The BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative (Initiative) was developed in 2008 by the BC Agriculture Council to enable a proactive and pan-agriculture approach to climate change issues.
The BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative (the Initiative) develops tools and resources to enhance the ability of the BC agriculture sector to adapt to climate change. Visit the Climate Action Initiative website to learn more.
Peace - Climate Adaptation Strategies
Completed in the spring of 2012, the BC Agriculture Climate Change Adaptation Risk & Opportunity Assessment evaluates how changes to the climate may impact agricultural production for key commodities in various regions of BC. The assessment generated five regional and commodity specific reports including a “Snapshot Report” for grain and oilseed production in the Peace Region. Building on the findings of the assessment, the Peace Region Adaptation Strategies plan was completed in the spring of 2013. A summary of the plan is also available. The plan identifies regionally specific collaborative strategies and actions that will enhance agriculture’s ability to adapt to projected changes. $300,000 in Growing Forward funding is available for eligible collaborative projects identified in the plan. The Peace Adaptation Strategies plan is currently being implemented in partnership with a number of funders and local organizations. Implementation is being overseen by a local working group including:
Peace - Knowledge Transfer Tools - Irrigation feasibility & weather monitoring
A number of actions are identified in the Peace Regional Adaptation Strategies to support agriculture to adapt to increasingly dry and drought conditions in summer, including a project on Evaluation of Irrigation Potential in the BC Peace Region. The irrigation feasibility study was completed in the autumn of 2015. The study identified a small number of irrigation opportunities, and additional opportunities may exist. The feasibility study is a long and technical document and, even with a relatively concise executive summary, it does not highlight or define the opportunities in an accessible form for producers. For a relatively small investment, this project develops a set of fact sheets and a workshop to summarize overall findings, with particular attention to the opportunities, that will make the findings of the previous study more accessible. In addition to offering a session focused on the irrigation information, a second session will be offered related to the new weather data and decision support tools website, which is part of the Peace – Agriculture Weather Monitoring and Decision Support Tools project.
Resources
Peace Irrigation Climate Action Overview
Peace Irrigation Factsheet #1
Peace Irrigation Factsheet #2
Peace Irrigation Factsheet #3
Cariboo - Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Planning and Resources
The Climate Action Initiative developed agriculture-specific resources and plans to strengthen wildfire preparedness, mitigation and recovery in the Cariboo. This project piloted development of individual farm plans, as well as collaborative planning with producers facing wildfire risk. The individual farm plan process identifies the risks, gaps and concerns faced by individual producers and the resources inventory details available resources. Two collaborative planning workshops engaged groups of producers in close proximity, with the underlying objective of improving fire mitigation, preparedness and recovery, as well as enhancing communication between key fire management and response agencies and the agriculture sector. Costs, issues and barriers around implementation of mitigation measures are also identified in the Opportunities and Barriers report
Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation: Opportunities Barriers (2016)
Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation: Planning Process (2016)
Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation: Planning Template (2016)
Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation: Resources (2016)
Cariboo - Dams
Dams play an important role in water storage to ensure continued access to sufficient water for irrigation and livestock. While dams benefit a range of stakeholders, many agricultural producers are solely responsible for mandatory dam assessments, upgrades, maintenance and management. These can be cost prohibitive, and there is concern that producers are opting to decommission dams rather than maintain them. Through the Climate Action Initiative, two projects on dams were undertaken:
1) A Shared Approach to Maintaining & Enhancing Dams in the Cariboo
This project completed an inventory the region's agricultural dams and examined the main issues of maintaining water storage infrastructure.
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Summary - Maintaining and Enhancing Agricultural Dams in the Cariboo Region (2015)
2) Agriculture Dams Knowledge Transfer Resource
This project focused on building resource materials and holding workshops to "strengthen the knowledge and capacity of agricultural dam owners to fulfill the Water Sustainability Act and Dam Safety Regulation"
Dam Safety Management Binder (Version 1.02 February 2017)
Dam Safety Management in BC - Dam Safety Workshop Presentation
Forage Production Increases Climate Change Adaptation: Forage Practices Form Foundation of On-farm Research Toolkit
The impacts of climate change will be felt differently in different regions. In the Central Interior, four producers are running on-farm forage trials that will help to inform a new farm research toolkit intended
to assist forage producers across BC to evaluate opportunities for new crops or agronomic practices for climate change adaptation.
The project includes the installation of weather stations, the evaluation of production practices through on-farm trials, and the production of a manual to assist producers with conducting their own on-farm trials. The project activities are intended to increase the information and management options available to producers to assist them in responding to changes in growing conditions.
A Guide to On-Farm Demonstration Research
Management-Intensive Grazing aids Adapting to, and Mitigation Climate Change
Ranchers in the BC Interior are participating in a multi-year project to evaluate the potential for management-intensive grazing systems to improve the resilience of rangelands and pastures in the face of climate change.
Hotter and drier summer conditions and reduced winter snowpack are already becoming more common in the Central Interior. This trend is expected to continue with climate change, along with more frequent extreme precipitation events. As a result, grazing lands may become vulnerable to water stress, soil erosion and decreased productivity.
Management-intensive grazing involves planned grazing and rest periods for pastures, often using higher livestock density and electric fences to achieve grazing objectives. In this case, the objective is to retain moisture levels in soils and to improve the diversity and productivity of plants, as this is likely to enhance resilience in the face of dry and drought conditions.
Farm Practices & Climate Adaptation Series
This series of six reports evaluates selected farm practices for their potential to reduce risk or increase resilience in a changing climate. Three of the reports are relevant to cattle ranchers: Management Intensive Grazing, Shelterbelts and Water Storage.
1) Management-Intensive Grazing
Farm Practices & Climate Change Adaptation Series - Management-Intensive Grazing
2) Shelterbelts
Farm Practices & Climate Change Adaptation Series - Shelterbelts
3) Water Storage
Farm Practices & Climate Change Adaptation Series -Water Storage