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prunings


f you have a really good idea to increase the competitive edge of British Columbia's agricultural and agri-products sector, there might still be money available to help make it happen. Aug. 5 was the deadline for the first round of grants under the $1.5 million Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program, which supports projects both on-farm and throughout the rest of the supply chain. Depending on what’s left after initial allocations are determined, subsequent proposals will be considered up to July 13, 2012. All projects must be completed by March 31, 2013.


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The program is part of the federal- provincial Growing Forward Agreement, and is administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation on behalf of the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture. Businesses, organizations and individuals can obtain up to $250,000 for eligible projects. Examples include: • Adaptive or applied research • Development or demonstration of innovative technologies, processes or products


• Projects that support the adoption of product, process or technological innovation


12...


Next deadline for applications is Dec. Results from a recent study suggest


that store brands in Canada and seven other countries were not quite as popular last year with consumers as they were two years ago. The study by Ipsos Marketing included interviews done in 2010 with more than 17,000 adults in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Russia and South Korea. The results were compared to answers from more than 19,500 adults in those countries in 2009. The market research firm said the majority of consumers still perceive store brands to be equal to or better than national brands. However, many consumer attitudes toward store brands lost points compared to the previous year.


Questions about “offering products I trust,” “offering high-quality products,” “offering unique products” and “offering innovative products” all saw year-over- year declines from poll respondents, the Ipsos release states.


The biggest declines for store brands were for “environmentally friendly” products and “high-quality” products, both of which saw a six percent decrease in confidence. The survey showed


declines of four percent for store brands in the areas of good-tasting food and appealing packaging.


Ipsos officials said the survey findings are in line with a May report from the SymphonyIRI Group that showed dollar share growth for private label brands in the U.S. is slowing and that unit share has taken a negative turn... Labels aside, there is little doubt about the popularity of organic produce and grown-closer-to-home among consumers. Response to that popularity can be overly enthusiastic, though. While organic berries remain consumer favorites, and most growers who produce them say sales are on the rise, in California the volume of organic strawberries finally is falling into line with demand. Dan Crowley, sales manager for Well-Pict Inc., of Watsonville. says strawberries were overproduced for the past several years, but now acreage is down.


“We’re finding out the true demand for it,” Crowley said in an early-August interview with The Packer.


California has 1,591 acres of organic strawberries this year, down from 1,730 acres in 2010, according to the California Strawberry Commission.


Tighter supplies seem to have triggered higher prices. In late July, eight one-pound containers of organic strawberries were selling for $12-14, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A year earlier, they were going for $10. About 10 percent of Well-Pict’s strawberry volume is organic, Crowley said, and demand has remained strong throughout the economic downturn. One of the continent’s largest strawberry grower/producers has a new – and shorter – name. Wishnatzki Farms this summer became Wish


Farms, after having carried the founding family name for three generations. Wish Farms first surfaced in January 2010 as the company’s brand for fresh produce. A new consumer label featured a fairy-like character, Misty the Wish Farms Garden Pixie.


Wish Farms ships approximately 3.5 million flats of strawberries, six million pounds of blueberries and one million packages of vegetables a year... Most Canadian farmers say safety is a top business priority, but only one in six has a safety plan. Marcel Hacault, executive director of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), says, that when a recent Farm Credit Canada survey of farmers turned up that fact, “we knew we had to build a tool to improve the safety record on Canada’s farms. We developed Canada FarmSafe, a process to help farmers manage safety and health on their operations, no matter the size, location or farm type.”


CASA’s agricultural health and safety specialist Glen Blahey led the development of Canada FarmSafe. “We’re making a short form available on CASA’s website. We’ll provide all the documents and answer questions on request.” For an outline of Canada FarmSafe, go to www.planfarmsafety.ca. The outline includes instructions for: • Composing a general policy statement for safety and health for your farm


• Identifying hazards


• Controlling hazards, including documenting standard operating procedures for all work on the farm, outlining emergency actions, conducting training and investigating incidents • Communicating responsibilities • Reviewing the plan


Moving?


If you’ve got a new address, make sure we know about it, so delivery of your BC Berry Grower will continue uninterrupted.


Name _______________________________________ Old Address: __________________________________ _____________________________________________ New Address: _________________________________ _____________________________________________


Mail to Suite Suite 309, 151-32500 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC, V2T 4W1 Fax:778-754-2032 or E-mail growersubs@omedia.ca


British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2011 19


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