Extreme weather throughout the year will cause a shortage of stone fruit in BC:
We are sad to report that after speaking to many of our local Okanagan stone fruit suppliers, there will be a shortage of peaches, apricots, and plums this year. Our favourite farms we know and love for producing giant, juicy BC peaches have lost about 90% of their crops due to the abnormal temperatures we had this winter.
The warm start to winter meant the fruit trees never went completely dormant; buds were still active in January. Then the cold temperatures of -27 C in the interior killed any active buds that had only just begun to recover from the heat dome in 2021 and the harsh winter that destroyed buds in 2022.
Stone fruit that is able to be harvested will be very expensive due to limited supply. Instead of the local peaches you are used to, you’ll see stone fruit sourced from Ontario or Washington.
What is already a tough market for local farmers has become even more difficult. When competing with weather and big commercial farms, most local farmers already have to have a second job to support their farm on a good year. Weather events like this can be devastating to smaller farms that rely on good weather for income.
The good news is, the trees were not damaged so we are hoping to have a bountiful crop of BC cherries and peaches next year!
If you are looking to learn more about the situation and its effect on farmers:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-farm-stone-fruit-loss-okanagan-1.7141488
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