating and CO2 production. Commercial vegetable and floriculture producers, wholesale nurseries, and forest seedling nurseries are eligible to apply.

Streamlined application packages and fillable e-forms are available at:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=F3B79B6864D049DE9C784B5D0843EB48
or by clicking on the program button on the top right corner of: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agri/
This year’s forms include software that automatically calculates the amount of the grant based on the entries.

The Ministry of Agriculture anticipates processing all of the applications by October 2014.

The greenhouse carbon tax relief grant was first introduced as a pilot program in 2012 to help B.C.’s greenhouse growers maintain their competitive edge, and was made a permanent program in Budget 2013. The program provided growers $7.6 million in 2012 and $ 7.2 million in 2013.

The B.C. government also recently assisted the BC Greenhouse Growers’ Association in promoting their local products to British Columbians. The association received $100,000 in Buy Local funding aimed at increasing consumer awareness of the quality, range and flavour of B.C. greenhouse products.

B.C. greenhouse growers produced almost 135,000 tonnes of vegetables in 2012 worth more than $240 million. The floriculture and nursery sector generated about $428 million in revenue in 2012, producing more than 92 million cut flowers and over 120 million plants.

Media Contacts:

Robert Boelens
Government Communications
Ministry of Agriculture
250 356-1674