The province has extended the vintage replacement provisions introduced last year to support wineries bereft of grapes due to extreme cold in January 2024. Vine damage resulted in a 99% crop loss last year and current projections anticipate a shortfall in the range of 40% this year. This amounts to about 10,000 tonnes of wine …
CROPS
Gulf Island entrepreneurs eye food security
THETIS ISLAND – When Elisabeth and Noah Bond bought the only vineyard on Thetis Island in 2014, they looked forward to uncorking a new phase of life in the wine industry. “We were always into food and sustainability, but really hadn’t grown food before,” says Elisabeth. “We thought it would be cool to have a …
Stabilization initiative yet to bear fruit
OLIVER – The deep black of dying plum trees stands in stark contrast to the vibrant green of the adjacent cherries in Pinder Dhaliwal’s orchard in Oliver. Yet on closer inspection, many of the cherry branches have little if any fruit and several branches are dying. The nearby peach trees have no fruit at all …
Berry growers on lookout for rose stem girdler
SALEM, OREGON – Unpredictability makes the rose stem girdler a challenging adversary, and the fact that it has set up camp to the south and east of BC is all the more concerning. The pest’s arrival in commercial berry fields in BC’s Lower Mainland is a matter of when, not if, and research south of …
Southern Interior irrigators shut down
The province says it listened to local growers when it shut down forage irrigation in the Salmon River and Bessette Creek watersheds on September 8, but producers say they were blindsided. “We did not receive any direct communication from [Water, Land and Resource Stewardship] staff that this was about to happen,” says Andrea van Iterson …
Apple marketing commission rejected
BC apple growers have voted against establishing an apple marketing commission. Close to 60% of growers who cast ballots did not support the establishment of a commission to regulate and market BC apples. The referendum closed July 21, with 129 of 377 eligible growers participating. The low participation rate of just 34% surprised Lake Country …