search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
8 APPLE crisis


strategies addressing the co- op’s four focus areas. “We need to vote to survive and thrive,” he says. “We can be better together, but the biggest hurdle is staying united.” The co-op’s new CEO,


Warren Sarafinchan, did not deliver his report in person, but sent a video as he was in Asia exploring new market opportunities. “The co-op definitely has a


future,” he says. “But it is abundantly clear we need to change things. The status quo is not an option.”


Sarafinchan alluded to the lack of transparency that has dogged the co-op in the past. “I think in the past we have been perhaps less collaborative, our


communication has been less frequent,” he says. “We need to be working with all stakeholders in an open and transparent way to make sure we are positioning the industry for success.”


Sarafinchan outlined some


of the work that has gone on over the last several months. “If we have trust, collaboration and innovation, I think we can do amazing things with the business and the industry,” he says. Opposition agriculture critic Ian Paton addressed the convention and noted that there was no mention of agriculture in the February 11 throne speech. “Many of the issues that I


have discussed with your board affect farmers all over the province,” says Paton. “You can appreciate what


nfrom page 7


we are going through,” says Amarjit Lalli. “We have individuals who are on the verge of losing their properties. Consecutive governments have failed farmers.” Vernon grower Dave Dobernigg thanked Paton for showing up, something the province’s current agriculture minister, Lana Popham, has not done. “I assure you that it has not gone unnoticed that you have made the trip to our AGM twice now and the ag minister has not,” he says. Lucas says that concerned


growers met and discussed their individual financial situations following the formal convention proceedings. Their personal stories will give the executive more information to share during their next meeting with Popham. “We have been in dialogue with the ministry over the last three years now,” says Lucas. “It began with concerns over the 2017 crop.”


BCFGA met with Popham


on November 5, 2018, April 3, 2019 and, most recently, on February 6. A meeting was scheduled for February18, but government staff were ill and the meeting was cancelled. A new date has not been set. “We now have specific


proposals to bring forward from the late resolution and clear examples of the desperate situation that many growers are in,” says Lucas. “The board will push as hard as it can for a brighter future for the industry.”


Ambrosia and the future


Carl Withler, tree fruit and grape specialist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture, told the BC Fruit Growers Association annual convention that the BC Tree Fruit Replant Program has supported the planting of 3.1 million trees over the last five years. Apples outnumbered cherries as a


replant choice three to one in the initial years of the program, notes Withler, but that flipped in 2019 and the program is set to support the planting of 97 acres of apples and 287 acres of cherries in spring 2020.


Ambrosia has been the top apple variety for replant followed by Pink Lady, Gala, cider varieties and Honeycrisp. There are about 9,600 acres of apples planted in BC. The New Varieties Development Council estimates that about 2,100 acres of those are Ambrosia. BCFGA general manager Glen


Lucas remains bullish on the variety. “Some in the industry have commented that due to falling Ambrosia prices over the last three years, the variety has reached the stage of a commodity variety (such as Gala has become),” says Lucas. That is far from the truth, he says, as


Ambrosia plantings are only a miniscule amount of worldwide apple plantings. “But we have to get Ambrosia right,” he


says, noting bright spots for increased marketing in eastern Canada, Asia and, post-Brexit, even the UK. The New Varieties Development Council


has received $78,000 from the BC Tree Fruit Competitiveness Fund to develop new markets for Ambrosia. BCFGA convention delegates passed a resolution to seek federal funding for help with overseas marketing. Apple growers and marketers constantly


look for new varieties to create increased demand and better returns for growers,


such as the industry has seen with Ambrosia. Summerland Research and Development Centre together with Summerland Varieties Corp. is working on a new apple variety that will be available for planting by growers across Canada in the next few years.


SVC general manager Sean Beirnes updated BCFGA convention delegates on the new, as yet unnamed, variety. “We can’t brand it until just before launch to be able to be relevant to current trends,” explains Beirnes. The new apple is outstanding, says Beirnes. It is tricoloured with a red blush over a


creamy yellow skin. The lightly golden flesh is crisp and firm and has sweet equatorial flavours such as mango. It’s also easy to


grow. “Just do what you would do for


Galas,” says David Machial, one of the local growers involved in pre-commercial trials. “This apple stores extremely well,” adds


Beirnes, and he believes it will fit in well with current grower programs. However, he doesn’t expect the new apple to boost farmgate sales as it needs time in storage to develop aromatics. “The upside to that is that you can be flexible with your pick times,” he says. SVC is developing what Beirnes describes


as a “hybrid club” that will be open to all Canadian marketers. “Anybody can be a club member,” he says.


“But we are working closely with marketers so we will be able to pull the variety through the marketplace rather than push it in, and balance supply and demand.” Commercial plantings are set to begin in 2023, with a Canadian retail launch as early as 2025.


— Tom Walker


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2020


Mulch Film


Greenhouse Ground Cover


Greenhouse Films


Landscaping Fabrics


Protection Nets


Shade Nets Bale Wraps Bunker Covers Silage Bags Twine Net Wraps Hay Tarps


Forage & Grain Seed


Serving all of BC Visi Silagrow.com


SALMON ARM 5121 - 46 Ave S.E. SURREY 112-18860 24 Ave (PU & Delivery Only)


1.800.663.6022 | office@silagrow.com


You’re invested in your business So are we


Partner with the only lender 100% invested in Canadian agriculture and food.


DREAM. GROW. THRIVE. | fcc.ca


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52