Other experience/agricultural/business training - Small scale vetetable gardens.
Do you have a business plan?
Yes - 3-5 year plan. See below.
Do you have financial resources available to start your farm?
Yes - Savings, co-partner and offer from interested investor.
Do you have access to other financial resources (such as a financial partner, loan, etc.) to start your farm?'
No - No, costs have been covered.
Project
Farm Name
undecided
Farm Project Description
I would like to start a small elderberry farm. This is a plant I am fairly familiar with as we have some on family property. In my experience this is not a picky plant growing in our climate and would require little maintenance. I would like to begin with 100 trees I would grow from cuttings. Starting them in a greenhouse for the first year to root and transplanting them for year 2. They would likely take another year to grow before getting a decent harvest on year 3. After the rooted elderberry have been removed from the greenhouse I would likely convert the space to grow herbs and greens and benefit from an extended growing season. I will process the elderflower and elderberry that's harvested into various drinks, concentrates or syrups depending on market demand.
Preferred Arrangement
Registered Lease on Title -
Lease -
Duration of the desired agreement
3 years minimum with option to renew.
Ideal date to obtain land by
Immediately - Fall 2020
Participant in BC Land Matching Program
Yes
Land & Features Desired
Total Land Size (acres)
Approx. 0.5 - 1.0 acres
Wooded Area (acres)
No
Cultivable Area (acres)
0.15 acres immediately with room to expand
Possibility to expand area currently available (acres)
Yes - If area is larger I'm happy to lease an acre expand as needed.
Zoning
ALR
Preferred current state of the surface of the cultivable area
Ideally semi sheltered from wind. reasonably flat open field or pasture. Area of at least 50x100ft to accommodate 100 trees over 5 rows and room to expand in future years. Space to accommodate a small 8x12ft greenhouse as well as a cleaning and processing station.
Open to landowner residing on property
Yes
Need farm buildings
Yes - I will supply an 8x12ft greenhouse to be built on property.
Need fenced land
No
Need farm machinery and tools
No
Need established water source and infrastructure
bcwatercalculator.ca/agriculture estimates 98 cubic meters per year.
