If we ever needed
reminding about the risks of farming in Ontario, this summer has provided
it. While strawberries were gorgeous and
the grape farmers are licking their lips over this year’s fall harvest,
Niagara’s tender fruit farmers took a licking.
And it was so promising early on with hot weather in March providing the
potential for an early and beautiful crop.
But, while farmers are often seen as pessimists, in this case, those who
professed their fear that the early budding would lead to disaster had their
fears confirmed. April frost destroyed
the sour cherry crop in one or two nights.
The
July harvest saw farmers in our region harvesting crops of 10 to 20 per cent of
normal volumes… those who harvested the crop at all. For some, it was more expensive to harvest
the few cherries on the trees than to just let them fall.
This
is the second year in a row that the cherry farmers have been smacked by Mother
Nature. Last year, a good looking crop
was devastated by two weeks of cold, rainy weather just as pollination was
beginning. The bees, who do much of the
pollination, never left their hives, and the wet weather put a damper on the
natural wind pollination.
The
only bright spot for farmers is that these last two years have proven the
effectiveness of some recent farm technology.
While wind machines have been around since the 1920’s in California,
they have made inroads into the Niagara area only relatively recently, and
grape growers were the first to experiment with their benefits. Now, they are springing up in tender fruit
orchards at an increasing rate. The
theory is that a properly tuned wind machine can drive warm air down onto the
fruit trees or grape vines, keeping them warm enough to prevent frost damage to
the developing fruit. The air at 20
meters can be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the air at crop level. The machines are also used on frigidly cold
nights to prevent damage to the trees and vines themselves.
Installing a wind machine at between 30 and 50
thousand dollars a pop (plus $30 to $40 an hour to run) is a gamble. But, one machine can protect up to 15 acres
of crop (more for low-lying fruit like grapes), depending on the terrain and
local conditions. This year, where wind
machines were installed, growers harvested an almost full crop of cherries, and
with prices very high thanks to the small crop, the machines virtually paid for
themselves in one harvest.
Yes, it’s true that wind
machines are noisy creatures. They sound
something like a helicopter hovering over the orchard. (In fact, helicopters have been used to blow
warm air down on at-risk crops in many areas, including Niagara.) But for the few nights per year when they are
employed, it’s almost comforting to hear them, knowing that they are protecting
a precious crop and keeping our farmers in business and our delicious tender
fruit available. Give me a cherry
orchard, even with the wind machines, over a sub division any day!
