Fred Steele
The BCFGA campaign and election is over and the initial noise had died away. The BCFGA Annual Convention was held February 2-3, 2017 and the re-elected Executive is anxious to get to work. We have already established committee memberships that will address the industry’s many concerns. The weather has not cooperated this year leaving many of us a chance to reflect on where we've been and where things are going. The funny thing about the beginning of a year is how much different things look at the end than you anticipated.
A year ago, in January 2016, the BCFGA had an initial meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary of Agriculture. We went to Ottawa with a proposal to rejuvenate the BC tree fruit industry. The suggested idea was to make it a National Program. We worked on refining the proposal and gaining the support of the other apple producing provinces. In time, the other provinces agreed to support the national proposal. Finally, in February the proposal was sent to the Federal Minister of Agriculture by the Canadian Horticultural Council. Now the BCFGA will work to gain the support of Members of Parliament and the Agriculture Minister for the rejuvenation proposal.
While waiting for some of the snow to melt, I have given thought to the other issues we are faced with and what the general mood of the farmer is. I have done some travel near home and to Creston for a first hand look at what our Kootenay Growers are working on. I think the Creston growers are getting on with the spirit of farming.
To my surprise, in Creston there is significant optimism and a confidence that I didn't expect. That is not to say there are no problems, but there is the feeling many progressive people have a future.
Cherry plantings are unprecedented. More commercial sized orchards are being planted or planned in the near future. There was talk of the opportunity for some apple production to be re-introduced.
I have taken to asking “are you optimistic or pessimistic these days?” The response is sometimes confusing. I get a list of challenges as long as your arm, all the while thinking, ‘Oh Boy’.
Then after their individual list of issues, almost everyone tends to say, “Other than that, I think the overall future looks better than it did.” With that in mind, let us look at some of the serious issues farmers face and will struggle with during this crop year.
Invasive pests are coming at an unprecedented rate. The problem is farmers have been working on Integrated Pest Management to reduce sprays and be more environmentally conscious. Many export countries have zero tolerance and residue policies. At the same time, the PMRA is re-evaluating and withdrawing many products. This makes it challenging to rotate products to manage resistance to pesticides. On the positive side, we have many excellent people who are making the case not to remove certain products from the marketplace - the list is extensive and includes provincial Ministry of Agriculture pest specialists, federal research station scientists and technicians, horticultural advisors, and last but not least, the Canadian Horticultural Council.
Another challenge is the proposed housing bylaws being developed by Kelowna City staff. Some municipalities appear to be formulating regulations based on this not-yet-final Kelowna bylaw. There are noise and dust issues with neighbours cropping up as many like to live next to an orchard, and when they buy a home they don't understand a working farm comes with drawbacks for neighbors. Again, the positive aspect is that the BCFGA will work with City Councils to have reasonable bylaws that do not impact the growth of the sector.
We need to emphasize the importance of the local jobs, investment and income generated by the industry. Fortunately, the Right-To-Farm Legislation provides an assurance that city bylaws and complaints about farm practices are legitimate and address real issues where mediation replaces the ‘rule of the mob’ that we see too often when neighbours get off-track and gang up on a local farm enterprise.
Food Safe Programs become more complicated and onerous every year. Yes it does create a lot of extra work. There is an upside though. Canada's Food Safety Programs are regarded as the best in the world, and it is time we promoted the asset we have. Also, the BCFGA is advocating for a single, sensible, practical food safety program. We recently took forward a national resolution to call retailers to account for downloading meaningless food safety rules. The resolution on Food Safety received strong support at Canadian Federation of Agriculture as many growers in different commodity sectors are equally frustrated by some of the Food Safety rules, though everyone accepts that food safety is necessary.
When it comes to pesticides we are finding the formulations are more environmentally conscious and far more expensive. But we have more pests and fewer conventional pesticides. In fact, even some of the newer pesticides are being proposed for withdrawal (such as Admire). The future is dependent on innovation in science to come up with new ways to deal with pests. We can be thankful for our Research Stations - looking at everything from new area wide approaches to predators of pests. The Sterile Insect Release Program is a strength for the industry, but it could be even more valuable if we could make better use of the ‘framework’ of SIR. The Sterile Insect Release Board is reported to be mapping out a way forward that will work for the tree fruit sector and maintain the needed municipal support for bylaw enforcement and taxation that is needed for a true area-wide, integrated pest management approach.
How do we combine all of these challenges and opportunities into a coherent whole? The answer is an Industry Strategy. Let us all pull in one direction, at least to the extent possible by a group of fiercely independent growers.
Recent meetings have been held, such as a “where do we go from here” meeting at Okanagan College. Sven Lembke and Lee Cartier did some background research and offered a few conclusions and challenges for the industry. A strong consensus emerged on the way forward.
When these collaborative efforts come together it is much easier to convince governments to come together in partnerships for the common good.
So what do we need to do in addition to the myriad of things we already do? We need to rejuvenate the tree fruit industry putting more trees in the ground with higher yields.
We need to update our infrastructure to meet food safety, environmental concerns and address the issue of financial efficiencies. We need governments to partner not only with financial assistance and access to loans; we need them to provide more extension services in science and innovation.
We need quicker access to countries we don't trade with at present, so we can be the first one supplying foreign customers.
We have just scratched the surface of drawbacks and impediments but a picture is emerging.
Even with these challenges, farmers are upbeat, as a community we have a “can do” attitude. Not only farmers, are under the spell of optimism in the face of challenges - I was talking to one of the largest nursery growers a while back and he expressed the feeling “I haven't been so optimistic in decades”.
Confirmation of this feeling is expressed by the rate of tree fruit plantings and nursery stock going into the ground. The winds of change started in 2015 with the success of the replant program in BC.
As I travel the province and the country I sense people are prepared to farm, not just the old guys out there now but a whole new generation of young farmers who are about to become stewards of the land.
By working together, the different parts of our industry add up to more than the sum of the parts. Together, we can be optimistic and look forward to the rewards of everybody’s hard work and vision.
Fred Steele, President of BCFGA