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Bitter Harvest: B.C.’s stone fruit farms pivot after deep-freeze devastation

Early signs point to a dismal year for peaches, apricots or nectarines as farmers look for support
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Jennifer Deol, the co-owner of There and Back Again Farms, stands near the farm’s peach orchard in Kelowna, B.C., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. B.C. farmers are predicting at least a 90 per cent loss of this summer’s harvest of fruit including peaches, apricots and nectarines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens

One of the first indicators of how bountiful a fruit harvest will be in British Columbia comes months before any peaches, apricots or nectarines start fattening on trees.

Like many other farmers, Jennifer Deol of There and Back Again Farms in Kelowna cuts off some peach branches and brings them into a warm greenhouse to see how well the buds bloom.

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