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As part of the Pacific climate region, Richmond is replete with rich farmland.
Photo by Don Fennell
Temperate Pacific ideal turf for agriculture
By Don Fennell
Published 3:26 PDT, Fri June 5, 2020
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Extending along the coastline from Northern California to Alaska, the Pacific climate is particularly temperate. Typically rainy and overcast in the winter and sunny and dry in the summer, the region enjoys the longest frost-free period in Canada.
Comprising 17 islands covering 130,000 square kilometres in the mouth of the Fraser River where it meets the Pacific Ocean, Richmond on average is just one metre above sea level. This poses an obvious challenge: the propensity for flooding, especially during high tide. As a result, all the major islands are now encased by a system of dykes, resembling those in the Netherlands though certainly not on the same scale.
But it’s precisely because of this topography the community is afforded an abundance of rich, alluvial soil for agriculture. Predictably, it was one of the first areas in the province to be farmed by European settlers in the 19th century.
At the time of the 2016 census, just over 3,000 hectares of Richmond was farmed. The average size of a farm was 16.5 hectares (41 acres).
Agriculture is an important part of Richmond’s history. The fertile soil, consisting of silt and sand, attracted early settlers with the promise of agricultural productivity. And while Richmond has grown and evolved into a vibrant urban centre, a significant portion of the lands remains agriculture. Just under 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres) or 39 per cent of the city is within the Agricultural Land Reserve.
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