Christmas greenery was in strong demand and ample supply this week, despite some challenges shipping product to market in late November. “The actual interest in Christmas products at the retail level, it was probably one of the strongest years we’ve seen in many years,” says Stan Vander Waal, president of Rainbow Greenhouses Inc. in Chilliwack. …
CROPS
Growers cool to ice wine
The wine won’t be ready for Christmas, but grape growers picked the first grapes for this year’s ice wine harvest in the early hours of December 17 as temperatures fell below -10° Celsius at sites in Kelowna, Summerland and Okanagan Falls. By law, temperatures must reach -8° Celsius to allow the frozen grapes to be …
Outstanding service acknowledged
Dave Woodske’s service to the greenhouse and nursery sector was honoured December 2 at the annual awards of the BC Landscape and Nursery Association. Woodske retired as the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries’ floriculture and greenhouse specialist in March 2020, shortly after COVID-19 hit. The restrictions on gatherings last year led to cancellation …
Grain sector receive funding
BC’s grain sector is a top beneficiary of the latest round of funding from the fifth disbursement from the Peace Agricultural Compensation Fund. The fund announced awards totalling $517,000 on December 2, with 19 projects – including five in the grain sector, which collectively received $247,000 for research, development and infrastructure. The single largest grant …
Fraser Valley flooding continues
A thousand acres of blueberries remain underwater in the Fraser Valley, while more than 200 farms in the province continue to operate under evacuation orders or alerts as another series of weather systems tracks across southwestern BC. A statement from the BC Blueberry Council this week described the flooding as “an unprecedented event of great …
Province sets agenda for tree fruit future
KELOWNA – The province released 19 recommendations on November 12 outlining a plan to stabilize BC’s troubled tree fruit sector, the culmination of a nine-month process launched in February at the annual convention of the BC Fruit Growers Association. “BCFGA is supportive and observe that the government recommendations have taken account of difficult times in …