10 CanadaGAP
CanadaGAP doesn’t necessarily limit what small producers can do. “Ultimately, yes, the fewer
the crops (or the same family of crops) makes it easier,” she says. “However, it is only the very specific items for specific crops that differ that need the extra attention.”
She said specific practices such as pesticide sprays on particular crops or fields will require separate
documentation, but that’s understandable from a traceability standpoint. “It makes it easier to do
inventory accounting, and ensuring the correct pesticide was sprayed as per label requirements,” she explains. She emphasized that
growers can choose the form of record-keeping that suits them.
nfrom page 9
“It is up to the producer to decide how to keep records, as long as records are kept by which the auditor can trace the product from seeding to spraying to harvesting, and transportation to buyer,” she says.
And growers don’t have to
use the forms that are provided. “If you have an invoice from the supplier that lists the specific chemical that you purchased, you could write a spray record on the back of the invoice and a harvest date and that would be acceptable to the auditor,” she says. “Growers need to come out
to workshops,” says Friesen, who will discuss CanadaGAP at the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford at the end of January. “And they should come more than once.”
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JANUARY 2020 BC food costs set to rise
Returns to farmers don’t keep pace with costs slightly higher inflation rate this year, it now forecasts spending closer to $12,180. The 2020 forecast suggests that could increase to $12,667, an increase of $487 per household. While the increases aren’t
by PETER MITHAM
HALIFAX – The tenth annual survey of food prices in Canada by the Agri-food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University forecasts ongoing increases in the cost of groceries and take-out meals. The annual report forecasts a 2% to 4% increase in total food costs in 2020, on top of a 3.7% increase in 2019. The biggest prices increase will be in meat, at 4% to 6%, followed by seafood and vegetables, both at 2% to 4%. The report forecast similar
increases last year, projecting the typical family would spend $12,157 on both groceries and restaurant meals in 2019. Due to a
broken down by region, lead author Sylvain Charlebois has previously said the increases typically reflect a combination of product-specific influences and broader economic indicators, such as income and economic growth. The current report notes that exchange rates and a more variable climate play a role in food costs. A weaker loonie increases the cost of imports such as vegetables, while wild weather has hit many producers. The net result was a 17% increase in the cost of fresh vegetables in 2019. The report also calls out a
2019 1989
23% increase in salmon prices as an indicator of higher prices in BC, citing it as an example of how the province is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. However, other factors
support the report’s forecast that BC will see above- average increases in food costs. Salary and wage data for BC from Statistics Canada
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point to a 2.9% increase in average weekly earnings in September versus a year ago. According to the BC Centre
for Disease Control, a family of four spent $1,017 a month on groceries in 2017; a conservative estimate based on the report’s estimates means the same family could be spending closer to $1,160 a month in 2020. Just a fraction of what consumers pay for groceries returns to the farmer, however. According to Statistics
Canada, a dozen eggs returns $1.82 to farmers in BC. A typical retail price for a dozen large white eggs is $2.79. A recent report on piece rates in BC report notes that white mushrooms, which average $4.06 a pound in Canada this fall, pay growers about $1.70 a pound. Apples, which have an average retail price of $2 a pound, pay growers 25 cents a pound. Meanwhile, produce
growers have been forced to absorb a variety of distribution charges and other fees imposed by the major grocery chains that amount to more than 10% of their price. To raise awareness of the
YOUR Helping You
discrepancy between what farmers receive and how affordable food in Canada is, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture organizes food freedom day in early February each year. The date is when the typical household has earned enough to pay for a year’s worth of food.
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