FLOOD, FIRE, SMOKE, EXTREME HEAT AND COLD

By Gary Symons

The BC government will provide up to $15 million for a new program to help farmers adapt to climate change and extreme weather events.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food announced on Sunday, May 30, the creation of the Perennial Crop Renewal Program. Much of the funding will be directed to help farmers with a replanting program, replacing current vines and fruit trees with varietals that can better withstand extreme heat or cold.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Pam Alexis says the PCRP is designed to revitalize the hazelnut, grape, berry, and tree-fruit industries, all of which have suffered through climate-caused disasters such as flooding, heat waves, extreme cold events and wildfires.

“The Perennial Crop Renewal Program is about renewal and ensuring our farmers are profitable and have sustainable production in the long run,” Alexis said. “Our producers have faced recent challenges, such as ex- treme weather and disease, and by supporting them so they can plant more resilient, climate-friendly crops, we will improve their bottom line and strengthen both the food economy and food security in BC”

Also, for the first time, the provincial replanting programs will cover the wine grape sector in BC, which has seen its annual yields dropping for 10 straight years due to events like the 2022 cold snap, or the 2021 heat dome.

As Orchard and Vine first reported on March 22, a study by the Summerland Research and Development Centre found widespread crop damage from a December 2022 cold snap, which could result in up to a 50% decline in the grape yield for 2023.

As a result, the Winegrowers of BC asked to be included in the replant program, with CEO Miles Prodan saying the local industry will have to begin a wholesale replant from traditional European vinifera grapes, to hardier grapes that can withstand extremes of heat and cold.

Even before the most recent crisis, caused by the December cold snap, the wine sector was seeing steadily declining crop yields. According to the BC Vineyard Resiliency Report issued in July 2022, crop yields have declined in BC by roughly 33 per cent between 2018 and 2022, with the tonnage decreasing from 30,000 tons to 20,000 tons over that period.

Most winemakers and viticulturists said that decline is due to a combination of climate change in general causing extreme weather events, and also the ‘knock-on effects’ of damage from recent weather anomalies like the heat dome, the flooding in 2021, and a damaging cold snap in the Thompson-Okanagan.

“Generally, we’re seeing some of the worst crops over a nine-year period,” said Prodan. “We’re very concerned about how climate change is affecting our grapes.”

Ross Wise, chair of the BC Wine Grape Council, says the Perennial Crop Renewal Program is a good first step in helping fruit growers become more resilient to the onslaught of global warming.