Unusual harvest underway in Fraser Valley during heat wave

Fraser Valley farmers are scrambling to harvest weeks' worth of vegetables in days in the wake of a record-breaking heat wave, drought conditions, and an unusual year that's seeing some fruit abandoned.

British Columbia consumers will notice piles of tomatoes alongside winter squash that usually wouldn't be ready until September, with some prices lower due to a glut of vegetables that swiftly ripened as temperatures rose above 30 C.

"Everyone has market-ready product available for sale in a shorter window," said Chris Bodnar, co-founder of Glen Valley Organic Farm.

His staff were rushing to pick and pack up as much produce as possible for distribution since they don't have processing capacity for so many ripe vegetables. While they'd normally have 300 pounds of tomatoes on hand now they have 1,000.

"It puts a lot of pressure on staff – longer days and hotter weather to try to get everything off of the field and not enough hands to do that work a lot of the time," said Bodnar, who added that while there are fewer weeds in the heat, pests are multiplying much faster and his farm's soil is becoming damaged due to the lack of water.

Further east, Fraser Berry Farms was uncharacteristically quiet. After picking the first round of ripe berries from acres of his Duke varietal, the current batch of fruit on his trees was shriveled or much smaller than usual.

"It’s not worth picking it because they’re so tiny, it’s going to cost more to pick it," said fourth-generation blueberry farmer, Jason Smith, explaining that while the drought wasn't helping, a heat wave in May stunted the crop during the flowering phase.

"Mother Nature has not been my friend since about 2019," said Smith. "Things are certainly changing and we need to evolve and change some practices"

CLIMATE CHANGE NOT THE ONLY ISSUE

The BC Agriculture Council has been lobbying the province to establish new policies and infrastructure to store rainwater and ensure farmers and ranchers have more reliable access as climate change drives more unpredictable weather patterns. But the council also points out other factors have been putting a major squeeze on their members this past year. 

"Certainly there's the drought, but port strikes, high inflation, interest rates, overall costs of production are just way up than they were in previous years," said executive director, Danielle Synotte. "Add disruptions to global supply chains due to the war in Ukraine, these are just a few examples."

Some 90 per cent of the province's farms are family-owned and operated, and while she praised the supports the province has in place for farmers impacted by weather events, Synotte urged more proactive measures to better support those doing the difficult and unpredictable work of farming.

FARMING IS GETTING EVEN HARDER

When CTV News asked Bodnar whether climate-change-driven heat waves and droughts were threatening the sustainability of the industry, he described the extreme and erratic weather as accelerating longer-term trends.

"A lot of people have exited the sector over time and it puts a lot of pressure on the people remaining to innovate, to try to find ways to make it viable on an ongoing basis," he said. "I can see a lot of stress that is building in colleagues and for us on the farm."

Smith agreed, pointing out that it's become impossible to plan for expected harvests, investments in equipment and personnel, and other factors since yields and circumstances alike have become unpredictable.

"A lot of growers are retooling the varieties that they grow to produce more resilient fruit," he said. "But you can only lose money for so long."