Record cold temperatures continue in British Columbia with warnings for a sizable snowfall being issued across a large part of the province.
“It’s been cold here in the interior of B.C.--not nearly as cold as in other parts of Canada, but cold enough for the tree fruit farmers to have some nervousness about their trees,” says Laurel Van Dam, vice president, grower relations & corporate affairs for BC Tree Fruits Cooperative.
Van Dam says its agrologists will be out in the fields conducting bud damage assessment over the next couple of weeks. ”We won’t know the extent of any damage until those assessments are completed,” says Van Dam. “Apples and pears are generally hardier trees than stone fruits like cherries, peaches and nectarines. However, many variables can come into play including minimum temperatures, duration of those minimums, soil type, health of the trees going into the winter, etc. We are thankful for the warmer temperatures coming this weekend but will have to wait and see what effect the cold snap may have had.”
Van Dam says apples and pears are generally hardier trees than stone fruits like cherries, peaches and nectarines.
Higher heat expenses
Oppy’s executive director of operations and logistics Stewart Lapage says it has not seen any adverse effects from the weather on its crops given it is currently growing under lights at this time in the region. “Though we have seen a slight increase in heat costs due to low temperatures,” says Lapage.
However, on the logistics side of its business, Lapage says it’s heightened its preparedness for mitigating the impact on both transportation and crops. “Proactive planning is of utmost importance to our team,” says Lapage. “Despite the challenges posed by the recent weather, our team is working diligently to minimize the impacts through careful planning.”
Those plans include measures to safeguard its shipments such as modifying warehouse hours, ensuring prompt offloading, center-loading shipments to protect against external temperature variations and adjusting shipment temperatures to avoid prolonged exposure. “We’ve also held trailers closer to warmer regions as long as possible to minimize these risks,” adds Lapage.
For more information:
BC Tree Fruits Cooperative
http://www.bctreefruits.com/
Oppy
www.oppy.com