A BERRY GOOD ROAD TRIP By Ronda Payne In B.C. we are lucky that from early summer to late fall, road trips include the delicious taste of locally grown berries. Take a figurative road trip now with Orchard & Vine as we look at how those berries – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cranberries – performed this year. Some went the distance and beyond, while others fell short of their anticipated destination. The first to arrive are strawberries and this year’s crop definitely went the distance with estimates showing a rise in production, according to Sharmin Gamiet, association manager of the BC Strawberry Growers Association. Fresh berry quantities are expected to come in 10 to 15 per cent higher when compared to 2012. Processed strawberries will also see an increase of about 10 per cent. “I’m feeling very optimistic,” Gamiet says. “I think the fresh producers have reason to be optimistic, the ever-bearing varieties are working well for the growers.” The weather, while ideal for road trips, impacted some of the earlier ever-bearing crop with an unusually long, hot, dry stretch, but this also worked to extend the season for many producers who were still picking at Halloween. June berries started early with the warm spring, but when the road trip weather turned to rain it truncated the season. On the administrative front, let’s take a detour to Quebec, home of the growers
association taking the lead on the proposed national strawberry council. “It’s moving forward,” Gamiet says. “(The Quebec council is) preparing to submit a request to the Farm Products Council of Canada in the New Year.” A little later in the season, when the unusual period of hot dry weather appeared, raspberries began their trip from field to market. Sadly, they didn’t quite go the distance this year, with an estimated drop to 16 million pounds from last year’s 18 million pounds, which unfortunately was a decrease from the year before as well. Gamiet, who also serves as the executive director of BC Raspberry Growers, notes the decline wasn’t entirely unexpected. “Acreages were converted to other crops and, during the early season, growers had challenges with diseases and pests,” she notes. This year’s wildly variable weather caused mould in early varieties and scald in later ones. Those who avoided these issues had excellent berries if they were able to keep the spotted wing drosophila under control. “It showed you need to be on top of this pest,” Gamiet says. “If you picked frequently, the challenge wouldn’t have been so great and if you’d been able to spray early and keep at it, it helped mitigate the problem.” Like their cousins the strawberries, raspberry growers are in the early stages of forming a national council as they take their road trip to Ottawa for the next
You need to be on top of the pest, if you picked frequently the challenge wouldn't have been so great. Sharmin Gamiet 30 Year End 2013