Orchardists seek frost assistance

BC fruit growers are asking the province to step up and provide financial support following the devastating frost event earlier this month.

Temperatures across the Southern Interior dipped towards -30° Celsius between January 11 and 13, leading to widespread concern for the 2024 crop following depressed market pricing in 2023 for both apples and cherries.

Representatives of the BC Fruit Growers Association have taken the concerns of growers to the BC Agriculture Council, which has been asked to back growers’ requests for support from government, and BCFGA director Deep Brarhas approached the province.

“Brar asked the provincial Minister of Agriculture’s office to engage with the associations and set up a meeting, with the intention of informing the Minister of the threats to our sectors and to get a commitment to explore potential solutions,” BCFGA said in a bulletin to members, January 26. “BCFGA is committed to working with other organizations to have a joint solution to the crop impacts from the recent deep freeze.”

According to the province, as of January 22, notices of loss had been filed by 24 grape growers and nine tree fruit producers. Since many growers are still assessing damages, claims are expected to grow.

Bud samples at research plots indicate that this year’s freeze could be worse than the December 2022 event that killed approximately 29% of vineyard plantings in the region and reduced last year’s crop by 54%.

Short crops will compound the financial losses felt by producers.

Cherry growers saw low returns last year as abundant crops throughout West Coast growing regions overlapped in the market, pushing down prices. BC growers, typically last to market, saw their crop pulled forward and were hit especially hard.

Meanwhile, BC Tree Fruits Cooperative has delayed its first payment to growers, which could increase demand on over-stretched government support programs.

And, to add insult to injury, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis moved last week to block all wholesale shipments of wine from Canadian producers, even if such shipments are totally legally compliant.

The move effectively makes Alberta the only province in Canada where consumers must buy local wine alone – primarily fruit wines and mead – if they want to enjoy Canadian wine at all.

Alberta is a major consumer of BC wine, and the border closure will deprive BC producers of an important market at a time when cash flow is paramount to their operations.

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17 hours ago

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23 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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5 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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6 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.