This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
contested.


But with the election over, he hopes to improve communication between growers and the board and management of the co-op. He feels more small meetings should


be held with growers, even kitchen table sessions at the neighbour’s house, where people will feel more comfortable about asking questions.


“I believe more growers would come to such meetings, and there would be a better understanding of how the industry is being managed.” At present, Patara is doing his homework, learning how the co-op operates and reading the board minutes from the past two years to learn about its recent history. He says a lot of the industry’s infrastructure is old and somewhat inefficient, but with the real estate market where it is, now would not be the best time for selling off properties, so it’s probably wise to sit on it for a bit until markets improve. Patara says he believes the closure of co-op-owned packing plants in Naramata and Summerland were the right decisions, although he’s talked to lots of growers, many of them in Summerland, who are still not happy about that decision.


The trouble is, the industry needs to know exactly what its future needs will be before it can plan for that future, he points out.


“The shrinkage of tree fruit acreage is a real issue. It makes it really difficult to plan. If we only knew how much fruit we’ll have next year...


“Those growers who are diverting their produce and selling it elsewhere are causing the rest to lose money,” he added.


Yet, those same growers benefit from such advantages as the expertise of field staff, then don’t ship their fruit through


the packinghouse.


Patara says his main focus will be to encourage growers to grow a good quality of apple, rather than concentrating on quantity. “Good packouts are vital,”he said.


He hopes to convince growers the co- op is working on their behalf. However, he says they also need to understand the board needs some time to make the operation more efficient and improve returns with lower overhead costs. That’s where the issue of not knowing how much fruit they need to plan for next year comes in. And, it’s a vicious circle, with growers taking out acreage because they’re not making enough money, and the uncertainty leading to higher packinghouse overhead from shrinking fruit quantities.


The low returns are also responsible for making growers cranky and rumours lead to misunderstandings, people get angry and take it out at a meeting, when it’s not really what they’re angry about, commented Patara. He is finding that his fellow board members appreciate having representatives on the board from the side of the industry that is the Punjabi growers. However, he says he expects there will be criticism from both sides. While Patara was elected to represent the northern sector of the valley, replacing Glenn Cross, Nirmal Dhaliwal of Osoyoos was elected over Joe Hart of Naramata to represent southern growers on the board.


The rest of the board remains the same, with Jim Elliot, Steve Day, Malcom Mitchell, Sam DiMaria and Patara representing the northern region, and Claude Moreira, Rob Dawson, Jack Machial, Ron Vollo and Dhaliwal the southern.


Board members re-elected Jim Elliot president of the board of the OTFC.


AGRICULTURAL NETS & FABRICS


  


 


 


 www.farmsolutions.net neal_carter@telus.net


250.494.1099 British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2010-11 13


New Variety Experts


Trust the AVAILABLE FOR Apples 2011


 


Peaches


 


  


   


Plums


 


  


Cherries 


  


  


Call toll-free: 1-800-769-4996 to discuss your needs with our knowledgeable staff.


1600 BYLAND ROAD, KELOWNA, B.C. Tel. 250-769-4466 Fax: 250-769-5566 E-Mail: mail@bylands.com Visit us at:


www.bylands.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28