Cherry grower MaryAnna Campbell stands outside MLA Linda Larson’s office with a picket sign opposing the use of propane cannons in vineyards.
(Lyonel Doherty photo)
Perhaps the last person you would expect to complain about noisy propane cannons is a fruit grower. But MaryAnna Campbell is taking her “sour grapes” to the street.
Campbell, a cherry grower from Osoyoos, was picketing outside MLA Linda Larson’s office in Oliver last week, hoping that grape growers will stop using propane cannons to scare off birds that eat the fruit.
Campbell said she and her husband have to endure these cannons going off every three to five minutes from dawn to dusk every day from August to October. Not only does it hurt her ears while working in the orchard, it is “totally destroying” her enjoyment of late summer and autumn. She recalled one day when the cannons stopped, but discovered it was because a film company was shooting a movie in the area.
Campbell said she uses netting over her cherries to prevent bird damage.
“I don’t think they (cannons) are necessary. If you can afford a vineyard, you can afford to net.”
Campbell’s orchard is surrounded by several vineyards. She said four of the six vineyards do not use cannons, but a couple of them do.
Campbell said she filed a complaint with the provincial government (BC Farm Industry Review Board) and sent letters outlining her concern. She noted the Ministry of Agriculture basically said that propane cannons are an approved farm practice.
“I feel that I’ve been stonewalled,” Campbell said, noting that not one government official has contacted her personally about the problem.
MLA Linda Larson said this is a dispute between Campbell and her neighbours and is “not a big news story.”
“The ministry replied to her quite a while ago and we gave her the info again today. She knows who to call and how to get someone to come and investigate her complaint but has not done so,” said Larson.
Valeria Tait, vice-president of the BC Grape Growers’ Association, acknowledged that propane cannons are not people-friendly.
“They are super annoying, I get that.”
But this method falls under the right to farm legislation and benefits the production of fruit, she pointed out.
“If there wasn’t right to farm legislation, there would be a lot more restrictions on farmers.”
Tait said while netting is the friendlier way to go, it is significantly more expensive than propane cannons.
Tait suggested that maybe the provincial government could provide funding or property tax breaks to grape growers who use netting as opposed to cannons.
Tait also recommends that people who are bothered by these cannons should talk to the property owner to resolve the concern.
By Lyonel Doherty
