“[The Premier] said he gets it, and he understands. But politicians are politicians. Who knows. I hope so.”
–Deep Brar
B.C.’s beleaguered fruit growers, whose crops have been decimated by a late cold snap this year, held a polite rally outside the BC NDP’s caucus retreat in Osoyoos this week, hoping to get the ear of the premier.
It worked.
Eby and senior ministers not only met the more than 100 fruit farmers and wine owners at the laid back rally, they also toured a cherry orchard in town, and then spent almost an hour listening to their concerns in a private meeting.
They heard an earful: Mainly that B.C.’s new $70 million program to help growers replant grape, peach, cherry, apple and other fruit crops, while welcome, can’t help pay the bills right now to keep farms operational.
“Honestly, the programs that are out there, they do not work in the Okanagan,” said Deep Brar, vice-president of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association.
“The programs that are out there, they do not work in the Okanagan,”
Deep Brar
“There’s federal-provincial shared programs… but we’re not Saskatchewan or Manitoba, and we don’t farm a section of 250 acres. The Okanagan is not that. I told the premier, look we’re a different beast out here, a lot of family farms.
“The programs don’t work for any of us. So there’s got to be something wrong with the programs.”
Fruit crops nearly wiped out by cold snap
An extreme blast of cold in January wiped out entire crops of grapes and other fruit in the Interior and Okanagan, and left the industry reeling. As much as 75 per cent of B.C.’s cherry crop has been destroyed. Damage to grapevines is still being determined, but is expected to be extensive.
“We’re down to like maybe 10 to 20 per cent of our cherry crop, zero on peaches,” said Brar, who runs a 100-acre family farm in Summerland. “Apples and pears are down too.”
Eby said, despite an election on the horizon, his government still intends to take opportunities like its caucus retreat in Osoyoos to see if it can improve programs.
“It’s pretty clear to me that there are big, big challenges in Osoyoos, in the Kelowna area, particularly in the agricultural sector,” he said.
“This is an area that has been traumatized by forest fires, that has seen huge swings in temperature that killed off, the estimates are, about 90 per cent of the grapes as well as the pitt fruits, cherries and peaches – devastating for farmers.”
BC NDP caucus surprised by damage
Still, there was no hiding the fact that the largely urban New Democrat caucus was surprised when confronted in person with the extent of the damage caused to the rural fruit sector.
“He was shocked and surprised at how bad it was and how many people actually came,” Brar said of the rally.
Brar said even he was surprised while driving into Osoyoos and seeing all the damaged vines and trees.
Eby and Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis visited the cherry and plum orchard of Ranbir Kambo in Osoyoos. Brar was part of the tour, as Kambo explained the damage.
“He was showing us some plum trees that are basically dead,” Brar recalled. “If he was to rip that out and plant again, it would be six or seven years to yield.
“The premier asked what about the replant grant we’re offering? There was a resounding, well that doesn’t help at all right now.”
Farmers are more worried about paying for fuel, mowing the grass, wages, pruning and purchasing the required herbicides, and spray for things like mildew, leafroller and bugs — all of which requires cash, right now, with the prospect of almost no resulting crop revenue later this year, said Brar.
Farmers want interest-free loan to access cash now
BC United agriculture critic Ian Paton said the NDP cabinet may well be seeing the damage for the first time, but those in the industry, like himself, have been to the region multiple times, including two visits to Oliver in the last two weeks, to hear from worried farmers.
“The NDP MLAs from Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver Island, they will all be studying a road map on trying to find Osoyoos,” he said. “Oliver, what’s Oliver? Okanagan falls? All those little places. They are so out of touch.”
“There should be a huge contingency… money set aside… to get them through.”
Ian Paton
Brar and Paton said the government should be crafting an interest-free, provincially-backed loan program, so that farmers can access cash right now to survive, and not be waiting on crop insurance (which has dwindled after consecutive years of claims) that could take years to arrive.
“If you divide $70 million by the number of people who have been wiped out by the cold snap it’s not actually all that much money,” Paton said of the provincial replant program.
“There should be a huge contingency. Like if there are acts of gods wiping out farmers in this province, there has got to be some kind of money set aside, interest-free loans, anything, to get them through.”
Brar suggested B.C. emulate Ontario’s $130-million interest-free loan program to ginseng farmers in that province who were hit by difficult weather. The government guaranteed up to 25 per cent of any loan portion that could not be repaid.
Okanagan shows need for climate measures, says minister
NDP house leader Ravi Kahlon told reporters outside the caucus retreat that the hardships being faced by farmers due to historic cold snaps and summer wildfires highlights the importance of addressing climate change.
“The impacts of climate change and the effects of that for families is significant,” said Kahlon.
“The impacts of climate change and the effects of that for families is significant.”
Ravi Kahlon
“That’s why we’re having meetings with them to figure out what more we can do to support them. Again, this region, specifically, our agriculture sector, is a critical part of B.C.’s economy. We get that, and that’s why we’re on the ground.”
Paton scoffed at the idea.
“Here’s this cold snap that hit -30C in January, and now in June Ravi Kahlon is coming out saying, oh we’re here to talk to the tree fruit growers and give them support,” he said. “Give me a break, that’s five months.”
‘I hope you see the frustration… but also the resilience’
For Brar, and the fruit farmers, they just hope the premier meeting their members and seeing the devastation first-hand will have an impact on new government aid programs.
“We don’t want to live off insurance, that’s what I wanted to get into the premier’s and ministers’ heads,” he said “I want to sell a crop. I am passionate about growing something and selling it. Crop insurance wasn’t made for four or five years in a row, it was made for one in ten. So there has to be changes there.”
“We don’t want to live off insurance. I want to sell a crop.”
Deep Brar
Brar said he thinks Eby gets it. Though, he recognizes, it’s an election year.
“It’s hard with politicians,” he said.
“He said he gets it, and he understands. But politicians are politicians. Who knows. I hope so.
“As I was walking him to his car I just said, I hope you see the frustration on the growers faces but also the resilience they are still here and still farming. Because if this was a different industry they would be, ah screw it I’m done.”
Farmers, he said, are perpetual optimists.
“Farmers are a bit different.
“There’s always next year. But you can’t say that for five years in a row. At a certain point, next year has to come.”