United front for fruit growers

Over 150 members and guests gathered at the Penticton Lakeside Resort for the BC Fruit Growers’ Association’s 136th annual convention February 20. This was more than seven times last year’s attendance, showing that the association’s “Stronger Together” message is resonating.

“Stronger Together” was the rallying cry at the grower demonstration held in Osoyoos last May when some 250 people gathered to show support for the industry in conjunction with the NDP caucus meeting that week. The event generated momentum that supported BCFGA executive and staff efforts on behalf of members over the past year.

“It wasn’t just us on the board,” BCFGA president Peter Simonsen says. “It was all of you in the room contacting your reps, talking with us either as a group or as individuals.”

BCFGA general manager Melissa Tesche summarized the work undertaken for members over the year, including on labour, business risk management programs, marketing, trade and horticulture.

On the latter, BCFGA has partnered with the BC Tree Fruit Nursery Stock Access Committee to pilot the import of nursery stock from Washington and Oregon nurseries without the need to fumigate for quarantine pests like Oriental Fruit Moth.

With the closing of the 88-year-old BC Tree Fruits Cooperative in July, BCFGA co-chaired an emergency table to coordinate access to individual grower FoodSafe certificates, develop and publish harvest maturity information and worked with the federal agriculture minister to obtain a six-month extension on Advance Payments Program loans for apple growers.

BCFGA’s advocacy also paid off in a $10 million one-time support payment BC agriculture minister Lana Popham announced a day earlier, making good on a recommendation of the province’s tree fruit industry stabilization task force in November 2021.

“You know it’s always a worry when you get a phone call from the ag minister on a Friday afternoon,” jokes Simonsen. “But she was confirming that $10 million will be allocated as a one-time per acre payment.

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