prunings
formation of anational council to promote and support the highbush blueberry industry acrossCanada. The aimis to create a stronger, united group towork on behalf of growers and processors at the national and international levels.However, only 236 of the nearly 800member growers in theB.C.BlueberryCouncil (BCBC) cast a ballot at theMaymeeting.A successfulmotion requires at least 50 percent of the vote, so theBCBChas been contacting the remainingmembers to give themballots... Third-generation farmerKenBates
O
nowheads the Investment AgricultureFoundationofB.C. (IAF) executive committee.His appointmentwas announced recently alongwith those of IrmiCritcher as vice chair, JimTingle as treasurer and RobertDawsonas secretary. The IAF is an industry-led, not-for-profit corporation thatworkswith the agri- food industry and federal and provincial governments to invest in projects that have the potential to transformideas into
solutions.Bates joined the board last year as a representative for the field vegetable, berry andmushroomsectors. He and hiswife, Judy, live in Ladner, where he grows blueberries and potatoes and operates a dairy on a 500-acre farm with his three
brothers.Bates brings an extensive background of participation on agricultural boards and committees, including theB.C.BlueberryCouncil, theDeltaAgricultural Society, and theDeltaFarmers’
Institute.Critcher joined the IAF board in 2008, representing the grains, oilseeds and forage sector. In addition to running a 3,500-acre grain and oilseed farmin the PeaceRegion formore than 25 years, she has served on
theB.C.Grain ProducersAssociation(BCGPA) board for over a decade and represents theBCGPAon theGrainGrowers of Canada board. Tingle has represented community agriculture on the IAF board since 2009.He co-owns and operates GlenbirnamFarmwithwifeRoma, marketingBlackAngus cattle and lamb. An experienced professional agrologist, he has a broad knowledge of the agri- food industry inB.C., specializing in the forage and beef sectors. In 1999, Tingle was namedBCIAAgrologist of the Year. Since 2011,Dawson has served as IAF’s representative for the tree fruits and grape sectors.He practiced lawuntil
nMay 4,blueberry growers in BritishColumbia voted unanimously to support the
themid-1970s, before purchasing his family’s Similkameen orchard. Since then,Dawson has served the tree fruit sector in numerous capacities, including as vice-president and chair of the OkanaganSimilkameenCo- operativeGrowers and as a director forBCTreeFruitsLtd. and Sun-
RypeProductsLtd.As chair of the OkanaganValleyTreeFruit Authority from1990 until 2002, he helped implementmany of the policies that remain priorities of the industry today. In 2008,Dawson received a lifetimemembership in
theB.C.Fruit Growers’Association... Meanwhile,with funding through the
GrowingForward2Agreement, IAFwill be delivering the renewed $3 millionCanada-BCAgri-Innovation Program(CBCAIP),which allows industry, academia, value-added food processors, retailers and others to access funding for projects involving late-stage research. Funding is also available for pilot projects that lead to the commercialization and/or adoption of innovative products, technologies and practices for the agriculture, food or agri- products sector.Applicationswill be accepted on an ongoing
basis.All projectsmust be completed by Jan. 31, 2015. Formore information, visit
http://iafbc.ca/agri-innovation.htm... Save the dates for this year's
WashingtonSmallFruit Conference andLynden Agricultural Show,Dec. 5-6 at the NorthwestWashington Fairgrounds. For registration and trade show applicationinformation, go to
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/edu/sfc... Farmers’markets contribute
significantly to local economies, injecting nearly $170million annually, according to a recent study by theB.C. AssociationofFarmers’Markets
(BCAFM) andDr.DavidConnell of theUniversity ofNorthernBritish Columbia. “Although people knowthat farmers’markets are a great place to buy fresh, local food,” saidBCAFMpresident JonBell, “the results of this study demonstrate the incredible growth of markets since 2006whenwe supported a similar study.”According to the latest study, farmers’markets in the province produced 147 percentmore sales in 2012 than
2006.Connell said the results are significant formany reasons. “They highlight the improving viability of local food systems, increasing demand for newfarmers, and pressing need to protect the agricultural land base." An aphid-spread virus has become
a source ofmajor concern for strawberry growers in theMaritimes. Several in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia have decided to destroy acres of plants, and although no virus infected plants have been found yet in NewBrunswick, that province is recommending growers inspect new growth in all fields, including those planted this year, for the presence of
aphids.GeraldPost, director of programs and riskmanagementwith theNova ScotiaDepartment of Agriculture, says no one has had to destroy crops because of the virus, although some growers have decided to do so in an attempt to stop the problem. Actually, the virus is a combination of two viruses – the yellowedge virus and themottled leaf virus. “These viruses exist on their own and are not a problem, but combined they have a disastrous effect on the plants,” Post says. The department isworkingwith experts fromtheUnited States and Perennia,Nova Scotia’s agri-food and bio-resource Crown company, to come upwith a strategy on howtomanage the situation...
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British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2013 19
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