Orchard & Vine Spring 2016

Protecting Marsh Habitat 2016 BUYER'S GUIDE

Today's Farmers Chef + Hobby Farm = Culinary Magic Wine & Liquor Laws Explained

Spring 2016 $6.95

Display Until April 15, 2016 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40838008 www.orchardandvine.net

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Empty Pesticide Container Recycling Program

There are many reasons to rinse. #1

Only rinsed containers can be recycled

#2

Helps keep collection sites clean

#3

Use all the chemicals you purchase

#4

Keeps collection sites safe for workers

#5

Maintain your farm’s good reputation

No excuse not to! { For more information or to find a collection site near you visit cleanfarms.ca Now, take your empty fertilizer containers along for the ride!

10901A-CFM-5Reasons-HalfPage-Orch&Vine.indd 1

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Spring 2016

4/2/14 11:49 AM

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cropscience.bayer.ca or 1 888-283-6847 or contact your Bayer representative.

Always read and follow label directions. Sivanto™ is a trademark of Bayer Global.

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

Spring 2016

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Regulars 6 Publisher's View – Lisa Olson 8 Calendar 10 News & Events 59 Word on Wine – Lindsay Kelm 63 People Talk – Barbara Ashton 65 Seeds of Growth – Fred Steele 67 Legal Libations – Denese Espeut-Post Buyer's Guide page 25.

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Spring 2016

Brookedale Heritage Garden page 50.

Features 20 Lunessence Winery Protects Marsh Habitat 25 2016 Buyer's Guide 45 Today's Farmers are also Entrepreneurs 46 Old Meadows Organic Farm 47 Mountain Valley Farm and a Cross la Table 48 Curly Frog Farm 49 McMillan Farms 50 Brookedale Heritage Garden 51 Off the Grid Winery 53 Chef + Hobby Farm = Culinary Magic 56 Wine & Liquor Laws Explained

Photos Contributed

Cover Photo of Denise & Tom Cross by Kim Elsasser mpa International Award winning photographer.

Visit www.kimsphotography.com

Brenda Dureault of Curly Frog Farm page 48.

Spring 2016

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 PUBLISHER’S VIEW | LISA OLSON

Stories Worth Telling

Vol. 57, No 2 Spring 2016

W

aking up in the morning you never know what will come of your day. You get up, do mostly the same thing everyday and then something out of the ordinary happens.

Established in 1959 Publisher Lisa Olson

A few weeks ago, I woke up to the news that one of our long time writers, Dona Sturmanis, had passed away. We knew she had been sick, but the day still came as a surprise and darkened our day here at Orchard & Vine. She had wanted to stay busy with writing and said she really wanted to tell the wonderful story about the people at Backyard Farm. I don’t want to overshadow what is really a beautiful story about a couple’s passion for growing and preparing fresh locally grown food. The article is Dona’s last, and well worth reading.

Graphic Design Stephanie Symons Contributors Barbara Ashton, Michael Botner, Kim Elsasser, Denese Espeut-Post, Tracey Fredrickson, Margaret Holm, Lindsay Kelm, Darcy Nybo, Ronda Payne, Fred Steele, Dona Sturmanis Photo by Kim Elsasser mpa

When thinking about Dona, I have learned the wisdom of the phrases ‘Treat everyday as if it were your last,” and “Find the time to do the things which make you happy.”

It’s also never too late to learn new skills.

That’s the case with a few growers profiled inside this issue. Whether you have been farming for one or twenty years, it’s never too late to learn new skills and ideas. So, we’ve put together a few profiles to give you insight into the life of a grower that many of you can relate to as well. These growers participated in a series of workshops put on by the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission on agritourism covering everything from business and financial planning to market research, customer

Sales & Marketing Holly Thompson Circulation info@orchardandvine.net Orchard & Vine Magazine Ltd.

service and more. I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we did.

1576 West Kelowna Road West Kelowna, B.C., V1Z 3H5

Many businesses provide so much to our industry, like Lunessence Winery who are protecting marsh habitats as well as making wine.

E-mail: info@orchardandvine.net www.orchardandvine.net Phone: 250-769-2123

Numerous businesses and organizations that provide first class quality products and services are listed in our easy to follow 2016 Annual Buyer’s Guide. Check it out and enjoy a fruitful season!

Fax: 1-866-433-3349 Orchard & Vine Magazine is published six times a year and distributed by addressed direct mail to growers, suppliers and

Enjoy the magazine!

wineries in the Okanagan, Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island,

Our IABC certified design staff looks forward to meeting with you to discuss your requirements to design your orchard & vineyard irrigation systems

Washington State and throughout Canada.

Orchard & Vine is also available online.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40838008 Undeliverable copies should be sent to:

Proudly serving the growers of British Columbia for more than 44 years.

5830 Sawmill Road , Oliver, BC Ph 250.485.0246 Fax 250.485.0247 www.nultonirr.com 6

Spring 2016

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 SPRING | CALENDAR

Wind Machines “Dependable Frost Protection” Protect your crops with the smart choice

ONTARIO Lakeview Vineyard Equipment Inc. 40 Lakeshore Rd. RR #5, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON Phone: 905-646-8085 Toll Free: 1-866-677-4717 sales@lvequipment.ca www.lakeviewvineyardequipment.com

Outsmart Jack Frost with an Orchard-Rite® wind machine.

Call us for all your Post Harvest Cooling Needs At Fraser Valley Refrigeration we can create and customize units for your post-harvest needs. Our blast chill capability and hydrocooling systems are ideal for quality and longevity of your fruit for local and export sales. We are experts in turnkey solutions for cold and/or frozen food storage too.

Photo courtesy of www.thewinefestivals.com

OKANAGAN/THOMPSON/SIMILKAMEEN WEB Metal Fabricators Ltd. 3650 Hwy 97 S, Osoyoos, BC Sales: Rob Webster Phone: 250-495-7245 Cell: 250 485 8862 wmetfab@telus.net warm.wind.maker@gmail.com

Spring Okanagan Wine Festival.

Spring Okanagan Wine Festival April 28 – May 8 Okanagan Valley, BC www.thewinefestivals.com Farmsteading 101: People, Planets + Profits, Tools & Principles for Farm Businesses!

May 13 – May 14 West Kootenay Permaculture Co-op Winlaw, BC learn@kootenayfood.com Bloom BC VQA Spring Release May 18 – Victoria May 19 – Vancouver www.winebc.org Similkameen BBQ King event July 9 Grist Mill & Gardens Keremeos, BC http://similkameenwine.com 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference August 11-14 Lodi, CA, USA http://winebloggersconference.org

LTD.

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Spring 2016

Fraser Valley Refrigeration Ltd. 26121 Fraser Highway, Aldergrove Phone 604-856-8644 Toll Free 1-800-661-5772 www.fraservalleyrefrigeration.com

17th Annual BC Enology & Viticulture Conference July 18-19 Penticton Trade and Convention Centre Penticton, BC www.bcwgc.org/conference

COMMERCIAL COPPER FUNGICIDE CUEVA Commercial Copper Fungicide concentrate is a patented, fixed copper fungicide made by combining a soluble copper fertilizer with a fatty acid to form a true soap. This copper soap fungicide protects plants from infection from a wide range of diseases, including downy and powdery mildews.

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Spring 2016

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 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

White Rock, Penticton, Lytton Named 'Markets of the Year' With the farmers’ market season just around the corner, the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) celebrated the best of B.C. with its third annual Farmers’ Market Awards. The event celebrated those who have made outstanding contributions to B.C.’s farmers’ market sector.

Congratulations to all winners announced at the BC Farmers’ Market Annual Conference held in Kelowna, BC. • Helen Fathers Market Manager of the Year

Photos Contributed

• White Rock Farmers' Market Market of the Year (large) • Penticton Farmers Market Market of the Year (medium) • Lytton Two Rivers Farmers' Market Market of the Year (small) • Celista Hall Farmer's Market honourable mention Jong's Vegetable Gardens and Silver Spring Organic Farm - Vendors of the Year. The Farmers’ Market Awards were part of the BCAFM’s annual conference, Nourish + Flourish, co-hosted by the Kelowna Farmers’ and Crafters’ Market.

The event brought together over 140 delegates from across the province for three days of learning, sharing and networking. ■ Visit www.bcfarmersmarket.org.

Shop at your local market or farm gate this season.

10 Spring 2016

Left to right: Erin Trainer, Penticton Farmers' Market Manager; Helen Fathers, White Rock Farmers' Market Manager; Joan Jong of Jong's Vegetable Garden; and Patsy Gessey of Lytton Two Rivers Farmers' Market.

Check out the Snow Horn!

An innovative way to keep your grapes cold once they have been picked. Just spray on a layer of snow as needed with your Snow Horn and a bit of CO2 - it's that easy!

Now available at Bosagrape Winery & Brew Supplies!

To be selected,

they need to be protected.

Use DuPont™ Exirel™ insecticide, powered by Cyazypyr™, early in the season to give your pome fruit, stone fruit and blueberries the head-start they need during the most critical stages of development. Exirel™ has fast acting, translaminar and xylem systemic movement so you’ll be protecting new growth from difficult chewing and sucking pests, including aphids, plum curculio, apple maggots, codling moth, Oriental fruit moths, leafrollers, weevils and spotted wing drosophila.

Exirel™, powered by Cyazypyr™, an important part of an integrated pest management program.

Questions? Ask your retailer, call 1-800-667-3925 or visit exirel.dupont.ca As with all crop protection products, read and follow label instructions carefully.

Member of CropLife Canada.

Unless indicated, trademarks with ®, ™ or SM are trademarks of DuPont or affiliates. © 2016 DuPont.

Spring 2016 11

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

AgSafe Using Twitter Hash Tag to Promote Farm Safety For those social media savvy folks out there, you can use the hashtag, #AgSafetyChamp to help share safety tips and photos.

ranchers, encouraged by safety training & education from AgSafe, have reduced the number of farm fatalities by 50 per cent and accident claims by 27 per cent.

#AgSafetyChamp is a year-long social media campaign that focuses on workplace safety in the agriculture sector and celebrates those who are making safety a priority whether their workplace is a large or small farm, ranch, vineyard or retail garden centre.

“Ultimately we want to help farmers continue to reduce the number of onfarm accidents across the province. The key to #AgSafetyChamp is farmers helping farmers – sharing tips for safety that work for you!” says AgSafe Executive Director, Wendy Bennett.

Over the past ten years BC farmers and

AgSafe, in partnership with the BC Ag-

riculture Council (BCAC), launched the #AgSafetyChamp campaign.

Use #AgSafetyChamp to share: your experiences, tips, photos and motivation for staying safe in your working environment.

All social media and nomination entries will be considered for the monthly draw for a $50 gas card, as well as the grand prize, to be named Champion of Agriculture Safety 2016 at the BCAC Gala in early 2017. ■

www.OkanaganFarms.com ED

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 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Growth is Natural.

In Memory of Dona Sturmanis

Quality is Intentional.

One of Orchard & Vine’s longest standing contributors passed away in early March after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Dona Sturmanis was known Okanaganwide as a mentor and advocate of the writing life. For more than 20 years she encouraged hundreds of students to take up the craft through her classes at Okanagan College, and earlier still at Melvyn’s Living Room – a used bookstore and cultural gathering place she created in what was then downtown Westbank.

A prolific freelancer, Dona’s work served as a backbone to many Okanagan magazines, including Orchard & Vine. Whether it was a story about pioneering winemaker Hagen Kruger or the more recent explosion of the cider industry, Dona’s stories always offered a sense of place, but more importantly a sense of people.

And she did so in a way that imbued readers with a sweetness that lingered well after the last page was turned.

We are grateful to have had her name on our masthead, and this issue she is on the masthead once more. With permission from her son Leif, we are honoured to be able to publish Backyard Farm (see page 49), one of her final pieces of work.

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Thank you Dona. Your words live on through those you inspired. ■

www.naturesintent.com | info@naturesintent.com Int’l Toll Free 877-571-3555 Phone 509-486-1201 Scan QR Code

Spring 2016 13

14 Spring 2016

Certainty from grape to bottle

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 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Chefs in Training Learn from Winners at Culinary Championships

By Darcy Nybo

rants and Off Cut Bar left with the silver medal.

The Canadian Culinary Championships (CCC) have come and gone for 2016. It was a fantastic whirlwind of meet and greets, shopping, food prep, wine pairings and for the guests in attendance, great food and drink.

By the time the night was out the winner of the Canadian Culinary Championship had been named. Marc Lep-

Photo by Darcy Nybo

The planning and introductions started on Thursday at a meet and greet at Sandhill Winery where chefs were given their box of mystery wine and introduced to their helpers from Okanagan College Culinary School. Friday was shopping, prepping and preparing dishes for the Mystery Wine Competition and the People’s Choice Award.

Bright and early Saturday morning was the Black Box competition, and then chefs and helpers were back at the Delta Grand preparing for the grand finale. Sleep was not on the agenda.

The Canadian Culinary Championships and Gold Medal Plates are more than a chef competition. The proceeds from Gold Medal Plates and the Canadian Culinary Championships are given to the Canadian Olympic Foundation to support high performance athletes. To date, nearly $11 million has been raised.

Danika Pelzer (L) and Patti DeBoer watch and wait for their chef to be introduced at the meet and greet Thursday night at Sandhill.

ine of Atelier in Ottawa, won Gold for the second time, making Canadian Culinary Championships history with his smoked steelhead trout with miso-molasses glaze, cured pork belly, barley and corn porridge, corn cob broth paired with Les Clos Jordanne Vineyard 2012 Chardonnay Twenty Mile Bench from the

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Niagara Peninsula. “I am truly speechless, and still in shock.

The competition was fierce and I was only able to do this with my team…” said Chef Lepin when he realized he’d won.

BC’s Alex Chen from Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar took the bronze and Mathew Batey from the Nash Restau-

Behind the scenes, chefs in training are given the opportunity to volunteer and pair up with provincial gold medal winners and learn directly from them. It’s the kind of thing you just can’t teach in a class room or teaching kitchen.

Danika Pelzer is one of those students. She’s a pastry apprentice and volunteered to assist at both the 2015 and 2016 CCC. This year she worked with Team BC. She’s a junior member of the Okanagan Chefs Association and a pastry chef apprentice at the Delta. She was up and work-

ing by 5 a.m. at the Delta Grand on Saturday, after pulling a full day and evening of volunteering at the Friday night CCC event.

Patti DeBoer, who is taking culinary studies, has volunteered for the past two events. This year she was helping team Winnipeg. She’s also a junior member of the Okanagan Chefs Association.

What these two women share with all the other volunteers is a palpable sense of excitement. Watching "their chefs” being introduced, you could see the enthusiasm and anticipation on their faces.

They knew they were about to get mentored in one of the most grueling competitions out there, and they, along with the other volunteers, were more than ready.

Jonathan Ruse, Associate Dean of the Okanagan School of Business and Director of Food, Wine and Tourism knows how much the CCC means to the school, the instructors and the students. “The CCC brings the best culinary talent to Kelowna and the college; and having our students exposed and participating within this high energy creative environment is truly a once in a life time learning opportunity – and as always they excel. I am very honoured and proud that our culinary instructors and students step up each year to perform at this national level and are able to contribute to CCC's continued success.”

CCC Event Chair, Judy Burns, knows full well the importance of the Canadian Culinary Championships being held in Kelowna, and how important it is to the volunteers as well. “Okanagan College’s Chef Bernard Casavant wants to make sure his students are exposed to excellence. The CCC involves students and gets them great exposure. They learn from these competing chefs under extreme pressure. If they can deal with that, they can deal with the competitive world out there. You never know, one of them could be the next gold medalist for BC, or even the next Canadian Culinary Champion.”

HIT FUNGUS RIGHT IN THE

GRAPES

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Always read and follow label directions. FMC and Fracture are trademarks of FMC Corporation. © 2016 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

We’ll be sure to watch for them. ■

16FMC015_Fracture Print - Grapes Orchard & Vine (BC)

Spring 2016 17

From Left to Right: Air Bridge Cargo 747-400ERF | Air China Cargo 777-200F | Cargojet 757-200F | Cargojet 767-300F February 2016, Edmonton International Airport

What new air cargo developments are occurring at Edmonton International Airport (EIA)?

by excellent road infrastructure throughout western Canada to and from the airport.

What industry sectors do you see as key to your air cargo services? Has this changed in the last six months?

Perishables remain and will continue to be a primary sector. Air Cargo is about reliable, efficient, temperature-controlled supply chains. We have and will continue to invest in our infrastructure and operational capabilities to ensure EIA is well recognized as an airport that

consistently delivers a high level of service. Our strategy is aligned to meet the needs of the producers for their supply chain requirements. Most recently, we have two new options to meet these needs. Braden Burry Expediting expanded to a new on-airport 40,000-squarefoot warehouse, including temperature control facilities. Rosenau Transport Ltd. is currently in construction of a new 211,000-square-foot warehouse also including temperature-controlled facilities, opening in July 2016. Rosenau will operate their western Canadian hub from this

Rosenau’s 211,000-square-foot building with completion scheduled in summer 2016.

18 Spring 2016

facility, which will provide access to and from EIA throughout western Canada within 24 hours of the cargo leaving the nose of the aircraft.

While the oil & gas sector needs for air cargo have slowed, western Canada’s Agri-food requirements are becoming more important to our air cargo carriers.

Considering the impressive list of air cargo investments completed and ongoing at EIA, is there anything our industry can do to support this growth?

Yes. Consider Air China Cargo as an option for your China shipments. As an example in the case of BC Cherries, the high volume and short shipping period has often forced shippers and freight forwarders to use air cargo charters to move the product on time, as the regular cargo capacity was overwhelmed. However, charters are one of the most expensive ways to move air cargo and they do not support the carriers who have invested in scheduled operations. The new Air China Cargo freighter operation at Edmonton International Airport, three times per week non-stop service to Tianjin (Beijing) and Shanghai provides added capacity at competitive pricing levels to exporters.

Ask for this option from your freight forwarder for your time sensitive shipments.

Understood, and how would exporters obtain additional information on the service and pricing levels?

Contact your freight forwarder and ask to compare Air China Cargo at EIA to the competition.

Your freight forwarder can contact Exp-Air Cargo for information and to book Air China Cargo at expaircargo. com or by emailing Chantal Bernard at cbernard@expaircargo.com.

• Next day delivery to mainland China • Temperature-controlled storage • For Canadian bookings, contact Exp-Air Cargo at: cbernard@expaircargo.com or 604 273 5135

To keep in touch on EIA developments, register for the EIA Cargo Newsletter at flyeia.com/cargo. 

Sponsored Article

Spring 2016 19

Lunessence Winery & Vineyard We believe in sustainable, environmentally sensitive viticulture, respecting the vineyard as a living and varied ecosystem. Each bottle is a proud expression of the earth it came from‌. The more we are listening and respecting the vineyard, nature is giving it back to us a thousand times.

Michael Mosny

By Margaret Holm

L

unessence – working with the moon and the essence of nature, is the philosophy of the owner and manager of a new winery in Summerland opened in 2015. Zhizhong Si purchased the vineyard in 2014. A wetland specialist, Si was drawn to the property because of the beautiful setting above Summerland and two small marshes on the property. Si’s vision is to work with nature while using no pesticides.

The Lunessence property is eight acres of which 6.5 acres are vineyards. The cattail marshes, one above a rock face and the second at the bottom of the vineyard, are connected by an underground seep.

Sections of the vineyard require no irrigation at all due to the natural underground moisture. An adjacent property has now been purchased and four acres of grapes will be planted next year. Future plans include terracing a steep slope below the tasting room and planting vegetables and herbs.

General Manager and winemaker Michal Mosny uses Integrated Plant Protection, a European system of vineyard management and is transitioning to a biodynamic system. The intent is to work with nature and interfere as little as possible. Lunes-

20 Spring 2016

View of Lunessence Winery & Vineyard in Summerland, BC.

Photos Contributed

Protects Marsh Habitat

Spring 2016 21

Classical music is the thread that connects our vineyard, winemaking and our winery philosophy as a whole and we don’t take it lightly.

Michael Mosny sence Winery & Vineyard respects nature in all its aspects and does not use pesticides. Eco-friendly and sustainable viticulture practices are led by an integrated grape production system. This is a procedure to which all economical, ecological and toxicological sustainability methods are applied in order to keep the extent of damage to a minimum and beneath the economic damage threshold.

Four other vineyards in Naramata, Oliver, and Osoyoos contribute grapes to make Lunessence table wines and all follow the same viticulture practices. The Summerland property produces late harvest and ice wines exclusively.

“Classical music is the thread that connects our vineyard, winemaking and our winery philosophy as a whole and we don’t take it lightly," says Mosny.

Michal and his wife Martina, who is a viticulturalist, believe wine is not only a product, it is a gift from nature that they are honoured to transform. “We believe it helps us to find a balance between nature, humanity and the energy around us. Along with playing classical music, we also use classical methods of making wine. Our focus is traditional, old school winemaking methods and combining them with modern and effective winemaking equipment. By knowing our soil, climate and winemaking, we focus on Michal Mosny, General Manager and winemaker.

22 Spring 2016

the potential in every bottle.”

Pheasants, quail, and Red-winged Blackbirds make their home in the wetlands.

Last year Michal contacted the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society to help him understand and work with the native plants and animals on the property. Lunessence Winery & Vineyard has now become a “Wildlife Habitat Steward” with the Stewardship Society. The Society assists land owners, managers and community groups with the voluntary conservation of important habitats on their land.

OSS has stewardship agreements with over fifty landowners, the majority of whom own vineyards, orchards and farms. Being a Wildlife Habitat Steward doesn’t mean you cannot use any of the land. Participating stewards maintain their agricultural and tourism practices while working on best management practices for wildlife. All work completed with OSS help is done confidentially.

Mosny will be inviting OSS staff to survey for native amphibians this year. The Stewardship Society will also assist with managing invasive plants and revegetating the wetland edges with native plants. ■ For information about the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society check out their web site at http://www. okanagansimilkameenstewardship.ca.

Spring 2016 23

JBS Orchard & Vineyard Spreader JBS’s NEW Orchard & Vineyard Spreader is the perfect machine for spreading in those narrow orchard/vineyard rows.

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24 Spring 2016

The Best Way to Predict the Future – Is to Create it.

Achieving success in business is hard work. After all the sacrifice, risk and commitment, what’s next? How do you design the future your way? A well-structured plan can result in significant tax savings and increase the value of your operation. Our TransitionSMART program will help you develop and complete a plan that gives you peace of mind and allows you to successfully transition on your own terms. After all, dreams don’t retire - they grow.

TM

Contact Geoff McIntyre, CPA, CA, Business Advisor, B.C. Wine Industry at 250.979.2574 or geoff.mcintyre@mnp.ca

2016 BUYER'S GUIDE

■ Accounting

■ Financial

■ Soil & Soil Testing

■ Aerial Surveying & Mapping

■ Funding Programs

■ Spreaders

■ Agencies – Marketing & Design

■ Insurance

■ Steel Buildings

■ Animal, Bird and Pest Control

■ Irrigation

■ Storage

■ Associations

■ Juicing

■ Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

■ Bottles

■ Labels & Labeling Equipment

■ Trailers

■ Cidery

■ Nursery Supplies

■ Vineyard Equipment

■ Concrete Resurfacing

■ Orchard Supplies

■ Viticulture

■ Cooperage, Tanks & Containers

■ Organics

■ Warehousing & Distribution

■ Corks, Capsules & Closures

■ Packaging Containers & Boxes

■ Wind Machines

■ Crop Protection

■ Pest Control

■ Winery Equipment

■ Farm Equipment

■ Pesticides

■ Winery Services

■ Farm Management

■ Photography

■ Winery Supplies

■ Fencing

■ Real Estate

■ Fertilizer

■ Refrigeration

Spring 2016 25

Accounting

Accounting

Agencies

TaylorMade Ideas

600,1628 Dickson Avenue Kelowna, BC V1Y 9X1 Phone: 250-979-2574 Toll Free: 1-877-766-9735 Fax: 250-763-1121 geoff.mcintyre@mnp.ca MNP.ca MNP is one of the largest national accounting and business consulting firms in Canada. Based in Kelowna, MNP’s Business Advisors for the B.C. Wine Industry provide our clients personalized strategies to help you succeed.

Accounting

White Kennedy LLP Chartered Professional Accountants 201-99 Padmore Ave E Penticton, BC V2A 7H7 Phone Penticton: 250-493-0600 1-2429 Dobbin Rd West Kelowna, BC V4T 21A Phone West Kelowna: 250-768-3400 204- 8309 Main St Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V0 Phone Osoyoos: 250-495-2688 info@whitekennedy.com www.whitekennedy.com White Kennedy is committed to helping clients plan for success. We are a full-service Okanagan Chartered Professional Accountants firm providing the Valley with exceptional, personalized service at competitive rates. With accounting offices in Penticton, West Kelowna and Osoyoos, we are small enough to be readily accessible and large enough to offer a full range of professional services and a wide range of experience.

Aerial Surveying & Mapping

Internet Marketing for Small Business

Taylormade Ideas Phone: 250-276-4333 jennifer@taylormadeideas.ca www.taylormadeideas.ca At Taylormade Ideas, we believe you should concentrate on what you do best: focus on your product or service.

Taylormade Ideas will do what we do best: create exceptional branding, graphic design, traditional and digital marketing (websites, e-newsletters, social media) to help you build brand equity and generate revenue. We have been successfully launching, growing and re-launching small businesses for over 20 years both locally and globally. Call us for a FREE half hour candid chat and how we can help your business grow.

Animal, Bird & Pest Control

RHN Chartered Professional Accountants

2016 Buyer's Guide

Okanagan Office #330 - 1620 Dickson Avenue Kelowna, BC V1Y 9Y2 Phone: 250-860-1177 Lower Mainland Office #105 - 13900 Maycrest Way Richmond, BC V6V 3E2 Phone: 604-273-9338 Toll free: 1-888-746-3188 Fax: 604-273-9390 info@rhncpa.com www.rhncpa.com RHN understands the unique challenges faced by growers and producers of vine and orchard products and services.

Business owners deserve to have experienced and knowledgeable accountants and business advisors who provide extraordinary service and go beyond standard expectations.

At RHN, we are REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL SOLUTIONS who business owners trust and rely upon.

26 Spring 2016

Hummingbird Aerial Surveys 1095 Nechako ct.

Kelowna, BC V1V 2N9 Phone: 250-575-5953 info@hummingbirdaerialsurveys.com www.hummingbirdaerialsurveys.com Hummingbird Aerial Surveys delivers agriculture intelligence by providing aerial imaging, remote sensing & precision agriculture mapping services using highly specialized drone enabled technologies.

American Nettings & Fabric Inc. 7042 Portal Way, Bldg N1 Ferndale, WA USA 98248 Phone: 360-366-2630 Toll Free: 1-800-811-7444 Fax: 1-800-211-6387 sales@americannettings.com www.americannettings.com Extruded bird nettings to 20 ft wide, custom cuts available. Knitted bird nettings to 60 ft wide. Shade nets, deer fence, woven ground cover, etc.

Animal, Bird & Pest Control

Associations

12033 Loomer Road Summerland, BC V0H 1Z8 Phone: 250-488-2374 Fax: 250-494-0338 info@farmsolutions.net www.farmsolutions.net

Richards Packaging

BCFGA 880 Vaughan Avenue Kelowna, BC V1Y 7E4 Phone: 250-762-5226 Toll Free: 1-800-619-9022 Fax: 250-861-9089 info@bcfga.com www.bcfga.com Representing the tree fruit industry since 1889 in matters of government laws, regulations, programs and taxes.

Promoting and developing industry strategies that improves growing practices, packing, marketing, and the consumption of fresh and processed tree fruits and reputation of tree fruits grown in British Columbia.

Animal, Bird & Pest Control

Redden Net & Rope Ltd. #27-12491 #2 Rd. Richmond, BC V7E 2G3 Phone: 604-274-1422 Toll Free: 866-233-1422 Cell: 604-506-5043 mark@redden-net.com Largest Supplier of Vineyard Netting in B.C.

Associations

#140 - 9200 Van Horne Way Richmond, BC V6X 1W3 Phone: 604-270-0111 Fax: 604-270-8937 cmckinney@richardspackaging.com www.richardspackaging.com NEW AT RICHARDS: CALL US FOR GROWLER PRICING. Richards Packaging has been associated with container manufacturing and distribution since 1912.

We offer perhaps the widest range of plastic and glass containers originating from Canada, the United States, Europe. We are a major North American source for metal and plastic closures and a leading distributor of various injection molded containers and packaging systems.

Good Things Come in Richard’s Packaging.

Botttles

British Columbia Grapegrowers’ Association PO Box 42 Grand Forks, BC V0H 1H0 Toll free: 877-762-4652 Fax: 250-767-0094 bcga@grapegrowers.bc.ca www.grapegrowers.bc.ca The British Columbia Grapegrowers’ Association is a non-profit organization that supports the continuing development of the British Columbia grape growing industry, stressing quality, profitability and sustainability while expanding the markets for British Columbia grapes and wines.

Universal Packaging 1810 Kosmina Road Vernon, BC V1T 8T2 Toll free: 1-866-549-1323 Fax: 1-877-260-8777 sales@thinkuniversal.com www.thinkuniversal.com Universal Packaging has been supplying packaging solutions to beverage companies since 1985.

Over the years, we have invested in innovative technology and our team to become one of the largest screen printers in North America. From start to finish, we are your one-stop shop ask us about screen printing, bottles, cartons, Vinoseal closures and more!

2016 Buyer's Guide

FarmSolutions is a supplier of high quality agricultural fabric, including drape-over bird netting, side-netting, rain fabrics, windbreak fabrics and shade cloth. The company also supplies fruit and vegetable processing equipment and crop production and management software.

Botttles

Spring 2016 27

Botttles

Concrete Resurfacing

Marvelous Ideas Contracting Ltd. WP Bottle Supply Phone: 905-329-3523 Toll free: 888-704-1708 Fax number: 905-688-9956 suzanne@wpbottlesupply.com www.wpbottlesupply.com WP Bottle Supply offers the highest level of customer service with competitive pricing. Attentive detail is given to each order, from sourcing the perfect container worthy or your product to making sure it is delivered on time for bottling. The highest quality wine, beer and liquor bottles are sourced from North America, Europe, South America and Asia. A division of WP Warehousing, with access to over 200,000 sq. ft. of warehouse to inventory glass and trucking logistics across Canada and the USA.

Cidery

austino F

Unit #6 – 2543 Juliann Road West Kelowna, BC V1Z 2M3 BC Interior: (250) 258-8728 Lower Mainland: (250) 454-6969 Toll Free: 1-866-227-5165 don@marvelousideas.com www.marvelousideas.com An innovative, specialty trades wall and flooring system applicator (since 1991) engaged primarily in concrete preparation, restoration, resurfacing and protective finishes. We use only hybrid, proven-performance products (urethanes, epoxies, mortars, lithium sealers and joint sealants), technologies and equipment that can enhance chemical, corrosion, thermal and slip resistance. Many of these products are also LEED certified, VOC Compliant, anti-microbial and CFIA approved.

Cooperages, Tanks & Containers

Corks, Capsules & Closures

Amcor Flexibles 5425 Broadway Street American Canyon CA 94503 Phone: 877-STELVIN (877-783-5846) Fax number: 707-257-8028 info.capsules@amcor.com www.amcor.com/stelvin Amcor is a global leader in the manufacture and marketing of Stelvin® aluminum closures and capsules for the wine, sparkling wine & spirits industry. Stelvin®, the original wine screwcap developed more than 50 years ago, is the market reference. The Stelvin® closure uses specific liners that respect the aging process and deliver uncompromised flavors and aromas.

Corks, Capsules & Closures

ESTATE CIDERY

F

2016 Buyer's Guide

Faustino Estate Cidery 14000 - 14014 97th St. Osoyoos B.C. V0H 1V2 Phone: 250-495-7035 Cell: 250-498-9907 Fax: 250-495-7035 arelvas@telus.net www.faustinoestatecidery.ca Faustino Estate Cidery is located in Osoyoos – in Canada’s only pocket desert. Each bottle of Faustino Cider is fresh-pressed from estate-grown fruit, picked at exactly the right time.

Our passion for quality continues from tree to bottle, to create smooth, flavourful, refreshing ciders. Taste the difference quality makes!

28 Spring 2016

cellar•tek west

cellar•tek west

1043 Richter St. Kelowna, BC V1Y 2K4 Phone: 250-868-3186 Toll Free: 1-877-460-9463 Fax: 250-868-0186

1043 Richter St. Kelowna, BC V1Y 2K4 Phone: 250-868-3186 Toll Free: 1-877-460-9463 Fax: 250-868-0186

cellar•tek east

cellar•tek east

#530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 Fax: 905-984-8316

#530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 Fax: 905-984-8316

info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com

info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com

Cellar-Tek is a commercial winery, brewery and cidery supply company based in Canada and serving North America with a full range of quality equipment & supplies. Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers and ciders, we strive to be the “go to” support system for commercial producers of these delicious beverages so we can do our part to help them make the best products possible.

Cellar-Tek is a commercial winery, brewery and cidery supply company based in Canada and serving North America with a full range of quality equipment & supplies. Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers and ciders, we strive to be the “go to” support system for commercial producers of these delicious beverages so we can do our part to help them make the best products possible.

Corks, Capsules & Closures

TricorBraun Winepak Unit # 500 1650 Brigantine Drive Coquitlam, BC V3K 7B5 Phone: 604-649-5623 Toll free: 877-495-7924 Fax number: 604-529-7977 www.tricorbraunwinepak.com TricorBraun WinePak provides domestic and imported, stock and customized wine bottle. The automatic repack facility enables repacking from bulk to case.

WinePak Direct provides bottles for smaller runs such as reserve wines.

Corks, Capsules & Closures

Crop Protection

American Nettings & Fabric Inc. 7042 Portal Way, Bldg N1 Ferndale, WA USA 98248 Phone: 360-366-2630 Toll Free: 1-800-811-7444 Fax: 1-800-211-6387 sales@americannettings.com www.americannettings.com Extruded bird nettings to 20 ft wide, custom cuts available. Knitted bird nettings to 60 ft wide. Shade nets, deer fence, woven ground cover, etc.

Crop Protection

Crop Protection

Crop Production Services Inc. Evergro Division

260D Campion St. Kelowna, BC V1X 7S8 Phone: 250-765-0290 Toll Free: 866-765-0290 Fax: 250-765-0258 evergro@cpsagu.ca Major supplier of fertilizer including liquid, water soluble, slow release, organic, foliar and micro nutrients.

Environmentally responsible pest controls including biological & synthetic treatments. Large inventory of grower supplies and crop production products. We are committed to growth; ask our technical sales representatives to help plan your crop nutrition and protection strategies.

Crop Protection

Engage Agro Corporation

1810 Kosmina Road Vernon, BC V1T 8T2 Toll free: 1-866-549-1323 Fax: 1-877-260-8777 sales@thinkuniversal.com www.thinkuniversal.com Universal Packaging has been supplying packaging solutions to beverage companies since 1985.

Over the years, we have invested in innovative technology and our team to become one of the largest screen printers in North America. From start to finish, we are your one-stop shop ask us about screen printing, bottles, cartons, Vinoseal closures and more!

Engage Agro Corporation develops, registers and markets protection, nutritional and management products for orchard, vineyard and agricultural crops across Canada. Engage Agro works closely with end users and suppliers to evaluate market needs, conduct research, and provide cost effective products that offer superior performance.

Nufarm Agriculture Inc. Maria Dombrowsky Canada Horticulture Specialist Phone: 226.820.6223 maria.dombrowsky@ca.nufarm.com 1-800-868-5444 Nufarm.ca Growing any crops requires careful planning. Growing high value, labour intensive horticultural crops in Canada requires extra time and attention to maximize growth, yield and quality while minimizing the challenges from insects, diseases and weeds. Put your resources into growing the best quality crop, and depend on our crop protection solutions to do the rest.

2016 Buyer's Guide

Universal Packaging

1030 Gordon St. Guelph, ON N1G 4X5 Phone: 519-826-7878 Toll free: 866-613-3336 Fax: 519-826-7675 info@engageagro.com www.engageagro.com

Spring 2016 29

Crop Protection

Farm Equipment

Farm Equipment

TerraLink Horticulture Inc. 464 Riverside Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M1 Phone: 1-604-864-9044 Toll free: 1-800-661-4559 Fax: 1-604-864-8418 sales@tlhort.com www.tlhort.com Since 1973 TerraLink has provided crop inputs in Western Canada for tree fruits, grapes, greenhouse, small fruit, turf, nursery, ornamentals, forestry, garden centres, landscape and organic markets. Manufacturer and retailer offering a selection of fertilizers, seeds, crop protection products, and other inputs, directly or through distributors such as Growers Supply.

Bowtie Tech Corp 15210 - 97 Street Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V2 Phone: 250-495-6459 david@bowtietech.com • Tractor & Ag equipment parts and repairs • Pruners and pruner parts • Sprayer hose, nozzles, valves • Tire sales and repairs – all types • TWO mobile service trucks • Wet tire repairs ‘On The Farm’ available • Propane cannons, bird control systems and devices Mon - Fri 7am to 5pm Sat 7am - Noon

Farm Equipment

Farm Equipment

Avenue Machinery Corp.

2016 Buyer's Guide

Kelowna Phone: 250-769-8700 Fax: 250-769-8755 Vernon Phone: 250-545-3355 Fax: 250-545-4255 Rock Creek Phone: 250-446-2311 Toll Free: 1-888-283-3276 reception@avenuemachinery.ca www.avenuemachinery.ca Agricultural and light construction supply and service equipment.

Featuring Kubota, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Landpride, Florida, Rankin, Maschio.

30 Spring 2016

34856 Harris Rd. Abbotsford, BC V3G 1R7 Phone: 604-826-3281 Fax: 604-826-0705 dave.matsquiagrepair@shaw.ca www.matsquiagrepair.com Authorized Sales, Service and Parts for Deutz-Fahr, McCormick, Kioti, Kuhn and McHale equipment. New and used equipment sales. Servicing the Okanagan and Fraser Valley since 1989.

Farm Equipment

Provide Agro Corporation

1521 Sumas Way Abbotsford, BC Abbotsford Phone: 604-864-2665 Fax: 604-864-9568 Toll Free: 1-888-283-3276

Matsqui Ag Repair Ltd.

Gerard’s Equipment 5592 Hwy 97 Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-2524 Fax: 250-498-3288 www.gerardsequipment.com Proudly serving the Okanagan since 1973. We provide high quality farm equipment; vineyard and trellising supplies; and outdoor yard and garden products. We also provide repair service and replacement parts to most makes and models. In addition to our mainlines of KUBOTA Tractors and STIHL garden implements we carry a large variety of tractor attachments; short line implements; pruning tools; bird scaring, trellising, and harvesting supplies.

4825 Union Rd. Beamsville, ON L0R 1B4 Phone: 905-563-8261 Toll free: 1-800-263-1287 info@provideag.ca www.provideag.ca Provide Agro is an N.M. Bartlett Inc. company that was formed to focus our horticulture equipment and technological innovation lines.

Lines include; FA.MA. Hedgers and HSS sprayers, Orsi Platforms, Darwin blossom thinners, Bartlett custom packhouse equipment.

South Okanagan Equipment 5679 Sawmill Rd Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-5145 Fax: 250-498-5135 sokequip@hotmail.com Sales and service of new and quality used farm equipment. Specializing in Edwards Equipment, Turbo-Mist, Rankin/Northstar, Binger/ERO, Braun, TG Schmeiser, Kult Fingerweeder, S&A spreaders, Rabaud, Aerway, Yanmar crawlers and Nairn grape harvesters.

Farm Management

Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) Inc. CAFA is the nationally recognized organization for professional farm advisors. CAFA advisors maintain high standards while continually increasing farm advisory skills and knowledge intended to provide measurable value to their farm clients. www.cafanet.com info@cafanet.com Elizabeth Robertson Box 270 Seven Sisters Falls, Manitoba R0E 1Y0 Phone: 1-306-466-2294 Toll free: 1-877-474-2871

Farm Equipment

Tri-Way Farms Laser Levelling Ltd. Serving the Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Okanagan and Vancouver Island Phone: 604-855-0071 Larry: 604-209-5523 triway2@telus.net Contact Tri-Way Farms Laser Levelling Ltd. for improved drainage, uniform germination, uniform irrigation to increase crop yields.

Fencing

Fencing

Fraser Valley Steel & Wire Ltd. 3174 Mt. Lehman Road Abbotsford, BC V4X 2M9 Phone: 604-856-3391 Toll Free: 1-877-856-3391 Fax: 604-856-0603 www.fraservalleysteelandwire.com Proud supplier of quality steel and wire products to the orchard and vineyard industry for over 40 years.

Thank You For Your Continued Support. For A Dealer Near You Call 1-877-856-3391

Fertilizer

American Nettings & Fabric Inc. 7042 Portal Way, Bldg N1 Ferndale, WA USA 98248 Phone: 360-366-2630 Toll Free: 1-800-811-7444 Fax: 1-800-211-6387 sales@americannettings.com www.americannettings.com Extruded bird nettings to 20 ft wide, custom cuts available. Knitted bird nettings to 60 ft wide. Shade nets, deer fence, woven ground cover, etc.

Pacific Calcium, Inc. 32117 Highway 97 Tonasket, WA 98855 Phone: 1-509-486-1201 Toll free: 1-877-571-3555 Fax: 1-509-486-1701 info@naturesintent.com www.naturesintent.com Pacific Calcium, Inc., makers of Nature’s Intent Calpril® and Nature’s Intent Dolopril®, also offer a full line of soil amendments and fertilizers for organic and conventional use. We have dealers across British Columbia and Washington, so look for Nature’s Intent and call or check our website for a distributor nearest you.

2016 Buyer's Guide

Farm Equipment

Spring 2016 31

Fertlizer

Financial

Funding Programs

Let’s talk business Work with the leading lender to agriculture, agribusiness and agri-food in Canada.

Superior Peat Inc. 1700 Carmi Avenue Penticton, BC V2A 8V5 Phone: 250-493-5410 info@superiorpeat.com www.superiorpeat.com OMRI Listed supplier of Organic soil amendments used when planting Orchards, Vineyards and Berry Farms.

We also carry a large selection of bark mulches for ground cover. Visit us online at www.superiorpeat.com for more information.

fccfinancing.ca | 1-855-230-6821

Financial

RBC ROYAL BANK RBC has 3 agricultural specialists in the Okanagan Brian Nowoselski South Okanagan/Similkameen 250-490-4404 brian.nowoselski@rbc.com Devon Sailer Kelowna/Central Okanagan 250-868-4196 devon.sailer@rbc.com

Fertlizer

Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC PO Box 8248 Victoria, BC V8W 3R9 Phone: 250-356-1662 Fax: 250-953-5162 info@iafbc.ca www.iafbc.ca IAF is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization. Since 1996, we have been making strategic investments in support of innovative projects that benefit BC’s agriculture and agri-food industry. Funding is available through programs like the BC Government’s Buy Local Program, the BC Agrifoods Export Program and the Canada-BC Agri-Innovation Program under the Growing Forward 2 initiative.

We’re here to help you and your sector become more competitive and sustainable, talk to us about your project idea today!

Kathy Brewster Vernon/North Okanagan 250-558-4336 kathy.brewster@rbc.com

Insurance

www.rbcroyalbank.com/agriculture

Financial

TerraLink Horticulture Inc.

Robert Fiume

2016 Buyer's Guide

464 Riverside Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M1 Phone: 1-604-864-9044 Toll free: 1-800-661-4559 Fax: 1-604-864-8418 sales@tlhort.com www.tlhort.com Since 1973 TerraLink has provided crop inputs in Western Canada for tree fruits, grapes, greenhouse, small fruit, turf, nursery, ornamentals, forestry, garden centres, landscape and organic markets. Manufacturer and retailer offering a selection of fertilizers, seeds, crop protection products, and other inputs, directly or through distributors such as Growers Supply.

32 Spring 2016

Toll free: 1-800-670-1877 Ext 3815 rfiume@capri.ca www.capri.ca

TD Canada Trust – Agriculture Services 1633 Ellis Street, Unit 100 Kelowna, BC V1Y 2A8 Phone: 250-763-4241 Ext 305 Cell Phone: 250-681-4656 Fax number: 250-712-5470 Jeremy.Siddall@td.com www.tdcanadatrust.com/agriculture/ We are dedicated to helping you achieve your business goals and create a flexible and customized banking solution that is right for your farming operation.

Since 1975 Capri Insurance has provided innovative insurance solutions to the business community from eleven convenient locations.

• Kelowna • Lake Country • West Kelowna • Vernon • Kamloops • Penticton With subsidiaries in Prince George, Burnaby and Ontario.

Robert Fiume, is a viticulturist and insurance broker specializing in wineries and the agricultural industry.

He recently opened up his own family winery in the Okanagan Valley, Ciao Bella.

Insurance

Irrigation

The Co-operators Solve Insurance

Nelson Irrigation Corporation

120-1640 Leckie Road Kelowna, BC V1X 7C6 Phone: 250-861-3777 Toll free: 1-866-582-3777 Fax number: 250-861-3715 solve_ins_kelowna@cooperators.ca www.cooperators.ca/en/solve-insurance

848 Airport Road Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA Phone: +1 509.525.7660 Toll free: +1 800.456.3141 Fax: +1 509.525.7907 info@nelsonirrigation.com www.nelsonirrigation.com

We have three convenient locations to help serve you in the Okanagan Valley: two in Kelowna and one in the West Kelowna. We look forward to seeing you in our offices, talking to you on the phone or corresponding through email. If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss your personal insurance needs or if you would like a quote, please feel free to contact us.

Nelson Irrigation Corporation plans, designs, develops, manufactures and sells proprietary products for the irrigation equipment market.

It is focused on products and services that improve the state-of-the-art of irrigation by saving water, saving energy and doing a better job of irrigating.

With over 30 branches across Canada, Corix Water Products provides quality irrigation, drainage, and organic solutions to the agricultural industry.

We maintain one of the largest singlesource inventories in the industry, including: • Water management • Pump systems • Compost tea soil amendment • Premium worm castings • Drip / micro irrigation • Valves and valve boxes • Rain water harvesting • Landscape lighting • Pond aeration

44160 Yale Road West Chilliwack, BC V2R 3Z9 Phone: 604-792-0041 Toll free: 1-800-663-2615 Fax: 604-792-9515 sales@southerndrip.com www.southerndrip.com Southern Irrigation is a family owned and operated business that has been supplying quality irrigation products and solutions for the last 30 years.

We are committed to provide outstanding customer service while adhering to the highest ethical conduct.

Our head office is located in Chilliwack BC, and we have a second location in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Irrigation

19900 84th Avenue Langley, BC V2Y 3C2 Phone: 604.455.3500 Toll free: 1.800.667.2445 Fax: 604.455.3502 info.waterproducts@corix.com www.corix.com

Southern Irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation

Nulton Irrigation (B.C.) Ltd

Head office - Langley, BC Branch offices in William’s Lake, BC and Lynden, WA

5830 Sawmill Road Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-485-0246 Fax: 250-485-0247 german@nultonirr.com www.nultonirr.com

Call Toll Free 1-888-675-7999 www.watertecna.com

Serving the Okanagan for over 44 years. Our staff of IABC certified irrigation designers is continuously searching for the most efficient method of irrigating your crop. No charge for consultation or design.

Watertec is a leading supplier and designer of Agricultural Irrigation Systems . We are also one of Western Canada’s Largest Importer of Sprayers, Nozzles & Spraying Accessories.

Watertec’s Staff is dedicated to solving all the customers Irrigation and spraying needs.

2016 Buyer's Guide

We offer all lines of insurance and our specialists can customize your insurance portfolio to meet your specific needs.

Irrigation

Spring 2016 33

Juicing

Labels & Labeling Equipment

Nursery Supplies

Okanagan Mobile Juicing Inc. Vernon, BC Phone: 250-558-5488 sales@juicing.systems www.juicing.systems

Universal Packaging

We sell quality Kreuzmayr fruit processing equipment from the leading European manufacturer.

Available are: > Bin Dumpers > Washers / Elevator / Grinder > Belt Presses > Pasteurizers > Bag-in-Box Fillers > Fruit Dryers > De-stoners > Jam Kettles > Mobile Juicing Trailers > Complete Juicing Lines

Labels & Labeling Equipment

1810 Kosmina Road Vernon, BC V1T 8T2 Toll free: 1-866-549-1323 Fax: 1-877-260-8777 sales@thinkuniversal.com www.thinkuniversal.com Universal Packaging has been supplying packaging solutions to beverage companies since 1985.

Over the years, we have invested in innovative technology and our team to become one of the largest screen printers in North America. From start to finish, we are your one-stop shop ask us about screen printing, bottles, cartons, Vinoseal closures and more!

Nursery Supplies

Knights Grapevine Nursery Eckhard Kaesekamp Phone: 707-350-1148 23308 Gifford Rd, Knights Landing California 95645 Knights Grapevine Nursery is a nursery focused on guarding against viruses and diseases that threaten our industry. With Eckhard and Benjamin Kaesekamp’s reputation for high quality vines, strong commitment to customer service and years of experience, as well as the isolated Northern California location, Knights Grapevine Nursery is your best choice for the strongest, cleanest plants!

Nursery Supplies

Jet Label & Packaging Ltd

2016 Buyer's Guide

EDMONTON (Head Office) Jet49th Label 9445 Street, Edmonton, AB T6B 2L8 9445 Street, Phone:- 49th 780.440.5135 Edmonton, AB Fax: 780.465.7837 Toll Free: 1.866.440.5135 T6B 2L8 www.jet-label.com Phone: 780.440.5135 WhateverFax: your780.465.7837 product, Jet can label 1.866.440.5135 it. WeToll are Free: the all-in-one solution for your labelling needs. With locations in www.jet-label.com Kelowna, Vancouver, Prince George, Whatever your product, Jet can we Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, label it. We are the all-in-one are Western Canada’s largest label solution for your labelling needs. manufacturer and printer.

We are western Canada’s largest Stick out— stick with us! label manufacturer and printer with locations in Vancouver, Prince George, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

Stick out— stick with us!

34 Spring 2016

Inland Desert Nursery 32508 W. Kelly Rd Benton City, WA USA 99320 Phone: 509-588-6615 Fax: 509-588-4526 sales@idnursery.com www.idnursery.com Family owned and operated, Inland Desert Nursery supplies the cleanest and healthiest grapevines available to growers across North America.

We also provide an extraordinarily high level of knowledgeable service to customers. Our success depends on helping growers develop the sustainable, high-quality vineyards upon which their success depends.

Mori Vines Inc. R.R.#3, 1912 Concession 4, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0 Phone: 905-468-0822 Fax: 905-468-0344 morivines@sympatico.ca www.morivines.com We are a Canadian nursery producing quality certified grape vines for domestic and export markets. Choose from a wide selection of plant clones, ownrooted or grafted, dormant or green. Mori Vines is your best source for quality grape vines. We look forward to assisting you.

Nursery Supplies

Organics

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

TricorBraun Winepak

Pacific Calcium, Inc. Vintage Nurseries 27920 McCombs Ave. Wasco, CA 93280 Phone: 661-758-4777 Toll free: 1-800-499-9019 Fax: 661-758-4999 dustin.hooper@vintagenurseries.com www.vintagenurseries.com Vintage Nurseries is one of North America’s largest producers of dormant field-grown benchgrafts.

They also produce greenhouse-grown benchgrafts, rootstock rootings, own-rooted vines, and cuttings, and currently offer a wide selection of popular varieties, new table grape releases, and other table and raisin grape varieties.

Orchard Supplies

32117 Highway 97 Tonasket, WA 98855 Phone: 1-509-486-1201 Toll free: 1-877-571-3555 Fax: 1-509-486-1701 info@naturesintent.com www.naturesintent.com Pacific Calcium, Inc., makers of Nature’s Intent Calpril® and Nature’s Intent Dolopril®, also offer a full line of soil amendments and fertilizers for organic and conventional use. We have dealers across British Columbia and Washington, so look for Nature’s Intent and call or check our website for a distributor nearest you.

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

Unit # 500 1650 Brigantine Drive Coquitlam, BC V3K 7B5 Phone: 604-649-5623 Toll free: 877-495-7924 Fax number: 604-529-7977 www.tricorbraunwinepak.com TricorBraun WinePak provides domestic and imported, stock and customized wine bottle. The automatic repack facility enables repacking from bulk to case.

WinePak Direct provides bottles for smaller runs such as reserve wines.

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

Thunderbird Plastics Ltd.

5592 Hwy 97 Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-2524 Fax: 250-498-3288 www.gerardsequipment.com Proudly serving the Okanagan since 1973. We provide high quality farm equipment; vineyard and trellising supplies; and outdoor yard and garden products. We also provide repair service and replacement parts to most makes and models. In addition to our mainlines of KUBOTA Tractors and STIHL garden implements we carry a large variety of tractor attachments; short line implements; pruning tools; bird scaring, trellising, and harvesting supplies.

6969 Shirley Avenue Burnaby, BC V5J 4R4 Phone: 604-433-5624 Toll free: 1-888-77T-BIRD (1-888-778-2473) Fax number: 604-433-6231 info@thunderbirdplastics.com www.thunderbirdplastics.com TPL is committed to supplying quality, affordable and reusable materials handling solutions. Since 1970, we have been continually striving to expand our product lines, improving our pricing and delivery times and enhancing our customer service with quality plastic container products.

Universal Packaging 1810 Kosmina Road Vernon, BC V1T 8T2 Toll free: 1-866-549-1323 Fax: 1-877-260-8777 sales@thinkuniversal.com www.thinkuniversal.com Universal Packaging has been supplying packaging solutions to beverage companies since 1985.

Over the years, we have invested in innovative technology and our team to become one of the largest screen printers in North America. From start to finish, we are your one-stop shop ask us about screen printing, bottles, cartons, Vinoseal closures and more!

2016 Buyer's Guide

Gerard’s Equipment

Spring 2016 35

Pesticides

Pest Control

Secure-Rite Mobile Storage H & M Gopher Control Phone: 530-667-5181 Toll Free: 855-667-5181 allen@hmgophercontrol.com hmgophercontrol.com Stop burrowing rodents from stealing your profits. No poison baits, no explosions, simple to operate. Burrow systems are probed in multiple locations. Crops stands are undamaged, not dug out. The most effective, safe way to kill burrowing rodents. Control ground squirrels, gophers, prairie dogs, moles and voles using pressurized exhaust gas.

726 Clement Ave Kelowna, BC V1Y 7E1 Phone: 250.861.3955 Toll Free: 1.888.861.3955 Fax: 250.861.3165 Storage@Secure-Rite.com www.Secure-Rite.com Secure-Rite Mobile Storage provides a range of secure, weatherproof mobile storage units. Our storage, office, accommodation, pesticide or refrigerated containers and accessories are available for purchase, lease or rental at competitive prices, with exceptional service! Our customized Pesticide Storage Units are equipped with extra ventilation, shelving, spill containment options and more!

Real Estate

Geen+Byrne Real Estate Team RE/MAX Kelowna 100 – 1553 Harvey Ave Kelowna, BC V1Y 6G1 Jerry Geen: 250-870-3888 Jerry@GeenByrne.com Elya Byrne: 250-317-1980 Elya@GeenByrne.com www.OkanaganFarms.com Selling property requires knowledge of land use, values, current market conditions, financing and that intangible ability of a good REALTOR® to “connect” with people. With Jerry + Elya’s professional demeanour, sharp analytical skills, industry contacts and extensive experience with farms & acreages, this is the REALTOR® team you need working on your behalf!

Call Jerry + Elya today!

Pesticides

Photography

N.M. Bartlett Inc.

Okanagan • Vancouver Palm Springs • Hawaii Kim Elsasser Phone: 250-870-8616 KimElsasser@me.com www.kimsphotography.com

2016 Buyer's Guide

4509 Bartlett Rd. Beamsville, ON L0R1B1 Phone: 905-563-8261 Toll free: 1-800-263-1287 info@bartlett.ca www.bartlett.ca Bartlett’s are a crop protection distributor in Canada specializing in specialty horticulture products.

Family owned and operated now in its fourth generation with over 100 years of experience in the Canadian hort segment.

36 Spring 2016

• Portraits on your Farm or Winery Property • Corporate Portraits • Boardroom Art • Family • Wedding • Destination Photography International Award Winning Artist!

Refrigeration

KOOLJET Refrigeration Inc. 1444 Bell Mill Side Road R.R. 6 Tillsonburg, ON N4G 4G9 Phone: 519-842-2268 Toll Free:1-866-748-7786 Fax: 519-842-8020 info@kooljet.com www.kooljet.com KOOLJET, a Canadian company, designs and builds specialized refrigeration systems for cooling fruits, vegetables, and wine storage rooms.The specialized one-piece designs do not require refrigeration technicians to do the installation.

KOOLJET Refrigeration systems are charged with refrigerant and fully tested before shipment. Products include Hydro-Coolers, Wine Tank Chillers, and Room Coolers.

Refrigeration

Soil & Soil Testing

Spreaders

Frozen, Refrigerated and Dry Storage Facilities

J. Bond & Sons Ltd

Rancho Cooling & Warehouse Ltd.

Rancho Cooling & Warehouse Ltd. is a frozen, refrigerated and dry storage warehouse facility located in Armstrong, BC. We have cooling/ freezing capability to -29C/-20F. We are fully racked and have six convenient loading/unloading docks and ample space for ease of truck maneuvering. Please contact us to discuss any potential cold or dry storage warehousing needs that you may have.

Soil & Soil Testing

19900 84th Avenue Langley, BC V2Y 3C2 Phone: 604.455.3500 Toll free: 1.800.667.2445 Fax: 604.455.3502 info.waterproducts@corix.com www.corix.com With over 30 branches across Canada, Corix Water Products provides quality irrigation, drainage, and organic solutions to the agricultural industry.

We maintain one of the largest singlesource inventories in the industry, including: • Water management • Pump systems • Compost tea soil amendment • Premium worm castings • Drip / micro irrigation • Valves and valve boxes • Rain water harvesting • Landscape lighting • Pond aeration

Hanna Instruments Canada Inc. 3156 Industriel Laval, QC H7L 4P7 Phone: 450-629-1444 Toll free: 800-842-6629 Fax number: 450-629-3335 sales@hannacan.com www.hannacan.com We supply instrumentation for all the growers and winemakers’ needs whether pocket type, portable or bench type. We offer meters for the analysis of pH, conductivity, sulfur dioxide, total titratable acidity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, residual sugar and many other parameters.

Soil & Soil Testing

JBS started in 2005 and became a leader in manufacturing manure spreaders, and other related agriculture products. JBS’s Orchard/ Vineyard Spreader is the perfect machine for spreading in small orchard/vineyard rows. The spreader is PTO driven, scale ready, and has two attachments available: dual direction conveyers or dual spinners.

Spreaders

Whatcom Manufacturing Inc. Superior Peat Inc. 1700 Carmi Avenue Penticton, BC V2A 8V5 Phone: 250-493-5410 info@superiorpeat.com www.superiorpeat.com OMRI Listed supplier of Organic soil amendments used when planting Orchards, Vineyards and Berry Farms.

We also carry a large selection of bark mulches for ground cover. Visit us online at www.superiorpeat.com for more information.

405 Birch Bay Lynden Rd. Lynden, WA USA 98264 Phone: 360-354-3094 Fax: 360-354-5434 info@whatcommfg.com www.whatcommfg.com Custom Built Row Mulch Spreaders for Vineyards and Orchards.

Extra narrow models, QuickChange discharges, available in multiple sizes with numerous options and features built to accommodate all applications.

For use with compost, sawdust, shavings,manure or wood chips.

2016 Buyer's Guide

3155 Pleasant Valley Rd. Armstrong, BC V0E 1B2 Phone: 250-938-5062 cooling@ranchovignola.com www.ranchocooling.com

Unit 103 31413 Gill Avenue Mission, BC V4S 0A1 Phone: 604.826.5391 Toll Free: 1.855.826.5391 Fax: 604.826.5392 roger@jbscanada.ca jbscanada.ca

Spring 2016 37

Steel Buildings

First Class Steel Buildings Inc. 2661 Moore Drive West Kelowna, BC V4T 1R9 Phone: 250.707.1301 Fax: 250.707.1310 Firstclasssteelbuildings@shaw.ca www.firstclasssteelbuildings.com First Class Steel Buildings offer a full line of Pre-Engineered and Steel Arch “Quonset” style building systems.

With three of the finest building manufacturers in the world backing them, First Class Steel makes a big impact in the steel building industry in Western Canada. First Class Steel Buildings’ mission is to provide to our clients with building systems that meet each and every one of our customer’s needs with a quality product, efficient service and the best pricing.

Storage

Storage

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Secure-Rite Mobile Storage 726 Clement Ave Kelowna, BC V1Y 7E1 Phone: 250.861.3955 Toll Free: 1.888.861.3955 Fax: 250.861.3165 Storage@Secure-Rite.com www.Secure-Rite.com Secure-Rite Mobile Storage provides a range of secure, weatherproof mobile storage units. Our storage, office, accommodation, pesticide or refrigerated containers and accessories are available for purchase, lease or rental at competitive prices, with exceptional service! Our customized Pesticide Storage Units are equipped with extra ventilation, shelving, spill containment options and more!

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Gerard’s Equipment 5592 Hwy 97 Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-2524 Fax: 250-498-3288 www.gerardsequipment.com Proudly serving the Okanagan since 1973. We provide high quality farm equipment; vineyard and trellising supplies; and outdoor yard and garden products. We also provide repair service and replacement parts to most makes and models. In addition to our mainlines of KUBOTA Tractors and STIHL garden implements we carry a large variety of tractor attachments; short line implements; pruning tools; bird scaring, trellising, and harvesting supplies.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Frozen, Refrigerated and Dry Storage Facilities

Rancho Cooling & Warehouse Ltd.

2016 Buyer's Guide

3155 Pleasant Valley Rd. Armstrong, BC V0E 1B2 Phone: 250-938-5062 cooling@ranchovignola.com www.ranchocooling.com Rancho Cooling & Warehouse Ltd. is a frozen, refrigerated and dry storage warehouse facility located in Armstrong, BC. We have cooling/ freezing capability to -29C/-20F. We are fully racked and have six convenient loading/unloading docks and ample space for ease of truck maneuvering. Please contact us to discuss any potential cold or dry storage warehousing needs that you may have.

38 Spring 2016

Avenue Machinery Corp.

Island Tractor & Supply Ltd.

1521 Sumas Way Abbotsford, BC

4650 Trans Canada Highway Duncan, BC V9L 6L2 gord@islandtractors.com Phone: 250-746-1755 Toll Free: 888-795-1755 Fax: 250-334-1637

Abbotsford Phone: 604-864-2665 Fax: 604-864-9568 Toll Free: 1-888-283-3276 Kelowna Phone: 250-769-8700 Fax: 250-769-8755 Vernon Phone: 250-545-3355 Fax: 250-545-4255 Rock Creek Phone: 250-446-2311 Toll Free: 1-888-283-3276 reception@avenuemachinery.ca www.avenuemachinery.ca Agricultural and light construction supply and service equipment.

Featuring Kubota, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Landpride, Florida, Rankin, Maschio.

Island Tractor & North Island Tractor are your full service agricultural, commercial and light industrial equipment dealers on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Authorized in Sales, Service and Parts for Kubota, New Holland, JBS, Wallenstein, Land Pride, Fella, AerWay, JayLor, Farm King, Maschio and HLA equipment.

North Island Tractor 3663 South Island Highway Courtenay, BC V9N 9T6 russ@northislandtractor.com Phone: 250-334-0801 Toll Free: 866-501-0801 Fax: 250-746-1717 www.islandtractors.com

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Kubota Canada Ltd. 5900 14th Ave, Markham, ON L3S 4K4 Phone: 905-294-7477 www.kubota.ca Kubota Canada has proudly served the orchard and vine growers since 1975 and has grown to 150 authorized dealers. Specializing in narrow tractors in both open station and factory cab models from 23 to 85 Hp. Visit Kubota.ca to find a location near you and join the family.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Noble Tractor And Equipment Ltd. 4193 Noble Road Armstrong, BC V0E 1B4 Phone: 250-546-3141 Toll Free: 1-800-661-3141 Fax: 250-546-3165 nobletractor@telus.net www.nobletractor.com Your dealer for Mahindra Tractors, Turbomist Sprayers, Landini Orchard & Vineyard Tractors, and Case IH Tractors & Farm Equipment. We can help with equipment solutions, parts, & service for your business.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Slimline Manufacturing Ltd. 559 Okanagan Avenue East Penticton, BC V2A 3K4 Phone: 250-493-6145 Toll Free: 1-800-495-6145 Fax: 250-492-7756 www.turbomist.com Manufacturer of Turbo-Mist air blast sprayers.

Turbo-Mist are market leaders of technology in airblast sprayers using proven air delivery systems designed for professional agricultural use in orchards and vineyards. Please visit our new website for all products and descriptions.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

PrairieCoast Equipment Superior Quality. Trusted Tradition www.prairiecoastequipment.com Kamloops • Kelowna • Prince George Abbotsford • Langley

34856 Harris Rd. Abbotsford, BC V3G 1R7 Phone: 604-826-3281 Fax: 604-826-0705 dave.matsquiagrepair@shaw.ca www.matsquiagrepair.com

Your Local John Deere Dealer For Sales, Service and Parts. Selling Specialty sprayers and Tractors, and mowers for Orchard, Berry, and Vineyard growers.

Authorized Sales, Service and Parts for Deutz-Fahr, McCormick, Kioti, Kuhn and McHale equipment. New and used equipment sales. Servicing the Okanagan and Fraser Valley since 1989.

Timberstar Tractor 2-7861 HWY 97 North Vernon, BC V1B 3R9 Phone: 250.545.5441 Fax number: 250.545.1103 info@timberstar.ca www.timberstar.ca We are a full service certified “ 5 Paw” KIOTI tractor dealer.

2016 Buyer's Guide

Matsqui Ag Repair Ltd.

Toll Free: 1-877-553-3373 Find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Spring 2016 39

Trailers

Vineyard Equipment

Commercial Logistics Inc.

Cummings Trailer Sales & Rentals 29571 Fraser Hwy Abbotsford, BC V4X 1H2 Phone: 604-856-1988 Toll Free: 877-856-1988 Fax: 604-856-4535 cummingstrailers@gmail.com www.cummings.ca Offering a great variety of utility, dump, flatdeck, cargo, horse and stock trailers.

Vineyard Equipment

Warehousing & Distribution

Gerard’s Equipment 5592 Hwy 97 Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-2524 Fax: 250-498-3288 www.gerardsequipment.com Proudly serving the Okanagan since 1973. We provide high quality farm equipment; vineyard and trellising supplies; and outdoor yard and garden products. We also provide repair service and replacement parts to most makes and models. In addition to our mainlines of KUBOTA Tractors and STIHL garden implements we carry a large variety of tractor attachments; short line implements; pruning tools; bird scaring, trellising, and harvesting supplies.

Viticulture

333 Penno Road Kelowna, BC V1X 7W5 Phone: 250-491-9316 Fax: 250-491-9317 cli_kelowna@containerworld.com www.commercial-logistics.com Our 40,000 square foot Kelowna facility offers a state-of-the-Art temperature controlled environment for maximum safety & security for your wine products. We now offer complete scheduled delivery services throughout the Okanagan Valley and beyond. Competitive pricing, industry and product knowledge and a new level of technology support our customers to handle of their logistics needs.

Wind Machines

ATAGO U.S.A., Inc.

2016 Buyer's Guide

11811 NE First Street, Ste 101 Bellevue, WA, USA 98005 Phone: 1-425-637-2107 Toll free: 1-877-282-4687 (877-ATAGOUS) Fax: 1-425-637-2110 customerservice@atago-usa.com www.atago.net/USA/ ATAGO, the industry leaders in optical equipment, continues to innovate and improve to benefit the whole scientific community. Our refractometers and acidity meters can be found in over 150 countries in labs, out in the field, and everywhere in-between.

40 Spring 2016

Providing Canadian Grapevine Solutions

278 Line 5, RR 4 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0 Phone: 905-984-4324 Fax number: 905-984-4300 sales@VineTech.ca www.VineTech.ca Producers of Canadian grafted and own rooted Grapevines. Importers of grapevines from Europe and the United States for sale across Canada.

We also offer custom grafting, potted grapevines, trellising material and planting.

Bowtie Tech Corp 15210 - 97 Street Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V2 Phone: 250-495-6459 david@bowtietech.com • Tractor & Ag equipment parts and repairs • Pruners and pruner parts • Sprayer hose, nozzles, valves • Tire sales and repairs – all types • TWO mobile service trucks • Wet tire repairs ‘On The Farm’ available • Propane cannons, bird control systems and devices Mon - Fri 7am to 5pm Sat 7am - Noon

Winery Equipment

John Brooks Company

WEB Metal Fabricators Ltd. Factory Authorized Dealer 3650 Hwy 97 South Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V1 Phone: 250-495-7245 wmetfab@telus.net www.orchard-rite.com Consulting, Sales & Installation.

Sales Rep - Robert Webster. Auth.

Dealer for Orchard-Rite®.

Industry leader in quality, safety and reliability for nearly 40 yrs.

Featuring AutoStart® and 24/7 emergency service available. Proven, cost effective frost protection custom tailored to your operation.

Winery Equipment

Anton Paar Canada Inc. 4920 Place Olivia Montreal, Quebec H4R 2Z8 CANADA Phone: 514 788 4862 Fax: 514 788 4894 info.ca@anton-paar.com www.anton-paar.com Precisely determine and monitor the alcohol content and numerous other quality parameters in wine and sparkling wine: Anton Paar specializes in high-precision laboratory and process wine analysis, with over 30 years of experience and many longterm partnerships with the biggest names in this industry. Find the measuring instrument that meets your particular needs.

Winery Equipment

6908 Palm Avenue Burnaby, BC V5J 4M3 Phone: 604-473-9463 Toll Free: 1-866-55GRAPE Fax: 604-433-2810 info@bosagrape.com www.bosagrape.com Ingredients, supplies, labware and equipment for the winemaker, brewer and professional distiller. For convenience, use our online catalog and have us ship your order. For a great experience come in person and see our vast showroom/warehouse and pick up your items immediately.

We serve fruit processors, vinegar makers, amateurs/hobbyist’s and professionals alike. Our product selection can’t be beat.

Winery Equipment

6736 - 59 Street Edmonton, AB T6B 3N6 Phone: 604-314-9537 Toll free: 1-877-624-5757 sfaulks@johnbrooks.ca www.johnbrooks.ca Clean fast, save water, eliminate manual cleaning with Gamajet high impact fluid driven tank and barrel cleaning machines.

360 degree coverage eliminates crosscontamination, microbial growth and stubborn tartrates.

Need a sanitary transfer or booster pump? How about filtration equipment? Hot water pressure washers and cleanup guns? Please contact us today!

Winery Equipment

cellar•tek west

Prospero Equipment

1043 Richter St. Kelowna, BC V1Y 2K4 Phone: 250-868-3186 Toll Free: 1-877-460-9463 Fax: 250-868-0186

www.prosperoequipment.com

cellar•tek east #530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 Fax: 905-984-8316 info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com Cellar-Tek is a commercial winery, brewery and cidery supply company based in Canada and serving North America with a full range of quality equipment & supplies. Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers and ciders, we strive to be the “go to” support system for commercial producers of these delicious beverages so we can do our part to help them make the best products possible.

CANADA - MONTREAL 438 Isabey Suite 270 Montreal, Quebec H4T 1V3 Phone: 514-667-0557 Fax: 514-336-7117 canada@prosperocorp.biz CANADA - BRITISH COLUMBIA Authorized Agent Stefan Buhl Phone: 250-317-4378 bc@prosperocorp.biz Prospero Equipment is a full equipment supplier of wine, beer, and cider equipment in the United States and Canada. With parts offices located on both east and west coast we have the technical support and parts to provide quick onsite support and phone support.

2016 Buyer's Guide

Wind Machines

Spring 2016 41

Winery Equipment

TRC Manufacturing.

2248 Garner Road Kelowna, BC V1P 1E2 Cell: 250-801-6051 Office: 250-765-6535 rackman@trcmanufacturingokanagan.com www.trcmanufacturingokanagan.com Family owned manufacturer of commercial barrel racks for the wine industry, created right here in the okanagan! Each Metal Barrel Rack is handcrafted and welded by our team of talented licensed welders. Providing quality Metal Barrel Racks to the wine industry.

• Canadian manufacturer of powder coated metal barrel racks: ~ Double barrel ~ Single barrel ~ Double barrel base

Winery Services

Constellation Laboratories

A.O. WILSON LTD.

7857 Tucelnuit Drive Oliver, BC V0H 1T2 Phone: 250-498-4981 Fax: 250-498-6505 dena.gregoire@cbrands.com www.constellationlaboratories.com

9597 17TH Sideroad Erin, ON N0B 1T0 www.aowilson.ca

Constellation Laboratories is one of Canada’s leading independent wine testing laboratories, providing services and solutions to a diverse client base.

Our dedicated team of professional lab technicians consistently provides quality wine testing services that conform to customer and regulatory requirements. Constellation Laboratories are ISO 9001:2008 and BCWA First Level Certified.

(Stainless racks available upon request)

Winery Equipment

The Professional’s Choice For Advanced Winemaking Solutions

Toll Free: 1-888-656-5553 www.winesecrets.com Winemaking Wonders: ✓ Precision Alcohol Adjustment ✓ Proven VA and EA Removal

2016 Buyer's Guide

✓ Targeted Taint Removal ✓ Color and Flavor Optimization ✓ Reliable Cross Flow Filtration ✓ Targeted Filtration Test Track ✓ Membrane & Filter Sales & Service ✓ Wine and Water Filtration Systems ✓ Specialty Cider Production ✓ GE Water Product Distributor

42 Spring 2016

Let Us Serve You Today!

Winery Supplies

Winery Services

Eastern Canada Phone:1-855-857-1511 Fax:1-519-833-2502 customerservice@aowilson.ca Western Canada Phone/Fax:1-250-764-2645 Mobile:1-250-868-7650 hsoliver@shaw.ca Premium supplier to the beverage industry for over 70 years. Technical sales and advise for all your processing and packaging needs.

Heritage, knowledge and passion go hand in hand when dealing with our company. Check out our website for all our products and services. Send a request to receive our newsletter to customerservice@aowilson.ca

Winery Supplies

Kelowna Labs Unit #5, 325 Bay Ave, Kelowna, BC V1Y 7S3 Phone: 778 484 0900 info@kelownalabs.com www.kelownalabs.com Kelowna Labs is a complete analytical beverage testing lab offering comprehensive testing of Beer/ Wort, Wine, Cider, Kombucha/Kefir and Distilled Spirits to ensure your products are on track to be the best they can be. Kelowna Labs is staffed by knowledgeable scientists from the brewing, wine making and the distilling industry to provide a wealth of services to all beverages.

6908 Palm Avenue Burnaby, BC V5J 4M3 Phone: 604-473-9463 Toll Free: 1-866-55GRAPE Fax: 604-433-2810 info@bosagrape.com www.bosagrape.com Ingredients, supplies, labware and equipment for the winemaker, brewer and professional distiller. For convenience, use our online catalog and have us ship your order. For a great experience come in person and see our vast showroom/warehouse and pick up your items immediately.

We serve fruit processors, vinegar makers, amateurs/hobbyist’s and professionals alike. Our product selection can’t be beat.

Winery Supplies

Winery Supplies

cellar•tek west 1043 Richter St. Kelowna, BC V1Y 2K4 Phone: 250-868-3186 Toll Free: 1-877-460-9463 Fax: 250-868-0186

cellar•tek east #530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 Fax: 905-984-8316 info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com Cellar-Tek is a commercial winery, brewery and cidery supply company based in Canada and serving North America with a full range of quality equipment & supplies. Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers and ciders, we strive to be the “go to” support system for commercial producers of these delicious beverages so we can do our part to help them make the best products possible.

Winery Supplies

Winery Supplies

Nuance Winery Supplies Inc. Hanna Instruments Canada Inc. 3156 Industriel Laval, QC H7L 4P7 Phone: 450-629-1444 Toll free: 800-842-6629 Fax number: 450-629-3335 sales@hannacan.com www.hannacan.com We supply instrumentation for all the growers and winemakers’ needs whether pocket type, portable or bench type. We offer meters for the analysis of pH, conductivity, sulfur dioxide, total titratable acidity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, residual sugar and many other parameters.

Winery Supplies

15 Lloyd Street St. Catharines, ON L2S 2N7 Phone: 905-225-0114 contact@nuancetrade.com www.nuancetrade.com Established at the crossroad of the three largest wine volume producing countries in the world, Nuance is at the forefront of the industry’s latest developments. Rigorously trained by our suppliers in the state-of-theart, and paying close attention to our customers’ input and feedback, we propose a comprehensive set of technical solutions, from grape receiving, through wine preparation for bottling.

Winery Supplies

IDL Process Solutions Inc.

81 M Street, Fresno, CA 93721 Phone: 559-485-2692 Toll Free: 866-213-1131 sales@gusmerenterprises.com www.gusmerenterprises.com For over 90 years Gusmer has offered a full line of products and solutions for the wine and cider industries including yeast, bacteria, fermentation nutrients, processing aids, filtration media and equipment, analytical instrumentation and analytical laboratory services – all backed by strong technical support.

For more information, contact Gusmer Enterprises today.

1164 Lee Street White Rock, BC V4B 4P4 Phone: (604) 538-2713 Fax: (604) 538-4517 Warehouse: 604-214-6437 info@idlconsulting.com www.idlconsulting.com/ Originally founded as IDL Consulting and later Incorporated. IDL has over 28 years of experience in wine making and fruit processing in Europe and America. IDL Consulting provides customers with innovative processing and treatment solutions to achieve quality products and to manage resulting waste streams. They also provide solutions for liquid-solids and liquid-liquid separation. Supplier of Yeasts, Fining Agents, Enzymes filtration materials for the wine, juice, beer and distilling industry.

The Professional’s Choice For Advanced Winemaking Solutions

Toll Free: 1-888-656-5553 www.winesecrets.com Winemaking Wonders: ✓ Precision Alcohol Adjustment ✓ Proven VA and EA Removal ✓ Targeted Taint Removal ✓ Color and Flavor Optimization ✓ Reliable Cross Flow Filtration ✓ Targeted Filtration Test Track ✓ Membrane & Filter Sales & Service ✓ Wine and Water Filtration Systems ✓ Specialty Cider Production ✓ GE Water Product Distributor Let Us Serve You Today!

2016 Buyer's Guide

Gusmer Enterprises

Spring 2016 43

PLANTING THIS SPRING? APPLES? GRAPES? CHERRIES? STONE FRUITS? Superior Peat™ when used at planting: • Reduces the effect of replant disease without fumigation.

• Adds organic material to the soil.

• Reduces nutrient leeching.

• Balances high alkaline soils.

• Retains moisture and nutrients.

• Reduces irrigation requirements.

• Improves soil microbial activity.

• Contains Mycorrhizae

Phone (250) 493-5410 NOW TO GUARANTEE DELIVERY OF YOUR ORDER WHEN YOU NEED IT

For more information visit our website at: www.superiorpeat.com Email at: info@superiorpeat.com 1700 Carmi Ave, Penticton, BC V2A 8V5

Keep your skills sharp

Tractor operator training We bring the experts to your location, you pay NOTHING.

8

MOBILE FILTRATION SYSTEMS

Wine Filtration Diemme Microflex Filter 2 - Pall Oenoflow Crossflow Filters Supporting BC’s Agricultural Industry through health & safety training and education since 1993.

Alcohol Adjustment, Wine Concentration, Taint Removal (VA, Smoke, Brett) 3 - Reverse Osmosis Systems Juice Lees and Wine Lees Recovery Spadoni Rotary Vacuum Drum Filter (RVDF) Wine Tartrate Stabilization and PH adjustment Oenodia Selective Tartrate Removal Systems (STARS)

Book today!

Call: 1.877.533.1789 Contact@AgSafeBC.ca

www.AgSafeBC.ca

44 Spring 2016

AgSafe F O R M E R L Y

F A R S H A

Cellar Dweller Mobile Filtration Services Ltd. Lesia Wood/ Robert Kwakernaak 250.487.2995 • lesia@cellardweller.ca 250.497.2009 • robert@cellardweller.ca

www.cellardweller.ca

Today’s Farmers are also Entrepreneurs

By Tracey Fredrickson

M

odern farmers in BC know there's a lot more to agriculture than just growing crops. Today's farmers are also entrepreneurs who seek out markets, invest in new products or technology, and investigate new ways of earning revenue. Whether it's producing a value-added product at the farm gate, or attracting agritourism visitors, farmers are constantly experimenting and innovating.

It's not easy, but in the Central Okanagan farmers get valuable assistance from the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission.

The COEDC offers a variety of valuable information sources and one-on-one assistance for agricultural operations that need access to promotional and marketing opportunities.

In 2016 the COEDC will work with 20 farm operations in the Okanagan Valley to both learn from farmers what they need to succeed, and also to offer expertise and advice on a variety of marketing and operational topics.

In this special report, the COEDC's Tracey Fredrickson and Orchard and Vine profile six rising stars in the local farming community.

West Kelowna

Curly Frog Farm 395 Hereron Road

Kelowna

Mountain Valley Farm & a Cross la Table 2010 Bartley Road McMillan Farms 3690 Berard Road

Brookdale Heritage Farm 3420 Benvoulin Road

Off the Grid Winery 3623 Glencoe Road

Old Meadows Organic Farm 4213 Gordon Drive

Spring 2016 45

I’m proud to be a farmer today because the satisfaction that comes from growing food through sustainable practices and hard work not only provides nourishment, it also connects the community and brings people together to thrive.

A good day at the office includes waking up on time in the morning with a great plan set out for the day! When I know everything is running smoothly and on schedule, I have a chance to reflect on the progress of the farm and can take time to visit with customers in the market.

A hard day at the office is when I wake up late (which always seems to be on the busiest days!) and fall behind schedule. This puts the whole day off track and can cause some tasks to be delayed to the following day depending on what other variables come up.

My greatest inspiration comes from people I have met who have made a career doing something they love while giving back to the community. This has brought new light into my life and inspired me to forget about taking the easy road and take the road that provides the greatest journey.

My advice to others looking to operate a farm business today is to try and find a local farmer who shares the same principles as you and would be interested in a mentoring program. This provides hands on experience right away and may include the opportunity to access land with reduced risk of failure or financial loss.

JEFF RICKETTS Old Meadows Organic Farm www.oldmeadowsorganics.com

Old Meadows Organics is a certified organic farm and market located on a 3.5 acre parcel on the Thomson Heritage farm, the roots of which extend back over 100 years of farming on this land. In 2013, after several years working in the financial industry, proprietor Jeff Rickets decided to try his hand at farming as a way to be a part of something that created positive change in his life and the lives of others.

46 Spring 2016

DENISE & TOM CROSS Mountain Valley Farm & a Cross la Table www.mountainvalleyproduce.com

Mountain Valley Farm in West Kelowna was the beginning of Tom and Denise Cross’ dream for a sustainable community farm which includes demonstrating many of Eliot Coleman’s thoughts and teachings on ‘Beyond Organic Farming”.

A wide range of produce, as well as condiments and other products made from ingredients grown on the farm are sold in season. A customized farm share membership program has been introduced for 2016. The Cross’ can be seen each week at the Westbank and Peachland Farmers’ Markets.

We are proud to be farmers today because the results of our labour – initially aimed at supporting our own health – have provided a way for us to contribute to improved health of the people in our local community. By farming organically we are also supporting the environment, teaching others about growing organically and promoting their desire to grow their own food.

A good day at the office includes waking up early with the fresh air and sunshine and having an organized plan for the day. There’s nothing better than getting out into the field and feeling our rich, healthy soil in our hands, knowing what we are doing will have a positive impact on our environment and community for years to come.

A hard day at the office includes endless weeding and looking over at that row of vegetables that needs picking and knowing you’ll never catch up on the weed maintenance.

That’s one of the greatest challenges of organic farming but honestly, the hardest day on the farm is still a better day than we could imagine anywhere else.

Our greatest inspiration comes from each other, our son and his wife and our grandson due in mid-April! There is tremendous satisfaction in knowing our son will eventually take over what we started with the understanding of how a difference is made with each seed planted.

Our advice to others looking to operate a farm business today is try it out first by volunteering or apprenticing at available farms. Educate yourself, ask questions and connect with source groups. And if you are ready, start small.

Spring 2016 47

BRENDA DUREAULT Curly Frog Farm www.curlyfrogfarm.com

Brenda Dureault has been farming the 26acre family farm for 15 years. She grows a variety of nut trees for both food and timber as well as paw paw trees, Christmas trees, willows and chickens. Minor crops include flowers, herbs and nurse trees grown for multiple functions such as integrated pest management, wildlife habitat and natural fertilizer. In the fall of 2015, chinampas were installed to increase the farmable land on the site.

The process saw soils from the seasonally flooded pasture excavated and piled in long rows where new crops can now be grown, and the excavated areas were restored to wetlands.

48 Spring 2016

I am proud to be a farmer today because farmers need to be innovative, entrepreneurial, savvy and environmentally friendly in order to survive. I am proud to say I am one of those farmers who are changing the way we farm.

A good day at the office includes being in awe of my surroundings – staying present and paying attention to nature. It also includes getting along with the farm equipment, for example, knowing just how long to hold the key to fire up the old blue bus mower, having enough muscle to pry open the irrigation filter without dousing yourself with creek sediment water, or driving the lawn mower like a boss to get that path in the trees just right.

A hard day at the office includes watching Mother Nature destroy your work – flood waters drowning your crops, eroding your land and buildings.

My greatest inspiration comes from the land itself. If I observe and reflect on what is happening on the land, I learn from it. Then I’m off to research ideas. I’m inspired by my father’s entrepreneurial savvy, my mother’s faith, my partner’s creativity and my desire to leave a legacy for my kids.

My advice to others looking to operate a farm business today is to treat it like a business; learn the skills, make a plan and commit to the farm even when the plan changes. And make time for play, family and personal time – if you let it, the farm can consume all your time.

I am proud to be a farmer today because due to the change in our world, farmers are looked at as essential to feeding a growing population that is increasingly urban. In the case of my family, we are proud to help provide a bit of that bridge between urban and rural worlds and some insight into farm life.

RON MCMILLAN McMillan Farms www.mcmillanfarms.ca

A good day at the office includes meeting people who have been to the farm, hearing how they enjoyed their experience and learned something while creating great family memories.

My favourite thing is meeting people who have never been to a farm before or had the opportunity to pet a farm animal, smell hay, see a tractor or pick a pumpkin. Wow!

McMillan Farms was started in 1950 and in 2004 the family moved into agri-tourism. What began by growing 100 pumpkins for the neighbors has evolved to thousands of pumpkins grown every year and a wide range of fun and educational experiences offered including hayrides, a corn maze and self-guided tours.

A hard day at the office is when mother nature has some unpleasant plans for you in the form of crop-affecting adverse weather. It can also include equipment breakdowns at the most inopportune time such as when you’re planting or harvesting. Having a long line up of people waiting for a hayride while you fix a flat tire on the trailer is also not fun.

My great inspiration comes from my grandfather. Once when I was in my late teens and long after my grandparents sold off the farm’s dairy herd, my grandfather asked me what I would do with the farm if given the chance. I always searched for an answer to that question and when my family saw our first pumpkin patch, I knew I had found it.

My advice for others looking to operate a farm business today is be patient, do your research, be prepared to spend a lot time working, talk to other farmers, be adaptive, have a plan and don’t stress.

Spring 2016 49

ANDREA CAMPBELL & JAMES MAYERS Brookedale Heritage Garden www.brookedaleheritagegarden.com

Now in its sixth year of operation, Brookedale Heritage Garden initially grew produce for its own family food supply and to provide to the local Food Bank. Today it is a market garden supplying a variety of non-GMO vegetables to the public via the Kelowna Farmers Market and its roadside stand on Benvoulin Road.

The straw-bale wine shop at the Off the Grid Winery.

We are proud to be farmers today because of the feedback we receive from our customers. People often thank us for the experience we provide them through the ambience of our heritage setting, our u-pick herbs and u-pick country garden flowers. Our corn has been rated by our customers as ‘Best in Kelowna.’

A hard day at the office includes Sunday morning – oh no!

The irrigation ditch is dry! The water pump is burned out! Temperatures are predicted in the nineties today! Waking up to discover that blackbirds slipped into the corn and destroyed five hundred cobs during the night can make for a less than perfect day.

A good day at the office includes our customers showing their appreciation for our market garden – that can really make our day. It’s can also include putting in a full day’s work tilling fields and planting new beds, seeing weed-free beds as a result of your hoeing, and harvesting a perfect crop free of defects.

There’s nothing like seeing the first shoots of garlic from the fall planting appear in the early spring, or when the last chore of the year is done in November and everything is put to bed for the winter.

Our greatest inspiration comes from my (Andrea’s) grandmother. She lived in the city but you would never know by the amount of flowers and vegetables that surrounded her. She could grow anything. Just the experience of planting a tiny seed and watching it come to life is very inspiring – it never ceases to amaze us how that happens.

50 Spring 2016

Our advice for others looking to operate a farm business today is talk to as many experienced market gardeners as possible.

There are support groups online and a wealth of information about the profession.

Photo by Lisa Olson

I’m proud to be a farmer today because it feels really good to create something from start to finish, to know everything that went into it, and to know you have made something you are truly proud of. I can’t imagine anything more satisfying.

SHERI PAYNTER Off the Grid Winery Offthegridorganicwinery.com

A good day at the office includes feeding the animals and collecting eggs; that’s my favourite way to start the day (my husband would not agree) but for myself as someone who didn›t grow up on a farm, this provides a lot of satisfaction.

After that I typically spend time answering emails and calls, responding to brides looking to book a wedding ceremony venue, sourcing local artisans for our tasting room and working on our property to complete the winery and garden area. After lunch, I’m working in the tasting room, sharing our wine and our story with customers. Then it’s dinner with the family.

Off the Grid is a family winery opened November, 2015 and is operated by Sheri Paynter, her husband Travis, his brother Nigel and Nigel’s wife Hayley. The facility spans three different family properties and includes the winery, wedding ceremony venue and a small farm.

A hard day at the office includes Harvest – that makes for some of the longest days. For the last eight years or so we

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Spring 2016 51

Continued from page 51.

would spend the day picking, then turn the grapes over to the wineries and go home for dinner. But since we started making wine and the addition of crushing and pressing, the days have become much longer and harder.

My greatest inspiration comes from the rest of our family. My husband’s family’s has been farming in Westbank for over 100 years. Where we live we are surrounded by brothers, cousins, aunties, uncles and so on and everyone farms grapes, fruits or vegetables. This makes a beautiful life to be part of, and a large close knit family that not only hangs out together, but helps and supports each other in everything we do. We want to create a future in farming for our children so they can continue to enjoy this wonderful life we feel blessed to have.

My advice for others looking to operate a farm business today is follow your dreams, there are always people who will say it’s too hard, or you can’t afford it, but anything worth doing takes hard work. Stop and talk to other farmers; people in this community are happy to share their knowledge and advice. The more research you can do in the beginning and the more comprehensive the business plan, the better farm you can start with. ■ The Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, a function of the Regional District of Central Okanagan provides programs and services to Central Okanagan businesses in all sectors including agriculture. In 2016, the Commission will conduct 20 in-depth site visits with Central Okanagan farm operators in order to gather information about the challenges they face, provide one-one assistance, promote agriculture in the region and enhance connections among agriculture-related businesses.

Tracey Fredrickson is Business Enhancement Officer with the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission whose first career was as a journalist.

Since 2011 she has interviewed numerous agriculture-related businesses in the Region and developed and delivered an agri-tourism business planning program.

For more information contact: Tracey at tfredrickson@investkelowna. com www.investkelowna.com 52 Spring 2016

CHRIS VAN HOOYDONK AT BACKYARD FARM

Photos Contributed

Chef + Hobby Farm = Culinary Magic

The culinary demonstration kitchen and private culinary school at Backyard Farm.

By Dona Sturmanis You own a manageable two-acre hobby farm in the Okanagan’s divine wine country, its property burgeoning in season with fruit, vegetables and herbs.

You’re also an experienced, talented chef and you’ve turned this hobby farm into a home for your family, a culinary demonstration kitchen and private culinary school. You use all your own produce and that from local farms in the meals you serve and artisanal products you make.

And this is because you believe passionately as a chef it is your job to showcase local food and the passion and commitment possessed by local producers and growers. Sound like a dream?

It’s a dream come true for Chef Chris Van Hooydonk. “I live at Backyard Farm with my beautiful, passionate, dedicated and supportive wife Mikkel, and our 14-month-old daughter, Ainsley. We also have an Akita breed farm dog.”

After 20 years working for restaurants, Chris yearned to get back to “the handshake relationship from farm to chef.”

He also wanted to choose his own path on his own terms. “I wanted to spend more time with my wife, perhaps grow our family and remove unnecessary stress.” The result? Backyard Farm, located in Oliver.

Chris: Culinary from an Early Age “Growing up I was taught the importance of family inspired meals, always prepared with loving hands and from scratch.” Enjoying the creative and limitless learning opportunities cooking provided, Chris enrolled in home economics and culinary classes, leading to the conclusion that this was the career he wanted to pursue.

After working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, Chris worked in Whistler for a few years with Chef Bernard Casavant at Chef Bernard’s Café. “We would have a weekly visit from a produce broker,

his truck filled with beautiful, seasonal produce from the Okanagan Valley. I learned to respect the labor of love that is farming, through the people, stories and efforts behind the ingredients themselves.”

After a few years with the corporate world of The Four Seasons Hotel in BosSpring 2016 53

I want to show people the value in sharing meals surrounded with people you care about, communicating around a handcrafted meal, enjoying a nice glass of wine.

Chris Van Hooydonk

ton, Chris relocated to Oliver, BC. Chris rented a home for himself and wife Mikkel on an acre of hobby orchard land, expecting to stay a year. “One year turned into three, and was a fruit farm 'trial by fire',” says Chris.

While working at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery as Restaurant Chef, Chris learned on his own, “mostly the hard way” about irrigation, pruning, thinning, picking, and maintenance. “Much of the fruit from my farm made its way onto our menus in the restaurant. I discovered I had a passion for the process of growing food, and the pride in watching others enjoy your efforts in the garden. I felt it was my responsibility as a chef to represent agriculture and the dedication and passion quality growers and producers must possess.”

Time for The Change “My wife has stood by my side, and champions my work ethic, vision and ambition,” says Chris. With this support, he left Burrowing Owl Winery where he was a “rock star” and started Artisan Culinary Concepts, a private chef, catering and consulting business in 2013. “Yet again, I was fortunate to have great mentorship in channeling my vision, developing my business plan, and successfully launching what has been the beginning of the most rewarding part of my career.”

Chris and his wife also had their eye on the adjoining acre with a house, which seemed perfect for their Back Yard Farm vision. “With some family help, the home

What Grows in the Orchard and the Garden There are around 100 organic practice fruit trees on the Van Hooydonks’ two acre property. The majority are trees that are 35-50 years old, and varieties not necessarily common in the industry. “We prefer to let the trees live as long as possible, especially as they are all producing fruit. We have been practicing organic going on four years, transitioning the orchard from conventional practice. We only pick our tree fruits ripe, and aside from using it everywhere on my menus in season, we process and preserve our fruit to utilize year round, and in our retail preserves.”

Mikkel’s passion is gardening, and she grows all sorts of ingredients in the raised bed gardens around the property.

In the Orchard & Vines: Walnuts, hazelnuts, cherries (early and mid season varieties), plums (three varieties), apricots (three varieties), early, and mid season peaches, nectarines, mulberries, currants, table grapes, an apple tree, baby pear tree, a few lemon trees and kaffar lime.

In the Garden: Last year, a variety of edible herbs and flowers, herbal tea, lavender, laurel bay, heirloom squash and tomatoes, beets, edible greens, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, rhubarb.

54 Spring 2016

was purchased when it came up for sale six months after the launch of my business.” The Van Hooydonks let the house sit idle for six months as Chris enjoyed the first season of owning his successful enterprise.

With the confidence of family investors, and out of pocket expenses, the Van Hooydoks started the demolition of the house on January 2, 2014. With the help of a retired customer-become-friend, Ton, they renovated the first phase of the house, getting health board approval the end of May, with an official launch of June 1, 2014. “In addition to Ton’s expertise, I had the help of many friends and family with the painting, yard work, setup, especially in the eleventh hour, very humbling to feel such amazing support for what seemed like a distant dream in the beginning. It would not have happened without all of this support, and the continued support of our clients.”

A Working Day at Backyard

that at least once a day, a meal is a reason to sit and talk about the things that inspire you. It is magical to see a table of people immersed in it.”

The Future “Mikkel and I are working on developing our property into a food forest,” says Chris. He would also like to harvest some Back Yard honey on the farm and keep their own pollinators on the property.

“We will also be getting chickens this year, starting with six. Farm fresh eggs and orchard maintenance possibilities.”

Their overall goal is to evolve self-sustainability through permaculture and biodiversity and minimize water consumption while increasing available edible bounty on the farm.

Also in the plans are an outdoor dining area and wood-fire kitchen in the next few seasons. In the longer-term future, Chris and Mikkel aspire to build two “tiny” green accommodation suites so

a few couples can enjoy staying on the farm.

“I enjoy every aspect of operating this business. I enjoy knowing that all of my efforts are to support my family first, and allow me to do what I love each and every day. I love watching my daughter grow, mentoring my guests and Kyle,” says Chris. “I love watching bud break turn to flowers, turn to two pound peaches, then winding up on a client’s plate that evening. I enjoy telling the story of the people behind the food, and sharing in the work and dedication it takes to be a farmer. I most of all enjoy watching our guests immerse themselves in food and wine culture, sitting at the chef’s table enjoying and talking about what is important to them at that very moment. I also enjoy having a choice of who I cook with and for, and always putting the quality of the experience first. I have never been so fulfilled in my career or life. ■

Working at a business like Backyard Farm is even more complex than running a restaurant. “I am the dog walker, daddy, farmer, picker, lawn mower, irrigation expert, pool guy, and maintenance man,” says Chris. “Then I move on to being a chef, mentor to my apprentice Kyle, dishwasher, prep cook, secretary, bookkeeper. I have learned a great deal of construction through building Backyard Farm, and enjoy woodworking, building raised beds and items for the farm and garden, and landscaping.”

The Back Yard Farm Guest Experience Besides learning about and eating exquisite local food and superlative gourmet cuisine prepared by Chef Van Hooydonk, guests and clients at Back Yard Farm become aware of where their food is coming from and that they all have choices.

“We choose where we get our food, and we need to support our independent and local food system. Farming is a labor of love like cooking,” says Chris. “Quality ingredients are important. They will cost more, but isn’t your health worth it?

We can choose to eat locally grown and raised ingredients.”

Photos Contributed

“I also want to show people the value of sharing meals surrounded with people you care about, communicating around a handcrafted meal, enjoying a nice glass of wine. We should strive to make sure Chef Chris Van Hooydonk and his wife Mikkel.

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BC Grocery Wine Sales Gaining Momentum

By Michael Botner

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Top of mind is the appearance of wine in Overwaitea Food Group stores selling VQA wine in selected BC locations.

For consumers at Save On Foods at Orchard Plaza in Kelowna, which opened in March, finding upwards of 1,000 VQA wines to choose from on grocery store shelves must be a pleasant shock.

Many of the original 21 non-grocery VQA stores (including now closed Discover Wines in Orchard Plaza, Kelowna) are selling their licences to the Overwaitea Food Group. Doing so “provides an opportunity for owners of marginally profitable VQA stores to exit the business and realize the value of their licenses,” says Albert J. Hudec of Farris, Vaughan, Wills and Murphy. Most significantly, the transfer of these licenses to high volume food stores is a boon for both consumers and producers, in particular small and medium sized wineries. As well, they provide consumers with more convenience and greater access to BC wines. According to December 2015 sales figures, average grocery store sales of VQA wines was an impressive 57% higher than those of non-grocery VQA stores. BCWI objectives, such as fair and equitable access, are designed to protect member wineries continue in the grocery model.

Dormant Licences Another 18 dormant, grandfathered, Bill 22 licenses to sell 100% BC wine will be auctioned off in the near future, according to the Liquor Licensing Branch. These licenses will also include non-VQA win56 Spring 2016

Photo by Michael Botner

ake no mistake, buying a bottle or two of wine in a supermarket in BC is a big deal, to both consumers and producer. After decades of inertia, wine and liquor laws. regulations and licensing structures are undergoing changes that are transforming many aspects of BC’s wine industry. At the seventh annual conference on BC Wine & Liquor Law, held this past February in Vancouver, co-chairs Mark Hicken of Vintage Law Group and Christopher Wilson of Bull Housser and Tupper, and leading experts from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, provided an update on the ongoing changes to BC’s liquor laws.

Albert J. Hudec and Mark Hicken update attendees on grocery store sales.

eries, as well as makers of mead, sake, cider and other fruit wines, but details have yet to be announced. The possibility of independent wine stores (LRS, VQA, Agency) relocating in grocery stores is also on offer for a limited time on the condition that they sell exclusively 100% BC wines.

Private, Retail and Government Licences Private retail (IWS) and government liquor store licenses which cover both domestic and imported liquor, can also move to grocery stores as well. But they are restricted to locating as a caged area, “store within a store” model. In addition, these licenses are subject to the provincial 1 km rule (separating LRS’s and government liquor stores). So far, one LRS (liquor retail store) licence has transferred to Sobeys to use with a Thrifty Foods store in Victoria.

All of this boosts the availability of BC wines, in particular those of small and medium-sized produces with VQA affiliation. On the other hand, it is feared that grocery stores will dominate retail distribution, at the expense of LRS and government liquor stores, as well as VQA stores that opt to continue operating under independent (non-grocery) ownership.

International experience shows that where wine is allowed in grocery (in an unrestricted market), these stores capture 65-70% of the market. Invariably, they restrict the number of specialty fine wines, instead focusing on high volume, lower-priced wines and house brands.

There are exceptions with a presence of higher end brands such as Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Whole Foods and Costco.

In other words, can the concept of up to 1,000 distinctive BC wines of origin from over 150 VQA wineries continue for the foreseeable future in the supermarket milieu, where the focus is on fewer brands and higher volume?

Trade Laws Trade law violations are another issue.

Limiting the number of grocery store venues which exclusively sell BC wine to no more than 60 reduces the risk of a formal complaint from CETA (Comprehensive Canada and EU Economic and Trade Agreement), as does the claim that they are legitimately “grandfathered.” Such a case could also challenge “direct delivery” preferences. Given the unimaginable cost, what is the practical likelihood of such a claim under CETA and/or NAFTA? The answer is not clear-cut, given the number of informal complaints. Once the wine in grocery store bandwagon

gets going, stopping or slowing its march to market domination will be difficult. If we discriminate against foreign wines in these circumstances, they will likely file and win.

Barrier Free Looking at the US experience is sobering. Most states are barrierfree, offering wine in grocery stores in an unrestricted market.

Capturing up to 70% of the market, wine sales in grocery stores gravitate to high volume/low margin, mass-produced wines, to the exclusion of estate produced and smaller producers.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Similar to the US scenario, a few BC wineries dominate retail sales. In BC liquor stores, for example, 94% of sales of BC producers are incredibly concentrated in the big 3 (domestic and blended) and 99% in the 13 producers. With BC home to 270 licensed wineries, a lot of smaller scale producers are fighting for a minute share of the market. It is debatable whether wine in grocery stores is the solution to their challenges, or just a stopgap.

• Real Estate

• Contracts • Business • Trade-marks • Wills & Estate Planning Denese Espeut-Post, Lawyer 107, 13615 Victoria Road North • P.O.Box 576 Summerland BC, V0H 1Z0 • 1.778.516.2675 www.AveryLawOffice.ca

Direct to Consumer Enter DTC, winery direct to consumer sales, or internet sales.

The market share for this method has increased by 4.3% over the last 3 years, the fastest growing retail channel. In 2014, private retail channels comprised 78% of VQA product sales, made up of 30% private retail stores (LRS, VQA, IWS and other), 19% hospitality (bars, restaurants and hotels). 28% winery direct (and 1% other).

AGRICULTURAL NETTING & FABRICS

In the U.S., embattled small scale producers have found a degree of salvation by converting to the DTC model. Astoundingly, growth of DTC in the US is 15% a year with the average price of a bottle of wine at $38!

• Unbeatable bird protection • Strong HDPE knit, open-mesh nets • 10 year UV warranty • Hail, shade, rain & other fabrics

Future Approaches and Advantages Looking into the uncertain future, several other approaches and advantages, in addition to DTC, hold significant promise for smaller BC wineries:

Neal Carter & Associates Ltd. 250-494-1099 • neal_carter@telus.net

Hospitality – As of February 1, for non GLS-listed products, landbased wineries can now negotiate a “free price” for wholesale to licensees. This is a significant change and allows wineries to tailor wholesale prices to take into account such matters as quantities ordered. Pressure within the retail sector to increase margins is likely to cause inducement /incentive issues down the line as well as a reduction in wine selection.

www.farmsolutions.net

TRC Manufacturing

Private retail stores will remain a bastion for sales of genuine, locally grown and produced BC wines of distinction. Terroir BC, a new, non-profit organization representing over 50 BC small and medium sized wineries producing 100% homegrown wines, has struck and agreement with the BC Private Liquor Stores Association (190 stores), to showcase genuine BC wines from Terroir BC members. Under a marketing plan, Terroir BC members will be able to supply their wines to BCPLSA stores through a central database, constantly updated with the latest information from the wineries.

“We have been impressed with the quality and durability of the wine barrel racks that we have purchased from TRC Manufacturing. Ron and his team combine excellent customer service with well-made products, and reasonable pricing.”

Rob Pringle Andrew Peller Limited

Providing quality Metal Barrel Racks to the wine industry.

Secondary tasting rooms (off-site) is one of 15 recommendations for liquor policy reform which is still in process. Based on examples in Walla Walla and Woodinvale in Washington State, this reform holds great potential for BC wineries.

“Okanagan made barrel racks” 5% discount until April 30, 2016 cell 250.801.6051 • office 250.765.6535 rackman@trcmanufacturingokanagan.com

Wine clubs have been established by many BC wineries and

• Easy to apply and remove • Nets for grapes, cherries & berry crops • Custom nets and structures

www.trcmanufacturingokanagan.com

Spring 2016 57

from 100% BC grapes along the lines of craft brewers and distillers. This measure would take pressure off new and smaller wine producers and still support 100% BC wine.

Interprovincial Trade

Photo by the Province of British Columbia

The Canadian saga of restricting interprovincial sales of homegrown wines, which dates from the end of prohibition in 1928, may finally be coming to an end.

Premier Christy Clark visited Save On Foods in Kelowna, the first grocery store in town to use BC’s new liquor laws that give customers the convenience of BC Wine on grocery shelves.

are a proven, customer loyalty program for selling wines online and promoting a winery’s distinctive products, events, news and features, Social media, used properly, provides wineries with a variety of internet pathways for meeting specific goals. These support a winery’s DTC sales program, drive customers to tasting rooms, ensure repeat visits, develop and maintain winery brands, and make customers feel like they are learning from or participating in the process. Effective social media channels include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linked In, Tumblr, and Reddit.

The falling dollar provides a significant price advantage for the domestic wine

industry (which is multiplied by the application of LDB mark-up).

Virtual wineries and custom crush is a driver for emerging wine regions and adds an exciting, innovative alternative for new and small wine producers. In other jurisdictions like New Zealand, custom crush is an essential fixture of a successful wine industry. In BC, custom crush is allowed. But bringing the strict rules into alignment with other west coast jurisdictions would be a step in the right direction. Also suggested by Christine Coletta of Okanagan Crush Pad: eliminating land-based (2 acres of vines and 100% BC grapes) and commercial winery categories and establishing a craft designation for wineries producing wine

Ontario lawyers (Ian Blue of Gardiner Roberts and Arnold Schwisberg) are convinced the Canadian constitution under Section 121 prohibits all legislative barriers to free interprovincial trade. They explain that a faulty decision by the Supreme Court of Canada back in 1920 (Gold Seal Case) was tainted by judicial and ministerial misconduct. Not appreciated until 2010, the lawyers think it is doubtful that a court would follow the earlier precedent and allow legislative barriers to free interprovincial trade which the constitution clearly prohibits under section 121.

Provincial liquor boards are reluctant to challenge a contemporary interpretation of section 121. But a current case in which Gerard Comeau is accused of transporting 14 cases of beer and 2 bottles of liquor he had purchased in Quebec across the border into New Brunswick, has NB Liquor arguing that its profits would be at risk if the provincial law restricting interprovincial liquor is struck down.

The case in Newfoundland and Labrador against FedEx for transporting “contraband” wine from BC to Torbay, NFLD, was dismissed when the Crown selected to call no evidence. Finally, some great news for BC producers and Canadian buyers of Canada’s most sought after wine. ■

• Fertilizers • Pest Controls • Soil & Plant Treatments Kelowna 250.765.0290 • Abbotsford 604.850.9500 • Victoria 250.381.2281 Toll-Free 800.663.2552 58 Spring 2016

 THE WORD ON WINE | LINDSAY KELM

Blazing 2015 Results in Some 'Hot' BC Wines

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Photo contributed by BCWI

very hot, dry summer brought an early harvest across the province and, despite the challenges that the extreme heat brought, the 2015 vintage has resulted in exceptional wines in all of British Columbia’s wine regions.

Okanagan Valley During the winter of 2014/2015, the Okanagan experienced several extended periods of freezing temperatures. Because of this, there was some minimal bud damage reported in a few isolated frost pockets.

The spring saw warmer than normal temperatures. In May, the total monthly Growing Degree Days (GDD) were the highest ever recorded with 185.6 reported in Summerland and 223.5 in Osoyoos.

The warm temperatures, combined with low precipitation, were the catalysts for early bud break and flowering.

Severine Pinte, Winemaker and Viticulturist at Le Vieux Pin Winery (Oliver) and La Stella Winery (Osoyoos) reported bud break on March 30 and flowering on June 2 in their southernmost Osoyoos vineyard, with all flowering finished by June 10 in all their Oliver and Osoyoos vineyards.

The overall consensus for summer was that it was hot and dry. June, which often

The harvest at the Okanagan Crush Pad.

slowing ripening.

sees moderate temperatures and precipitation, felt like August. From the end of May to mid-September, the cumulative GDD statistics show that 2015 was significantly warmer than any other year, even surpassing 1998 which was the warmest growing season on record.

In September, the warm temperatures continued with little precipitation which meant that the disease pressure was very low, resulting in cleaner fruit which required less sorting.

Overall, harvest dates were early with most wineries starting two to three weeks ahead of normal. The first grapes for table wine were picked

by Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate on August 20, which was their earliest harvest on record.

Because of the high heat, veraison also came early, but the extreme temperatures also created particular challenges as vines effectively shut down once temperatures go beyond 35˚Celcius (95˚F). In August, vintners were faced with another challenge from Mother Nature: forest fires. Although fires burned frighteningly close to several wineries in Oliver, the bigger challenge for most in the Okanagan was the thick smoke that filled the Valley from the fires near Lake Chelan in Washington.

There was a hidden benefit to the fires, in that it actually lowered the GDD in August,

“Every year we say we couldn’t ask for a better growing season, and every year it seems to be getting better and better!” notes Troy Osborne, Director of Viticulture at Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate.

“Every winery has a picking strategy depending on what style of wine they are looking for. We pick our Sauvignon Blanc grapes early to achieve

those green, veracious notes and fresh, crisp flavour profiles.” explains Osborne. “The biggest challenge is dealing with increased growing degree days and matching our crop loads to balance that.”

David Patterson, Winemaker at Tantalus Vineyards in Kelowna, noted that “Pinot Noir from the North Okanagan is exceptional this year, delicate and fragrant,” and Mason Spink, Winemaker at Dirty Laundry Vineyards in Summerland remarked that the surprises for them were Riesling and Syrah.

Fraser Valley Like their colleagues in the Okanagan, vintners in the Fraser Valley reported an early harvest due to unseasonably warm temperatures and lower-than-average precipitation. Patrick Murphy, Owner/Winemaker at Vista D’oro Farms & Winery in Langley noted that 2015 was the earSpring 2016 59

The harvest at Tinhorn Creek.

liest harvest they’ve ever had, starting on August 28 with their estate Maréchal Foch, which Murphy explains they tend to pick early to create their lighter style red. “The wet clay we have here in the Fraser Valley creates a much different tasting Foch to the grapes grown in the dryer, sandy soils of the Okanagan.

This year’s crop looks fantastic,” remarks Murphy

Photos contributed by BCWI

Similkameen Valley

60 Spring 2016

Orofino Winery picked their first grapes on August 24 including Muscat, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris and on August 28 their Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir were picked and crushed. “We’ve had the same length in growing season but with such a hot and dry June everything got off to an early start,” noted Owner/Winemaker John Weber. “We’re tasting delicious grapes, I’m thrilled.”

Rhys Pender MW, Owner of

Little Farm Winery in Cawston reported that the warm spring temperatures brought bud break 20 days early in his Chardonnay. With the continued warm weather, they started harvest on August 19 with Chardonnay and finished on September 3 with Riesling, which was “a full three days earlier than we had even started in 2014 – and 2014 was considered to be a hot vintage.”

Vancouver Island & The Gulf Islands On Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, growers also experienced warm and dry temperatures. Statistics provided by Lamont Brooks of the Wine Islands Growers Association showed that precipitation levels in the Cowichan Valley were far below normal from April to June, only receiving a total of 42 mm during that period (compared to 100 mm in 2014). Lamont

also provided the annual GDD statistics, which showed 2015 much higher than any previous vintage with 1322 GDD (cumulative total as of October 31). Prior to 2015, the warmest vintages were 2014 (1261 GDD) and 2006 (1190).

Unsworth Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley started harvesting their Pinot Noir grapes for sparkling wine early at 18.5 brix, but their table wines won’t be ready for picking until the first week of October. Winemaker Daniel Cosman notes that after a wildly dry summer they didn’t experience rain until about three weeks ago, and for two weeks straight it rained so much that harvest is now back on par with its typical start dates. “It’s been an interesting year on Vancouver Island,” explains Cosman, “if I could sum up this year’s growing season in one word, it would be monumental.”

Eric von Krosigk, Winemaker for Summerhill Pyramid Winery predicts 2015 will be the “the vintage of the century.”

Emerging regions

liest start on record (November 12, 2014), the majority of British Columbia’s 2015 Icewine harvest happened on December 31 and into the early morning of New Year’s Day in the Okanagan. However, the first Icewine grapes for this vintage were picked on November 25, as winemakers and viticulturists in the north Okanagan rejoiced at the early arrival of freezing temperatures.

Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery located in Creston, outside of BC’s designated viticultural areas, also reported their earliest harvest to date beginning on August 28, nearly a month ahead of 2014. “We usually start harvest in October, so to be picking grapes in August came as a surprise to us!” states owner Bob Johnson. “I’m not sure if it’s because our vines are maturing or if it has just been a great growing season all around, but the fruit flavours are here early and they are really coming along nicely.”

This is the third consecutive year BC’s Icewine harvest started as early as November with just over 100 tons of grapes collected between six wineries located north of Penticton. The remaining 225 tons of grapes were picked

Icwine Harvest After last year’s second-ear-

from December 26 finishing on January 2 with temperatures well below -8°C (17.6°F) and averaging around -10°C (14°F) throughout the Okanagan Valley.

Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna started picking for Icewine on November 25, bringing in approximately 30 tons of frozen grapes. “The conditions were excellent, we would have kept picking if we had the capacity, so we were very fortunate to have the second freezing come in January,” says Eric von Krosigk, winemaker for Summerhill Pyramid Winery. They resumed picking early New Year collecting another 20 tons of the remaining crop.

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“The second time around temperatures dropped to -13°C (8.6°F) across the entire valley. It was absolutely delightful being able to pick during the day,” notes von Krosigk. Summerhill Pyramid Winery lost about 50% of their crop to wind, weather and animal pressure, but von Krosigk describes the quality and ripeness of the fruit to be unlike any other vintage he’s seen in the Okanagan and predicts this year’s harvest will be “the vintage of the century.”

Nk’Mip Cellars in Osoyoos began picking their Icewine at 2:00 AM on New Year’s Day with temperatures at -14°C (7°F) when the inner cluster berries were still frozen. The team brought in over eight tons of Riesling and finished pressing at 40.5 brix. Assistant Winemaker at Nk’Mip Cellars, Justin Hall noted, “Last year we were picking in early November so we did see a smaller crop this year, but the overall quality of the juice is still really good and I’m looking forward to this vintage.”

The BC Wine Authority noted that 16 of the 20 registered wineries picked this year, collecting approximately 376 tons of grapes throughout the Okanagan Valley, one of the lowest Icewine crops in years. Lorrie Zander, BC VQA Coordinator of the BC Wine Authority noted that “Icewine could very well become ‘gold’ for 2015 because of the small amount made. This will be a very special year for BC Icewine.”

Conclusion Although the higher-than-normal temperatures brought forward a few unique challenges, the 2015 vintage quality is being touted as excellent. Some of the standout varietals are Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

One of the consumer benefits of an early vintage is that we are already starting to see some of the 2015 wines on the shelves and you can look forward to filling your glass this spring and summer with your favourite 2015 BC white or rosé! ■ To keep up-to-date on the harvest, follow @WineBCdotcom, #BCHarvest2015 and #Icewine on Twitter.

Lindsay Kelm is the Industry Communications Manager at the British Columbia Wine Institute www.winebc.org 62 Spring 2016

 PEOPLE TALK | BARBARA ASHTON

Dealing with Bad Hires? Here’s What You Can Do to Avoid Them

D

ismissing a bad hire is not only bad for the morale of your entire team, it can and will negatively impact your company for months following their termination. Yet the numbers show that employers continue to suffer a new hire turnover rate of over 50% ie., new employees voluntarily resigning within the first six months of starting a new job.

According to Equifax Work-

The #1 reason for people not working out?

Misalignment of values.

force Solutions, the rate at which employees left a new job inside of six months was about twice as high for employees paid hourly vs salary.

And of those employers studied, 50% of them quickly admitted to the staggering cost of $25,000 or more for one single bad hire.

Your strategy then, is to avoid bad hires by identifying right alignment of values right out of the gate.

Here’s how: Start by ensuring that all hiring managers have a clear understanding of what the top competencies and personal attributes are for top performing employees. These traits are your non-negotiables, which will ensure right cultural fit and are essential to identify in every hire, regardless of seniority or occupation.

Not surprisingly these costs often escalate upwards by tens of thousands of dollars depending on the level of seniority and the impact they have on fellow employees, as well as internal and external customers – think productivity, demoralizing morale, and critically weakened brand or public image – all of which take far longer to repair than we even want to think about.

Once you have the right screening for cultural fit es-

tablished, it becomes a whole lot easier to map out your sourcing and interview strategy. You will now be identifying those key traits and characteristics as first steps in your screening process.

For my company and the clients we hire for we call these the 5 C’s of a Great Hire.

1. Character “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." Abraham Lincoln Be more concerned with hiring for character over reputation. Reputations come and go and are relative to the people, places and circum-

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stances your candidate comes from. True character in your employees is what will see you through the storms. One good way to assess character is to see how they treat those who cannot do something for them i.e. the sales clerk at the grocery store, a salesperson who stops by without an appointment, etc.

2. Compatibility Who are they going to be spending the bulk of their working hours with? Some key members of your team may possess such specialized skills that you have to overlook otherwise unpleasant personality flaws. Will they be moving around between divergent teams, or working in a more static routine type role?

Look for past performance to demonstrate their suitability.

3. Commitment Best identified by asking what they are looking for in a new role? Keep exploring until you get to their motive. Once you have motive established you’ll quickly be able to identify whether they possess the commitment to your team to see the job through, or whether they’re just looking for a short-term solution to what may well be a long-term behavioural problem.

Are they more concerned for their own welfare or that of the team they are working with? You want to listen for their "story line", at home and at work. To do this structure your questions around their achievements to find out what happened, who was involved, and what was the outcome.

4. Competency

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Do they have the basic skills to be able to perform on the job?

What training will be involved? How long will this take and at what cost? High performers have curious minds, ask questions, and consistently demonstrate a track record of learning and applying new skills quickly throughout their previous employment. Ask them to tell you about the most challenging job they’ve ever had and then ask how they overcame those challenges.

5. Coach-ability Is this person receptive to being coached? How have they reacted vs responded to criticism in past roles? Are they willing to be wrong? What examples can they give you of how they changed their behaviour or way of thinking to achieve a positive outcome? Ask them who was involved and how hard it was to relearn those things.

One Last Word. After spending close to thirty years in recruiting, I find most interviewers talk way too much. Interviewing is just like sales. The art of asking questions is to avoid asking questions that require a yes or no answer, ask the question then shut up and listen. When you really listen you will naturally have more ‘why’ and ‘what happened’ and ‘what was it like’ questions to ask your candidate.

As a business owner your legacy will be set by the teams you choose and how they accomplish your objectives. Make every hire count as if it’s your most important one. ■

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 SEEDS OF GROWTH | FRED STEELE

Are Foreign Workers BC's Future Farmers? high elevation plantings of many varieties has extended many of the varieties by volume tonnage as well. In other words the changing climate has changed the work pattern requirement for available labour.

A companion program, administered by the BC Fruit Growers Association finds work for Canadians that want to work in the industry.

T

here is so much confusion today about the various foreign worker programs I thought it was time to write a column so people will have a better understanding what is going on and how things are actually improving.

In BC we have had the SAWP (Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) for about a decade.

Many Canadians believe it’s a new trend when in fact it’s operated in Ontario for fifty years now. Since coming to BC the program has seen continued improvement for workers and farmers alike. Ten years ago the program started with two employees. Today, the program has nearly two thousand Mexican and Jamaican foreign workers.

Housing has been an issue in the past and is in a state of constant improvement. Most of the traditional pickers cabins as we fondly called them are being phased out in favor of ATCO Trailers and new building facilities designed to meet the needs of employees and Municipal and Regional District regulations.

How do these programs differ? The Foreign Worker Program is an agreement between the employee and the employer. Beyond the paperwork to get the employee to Canada there is little government involvement. In addition there is the Foreign Worker Agriculture Stream as its called and enables workers to come to Canada from a variety of countries such as Central America for example.

There is also a program that allows workers to come and work on farms and travel. This program is for younger workers and allows the applicant a chance to visit and work for a specific period of time.

There are many costs from forms to transportation and airfare associated with hiring foreign workers. Some say why not hire Canadians?

The fact is the seasons are changing and climate change is having an effect. Post secondary students from Eastern Canada are still in school when workers are needed for pruning. The cherry season that used to start at the end of June now starts in the first two weeks of June, and runs well into the late summer, at least until the Labour Day weekend. New varieties and

The most important program involves Mexico and the Caribbean. The Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program is the best known and most utilized

by the farm industry.

There is supervisory protection for workers under the watchful eye of the Mexican and Canadian governments.

Everything from working conditions to housing is monitored and inspected and works well. For those who point to some minor incidents it should be noted many of the problems are minor and are usually dealt with within a day.

Protection for workers is taken seriously and in a few situations the workers have been removed and relocated to other farms.

It should be noted there are many foreign workers working on farms in BC, yet the majority of the agricultural workforce is Canadian.

So what about wages and benefits? The fact is wages are negotiated before employees arrive, as are the accommodations, transportation, meals, housing and CPP which employees are entitled to.

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One of the emerging issues if finding a pathway to citizenship.

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Meet our Agriculture Services Team We know that farming is more than a business – it’s a way of life. We are committed to serving Canada’s farm communities by providing flexible financial solutions that let you get on with the business of farming.

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Contact one of our Agriculture Specialists. We’ll take the time necessary to understand your unique needs. Together we can meet today’s challenges and anticipate tomorrow’s opportunities.

Jeremy Siddall District Manager British Columbia 250-763-4241, ext. 305 jeremy.siddall@td.com

Scott Shields Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2222 scott.shields@td.com

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Since the dawn of the tree fruit industry there has been a path of succession. First came the British, the French, Belgians, Germans, Italians, Portuguese, Japanese, and at present the Indo Canadian community. This important progression has helped our industry grow and prosper as each new group comes, invests, and builds upon the efforts of those who came before. We need to ensure this progression continues. We want the farm workers to come and work but we also want them to become part of our community. The tree fruit industry is growing and the future is bright. Ensuring we have the right mix of people in the workplaces is important for the future success vital to the interiors economy. So the question is how do we ensure a workforce for the future and down which road will they come? ■

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 LEGAL LIBATIONS | DENESE ESPEUT-POST

Let's Talk Animals

F

arming often goes hand and hand with animals.

Many farmers will need to consider the transporting, feeding, care and sheltering of pigs, cows, sheep, horses and fowl amongst others.

Owning an animal comes with responsibilities. Whether you live with a cat for companionship, have a dog to assist you with your personal care or your work, breed animals for sale or for show, or own a tiger for circus performances,

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there are certain responsibilities you have as the owner.

an animal unnecessary pain, suffering or injury.

Since the early 1800s, Western society has developed laws to protect animals from cruelty.

These laws were originally intended to protect cows, sheep and horses and have since advanced to protect our domestic pets, like Fido and Felix.

Your city or town will likely have bylaws which place responsibilities and restrictions upon you as an animal owner or caretaker. It is these bylaws that require you to keep your dog on a leash, clean up animal waste or may limit the number of animals that you can own. If an owner breaks a bylaw, the owner may be fined for the violation, pay a fine to reclaim their animal or have their animal taken away.

There are three kinds of laws that relate to animals in BC. Animal control laws regulate the keeping of animals and protect you and me by ensuring animals don’t interfere with our health and safety.

Animal protection laws safeguard animals from distress due to neglect or abuse by their owner or caretaker.

Criminal laws make it an offence to intentionally cause

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The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (“PCAA”) is a law that applies across the province and is enforced by the SPCA. This law sets out how you must care for your animals and requires that you, as an animal owner, provide

adequate food, water, shelter, care, ventilation, space, exercise; veterinary treatment for injury, sickness, pain or suffering; and freedom from abuse and neglect, unsanitary conditions and excessive heat or cold.

One example of animal distress seen by the BC SPCA involved an animal owner keeping his horses in a fenced pasture where the owner thought they would be able to graze and drink from a stream. The owner provided no other shelter, food or water and the horses grew weak and thin. This situation resulted in animal distress; the owner should have provided adequate shelter, food and water.

When the SPCA investigates a

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report of an animal in distress, a special provincial constable (SPC) appointed under the Police Act may provide the owner with information about proper animal care as well as an opportunity to relieve the animal’s distress; give a written order to the owner outlining the steps that must be taken to relieve the distress; seize animals in need to veterinary care; or seize animals in distress if the owner or caretaker cannot be located. In certain situations, an SPC can make an application for a warrant to enter an owner’s property to search for animals in distress, seize animals in need of immediate care and collect evidence regarding the owner’s treatment of the animals.

If you have a farm dog, keep in mind that it is a Motor Vehicle Act offence to drive with your dog unsecured in the back of your farm pickup. The SPCA recommends a secured crate for your dog.

It is a crime under the Criminal Code for any person (whether owner or not) to intentionally harm an animal which includes injuring or endangering farm animals including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses and mules; causing unnecessary pain or suffering; and abandonment.

If an owner is found guilty under the PCAA or the Criminal Code for animal cruelty, depending on the offence, the owner may be fined, jailed and/or forbidden to own animals for a specific time period or for life.

Many provinces have exempted the application of their provincial animal cruelty laws to farm animals where normal farming practices are carried out. In the PCAA, animal owners are excused where the animal “distress results from an activity that is carried on in accordance with reasonable and generally accepted practices of animal management that apply to the activity in which the person is engaged…”. This section typically applies to farm animals.

This column will provide you with general legal information, but you will need to see an advisor for legal advice. ■ Denese Espeut-Post is an Okanaganbased lawyer and owns Avery Law Office. Her primary areas of practice include wine and business law. www.averylawoffice.ca

New Kioti Engine a Triple Threat: More Power. Less Emissions. Less Fuel.

When tough new emission standards were announced for diesel engines, tractor manufacturer Kioti saw the challenge as an opportunity.

“Kioti has one of the largest R&D facilities of any tractor manufacturer in the world,” says Jake Wiebe, president of Kioti dealership Timberstar. “When these Tier 4 standards were announced, they said to themselves “This is the perfect opportunity to define our niche.

“They started right from scratch; they said we will go back to the drawing board and build a completely new engine that is more efficient to start with.”

Kioti’s Common Rail Direct Injection Engine was launched with its own marketing campaign and website, at www.kiotitier4.com.

To comply with the Tier 4 emissions standards, KIOTI tractors use Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) developed by parent company Daedong of Korea, which re-circulates the exhaust gasses to burn again. Exhaust gasses are cooled before being re-circulated. That keeps the combustion temperature lower, reducing emission levels. Then the Diesel Oxidation Catalyst and Diesel Particulate Filter take care of the particulate matter.

Wiebe says designing an engine from the ground up created several advantages, as compared to retrofitting existing engines.

“The goal was to not just meet the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standard,” Wiebe says. “The goal was to create an engine that lasts longer, is more

powerful, more fuel efficient, and produces less emissions right from the getgo. As a bonus, it’s also incredibly quiet.”

Allowing for slight variations by engine size, the engines using Daedong Eco Technology provide roughly 20 per cent more horsepower, while using 20 per cent less fuel, and they exceed the Tier 4 emission levels by 20 per cent.

As well, Wiebe says engine life has more than doubled.

“Diesel engines are usually designed to test out at about 8,000 hours engine life,” he says.

“These new Daedong engines are testing out at 20,000 hours, so that is significant.” ■

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A Modern Sprayer for Modern Fields

By Ronda Payne

T

he ability to adjust a sprayers output configuration to adapt to conditions in the field and orchard allow a grower to realize serious results in terms of material savings and efficiency.

Unfortunately, many sprayer systems are designed around outdated growing practices or don’t allow for the kind of simple adjustments that can help growers meet ever changing environmental conditions or capitalize on new growing practices that have occurred over the past decade or two

On cool calm days, decrease droplet size to maximize coverage

On hot breezy days increase droplet size to combat evaporation

According to Dennis Munckhof of Munckhof Manufacturing, growers who have upgraded their growing practices in terms of field and orchard setup would be wise to modernize the equipment they use as well by incorporating an adjustable tower sprayer into the mix.

Spraying any material is only effective when it hits its target, and any material that misses either through drift, evaporation or overspray is not only wasteful, it’s financially harmful to the grower, and environmentally irresponsible. Munckhof explains that the low drift tower – a horizontal blow-out system – is efficient and effective through two simple principles.

“First, you want to match the shape of your sprayer to the shape of what you’re trying to spray,” he says. “Second, you have to be able to adapt your spraying practices to the conditions at the time.”

The low drift tower achieves these objectives through simple, yet precisely applied techniques: ideal droplet size, even distribution and best spray concentration levels.

It sounds simple enough, but conditions change, and the most efficient sprayers change with them – easily. If plants stayed the same size, weather patterns never shifted and temperature didn’t fluctuate, there would be no need for an adaptable system, but growers know better than anyone else that easily adapting to change is essential.

Adapting to the conditions at the time means having the ideal droplet size, and ideal delivery air speed. This is achieved 70 Spring 2016

Don’t spray what’s not there - Only placing spray material where it’s useful will get maximum results

“ First, you want to match the shape of your sprayer to the shape of what you’re trying to spray… second, you have to be able to adapt your spraying practices to the conditions at the time.” though pressure, PTO RPM and the ability to adjust both independently.

becomes a fine mist that evaporates or drifts and never makes it to the plant”

“You need the control to be able to create the ideal droplet size and delivery air speed for the conditions in the field” he says. “Small droplets give exponentially better coverage than large ones.

But make the droplets too small, and it

For instance, halving the diameter of a single droplet will allow you to create 7 more droplets with the saved material, a huge amount of extra coverage, but a 10 degree temperature increase could evaporate 20 or 30%, of your material and

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One size does not fit all - having a sprayer that matches your planting is crucial to an effective spray program increase drift by 10 feet or more. To find balance, adjustments to droplet size and delivery air speed must be independent.

The Munckhof system uses a diaphragm pump and pressure regulator that allows for adjustability of pressure independent of PTO RPM. Once the correct droplet size is achieved by adjusting the pressure, it’s time to deliver it into the canopy with the right amount of force.

pressure, there’s no need to recalibrate the sprayer, it’s all savings” In fact, the adjustability of the Munckhof tower allows for up to a 60 per cent reduction in material sprayed due to the accuracy of placement.

Ideal for trellised-type crops as well as modern orchard trees, the Munckhof tower sprayer allows growers what they need most in ever-changing conditions: control.

“Too much force from the fan will send the spray straight through a light canopy, rather than stopping at the outer edge, causing a lot of wasted product,” Munckhof says. “Because you can adjust your fan RPM with the tower sprayer, the force of the delivery can be tailored to the density of your canopy and weather conditions, seriously reducing the waste.”

The tower has several nozzles which spray slightly upward, mirroring the shape of the plant and covering it with a near horizontal spray from each nozzle providing even coverage at ideal levels.

Nozzles themselves can be adjusted to either of two different sized tips or turned off completely.

“Don’t spray what’s not there,” says Munckhof. “In vineyards, after pruning, there are areas that don’t need to be sprayed. With the tower, simply turn off the nozzles at those heights, and because you have already set your ideal

Spring 2016 71

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