MAY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Grape growers hone in on water issues Team effort to assist growers with water management in other regions and will be


by TOM WALKER


PENTICTON – Some 60 members of the BC Grape Growers Association attended the mid-April AGM in Penticton in a steady downpour of rain. “It’s nice that we have this


weather,” quipped BCGGA president Mason Spink. “No one is out working in their vineyards, so we have a good turnout.”


Spink noted this was a transition year with new members on the board. He thanked long-time board members, past president Manfred Freese and former treasurer Ed Thibault who stepped down from the board last year but remained ex-officio through the winter. “Manfred and Ed were the basis of this organization for many years,” says Spink. Members heard


presentations on the Winegrowers Sustainability Program, current projects from the Climate Adaptation Committee, as well as a report on the starling control program. Grape growers and wineries in BC have been developing a sustainable wine growing program over a


number of years. Harmony Bjarnason spoke about several Climate Action Initiative projects of interest to grape growers designed to address predictions for warmer and drier summers in the Okanagan. The Okanagan Drought Status Outreach project aims to develop common mechanisms for purveyors to clearly communicate with their agriculture water users about the state of local water supplies. “With over 50 water


purveyors in the Okanagan and multiple layers of government, drought communication is complex,” says Bjarnason. “We are working with two pilot water purveyors to develop some guidelines and outreach materials to use across the region.”


Bjarnason explained the


vineyard water use efficiency and knowledge transfer project, which includes a water use measurement tool that will allow grape growers to benchmark, compare and communicate their water performance. There will be outreach materials developed for the project and farm field days to demonstrate some of


Sustainability matters PENTICTON – “Sustainable


Winegrowing BC (SWBC) was created by the industry for the industry when a group of growers formed a sustainability committee in 2008,” program administrator Kellie Garcia explained to BC grape growers during their AGM in Penticton in mid April. “Many growers have been following sustainable practices for some time, but what we haven’t had was a way to quantify sustainability, to measure continual improvement or communicate achievement to the public. Sustainable viticulture involves producers conscientiously promoting environmental, economic and social well-being in their operations.” “Many other wine growing


regions have sustainability programs, which was an advantage for us,” noted Garcia. “We looked at other regions and developed a program that is unique to BC.” Garcia says the sustainability committee helps provide overall guidance to growers and are champions of the program “We envision ourselves as being a hub for information


and resources and knowledge about sustainable winegrowing practices.” SWBC has developed three guidebooks: Sustainable Practices for Vineyards; Sustainable Practices for Wineries and Sustainable Practices for Winery Hospitality Services. “These are free on-line assessments that you complete on your own time in about two to three hours,” Garica explained. “Your results are tabulated, you are told how you are doing in each chapter and from that information, you form an action plan.” “Your action plan will


involve small realistic everyday steps that are the things that will get you along the journey to sustainability,” Garcia said. “We have more than 100 members who have opened accounts since the program began in 2011,” she noted. “Last year, 32 vineyard and 15 winery assessments were completed.” “We are looking at what


form certification will look like for BC and we need to decide what marketing details we want, whether it’s a sign, or labels or logos.”


the technology, she says. “In our planning


workshops, the concept of a water field agent was very popular,” says Bjarnason. “Technology is very useful, but there is nothing like having boots on the ground. While we can’t fund an extension person, we are able to have a team come to your farm and go through a water planning tool kit with you.”


The farm water use planning project has two environmental farm plan advisors and an irrigation expert who will come to the farm and work through modules about current and future water use and provide an individual farm water use management plan. “It will outline key water management issues and provide strategies and resources to begin to deal with those issues,” says Bjarnason. “We are looking to do about 20 farms this summer.”


She also spoke about


wildfire mitigation projects, including a mapping strategy that will show individual farm infrastructures such as fence lines, water sources and turn- around spots that emergency services could pull up and use in their response. Templates have been


developed for wildfire preparedness and mitigation


adapted to create a guide for the Okanagan. “Producers will outline the steps they need to take in the event of an evacuation or an alert to protect their property,” says


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points out, “so we focus on having the birds do the least amount of damage to fruit.” The majority of trapping


takes place in June and July to decrease the newly


hatched juvenile population. In 2016, the


Bjarnason. “We will support these projects with workshops in the fall.” Finally, Bjarnason described


the precision irrigation study at Le Vieux Pin and LaStella wineries funded through the Farm Adaptation Innovator program. “For the past couple of


years, they have been evaluating the effects of precision irrigation on water quantity and production quality,” says Bjarnason. “There will be a field day for knowledge transfer.” BCGGA program administrator Tyrion Miskell gave an update on the starling control program. “It is a management


program for this invasive species rather than an elimination program,” Miskell


program trapped and destroyed just over 58,000 birds. If that 58,000 were not removed, their numbers would multiply to 125,000 in just five years, Miskell points out.


“So there is a benefit in trapping for the long term,” she explains. “Since 2003, the program has removed nearly three-quarters of a million birds.”


Some growers would like to see more control, but Miskell said the program works within its budget. Miskell said growers can assist in control by destroying nests.


“Remember, now is the time to be surveying your property for nesting sites and pulling them out before the eggs hatch,” Miskell said.


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