What is there to do in Regina in November

Hi Damngrumpy: The Rider store is right outside Mosaic Stadium. I was there this summer and as a Rider fan it was like landing in Rider gear heaven. Do go, you won't be disappointed. Also check out riderville.com as they post the Rider practice schedules and games days.
If you are interested in doing some touristing the Plains Museum and the RCMP Museum are both worth a visit.

Don't forget to drink some Pilsner!

All the suggestions are good ones i will be sure to pass those on. And I will be going
to Rider Heaven.

Here is a question for you, If you were going to ask any question about the
Tree Fruit Industry in British Columbia, or you wanted to know something
specific what would it be, It would give me an idea of what kind of questions
I can expect when we are in Regina.

For me (even though I'm not in Regina), it would be 'what eating apple varieties have proven themselves hearty enough to grow well in my climate?'

Pil. Oooo yuck. Bohemian is the true hardcore SK beer. 3 gold medals for brewing excellence.

Who is protecting the orchards from developers? I grew up in Winfield in the early 70's-80's and it's nothing like it once was in the OK today.

Here are some questions I might ask DG.

How has free trade helped or hindered your industry?
Do you feel that the price you get for your product is fair? If not, why not?
What could be done to increase the price you get for your products?
How far do you ship your products?
Do you just sell fruit or do you also produce and sell other items such as juice?
Is your produce completely organic - grown without the use of pesticides, etc?
How long does it take for a shipment of apples, for instance, to get from the orchard to the market in Regina?

Bring extra gas as the return trip is all and i mean all uphill.

Hope you enjoy yourself as i am sure you will.

Some answers and I'll do them individually as concise as I can, some require some
serious explanation. First Karrie, the first thing you look for in developing an apple
tree in colder climate is the rootstock it is attached to. If you are in Saskatchewan,
probably a Russian rootstock. that is what they call it. A newer variety you might
look at seriously, is Honeycrisp. This variety originated in Minnesota, and it grows
well in Ontario and Nova Scotia We also produce it in BC but in my view it is not
suited to warmer climates. I have personally eaten them from other regions of Canada
and I think we should only grow them in small amounts. The Prairie might work.
For those who don't know, Saskatchewan has a fledgling tree fruit industry and there is
a grower in Davidson who you might like to talk to his name is Charles Moore, he has an
orchard planted just outside of Davidson, between Regina and Saskatoon.
The University in Saskatoon has a tree fruit experimental program.
It should also be noted the BC Fruit Growers Association is willing to help this industry
grow as well. If you are also serious about planting something, PICO you can find their
Website, is at the Summerland Experimental Station in the Okanagan. PICO not only
develops apple varieties, we also produce 80% of all new cherry varieties world wide.

Many may not know but in BC we have what is called the Agricultural Land Reserve.
The problem is the system saved farmland but not he farmer. Many properties are
seeing trees removed and hay grown, and that is because of other problems in the
agricultural industry. Government lack of investment in programs, and free trade
have caused no end of problems at the moment. BC is the Province that spends
the least in agricultural investment programs. The one thing BC has done right is the
is the school snack program. All across the province schools are opting into the
program. Students are given snacks during school time. Teachers and school staff
also receive the snack. The education system, informs students as to where the
food was grown, how it was grown, the food value and some of the ways the food
can be prepared as a snack or in a lunch.
The rules about farm land are being tightened and diversity of crops are making some
changes in the farm industry. There are some other things coming that I think will in
the future will put much of the land back into production.
Petros where in Winfield did you grow up? I grew up in Winfield and Oyama, attended
both Winfield Elementary and George Elliot High School but I left earlier in the sixties.
Left the valley, came back, left the valley, came back. You know the routine, there is
something about the Okanagan that draws one back.

I have several other questions to answer tomorrow and I will get to them

Mowich, you raise some really interesting questions I will try to be brief. There are a lot
of problems for the industry, but I tend to look at it from the point of view there are a lot of
solutions to be found. First Free Trade has been a disaster for Agriculture in general.
Imported food is not subject to the same food safety regulations as food grown in Canada.
We face a lot of additional costs to pay for food safety programs, and that is fine I just think
all product should face the same regulations and pay the same costs and keep the same
records. Also the prices have been driven down,there is another reason that I will address
later as it is connected to a much bigger problem.

No in the last couple of years we have not even received the cost of production.. The big
reason is lack of competition in the marketplace. There used to be about one to two
dozen wholesale and commodity buyers that has now been reduced to about six in the whole
market place. I am talking major buyers who tend to set the price. Governments allow all
competition for institutional buying. Hospitals, schools, and so on. In America and most other
countries institutions must buy products from their own national farmers but outsiders are in
fact allowed to bid on ours. And the outside product is not subject to many of the same rules.
I do not want government to pay farmers for everything they can grow, it would be a disaster.
I think there are many programs, where government can invest in infrastructure, and the
research and development of industry practices. I believe the tree fruit industry needs a marketing
system, not like the dairy industry but some protection is needed. For example, I think farmers
should get their income from the marketplace, by growing quality product. If we are going to
allow competition for institutional and other components, of society there needs to be some areas
reserved for Canadian farmers. Allow Canadian Fruit Growers 50% of the Canadian market and
the rest would be open to competition. We would have a secure food source and farm land mass
in case we face food shortages, and at the same time food prices would stabilize and the farmer
would make a descent living. It would also ensure that Canadians owned the land on which their
food is grown. Recently in some countries, China, India and other countries are buying farmland
and it times of shortage they will be able to ship food to the home country, to me it amounts to a new
form of colonization.at our expense..
Mowich, I have addressed two of your questions here. You have asked seven questions in all. So
as not to have this get way to long I will answer a couple more later today. Good questions though
and they add to a great food debate going on in this country at almost every level. It might help to
engage more people when the issues are known by consumers.

I'm not sure of the cultivar but there is an apple tree at UofS that was been there and bearing fruit for 80+ years.

I am not sure either, but there have been orchards in Saskatchewan before. They are now
taking up the tree fruit industry as part of diversification. There are about twenty orchards
the last time I heard. This past spring I sent picking bags to some of the small farmers in
and around Davidson. These are smaller operations but I think they will grow in time with
new rootstock and the right varieties.

They must be on SaskWater pivots.


Apparently there even vinyards popping up in areas where you can get access to the pivot systems.

Actually I understand there are areas where they grow that the water table is suitable
and there doesn't seem to be a water problem. here without water we are done it is
a desert almost.

When CPR surveyors came through SK they purposely didn't classify areas of SK as desert because they didn't want to harm the homestead program which they made money hand over fist with.

You mention the Davidson area, dry as a popcorn fart but with recent SaskWater pivot programs they are growing corn,potatos and plethora of other crops including fruit.

You might want to take a side trip to the PFRA test farms in Indian Head.

Petros this is good to know, thank you. Some of the other questions asked,
Where do we ship, Our primary market is Western Canada, then all those
Canadians in California, after that there is the rest of the world and that varies
from year to year. Asian Markets have piled up restrictions and excuses to keep
our product out while they ship their product in. Europe more and more has the
Euro Gap and Common Market issues. and South America is not much of a
market either. We do some business in Mexico as well.

We used to have the Sunrype Juice industry and we still sell some product to the
plant however we concentrate on the fresh market for the most. We are currently
exploring the value added market and programs that we can access for research
and development.

Our organization has both organic and conventional growers however the conventional
grower are the majority.
We get the crop from the field to the packinghouse within 24 hours. and the new and
modern storage methods can actually put the apple to sleep for an indefinite period to
maximize freshness. Oxygen is removed from the storage area and refrigeration
keeps the apple fresh until the doors open and the fruit is packed and shipped. We are
able to store and ship fresh high quality fruit from the fall right into the following summer.

The BC Fruit Growers and their industry are among the world leaders when it comes to
growing storing and developing new varieties as well as traditional favourites.

Two points which you brought up that concern me, DG.

1) The fact that regulations guard Canadians against food produced here but the same thing does not apply to food produced elsewhere. What a stupid reg, really, it negates the safety net unless one buys only Canadian products and that is simply not always possible nor at times, cost effective.
2) Farmland being bought up by other companies. This is very troubling news to me. Will do some research on it.

Thank you for answering my questions, DG. I now have a much better understanding of the challenges and rewards facing BC Fruit Growers. Good luck in Regina and let me know what you think of "Rider gear heaven".

What about the use of ethylene to speed up ripening?

Petros in BC we eliminated that practice at least five years ago. If you use it you can't
ship to the coop which is the biggest outlet for food distribution. It causes the fruit to
ripen early but it allows the fruit to break down in storage, thus it is more of a problem
than a solution. No one here uses it any more. If anything retain is sometimes used to
slow the process down, but it is used on a limited basis, and only as a management
tool. To use retain to slow fruit growth down for 10 days, it costs about 630 dollars per
acre. Beyond my budget. If you produce 2000 bins or more it becomes a good tool
to manage harvest. You also have to apply it something like 6 weeks before harvest.

One of the countries buying up farmland is China and they have made purchases in
countries like Brazil in South America. There is also talk of companies being set up
elsewhere. These are investments in corporate farming, It is a future concern for this
country too. We as citizens must always be mindful of what the future holds for food
and water resourses.

I have been watching local weather tonight and one of the comparisons they made
is between here and Regina. Snowing like hell there tonight apparently, and it could
be like a Christmas scene by the time I get there. The commercials are done and
on there way to the Big Dog in Regina. If you are in Regina the voice on the spots
will be mine. they start on Monday and run for the next two weeks. We have the
promotion material made and ready to go. We are really pumped going into this
event. BC Growers won a lot of awards at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto in the
last week.
Commercial Varieties Gala 1st place in Canada
Spartan Apples 1st place
New Varieties Ambrosia 1st 2ND and 3rd
Nicola new variety 1st and 2ND
new variety Pink Lady 3rd


We also won in some other categories or placed in the top three. The main
varieties we are taking to Regina Ambrosia, and Spartan so we can say they are
Canada's best.
Thanks to all those who contributed to this conversation I found found some things to
do and I know where the Riders store is and like a pilgrim I will pick some things up
there.