APRIL 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Feds pour millions into tree


fruit research Two years of low returns have apple growers on edge


by TOM WALKER KELOWNA – The


announcement of $4.2 million in federal funding last month to support ongoing development of profitable new apple and cherry varieties is welcome news for BC fruit growers, but it won’t address the low returns many are seeing this winter. Canada’s Minister of


Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the funding as part of her first official visit to BC just days after being appointed agriculture minister during a cabinet shuffle. BC Fruit Growers’


Association will manage the funding, delivered through the AgriScience program of the five-year Canadian Agricultural Partnership. BCFGA owns Summerland Varieties Corp. (SVC), which


tests and licences new varieties for industry. “It’s a large investment that will support the tree fruit industry right across the country,” says Pinder Dhaliwal, president of the BC Fruit Growers Association. “Summerland Research and


Development Centre has a world-renowned program for developing new apple and cherry cultivars,” he says. Erin Wallich, research and


development manager for SVC, says funding will give support the work of Summerland plant breeder Amrit Singh and postharvest specialist Peter Toivonen. It will also formalize collaboration with Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Ontario and include industry partners in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. “This funding will help


Will local procurement help? BC agriculture minister Lana Popham visited Penticton


Regional Hospital on March 7 to announce $350,000 in funding to bring more BC food to institutions managed by the Interior Health Authority. “The funding will include a project facilitator, patient


information, procurement specialist services and a food processing specialist,” a ministry press release states. Details of the initiative aren’t forthcoming, however. While several Interior Health staff spoke at the announcement, they were not allowed to answer media questions. Agriculture ministry staff said Country Life in BC’s request for program details had been “referred to the Minister’s office for approval.” The initiative is one Popham championed while in opposition, and a key part of the “Feed BC” portion of her mandate. Work on the initiative began in early 2018. Speaking to Country Life in BC in November, Popham


looked forward to creating a market for products such as apple sauce in the hopes of providing an outlet for farm produce, supporting value-added processing and creating good-paying jobs for rural residents.


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Marie-Claude Bibeau, left, chats with Golden Apple award winners Pearl Beckett and Gary Schnierer. Bibeau made her first appearance as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the Okanagan in March, making several funding announcements. TOM WALKER PHOTO


build a more profitable and sustainable tree fruit industry in Canada,” says Wallich. However, those dollars will


not address the immediate needs of growers facing a second straight year of poor returns. “This is due to a number of


factors, including the weather,” says Dhaliwal. The hot growing season in 2017 yielded small fruit that lacked colour and stored poorly. “At 35 [degrees] Celsius, the


tree is in survival mode. It’s not into growing the apple,” says Dhaliwal. “That heat also causes tissue damage to the


apple and while it may look great, it is kind of cooked inside and there was a lot of breakdown in storage.” An early spring in 2017 also


made for an earlier harvest date in the fall, when night temperatures were still warm. “We need cool fall nights to trigger the colour of the apples,” says Dhaliwal. Conditions in 2017 set up


trees for a tough year in 2018. “Those trees were under heat and drought stress in 2017, so for 2018 we got less production as the trees had been compromised. The crop was low,” he explained. But input costs for growers


are the same regardless of what the tree is able to produce. “The cost of chemicals, fuel and water actually went up, so it was more expensive to grow less fruit,” Dhaliwal says. Steady increases in the minimum wage also squeezed growers, and this year could bring more of the same. “After two years of low


returns you want to squeeze as much as you can out of that dollar you have in your pocket,” he says. “You might not put the extra calcium sprays on this year, or you might stretch a spray that is recommended every seven days to every nine days.”


HELP ACCELERATE THE PACE OF INNOVATION IN BC!


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Funding is available through the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program to enhance the       Eligible projects include researching, piloting or commercializing new products, technologies      equipment or infrastructure will also be considered).


Contact us today about funding opportunities.


T 250.356.1662 E funding@iafbc.ca W iafbc.ca


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