Unseasonably mild weather has advanced the cherry blossom by about three weeks, raising some concerns among Kelowna growers about the damage that could be done by a sudden frost.
Temperatures at the airport sank to -5 C, and could dip below freezing again this weekend.
“We’ve got some reports already of frost damage in a few areas,” Sukhpaul Bal, a Rutland grower and president of the BC Cherry Association, said Thursday.
“Because of the nice weather we’ve been having, things are moving along about three weeks quicker than usual in the orchards,” Bal said. “What we’d be concerned about now is temperatures snapping back down below zero and the damage that could do.”
Ninety-five per cent of all Canadian cherries are grown in the Okanagan, with about 1,416 hectares currently under cultivation.
Blossom time is typically when growers are encouraged to buy hail insurance, with the government boasting the subsidized premiums available in B.C. are the cheapest in Canada.
“Hail insurance offered jointly by B.C. and Canada is a cost-effective way for farmers to ensure that weather risks such as hail can be managed and farm businesses can be sustained,” reads part of a press release distributed Thursday by the Ministry of Agriculture.
To provide 80 per cent coverage for an apple crop with a potential estimated value of $100,000 a grower would pay $7,200 in premiums, with the two levels of government between them providing a matching amount.
Even considering the subsidy, measuring the cost of the premium versus the value of the policy, hail coverage for farmers is much more expensive than, say, the charge for a typical homeowner’s insurance policy.
But most growers simply regard such coverage as a necessity, says Fred Steele, president of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association.
“If you want to sleep at night, you buy hail insurance,” he said.
Serious hail damage can occur as early as late April or early May. Last year, hail-related payments for Okanagan fruit growers totalled about $9 million.
Source - http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/
