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By Kathy Michaels
Farming and Facebook seem like an uneasy mix but a Kelowna woman is finding that the social networking site could be just what’s needed to rally the spirits of a beleaguered industry and raise some awareness about its struggles.
Not too long ago Nadene Hillbom Casorso was cajoled by her husband to attend a B.C. Fruit Growers Association meeting, something she hadn’t done regularly since she was young.
Once there she realized the industry her family has been involved with for over 100 years was in rough shape, both financially and in mindset.
“The whole feel of the meeting was, ‘nobody cares, nobody is with us, they think farmers are flogging the same dead horse all the time’,” she said.
“But more than anything, what came out of it is that the public isn’t aware of what’s going on.”
What’s happening among local farmers has become a bit clearer in recent weeks, thanks to an initiative by the BC Fruit Growers Association.
As Fred Steele, BCFGA board member explained it on the eve of an attention-getting sale, the industry is at a crisis point. Between input costs, low market returns and a lack of supports, there are growers who are looking at bailing altogether, as would most business people who were making 12 cents a pound for what costs 22 cents to produce.
Already, orchards in South East Kelowna are sitting un-pruned, in a time they’ve usually long-since been dealt with, because the required labour is too costly. Others have just been cut down.
Should conditions continue to deteriorate, explained Steele, the overall economy and general health could be impacted.
“The treefruit industry brings $130 million of income in this valley … if that industry would completely collapse a number of sectors would be affected,” he said, adding the public doesn’t “know the precarious position of the entire food industry.”
Should it falter, the global supply would dwindle — similarly to the rice shortage of a couple years back — driving up costs and making eating healthy meals harder to come by. Meanwhile local, smaller acreages could top up supply if they make it that long. So, with those issues in mind, they’ve been asking for government support in the form of $10 million.
It’s a lot of information to wrap one’s head around, but Casorso thinks that people are willing and interested in doing so. It’s just a matter of reaching them so she created a facebook group titled, I support Okanagan Valley Tree Fruit Growers!
“People are more likely to read news online, and go onto facebook,” she said. “Young people go to a school and read the news on their computers and this is a great way to reach them.”
And reach people, she has. In a couple of months nearly 1,900 members join the page and they’re talking about everything from the way the land is managed to being wary of where a product is made.
Casorso keeps every member abreast of what she’s doing and sends out missives here and there to rally the troops and get people involved with the politics of food production, convincing them to write letters to the Minister of Agriculture and MLAs.
And, above all else, she’s found that there is support for local farmers once people understand what the issues are.
