Fred Steele, BCFGA president, said there is a growing need for the government to adapt to drastic changes in the industry.
Because of the vicious winds that caused expensive damage to some Oliver orchards last year, the government made some tweaks to its Agri-Insurance policy.
“I toured the Oliver area after the storm and I’d never seen anything like it,” said BC Fruit Growers’ Association president Fred Steele. “If it happens once it can happen again.”
The update means that fruit crops damaged by wind now meet the definition of having a quality peril to the B.C. Production Insurance program.
Agri-Insurance helps farmers manage the risk of crops that are lost to natural calamities, including hail, spring frost, excessive rain, flooding and drought. The policy update applies to all tree-fruit crops except for cherries, which Steele says are “a different kettle of fish.”
Steele said the Fruit Growers Association had been lobbying the government for years to recognize wind damage as a quality peril. “It’s one of those things you keep asking for and sometimes never get, this time we got it,” Steele said. “People got together, and they made progress happen.”
The severity of wind in Oliver last year gave the fruit growers a strong case study for their argument. One local vineyard reported losing over 100 trees to the wind.
“These guys were three to four days away from harvesting their crops, and then the wind came through and put them on the ground, and they weren’t really recognized for the value of the crop.”
The enhanced insurance program comes at no extra cost to farmers, and while it offers piece of mind to farmers, Steele said it’s a tool that farmers will hopefully not have to use.
“A windstorm can happen anywhere and we’re hoping no grower has to take advantage of it,” he said. “It’s like hail, you get it sporadically throughout the Okanagan every given year, but not everyone gets hail. It’s always a localized peril.”
Steele said there was a growing need for the government to adapt to “drastic” changes in the industry
“When you can work together and understand what those differences are then you can get those changes done.”
He said the Ministry of Agriculture’s quick reaction was greatly appreciated.
“I am impressed with how fast the gap in coverage around wind damage has been closed. The change to depreciation better reflects the actual loss that occurs, making the program more predictable and easy to understand. It is a great improvement.”
It’s impossible to pinpoint what causes environmental changes, but a combination of variables have been observed.
“We go in cycles of weather. Maybe changing climates are causing changes to some degree; environmental anomalies. No one knows why a storm or fire has such devastation in one area and not another. They’re perils for insurables.”
In a press release, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay said the program is fulfilling its mandate to make B.C.’s fruit industry more innovative and competitive.
“These important changes to production insurance products will help tree-fruit growers manage the risk of crop losses and recover from the financial impact.”
Tree-fruit producers will receive their production insurance renewal packages will be mailed to tree-fruit producers sometime this month. The deadline for new applications and renewals is Nov. 30.
By Dan Walton
