Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed| Jobs to China

Eric Frei · 12th May 2008, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Left with no market, growers destroy trees
Thousands of trees pulled in response to closure of processing plant

Monte Sonnenberg SIMCOE REFORMER
Thursday May 08, 2008

FORESTVILLE - Agriculture in Norfolk suffered another setback this week with the destruction of thousands of peach trees.

Growers in Forestville and Waterford have been busy in recent days uprooting orchards which were planted several years ago and had yet to reach full production.
They have done so in response to the recent closure of the Del-Monte canning factory in St. David’s.
The facility, which is owned by Sun Capital Corporation of Florida, was the only canning factory for peaches in southern Ontario. With the plant gone, local growers have nowhere to ship their production.
Sun Capital will continue to sell canned peaches in North American supermarkets under the Del-Monte label. Instead of canning peaches close to home, the company will buy them from China.

Ken Porteous of Simcoe, vice-president of the Tender Fruit Marketing Board, is destroying 9,000 peach trees on 45 acres south of Waterford.

Porteous thought he would have a long and profitable relationship with Kraft Foods when he contracted to produce peaches for them five years ago.

However, Kraft sold its interest in the Del-Monte brand to Sun Capital last fall. Soon after, the private capital fund announced the closure of four of five canning plants in southern Ontario that were part of the purchase. Porteous estimates this turn of events will cost him $230,000.

"We are running out of food supply for Canadians because farmers are getting out of the business," Porteous said yesterday. "We can’t compete with slave labour. They are talking about food shortages around the world, and we’re pulling our trees out of the ground."

Debbie and Tony Haegens of Forestville are going through the same ordeal. They have been busy this week pulling up 7,000 peach trees on their farm, all of them in bloom. Disbelieving neighbours have been asking all week what is going on.

The Haegens, Porteous and others are angry because the federal and provincial government allow processors to label their cans "Product of Canada" even when the food inside is from overseas.

Processors can do so as long as more than 50 per cent of the product’s value is based in Canada. In the case of canned fruit and vegetables, the tin and label are of sufficient value in most cases to qualify the entire package as "Product of Canada."

Ernie Racz of Vittoria, a local director of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, said the situation is unfair to farmers and misleading to consumers.

"This has to be brought out more," he said. "Where does our food come from? How can we compete with China? What is their spraying program? Do they pay Workers Compensation? Canadian Pension Plan? Employment Insurance? Health care? You have to have a safe work environment. You have to pay minimum wage. How do we compete with that? Face it - they don’t want farmers in this country. We are the last generation of farmers. No one else is taking up the profession."

Debbie Haegens also feels abandoned. She wonders why Ottawa gives foreign farmers an advantage in Canada with rules that promote misleading product information.
Haegens thinks it ironic that this is happening at a time when Canadians are increasingly concerned about food safety and the environmental impact of transporting basic products to markets half way around the world.

"We don’t understand the Canadian government," she said in a statement. "We are losing our fruit and vegetable markets left and right. Farmers can see in the near future that we won’t have our own local produce anymore. Are Canadians ready for that? Soon we will be saying - ‘Good things used to grow in Ontario.’"
Numerous farm groups have pressed Ottawa for truth-in-packaging requirements. Porteous said politicians and bureaucrats in Ottawa agree there is a problem. However, after several years of debate, no one can agree who should take the lead and draw up new legislation.
"It’s a case of bureaucratic stonewalling," Porteous said.

Very sad on two counts.

1/ Stupid government

2/ Typical "all we care about is profit" corporations.

This is common to most countries, sadly government is the only one with power to change things, corporations need to be governed coz otherwise .......

newguy18 · 13th May 2008, 12:49 AM

i still don't see why they pulled the trees?Do they have to pay taxes on them or something?

sawsong · 13th May 2008, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newguy18

i still don't see why they pulled the trees?Do they have to pay taxes on them or something?

why have 45 acres of a crop that cannot be sold?

newguy18 · 13th May 2008, 08:02 AM

in case the market comes back up.

Eric Frei · 13th May 2008, 08:43 AM

Best guy to answer this would be TreeDimensional.

Fruit trees require a lot of care compared to ordinary trees, plus the fruit has to be picked or what a problem you'll have. So the farm most likely becomes a huge loss, doze the trees and do something else.

Sad to call 50% Canadian content this:-

Quote:

In the case of canned fruit and vegetables, the tin and label are of sufficient value in most cases to qualify the entire package as "Product of Canada."

Easy for some shiny ass to sit at their perked up job and make idiotic calls like that.

Repackaging etc doesn't make the peaches Canadian. We addressed this here.

Quote:

"Product of Australia"

To claim ‘Product of Australia’, ‘Produce of Australia’, ‘Produced in Australia’ the criteria is much more rigorous. Each significant component of the good must originate from Australia, and all, or virtually all, of the production processes must take place in Australia.

Australian Rules of Origin

We are wanting to know where the produce came from, are you buying tinned Australian peaches or Chinese peaches? That's what the consumer needs to know, stupid how govts cant see it and corporations sell you out.

StrictlyPalms · 13th May 2008, 10:52 AM

Might wanna test the Chinese peaches and tin cans for lead. They seem to put it in everything else.

===============================================

Ya know, Originally I was going to post the above as a joke. But now that I think about it so many diverse products have been exported from China to countries all over the world and are testing positive for unacceptable levels of lead and other chemicals.
Someone should check the cans, from the seals and solder to the paint on the label.... how about the peaches themselves? Pesticides, chemicals, anything else that should be regulated that might have someone cutting corners or payoffs to look the other way?
That seems to be the M.O. of the exec's in China when they get busted for the children's toys and other products that are coming up positive for lead.

I'm not anti-Chinese, I'm just anti-anythingthatsgonnakillmefaster.

newguy18 · 13th May 2008, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrictlyPalms

I'm just anti-anythingthatsgonnakillmefaster.

then why on earth do you wanna climb palm trees?

StrictlyPalms · 14th May 2008, 01:34 AM

well, To clean them and make them Beaoootiful! Just kidding, mostly because its a niche market in my view and to fill my 2 months off from work in the summer and then the winter. I don't plan on it being a full time job right now, I have one of those traveling the world and such.

newguy18 · 14th May 2008, 04:14 AM

[QUOTE=StrictlyPalms;30436]well, To clean them and make them Beaoootiful! [QUOTE]

Now thats funny,the best palm is a slayed palm.

Therrin · 14th May 2008, 06:13 PM

Well if they were already blooming then they should have left them in the ground!!

By the time Myanmar (Burma) decides to finally let aid and aid workers in, the stuff should have been ripe and ready for it!

TreeDimensional · 20th May 2008, 11:49 PM

Sorry it took so long to reply, I am going to agree with sawsong. The viability of an orchard is directly related to the sale of of the crop. This is where arboriculture and agriculture cross paths.

We just got done seeding late Saturday. As my crystal ball has a crack in it, and I can't see very far into the future, I planted what I can grow and market with the best return to me. There doesn't appear to be an relationship between supply and demand anymore. Yes, the production from that orchard could have been utilized for some CHARITY, but the owner of the land and the trees, has to generate a profit, OR they become welfare cases.

As Ekka pointed out, the canning plant was sold to a company in the US, and in the sun baked brain, Florida business fashion, they seem to believe that it is MORE profitable to import peaches from China, can them in Florida, and ship them back to Canada.

In the past, I though ONLY people who lived near coastal British Columbia were ODD. I discovered that I was incorrect, they are goofy right down to San Diego, across the Gulf and back up the East coast. From the tripe in this thread I think that perhaps it MIGHT be a problem in OZ too!

The trees are a chattel item, they are owned by a orchard grower (farmer), for years the business community has said that farmers needed to act MORE like business types. Here is a case where that is happening, and you urban dwellers say, "you have to feed us cheaply", maybe it is time for the people who say this to get off their asses and find out how food production actually works. OR, grow your own on the roof of the apartment complex, that you call home.

Lee Winger · 21st May 2008, 08:35 PM

Our governments have little if any concern for its people! politicions [sp] are just puppets for the big fat corperate giants and the banking industry, in fact they are all the same thing, have you noticed how many senators, mps etc sit on boards of directors when they retire from office..

I read some obscene fact in a news paper the other day, the UK's richest peoples money has increased by 59 billion a 20% increase in the last year!

My wage decreased!!

Eric Frei · 21st May 2008, 09:29 PM

In the last 20 years about 1/3 of Aussie farmers have thrown the towel in.

I agree with Roller, corporations are holding the country to ransom. They can cripple it if they want. Here we have huge monopolistic corporations.

Have a look at bank assets, they dont just bank anymore but own businesses like the friggin Airports here!

Out of control, executive salaries are through the roof, profits through the roof. All coming out of the little guys ever so much thinner wallet.

newguy18 · 22nd May 2008, 03:05 PM

You know what they say,shit trickles down hill.i hate it when people approach me and say i make the big bucks,thats bullspit,if i made the big bucks do you honestly think i'd go out and climb daily?Of course not i'd pay someone to do it for me.I make enough to keep going.

Jim2 · 26th May 2008, 09:03 AM

There seems to be very attention paid to the MRL's in the peaches, we tested some chinese triadimefon it was 8% below what was stated on the MSDS sheets.
If there is a big variance in chemistry how are the chinese farmers going to apply pesticides accurately, they will apply more to avoid the risk of poor fruit quality.

DoG · 5th June 2008, 12:29 PM

Big biz does what to:

YouTube - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man

13th May 2008, 12:49 AM	#2
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,948	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China i still don't see why they pulled the trees?Do they have to pay taxes on them or something? __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

13th May 2008, 08:02 AM	#4
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,948	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China in case the market comes back up. __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

13th May 2008, 10:52 AM	#6
StrictlyPalms Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orlando, Florida USA Posts: 177	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China Might wanna test the Chinese peaches and tin cans for lead. They seem to put it in everything else. =============================================== Ya know, Originally I was going to post the above as a joke. But now that I think about it so many diverse products have been exported from China to countries all over the world and are testing positive for unacceptable levels of lead and other chemicals. Someone should check the cans, from the seals and solder to the paint on the label.... how about the peaches themselves? Pesticides, chemicals, anything else that should be regulated that might have someone cutting corners or payoffs to look the other way? That seems to be the M.O. of the exec's in China when they get busted for the children's toys and other products that are coming up positive for lead. I'm not anti-Chinese, I'm just anti-anythingthatsgonnakillmefaster. __________________ Strictly Palms, Inc. Orlando, Florida USA

14th May 2008, 01:34 AM	#8
StrictlyPalms Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orlando, Florida USA Posts: 177	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China well, To clean them and make them Beaoootiful! Just kidding, mostly because its a niche market in my view and to fill my 2 months off from work in the summer and then the winter. I don't plan on it being a full time job right now, I have one of those traveling the world and such. __________________ Strictly Palms, Inc. Orlando, Florida USA

14th May 2008, 04:14 AM	#9
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,948	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China [QUOTE=StrictlyPalms;30436]well, To clean them and make them Beaoootiful! [QUOTE] Now thats funny,the best palm is a slayed palm. __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

14th May 2008, 06:13 PM	#10
Therrin Former Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bakersfield, Ca Posts: 2,497	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China Well if they were already blooming then they should have left them in the ground!! By the time Myanmar (Burma) decides to finally let aid and aid workers in, the stuff should have been ripe and ready for it!

20th May 2008, 11:49 PM	#11
TreeDimensional Mature Tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 421	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China Sorry it took so long to reply, I am going to agree with sawsong. The viability of an orchard is directly related to the sale of of the crop. This is where arboriculture and agriculture cross paths. We just got done seeding late Saturday. As my crystal ball has a crack in it, and I can't see very far into the future, I planted what I can grow and market with the best return to me. There doesn't appear to be an relationship between supply and demand anymore. Yes, the production from that orchard could have been utilized for some CHARITY, but the owner of the land and the trees, has to generate a profit, OR they become welfare cases. As Ekka pointed out, the canning plant was sold to a company in the US, and in the sun baked brain, Florida business fashion, they seem to believe that it is MORE profitable to import peaches from China, can them in Florida, and ship them back to Canada. In the past, I though ONLY people who lived near coastal British Columbia were ODD. I discovered that I was incorrect, they are goofy right down to San Diego, across the Gulf and back up the East coast. From the tripe in this thread I think that perhaps it MIGHT be a problem in OZ too! The trees are a chattel item, they are owned by a orchard grower (farmer), for years the business community has said that farmers needed to act MORE like business types. Here is a case where that is happening, and you urban dwellers say, "you have to feed us cheaply", maybe it is time for the people who say this to get off their asses and find out how food production actually works. OR, grow your own on the roof of the apartment complex, that you call home.

21st May 2008, 08:35 PM	#12
Lee Winger Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Suffolk UK Posts: 146	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China Our governments have little if any concern for its people! politicions [sp] are just puppets for the big fat corperate giants and the banking industry, in fact they are all the same thing, have you noticed how many senators, mps etc sit on boards of directors when they retire from office.. I read some obscene fact in a news paper the other day, the UK's richest peoples money has increased by 59 billion a 20% increase in the last year! My wage decreased!!

21st May 2008, 09:29 PM	#13
Eric Frei Admin - Owner Palm & Tree Services in Brisbane Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,994	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China In the last 20 years about 1/3 of Aussie farmers have thrown the towel in. I agree with Roller, corporations are holding the country to ransom. They can cripple it if they want. Here we have huge monopolistic corporations. Have a look at bank assets, they dont just bank anymore but own businesses like the friggin Airports here! Out of control, executive salaries are through the roof, profits through the roof. All coming out of the little guys ever so much thinner wallet. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Palm and Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

22nd May 2008, 03:05 PM	#14
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,948	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China You know what they say,shit trickles down hill.i hate it when people approach me and say i make the big bucks,thats bullspit,if i made the big bucks do you honestly think i'd go out and climb daily?Of course not i'd pay someone to do it for me.I make enough to keep going. __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

26th May 2008, 09:03 AM	#15
Jim2 Sappling Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 3	Re: Canadian Cannery closes, 9000 peach trees dozed\| Jobs to China There seems to be very attention paid to the MRL's in the peaches, we tested some chinese triadimefon it was 8% below what was stated on the MSDS sheets. If there is a big variance in chemistry how are the chinese farmers going to apply pesticides accurately, they will apply more to avoid the risk of poor fruit quality.

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