Blueberry blues
Snowmobile damage can ruin two-year long growing process
For years, John Handrahan has seen the effect snowmobiling can have on wild blueberry crops. And thanks to the snowstorms a couple of weeks ago, Handrahan has heard from other growers on the Island worried about the state of their crops.
Handrahan is the president of the P.E.I. Wild Blueberry Growers Association.
“We’ve had reports of damage this year. One in Kildare was particularly bad.” Recently, RCMP released a statement reminding snowmobilers to be cautious of farmers’ fields and private lands as the machines can damage crops or property.
Wild blueberries take two years to grow, so when a crop is damaged it can be devastating, said Handrahan, who owns a blueberry operation near Tignish. “Depending on how much snowpack there is on the fields, snowmobiles can break the vines right off. Which of course means no crop at all. If the snow pack is a little bit higher up, or thicker, but not deep enough to carry the machine over the vine, the tracks can tear the fruit buds off. And if the fruit buds are torn off, then there is no crop there either.” But damage also comes down to the number of passes a snowmobile makes in a particular field.
“Any damage, whether that’s from the weather or a snowmobile, will result in a reduction of the crop.”
Handrahan says it’s a trespassing issue.
“People own these machines and go in these fields. And there’s no way to patrol or protect the fields, with law enforcement or the farmers themselves, because there simply isn’t the means. “Some growers do post their fields and there are mixed results, while other people talk to their neighbours and explain that the crop is there. That usually has positive results because word spreads. But people are coming from miles sometimes and won’t know what they are passing over. Or in some cases they just don’t care.
“The damage can be significant especially when there isn’t a deep covering of snow and the damage is accumulative. Every pass means more damage, but the problem starts when one machine passes through and then other machines follow that person’s tracks.” Handrahan recommends growers talk to their neighbours, especially if they know they have snow machines. “Just letting them know can help. And some people have marked a trail so as long as snowmobilers stay in this part it won’t harm anything. But it only takes one pass to change that.”