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the heat could have tremendous potential to damage that crop, as it will stay glued to the receptacle and be nearly impossible to harvest by machine. Early-morning harvesting might help a bit. Blueberry: Well into fruit harvest with excellent set of fruit. To date, no serious events and little damage from the frosts and hail, but now the heat is upon us. Possibility of smaller than average fruit and if temperatures keep increasing past 30C, we will see fruit get too hot and go brown, which makes them unsaleable. This will mostly occur in the eastern Fraser Valley. However most growers’ fields have drip irrigation installed so no moisture problems for them. Those without irrigation will have to rely on heavier soil holding capacity or will see a significant fruit size decrease. Cranberry: Buds started to swell early and frost protection went on for a long time, essentially anytime we had clear sky well into May. No damage expected yet, but especially on dark organic soils, plants and developing fruit can heat up to the point where burns on the fruit will become visible.


Picking issues are created by a shortage of labour, particularly with record crops in the fields. As the seasons for all these crops were slowly melding together, we had every berry crop being harvested almost at the same time, giving growers a headache when it comes to machine harvesting, and the capacity of our receiving , processing and packing plants.


Freezer space has been


questionable, especially since we are harvesting three weeks early and three weeks’ worth of consumption still in freezers. Cooler space availability for pre-cooling and holding of crops prior to packing or processing, and IQF line capacity for quick freezing the incoming crops could also be a problem.


Looking to the future, growers are going to be challenged to grow enough blueberries to meet the demand for fresh, high quality berries to fill China’s voracious appetite for our product.


— Tom Baumann is Professor of Horticulture at the University of the Fraser Valley.


6 British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2015


Ministers affirm commitment to keep agriculture thriving


By Grant Ullyot T


he agriculture and agri-food sector continued its growth in 2014, generating a record $108.2 billion, which accounted for 6.6 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Some 2.3 million Canadians were employed in the agriculture industry, which provided one in eight jobs.


Positive developments have included recent new free trade agreements with the European Union, South Korea and Ukraine, together with China’s border being opened to imports of fresh BC blueberries.


Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz says Canada’s ambitious agricultural trade agenda, which was implemented following collapse of World Trade Organization negotiations, has resulted in agreements covering 38 countries and 44 per cent of the world’s agricultural markets.


Gathering last July in Charlottetown, Prince


Gerry Ritz


Edward Island, Ritz and his provincial and territorial counterparts affirmed the importance of innovation, competitiveness and market development, all areas of focus for the Growing Forward 2 (GF2) program. Agriculture is a shared jurisdiction and the two levels of government work closely together to develop and deliver policies and programs. Launched in 2013, GF2 is a five-year agreement that places the emphasis on proactive agricultural programming that supports the economic potential of the industry.


Ministers also discussed the importance of continuing to review business risk management programs. They also talked about the need for ensuring bee health and controlling pests. These issues are both of vital concern for all berry growers, particularly those in the Fraser Valley-Lower Mainland regions.


Climate concern


Ministers acknowledged problems related to prevailing climactic conditions, with extensive hot and dry weather creating concern among berry growers in BC while other parts of the country had been dealing with a mixture of hot and sometimes very cool weather with lots of rain and wind. The group reaffirmed a commitment to emergency management, and endorsed continued work on a Strategic Emergency Management Framework for Agriculture. They discussed a set of priority actions, including the development of a strategy to modernize and enhance plant pest management, as well as manage potential risks associated with climate change.


Since their last meeting, there has been significant progress on other issues, including the modernization of Canada’s crop variety system and passage of the Agricultural Growth Act, which includes updated plant breeder rights. It is hoped these measures will spur investment to improve farmers’ access to the strongest, best suited crop varieties. Alan McIsaac, PEI’s agriculture minister and co-chair of the meeting in Charlottetown, says he was pleased with the level of discussion. “Agriculture is the backbone of our economy and is sustainability and profitability relies on the continued collaboration and partnership of our jurisdictions. By working cooperatively we will continue to provide effective support to our agricultural industry so that it continue and thrive.”


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