The new Ontario Berry Growers organization has its first elected board, and several critical issues to deal with already.
Tom Heeman, who grows berries with his family near London, Ont., was elected the first chair of the board at the organization’s first annual meeting recently. The organization was formed last year, with an interim appointed board, after enough support in a producer vote for the formation of the organization.
Why it matters: Berry growers have never been united in one organization with stable funding in Ontario. This gives them the ability to deal with provincial government and funding issues with one voice, and to have more clout nationally.
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Heeman says the discussion of the creation of one provincial group for berry growers started 10 years ago.
“We had a lot of consultation and we made sure we were doing it the right way. There’s been a lot of discussion, reflected by the strategic plan. We knew if we were going to do something different, we had to add value in the process,” he said.
The idea originated with the voluntary Ontario Berry Growers Association, and then the Highbush Blueberry Growers were also brought on board. The two organizations formed the foundation for the new Ontario Berry Growers.
The approval of the creation of a new organization with a checkoff by producers is challenging due to the high standard set by the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission, which regulates producer organizations in the province, for the approval of a new checkoff.
Other voluntary associations have failed to get the necessary support to create an organization with a producer checkoff.
Heeman says the main job of the organization in its first year is to make sure that the checkoff mechanisms work as they should, but they also are dealing with some major issues thrust upon berry growers. The Ontario Berry Growers will be funded by a per-acre checkoff.
“There are quite a few industry shakeups,” he said. “The minimum wage hits berry growers quite hard.”
The Ontario government minimum wage jumped from $11.60 to $14 per hour Jan. 1, and is due to jump again to $15 per hour Jan. 1, 2019.
Two main long-term priorities for the organization include:
- Research and how to move technological innovations into the hands of farmers.
- Promoting Ontario berries as a fresh, local alternative. Ontario berry growers have to compete with less-expensive American and Mexican berries, so local branding is important. The interim board of directors started work on a unified brand for Ontario berries, which Heeman says is due to be released soon.
The organization represents strawberry, blueberry and raspberry growers, as they are the largest berry crops grown in the province.
The nine-member board includes representatives for blueberries: Steve Kustermans, Dusty Zamecnik and Kerry Copestake and for raspberries: Tom Heeman, Morris Gervais and Brian Rijke. Strawberry representatives include Kevin Howe, Graham Shaw and Matt Tigchelaar. The board is set up so that one new member for each type of berry is elected or re-elected each year for a three-year term. The new board members have staggered terms at the beginning.
