Good weather gave Lower Mainland potato growers a jump on seeding an estimated 6,500 acres of potatoes in April, with several growers already finished by May 7 when BC Vegetable Marketing Commission members received reports on how the past year had treated growers. The commission’s market analyst Aanchal Sandhu presented a statistical report that highlighted …
CROPS
Cherry virus survey proposed
A new industry-led task force hopes to survey cherry growers this summer to ensure a disease that devastated BC’s cherry industry decades ago doesn’t return. Kootenay growers first reported little cherry disease in 1933. By 1946, almost every tree in the region was infected by the virus that causes the disease, which results in under-sized …
Grape pomace upcycled
Penticton-based Winecrush Technology Inc. is preparing to patent a new process for transforming grape pomace and wine lees into what it describes as “a high-performance flavour enhancement ingredient.” Pomace typically represents about 30% of the grapes crushed for wine. It is often composted or sent to landfills, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. A ton of …
Building soil structure with organic compost
SURREY – A three-year-old biofuel facility in the heart of the Lower Mainland has ramped up compost production, creating a new soil amendment source for BC growers. Owned by the City of Surrey and operated under a 25-year contract with Convertus, the Surrey biofuel facility is the first closed-loop organic waste facility in North America. …
Frost nips cherry growers
Cherry growers in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys hope a run of frosty temperatures since April 11 won’t do significant damage to this year’s crop. “I’m just getting started checking grower’s blocks,” says Seradaye Lean, field service and quality control advisor for Consolidated Fruit Packers Ltd. in Kelowna. “There is a range of damage within …
Richmond’s ag community mourns a leader
RICHMOND – Richmond farming advocate Ralph May has died. He was 71. May, a lawyer as well as a prominent cranberry grower, was distinguished by his love of family and commitment to service. “Ralph was always proud of his farming heritage and history in Richmond and felt very strongly about giving back to the community …