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H
Ne
Up Front
w guy’s an old hand on farming issues
By Bryden Winsby
e's a rookie member of the
provincial legislature, but
requirements for
export markets.
crop is down, but the exercise was
certainly worthwhile, if only from the
the often-adversarial relationship
Steve Thomson is a veteran of
between government and the
Vines’ section includes
Our ‘Between The
agriculture industry.
a feature by Tracy
which to take a reasonably accurate
standpoint of developing methods by
Clark stemming from
snapshot of what happened—and
ago, his appointment as minister of
Elected just a matter of months this summer’s
what could happen again.
agriculture has been welcomed by
Enology and
many on the farming side.
Viticulture Conference
down and dirty with an explanation
Meanwhile, Gary Strachan gets
in Penticton.
of why it’s important for growers to
build their knowledge base about
since another Kelownian, Larry
It's been more than two decades
Chalmers, got the post, and his
branding, specifically how this
It’s all about soils in order to gain maximum
qualifications pale considerably in
province’s winemakers can do more
productivity. He describes his own
comparison to those of Thomson. A
to convince consumers that the
experiences and observations, and
realtor, Chalmers was elected for the
prices being charged for their
also provides detail on a number of
now-defunct Social Credit Party, and
products are well worth it.
publications that would probably
prove to be very useful to a lot of
his being named agriculture minister
raised more than a few eyebrows, for
research by PARC’s Carl Bagdanoff
We’ve also got results from people involved with viticulture in
his profession isn't always on the best
about the extent of damage caused by
this province.
of terms with farmers. He didn't turn
the frigid conditions encountered by
Enjoy.
out to be a fox in the proverbial
grapegrowers last winter. The
henhouse, but it has to be said that
situation wasn’t as bad as many had
Thomson brings a whole lot more to
feared, but Bagdanoff is
the table. In fact, the appointment
understandably reluctant to say
was a no-brainer, and as B.C. Fruit
specifically how much the overall
Growers' Association Joe Sardinha
notes in this issue's cover story by
associate editor Judie Steeves,
Thomson could be the best-qualified
agriculture minister the province has
ever had.
More Fruit. Less Fruitless Labour.
knowledge and skills he gained as an
One can only guess whether the
industry lobbyist will be enough to
weather the inevitable storms
ahead—but we can be sure they’ll be
put to a serious test.
find considerable attention paid to
Elsewhere in these pages, you’ll
control of pests, be they bugs or
weeds. There’s discussion of
particular annoyances and efforts to
control them by biological means and
reduced-risk chemicals.
All season weed control. One application. Casoron
®
G4
Peter Waterman and mulching whiz
In a related piece, associate editor
Gene Hogue provide some
Protect your vine and orchard fruits with one easy-to-use
Gain more time next spring
perspectives on how climate change
granular herbicide. Casoron G4 provides economical residual
will affect orchard operations in the
season-long control of more than 30 dif_ferent weeds and
future.
grasses. It is easy to measure and apply, and requires no in
an update on the Sterile Insect
And speaking of the future, there’s
season re-application, so you will have more time for all your
Release program, in particular on the
other important tasks.
suggestion that it should expand
beyond codling moth to include an
For full label information, visit www.uap.ca.
area-wide program to combat cherry
West: 1-800-561-5444 Ontario & Maritimes: 1-800-265-5444
fruit fly, in part because doing so
BC: 1-604-534-8815 Quebec: 1-800-361-9369
could help meet certification
4
® Casoron G4 is a registered trademark of Chemtura Co./Cie. Always read and follow label directions. 9039 08.09
British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2009
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