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Vegetable commission optimistic New crops, new strategic plan on agenda


by PETER MITHAM


DELTA – Despite a decline in the value of regulated production in 2017, the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission is optimistic as it looks ahead to the 2018 season.


The commission’s annual general meeting in Delta on April 12 heard that many crops saw stable or increased prices in 2017, while the inclusion of new crop varieties within regulated categories demonstrated the sector’s development. Storage crops, including potatoes, saw their value increase 9% to $58 million in 2017. Beefsteak tomatoes saw prices rise 4%. The coming year will see processing crops fetch better prices under recently concluded contracts, while the lettuce category has expanded beyond butter lettuce to reflect new offerings from local greenhouses. But if there was one cloud in general manager Andrew Solymosi’s report to commission members, it lay in the greenhouse sector, where the value of production fell 9% to $274 million. This drove a 7% decline in the value of production by BC Vegetable Marketing Commission members to $336 million. The drop was entirely attributable to lower production and weaker prices for sweet bell peppers.


Prices were also lower for


the increasing volume of long English cucumbers coming out of local greenhouses. Nevertheless, Solymosi


reported that the commission is pursuing an ambitious series of programs. A data management


project launched in August 2017 should complete by the end of the year, improving the commission’s ability to do its job and serve members. Work on several food safety


initiatives continues. Standardized grower marketing agreements that include a requirement for all growers to have food safety certification (typically, Canada GAP) is in place, and the commission will continue


offering HAACP courses on a fee-for-service basis. A review of annual


production planning is also in progress. With newly installed chair Debbie Etsell at its head, the commission will soon begin work on validating its goals and developing a new strategic plan. Packing houses will soon


require a licence from the commission, which also plans to review its track record with respect to the effectiveness of its enforcement actions. One of the successes of 2016 came under scrutiny during the new business portion of the meeting. The commission recently completed a review of its


POTATO processing


there’s significant demand from fry companies, which have added an extra billion pounds of processing capacity. Columbia Basin growers have been putting in acres to meet demand and MacIsaac sees an opportunity for BC growers, too. Tapping into the


processing market seems smart, given the uncertainties facing the sector. On the one hand, Amazon’s


move into the food business will affect potato and vegetable retailing in unknown ways. This should encourage growers to


diversify outlets. Trucking capacity is also a


significant issue and one that’s “unprecedented” in MacIsaac’s experience. “There really is a lack of trucks out there to haul produce and transport it,” MacIsaac said. Between new legislation


requiring data loggers to keep tabs on active drivers and the retirement of older drivers, there’s an acute shortage of manpower. “It’s certainly hurting our


ability to supply product in some markets,” MacIsaac said. Delta grower Hugh


election policies, a process that resulted in a more transparent protocol and allows producers to delegate an employee as a representative. The update specified that one director’s position should represent growers from outside the Lower Mainland. However, Vancouver Island


grower John Walsh introduced a motion urging that directors be elected without any reference to the district in which they’re located.


The motion was defeated but Etsell pledged to review the matter with the BC Farm Industry Review Board, which must approve any change to election protocols.


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Reynolds highlighted the issue during a discussion of trade issues at the Pacific Agriculture Show.


Responding to Reynolds,


presenter Roberta Cook, a co- operative extension specialist in agricultural and resource economics at the University of California-Davis, said the challenges should encourage growers to market closer to home. “Transportation is becoming more costly,” she said. “But these kinds of things are probably going to have negative consequences for all players.”


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Variety update


DELTA – A diminishing


market for fresh table potatoes has shifted the quest for new varieties to yellow tubers that store well.


The variety trials in


Delta overseen by Heather Meberg of E.S. Cropconsult Ltd. are also testing for long white potatoes and red varieties with good skin- set. Growers attending the BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association annual meeting got the full run- down as Meberg presented the results of the 2017 trial and tests in the student kitchens of Maple Ridge Secondary, L.A. Matheson Secondary in Surrey and Delta and South Delta Secondary schools. The schools each received 10 pounds of potatoes to see how they stood up when boiled, fried and mashed. Meberg reported that Whitney and Harmony are white varieties that tested well, showing qualities the market desires.


Among the yellow


varieties, Orana rated highly for taste and colour while Excellency showed promise, but didn’t perform well in the kitchen. Rosa Gold is a red-


yellow variety that exhibited good colour persistence in storage, despite sharing a tendency with Mozart and Zina to fade over time. Meberg was


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particularly impressed with Fenway. The variety held its shape when boiled, and exhibited a fluffy texture and good taste when mashed. Meberg believes it could outperform Chieftain, at least in terms of flavour. This year, she hopes to boost trials of varieties from Colorado, following on a positive experience with the good-looking numbered variety CO00277-2R. However, she encouraged growers to tell her what they want to see in the ground. “The more you tell me,


the more I’m going to be choosing what you’re looking for,” she said. Peter Mitham


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