I have been following your series of articles on blueberries and I just wonder how, in the name of common sense, has the use of propane cannons become “normal” farm practice?
We have been buying blueberries for years from Onnink’s farm and they are a perfect example of what normal farm practices should be. They have left some big trees at the edge of the field so the hawks have a place to nest. What a simple solution!
I cannot understand why cannons with such high decibel levels that irritate the neighbours for months during the summer, are needed to scare off a bird that can hear worms crawling in the ground. Granted, the starlings are a pest, but they are an introduced pest. Would it not be better to reduce the population of starlings?
Many of the blueberry farmers state that they can’t use nets and one of the reasons is that they cannot use the picking machines if the field is covered with nets. This is not a problem with the farmers in New Zealand – they have high nets with a door large enough to get their equipment inside.
Brian Pinkerton, Abbotsford
