Photo by Tom Walker
BCFGA AGM 2019
Left to right: David Dobernigg, Peter Simonsen (Vice-President), Sukhdev Goraya, David Machial, Pinder Dhaliwal (President), Sukhdeep Brar, Ravinder Bains and Glen Lucas. (GM).
The 130th BC Fruit Growers Association (BCFGA) AGM was more subdued than recent years. The February event held in Penticton lacked the buzz of a presidential election (Pinder Dhaliwal is serving the second year of his two-year term) and there was no funding announcement by the Minister of Agriculture. In fact she did not attend this year, and delegates heard from Liberal Ag critic Ian Patton instead, but this year’s AGM did see several vital industry concerns being discussed. Labour issues, input costs, grower returns, and a path forward for the industry were the focus of reports, resolutions and discussion.
Among the most important was the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. The SAWP is off to a much better start this year and growers should have significantly fewer problems obtaining workers. Delegate Amarjit Lalli commended the board and staff on their efforts to overcome the difficulties. “Things have really changed since last year,” says Lalli. “All the effort you have put into the labour issues has paid off.”
The increase in minimum wage to $13.85 an hour on June 1 is a concern as is the potential for loss of the piece rate. “Agriculture should not be paying that minimum wage,” says Jeet Dukhia, “That is an urban minimum wage.” He added that for SAWP workers the grower pays to fly the worker in and provides inspected housing at a cost of $826.00 to the worker. He noted how these costs add up for apple growers. “The cost of production is 30 cents a pound and if our income is only 15 cents a pound we are losing money,” Dukhia says.
As well, the piece rate is an incentive for pickers who can easily make more than minimum wage if they choose. Growers worry that without the piece rate, they would lose the travelling pickers from Quebec and Ontario.
The Farm Labour Project run by Ron Forrest is expanding. Forrest continues to provide on-site farm safety workshops in English, French and Spanish. He remains a contact for summer employment and is providing a valuable communication service for employers and Mexican employees. “Ninety percent of issues are simply communication problems,” notes Glen Lucas. “Ron speaks Spanish and growers are starting to phone him directly. Ron is often able to sort through the problem and it goes away.”
Carl Withler, tree fruit and grape specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, reports that the replant program continues to be well subscribed with 115 growers receiving support in 2018. The average pay-out was $10,000 and the largest $76,000. Withler expects 145 applications will be funded this year. Growers are reminded that the fall of 2020 will be the last year to apply for funds to be distributed in 2021. A resolution to extend the replant program was passed.
2018/19 is proving to be a second year of lower grower returns. In addition to keeping tight control on costs and replanting new varieties, growers are looking for ways to enhance the marketing of their fruit.
A recent industry study completed as background for the Tree Fruit Competitiveness Fund cited a lack of industry cohesion centred around the BC Tree Fruits Coop (BCTF) as a major impediment to the industry. A resolution was passed to encourage BCTF to apply for funds to study governance and the structure of the coop. “Over the past while it has become clear to the board, and perhaps the industry, that the current model that has been around for some 60 years to pack and sell the fruit might not be the type of model that is going to take us into the future," explains board member Sam DiMaria.
While Ambrosia replants continue at a rapid pace, the search for the next new and exciting apple by Summerland Varieties Corp is showing success. Sean Beirnes , SVC GM, spoke about the newest cultivar being developed in cooperation with the Summerland Research and Development Center. “We are very excited about SPA 1080,” says Beirnes. “I think it will be the next Ambrosia.”
“1080 checks a lot of boxes.” says Beirnes. “It’s an excellent eating apple, we have been able to run it down the packing line, it is good in cold storage and it will be even better in CA.”
Beirnes says that the 1080 is currently being grown in 30 test plots across Canada including in Ontario and Quebec. “You should see trees by 2021 with a planned Canadian launch by 2025,“ he says. “There is also a ton of global interest in this apple as well.”
“We learned a lot when we released Ambrosia,” says Beirnes. He explained that 1080 would be released as a “club” apple, meaning that only a certain number of trees would be planted, by select growers, who will agree to quality standards.
There has been talk across the industry for a number of years about capitalizing on the benefits of the SIR program as a marketing tool. To further this, a resolution was passed encouraging the BCFGA to “explore the promotional benefit of the SIR program and promote the environmental friendliness of the industry.
“Regional designations are very important in the wine industry,” notes Amarjit Lalli. “If we could develop that same concept for our apples, where the Okanagan region is recognized, I think it would go a long way.”
