Farmers drive tractors across Bennett Bridge to protest potential sale and break-up of BC Tree Fruits

A group of apple farmers trying to prevent the sale and break-up of BC Tree Fruits gathered again at the corner of Harvey Avenue and Abbott Street Monday morning.

This group of demonstrators have been lobbying for all levels of government to step in and save the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, which was insolvent and entered into a court-ordered sale process on Aug. 26.

The demonstrators also drove their tractors and a small convoy of vehicles across the William R. Bennett Bridge on Monday.

Oyama farmer Al Gatzke, who is no longer a member of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, says despite his own decision to leave the co-op he sees value in BCTF going forward.

He said the demonstrators want the time to put together a business and restructuring plan so the co-op model can survive.

"The courts are moving so fast, and once the assets are sold, they don't have a chance. So the biggest thing today is to show the support to the team that will be presenting it in the Supreme Court, so that perhaps the judge and the monitor will have the graciousness to give some time to put together a plan," said Gatzke.

The demonstration comes after an agreement has been reached to sell the storage facility on Sexsmtih Rd. and after the provincial government allocated $4 million in funding to help tree-fruit growers receive money owed for past harvests without having to wait for court proceedings to play out.

Apple farmer Kelly Wander said that money is "nice to have, but the long-term goal is to save the co-op."

Many growers have already made arrangements with other packinghouses to take their fruit, but Gatzke says there are still a couple of hundred apple farmers that are being left behind.

"This issue is not one that's in the favour of the growers. Somebody needs to realize the importance, beyond just a single measurement of (the) value of getting rid of apples, what a co-op does. It provides solutions for five acre, 10 acre, 20 acre parcels that these guys are not getting picked up by the private packers," Gatzke said.

"We used to have 1,800 members, now we're at a situation where there's just a few hundred. That's indicative of a difficult era. But I know that there's a solution, and for the small guys and medium size, absolutely, it's a co-op."

The sale process is well underway and bids for the entire block of BCTF assets are being accepted until Sept. 27, with a final bid deadline date for individual assets set for Oct. 18. The entire sale process is proposed to close on Nov. 30.