Growers see good potential in saskatoon berry production

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The berry's distinctive taste and health benefits, combined with a large potential marketplace, are attracting growers in Manitoba. And a handful in Ontario are following suit
 

by MARY BAXTER
 

Bob Hamlin and Stan Stadnyk stand knee deep in snow in a field behind the South Interlake Rockwood Agriculture Society building near Stonewall, Man.

Stadnyk, a bespectacled farm production adviser with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, points to the rows of young saskatoon bushes and lists 11 varieties. Shortly before driving over to the orchard, Hamlin, a former sheep and cattle producer who lives nearby, had explained the connection between the their model orchard and Eastern Plains Saskatoons Inc., the grassroots, farmer-focused, non-profit corporation of which he is vice president.

The orchard is the Eastern Plains' testing ground, a place to evaluate everything from the yield and quality of fruit produced by the different types of bushes to the best pesticide, irrigation and fertilizing practices. Eastern Plains was formed in 2006 to help foster large-scale saskatoon production and processing in Manitoba's eastern and Interlake regions.

The venture got its start about eight years ago when farmers and local municipalities explored ways to diversify from commodity crops, Hamlin says. The group studied different crops and figured that saskatoons had potential, even though it takes five years before they start to pay off.

Found in the wild mostly in Western Canada, the saskatoon is a shrub that belongs to the rose family and has been grown commercially on the Prairies since the 1970s. It's one of the first fruits of the season and in southern Ontario is usually ready for harvest in June. A study by a University of British Columbia professor published in the early 2000s concluded that the antioxidant activity of the saskatoon berry – a pome that resembles a blueberry and has a mixed flavour reminiscent of cherries, kiwi fruit, melons and almonds – was comparable to the blueberry.

Troy Isaac, CEO of Direct Grocer Inc., which markets saskatoons and related products, as well as other products from his family's Saskatchewan-based processing facility, Last Mountain Berry Farms, says demand is strong in the berry's main market of Western Canada and is growing slowly but steadily in Eastern Canada. In fact, a report prepared for the Manitoba Fruit Industry Development Program, notes that in 2006, processor demand for saskatoons in Alberta was estimated at more than one million pounds, but they were not able to source the entire amount.

The berry's distinctive taste and health benefits, combined with a large potential marketplace, are the attributes attracting growers in Manitoba. Craig Riddell, who puts much of his 3,000 acres near Warren to work growing grain and forage seeds, has planted six acres. He doesn't anticipate the orchard would ever be more than 15 to 20 acres and, compared to the farm's total acreage, this sounds insignificant. But he estimates it could eventually generate 10 to 15 per cent of the farm's revenue. "Let's say, it's a different game from grains and oilseeds, that's for sure."

As with any new crop, however, establishing it is complicated. One of the biggest challenges in the field is fungal leaf disease, says Hamlin, noting that growers are controlling it with fungicide. Reducing labour costs to maximize returns to growers is another hurdle. "We're trying to see prices of $2.50 per pound to the grower, but sometimes you're competing against other berries," says Hamlin.

The group is looking at mechanized harvesting. "Typically hand picking will cost or consume 50 per cent of (the value of ) your berries," Hamlin explains. Eastern Plains recently acquired five black currant harvesters from Lithuania, four of which they have sold. All but one was modified for the saskatoon crop.

They are considering adding a colour sorter to the harvester. Hamlin, a retired engineer, says having the sorter in the field would cost less than $20,000 and would ultimately reduce the size of the processing facility, which can cost between $400,000 and $1.5 million.

The group has sold fresh product packed in clamshells in Winnipeg for the past two years, but it's hard to do, he says. "Any fresh product needs lots of care," throughout the marketing chain to prevent spoilage, he explains. The rest is frozen.

For the moment, they are focusing on supplying smaller retailers and independents. "We just don't have the volume for larger retailers, not even close," Hamlin says. Industry insiders have advised them to avoid large retailers until they have their volume and quality in place "because you're competing against the high bush blueberry."

Saskatoons are found in some Ontario pick-your-own operations, many in the Ottawa area. "There isn't a large acreage by any stretch of the imagination," says Kevin Schooley, executive secretary of the Ontario Berry Growers Association. But there are a handful of growers here who are exploring larger production volumes.

For David and Jean Lentz, who have 3.5 acres of the berries on their property between Simcoe and Delhi in Norfolk County, birds have been the greatest challenge. One year, cedar waxwings wiped out the entire crop, so they erected permanent netting at a cost of $3,000 an acre. The solution has quashed the possibility of mechanical harvesting.

Frost is another danger, destroying most of their crop in 2010. "I ended up with 600 pounds of berries; I should have had 5,000 to 6,000 pounds," David Lentz says.

Birds have also been a problem for Marlene O'Brien, who farms with her parents, Fristz and Kaethi Beyerlein. The family grows five acres of saskatoons along with other berries on their 80-acre farm north of Bayfield in Huron County and has built an on-farm store and teahouse to market the berries and related products. They have some netting but haven't fenced yet, she says. "If we get further established and move a little bit more product, that will be our next step."

She says she initially had to replace about half of her plant stock because of a woolly elm aphid infestation. The insects can destroy a young saskatoon's roots. (Lentz encountered the same problem with his orchard and estimates he lost 10 per cent of his stock). Establishing the orchard's infrastructure – both O'Brien and Lentz use drip irrigation – is also a major investment, she adds.

This past spring, O'Brien worked with Direct Grocer to place fresh berries with Loblaw Companies Limited only to have the shipments rejected. She says she invested thousands of dollars into acquiring packaging and labels, organizing shipping and establishing a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) program. "We made sure product left here and everything was in good shape," she says. "It got there and was sitting out at the loading docks and it was our fault, basically. It's like once this product leaves my building, it becomes a shipping company's issue; once they drop it off at the warehouse, it becomes a warehouse issue and that's what we're fighting against."

O'Brien says the setback has meant maintaining smaller-scale production until awareness builds, and continuing to market locally. (The family sells at six local markets and is beginning to make juice).

In a Jan. 6 email, Direct Grocer's Troy Isaac notes that for "farmers wanting to get into the fresh saskatoon industry, introducing a new product into a relatively new market, plus supplying fruit to a national grocery store chain for the first time, will be a learning curve."

Challenges include meeting packing and sorting requirements, logistics, orchard maintenance and "premium, fresh, quality berries with the correct brix (sugar content) and colour."

John and Barbara Rowen also worked with Direct Grocer to supply Loblaw with fresh berries for the past two years but had their shipments rejected. The couple has 11 acres of saskatoons on their farm near Waterford in Norfolk County.

Nevertheless, John Rowan says he has sold about 60 per cent of last spring's harvest. The berries are sold to smaller markets, to local bakeries and restaurants and through a pick-your-own.

All three of the Ontario growers interviewed say raising awareness about the berry is the main marketing challenge and that means building a reputation by word-of-mouth – literally. Samples are key. "If you just leave them out on an aisle in a market place, people are going to look at them and say ‘I wonder what those are' and walk on by," says Lentz.

And while they've experienced setbacks, the Ontario producers' enthusiasm remains high. The Rowens say they have had few problems in establishing the crop and are able to grow them with few chemical inputs. "I think it's going to be enormous once it gets known," says Barbara Rowen. The local food movement "is gold" for anyone planning to get involved in small niche markets, Lentz notes.

"Two years ago, I sold 2,000 pounds to Ridley College down in St. Catharines." It was enough to supply two meals for students. "I'm picking for a week, I'm selling the chef half of my crop and it provides two meals for them and they don't have any problem at all coming up with the dollars to pay for that sort of thing."  BF

Saskatoons by the numbers

4,000-6,000 - Pounds per acre, depending on how far apart rows are spaced

5 - Years for a plant to reach mature production

$3.50-$4 - Retail price range per pound

10-16.5 feet - Standard distance for row spacing

40 years - Lifespan of a saskatoon bush