B.C. farmers and ranchers looking to improve their climate preparedness and resiliency to wildfires, flooding and extreme heat, can apply for the second intake of funding through the Extreme Weather Preparedness for Agriculture program.

The new program is helping reduce the effect of climate change and extreme weather events and build a more resilient and competitive agriculture and food sector that puts food on the tables of British Columbians and employs B.C. workers.

The $1.5-million Extreme Weather Preparedness for Agriculture program supports a variety of projects tackling wildfires, flooding and extreme heat. To date, 50 applications and more than $440,000 have been approved from the first intake this past summer, including:

• farm building retrofits to improve cooling during extreme heat;
• FireSmart critical Infrastructure assessments;
• tree and berry infrastructure improvements including canopy cooling, and shade and heat protection for harvested fruit, berry and vegetable crops, and
• flood-proofing fuel tanks and farm-input storage facilities.

The second intake of the program will be open to farm and ranch businesses throughout B.C. Oct. 4-25, 2022. Funding will be allocated on a first come, first-served basis for all eligible agriculture businesses. 

Eligible applicants can access as much as $35,000 in cost-shared funding.

Learn More:

To find out more about the Extreme Weather Preparedness for Agriculture funding opportunities, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs/extreme-weather-preparedness

July 2022 news release announcing Extreme Weather Preparedness for Agriculture program:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022AF0048-001116