Fraser Valley/Victoria – Greenhouse operators can now apply for carbon tax relief grants for the 2020 production year, until May 1.
Commercial producers in B.C. who grow vegetables, ornamental flowers and plants, forest seedlings and nursery plants are eligible to apply for the grant if they:
- had sales exceeding $20,000 in 2019;
- used natural gas or propane to heat their greenhouses or produce carbon dioxide; and
- had a production area greater than 455 square metres.
The grant covers up to 80% of the carbon tax that commercial greenhouse growers of eligible crops paid on the natural gas and propane they used for greenhouse heating and carbon-dioxide production in 2019. Cannabis is not an eligible crop at any phase of production.
Greenhouse growers supply communities with fresh vegetables for about 10 months of the year. In 2018, nearly 120,000 tonnes of vegetables were grown in greenhouses, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants and lettuce. In addition to vegetable growers, B.C.’s floriculture and nursery industries grow more than 80 million greenhouse flowers and cuttings and produce approximately 50 million potted plants a year.
FYI:
Application information and eligibility criteria are available here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs/greenhouse-carbon-tax-relief-grant
