Section Two

Plowing on a farm on
Galiano Island in the early
part of this century
Detail of D-06001
In this century agriculture has grown with various parts of the province specialising in produce that is most suitable to the local climate and soil.

The Peace River region in the Northeast is ideal for growing wheat and canola (rape seed).

The Okanagan Valley is famous for its apples and other fruits as well as grapes that support numerous wineries. The Okanagan, Similkameen, Thompson and Kootenay valleys, with their dry climates, depend on irrigation to grow crops and raise cattle.

The lower Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, the Fraser River Delta, and Southern Vancouver Island are suitable for growing a wide variety of vegetables and berries, and for dairy farming.

First Nations farmers at
Bella Coola in 1913
H-07276
Hay making near Smithers
in 1917
A-05507


Food processing such as canning and freezing of vegetables for local and export markets have had their periods of success and failure. From early in this century until the early 1960s, B.C. had an important vegetable canning industry with 15 canneries operating in various parts of the province in the early 1950s.

A commercial flower seed farm
at Grand Forks in 1947
Detail of D-02661
By the 1980s only one remained. This is due to increasing competition from produce from the United States, Mexico and other countries which can produce large quantities of agriculture products far cheaper than British Columbia.

However in certain specialized products B.C. is still able to export agricultural products such as wines, apples and fruits and some plant seeds.






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