Fred Steele
This year started two weeks early and ended three weeks early - it was a scramble from the start! Growers contended with windstorms, smoke from forest fires, and excessive heat. Cherry and soft fruit growers were challenged as the fruit matured very early, so everyone was pushed to get the fruit harvested. The season ended two weeks early, with the latest cherries being harvested in mid-August. Somehow, we managed to attract the labour needed to get the fruit to market.
Apples were no different, with harvest averaging three weeks early, and there was overlap between varieties. Harvest maturity was a challenge, as harvest windows were shorter. Size was smaller than normal.
Proliferation of pests in warm temperatures was an issue: Spotted Wing Drosophila numbers were up. Apple Clearwing Moth (ACM) is relatively new and a serious pest. The larvae enter under bark and weaken the tree. BCFGA was able to obtain funding from BC Investment Agriculture Foundation and Summerland Varieties Corporation (SVC) to fund a small pilot project on ACM in the North Okanagan. The intention is to use the information from this test to create a larger, possibly valley-wide pilot project of a three year duration. We are currently looking at the results from this year’s ACM project to determine a way forward.
We also introduced an on-line version of the Tree Fruit Production Guide. Check it out at www.bctfpg.ca
This year was active for the BCFGA as we administered the new Replant Program in cooperation with the Province. The timing was later than we would have liked, but we adapted, and horticultural advisors and growers were able to apply to the new program. In fact, more of you applied than we expected, and we ran out of funding. However, the province and SVC provided additional funding - the province moved some funding from later years to the current year in recognition of the late launch of the program, and SVC matched the funding. SVC also provided an additional funding which allowed most applicants to receive funding.
The federal election also was added to our regular business at the association. We sponsored several All Candidates Forums that were organized by Chambers of Commerce. We were able to have agriculture questions asked at these all candidate meetings, and this raised the profile of agriculture. We believe that we have made progress in agricultural issues at the federal level, in partnership with the Canadian Horticulture Council and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The BC Agriculture Council also provided support.
In the fruit growing area, we now have four new Members of Parliament in the 5 ridings. We welcome the new MPs and thank the outgoing MPs for their public service. In the Central Okanagan, incumbent Ron Cannan is recognized as an outstanding constituency MP, but was not re-elected. We wish to thank Ron for his strong support of Okanagan agriculture. We look forward to working with all MPs to grow our tree fruit industry.