CPM Farms Ltd Overview

Farm History CPM Farms Ltd is located at 3387 Tolmie Road on Sumas Prairie in the District of Abbotsford located near HWY #1 and Cultus Lake. We have lived and farmed on this property since 1981. We had a hog farm and we raised breeding stock on contract for a large breeding stock company as well as a small nursery consisting of pond plants, Christmas trees, cut flowers and other garden plants. In 2006 we had to make the decision to close the hog operation and focus on the nursery. We expanded on this part of the operation as well as planted 15 acres of the land into 3 varieties of Blueberries. Eventually we opened a retail nursery on the farm.

Farming Operations of CPM Farms Ltd.

Blueberries We currently have 15 of our 20 acres in blueberries bushes. They are all in full production and yield is relatively good as our soil conditions are quite suitable to berries. We ship almost 100% as machine harvested berries to South Alder Farms, a Blueberry processing plant, with the exception of a relatively small amount that are sold at the nursery fresh, juiced and U-Pick.

Honey Bee Hives We currently have a small group of hives used primarily for pollination in the blueberry crop. We harvest some honey for sale in the nursery. We will continue to split hives as we are able and expand on this part of the operation.

Wholesale Water Plants In 2001 we expanded our mixed nursery to specialize in Pond and Water Garden plants. We quickly became the largest grower in Western Canada of Eichhornia crassipes (Water Hyacinth) and Pistia stratiotes (Water Lettuce). We ship to several distributors that supply garden centers across Canada with our product. Market Sales have declined over the last years

but we still ship close to 100,000 plants out each spring, our season running from mid April to mid June. Plants are grown in shallow (6” deep) ponds and are harvested daily by a crew of neighborhood ladies that come back for the season every year.

Harvesting our Blueberries

Christmas trees ready for planting in the field

Collecting Honey from our hives

Retail Pond and Water Plant Nursery As we became known as ‘Pond Specialists’, we had more and more people drop by the farm to pick up plants. We finally gave into customer pressure and about 10 years ago we opened Woodbridge Ponds Inc. a seasonal farm gate Water Garden Nursery.

We expanded our selection of pond plants to over 150

different varieties of marginals and over 50 varieties of pond lilies all of which are sold through the on-farm nursery. We also have a selection of pond hardware and sell pond fish. Over the past years we have expanded this part of our operation and installed much landscaping, and display gardens both outside and indoors. We have become a destination nursery, are active participants of the Circle Farm

Tour and attract bus tours, garden clubs, senior outings and private events.

Current Plans for CPM Farms – Ripples Winery Now that our 2 grown children want to join the family business we are looking at ways to supplement the farm income to support 3 families. We have long been interested in further processing our berries and as fresh blueberry prices have declined it seemed a logical next step to incorporate a winery onto the property. As of recent we have received approval for an onsite wine manufacturing license. Our small premium fruit winery will initially start

with the required minimum production and build according to experience and demand. In addition to being participants of the Circle Farm Tour we are Canada GAP certified (includes a HACCP portion) and we have completed our Environmental Farm Plan. All of which will lend another layer of credibility to our farm and products. The winery will tie in well with our current operations. The final license endorsement that we would like to get is for a ‘Special Events’ license.

The creation of ‘The Secret Garden’ of Woodbridge Ponds CPM farms Ltd was not on the map until we opened our specialized nursery ‘Woodbridge Ponds’ in 2003. It attracted some traffic on its own merit but being substantially off the beaten track we quickly

Retail Pond Store

Wedding in one of the display gardens

saw the need to further entice visitors to come to the farm. We invested in landscaping and created gardens and display ponds both outside and inside one of our growing greenhouses. In due course word got out that ‘The Secret Garden’, as we soon were called, was a tranquil place for a meeting, a tour destination and eventually, a perfect place for a wedding or other event. We had serendipitously found a niche that was not being filled in our community. There seemed to be a need for an attractive gathering place in a farm type setting. Relying almost exclusively on ‘word by mouth’ advertising we found that most weekends during our nursery season were being filled with events ranging from Garden Club tours to private events. We embraced this as a great opportunity to sell, promote and educate. We hired extra staff (all from farming background) and we have seen not only a substantial increase in product sales but have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback from visitors.

AGRI-tourism activities are the future Operating so many different farming activities on one family farm is not easy but it allows us to ride out the lows and highs of the ever changing market conditions. Having been in the hog Industry for over 25 years we know only too well the struggles of a volatile market. In today’s economy, farmers continually need to look to alternative means In order to retain farm viability. Direct farm sale of products, Agri-tourisum activities, on-farm processing, and hosting promotional events, etc are some of the many creative ways farmers are using to supplement their income and promote their business. There are countless farms and nurseries all over B.C. that attract public onto their properties by hosting events in all shapes and sizes, to promote their product. Just about every back yard winery in the Okanagan offers some kind of wedding package to encourage people to come visit. Farms all over the lower mainland are offering corn mazes, eco dairy farm tours, farmer market stores, ice cream parlors and various events just to name a few. It is the evolution of the farming industry and as stewards of the land, we are learning to farm in this evolving economy. Having farmed in BC for 35 years we are most supportive of the ALR and know the value of protecting our farmlands. However, we need to be as protective of our farmers as we are of our lands. We will lose our farm youth to well paying 40 hour/week jobs if we don’t allow them the flexibility to make a decent living on the land. As the act currently stands, the following AGRI-tourism activities are permitted under the ALR Act (Policy #4) and we feel these as applicable to our operation: Farm related educational activities and Seasonal promotional events

We host nursery seminars, garden tours, and garden club meeting. All are industry related events that are held in the nursery premises and range from small casual events to larger catered events that serve alcohol and are catered by offsite licensed caterers.

Pond Keeping Seminar

& seniors bus tour

Special promotional events (e.g. private or public special occasion events for the promotion of farm products) We host a variety of private harvest events during the summer and fall. At all events we serve blueberries and other local produce catered by local catering companies. Charity fund-raising events where farm products from are offered for sale or by contribution and the net proceeds are donated to a registered charity. We host multiple fund raising events during the season including the Abbotsford Rotary Clubs annual fundraiser to fund the Abbotsford ‘Starfish Backpack’ program that feeds over 200 elementary school kids each weekend in the Abbotsford district. Seed funding for this valuable program is exclusively from this event and all input costs are donated (catering, staff, venue, décor). We also host greenhouse tours during all events. Catered food and beverage service special events where farm products from the farm are promoted, but not a service requiring the use of a permanent commercial kitchen. This particular segment of Policy #4 of the ALC Act (AGRI-TOURISM ACTIVITIES IN THE ALR) allows a ‘special event that is catered by an outside source and promotes farm products’. These pictures demonstrate how beautifully farming and weddings can be intertwined. Imagine the ‘facebook’ time farming countryside got with pictures like these. We do not have a commercial kitchen. All food served in our nursery is prepared off site by a licensed, insured caterer. Any private special events must be willing to allow us to promote our plants and blueberries during the event. We also establish (in a contract) that we are a working nursery and at all time the purpose of inviting visitors to the nursery is to showcase our products. As a member of the circle farm tour we are open to the public at all times during business hours including during events. We have staff on hand to offer guided tours of the farm. We fail to see how this cannot apply to a wedding, fundraiser, baby shower or any other (private) event as long as the promotional aspect exists.

Weddings use the farm fields for pictures

Stop Work Order We have always understood that all business conducted on our property falls under the ALR Act (Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation (BC Reg. 171/2002) policy #4. On September 28 ALC issued a ‘Stop Work’ Order and required that we not only give notice of cancellation to all events booked for 2016/17 but to cancel the remaining 5 events that were scheduled to take place during the remainder of our 2015 season(The Nursery is open until October 12th). This had a huge financial and social impact on us immediately as well a causing a very stressful emotional time for the brides that were involved. The long term impact is more substantial. Not only will we face loss of direct income but as we no longer can attract customers onto the property through events we will see a drop in farm produce sales. More importantly to us, without the ability to creatively expand farm income we see no way to incorporate our grown children onto the farm. Living in an exclusively farming community with long term neighbors surrounding us, it is very unlikely that we will ever have the opportunity to expand our farm base by purchasing additional land in the area. Our only option to grow is to ‘value add’ to our existing crops and products and to incorporate AGRI-tourism activities. Continuing to host events; capitalizing on the reputation we have earned and allowing us to continue to promote our farm and products in this environment, will maintain farm viability, provide growth opportunity and enable us to incorporate our children and their families into the business. By providing a financially viable foundation for these second generation famers to build on we will ensure that this farm will continue to be a productive, prosperous part of the agriculture industry.

Non-Farm Use Application We have been advised that it would be a good first step to submit a ‘Non-Farm Use application to the ALC. This process has proved very frustrating. We repeatedly attempted to seek clarification from the ALC as to the need for a non-farm use application if we already have a winery license in place. Obviously there is something conflicting to this as is evident from all the weddings that take place on wineries in B.C. We fail to see how events are permissible under the LCLB License yet they are not allowed by the ALC. Yet wineries are recognized as acceptable us of ALR lands.

In 35 years of farming we have learned to adapt. We enjoyed our 25 year run with hogs until our 200 sow breeder operation became no longer financial viable.

Benefit of our operation to Agriculture in General The Agricultural industry is a key driver of our BC economy generating over $11 billion dollars in Agrifoods sales annually and accounting for more than 60,000 jobs across Province. Improved understanding of the economic, environmental and social benefits the agriculture industry provides is key to ensuring public understanding of what we do and why we do it as well as maintaining the industry's social license to operate. The agrifoods sector is critical to B.C.'s future. In 2012 the ministry of Agriculture released an Agrifoods strategy, under the BC Jobs Plan, with the intent of promoting and increasing local food production and processing and supporting job growth. The B.C. government has also invested $6 million in the Buy Local Program, helping BC farmers and food processors promote their products. Aside from the BLP Campaign there are multiple programs aimed at supporting and promoting agriculture in our province like the Farmers' Market Nutrition Coupon Program, Agriculture in the Classroom and Farmers Appreciation Week. This highlights the importance that BC Agriculture has to our province and the commitment our government has to our industry. Together with these programs the farming community needs to actively participate in order to progress in the goal to increase local food production and public awareness of the food we eat. We have to continually look at alternative practices to promote business, supplement income and retain farm viability. CPM Farms plays an important role in B.C. agriculture. We are educated, passionate ambassadors of the farming community and through our events are able to educate people that would otherwise be beyond our reach. As active members of The Circle Farm Tour we attract a fair number of people to our Farm Nursery. However, people who generally come are already sufficiently interested in agriculture to pick up a CFT pamphlet and drive out to the countryside to visit. When we host events like weddings or fundraisers we get people from all walks of life that come to the nursery for the purpose of the event. This is a great opportunity to engage people that would otherwise, never have thought to step foot on a farm. During all events we have staff on hand to offer guided tours of the fields and facilities and offer produce to sample. It never ceases to amaze us how interested people are in the farm and our products and how much we still need to educate the general public. These are some excerpts from our visitor log: “That was the most interesting wedding I have ever attended, thanks for the tour!” “I thought farms were smelly, yours certainly isn’t.” “I never realized how important bees are, I won’t squash them anymore, promise!” “Thanks for the great tour, I can’t believe how much better your blueberries taste than store bought ones.” “What a lovely time we had, I came to a farm and stepped into paradise, who knew?” “I came to my nephews wedding this spring and the plant I bought from you did so well, thank you again for the fun tour.” “Our seniors had a lovely time visiting. Your staff is so helpful and knowledgeable.” “Thank you again for hosting the RBC fundraiser; we’ve heard nothing but great comments; the downtown folks were all amazed!”

Benefit to Local Community Wineries and wedding go hand in hand. That is evident from the exodus of couples to the Okanagan and to get married on wineries. By keeping those Agri-tourism dollars in our own communities we are: Generating jobs locally Utilizing local Hotels/Motels/B&B’s Utilizing local service companies like catering companies, photographers, cake makers, DJ’s etc.

Retaining arable farmland As farmers we are most supportive of the ALR Act and know how crucial it is to retain our farmlands. We utilize all 20 acres of our land with the exception of the gravel parking lot that is necessity for trucks to handle product from the greenhouses. Dealing with potential negative impacts of events on the neighborhood Having raised hogs for over 25 years and now producing blueberries we are only too used to dealing with the negative byproducts of our trade. Fortunately we live in a farming community that all produce their own smells from livestock, noise from cannons and dust from field machinery. We are tolerant of each other’s pollutions. However, that does not mean we don’t all take every measure possible to minimize our impact on our environment.

Reasons why this works on farmland

Being relatively isolated we have offer minimal disturbance for neighbors as opposed to a more urban environment where houses and businesses are much closer.

We have sufficient parking onsite that is not utilized on the weekends for the greenhouse business.

We are far from any schools, churches, care homes or other establishments that would have a concern with alcohol from the winery being served.

There is a huge need for alternative gathering places. Farms and wineries offer the environment that people are looking for when planning an event.

Personal History Paul & Caroline Mostertman emigrated from Holland in 1979/81. We both have degrees in Agriculture and started farming in 1981 on our current property. We have both been active participant in the agricultural industry and sat on a number of boards and advisory committees. Amongst others, Paul was part of the VIDO swine advisory group (Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization) for many years. Caroline was on the East Chilliwack Co-Op Board and on The Hog Commission board for six years as Vice-Chair/Chair and Acting Manager. We were also the BC representatives for a genetic breeding stock company for almost 20 years. We have 2 grown children and a dog.