Wet weather devastating B.C. strawberry crops

Wet weather in B.C.’s Okanagan region is wiping out strawberry crops, which are sensitive to over-watering.

Gurjeet Dhothar, who owns KD Farms in Kelowna, says he's lost 60 per cent of his crop this year, which amounts to about a $15,000 loss.

"I hope it's going to dry up from all of this rain," he said. "But I don't know if I'm going to get much out of it. Because the sun is going to come up, but the mould is going to spread all over the strawberries," he said.

"I'm quite concerned. There was quite a bit of money put onto it and labor and stuff. It was quite a loss yeah."

KD Farms isn't alone. Producers in the North Okanagan say their berries are also soaking up water and turning to mush.

Strawberry producer Hoa Huynh says the rain this year came at the worst time.

"The rain — always rain, rain, rain — it makes the berries less flavor, and also the water suck inside the berries and gets very bad quickly."

She estimates the wet weather is ruining half of the later season strawberry varieties on her Vernon farm. And when it's raining, people don't come out to pick berries either.