For farms

Selling what your farm grows or raises

The rules for selling farm products on Vancouver Island depend on what you produce: whole vegetables need almost nothing, while meat, poultry, eggs and dairy each have their own licence, and a marketing board once you grow past a set size. Start with what you produce, or go straight to the question you have.

Start with what you produce

Farms & market gardensGrowing fruit, vegetables, grains or microgreens.Meat, poultry & egg producersRaising animals for meat, or hens for eggs.BeekeepersSelling honey and other bee products.Fishers & seafood sellersCommercial fishers selling their catch. (Shellfish farms follow separate aquaculture rules this page doesn’t cover.)

Farm guides

Farmgate & Farmgate Plus licenceSlaughtering on your own farm: which licence, how much, where the meat can be sold, and how to apply.Quota & flock limitsChicken, turkey, eggs, milk, vegetables, hogs and berries: what you can sell without a permit, with one, and when quota starts.Farm stands, u-pick & agritourismWhat a farm stand can sell, how big it can be on ALR land, u-pick and farm events, CSA boxes, well water and roadside signs.

Abattoirs and what’s changing

Abattoirs on the IslandEvery licensed abattoir on the Island and the Gulf Islands — 11 confirmed to take other farmers’ animals, with the animals each one handles.Coming up for farms10 changes with a date set, and proposals that may not happen — each with its source.

Permits farms need

Animals and meat

Crops, land and labels

Can I sell it?

A yes or no for each food, by how it was produced and where you sell it.

When you’re ready to sell

Selling on Local Pass

A farm stand waits for passing traffic. On the Island Food Market, customers across the Island order your harvest for pickup or delivery.

Your own storefront
A storefront on the Island Food Market, with every product on its own page, built to be found on Google.
Your units
Each product carries its own unit and price — by the dozen, the loaf, the bunch or the pound.
Delivery, shipping and pickup
Local Pass drivers or your own delivery, plus shipping and pickup points with their own hours.

How Local Pass works for farms No subscription — a fee on each sale.

Local Pass is a platform that connects Island businesses and customers through its app and website — it is not a regulator. Every seller is responsible for the permits, licences and labels their food needs, and this guide is here to help you work out which ones.