A South Surrey farmer has come to the defence of his neighbour after a Morgan Creek couple filed an official noise complaint against the operator of a nearby blueberry field.
Last week, Peace Arch News published an article regarding the complaint by Ross Paterson and Melissa Modenesi, who recently moved to Morgan Creek from Vancouver.
The couple complained that the noise from a pair of wind turbines was preventing them from sleeping. The farmer purchased the turbines to prevent frost damage on his blueberries.
After the article went online, nearly 300 people commented on the story 鈥� mostly in support of the farmer 鈥� including Avtar Longiye.
Longiye wrote that the comments from the new residents exuded 鈥渇alse entitlement.鈥�
RELATED:
Contacted Sunday, Longiye said the article 鈥渟et me off鈥� because the blueberry farmer is doing whatever he can to minimize damage to his crop.
He said the article brought back memories of other criticisms South Surrey farmers have endured, including complaints about blueberry cannons and slow-driving machinery using the roadways.
鈥淚 do feel there is not a lot of respect for the farmers,鈥� Longiye said. 鈥淭he person who put those turbines in to keep their berry warm, we have that problem, too. We have a lot of berry that dies. We鈥檝e been dealing with it for a few years.鈥�
While people in the urban setting tend to complain about farm land, whether it鈥檚 noise, smell or traffic, farmers 鈥� who were there first 鈥� are feeling pressure from urban sprawl.
Longiye has been growing berries near Highway 15 and 40 Avenue for 16 years. Even in that short time, his operations have had to be adjusted due to pressure caused by encroaching South Surrey subdivisions.
The most prohibitive change in the last couple decades, he said, has been the cost of land.
When Longiye purchased his farm in 2005, the cost per acre was about $100,000 for agricultural land. According to property listings, as of Monday, the cost per acre is about $170,000, depending on the area.
鈥淚f we want to expand our operations, we can鈥檛 because it鈥檚 prohibitively expensive to buy more land to farm. You can鈥檛 really make a living as a farmer,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he price of land is too high.鈥�
The future of farming in the South Surrey area is 鈥渟tarting to look bleak,鈥� he added.
鈥淚f you look at the prices of blueberries, just for example, they haven鈥檛 gone up that much since we bought this farm. But the land price has gone up. You can鈥檛 really see a lot of new farmers coming in.鈥�
Longiye said there are a number of small challenges caused by urban sprawl that, over time, build and increase pressure on farmers.
One example he provided was the new median at the 40 Avenue and Highway 15 (176 Street) intersection. While he supports the safety measure, that route was once used for farm vehicles to move from field to field.
RELATED:
鈥淚 remember farmers could easily cross the highway, but this median they put all the way down 鈥� for safety obviously 鈥� it has affected the ability for their machine to go from one field to the next,鈥� Longiye said.
Another road-related challenge, he said, is inconsiderate motorists when farmers are moving farm equipment or transporting their harvest to a processing facility.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of respect for that,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople should be aware this is a rural area, it鈥檚 summer, there鈥檚 going to be harvesting going on. Have a little bit of respect for that. Don鈥檛 harass people in that way, try to make some room, try to keep a wide berth. Give them a chance to be safe with what they鈥檙e transporting.鈥�
Longiye, who also works in the tech industry in downtown Vancouver, said he鈥檚 aware of the lifestyle clash.
鈥淧eople are a little more fast-paced and a little impatient with things,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just sort of try to be more aware of what鈥檚 going on in the neighbourhood, and I sort of adjust my expectations accordingly to where I鈥檓 going.鈥�
Designed to protect agricultural land from speculators and developers, Longyie also said 2019鈥檚 Bill 15 鈥� the Agricultural Land Commission Amendment Act 鈥� has had unintended consequences for B.C. farmers.
The bill, he said, prevents him from building a secondary home on his land for his parents. Instead, he鈥檚 forced to search for a home in the South Surrey neighbourhood.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have those multigenerational type of households. It affects us in that respect,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nybody who鈥檚 in the farming lifestyle, they tend to have larger families, historically. Bigger families, everybody sticks together and you work the land.鈥�
aaron.hinks@peacearchnews.com
Like us on and follow us on
