Abbotsford, B.C. – May 5, 2022: As of today, BC Agriculture Council’s (BCAC) Fund for Farmers has reached nearly $800,000 in donations announced President, Stan Vander Waal. Canadians donated in response to flooding in B.C. communities last November after learning of the devastating impacts to farmers and ranchers, particularly in Abbotsford, Merritt, and Princeton.

“We’re grateful to each individual and organization who supported B.C. farmers and ranchers that were so impacted by the devastating floods in November,” said BCAC President, Stan Vander Waal. “We also want to thank everyone who reached out to express their concern, sent letters, drawings or messages of support.”

The Fund for Farmers was announced on November 19th and was created in response to interest from both the public and organizations, asking how they could help. All of the donations collected by BCAC will be channelled to recovery efforts via BCAC member farm associations that have been working with their producers to identify the funding gaps after insurance, government programs and other humanitarian efforts.

BCAC received donations from businesses, individuals, not-for-profit organizations, and farm associations from across the country. Donations also came from employee donation matching programs, social media campaigns, and several other fundraising events.

BCAC wants to recognize the following organizations for their extraordinary donations: Farm Credit Canada, TELUS, Farmer’s Business Network, TerraLink Horticulture, Turkey Farmers of Canada, Scotiabank, Syngenta Canada, Envision Financial, CIBC, TD Bank, Abbotsford Tech District, VanCity, Corteva Agriscience, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Kubota Canada, K.M.S. Tools & Equipment, Sunnyside Produce, HUB International, Co-operators, Canadian Bison Association, and FortisBC.

BCAC is the lead industry advocate for key sector-wide priorities in British Columbia. The Council proudly represents a membership of 28 farm associations who in turn make up 96% of farm gate sales in B.C.

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Media Contact:
Amy Dhanjal
Manager of Communications and Public Relations
BC Agriculture Council
604-854-4454 | communications@bcac.ca