BC wines from the 2024 vintage will be hard to find in the coming years, as vineyards and fruit growers across much of southern BC reel from a cold January. This is the latest in a series of major challenges for high-value crops. Locally grown.
“We’re hearing that 70 to 80 per cent of the buds are damaged on the cherry side, but also on the winery and vineyard side,” said AJ Gill, agricultural risk management resource director for Kelowna-based MNP. That’s what’s happening,” he says. , speaks with RealAgriculture’s Sean Haney in the interview below.
The severe cold came on the heels of the 2022 frost, wildfires, the so-called “heat dome” of 2021, and the pandemic’s impact on demand and supply chains.
The B.C. government recently announced $70 million in aid to support replanting of grapes, cherries, tree fruits and berries, but the fruit and wine industry is looking forward to hearing from the federal government regarding the potential AgriRecovery Disaster Relief Program. I’m waiting for your reply.
“We were waiting to hear back if agri-recovery would be provided in this situation,” Gill said, noting there is precedent for agri-recovery being provided to frost-affected vineyards in Ontario last year. It pointed out.
Related: Winter weather deals further blow to B.C.’s already struggling cherry crop
“We know the state is working on this issue, working directly with associations and farmers, looking at it and looking at whether there are any gaps,” he says.
Some wineries also face challenges in accessing agribusiness risk management programs such as AgriStability because they report regular business income rather than agriculture, he notes.
Unlike annual crops, trees and vines need to be replanted and stocks rebuilt, so the effects of a freeze can last for years, which can take five to seven years for wineries. Mr. Gill says that there is a gender.
While this poses a major short-term challenge, he also sees it as an opportunity for the fruit and wine industry to reset and plan for long-term sustainability.
“Reports say about 54 percent of the vines are dead and need to be replanted. I think this is an opportunity for us to make sure we have the right variety in the right place,” Gill said. says Mr. “I think this is an opportunity for everyone to take a step back and reflect and say, ‘Okay, we’re going to look at what the next 20 years are going to look like and see if we’re ready for it. , I’m going to instill it’ accordingly. “
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