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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11 hours ago

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16 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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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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6 days ago

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.