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W&A Farms owner Bill Zylmans is bullish on Richmond strawberries, but worries about the longterm survival of the crop locally. He implores people to shop locally.
Photo by Chung Chow
Strawberry fields, forever?
The surprising rays of sunshine did Richmond
strawberry growers a favour on the weekend. But it’s longterm results that
preoccupy the minds of local farmers.
“In all fairness, until a couple of days ago
(when the weather turned sour) this strawberry season was looking fantastic,”
says longtime farmer Bill Zylmans. “We had lots of berries and the yields were
there. But inconsistency in the weather hampers sales.”
As an industry, says Zylmans, who operates
WA Farms, there is concern about the longterm viability of growing local
strawberries.
“For whatever reason we aren’t drawing
excitement to purchase. Is it because berries from other countries are
available year-round? Or the price of gas is causing people not to venture out
to local farms?”
Gurpal Birak, who owns Birak’s, says it’s “very
hard” to stay optimistic.
“It’s disappointing,” Birak says. “We don’t
get the support. Something has to be done, like a subsidy, to help the farmer.”
Birak says local strawberries, without the use
of chemicals, are the sweetest in the world. But he says without more local
customers buying homegrown fruits and vegetables, the price has to go up.
Inevitably, he adds, that also leads to fewer growers because they don’t see
farming as a profitable business.
Zylmans recognizes that times change. But he
says it’s getting harder, and more frustrating, to be a produce farmer.
“Historically the industry had three
processing plants in the (Fraser) Valley,” he says. “When we used to have a
surplus of berries they went to the cannery, and it was reflected in the price.
Today there is no longer a relief valve in the form of a processing plant. The
industry has dropped to a point where we’ve all learned you can only grow what
you can sell direct to market. I used to grow 50 acres, now I grow 12 to 13.
But because costs are getting bigger and higher all the time, it’s getting to
be a costly venture. If you lose a crucial weekend in the season it turns into
huge dollars losses. A bad rainstorm at a crucial time can wipe me out. There’s
no getting around it.”
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