Online applications are now available for B.C. government
funding to help tree fruit growers replant their orchards with high-
value, high-quality fruit varieties enjoyed by consumers locally and
around the world.

The funding is part of the B.C. government’s $8.4-million seven-year
tree fruit replant program announced by Premier Christy Clark and
Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick in November 2014. The program will
result in an estimated 1,500 acres of orchards being replanted by
2021, and about 2,600 jobs each year for the Okanagan. Application
packages are available at:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=D188877E1CEA411B89E2A62EA9812B05

The new program builds on the recent success of growers who
replanted lower-value orchards with high-demand and high-quality
varieties like Ambrosia apples and late-season cherries.

B.C. growers produced Canada’s second largest tree fruit crop in
2013, including more than 103,000 tonnes of apples, sweet cherries,
peaches, pears, plums/prunes, nectarines and apricots. The total
represents about one-fourth of the total Canadian production, and
generated almost $103 million in farm cash receipts.