BC Tree gets credit protection

BC Tree Fruits Cooperative has sought protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), with a court-appointed monitor overseeing next steps for the troubled fruit marketer.

The application to BC Supreme Court on August 12 came as the co-op struggles with cash flow issues and low estimates from growers of apple deliveries this season.

Court documents indicate that the co-op had defaulted on $51.7 million in debt to its lender, CIBC, in addition to having $43 million worth of liabilities on its balance sheet. Together, the amounts outstripped the co-op’s $92.4 million in assets.

Court documents indicate that the co-op had $55.7 million in revenue in 2023, down from $67.5 million in 2021. Grower estimates of deliveries from the 2024 harvest indicated a 50% drop in apple volumes this season, indicating even lower revenues to come.

“With rising carrying and debt costs from delayed property sales and significantly reduced fruit volumes, BCTFC is no longer able to meet its overhead requirements, pay its growers or other creditors,” the co-op’s said in requesting creditor protection.

Both court documents and a public statement regarding the move to seek creditor protection flagged “grower discord,” particularly regarding the co-op’s restructuring efforts, as a key factor.

Court documents indicate that BCTF has approximately 290 grower families, with 176 voting members.

The co-op had 193 staff on July 25, the day it decided to shut down operations. Most have been laid off, with 21 staff now involved in the decommissioning of its facilities.

As monitor, Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc. will oversee the affairs of the co-op while under creditor protection.

During a press conference in Penticton on August 13, Premier David Eby said the province would be closely watching the court-ordered process with an eye to stepping in to protect infrastructure critical to the industry’s survival.

However, he stopped short of committing provincial funds to buy assets on behalf of the industry. Instead, the province announced $5 million for a Tree Fruit Climate Resiliency program to help orchardists buy equipment and pursue projects that were not eligible under previous programs.

The province also raised the AgriStability compensation rate to 90% and doubled the compensation cap for all farmers for the 2024 program year, a move expected to provide $15 million in relief to farmers across the province.

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7 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.