Crop not worth picking

By Don Plant Thursday, September 14, 2006 Kelowna Daily Courier
Growers are leaving hail-damaged apples on the trees because it’s not worth the expense of hauling them to the packinghouse.B.C. Fruit Packers is offering orchardists two cents a pound for fruit destined for the Sun-Rype plant. Growers on the bountiful East Kelowna bench say the price barely covers pickers’ wages, let alone the cost of hauling the apples to the packinghouse.“My Macs will probably drop on the ground. This is the first time in history this farm has dropped a crop. We’ve been doing this since 1928,” said Roger Borrett, who farms 60 acres.“I can’t afford to keep people working for the prices the market is giving me.”A hailstorm in early July wiped out or damaged apple crops in East Kelowna, the Belgo area, Glenmore and Westbank. Joe Graziano farms 30 acres of apples on Rose Road in East Kelowna. Hail dented 97 per cent of his crop. He’s letting them fall for the first time in 24 years. “For me to send apples to the packinghouse for juice at two cents a pound, I’d have to subsidize that bin to the tune of $8 a bin. I say, let the apples stay on the trees,” he said.Graziano’s neighbours are in the same bind. At least two of them – one of whom has 150 acres of apples – are abandoning this year’s crop, he said.To cover the costs of picking and hauling, growers need at least four cents a pound. Those with minimal crop insurance can expect cheques to cover some of their expenses. But for many, paying for a full harvest is still uneconomical. ----------- With premium apple prices barely covering the cost of production since 2004, many growers are ready to call it quits. Graziano says there’s “no way” his family can keep the farm going.“We might as well keep the land bare. At least you don’t have to borrow money. Next year, maybe we’ll bulldoze all the trees down. “All the grants have been taken out, but we’re stuck with the land freeze. Maybe politicians don’t want farmers here. If that’s the case, so be it.”