Words can’t disguise a skimpy budget Up Front


By Bryden Winsby T


alk is cheap, they say, and so also has been a succession of British Columbia governments when it


comes to helping improve the state of agriculture in the province. Consider Premier Christy Clark’s


recent remarks to a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce lunch crowd, to whom she delivered an enthusiastic sales pitch for the BC Liberals’ latest budget. The ever-smiling premier bubbled on about how her government intends to get rid of the provincial deficit without raising income taxes, and how it will not bog business down with “policies that make it impossible for you to get ahead.” And, in comments obviously aimed at


a fruit-and-wine-country audience, she said there are “huge opportunities for us in agriculture,” such as selling cherries and beef to China, “and we want to grow that export market.” Oh, and the premier also said she believes in “eating local, in buying local.” “I think that's the healthy way to eat,”


she said, “so we should try and make sure that B.C.-grown food is available to British Columbians at the lowest possible price because government has gotten out of the way.” Right. Sort of. But don’t get too far


away. Farmers aren’t asking for and don’t need laissez-faire. They’re asking for a fair share of public money to help them stay in business. The numbers speak for themselves.


Ag spending for the past few years has accounted for far less than even one percent of the provincial budget. This time around, the estimate is for expenditures of $66 million, which might sound like a lot, but it ranks at the bottom of 16 ministries in a document that calls for more than $31.7 billion in total spending. It’s one thing to realize that opportunities exist, but it can be quite another to pursue them — especially, as is the case with many fruit growers, when mere survival is the priority. The B.C.Fruit Growers’ Association


has been lamenting the lack of government support for a long time. Outgoing president Joe Sardinha knows the frustration as well as anyone, having slogged through 11 tough years on the association executive, seven of them at the helm. His successor, Kirpal Boparai, says he


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is determined to wrest more more money out of Victoria, including direct income support. As our cover story by Associate Editor Judie Steeves explains, Mr. Boparai feels the BCFGA needs even stronger leadership. What that will entail


remains to be seen, and the year ahead probably will be as challenging as any for the association executive. It now has considerable representation from the Indo-Canadian community, which has become a very significant part of the industry. A wide range of other matters are covered in this issue, particularly on the good-news side. We’ve got details of a project undertaken by Peter Toivonen at the Summerland research station to deal with softening of cherries in storage, and, still in Summerland, a new anti- microbial, modified-atmosphere packaging system now being manufactured. Contributing writer Susan McIver provides an update on the mentoring program for apple growers offered by the Okanagan Plant Improvement Co. and financed through money earned from the sale of international licenses


for varieties developed here. Elsewhere, Susan has an in-depth


look at what a number of wineries in the Okanagan-Similkameen are doing to give their visitors an experience that goes well beyond an opportunity to sample their wares. Peter Waterman provides some


advice on seasonal practices to follow that can go a long way toward ensuring optimum returns. We’ve got an interview with the first


female member of the B.C. Wine Authority’s board of directors, and a piece on research being done by Susan Murch at UBC Okanagan to develop grape rootstocks that are particularly suited to semi-arid conditions. Cooler than ‘normal’ weather conditions are also a big concern in our vineyards, and this topic is tackled by Gary Strachan who discusses strategies to optimize vine and berry development. He also reviews a two- volume update covering almost every field of research affecting the grape and wine industries. And that’s not all. Read on ...


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Spring 2012


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