Farmer stages big berry dump as plea for gov’t help
Image Courtesy CTV News
CTV British Columbia
Published Thursday, Jul. 5, 2012 4:42PM PDT
Last Updated Thursday, Jul. 5, 2012 6:39PM PDT
Frustrated B.C. farmers say that local buyers are killing their business purchasing only imported strawberries.
To drive his point home, Birak Berry Farms manager Ravinder Gill symbolically dumped a truckload of berries on the side of No. 6 Road in Richmond on Thursday.
“This pile denotes that the strawberry is garbage this year for us because nobody is buying,” he told CTV News.
According to growers, many major B.C. supermarkets and berry processors are choosing to buy cheaper imported berries from California and Mexico.
“This year, the canneries in Abbotsford have bought only 15,000 lbs. from us, which is like 0.1 per cent of the total,” Gill said.
He estimates that 400,000 lbs. of berries will be wasted on his farm this year – which will be a big loss because the labour to pick the fruit costs the company about 40 cents per pound. He wants Premier Christy Clark to step in to help the province’s strawberry farms.
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It’s too bad that the farmer did this. Understand his frustration but what a waste of food- could have provided fresh food to food banks and community kitchens instead of dumping it on the ground…
I also think if these farmers woke up and started farming organically, they could sell all their berries and more…there are no organic strawberry farms in Richmond and many people I know are willing to pay a premium for organically-grown berries!
It’s too bad this farmer dumped all those strawberries that could have fed local foodbanks and community kitchens. Understand his frustration, but I also think these farmers need to think towards the future. More and more people are demanding organically-grown produce and if they switched, they could easily sell their berry harvest (for a higher profit!)
I sympathize greatly with our local farmers; our local markets and canneries should be awarding local farmers their business instead of buying imported berries. However, I agree with Mint Green Apron (above) that this food could have been donated to food banks and not wasted, and ALSO that if they bothered to grow certified ORGANIC berries, they would find a ready market for them, AND they could realize a premium on the selling price. It’s a shame that there is only one small organic farm in Richmond: Urban Edibles on Steveston Highway, when Mylora Farms operated a very large and successful organic vegetable and berry farm in Richmond for decades, but when farmer John Harrison became too old to farm a few years back, his kids turned Mylora into a chemically soaked golf course. Less work, more profit. Big loss for Richmond. But, the opportunity is still there. I farm and garden organically (but not in Richmond) and it has always been profitable in more ways than one. Think and act sustainably. Thanks for reading.
Agreed on the points above. Those berries could’ve fed a lot of hungry, undernourished families. Premium food items like organic strawberries can be positioned to bring in serious revenues. Instead of competing with the imported strawberries on price in a pointless race to the bottom, our fruit farmers could be offering us strawberries that are Local, Organic and Sustainable. Partner with a local chef or canner and produce small quantity runs of local jams and preserves, or dipped strawberries, or…you get the idea. People will pay for more than just the raw fruit. I and so many others would rather buy quality product and I’d happily pay extra if it’s organic and less than 100km from the farm to my plate.
Farmers are entrepreneurs. They need to embrace that. Adapt to the business climate as you would environmental changes. Waiting on the government, especially when it includes federal issues, in addition to local or provincial, just seems like a guarantee of continued losses.
Organic produce is all the rage. The pubic is willing to pay more and drive further to get it. I kept seeing people complaining on social media that they can’t find organic or organically-grown berries.
And like Mint Green Apron, I do not like seeing food used this way. I understand the visual impact. In the end, it reminds me of hot dog eating contests. Pointless. Eating fresh fruit is a luxury for many more people than we want to admit in a city with such a pretense of wealth. (Richmond)
I do think it is a shame people cannot be educated to buy local strawberries especially in season – however this year the berries have suffered because of the rain and until now lack of sun – not as sweet as usual and definitely soft so do not last long. what do they do to them in california and mexico to make them last so long? i wonder.i am buying local but using in desserts and smoothies mainly.
this farmer is presumably mainly producing them in large volume for processing into jam or similar products not individual consumption?