News
Canadian Cherry Producers Inc. is currently moving forward in these project areas:
Top Projects
- Production
Contracts (April 2009)
A draft of suggested outlines for items between buyer and seller is being reviewed by the Directors. When reviewed they will be released to the members. These are intended to provide guidelines to help avoid misunderstanding to deals struck. Price, quantity, quality, delivery dates form only part of the outlines. This initiative arose out of disputes that were verbal.
To make them easy to fill out forms will be available on-line that can be completed on your screen then printed for you and your buyer.
- Primary Processing Plants
(updated April 2009)
CCPI received funding through Agricultural Council of Sask (ACS) - ACAAFS - and Long Lake REDA - Regional Enhancement Fund, SK Ministry of Enterprise & Innovation to contract a firm to develop a design plan. CCPI steering committee was assisted by Ministry of Ag's Provincial Fruit Specialist, Agri-Business Specialist, U of S Plant Sciences & Engineering BioResources, and Long Lake REDA.
The final report will be completed by May 20th and how the report will be distributed will be decided shortly. We want to ensure our CCPI members and partners (provincial REDA's) have early access.
Aside from the plant design we will also have a five year plan (financial and volumes) for the plant. Included in the report are assumptions that have been made in the report and areas identified that need further research.
One of the major constraints CCPI faces is not having accurate information on the location of cherries plants. This is an area that you can help us with...by contacting Cora Greer who has been conducting surveys...by ensuring you and anyone else growing cherries in your region is included in her survey.
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These small plants could be duplicated across the prairies providing jobs and industry in the rural economy. They would cool, sort, pit, and freeze producer product for further processing and shipping. They could be producer owned or group or business owned and managed. At the same time this idea is being investigated we are also accepting invitations from other types of fruit organizations to look at common centralized processing.
If we are to see the growth from a pilot plant to an industry supported by a strong infrastructure we, as growers, must spearhead this movement. But also we need to gain the support of other potential partners in developing economic "clusters" of regional development. This cluster development has been likened to a DNA helix with many strands holding the whole together. These support strands will include the many partners processers, adjacent industries (such as nutraceuticals and functional foods), media, and governments (municipal, provincial, and federal). If any one of these partner strands becomes a constraint then the whole industry will be weakened along with the grower's farms.
Where will the primary processing plants appear? Where all the strands come together. That may not be restricted by municipality or province.In the processing area CCPI has incubated Prairie Fruit Processing Ltd (PFP). This is a company that’s primary goal is to pit and package cherries for growers. PFP is at work with the Food Centre in Saskatoon to provide facilities for the 2009 harvest that is in a federally inspected food safe environment. Cherry growers, both CCPI members and non-members, are making PFP a reality. PFP is a separate company providing a vital service to the development of the cherry industry on the prairies. Estimates of several hundreds of thousands of pounds will be harvested in 2009. With presently planted cherries that should explode to 2 to 3 million pounds in 2010. Individuals interested in this company are encouraged to contact its President Mel Annand at (306) 752 2707 or email him at mannand@sasktel.net or Jocelyn Zurevinsky, secretary, at (306) 477 1831. The lessons learned at the Food Centre could eventually see facilities owned by growers across the prairies that are efficient businesses and a benefit to all producers.
- Branding
U of S developed sour cherries that are superior to any other cherry being grown and offered to consumers in North America. CCPI is actively identifying a common brand name that might be used for all fruit products grown on the prairies. The synergies of utilizing a common name in marketing all fruits would be ideal but CCPI is not waiting for all groups to sit down around a table. CCPI will move forward with this branding concept for U of S cherries. We know that what we produce is superior. - Marketing Study
CCPI is commissioning a Phase 3 of the MNP Marketing Study to look at the specifics of:- a marketing strategy
- actual marketing plans.
- Branding & Marketing Update
(May 2008)
CCPI has initiated Phase 1 of a Value Chain Development that is scheduled to be complete by the end of this year. At that time it will be determined whether to move onto Phase 2. Our funding partner in this is the SK Ministry of Agriculture.
Five core objectives are:
1. establishment of a value chain that incorporates growers to consumers.
2. enhance CCPI internal and external communications including a production manual for growers.
3. determine cherry planting locations.
4. promotional brochure creation.
5. identify SK sour cherry grading standards and survey food service industry.
Prairie Jewel is a pending CCPI trademark to include all U of S varieties that are grown and processed to high quality standards. Prairie Jewel will be licensed for use to those meeting the standards
Research (May 2008)
CCPI has become very concerned with the lack of long term (ten year or more) funding for fruit research plan at the U of S. None of us would be planting if it was not for the work conducted at the University. The U of S is the sole remaining North American institution with funded research on new fruits hardy to our plant zone 2.
One of the great marketing traits is that cherries can be grown without a lot of chemical intervention in our pristine environment. But that also means that agri-business does not make a lot of money from selling us products. Therefore they are not investing money in fruit research at the University community. This is quite different from what is going on in pulses, oilseeds, and cereal research. The evolution of research dependency on agri-business support and government funding programs with short term design results may be detrimental to fruit research.
Other areas of research need to find sources of long term planning that go beyond new variety development. Agronomic issues and health benefits are two such areas.
We need to find innovative ways that we can help sustain a long term program in fruit research. - Production (May
2008)
Working with the Provincial Fruit Specialist at the SK Ministry of Agriculture and the Irrigation specialists at Outlook private growers and private industry have created a couple of agronomic demonstrations trials.
The "Peters Pruning Principle" (PPP) is being evaluated in one such trial. That is also including the "Jazeem Coverup" (JC) that will consider the "Forrest Delay" (FD). PPP looks at pruning the new plantings to the ground after the first dormant season to stimulate a multi-stem plant without a delay in production. JC considers the advantages of covering the PPP plants with soil to reduce the light stimulus and thus branching at the surface. While FD trials will look at whether allowing the wound to heal for a couple weeks before covering will help to avoid the introduction of soil pathogens to the pruned plants' wound.
Results from this effort will not be clear for a couple of years. And the hope is that we can see significant differences that may require actual scientific study that will benefit growers.
The same partners are looking at the effect of different mulches of cherry plants. Included would be no mulch, plastic, wood chips, and two depths of flax shives. Again the results may take several years.
One concern has been raised by an astute apple grower is the changes in soil temperatures under mulch. There has been observed a delay in spring warming with some mulches which can delay breaking out of dormancy in the spring. This has a potential advantage in that blooming may be delayed past the last frost. Summer extremes may be avoided. But fall decline in soil temperature may delay the plants from going into dormancy by retaining the summer's heat. Thus some plants may be more susceptible to winter kill. Mulching obviously has the advantage of retaining moisture in the root zone.
If significant differences are not found then growers will likely adopt the least expensive route. But until these agronomic issues are evaluated growers are cautioned about widespread adoption of any of the techniques. Although as growers know only to well, not doing something is also a farm practise.