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Farming is important

It appears that C. Martens has an issue with right to farm legislation or perhaps with migrant workers.
8746820_web1_M-apples

It appears that C. Martens has an issue with right to farm legislation or perhaps with migrant workers.

Martens claims that most of the apples grown in the area are sold to Asia and Japan.

I did my research. Ninety per cent of the apples grown in the Okanagan Valley are sold in Western Canada, with about 18 per cent being sold in the U.S.

We do not have a market in Japan but do export a small percentage of fruit to Vietnam and Thailand.

As for the claim that the city does not rely on the farmers (for economical reason, I presume as it was not clear in the letter), where does Martens think those farmers buy their groceries, supplies, household items, fuel and other necessities?

The same applies to those migrant workers. Where does Martens think they shop?

Furthermore, the reason those migrant workers are here is because farmers cannot find employees in Canada who want to work in the orchards. It’s hard, grueling work and we should be darned grateful for their labour.

On the issue of noisy sprayers, spraying occurs in the early morning or in the evening because that is when the air is the most still and minimizes spray drift. In the spring, it is at those times of the day when the trees are in bloom that the bees are not active. In addition, not all of the sprays applied are pesticides. Foliar nutrition (fertilizer) is applied more frequently than pesticides.

Orchards are in the Agricultural Land Reserve which has been in place since 1973. Perhaps the subdivision of which Martens speaks abuts the ALR but regardless, the farm land was there before the 10-year-old subdivision and the onus is on the purchaser of a home in the area to investigate what sort of activities go on in a farming area, whether it is orchard, husbandry or horticulture.

Martens should be reminded that farming is everybody’s bread and butter, and if the activities involved in growing the food we eat is irksome, perhaps an apartment in the city would be more suitable.

M. Fleming

Vernon