Solanki heads cranberry commission

The BC Cranberry Marketing Commission has a new chair.

Jack Brown has stepped down as chair, handing the reins to Kalpna Solanki, who said she has “big shoes to fill” when her appointment was announced at the commission’s annual general meeting March 3. The change is effective today (March 10).

Solanki is CEO of the Environmental Operators Certification Program, which certifies wastewater treatment plant personnel, and a founding partner with Operators Without Borders. Her background includes environmental work, strategic planning and educating in both for-profit and not-for profit organizations. She was formerly a board member with Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

“In every role I have been able to contribute but also learn,” she says. “I have a keen interest in Canadian agriculture, research and value-added products, and I look forward to working with the cranberry growers to grow the industry even more.”

Brown started working with the commission as a special advisor in 2006, when John Savage was the chair. Brown came to the role with an extensive farming background. He had been a dairy farmer until 1972, then a potato grower until 1991 when he switched to breeding Red Angus. He dispersed the herd in 2012. He was also active in the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, serving 12 years as a board member including two as president.

Brown says he will continue to serve on the BC Cranberry Research Society board, which oversees the industry’s research farm. The society operates independently of the commission.

“It’s kind of the apple of everybody’s eye,” he says of the farm. “It’s been a tremendous value to the industry.”

Work in new, locally adapted varieties to generate higher yields for BC growers is the farm’s greatest value, says Brown. In 2020, 75 cranberry growers produced 1,003,998 barrels of fruit on about 5,750 acres. Approximately 750 additional acres are being replanted in higher-yielding varieties.

All content on this website is copyrighted, and cannot be republished or reproduced without permission.

12 hours ago

It was another sell-out at the 31st annual Fort Langley Cranberry Festival on Saturday with organizers selling 5,000 pounds of locally-grown, fresh berries in less than five hours. Youth from the Fort Langley Lions Club's Young Lions program scooped, bagged and weighed several pallets' worth of cranberries. Ocean Spray donated the berries, which the public bought to benefit the community. Local grower The Bog was also selling fresh berries, having brought 2,700 pounds, which were on track to sell out by the end of the#BCAgt.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

View Comments

Likes: 3
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

5 days ago

There was a lot of reminiscing and appreciation of how far BC's turkey industry has come at a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of the BC Turkey Association and the 60th anniversary of the BC Turkey Marketing Board yesterday in Abbotsford. With a slideshow of events and people over the years, guests laughed and had a lot to be thankful for. "It's an opportunity to celebrate the industry at a time of year that's known for turkey. It's a culmination of all the year's work," says Natalie Veles, executive director with BC Turkey Marketing Board.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 17
Shares: 0
Comments: 1

Love it - Deb Etsell I see you 🤩

6 days ago

BC was the sole province to see farmland values decline in the first half of this year, dropping 1.9% according to a Farm Credit Canada report released Octover 7. This represented an acceleration in value declines from last year, and contributed to a 3.9% decline in the 12 montsh ended June 30. The drop follows on a 1.7% decline last year, which Farm Credit Canada attributed to tougher times in the fruit sector. However, the mid-year report points to a broader slowdown in value growth diven by higher production costs, tighter margins and uncertainty around trade, tariffs and international markets.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 3
Shares: 1
Comments: 1

Ndp

3 weeks ago

Channels of communication remain open between the provincial and federal governments with respect to financial relief for extraordinary costs stemming from this summer's ongoing drought and wildfires, but the BC Cattlemen's Association is urging producers to register for AgriStability to position themselves for any AgriRecovery package. "Hardworking families in the ranching and agriculture sectors, who provide food for the province, need the AgriRecovery program in place as soon as possible," says BC Cattlemen's president Alex Kuchar. But the provincial election creates an unfortunate delay. "It's not fair, in any form of the word, to see all those people who have lost so much in the fires to have to wait in limbo," says BC Cattlemen's general manager Kevin Boon.

Photo | Barb Edmonson / Firefly Ranch, Clinton

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 6
Shares: 7
Comments: 0

Feedback on changes to rules governing food processing in the Agricultural Land Reserve has drawn about 250 submissions. But the proposal now hangs in the balance with Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap election, which also delays discussions of assistance for farmers hit hard by this year's wildfires and historic #BCAght.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 12
Shares: 2
Comments: 3

What would you expect from the NDP, when they still had a 2 year mandate?

Ridiculous timing. We have people needing answers and have to plan for winter supplies. Fires are long past, months have gone by knowing there was going to be the need for support. Drought was written on the wall even before summer began with no snow pack. This is not new to government and they are calling for another year just as bad for 2027. I throw my hands up and wonder what else needs to be more challenging than what we've experienced over the last 6 years in BC?

250 submissions.... I'm pretty sure there are more than 250 farmers in BC