DECEMBER 2016 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Enough is enough Orchardist says propane cannon use excessive


by TERRY FRIES


OSOYOOS – MaryAnna Campbell and her husband, Jim, have run an orchard in the southern Okanagan Valley for 40 years. They’re not transplanted urbanites who recently moved to the country for peace and quiet only to be abruptly introduced to the business side of agriculture. When they complain about noise from cannons being set off in neighbouring vineyards, they understand the business. And, they say, the noise problems are unnecessary.


MaryAnna says six growers plus their orchard operate in their immediate area, on the Black Sage bench near Osoyoos. Yet only two use noise cannons – one independent grower and Kelowna- based Mission Hill Winery.


“There aren’t that many starlings around this year. Bird predation is not huge,” she says. Plus, she wonders why growers who are setting off the noisemakers don’t use netting to protect the grapes, as the Campbells do to protect their cherries. She acknowledges that firing cannons might be necessary at times when bird predation is particularly high. She admits they have used them at their own orchard on occasion. But, she says, they used them only in the morning, rather than having them go off all day. She says the Mission Hill cannons were going off from 6 am ‘til dark and had been doing so since August 20.


“If they have enough money to buy the 50 acres, then I think they should have money for (netting),” she says.


The noise became so pervasive the dogs on the property won’t go outside any more. “It is a hugely invasive thing.”


Mission Hill did not grant requests for interviews in time for this issue.


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least for the short term. With the grape harvest complete, there is no need to use noise cannons. But next year’s harvest season is likely to cause similar situations. That’s why Campbell wants the provincial government to step in. She says the province set up the regulations to allow growers to use cannons, so it should answer for it when problems arise.


She has filed a complaint to the BC Farm Industry Review Board (FIRB) and a conference call was scheduled for November 9. She says she has tried to get in touch with BC Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick but received a form-letter reply. In an emailed response to requests for an interview, the BC Ministry of Agriculture says it would be inappropriate to comment on a case being heard by FIRB, an independent agency set up to hear disturbance complaints resulting from farm practices. Campbell says she wants tighter restrictions on cannon noisemakers and she wants the province to find ways to encourage growers to use alternative control methods where possible. She says the government should explore the potential for a program to help growers finance netting costs.


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MaryAnna Campbell wants grapegrowers to use nets instead of propane cannons. OLIVER CHRONICLE PHOTO


BC Fruit Growers Association president Fred Steele says he hasn’t heard of any other problems in the Okanagan this year, an indication, he says, of how the situation has improved over the years. While he had no information on the Campbell’s case, he says the first step in these situations is to see if it can be solved neighbour-to-neighbour. He doesn’t agree with the need to get the provincial government involved. Instead, he says regional districts could work together to eliminate some of the patchwork regulations that now exist.


In a 2011 report, FIRB recommended local governments not institute bans on noise cannons until they have exhausted all other means of resolving conflicts. It recommended local governments first pursue other resolutions, such as existing local noise bylaws, to persuade growers to comply with the province’s Wildlife Damage Control guidelines. It also suggested local governments adopt provincial Wildlife Damage Control guidelines into their noise bylaws or pass their own farm bylaw to bring in added restrictions, which would be subject to provincial approval. According to a government website, these measures should make it clearer to growers that “non-compliance is subject to bylaw enforcement.”


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