Farmland Preservation Program

The Land Conservancy is preserving British Columbia’s farm and ranch land for both agriculture and conservation.

The most fertile and biodiverse areas of B.C. such as waterways and valley bottoms are also areas of intense urban development. Ninety percent of B.C.’s population is found in the Fraser Valley, Okanagan, and southern Vancouver Island. Development competes for land with food production and conservation.


In preserving farm and ranch land, TLC aims to:

  • retain arable land for food production and associated food sovereignty
  • protect biodiversity and other ecological goods and services
  • provide land access for new farmers
  • retain B.C.’s cultural heritage
  • contain urban development

TLC uses a variety of tools and activities to preserve farm and ranch land for agriculture and conservation.

 Preserving Special Lands for Future Generations

As a landowner, your property may have special agricultural, natural, and/or heritage values you would like protected for future generations. As a land trust, TLC provides several tools for land preservation, including conservation covenants, and donation, bequest and purchase options.

Conservation Covenants

Conservation covenants are long-term voluntary legal agreements between landowners and designated organizations such as TLC. Landowners retain ownership and promise to protect part of or all of their land in identified ways (e.g. preserve an old-growth forest, retain a wetland, use land for food production) while TLC agrees to ensure the terms of the agreement are maintained.

Donations, Bequests and Purchases

Gifting or selling your land to a land trust such as TLC is another option for preserving your special land values.

 Farmland for Farming

Once land is secured, TLC works with communities to keep the land in sustainable food production through land rental and facilitating formation of cooperatives, Community Farms and regional farmland trusts.

Maintaining Working Landscapes

TLC supports working landscapes for food production by renting TLC farm and ranch lands to producers.
These projects demonstrate how food production and conservation work together for mutual benefit.

Facilitating Community Farms and Cooperatives

Preserving farm and ranch land for local food production relies on community support. TLC facilitates formation of farm cooperatives and Community Farms throughout BC.

Facilitating Local Farmland Trusts

As an established provincial land trust, TLC facilitates communities forming their own farmland trusts to preserve farmland for local, sustainable food production and conservation.