Infrastructure

[cowman]

In the area I live in there is a move to grow a lot of berries. Chokecherries, saskatoons, black currents. However, there doesn't seem to be a long range outlook on where they are going. Right now the individual producers seem to be able to market their products privately but it is pretty apparent soon there will be a glut on the market. More trees are being planted every year...why I'm even planting some next year!
Would it be a good idea for the government to partner with the producers to build a processing plant? Help them market the products to the rest of the world? I believe this is one area that has a lot of potential for future growth. Would it not make sense for our municipality and provincial government to promote this? And by "promote" I mean help provide the infrastructure to move this to the next level?

[cakadu]

Cowman, that isn't a bad idea and you're quite right - the berries seem to be taking off. I'm not sure how long it takes from planting to actually getting product that you are able to do something with. Seems to me that I've heard that it can take 4 to 7 years for saskatoons to be well established, but that is just what I've heard.

Before we get too carried away with processing plants, which are important and a necessary step, we need to find out where these berries can go i.e. know your customer and understand the market.

For example, I'm told the Japanese don't like anything with seeds in it, so you've got to find a way to keep those out of whatever it is you are prepared to make.

One of the challenges that I see and I believe is a real concern in the berry industry is what to do with all those various berries that are coming on stream now. They don't have enough markets as it is and not everyone can make jam, jelly and syrup - although some of them are mighty good.

One group was making some headway and had cleared a lot of hurdles, only to have their bottler go out of business. Now the only juice processor is located in BC. I'm not aware of any others having started up.

I don't believe in failure only something to be learned from what didn't work this time. There are always things that work, yet we tend to focus on what didn't work. How can things be turned around so that it becomes a success?

What are some of the greatest challenges in the berry industry right now?

Interesting proposition - how do we make it a success?

[gmj]

Cowman, make sure you know where your market is. We got into u-pick strawberries in 1990 and our business is striving and growing, but only because we areat a favorable location(ie. location, location, location)and we have a very diverse ethnic customer base who love to pick and preserve on their own instead of trying to buy the jam in the store.
We do pre-pick berries as well and we charge double the price of u-pick and yet we make easier money on the u-pick side because you don't have to look after a picking crew.
We are always looking into diversifying our markets (jam, freezing or other processing) but then you are dealing with a whole new set of problems (food preperation, gov. inspected kitchen, competing directly with big companies that get their strawberries for a third of the price we are charging) and other costs.

I dond't know how much longer this market is going to work as well as it does in our area?
I was talking to a farmer from the Ottawa area last year and he told me he had at one time 20 ac of u-pick strawberries and now he has none, he said his customer base was changing (actually it was dying). The young people weren't interested in spending a lot of time harvesting berries and then more time to turn them into jam at home. He turned his farm into growing an experience for urban people. Check out his web-site at www.saundersfarm.com you will be amazed at what he has done with his farm.
Enough ranting already hope this was informative?

[cowman]

Linda: I agree you've got to have a market. But you've also got to have a processer to move it from a cottage industry. It's sort of like the chicken and egg thing...which one comes first. We seem to be able to afford to have marketers for a lot of our ag products that are directly supported by our various governments so why not add our various berry type products? I believe the black currant guys are in the process of"considering" building a plant. The guy I talked to said they still need more production to make it go. But no one wants to get in it because there is no plant to process their product!
As beef and grain become more and more failing industries we need some diversification. And to do that we need some help setting up the infrastructure for whole new industries. The municipality has shown they can be very helpful in being a facilitator for bringing people together to get an overall view of what it would take. They did this with the Bio mass idea.
The province could provide the seed money and some expertise in marketing and getting this started. All it takes is the political will to make it happen?

[cakadu]

I couldn't agree more - we need to get away from the commodities that we are growing because we cannot be the lowest cost producer in any of them - no matter how hard we try.

The big problem will be to keep these new industries from becoming "commoditized" just like those before them. There has to be a way to keep the value included with the product, otherwise, in no time at all you are right back where you started.

Yes, there needs to be some support for these new and emerging industries. To really make it go, in my mind, there has to be fresh ideas of how to make it work, along with the new industries. We cannot keep using the same old ideas of marketing, infrastructure and whatever else you can think of to work with new products and new markets.

What has gone on in the past hasn't worked for us too well, so we have to change our thinking and our ways of doing things. The attitudes have to change first, the skills can come after, but we need a major attitude shift, new leadership and new ideas.

[ValueChainFX]

As long as you don't ask the government to assist in the bricks and mortar, you may get them to assist in building plans, do studies and maybe some marketing, but not for free. In most cases the cost is 20 % at the least of producer money and niost times 50%. Any one of these basic reports can cost $100,000.00 easily!

[cowman]

Value chain: At the BioMass meeting held in Red Deer, government reps spelled out very clearly how 100% of the cost of building a BioMass plant would be put up by the government...with no collateral down! Now for sure they are pushing this idea big time and maybe they wouldn't be so keen on helping a "food processor". But if they can do it for one industry then they can do it for another...and by the way the ones paying the bill for the biomass deal are Alberta Ag and AFSC!
In other words if there is the political will there is a way. If they can get up the money to get rid of the hog manure surely they can come up with a plan to create a berry industry?
This could be a very lucrative agricultural industry. No one wants our beef, no one wants our hogs, no one wants our wheat, but they just might want our berries? Or maybe we need to convince the government this is an environmental thing or a green house gas thing? They seem to have all kinds of money for those types of projects?

[cowman]

Linda: I dug out an old book called "Will the Bounty End?" by Garry Fairburn. I think he was the editor of the Western Producer?
He talks about the vegetable and fruit industries in Canada and about the problems facing expansion. He argues that we need marketing agencies that would be able to assure a constant flow of produce to the retailers even in the winter by moving in and using products from the south. He goes on to state"Without government action to set up a marketing agency, the free enterprize forces could continue indefinitely, unable to decide whether to create the market or the supply first."
This book was written in 1984 and it would seem he had it right about the market/supply thing!
He also stated with 2.3% of the cropland in veggies and fruit it generated 21% of the crop cash receipts!
Maybe it makes sense to grow wheat or cows on land that is worth $100/acre but it does not make sense on land worth $2000/acre?
We need a higher value crop and vegetables/berries could be that crop? But we need the infrastructure to process and market that crop. And I don't think private enterprize is going to do it? Maybe this is one of those times we need the public sector involved?

[ValueChainFX]

Cowman I will check closer with our contacts at the AFSC as we deal on a direct basis with these folks. So far they are not as free as they would have you believe with this money! We still need a portion of the funds up front and still have to combine several Fed eral and provincial programs to secure any funding. Plus we have to have all the government approved, business plans, marketing plans etc etc etc. done! Will report back.

[cowman]

Value chain: I was talking about their largesse with the BioMass thing. This is something they are obviously pushing for a variety of reasons. Kyota and land use bylaws(industrial developement) are driving forces behind this. All the things you mention-business plans, feasability studies etc.- will be paid for through Alberta AG, on the Biomass deal!!!
If they can come up with a sweetheart deal for Biomass then I guess it is possible that they could do it for other industries? However, and this is the catch, the political will has to be there! I have always found the rule book gets tossed in the garbage can if the politicians percieve a "need" for something!
Environmental ideas right now are getting a priority from this government! I imagine anything having to do with water will soon find a lot of government money looking for a home? Too bad they couldn't understand that our cattle are one of the safest ways to protect our environment.