WALDHEIM, Sask. – James Wiens hopes for a day when there will be too many producers growing saskatoons on the Prairies.
The former president of the Saskatchewan Fruit Growers Association said increasing the volume is exactly what is needed to swing the industry into full gear.
“There may be too much fruit one day, but you have to have that to supply a market,” he said.
Strawberries were once a main source of income for Wiens’s family of five, who have now turned their attention to saskatoons. They have expanded to 11 acres of saskatoons from three at Springside Farms near Waldheim, and are selling fruit to two wholesalers.
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Saskatoon acres in Saskatchewan generally have eclipsed those devoted to strawberries, jumping to 916 acres in 2002 from 52 in 1986.
Strawberry acres, by comparison, have remained fairly stable through the same time period at around 214 acres.
Manitoba acres are up as much as 80 percent this year alone, with Alberta also increasing its acreage three-fold over the last 10 years.
Wiens believes his own fruit fortunes lie in fresh markets and in growing hardy native fruits like saskatoons.
He said it is difficult to compete with well-established, high volume and consistent strawberry supplies from California.
“There’s a mindset of ‘it’s better from somewhere else,’ ” Wiens said. “Many are just not willing to pay for something they can grow in their own backyards.”
He noted local berries, which are picked fresh and ripe, are high in sugar and low in starch so have a more limited shelf life than the imports picked early.
The Wiens have experimented with various marketing options from farmers’ markets to direct sales to restaurants in Saskatoon, with mixed results.
Sour cherries and apples could one day prove to be promising additions to the saskatoons for the Weins, who have two acres in strawberries and five acres in raspberries.
For now, Wiens is moving cautiously, careful not to spread himself too thin.
“The whole thing is not for the faint of heart.”
He has supplemented his farm income with various jobs, including long distance trucking and carpet laying.
Wiens said growers need to find more domestic markets and work together rather than compete with one another.
“Because it’s a fledgling industry, if we don’t work together, we won’t go anywhere.”
He praised the efforts of grower partnerships led by Saskatchewan’s Sandy Purdy of Prairie Berries at Keeler and John Ritz of Prairie Lane Saskatoons in Petersfield, Man.
Ritz, who grows and buys saskatoons and processes them into food for export such as toppings, syrup and frozen berries, is testing export markets. This July he will host a buyers’ meeting at his farm to promote the native berry.
He believes in developing markets before increasing production.
“You often create a supply without asking the customer if he wants to buy it,” he said.
Ritz remains optimistic saskatoons have a bright future, despite a British regulators’ ruling in June that took saskatoons off the shelves and effectively closed the door to the 25 countries in the European Union. Saskatoons were labelled a novel food and will now face months of safety testing.
“The saskatoon berry has all the attributes of a main-line product into the world market and is not subject to success or defeat by any one country deciding that,” he said.
Ritz said prairie berry growers are already doing a lot right, but there is much to learn.
A competitive price is central to their success, he said.
“After a certain (price) point a customer will say ‘I don’t care how unique they are, I’m not going to buy it.”
Chris Neeser, fruit and vegetable scientist with Alberta Agriculture at Brooks, said a $2 per pound price is possible for u-pick operations but a little high for processors who can get blueberries for half that.
He said saskatoon prices remain high because yields are low per acre and extremely variable.
Neeser said improvements and consistency in yields and quality will come from plant breeding research.
“There’s lots of room for improvement.”
Wiens agreed, citing the need for standardized fruit grading among the three prairie provinces, more timely registration of chemicals for the fruit crop and continued efforts in food safety training.
“There is potential with saskatoons. It will just take time,” he said. “We will stay in for the long haul. The benefits will come.”
