Orchard & Vine Fruit Survey 2017

Each year Orchard & Vine Magazine does a survey of our readers to find out how the year in fruit and berry farming went. If you are interested in taking part send an email to info@orchardandvine.net and we will inlcude you in our next years survey.

What type of crop produced the best for you this year?

  • CHERRIES
  • BLUEBERRIES
  • APPLES
  • STRAWBERRIES
  • GRAPES
  • RASPBERRIES
  • GARLIC

What types of fruit do you grow?

Did this years weather have a positive or negative effect on your business?

If you were affected, what happened?

  • Low crop production.
  • Too dry.
  • Lower crop volume.
  • Wildfire smoke provided a valuable cover in what would have been a serious sunburn season.
  • Prolonged wet cold spring = root damage on heavy poorly drained soils = overset and smaller cherries + hot weather did not help.
  • Fruit size issues.
  • Long wet spring quickly followed by a heat spike, inconsistent temps at the start of the season caused shock and was hard to respond to.
  • Too hot in early April so pollen tube was too advanced led to poor set. Too hot in summer meant small cherries.
  • Cold, long, wet spring caused pollination problems and crop loss in strawberries.
  • Severe mummy berry infestation due to the cold winter and wet spring which didn’t allow application of fungicide.
  • Too much smoke.
  • The lowest SWD population and issues since it showed up.

Did your crops suffer from the fires and/or floods this year?

APPLES:

  • Fruit size issues - if anything the smoke kept the sunburn down with the high heat.
  • Wildfire smoke provided a valuable solar in what would have been a serious sunburn season.

BLUEBERRIES:

  • Severe mummy berry infestation due to cold winter and wet spring which didn’t allow application of fungicide.
  • Low crop production, to much rain in spring caused fields to flood.
  • Blueberry size was down due to no rain.
  • Lower crop volume.

STRAWBERRIES:

  • Cold, long, wet spring, pollination problems, crop loss in strawberries.
  • Our u-pick strawberries were down significantly due to crop loss.
  • GRAPES:
  • Smoky in the valley for many weeks.

RASPBERRY:

  • Lowest SWD population/issues since it showed up. Was so wet we got a late start in spring
  • CHERRIES:
  • Prolonged wet cold spring = root damage on heavy poorly drained soils = overset and smaller cherries + hot weather did not help.

Do you think there should be more monitoring of the employment standards for temporary foreign workers?

  • The monitoring absolutely needs to be implemented. I fear these folks are exploited and vulnerable and do not have access to.proper recourse if a violation occurs.
  • The monitoring needs to be done by Canadians and not the Mexican consulate!
  • Rumors suggest the workers are sometimes not treated very well with the accommodation shown to the inspectors vs what they actually lived in.
  • I do not agree with the treatment of foreign workers and do not condone the program as it exists. These workers are vulnerable.
  • A few bad apples are bringing all of the industry down The rules are set out and there is oversight in the SA program. There is a myth out there workers don’t know their rights and that is not true. Before coming to Canada workers are informed of their rights and given the information they need to bring issues forward.
  • We had two young Mexican workers who were great.

Are you for or against the proposed tax changes for small business?

  • Yes these are positive! Taxes should be fair to all Canadians.
  • We can deduct expenses that many folks can’t and get other advantages. Income sharing does not feel fair.
  • I think this is now a non-event with liberals running around putting out fires caused by Morneau’s questionable tax ethics.
  • There needs to be something positive in tax reform for it to take place
  • Whoever came up with the proposed program knows NOTHING about agriculture or even who the middle class is.
  • Craptastic. Doesn’t affect us personally but I know of several families it will affect. Hope people are happy they voted for that idiot.
  • How quick can we get rid of Liberals?

What do you want to see from the new government in BC?

ALR

  • Ease the ALR restrictions... we have one of the shortest growing seasons around. We should have more freedom during the off-season with our land.
  • More ALR enforcement.
  • Protect the ALR.

LEGISLATION

  • Continue with the changes to the organic legislation making it so you can only use the word organic if you are actually certified.
  • More interest in the environment and less on business. control. Return to more inspection of logging practices - not self regulation!!
  • Improve transportation. Smart spending.
  • The re-creation of a Ministry of Agriculture.

MORE GRANTS

  • More farm grants for farms not the associations.
  • The industry does need some assistance but it must be an investment partnership.
  • Fund extension for people and programs.
  • Subsidies for small and organic agriculture.

NO GRANTS

  • More financial partnerships and no grants. Industry cannot go back to the old days.

URBAN RURAL DIVIDE

  • Feel new NDP provincial government is more interested in the urban areas that voted them in based on the promises they made. Sure the rest of the province will just get lip service.
  • They are really focused on Vancouver.

NEW GOVERNMENT

  • We need a new government.
  • Another new government, please, soon.
  • The Minister of Agriculture seems to be digging herself some holes lately.

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