Lengthy road to recovery lies ahead for Sumas Prairie blueberry farmers
For blueberry farmers in Abbotsford’s Sumas Prairie, decades of hard work were washed away with one fatal blow from Mother Nature.
"They spent their lives working on it; they lost their houses, and now their livelihoods,” said Jason Smith, chair of the B.C. Blueberry Council. Smith is also the owner and operator of Fraser Berry Farms in Abbotsford.
Smith says his Matsqui property, north of Sumas Prairie, avoided major damage during the atmospheric river that pounded down on the Fraser Valley in mid-November. However, he says he won’t walk away unscathed.
“I had about three feet of water in the fields for about five days,” Smith said. “I’m concerned with all the extra things I’m going to have to do because of how long the roots were under water.”
Smith says a pricey rebuild lies ahead, but it’s nothing compared to his fellow growers down the road in Sumas Prairie.
“Some guys still have five, six feet of water in their fields,” he said.
Smith says the blueberry industry as a whole in B.C. won’t suffer much, as the region only accounts for a small percentage of overall production, but for those affected, a full rebuild is far from a sure thing.
“I can’t see how those plants will ever recover fully,” he said. "If we’re talking long-term, it’s two years to get plants, you're looking at another eight-plus years to hit maturity to get back to where they were."
“Are you going to risk five years trying to recover those plants to get them back to half of what they were?”
Smith estimates the areas that were significantly impacted by the floods account for between five and nine per cent of the industry in B.C.
“The majority of the industry is ok,” he said. “That being said, there’s a lot of growers that have been seriously impacted, and they can’t be forgotten, because none of this is their fault.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.