BC fruit growers stand to be hit the hardest by the current heat wave, with dozens filing notices of claim regarding crop losses. “BC berry growers and tree fruit growers are experiencing significant losses as a result of the June heat wave,” the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries told Country Life in BC. …
CROPS
Fruit growers seek workers
The prospect of a record cherry crop has Okanagan growers scrambling for workers as a heat wave accelerates ripening. While arrivals of seasonal foreign workers are above last year, BC Fruit Growers Association president Pinder Dhaliwal expects just half the number of domestic backpackers to arrive. These usually account for 4,000 workers in addition to …
Wind machines in Surrey face blowback
SURREY – The BC Farm Industry Review Board received a formal noise complaint on April 20 against a blueberry farm in south Surrey. According to reports in the Peace Arch News, the couple who initiated the complaint had moved to Morgan Creek from Vancouver in March and were kept awake several nights in a row …
Core knowledge lands Kelowna grower top award
KELOWNA – Learning from some of the best can help you be one of the best is a philosophy that’s served Kelowna orchardist Shane Witzke well. The BC Fruit Growers Association named Witzke as recipient of this year’s Golden Apple award at its annual general meeting in February. “I rely on what my field service …
Mushrooms add value to cut blocks
KASLO – They may not be ready to harvest until 2022 but mushrooms may soon catch the eye of hikers along Kaslo’s Wardner Trail. A project to combine forestry and food production championed by Robin Mercy, owner of Mr. Mercy’s Mushrooms, saw the Village of Kaslo grant permission for Mercy to inoculate stumps and logs …
WorkSafeBC increases inspections
The single-largest cause of on-farm injuries in the farm sector according to WorkSafeBC is falls, but with the COVID-19 pandemic still going strong the provincial agency is doubling down on efforts to make sure the farm sector is adhering to its safety plans designed to curb the risk of infection. WorkSafeBC announced May 8 that …