Denman Island Farm Plan

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Prepared for: 
Denman Island Local Trust Committee and 
 
 
 
By: 

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“An Island where we feed each other abundantly because farming is a viable 
and valued foundation of our sustainable community.”  
– Vision Statement, Denman Island Agriculture Plan Steering Committee 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
 
The  development  of  a Denman  Island  Farm  Plan was  initiated  in  2010  as a 
priority  of  the  Denman  Island  Local  Trust  Committee, and  later part  of  the 
Islands  Trust  Council  2008-11  Strategic  Plan, in  order  to ``support  socio-
economic diversity of  island communities``. Farming has always held a  strong 
place  in  Denman  Island  history  and  is  characterized  by  diverse,  small-scale 
production.  Currently,  the  economic  contribution  of  farming  to  the  region  is 
marginal with gross  farm  receipts  and  farm  revenues  decreasing. Concerns 
such  as  a  limited  consumer  base,  transportation  costs,  high  land  prices, and 
lack of processing facilities have had a significant impact on the ability of local 
farmers to be economically viable. The Denman Island Farm Plan was initiated 
to  enhance  and  preserve  farming  in  the  region  and  work  towards increased 
farm production that is both sustainable and resilient. 
 
A vision statement  was  developed  by  the  Agriculture  Plan  Steering  Committee  to  help guide the  process  of  the 
Farm  Plan and provide  direction  when  determining recommendations  and  an  implementation  plan.  The  vision 
statement for Denman Island is “an  Island  where  we  feed each other  abundantly  because  farming  is  a  viable and 
valued  foundation  of  our  sustainable  community”.  The  term Farming has  been  intentionally  used  throughout  the 
Farm Plan as  the  Committee  felt  that  it brought  about  ideas  of  growing  food  and farm  products,  and raising 
livestock,  and  was  more  inclusive  and  historic than  the  term  Agriculture. Aquaculture  was  not  addressed  in  the 
development of the Farm Plan due to budget constraints and limitations placed on the scope of the Farm Plan by 
the  funding  partners. Since  aquaculture once  played an  important  role  as  both  an  economic  driver and  an 
employment  generator,  the  Islands  Trust  is  encouraged  to  conduct  an  analysis  of  aquaculture  production  on 
Denman Island and include it in future planning around food and farming. Conventional forestry practices have not 
been  addressed  in  this  plan,  but  the  steering  committee  recognizes  and  encourages  agroforestry  on  Denman 
Island. 
 
The first phase in developing the Farm Plan was to produce an Agriculture Strategy that could provide background 
information  about  Denman  Island.  The Agriculture  Str

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