-Juice company has agreed to pay up to six cents a pound for damaged apples-
OSOYOOS TIMES-August 6, 2008-
By Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times
Damage to apricot, cherry and peach crops in the areas hardest hit by a powerful hail storm that swept through Osoyoos on July 3 has been inspected by crews from the provincial Agriculture Ministry, a gathering of the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association heard at a special meeting in Osoyoos on July 30.
Nearly 40 people came out to the meeting at the Holiday Inn to discuss the impact on fruit production in the area in the wake of the storm, which decimated farms in a three-kilometre stretch between the U.S. border and the Sunfresh Cooperative Growers packing house on Hwy. 97.
This is a wakeup call; our weather is changing, said association President Joe Sardinha. We have to prepare ourselves for what is coming.rnKevin Daniels, a Kelowna-based production insurance claims manager with the ministry, said three inspection crews were working in the Osoyoos areas that experienced severe damage from the storm.
He added that it was expected that apples would be inspected by the end of the long weekend.
Claims are currently being written for cherries and apricots with claims for peaches and apples to follow.
Daniels added that producers should receive payment 30 days after the claim is written.
Lonny Steward, a production and marketing manager in the ministry's business risk management branch, said the reason cherries and apricots were inspected before apples is because hail damage becomes more visible closer to the harvest.
Waiting, he said, means a proper assessment of the damage.
One concern that was brought up during the meeting was the affordability of production insurance in the wake of this hail storm.
Sardinha said claims from this storm, coupled with three years of high weather-related claims, will likely mean that insurance rates will go up.
He added, however, that the association is working with the province to keep rates affordable.
Glen Lucas, the association's general manager, told the gathering that the idea of approaching the province to offer some of its carbon tax revenues to offset insurance premiums is being discussed, a concept that was met with approval by most of the people in attendance.
Steward said production insurance is funded by growers, the province and the federal government.
Farmers in B.C., he added, pay significantly less than producers in other provinces.
Steward said farmers here contribute about 25 to 30 per cent of the cost while farmers in several other provinces pay as much as 40 per cent.
Any fruit producers in the area who had crops damaged and are signed up with the federal AgriStability program can apply for an interim relief payment from the program.
Patrick DeBoer, a manager with the program, said that producers, if they qualify, can receive 50 per cent of their estimated losses from the hail storm back.
About 10 growers present at the meeting said they had enrolled for the program this year.
Aside from financial concerns, the producers in attendance at the meeting were also instructed to maintain their trees by removing damaged fruit as soon as possible.
The later you pick the less recovery time the tree has, said Hilary Sampson, a member of the Okanagan Tree Fruit Cooperative's field service.
She said leaving damaged fruit on the tree could invite harmful insects such as cherry fruit flies, coddling moths and leaf rollers which, if left unchecked, could damage future crops.
Sampson also advised soft fruit growers to remove damaged fruit to prevent brown rot from developing and eventually growing into the tree.
Don Westcott, the co-operative's sales and logistics director, said the good news is that Sun-Rype, a company that makes fruit juices and snacks, has agreed to pay growers between five and six cents a pound for apples damaged by hail or frost during this growing season.
He said the company needs roughly 50,000 tonnes of fruit for their production needs.
We will serve half that amount, Westcott said.
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