History of Farming in Surrey
Although agriculture in Surrey can be traced to early pre-European settlements, pioneer farms began to appear in Surrey's lowlands in more significant numbers in the 1870s and 1880s. While these farms raised vegetables, dairy cattle, beef cattle, hogs, chickens, and horses, hay and light grains were the major cash crops and served both the New Westminster and Victoria markets.
Improved market conditions of the late 1880s and 1890s led to the change from crops being primarily for subsistence purposes to crops that were sold to grain wholesalers, dray companies, and local logging camps. In 1884, ferry service across the Fraser River was improved and local farmers began to provide a variety of produce, dairy products, and meat to New Westminster and BC's interior region.
As transportation (rail, automobile) methods improved and brought about more efficient shipping methods in the early 1900s, and as the Metropolitan market grew, by 1920 dairy farming had expanded rapidly, leading to the decline in hay and grain.
By the 1970s, mixed farming, which consisted of dairy farming, feed lots, vegetables, blueberries, and specialty horticulture, returned as major cash crops.
Sources:
Brown, J.A. Early Agriculture in Surrey. 1998.
Pearson, John. Land of the Peace Arch. Surrey: Surrey Centennial Committee, 1958.
Treleaven, G. Fern. The Surrey Story. Surrey: Surrey Historical Society, 1992.
Additional information can be found at the City of Surrey Archives.