For the past week, my daily drive to work has been met with a sad sight – multiple rows of peach trees, pulled up by the roots, their bright pink blossoms and green leaves steadily browning in the sun, wind and rain.
 I’m sure it’s a familiar sight in Niagara and other peach growing regions in Ontario. With the closure of CanGro’s processing plant in St. David’s, Ontario – scheduled for June 27, 2008 – the market for processing peach varieties is gone. Gone, too, is the market for processing pears. Both are victims of global outsourcing.
It seems bizarre in a time when Canadian consumers are clamouring for local food and produce, processors are shifting their focus toward cheap, offshore food sources. With energy prices what they are, it would make more sense to look closer to your end market for raw product while taking advantage of the “buy local” marketing phenomenon.
Of course, who said business made sense.
So, what’s a farmer to do? Pull the trees out and plant a fresh market variety or a different crop altogether. Try to take advantage of the Orchards and Vineyards Transition Program. Fight for whatever feeble compensation CanGro is providing its contracted growers. And start all over again.
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Written by Guest mike on 2009-01-26 22:25:18
Nice article, I recently visited Ontario and visited the Niagara region and to my amazement I found that the Edie Smith cannery was sold and dismantled, pushing all the fruit growers, such as the concord grape and other fine fruit growers in the region out of business and have no commercial processing market. That is a pure short sight of the Ontario and federal government leaders and they are to be blamed for it. It needs to be said and something done about it. |
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Written by Gues on 2009-01-05 10:51:06
I've been observing the happenings in the Niagara region for several years now. Although things don't seem rosy at present, I see a bright future ahead for the Niagara fruit industry. With Cangro gone, there will be no more reliance on large enterprise promises. Rather, the orchardist now has to make and adapt to a new market.
The demand for fresh fruit will not go away. I would bet on an increase rather than a decrease in demand. Marketing has to change for Niagara. No one outside of southern Ontario knows about Niagara fruits and vegetables except transients such as myself.
Branding the area should be a top priority. I was in the Niagara area for a wedding this past October. Niagara fruit growers are way behind in the development of high-density plantings in comparison to their cousins out west and in the Northeastern states. There needs to be a definite shift in how the land is used. The land prices are also speculative. Anyone with a sharp pencil and half a brain would not buy land for orchard development or renewal with land prices that high. There are great possibilities for fruit and vegetable growers in the Niagara area. But academics need to step up to the plate faster (Vineland research station) and the government has to bring in measures to ensure the industry is viable.
Any government that does not believe in a secure food supply (that means Canadian grown) does not deserve to be in office. Grain and animal carcasses are not the only food element that keeps a human being going. Fruits and vegetables are critical to good health. I see a good industry in about eight to 10 years.
For now, the great folks that are keeping things alive will have to be thankful they don't live in a city, spend 1.5 hours to get to and from work every day, listen to their kids complain that they are bored and have no money to do anything.
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