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the use of itwould vastly improve blueberry farmers’ ability to keep predatory birds off their berry crops.” While a cannon’s loud boomcan scare


off the birds, unlike the drones they cannot actually chase away the birds, which inevitably return to the field. UAVs use an electronicwhistle to get


t; BC uncil f


0


the birds’ attention and are remote- controlled to go offwhen the drone is engaged in chasing birds off the property. The idea of thewhistle is to get the birds to associate the sound of thewhistlewith the drone. Eventually, just the sound of an electronicwhistle being blown by someone should clear the fields of birds, evenwhen the drones are not in operation. “Our dronewas not designed


specifically as a bird scare apparatus, nor dowe knowof any drones designed as such,” saidWhite. “Drone technology is changing very rapidly and the drone you see todaywould not be previously available because of the extremely high cost. But that has changed and it is now within our power to acquire a drone to use as a bird scaremechanism.” White told the attentive audience that


to be cost effective the dronesmust work in fields of 30 ormore acres. While they can be used on smaller 15 to 25 acre fields, the cost per acrewould be much higher and probablywould not be economical for the grower. Whitewas quick to add that growers


cannot operate the drones easily themselves. “Theywill have to hiremy company


to do thework,whichwould involveme, my partner and a pilotwhowould actually operate the drone.We have all the federal and provincial licenses and documents that are required in place. “To safely operate theUAV requires a


lot of learning.We also plan out the entire operation and programthe drone to staywithin field boundaries.” Each drone is equippedwith a


miniature camera so it can be kept away fromother crops. “Our drone is large and very fast and


agile, andwhen equippedwith the electronicwhistle itwill disperse any type of bird.” Anyone interested in knowingmore


about aUAV bird scare drone can contactDougWhite at Farmers’ Bird Deterrent Science Inc. in Vancouver by calling 1-604 734 0771 or by e-mailing dawhite7@telus.net


6 British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2014


Among delegates who accompanied federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, left, on trade mission to China were Christine Dendy of the B.C. Cherry Association, Debbie Etsell of the B.C. Blueberry Council, and provincial agriculture minister Norm Letnick.


China trip productive


Final agreement getting closer for export of B.C.


By Grant Ullyot A


recent trademission headed by federal agricultureminister GerryRitzwas in China to


reinforce the establishment of stable long-termtrade agreements. Ritz and his provincial counterpart,


NormLetnick,were able to negotiate an agreement thatwill bring to Canada officials fromChina’s Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ),which is equivalent to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Theywill spend their time in this


province looking at howwe growand process blueberries andworking on a PestRisk Assessment (PRA) to help get theminto the Chinesemarket. The Chinese are demanding that any


blueberrieswe ship to themmust be of the highest quality and have a shelf life thatwill ensure theymeet Chinese quality standards upon arrival in that country. It is a tall order for B.C. growers. While Canada has a reputation for


producing high-quality berries, the huge increase in production thatwill be required to supply the Chinesemarket


means growers are going to have to step up productionwhile at the same time ensuring quality standards are kept. Currently only 20 per cent or less of


perishable goods is transported by refrigeratedmeans each year. To expand the reach to Chinameanswork will need to be done to figure outways to accommodate shipping to that country. The agreement tomove the proposal


to export blueberries into Chinawas formally signed during ameeting in Beijing.When fully implemented, it will increase the value of B.C. exports by an estimated $65million. Since 2006 Canadian agriculture


exports to China have increasedmore than five-fold to a total of some $5.6 billion annually. China is the second largest exportmarket for B.C. agri- foods. In 2013, exports to China increased to $234million, almost double that of 2010. Last year the province exported $2.7 billion in agri- foods tomore than 140 countries. Ritz said the bilateralmeetingwith


Chinese officials reinforced the importance of Canada and China’s long termandmutually beneficial relationship in agriculture, and to obtain commitments to formally establish annualministerial-level meetings. Letnick, in signing the agreement for


blueberry exports to increase, also put his signature on a similar agreement


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