Troubles have piled on top of troubles for British Columbia’s fruit farmers this year. They have faced massive crop losses, the closure of major storage and packing facilities, and other difficulties.
Fruit farmer Steve Souto nonetheless takes a hopeful view. He’s grateful to Ontario farmers for helping him meet customer demands despite shortfalls. He’s hopeful that Canadians will realize the value of local-grown produce and stick by the farmers.
“Supporting local—I know it’s a fad, but it’s like life or death, to tell you the truth, especially for B.C. farmers,” he told The Epoch Times.
He sees his customers face-to-face at farmers’ markets and he knows many are struggling with food costs, so he has kept his prices steady despite higher costs on his end.
His passion for providing farm-fresh, nutritious produce has carried him through.
‘An All Around Difficult Year’
A warm spell followed by a cold snap in January decimated crops in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, one of Canada’s major fruit-farming regions. The impact on some trees may last for years to come.
The BC Tree Fruits Cooperative that many growers have long depended upon for storage and packing closed in August, filing for creditor protection. Some farmers fear they won’t get paid for the fruits they’ve already sent to the co-op. Others may have to leave fruit to rot in the orchard.
Meanwhile, farmers’ markets have been cancelled due to wildfire smoke. And “food fraud” has been a persistent problem plaguing B.C. growers, Souto said.
Food fraud describes the misrepresentation of food products in many ways; it impacts B.C. growers when imported fruits are mislabelled as B.C.-grown, undercutting and overtaking the local fruit market.
“It’s just been an all around difficult year,” said Souto, who co-owns Steve and Dan’s Fresh BC Fruit with his mother, Helena Souto. “We are in quite a heap of trouble here.”
Farmers Helping Farmers
The Soutos have paid to ship the fruit from Ontario to supplement their stock this year. They decided to provide customers with Canadian-grown fruit, or no fruit at all.“To go to a farmers’ market and to see a U.S. peach that you can get exactly the same in a grocery store—even though it would be nice to have that extra income—it just didn’t line up with our values,” he said.
He credits Ontario farmers with saving his business. They had their own market to fill, he said, but provided Souto with enough to make up for some of his shortfall.
“These farmers understood because they have had these frosts in previous years, so they understood the impact,” he said. “Without them, we would be in quite a bit of trouble.”
As if by Murphy’s law, once Souto arranged to ship the fruit from Ontario by truck, the national rail labour dispute caused trucking demand and prices to rise.
Difficult Years Ahead
Souto said he may have to rely on Ontario farmers to supplement his crop in the years to come as well.“I do think it’s going to be probably three to five years before we get back into full production,” he said. When a peach grows, a bud grows beside it, representing next year’s fruit, he said. “With the trees having no fruit this year, there aren’t very many buds.”
He is starting early pruning in the hope of stimulating growth. Pruning is what he can control, though he’s also worried about what he can’t control—“Are we going to get another cold snap this winter?” he wondered.
Strawberries, blackberries, cherries, and grapes have also been hard-hit.
Farmers face much uncertainty, Souto said. Their costs remain the same, but their returns fluctuate, and sometimes farmers don’t get paid for many months after their investment—such as when they send their fruit to a co-op for processing.
He’s concerned for his neighbours who grow cherries. Many lost half of their crops while some lost practically their whole crops, and the few cherries they got went to the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative. Now they may not get paid for them, Souto said.
The Epoch Times reached out to the co-op to ask whether the farmers could expect payment despite the co-op having filed for credit protection, but did not receive a reply by publication time.
Every farmer that goes out of business is hard to replace, Souto said. The cost of land in the Okanagan Valley, where much of B.C.’s fruit is grown, is now quite high.
‘Feeding the Future’
Yet, if someone were to offer him a fortune for his land there, he wouldn’t budge.“The value is more important than the dollars in my bank account,” he said. “We are giving people good food. Our motto is ‘we’re feeding the future.’”
He sees the families and young children growing on the food he provides.
With food fraud rampant, he said, consumers may see “B.C. strawberries” out a week or two before they’re actually ready, for example. But you can spot the difference easily: the imposters are white inside, lacking the fresh, nutrient-rich redness of local berries, he said.
He encourages Canadians to go to farmers’ markets, even if the selection is a little slimmer in some regions this year.
“Supporting local, that dollar is going directly to that farmer, that dollar goes directly to that small farmer who is supporting their family,” he said. “Nothing against the grocery store, but we know where that dollar goes, and there’s no middlemen.”
