milestones


Province’s berry


specialist retiring


Mark Sweeney’s knowledge and helpful attitude have earned him wide respect during his 37-year career.


By Grant Ullyot M


ark Sweeney, the berry industries’ specialist for the past 17 years, will retire from his position with the Ministry of Agriculture in the fall.


Sweeney joined the ministry in 1978 when its office was located in downtown Abbotsford. He had just finished travelling for a year after completing university, where he studied agriculture. “When I was in university I was inspired by a number of people who were working in extension. To be able to take leading-edge research findings and apply them to the real world of farming would be a cool occupation,” he remembers thinking.


“Extension is all about people and the department of agriculture was all about extension, which allowed me to put my skills to work to assist farmers. “However, in the 90s that all changed. The government cutbacks virtually eliminated extension work and it became very difficult for people like myself to sink their teeth into an industry issue. Our staffing dropped from 30 people down to six.” At that time Sweeney was the vegetable specialist with the ministry, having been appointed to the position when Bruce Wisbey retired in 1980. But in 1998, Sweeney was named the new berry specialist. The berry industry was entering a strong growth period that has continued through to today.


“During my 17 years working with berry growers, he says, “there has been phenomenal growth in the blueberry sector. When I came aboard in 1998 there was annual production of about 30 million pounds of berries. Last year, the industry produced 152 million pounds of berries. And that growth continues and produces its own set of challenges, which I hope I have played some role in resolving.”


Sweeney says the berry industries must strive to stay competitive. “The blueberry market has grown, consumption has grown, and along with that growth and demand we have seen tremendous growth in production, not only in BC, but around the world. “If we are to compete as a production area in BC we have to be competitive. We have to be efficient in our production so that our unit cost is reasonable, but even more important, we have to put out a quality product. It has to be high quality if we are going to expand the market. So the push is on to develop new varieties.”


Finding solutions to industry problems is the mandate of the berry specialist. “He must be a ‘catalyst’ and a ‘conduit’ — suggesting ways that will hopefully lead to solving some of these challenges.”


The recent announcement that China is going to open its market to the importation of fresh blueberries from BC


8 British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2015 GRANT ULLYOT


Mark Sweeney believes the BC berry industry can’t rest on its laurels, but must continue striving to be competitive.


is a great opportunity for the industry. “But,” Sweeney says, “it is going to take time to learn how to service this market with high-quality fresh berries. Simply put, there is a huge demand in China for BC blueberries and it is a great opportunity for growers, but it is not a given. We have a lot of work to do. “Yes we have market access, it’s a first step. Now we need to do all the other things that developing a new market demands.


It is a long way from BC to China, he points out, “so we are not going to be just air freighting.


“To develop a cost-effective way of doing business we need to transport some of those berries by boat. And then we need very good shelf life in order for that product to arrive at its destination looking as good as it looks at harvest time in BC.”


However, he cautions, there are several other issues that need to be addressed before shipments to China can be fully implemented.


“We need to ensure our production system meets requirements set out by the CFIA and its Chinese counterpart. Do we have enough harvesting capability? More pickers are going to be needed. Where do we find the labour? Do we have the fresh packing capacity we will need? Do we have enough frozen and fresh storage space? Do we have the trucks and the ships?


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