Orchard & Vine Magazine Spring 2019

The Secrets of Sauvignon Blanc Hillcrest Cherries: Long Road to Success 2019 BUYER'S GUIDE

Whispering Horse Winery Spring 2019 $6.95

Display Until May 30, 2019 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40838008 www.orchardandvine.net

FLAWLESS FROM FIRST LIFE TO FIRST SHINE

With the help of Luna Tranquility® fungicide, you can keep your apples flawless from spring through to harvest. Its two modes of action give you outstanding control of the most damaging diseases such as apple scab and powdery mildew. Get the best out of your orchard with Luna Tranquility.

Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/Luna

Always read and follow label directions. Luna® and Luna Tranquility® are trademarks of the Bayer Group.

Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

2

Spring 2019

PUSH MORE, LIFT MORE AND HAUL MORE WITH

MAHINDRA. THE TOUGHEST TRACTORS ON EARTH.

2655 SHUTTLE OS

ENJOY 0% FOR UP TO 84 MONTHS AND SAVE MORE BY PURCHASING MAHINDRA IMPLEMENTS

HANDLERS EQUIPMENT

PREMIUM TRUCK

339 Sumas Way, Abbotsford 604.850.3601 4001 Williams Crescent, Houston 250.845.3333 handlersequipment.com

1015 Great Street, Prince George 250.563.0696 4600 Collier Place, Williams Lake 250.398.7411 premiumtruck.ca

NOBLE’S COUNTRY TRACTOR 4193 Noble Rd. Armstrong 1.800.661.3141 580 Chilcotin Rd, Kamloops 1.888.851.3101 www.nobletractor.com

TRACTOR TIME 30 minutes from Victoria and 15 minutes from Highway 1 in Metchosin!

4377C Metchosin Rd, Victoria 250.474.3301 www.tractortime.com

#1 SELLING TRACTOR IN THE WORLD

THE CHERRY ON TOP Fresh Cargo Centre NOW OPEN: Airside Perishable Handling Facility

Road connections within 24 hours to and from anywhere in Western Canada Use our extensive worldwide air cargo service to get it there with the freshness you expect

flyeia.com/cargo

Photo by Nalidsa Sukprasert - Dreamstime.com

CONTENTS

Rows of cherry tree blossoms in an organic cherry orchard near Penticton.

6 Publisher's View – Lisa Olson 8 Event Calendar 11 News & Events

12

Johan Bos, Forest McCormack, Robin Hunt and Emma Sowiak at the BCAFM.

22 Product Feature – Winery Supplies & Equipment 24 From Horse Whisperer to Wine Whisperer 28 Revealing the Secrets of Sauvignon Blanc 32 The Centuries Old Saga of Kelowna's Hillcrest Cherries 35 2019 Buyer's Guide 53 Lessons from Ontario's Strawberry Growers 56 Sudden Apple Decline in BC 59 No Water on the Okanagan River 61 More Substance, Less Flash at the BCFGA AGM 63 Legal Libations – Hanan Campbell 65 Marketing Mix – Leeann Froese

35

67 Seeds of Growth – Glen Lucas 69 Word on Wine – Laura Kittmer Cover Photo of Melissa Giesbrecht of Whispering Horse Winery.

Photo by Ronda Payne

Spring 2019

5

 PUBLISHER’S VIEW | LISA OLSON

Nurturing Your Field

S

Vol. 60, No 2 Spring 2019

pring is a beautiful time of renewal.

Those tiny buds are breaking free to bring about new life. The soil is warming up and you can smell the nutrient rich soil. The clear sunny days are getting longer and you can begin nurturing your field.

Established in 1959 Publisher Lisa Olson Editor

You’ve made this decision to farm. You have thoughts and hopes for the upcoming season and you are focused on the tasks at hand. Days are spent pruning, digging, planting, cleaning, pulling supplies and equipment out of storage and organizing staff. Perhaps you notice that your hand has its first blister. Does this sound familiar?

Sometimes a new idea can be another way of working more efficiently, or growing a different crop, reconfiguring a tool, purchasing a few new products, or obtaining the service of a much needed professional. Inside this edition, you’ll see advertisers throughout the magazine and inside the Buyer’s Guide Directory. Study it closely, as these companies are equally as dedicated and devoted to bringing in the latest and best quality products and services.

Graphic Design Stephanie Symons Contributors

Photo by Kim Kanduth

This time of year can bring about fresh ideas too. When you take a moment to step back and take a look at your field, buildings and your business, what are some of the thoughts that come to mind for the year or two down the road? Can you remember some things that you wanted to implement when you first began, do they still apply, or do you have new ideas up your sleeve?

Gary Symons

Also dedicated are the writers at Orchard & Vine, who spend endless hours researching, interviewing, and attending conferences and tradeshows to cultivate and develop the information gathered for the articles valuable to you. This year, since it’s our 60th year, we are looking at some pioneering farm families and enjoy very much keeping their stories alive.

Hope you like them.

Lots happening at the start of this new season and there’s lots to read here.

Best wishes for a good spring with ideal weather.

Enjoy the magazine!

Michael Botner, Hanan Campbell, Leeann Froese, Kim Kanduth, Laura Kittmer, Glen Lucas, Ronda Payne, Tom Walker Contact lisa@orchardandvine.net Orchard & Vine Magazine Ltd. 22-2475 Dobbin Road Suite #578 West Kelowna, BC V4T 2E9 www.orchardandvine.net Phone: 778-754-7078 Fax: 1-866-433-3349 Orchard & Vine Magazine is published six times a year and distributed by addressed mail to growers, suppliers and wineries in the Okanagan, Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Washington State and across Canada. Orchard & Vine is also available online.

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

Providing Canadian Grapevine Solutions BRITISH COLUMBIA Nathan Phillips p. 250-809-6040 bcsales@vinetech.ca 6

Spring 2019

QUEBEC Alexandre Jacquel p. 905.984.4324 qcsales@vinetech.ca

NOVA SCOTIA Ian Kaye p. 902.740.2493 nssales@vinetech.ca

ONTARIO Wes Wiens/Tina Wall p. 905.984.4324 sales@vinetech.ca

22-2475 Dobbin Road Suite #578 West Kelowna, BC V4T 2E9

Cert no. SGS-COC-006263

More than 20 years of oak expertise, Over 1,000 barrel and alternative profiles available, We’ve got you covered! www.nuancetrade.com

Spring 2019

7

 SPRING | CALENDAR #intelligentwatersolutions

Ontario Craft Wine Conference & Trade Show May 1 Beanfield Centre, Toronto www.ontariocraftwineconference.ca

VINEYARD IRRIGATION SOLUTIONS

3rd Annual Okanagan Cider Festival May 4 Truck 59 Ciderhouse, West Kelowna BC www.okciderfest2019.com

Supplier to the Commercial Beverage Industry

Bloom BC VQA Spring Release Victoria May 14 Vancouver April 18 Calgary May 9 www.winebc.org Canada’s Farm Progress Show June 19-21 Regina, SK www.myfarmshow.com

CIDER MAKING

WINE MAKING

We’ve got you covered and then some.

BREWING

DISTILLING

For more info: E: sales@cellartek.com Ph: 1.877.460.9463

Supplier to the Commercial Beverage Industry

8

Spring 2019

WINEMAKING

BREWING

CIDER MAKING

DISTILLING

BC Enology & Viticulture Conference July 15 -16 Penticton Trade & Convention Centre Penticton, BC www.bcwgc.org i4C+ International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration July 19-21 Niagara, ON http://coolchardonnay.org Feast of Fields Okanagan - August 11 Vancouver Island – August 25 Metro Vancouver - September 8 www.feastoffields.com Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show September 10-12 Woodstock, ON www.outdoorfarmshow.com

Quick and precise protection.

An innovative way to target unwanted pests while at the same time having a favourable safety profile for many beneficial insects.

SivantoTM Prime insecticide precisely targets key damaging pests like aphids, leafhoppers, blueberry maggot, scale and psyllids while at the same time having a favourable safety profile for many beneficial insects. Plus it works quickly, which helps preserve the overall health of your crops, stops the spread of diseases and most importantly, protects your investment.

Learn more at cropscience.bayer.ca/SivantoPrime

Always read and follow label directions. Sivanto™ is a trademark of the Bayer Group. Bayer CropScience Inc. is a member of CropLife Canada.

Spring 2019

9

Nektar ID* No more gamble!

Design in minutes your perfect oak profiles accurately and safely.

Please ask us for your Nektar ID session! *Instant Decision, Immediate Design, Ideal Dose

More than 20 years of oak expertise, Over 1,000 barrel and alternative profiles available, We’ve got 2019 you covered!

10 Spring

www.nuancetrade.com

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery Appoints New Head Winemaker

Hundertmark has worked as the Winemaker at sister winery Rust Wine Co. since January 2018. He will now be overseeing winemaking operations for both properties and is recruiting a second winemaker to oversee day-to-day operations at Rust in Oliver.

An award-winning Winemaker and Sommelier, Hundertmark relocated to BC in 2017 after an illustrious career in Ontario including Marynissen Estate Winery and Stoney Ridge Estate Winery where

he produced estate wines as well as the successful celebrity brand for the Tragically Hip and his own label 100Marks.

“Not only is he an incredibly talented winemaker, but his passion for the industry and for sharing his knowledge with his staff make him a true pleasure to work with,” said CEO Craig McCulloch.

Photo contributed

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery has announced Jeff Hundertmark will be taking over as head winemaker at both the original winery as well as its Rust Wine Co. operation in Oliver.

The appointment is one of many exciting developments in 2019 for Mt. Boucherie as construction is under way for an expanded tasting room, larger cellar, and a new winery restaurant set to open this fall at the West Kelowna location. Hundertmark plans to introduce more innovation into the winemaking program including skin-contact

Jeff Hundertmark, Winemaker at Mt Boucherie Winery.

Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris and a fresh Chablis-style Chardonnay.

“I am excited for what the future brings for our team,” said Hundertmark. “We have a fresh, young team who are

bursting with excitement and enthusiasm. I am so proud to be teaching the next generation of winemakers and showing them minimal-intervention winemaking that truly lets the grape and our amazing terroir shine.”

BC Innovators Create Buzz With New Program to Save Honey Bees Local organizations are partnering with the federal and provincial governments to develop innovative ways to save pollinators and combat food waste in British Columbia.

Another project by Vancouver-based network FoodMesh will help reduce the amount of useable food making its way to the landfill each year.

FoodMesh matches demand and supply more efficiently to reduce food wasted along the supply chain. The network consists of investors, businesses, growers, processors and charity organizations working with the shared goal of reducing the amount of usable food ending up in landfills each year. This social enterprise will better connect BC producers to new economic prospects by including access to animal feed and new mar-

Photo by Rastko Belic | Dreamstime.com

While honeybees play a key role in agriculture, various diseases and pests have threatened Canada’s honeybee

this research will give beekeepers better tools to treat and monitor hive health, strengthening the honeybee population further.

population in recent decades.

In a previous project, the University of British Columbia (UBC) developed a tool to identify and breed bees with enhanced resistance to disease. Building upon its earlier work, UBC has initiated a new project to develop a probiotic treatment to control disease.

The practical knowledge from

kets for unsold food products.

The UBC and FoodMesh projects highlight a small sample of the 20 innovative ideas that BC-based organizations are working on to build a more sustainable future, with nearly $1.5 million in funding from the Canada-British Columbia Agri-Innovation Program under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

“It’s always amazing, but never surprising, to see the innovative work that organizations are doing to create a more sustainable future,” said Lana Popham, BC’s Minister of Agriculture. “The work that UBC and FoodMesh are doing reflects the spirit of the Canada-BC agri-innovation program to enhance competitiveness, sustainability, productivity and resiliency.”

Spring 2019

11

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

BC Farmers’ Markets Awards Name the Best of the Province With spring just around the corner, the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) celebrated the best of BC with its sixth annual BC Farmers’ Market Awards.

“The award winners are perfect examples of the high standards to which farmers’ markets, market vendors, volunteers and managers hold themselves,” said awards judge, Bruce Fatkin. “Each has excelled at product innovation and quality, market citizenship, promoting farmers’ markets in their communities or giving to their communities in some way.”

A panel of leading professionals in the sector, including Jon Bell, farmer and former BCAFM president; Elizabeth Quinn, former BCAFM executive director; and Bruce Fatkin, former Abbotsford Farm and Craft Market manager and BCAFM board member. The judges selected the following as the best of BC farmers’ markets in 2018, from nominations received throughout the province: • Farmers’ Market of the Year (Large, 61+ vendors): Esquimalt Farmers Market • Farmers’ Market of the Year (Medium, 21-60 vendors): Pemberton Farmers’ Market • Farmers’ Market of the Year (Small, up to 20 vendors): Trail’s IncrEDIBLE Farmer’s Market • Farmers’ Market Manager of the Year: Miche Warwick (Rossland Mountain Market)

Photo contributed

Markets in Esquimalt, Pemberton and Trail topped the awards, winning in their categories for Farmers’ Market of the Year.

From left to right Tara Immell, Clarence Selden, Farmers’ Market Volunteer of the Year, Leanna Mehma, Gina Ironmonger, Rob Ironmonger winners of Small Farmers' Market of the Year Trail’s IncrEDIBLE Farmer’s Market.

• Farmers’ Market Vendor of the Year (farmer): Forbes Farm (Gord and Steve Forbes, Kelowna and Penticton Farmers’ Markets ) • Farmers’ Market Vendor of the Year (non-farmer): Blackbird Bakehouse (Tanya Molle, Cranbrook, Fernie and Kimberley markets) • Farmers’ Market Volunteer of the Year: Clarence Selden and Dion Langevin (Cranbrook Farmer’s Market) • Partner of the Year: Kyle Goulet and Moss Street Market (Victoria) Now in their sixth year, the BC Farmers’ Market Awards recognize the work of all those involved with making farmers’ markets thrive as venues where communities, farmers and artisans can come

together to celebrate locally grown and made items. “When reviewing the candidates for the awards, I was reminded of the enthusiasm and good-will evident among farmers' markets managers, vendors, customers and volunteers. It's like a world unto itself that only those that are actively participating in the farmers' market movement can truly appreciate.

I found the process of choosing the winners uplifting,” said Quinn.

The Esquimalt Farmers Market won in the large market category and was recognized for its creative and innovative work, including initiatives to achieve a waste-free farmers’ market and the collection of food donations for community members in need.

SIGNATURE LTD.

An Okanagan vineyard and winery consulting company with more than 30 years experience in Bordeaux and Okanagan estates • Terroir • Vineyard • Winemaking • Expertise • Confidentiality www.pascalmadevon.ca

12 Spring 2019

Phone: 250.488.8497 Email: p.madevon@shaw.ca

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Government Announces Funding To Support The Fruit Industry Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country Stephen Fuhr announced an investment of up to $4.2M under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AgriScience Program to the British Columbia Fruit Growers’ Association.

This funding will support the Association in developing innovative, commercially successful Canadian-bred apple and sweet cherry cultivars that enhance the

profitability of Canada’s tree fruit sector. This project, which builds on research funding received under the previous agricultural policy frameworks, consists of ten activities, with research and testing taking place in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

“Tree fruits are vitally important to British Columbia’s agricultural sector, and BC processors know the importance of staying on the cutting edge,” said Fuhr.

“Through projects such as the one we

announced today, our Government is ensuring our producers are able to keep up with demand and remain innovative.”

"Research enables change, added BCFGA President Pinder Dhaliwal. “The CAP funding provided for this project will help the industry develop and adopt the exciting new varieties developed at Summerland Research and Development Centre. This research project will help growers increase profits and production.”

GANG UP ON DISEASE. With three modes of action, it’s the perfect ally for conventional chemistry.

Why wouldn’t you give yourself an unfair advantage against powdery mildew and botrytis? New Serifel™ is a highly effective fungicide that just happens to be biological.

It complements chemistry-based solutions with three modes of action, to form a protective shield against disease.

Learn more at agsolutions.ca/horticulture or follow us on twitter @BASFAgSolutions.

Always read and follow label directions.

SERIFEL is a trade-mark of BASF; used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. © 2019 BASF Canada Inc.

2605_Serifel_2019_Ad_OV_v2.indd 1

Spring 2019

13

2019-01-15 1:02 PM

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

?

PERFORMANCE YOU CAN COUNT ON.

Our Turbo-Mist Sprayers are engineered to reduce cost, reduce footprint, and increase yield.

Whether your clients are corporate farms or standalone operators, we have the models to meet their needs.

SAVES TIME. SAVES MONEY. INCREASES YIELD.

Reduce Fuel Costs + Extend Machine Life • Reduce Blow Through + Spray Volume Eliminate Drift + Improve Coverage • No More Renozzling + Recalibrating

Over 60 Years of Innovation Adapted for 100% Organic Growers Models from 50 US Gallons to 1000 US Gallons Industry Leading Warranty Over 10 Industry-Specific Attachments Precision Spray from 40 gallons/acre to 300 gallons/acre

We offer factory- backed OEM Turbo Mist Genuine Parts to support your needs and your customers. We stand behind our product, and offer our expertise and knowledge to help you get the right parts in a timely manner.

GENUINE PARTS

2-Day Delivery Guarantee*

Engineered for the Future 1-800-495-6145

agsales@slimlinemfg.com

14 Spring 2019

559 Okanagan Ave E Penticton, BC V2A 3K4 Canada

www.slimlinemfg.com

* Delivery guarantee is 2 standard business days for delivery services within North America, provided by FEDEX and UPS. The cost of shipping will depend on your location, the carrier chosen, and the size and weight of the product purchased.

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Hospitality Charity DISH Fundraiser The BC Hospitality Foundation (BCHF) is pleased to announce the date of its 9th annual food, wine and cocktail tasting fundraiser. DISH (formerly called Dish ’n Dazzle) will take place on Wednesday, May 8 2019 at Vancouver Convention Centre East. The event features plenty of wine samples, bites from top local restaurants, a cocktail competition, a silent auction, and more.

DISH, is an acronym for Drink, Indulge, Savour, Help, and these words sum up the spirit of the evening. Guests at DISH

have a chance to meet and mingle with Vancouver’s culinary luminaries, as well as to find new favourites among a stellar lineup of US wineries. They’ll enjoy bites from 14 Vancouver-area restaurants and over 25 wineries from California, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico.

DISH will have live music, and the opportunity to bid on an outstanding array of silent auction items and purchase tickets for a raffle with a prize worth over $1,000. The event will also include a cocktail competition at which six local

bartenders will vie to be crowned champion of the evening.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will support the work of the BCHF, which provides assistance for hospitality workers in financial crisis due to extraordinary medical circumstances, as well as operating a scholarship program to foster the next generation of hospitality industry leaders.

You may want to applaud our grape solutions.

(Or just stomp your feet.)

For over 60 years, Canadian growers have trusted our advanced solutions for grapes. Whether it’s tried and true products like Kumulus® fungicide, our latest innovation, Serifel™ fungicide or the recently acquired Ignite® herbicide, you know you can always count on ovation-worthy performance in your vineyard. To learn more, visit agsolutions.ca/horticulture or contact AgSolutions® Customer Care at 1-877-371-BASF (2273).

Always read and follow label directions.

AgSolutions, IGNITE, KUMULUS, PRISTINE, SERCADIS, VIVANDO, and XEMIUM are registered trade-marks, and SERIFEL is a trade-mark of BASF; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc. KUMULUS, PRISTINE, SERCADIS, SERIFEL, and/or VIVANDO fungicides should be used in a preventative disease control program. © 2019 BASF Canada Inc.

Client: BASF Hort

Publication: Orchard & Vines

Spring 2019 .

.

.

Jeannette

15

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

New Legislation Will Strengthen Independence of ALC Legislation has been introduced to strengthen the independence of the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), so it can better fulfill its mandate of preserving the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), while encouraging farming and ranching within British Columbia.

Bill 15, the agricultural land commission amendment act 2019, continues the Ministry of Agriculture’s efforts to revitalize the ALR, the farmland within BC that’s protected for the province’s food security.

Photo by Maxim Weise | Dreamstime.com

“The bill tabled today builds on the work we started over a year ago to better protect farmland and encourage farming and ranching in BC,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture. “We are ensuring the commission has the tools and the governance model required to strengthen its independence and ability to act in the best interest of our farmland within the Agricultural Land Reserve, so that British Columbians are able to access safe, locally grown food for generations to come.”

If passed, the legislation will strengthen ALC governance and independence, and further protect land within the ALR by: • replacing the current ALC governance model of six panel regions and an executive committee with one commission maintaining regional representation by requiring membership from all six administrative regions; • providing the chair of the ALC with more flexibility to organize commission members into a decision-making panel on applications when warranted, by topic, technical expertise, or by an administrative region; • adding new decision-making criteria to prioritize the protection and enhancement of the size, integrity and continuity of the land base that the ALC must consider when exercising any power or performing a duty under the ALCA; • adding more compliance and enforcement capacity and tools,

AREAS OF PRACTICE • Construction • Business • Real Estate • Complex Estates Denese Espeut-Post, Hanan Campbell, Lawyer Lawyer

Summerland • Princeton www.averylawoffice.ca 16 Spring 2019

The ALC has strengthened the mandate to protect farmland.

including a new offence for landowners who do not produce records to the ALC when ordered; • requiring that exclusions be submitted to the ALC only by local governments, First Nations governments or the Province, to encourage these type of applications be done as part of a thoughtful land-use planning process.

The legislative changes are part of the government’s ongoing commitment to revitalize the ALR and the ALC. The ALR was established in 1973 to protect land with prime agricultural conditions for farming and ranching. It currently protects approximately 4.6 million hectares of agriculturally suitable land in British Columbia. The ALR is administered by the Agricultural Land Commission, an independent tribunal mandated to preserve agricultural land and encourage farming on agricultural land.

“BC Agriculture Council appreciates working with government on its efforts to revitalize the ALC/ALR,” said Stan Vander Waal, president, BC Agriculture Council. “In order to ensure farmland is protected for current and future food security, while protecting the rights of farmers and ranchers, the ALC’s governance structure must have a decision-making process that is flexible, adaptive and efficient. Overall, the update is a positive step forward. We strongly support local regional input, which is critical given the diversity of agriculture in BC” The ALR currently includes 46,159 square kilometres of BC that are preserved for agricultural use, which is equivalent to less than five per cent of BC’s total land base. Roughly 10 per cent of the land in the ALR produces 85 per cent of BC's farm receipts.

WORK BETWEEN THE LINES NO MATTER WHAT. Work can be a battle of inches. A battle that continues even when the temperatures change and the path gets tighter. Good thing Kubota’s premium M5 Narrow tractor combines plenty of power with great versatility in a slim package — so you can conquer vineyards and orchards all season long.

kubota.ca | *See your dealer for details.

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Exports were a Key Topic at the BC Cherry Association AGM

By Tom Walker BC cherry exports was a key topic at the annual BC Cherry Association AGM as the importance of foreign markets continues to grow.

BC cherries are sold domestically, but the importance of exports has seen the most growth in recent years. The first overseas shipments began in the early 1990’s into Taiwan and Europe. Starting in 2003, BC cherries began moving into Hong Kong and subsequently into China, through the grey market. In 2013, an agreement was reached with the Chinese government allowing direct access.

China is a very important market for us,” notes Bal. Indeed, total exports of Canadian cherries to China were worth over $26.5 million in 2018, making that market the second most important for BC growers, behind only the US

Photo by Tom Walker

“Export programs continue to be a major focus of what we do at the BCCA,” says president Sukhpaul Bal. “We have seen steady growth in both the China and Thailand programs, and the California program and now we have the Japan program for the first time.”

From left to right: Beth Cavers, Program Administrator, Lindsay Hainstock, Director (BC Tree Fruits Appointee), Ravi Dhaliwal, Director, Harman Bahniwal, Director, Sukhpaul Bal, President, Graem Nelson, Secretary, Neal Vander Helm, Director, Dr. David H. Geen, Director, Erin Carlson, Treasurer.

which bought $39 million. In 2018, 119 BC growers took part in the China program.

Sixty were BC Tree Fruits Coop members and 59 were independents.

“It is important to run these export programs to the highest level as access does not mean forever, it is continually reviewed,” Bal points out.

“The stronger our programs are for export markets, the better the chances are they will continue.” BC cherries went to 28 countries in 2018, for a total value of $90 million. In 2013, cherry exports totalled just over $41 million, and growers did not have full access to China at that time, so exports have more than doubled over five years.

After a successful pilot with Northern Cherries and Coral Beach Farms showing the quality of the of BC cherry industry last summer, the Japanese market is officially open for all growers to register for export this year.

BCCA continues to work for improved access to India, aiming to eliminate the present

Wineries, Distilleries and Cideries Ingredients, Supplies and Equipment Visit our fully stocked 10,000 sq.ft.warehouse or shop online

6908 Palm Ave Burnaby BC - Phone 604-473-9463 - Toll Free 1-866-554-7273 - Web ecom.bosagrape.com 18 Spring 2019

10-day cold treatment requirements. “It has been a while since we have heard from them, but the board is in discussions to send a small delegation to India,” Bal says. “Perhaps that could show the Indian government that we are serious in wanting to ship product there. It is an important market with the growing middle class in India.”

Part of the requirements for access to overseas markets is to show the receiving country that our growers are dealing with pests of concern. The cherry fruit fly or rhagoletis, is a target species for several countries including China. Growers worry that the presence of rhagoletis in their orchard monitoring traps is a cause for concern. Not so, says Bal. “The board has been discussing how we are hoping to change the whole culture around finding rhagoletis in traps,” says Bal, calling it a positive thing. “We can then show that we are finding these species of concern on the traps but when we are doing our brown sugar tests and inspecting the fruit, there are no larvae in those samples, and that shows our partners in China and other markets that our system is working.”

South Korea is a target market that is still developing. The market access division of CFIA has sent paper work back to South Korea on the issues that are their concerns, Bal notes. “We are waiting to hear back. I imagine in the spring we will have a conference call from CFIA to see where that sits,” he says. “We are optimistic we will gain access and we are hoping within the next couple of seasons.”

“The attraction of Korea, is a large and strong middle class,” Graem Nelson recalls, following a scouting mission there in the spring of 2018. The metropolitan area of Seoul, the capital city, has a population of 25 million people.

“I saw some mediocre cherries, likely from California on display for $80.00kg ($36.00 pound). says Nelson. “There are good air freight links, but it is further than China.”

However, unlike other Asian countries where Canada enjoys an advantage because of Trump, that is not true for Korea,” Nelson notes.

Did you know that routine soil testing can reveal nutrient deficiencies fertilizer alone can’t replace?

Whether it’s soil imbalance or low levels of nutrients Nature’s Intent provides a full line of fertilizers and soil amendments to fit your conventional or organic farming needs.

• Increase crop yield, size, and shelf life.

• Boost overall quality, color, firmness, flavor and Brix.

• Stimulate positive microbial activity for long-term soil health.

• Improve nutrient availability.

Find a distributor near you.

web: www.naturesintent.com email: info@naturesintent.com Int’l Toll Free 877-571-3555

OMRI, WSDA Organics and ODA Certified

Spring 2019

19

Advertisement

Top Winery Insurance Claims in BC From tank punctures and faulty bottles to theft and water damage, we review the top winery insurance claims in BC. At harvest season in BC, grape pickers lumber between vines, each hand gripping a 10-gallon pail stuffed with yellowgold or ruby-black grapes. For the grapes, and for the winery operators, they’ve made it against their biggest challenge— Mother Nature—but between harvest and shipping to stores, dozens of other hurdles can arise.

From tank punctures and faulty bottles to theft and water damage, we review the top winery insurance claims in BC. Tank Failures & Punctures Just days or weeks after the sweat and toil of harvest, a bin is tipped into the hopper, the press begins to squeeze the grapes for their sweet juice, the cellar hand closes the lid and leaves the press to continue crushing overnight.

Only in the middle of the night, the press malfunctions, and in the morning, the winery owner walks into the tank room to find the press has prematurely squeezed out the precious juice. The loss? In one case in BC, almost $15,000.

Tank failures, often caused by hoses not being hooked up properly as wine is pumped from one tank to another, can beset even the most experienced winemakers.

During harvest and spring bottling, tank punctures tend to become more prevalent as smaller teams are stretched and rushing to meet deadlines. In one recent winery insurance claim in BC, the forklift hit a tank and knocked off the valve. The forklift operator and the crew in the area were forced to watch nearly 7,000 litres of wine spill to the ground.

Among the top winery insurance claims, this could be the most devastating. Three or four years after seeding, countless days of pruning and hundreds of hours of sunlight, the wine is nearly at the end of its journey at your winery: bottling.

Bottling Errors Bottling errors tend to happen in one of three ways: defective glass that can’t 20 Spring 2019

handle the pressure explodes, or the bottling line isn’t calibrating properly, or flecks of glass are found in a bottle and a product recall is launched for all the wine bottled that day.

In one recent case, a bottler misaligned the bottles and screw caps, cutting the glass and leaving shards of glass in the bottles of nearly 3,000 cases of wine.

Each bottle had to be reopened, filtered, and rebottled. In another case, faulty glass couldn’t handle the pressure and hundreds of bottles exploded.

For winemakers, there’s nothing more gut-wrenching than losing an entire season, especially to defective bottles or bottling errors. Both revenue and reputation are at stake.

Theft With so many wineries located in rural areas just off the beaten path enough to grow quiet and dim at night, these estates have become a target for theft and vandalism, especially if the winery is poorly lit or lacks security. Thieves have identified wineries house expensive, mobile equipment, such as compressors and tools that are easily converted to cash at a pawn shop.

While security cameras can’t always prevent theft, they will help to deter some thieves, or at least provide evidence later.

One BC winery had two back-to-back break-ins causing $12,000 in loss of equipment and $5,000 in vandalism to hand-carved wooden doors.

Water Damage Fortunately, while water damage exposes the facility and/or the grounds, it usually has little or no impact on the wine.

Burst pipes tends to be the cause of water damage to winery building and contents, but in 2017, operators saw damage to outbuildings like pumphouses and to their piers from exceptional seasonal flooding near lakes.

Are you looking for a BC winery insurance broker who truly understands your needs, and will go above and beyond to help protect your investment and reduce your risk to common claims? Reach out to the trusted winery insurance experts at CapriCMW.

 SPRING | NEWS & EVENTS

Fruit Wanted for Canada’s Fruit Festival in August Canada's biggest 4-day vegan food festival is being held August 9-12 on Okanagan Lake. Over 500 attendees from around the world will be attending who will be sharing their tasty experience to millions of followers on social media channels. The attention and promotion of the Okanagan and especially BC fruit and veggies will be huge due to the many social media influencers taking photos and videos during the event and sharing with their followers!

This is a great place for farmers and small companies to sponsor the festival, while helping to feed hundreds of attendees with your fruits & vegetables. Fruit is available all day; so if you have any apples, peaches, plums, cherries, nectarines, cucumbers, tomatoes, or any other raw foods and would like to sponsor the festival, please contact Ted Carr at info@canadafruitfest.ca

LAKE COUNTRY SW Panoramic Wood and Kalamalka lake views from this 9.3 acre orchard estate property. Productive high & medium density apple orchard, 24’2x50’ 3 bay. Enjoy low taxes with farm status. Lovely rural country setting just 10 mins to Lake Country’s many amenities.

MLS® $1,495,000

KEREMEOS Superb value! 121.5 acre farm with stunning views of valley & mountains. 5 min north of Keremeos.

Approx 50 to 60 acres arable, rated class 1, 2, & 3 in Grape Atlas. Water from multiple wells. Two homes on the property: 4 bdr/ 3 bath 2230 sq ft rancher plus 14 x 52 manufactured home. 30x60 shop and 36x48 barn with tack room. MLS® $1,899,000

OYAMA Astounding views of Wood & Kalamalka lakes. 9.76 acres. Custom ‘92 built (approx) 3786sf home & fully irrigated apple orchard. Full-on western exposure. Immaculate, original walk-out rancher and 3 car garage. Orchard is older Mac and Delicious, well maintained and picturesque. New roof in 2016.

MLS® $1,770,000

N GLENMORE Hobby farm in desirable N Glenmore area, close to UBC-O, groceries, professionals, restaurants... all within 5 min yet pastoral and surrounded by other agri titles. Country style rancher has 4 beds /2.5 bathrooms.

Natural gas nearby. Fully irrigated by GEID. Dbl covered carport.

MLS® $999,000 D!

TE

IS TL

S

JU

RUTLAND Stunning views of lake & city from 8.98 acre apple orchard right in the city! Great proximity to city services, zoned A1 and in the ALR but a very strategic location on the border of medium density residential. Close to recreation, schools, airport & Orchard Park. MLS® $1,950,000

LAKE COUNTRY SW Established fruit stand & almost 10 acres of irrigated orchard land strategically situated between Shanks Road & Highway 97 in Lake Country. Mixed mature & older orchard with cherries, peaches, nectarines, apples etc. Fourplex and farm house. MLS® $1,995,000

SE KELOWNA Breathtaking Okanagan Lake views from this 14.6 acre estate on Stewart and Saucier Roads in South Kelowna.

The home shows like new and features 10’ ceilings, spacious rooms and a unique design set around a courtyard overlooking the vineyard and view. MLS® $3,150,000

WEST KELOWNA Centrally located, fully irrigated 7 acre farm with mobile home. Exceptional location with pastoral setting within walking distance of downtown Westbank. Limitless possibilities!

Previously orchard now in hay.

MLS® $1,150,000

Your local experts in farm, residential, and estate properties KELOWNA

250-878-6545 JERRY GEEN

Personal Real Estate Corporation

Jerry@GeenByrne.com

+

ELYA BYRNE

Personal Real Estate Corporation

Elya@GeenByrne.com

Independently owned and operated toll free: (800) 663-5770

www.GeenByrne.com Spring 2019

21

 SPRING | WINERY SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

Gotta Have It – Winery Supplies & Equipment EASYPEEL This year Amcor is introducing EASYPEEL, a wine-opening system that uses a one-piece aluminum capsule engineered to open wine bottles along a clean line, every time. Unlike other technologies that rely on pull tabs, EASYPEEL allows consumers and professionals to use traditional bottle openers. EASYPEEL, now everyone can open wine like an expert! www.amcor.com

Tardito Et-Lab Semi-Automatic Labelling Machine • Made in Italy • Designed to apply self-adhesive single labels or front & back labels to a cylindrical shape (bottle/can/jar/etc.)

• Compact design easily fits on a table or benchtop and can easily be moved out of the way when not in use • Simple one-person operation for up to 500 BPH • Optional date code printer to print onto labels • Optional model to apply labels to square or rectangular containers • Optional foot pedal actuation to keep both hands free for faster labeling • Inexpensive pricing makes it a good value for start-ups and smaller labelling projects www.cellartek.com

9001 Highway 97, Oliver, B.C. V0H 1T2 Ph: 1-778-739-0109 www.bin97.com info@bin97.com

SOLUTIONS FOR EVERY STAGE OF WINE MAKING! Bin 97 is a winery equipment supply company located in the south Okanagan.

We are proud to be part of the Canadian wine industry. We are now pleased to offer Mobile Filtering Service with Bucher Vaslin technology!

Bottling Line

Tanks & Accessories

22 Spring 2019

Barrel Washing

Cooling & Heating

Pumps

 SPRING | WINERY SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

Slovenian Oak Foudres & Oak Casks • Traditionally coopered by hand in Slovenia using minimum 2-year seasoned Slovenian barrel oak • Fully customizable for fittings, manways, cooling plates, C.I.P., etc.

• Affordable pricing at less than half the price of traditional French cooperages • Eight-week production lead times • 3-D digital relief carving of logos and designs into the cask heads • Large formats are perfect for accenting fruit forward characters in wines and not masking them with strong oak flavors • Esthetically stunning showpieces for a winery, brewery or cidery cellar

www.cellartek.com

Nuance Winery Supplies Inc. launches X-PRO® in Canada X-PRO®: the best of yeast extract in four specific preparations: • Identity White: aromatic expression • Identity Red: mid-palate enhancement • Protection: freshness, stability and thiolic expression – wines with low SO2 content • Finesse: foam stability and expression of sparkling wines X-PRO® is the result of a revolutionary research project by Enologica Vason. No chemical substances, no additives but the precise intention to benefit from the innate and wellknown stabilizing capacities of the fundamental components of the micro-organisms of wines. This has been made possible thanks to a completely innovative lysis procedure that preserves all the natural characteristics. The X-PRO® Process is carried out in conditioned ambient, at a low temperature and without any exogenous enzymes. www.nuancetrade.com

Agricultural Netting & Fabrics

Delivering Powerful Grading Solutions Affordably Multiscan S50C Cherry Pre-sorter

Unbeatable Bird Protection!

250-488-2374

Multiscan i5 Plus Cherry Sorter/Sizer

Neal Carter & Assoc. info@farmsolutions.net

Van Wamel Perfect UniGrader Sorter/Sizer Apple, Pear and Round Fruit Sorter

Farmsolutions.net • Strong HDPE knit, open-mesh nets • 10 year UV warranty • Easy to apply and remove

Up to 5 Sorting Modules, Including External and Internal Defects

• Hail, shade, rain & other fabrics • Nets for grapes, cherries & berry crops • Custom nets and structures

Grading solutions B.C. fruit producers have grown to trust, with 10 grading systems operating in B.C. in 2019!

Call: (604)855-8062 or Visit: www.fruittek.com

Spring 2019

23

WHISPERING HORSE WINERY

From Horse Whisperer to

By Ronda Payne Melissa Giesbrecht grew up riding horses at J-Bar Ranch, which her grandfather John Giesbrecht built with his wife Bea after buying the Yarrow (Chilliwack) property in the 60s. In time, Melissa’s parents, Barry and Shirley Giesbrecht, built their home on a property connected to the north edge of the J-Bar land and Melissa spent her youth roaming the combined 21 acres and lands nearby. She attended Yarrow Elementary School and dreamed of one day leaving the small town, but still enjoyed the time she spent riding with her grandfather.

“He rode until he was 86 years old,” Melissa says. “He would take the horses and go for a trail ride on the weekend.”

But the ranch started to slow down as John (now 94) advanced in age. The family wanted to keep the land, but no one (including Melissa’s two siblings) wanted to take on a horse ranch.

“The timing was funny because I’d just met my husband,” she explains. “He’s very passionate about wine.”

Laurent Fadanni had taken sommelier courses but realized he was more interested in the craft of making wine. He and Melissa considered moving to Tuscany, where Laurent’s family lived, and he took an apprenticeship in winemaking for two months, but the couple realized how challenging it would be to start from scratch in a new country. They wondered if J-Bar could evolve into a winery.

Photos by Ronda Payne

“We approached my parents with the idea, thinking they were

Melissa Giesbrecht grew up riding horses on the Chilliwack property.

24 Spring 2019

The winery’s name, Whispering Horse, was inspired by the history of the land, which was

Wine Whisperer

s first established in the early 1960s as J-Bar ranch, where John Giesbrecht, Melissa’s grandfather bred, raised, and trained hundreds of horses for over 50 years.

Spring 2019

25

L’Acadie and Pinot Gris Rosé both won top in their categories. It blew us away… our first competition from a farm family from little Yarrow.

Melissa Giesbrecht going to laugh at us,” Melissa says.

They didn’t laugh. Instead the two couples created a partnership, bought the land and nodded to John’s decades of work by adopting the name Whispering Horse Winery.

“We just thought it would be a perfect balance,” Melissa says of the partnership.

It was a rather interesting leap into winemaking considering that Barry and Shirley didn’t drink much wine prior to Laurent coming into their lives.

Through research and a 2.5 acre test plot planted in 2012, the family was delighted to learn what they could create. The indoor riding ring got a concrete floor and a set of inner walls to create the winery within the barn which still has stables (empty of course) at the front.

“We never expected to get the [brix, pH and tannin] numbers we did,” Melissa notes. “We planted varieties a lot of people have never heard of. We wanted to plant what grows well here.”

Photo by Robyn Bessenger

“We started doing wine tasting dinners at my parents’,” explains Melissa. These informal events with her parents’ friends included blind tastings, food and wine pairings, even a PowerPoint presentation Laurent created.

Laurent Fadanni works as the viticulturist and winemaker in the vineyard.

The idea was to create wine flavoured by the grapes and terroir, not from manipulating flavours during the winemaking process. It worked and the 2.5 acre test plot grew to about 6.5 planted acres on the Whispering Horse site and another local site with plans for expansion. Whispering Horse is now the only operational winery in the Chilliwack area Melissa is aware of.

The varieties currently planted include the cold hardy and disease resistant Canadian L’Acadie Blanc, Pinot Gris, Epicure, Seyval Blanc, Dornfelder, La Crescent and a bit of Pinot Noir.

The site is small and relatively immature, with visits by appointment only and a tasting room to be built between red maples, overlooking the vines, scheduled for 2021. It’s understandable that progress can’t be instant because Laurent, Melissa and Barry all still work traditional jobs and manage the winery in their spare time.

Photo by Ronda Payne

“Baby steps,” says Melissa. “Last summer we were so burnt out.

My dad’s dream is to just be out on the tractor looking after the fields and the vines.”

Historical photos line the walls of the winery.

26 Spring 2019

L’Acadie and Pinot Gris Rosé 2017, both released in 2018, were the first vintages sold at a commercial scale (there was a very limited release of L’Acadie in 2017). The Pinot Gris was left on the skins for about 36 hours before fermentation, giving it a

Photo by Sharalee Prang Photo by Robyn Bessenger

Three generations of the Giesbrecht- Fadanni family.

Barry and Shirley Giesbrecht with grape taster Luca Fadanni.

Vine and wine consultant Pascal Madevon was brought in 2017 to help consult with the technical side of things when Laurent needed someone to guide certain aspects of the growing and wine-making process.

soft rosé colour. Response to the Whispering Horse wines has been overwhelming with the Pinot Gris selling out in just two months and limited amounts of L’Acadie available. This from a handful of markets, a few restaurants and Swirl Wine Store in Yaletown selling the wines. People would even drive out to Yarrow for an appointment to buy wine.

“They clicked,” Melissa says of Pascal and Laurent working together. “Pascal was super passionate about what we are trying to do here – creating terroir wine. Laurent has great vision, but he’s definitely not a scientist. He’s the artist.”

“They sold out,” she says of Swirl. “They were asking for more.

It was crazy.”

It’s a different approach to winemaking – perhaps more of a European one – to grow the vines that grow well on the land rather than what’s popular. And like European wines, from preparation of the land to bottling of the wine, it’s a family affair, with the addition of Pascal and Enver Hiliti, who helped John with the ranch and now helps with the winery.

The family entered the two wines in the 2018 All Canadian Wine Championships and won double gold in the single white hybrids category for L’Acadie and also won double gold in the rosé blanc de noir style for the Pinot Gris Rosé.

“They both won top in their categories. It blew us away,” says Melissa. “Our first competition from a farm family from little Yarrow.”

Melissa’s brother, sister and their families help out when needed, keeping Whispering Horse very much in the family.

L’Acadie 2018, Pinot Gris Rosé 2018, Sparkling Pinot Gris 2017 and Sparkling Epicure 2017 are expected to release in 2019 with plans for a brut made from a L’Acadie and Seyval Blanc blend in the future.

“The big thing is when we need hands on, they are here,” Melissa explains.

Whispering Horse is VQA and Melissa plans to approach SaveOn Foods about selling the product at the in-store wine shops in the summer.

“We have a lot of sparkling that’s aging so we’ll be releasing those over the next couple of years,” she says.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the response so far.” ■

Spring 2019

27

Revealing the Secrets

By Michael Botner Ask Dick Cleave, one of the South Okanagan’s leading vineyard managers for over 44 years, to recommend a white grape variety, he answers without hesitation: Sauvignon Blanc. “I believe we can grow the best Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blends (referring to the white Meritage style) in the world,” he says. “They are easy to grow, great food wines; I’d like to see a lot more planted in the valley.”

Best known for premium red grape varieties he first planted on his own 14 acre vineyard established in 1991 on Black Sage Road (now owned by Phantom Creek Estates), Cleave’s introduction to Sauvignon Blanc came soon after. As co-owner of a contract planting and vineyard management company, he became manager of a trio of vineyards (including Black Sage Vineyard (BSV) and Burrowing Owl on the upper terrace of Black Sage Bench in 1993 , which when fully planted totaled 400 acres. Six acres of Sauvignon from French rootstocks he planted in BSV was the source of the fruit used to make Harry McWatter’s Sumac Ridge White Meritage. “It was a beautiful wine made from ripe, fullflavoured grapes,” he says, “my all-time favourite in the summer.

The degree of fruit exposure is a key factor for controlling vertical growth and flavours, especially in high density vineyards, according to Cleave. “For grapes with more ripe tropical fruit flavours, more of a New Zealand style, you have to increase fruit exposure but use dappled light as well,” he says. “Too much shade should be avoided as Sauvignon is thin-skinned and prone to botrytis bunch rot. In the well-drained lighter, sandy soil of BSV, four pounds of grapes per vine proved to be the optimum yield for producing ripe, healthy grapes.”

McWatter’s currently produces an impressive barrel-aged White Meritage under his new Time label: an elegant, classy blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Time’s 2017 White Meritage

Clos du Soleil grapes with a view of the vineyard in the Similkameen Valley.

delivers ripe honeydew melon and tropical fruit infused with elements of mineral, apricot and zesty grapefruit peel topped with creamy vanilla macadamia nut.

Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery “Sauvignon was not part of our plan,” says Walter Gehringer, co-owner of Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery. That is saying something for this mid-size winery launched in 1986 on Golden Mile Bench. It is one of dwindling number of core estate wineries in BC still owned and run by their founding families. A meticulous search for a vineyard began in the mid-1970s. As Walter and his brother left for wine studies in Germany, Walter at Geisenheim University, the family carried out a seven-year climate study which led to purchasing the Golden Mile property.

28 Spring 2019

Photo Contributed

s of Sauvignon Blanc

ning, fruit flavours and intensity are maintained. Research has determined that cool climate and, more importantly, a higher ratio of nighttime over daylight brings out fruit flavours. As well, the area is relatively free of fall frosts allowing us to take advantage of the full season, especially important for grapes not fully ripened by mid-September.”

After purchasing the second half of the property known as Dry Creek Vineyard in 1991, a single acre of Sauvignon vines were planted on virgin land a year later after excavation of copious rock deposits. “It went in to appease our sales representative, hounding us to plant Sauvignon,” says Gehringer.

Gehringer realized that he had a winner when his neighbour Sandra Oldfield came over and was blown away by the flavours.

As a result, “I took out some Gewürtztraminer and planted Sauvignon,” he says.

The biggest challenge for Gehringer is to achieve evenness of ripeness. “It is difficult to to prevent at least some green green,” he says. “Also, there’s a tendency for it to be botrytis -affected.

Sometimes you’d like it to hang longer, but you have to make a compromise. Even then, fruit expression can vary 0-100 from year to year and even during processing.”

Nothing, at least very little, is left to chance at Gehringer. The site was selected on Golden Mile Bench because “the terroir brings more finesse to whites,” he says. “On southeast-facing side of the valley with cooling in the late afternoon and eve

At 6½ to 7 tons of fruit per acre, Gehringer is pleased with

Spring 2019

29

the yield but there isn’t enough of it. He must supplement the crop with non-Golden Mile fruit. Gehringer Brothers 2017 Sauvignon Blanc boasts an abundance of rich, luscious pineapple, melon gooseberry and grapefruit and nice touches of mineral and green herbs with the palate cleansed by mouth-watering acidity.

Howling Bluff Estate Winery Mention catch phrases like Loire style or New Zealand style or Howling Bluff style to Luke Smith, owner of Howling Bluff, and he firmly issues a correction. “Our Naramata Bench wines are best described as unique and terroir-driven,” he says. “Instead of concerning myself with an end point, I focus on making the best possible wine for a particular vintage. While there are certain commonalities year after year, no two vintages are alike.”

There is certainly no other sub-GI in the Okanagan Valley quite like Naramata Bench, an endlessly fascinating patchwork of unique vineyards and wineries. Howling Bluff’s south and westsloping, Lower Bench vineyard is “positioned as good as you can get,” says Smith.

“With 1½ acres planted in 2004 on the southern section of the main block, Sauvignon is the oldest we have,” says Smith.

“An acre of Semillon followed in 2007.” Smith describes the soil profiles as “lake bottom, more or less stardust that fell and sank to the bottom, and creek bottom (Three Mile Road used to be a creek),” he says. “These are cuts in the rock washed into the lake over thousands of years. Thin and difficult to work, these unique, Naramata Bench soils make completely different styles.”

Smith takes a minimalist approach to winemaking. In the vineyard, he uses sustainable growing practices like mulching and

Clos du Soleil is a small artisan winery and estate vineyard in the South Similkameen Vall

returning everything to the soil to preserve the health of the ground, the least possible use of anything he wouldn’t want children near, and irrigation as necessary when Mother Nature comes up short.

Based on the vintage he asks, “What is the harvest date?”

While the aim is to make natural wine without additives, Smith admits to certain preferences: employing yeasts we like to use and basing the decision of when to shut down fermentation on making wine with the least possible residual sugar and lower alcohol in the range of 13-14 per cent. The idea is to let the wine make itself.

“I’m not afraid to make a wine someone might not like, even at the risk it doesn’t sell very well once in a while,” he says. “When the stars do align, we are rewarded with tears of heaven.”

Photo by Michael Botner

Howling Bluff 2017 Naramata Bench Sauvignon Blanc Semillon combines luscious pineapple, gooseberry, passion fruit and honeydew richness and ripeness and notes of mineral and white pepper, refreshed with crispy green apple and lemon-lime vivacity.

Sixty per cent fermented/aged for four months in French oak, Howling Bluff 2017 Three Mile Creek Reserve Sauvignon Blanc shows added complexity, elegance and finesse. It is refined, restrained exhibiting nuances of tart apple and grapefruit wedgWalter Gehringer at the bottling line.

30 Spring 2019

Photo by Michael Botner

ley.

Photo Contributed

Photo Contributed

Michael Clark, Clos du Soliel winemaker.

Luke Smith, owner of Howling Bluff leading a wine tasting.

es sprinkled with sugar, gooseberry, mineral plus notes of green herbs and grass.

rule in the Similkameen.”

As is the case with many of the world’s best wines, Clos du Soleil wine labels downplay grape variety, putting the emphasis on proprietary names such as Fumé Blanc and Capella, and the name of the winery.

Clos du Soleil Winery While the terroir is unmistakably, uniquely Similkameen, the inspiration for Clos du Soleil wines is based on founding partner Spencer Massie’s love of French culture and traditions. At its inception in 2006, Clos du Soleil set itself up to be the best at growing and producing classic red and white Bordeaux varieties. Backed by rocky cliffs, the 10 acre, south-facing Clos du Soleil vineyard on Upper Bench Road in Keremeos is “perfectly positioned to receive sunlight all day,” says Clos du Soleil’s managing director and winemaker Michael Clark.

For some, the name Fumé Blanc is sometimes confused with the name of a grape or a place in France. It is neither; Robert Mondavi originally coined the term as an alternative name for his Sauvignon Blanc, no more, no less. Fermented partly in oak puncheons, larger than barrels, partly in stainless steel, Clos du Soleil 2017 Fumé Blanc is an appetizing blend of 83 per cent Sauvignon and 17 per cent Semillon. Richly extracted with loads of flavour, it features lovely nectarine, apricot, passion fruit and fig aromas and crisp, lively flavours suggesting green apple, grapefruit and graphite, which Clark describes as a marker for Similkameen wines.

A few minutes down the road, a new 12 acre vineyard called Les Collines has been established on land previously used as an organic orchard. Planted in 2018, it includes an additional six acres of Sauvignon and Semillon. As for the rocky, somewhat coarse stemwinder soil, commonly found in the Similkameen Valley, “it looks like a rock garden but the vines love it,” according to Clark. Other vineyards in different corners of the Similkameen farmed by Clos du Soleil include La Cote and Whispered Secret. Climatic factors that define Simikameen terroir involve huge temperature swings and high wind levels. “These factors are also true of the Okanagan but they are more true, more extreme here,” says Clark. “High natural acidity levels are the

Poised, graceful, elegant, Clos du Soleil 2016 Capella is the ultimate expression of Similkameen terroir. Wild fermentation, 100 per cent in oak and long aging on the lees in oak barrels, inspires complexity and considerable potential for aging in the bottle. Impressive nose shows hints of apricot, vanilla, fig, fresh flowers and graphite. The clean, crisp, bone dry palate delivers green apple, lemon/lime zest, passion fruit, quince and subtle, smoky oak. ■

Spring 2019

31

The Saga of Kelowna’s Hillcrest Che

By Tom Walker Today, Hillcrest Farm is one of the most successful cherry farms and fruit market operations in the Okanagan Valley, if not in Canada, but few people know the farm’s success was sealed through a ‘handshake deal’ between a hardworking immigrant from the Punjab, and the pioneering Okanagan farm family the Stewarts, now known as owners of the famous Quail’s Gate Winery.

The saga began when Bhagu Singh Basran left drought conditions in his farming village in the Punjab in 1906 to seek a better life in Canada. Basran worked for a number of years in the BC Lower Mainland, but together with several friends he later walked … yes, literally walked … the roughly 400 kilometres from Vancouver to the Okanagan Valley in 1914.

“They had heard there was good fertile land and the beginnings of a farming industry, and it was what they knew best,” says Bhagu’s great grandson Sukhpaul Bal. “The story is that they tied potato sacks on their feet for shoes, but we don’t know what route they took or how long the journey was.”

At the time Bhagu arrived in the Okanagan as an immigrant to Canada he was not legally allowed to own property, but fortunately for him, the enterprising young man met and befriended a generous farm family who themselves have made Quail’s Gate Winery a household name in Canada. Bhagu shook hands with the Stewarts in a deal that saw the Stewart family hold land for him in trust until Bhagu was legally allowed to buy it. That first acreage is the center of Hillcrest farm, which today sits on the Rutland Bench heading east out of Kelowna up Highway 33.

“Great Grandfather Bhagu was very proud to be in Canada,” says his grandson Sukhpaul, now the President of the BC Cherry Association. “He wore a suit and tie every time he went to town.” Bhagu first grew vegetables and later fruit trees. He added lease land to his original purchase. The farm was successful and Bhagu was able to build a family home during the 1930’s; a far cry from his journey over the mountains wearing potato 32 Spring 2019

The extended Bal family in front of the Hillcrest Farm Market, centre of a multigenerational farm business.

We strive to grow the highest quality speciality fruit… our large size, dark red, crisp and juicy cherries get a premium price in export markets.

Sukpaul Bal sacks for footwear.

Bhagu’s four sons inherited the farm from their father and their mother Udham Kaur in the 1950’s. Jaginder, the eldest, ran the farm while the other boys moved to the Kootenays. The farm went through several transitions, and was even a small cattle ranch at one point.

Today Sukhpaul and his father manage the family cherry orchards, a specialty that his parents Barbara and Chanchal

Bal began building in the late 1990s.

“When my dad was in university in India, he actually wanted to work in the financial sector,” says Sukhpaul. “But when he immigrated to Canada in the late 1970’s and married my mom, he worked in manufacturing and leased an apple and pear orchard in north Kelowna to support the family.”

“My parents were able to purchase 50 acres on a hillside just north of the original property in 1988,” Sukhpaul contin-

erries Began With a Very Long Walk she doesn’t have one apple tree for her own fruit,” Sukhpaul says.

Eventually, they were able to purchase Bhagu Singh’s original farm property, re vitalize the orchard, and build a state of the art packing line and the Hillcrest Farm Market and Café.

The family now has 80 acres in production. Supported by 150 staff in peak season they pick, pack and ship 800-900 tons depending on the year. 70% of that fruit goes to export markets. They aim to harvest across the entire season, but most of their plantings are later ripening Sentennial and Staccato. Since the Chinese market opened to Canadian cherries in 2014, the majority of their exports have been going to China.

Photo Contributed

“We strive to grow the highest quality speciality fruit,” says Sukhpaul. “Our large size, dark red, crisp and juicy cherries get a premium price in export markets.” This summer, they will be shipped under the Bal’s own brand of ‘Hillcrest Cherries’.

ues. “My dad bought an old bulldozer and re-contoured the land and by 1998, we were growing about half Gala and Ambrosia apples and the other half was our first cherry plantings.”

Hard times are always around the corner for any farmer, and the Bal family has seen their share. Freezing -30 temperatures with no snow cover in the winter of 2004-05 caused a lot of winter damage to the apple trees and production quality crashed. But Chanchal Bal saw an opportunity in the late season export market and he and Sukhpaul began to replant all the apple blocks with the new late season varieties developed in Summerland. “It now made sense to go all in to cherries with the investments in cherry packing we had been making over the years, though my mom complains that

It is a high-risk business, Sukhpaul notes.

“Planting cherries is not for everyone,” he says. “There have been years when we have lost close to 50 per cent of our crop the week before harvest because of rain and bird damage. But there is also the chance of high returns.”

Those returns are only for top quality fruit, Sukhpaul adds. “Anyone can put cherries in the ground and be shipping direct to China four years later, but if the quality isn’t there, it brings down our overall reputation as BC growers.” The BC Cherry Association, of which Sukhpaul is president, supports growers through education days, and by investing in research and market access.

“I joke that anyone can be a cherry grower for the first 10 years of production,” says Sukhpaul. “But to maintain those trees in top condition after, that takes a lot of hard work and dedication.”

“It was a hard learning curve for me and there was a time early on when our quality dipped, but having your own packing line really makes you responsible,” Sukhpaul says. “When my dad would ask me why there were so many culls, I couldn’t

blame anyone else. Now I really focus on crop load management as one of the keys in growing export quality fruit.”

Cherries don’t like to wait after they are picked. They should be in a hydro cooler, sorted, and into cold storage within hours of harvesting, Sukhpaul points out.

As cherry production grew across the valley in the mid 2000’s, the Bals, like several other growers, looked for the best model to handle their fruit to optimize returns.

This is when they were first introduced to independent packing.

“One year we drove our cherries up to Vernon to pack at an independent. Our whole family and some of our workers would go in for a second shift after the owners had run their own fruit, but that meant we were working 20-hour days,” Sukhpaul recalls.

Chanchal heard about a used packing line over in the Mission area of Kelowna.

“We were convinced that we could make it work on our farm” says Sukhpaul. “We brought it over piece by piece in our own truck and trailer.” They squeezed the equipment into the only building they had, a 40 by 60-foot shop. “We had to bump out part of the walls to fit in all the equipment,” he says.

Today, the Bal family are looking to the future of the farm that Bhagu famously founded in the early 20th Century. They do want to keep it as a family business Sukhpaul says. His brother Mandeep is a GP in Kelowna His sister Davinder is a teacher in Kamloops and youngest sister Dilraj is a dentist also in Kamloops. “But everyone is a farmer when they are back helping out during harvest season,” says Sukhpaul.

After a hike, I often stop into the Hillcrest café and market that is one of the agritourism ventures the family has added to the property. Last June, I was speaking with Chanchal and admiring a large family photo on display. “With the challenges in farming, it is often hard for a family to attract the younger generation to the business,” he mused. “We have worked hard as a family to build and diversify our farming operation, and we hope our grandchildren see the benefits of farming, like the generations before them.” ■ Spring 2019

33

A “tailor-made” cooperage Tonnellerie Ermitage specializes in a select, made-to-order offering of barrels produced from the very best lots of oak from trees a minimum of 150 years old.

Tonnellerie Ermitage works exclusively with State forests that are sustainably farmed and managed by the ONF* and certified PEFC**.

Each order is handled with rigorous and personalized attention from the barrel or tank selection process through delivery and beyond. *Office National des Forêts : The National Forestry Office ** Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes

www.tonnellerie-ermitage.com

More than 20 years of oak expertise, Over 1,000 barrel and alternative profiles available, We’ve got you covered! www.nuancetrade.com 34 Spring 2019

BVCert. 6091858

Photo by Nalidsa Sukprasert - Dreamstime.com

2019 BUYER'S GUIDE

■ Accounting

■ Fertilizer

■ Soil Amendments

■ Aerial Surveying & Mapping

■ Financial

■ Soil & Soil Testing

■ Animal, Bird and Pest Control

■ Gaskets & Seals

■ Spreaders

■ Appraisals

■ Insurance

■ Storage

■ Associations

■ Irrigation

■ Tax Consulting

■ Bottles

■ Management Consultants

■ Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

■ Bulk Wine Brokers

■ Nurseries

■ Trailers

■ Concrete Resurfacing

■ Orchard Supplies

■ Vineyard Equipment

■ Cooperage, Tanks & Containers

■ Packaging Containers & Boxes

■ Viticulture

■ Corks, Capsules & Closures

■ Packing House Equipment

■ Warehousing & Distribution

■ Crop Protection

■ Pesticides

■ Winery Consultants

■ Electrical & Solar Services

■ Real Estate

■ Winery Equipment

■ Farm Equipment

■ Refrigeration

■ Winery Services

■ Farm Management

■ Safety

■ Winery Supplies

■ Fencing

■ Software

Spring 2019

35

Accounting

Animal, Bird & Pest Control

RHN Chartered Professional Accountants Osoyoos Office 8319 Main Street (2nd Floor) Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V0 Phone: 250-495-3383 Kelowna Office 620-1620 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 info@rhncpa.com www.rhncpa.com

Princeton Wood Preservers Bird Control Group 27350 SW 95th Ave, Suite 3022 Wilsonville, OR 97070 Phone: 844-406-9280 hello@birdcontrolgroup.com birdcontrolgroup.com Robotic laser bird deterrent systems.

Effective - Affordable - Neighbor Friendly

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.

Aerial Surveying & Mapping

Aerium Analytics 1915 - 11 Street, SE Calgary, Alberta Toll Free 1.877.536.5656 Info@aeriumanalytics.com www.aeriumanalytics.com

2019 Buyer's Guide

Integrated UAS-as-a-Service. Using the revolutionary Robird UAV, created by our partners Clear Flight Solutions, AERIUM is able to assist in the control of high risk or nuisance birds in agriculture.

The Robird is a highly effective wing flapping robotic falcon that plays on the bird’s own basic instinct of selfpreservation.

• Wildlife Management • Aerial Mapping • Infrastructure Inspections • Geospatial Intelligence

36 Spring 2019

Animal, Bird & Pest Control

www.pwppost.com ABBOTSFORD Fraser Valley Steel & Wire 604-856-3391 greg.wire.fvsw@shaw.ca PARKSVILLE Fenceline Products 250-248-3122 fence@telus.net ONTARIO Ardiel Acres 705-443-7613 greg@ardielacres.ca ALL OTHER AREAS Bill Everitt 877-797-7678 beveritt@xplornet.ca PWP is an industry leader in CCA pressure treated wood post and rail products for farm, orchard, vineyard and berry trellising meeting CSA080 standards. Guaranteed life expectancy of 25 years if not damaged or altered before or after installation.

Animal, Bird & Pest Control

12033 Loomer Road Summerland, BC V0H 1Z8 Phone: 250-488-2374 Fax: 250-494-0338 info@farmsolutions.net www.farmsolutions.net FarmSolutions is a supplier of high quality agricultural fabric, including drape-over bird netting, side-netting, hail fabrics, wind-break fabrics and shade cloth. The company also builds structures for shade, hail and rain protection.

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.

Appraisals

Bottles

Concrete Resurfacing

TricorBraun WinePak

Kelowna’s NCA Commercial Inc. offers experienced, reliable and professional valuation and consulting services to those owning and operating agricultural land and businesses in BC’s interior. Our team of accredited commercial real estate appraisers specialize in market valuations for financing, property settlement, estate planning, insurance, risk management and owner compensation in expropriation and partial takings.

We also provide subdivision and ALR application services. Call us today if you require an accurate opinion of value for your vineyard, orchard or farm.

Associations

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 is a premier packaging distributor in North America supplying a broad variety of packaging components. We provide access to the highest quality glass, as well as Amcor Stelvin® capsules and closures. We also offer private and stock molds, full decorating services, repacking capabilities, enhanced design and engineering services and the strongest sales and customer service support in the industry.

Bulk Wine Brokers

WINE ASPECT B.C. Bulk Wine Brokers Ltd.

BCFGA Serving members since 1889 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.

4199 Valleyview Road Penticton, BC V2A 8V8 Phone: 250-462-0620 wineaspect@gmail.com www.WineAspect.com Wine Aspect was founded in 2012 and is British Columbia’s Premier Bulk Wine Brokerage Company.

Our mission is to assist B.C. Wineries with the confidential placement and sourcing of quality B.C. bulk wines.

We offer: • B.C. Bulk Wine Marketplace Brokerage Services • Wine and Vineyard - Professional Evaluation & Appraisal Services • Classified advertising - for the B.C. Wine industry

Marvelous Ideas Contracting Ltd. 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.

Cooperage, Tanks & Containers

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

cellar•tek east #530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com Cellar-tek is a commercial winery, brewery, cidery and distillery supply company based in Canada and serving all of North America. We offer a full range of quality equipment & supplies ranging from processing to tanks to packaging and all points between.

Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers, ciders and spirits, we strive to be the “go to” support system for the commercial producers of these delicious beverages so we can do our part to help them make the best products possible.

Spring 2019

2019 Buyer's Guide

306 – 1824 Gordon Drive Kelowna, BC V1Y 0E2 Phone: 250-868-9244 Toll Free: 1-844-644-7815 info@ncacommercial.com www.ncacommercial.com

37

Corks, Capsules & Closures

Corks, Capsules & Closures

Crop Protection

cellar•tek west Amcor Capsules California 5425 Broadway Street American Canyon CA 94503 Phone: 877-STELVIN (877-783-5846) Quebec 2301 Route 112 St-Cesaire, Quebec, J0L 1T0 Phone: 450-469-0777

cellar•tek east #530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com

Amcor Capsules is a global leader in the manufacture and marketing of aluminum closures and capsules for the wine, sparkling wine & spirits industry. This year, Amcor is introducing EASYPEEL, a wineopening system that uses a one-piece aluminum capsule engineered to open wine bottles along a clean line, every time.

Cellar-tek is a commercial winery, brewery, cidery and distillery supply company based in Canada and serving all of North America. We offer a full range of quality equipment & supplies ranging from processing to tanks to packaging and all points between.

Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers, ciders and spirits, we strive to be the “go to” support system for the commercial producers of these delicious beverages so we can do our part to help them make the best products possible.

Corks, Capsules & Closures

Crop Protection

A.O. Wilson Ltd

104 Cooper Dr. Unit 3 Guelph, ON. N1C 0A4 Phone: 519-826-7878 Toll free: 866-613-3336 Fax: 519-826-7675 info@belchim.com www.belchimcanada.com

info.capsules@amcor.com www.amcor.com/stelvin

9597 Sideroad 17 Erin, ON N0B 1T0 aowilson.ca Eastern Canada Toll free: 1-855-857-1511 customerservice@aowilson.ca Western Canada 250-868-7650 hubert@aowilson.ca 24/7 at aowilson.ca

2019 Buyer's Guide

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

Premium supplier to the beverage industry for nearly 75 years! We offer reliable products, advise and technical sales support for all your processing and packaging needs. Heritage, knowledge and passion go hand in hand when dealing with our company.

Of course we’d love to see you at one of our offices but we are now available for you 24/7 at aowilson. ca. Check out our vast selection of products right here. Happy shopping.

38 Spring 2019

Belchim Crop Protection Canada develops, registers and markets protection, nutritional and management products for field, orchard, vineyard, and greenhouse crops across Canada.

Belchim Crop Protection Canada 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 Manager Phone: 403-827-4851 maria.dombrowsky@nufarm.com 1-800-868-5444 Nufarm.ca @NufarmHortCA 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.

Electrical & Solar Services

Argon Electrical & Solar Services 338A Co-op Ave, Oliver BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-4506 sales@argonsolar.ca Argon Electrical & Solar Services has been providing quality commercial, industrial and residential electrical work in the South Okanagan for 20 years. Servicing many local wineries, farms and businesses. From service calls to renovations, major overhauls and new construction. They handle it all, including EV Charging Stations!

Argon has been installing Solar PV Systems for the last 6 years and has grown into one of the biggest and busiest installers around. Solar is a good investment and can help your business save money and attract customers. Ask us how!

Farm Equipment

Farm Equipment

Farm Equipment

Farmco Sales Ltd.

South Okanagan Equipment

201 - 150 Campion Street Kelowna, B.C. V1X 7S8 Phone: 250-765-8266 Toll Free: 1-877-461-7933 Fax: 250-765-3179 sales@farmcosales.com

Matsqui Ag Repair Ltd.

5679 Sawmill Rd Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-5145 Fax: 250-498-5135 sokequip@hotmail.com

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

Sales and service of new and quality used farm equipment. Specializing in Edwards Equipment, Turbo-Mist, Rankin/Northstar, Braun, TG Schmeiser, Kult Fingerweeder, S&A spreaders, Rabaud, Aerway, Gearmore Sprayers and Berkelman dump trailers.

The New Holland dealer serving the Okanagan Valley for over 30 years.

Also Dealers for Perfect Van Wamel, Cub Cadet, Woods Equipment and now S.A.E supplying Porter Bin Lifts and Turbmatic Sprayers from Italy.

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

Farm Equipment

Farm Management

Provide Agro Corporation

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 offered to Western growers include; FA.MA. Hedgers and HSS sprayers, Orsi Platforms, Darwin blossom thinners, Bartlett custom packhouse equipment.

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.ca info@cafanet.ca Elizabeth Robertson Box 270 Seven Sisters Falls, Manitoba R0E 1Y0 Phone: 1-204-348-3578 Toll free: 1-877-474-2871

Spring 2019

2019 Buyer's Guide

Gerard’s Equipment

39

Fencing

Fertilizer

Your business is unique Your financing should be too

FenceFast Ltd. Canadawide Toll Free: 877-383-3623 fencefast.ca FenceFast Ltd is your source for fencing product solutions with over 20 years experience. Leading manufactures such as STOCKade power fence stapling systems, Gripple Agricultural wire, Fastener and anchor products, EZG Manufacturing Wire Fence Installation attachments, AUTOGuide PostMaster Post driver, Redi Drive gas drivers, Gallagher Animal Management Systems and many others. Our product lines represent quality products that will get a superior result in the most economical way.

Fertilizer

Financial

Grow with a lender who understands Canadian food.

Superior Peat Inc.

fccfinancing.ca | 1-855-230-6821

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.

Fertilizer

Financial

RBC Royal Bank RBC has 4 agricultural and agri-business specialists in the Okanagan

Pacific Calcium, Inc.

2019 Buyer's Guide

32117 Highway 97 Tonasket, WA 98855 Phone: 1-509-486-1201 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 the west coast, so look for Nature’s Intent and call or check our website for a distributor nearest you.

464 Riverside Road Abbotsford, BC Toll Free: 1-800-661-4559 Fax: 604-864-8418 sales@tlhort.com www.tlhort.com / www.biofert.ca TerraLink Horticulture Inc., together with its subsidiaries and brands, provides a wide range of fertilizers, seeds, crop protection products, growing media and hard goods.

BioFert: Organic subsidiary of TerraLink. EcoCert approved crop inputs. Learn more at www.biofert.ca Earthlink: Organic-based products from a synergy of organic and conventional ingredients.

Richardson Seeds: Seed for forage, turf and reclamation.

40 Spring 2019

Tyler Chick South Okanagan/Similkameen 250-490-4404 tyler.chick@rbc.com Jason Michiel Penticton / South Okanagan 250-490-4420 jason.michiel@rbc.com Thomas Vicars North Okanagan 250-833-3670 thomas.vicars@rbc.com Ian Jones Kelowna / Central Okanagan 250-868-4181 ian.jones@rbc.com www.rbcroyalbank.com/agriculture

Financial

Financial

Insurance

Robert Fiume & Daniel Tassoni

1151 West 8th Avenue Vancouver, BC Phone: 604-800-4112 carla.elm@revenueservices.ca revenueservices.ca RSG Revenue Services Group is Western Canada’s largest and fastest growing SR&ED-focused services provider. Our SR&ED teams include experts with advanced degrees and extensive experience in product development, finance, tax and SR&ED claim development. We are committed to assisting wineries and vineyards in maximizing funding opportunities and to supporting innovation in the Wine & Beverage Industry in British Columbia.

Financial

TD Canada Trust – Agriculture Services Jeremy Siddall, District Vice President Pacific Agriculture Services 1633 Ellis Street, Unit 310 Kelowna, BC V1Y 2A8 Phone: 250-681-4656 Fax: 250-712-5470 Jeremy.Siddall@td.com www.tdcanadatrust.com/agriculture Serving the Okanagan, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland 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.

Gaskets & Seals

488 Bernard Ave Kelowna, BC

For a complete suite of services, contact one of our specialists or visit scotiabank.com/agriculturalservices Lee Gogal, BBA Director & Group Lead, BC Agriculture Phone: 604.308.1657 lee.gogal@scotiabank.com Meagan Beattie, BASc Senior Client Relationship Manager, Okanagan Phone: 250.212.0555 meagan.beattie@scotiabank.com

CapriCMW provides the highest quality insurance products and innovative risk-related solutions to Vintners and Wine Distributors. With offices throughout the heart of BC’s wine region, our expert advisors truly understand the unique insurance needs of the wine industry.

Our competitively priced programs include coverage for: • Direct losses to property, stock & equipment • Lost income • Food-borne illness • Product recall • Liability protection from customer incidents We also support non-insurable areas such as contract review, risk control for safety of premises and reviews of employee safety.

Insurance

The Co-operators Solve Insurance

Scotiabank Agriculture

For 185 years, Scotiabank has been helping farmers and agri-businesses grow and prosper. Our integrated banking solutions can assist in the dayto-day management of your business for now and in the future.

Toll Free 1-800-670-1877 Ext. 6082 dtassoni@capricmw.ca

GMI Inc.® 4822 East 355th Street Willoughby, Ohio 44094-4634 USA Phone: 440-953-881 Fax: 440-953-9631 gmiinc@msn.com www.gmigaskets.com GMI® manufactures DieCut NonMetallic and Thin Gauge Foil Parts, Extruded Rubber Profiles, Extruded Rubber Cord, Molded Rubber Gaskets, Seals, O-Rings and Variable Capacity Tank Seals.

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

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.

Spring 2019

2019 Buyer's Guide

RSG Revenue Services Group Inc.

41

Irrigation

Delta Water Products 444 Chilcotin Road Kamloops, BC V2H 1G3 Phone: 1-250-372-9424 Toll free: 1-888-207-0211 Info@deltairrigation.ca www.deltairrigation.ca Delta Water Products carries agricultural, commercial and residential water and irrigation products from the industries top brands and manufacturers.

Including, but not limited to: Reinke center pivots, Ocmis hose reels, wheel lines, pipe, fittings, hydrants, Franklin Electric pumps and motors, civil waterworks, fire prevention, turf irrigation, drip irrigation and more.

Visit our website or call us today to let our service team help you on your next project.

Irrigation

Nelson Irrigation Corporation

2019 Buyer's Guide

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 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.

42 Spring 2019

Irrigation

Management Consultants

Southern Irrigation 44160 Yale Road West Chilliwack, BC V2R 3Z9 Phone: 604-792-0041 Fax: 604-792-9515 5830 Sawmill Road Oliver, BC V0H 1T9 Phone: 250-485-0246 sales@southernirrigation.com www.southernirrigation.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 locations in Lethbridge, and Red Deer, Alberta.

Irrigation

Pascal Madevon Signature Ltd. 701 Nelson Avenue, Penticton, BC V2A 2L6 Phone: 1-250-488-8497 p.madevon@shaw.ca www.pascalmadevon.ca Pascal Madevon Signature is a vineyard and winery consultancy company based in the Okanagan Valley. Classically trained expert viticulturist and oenologist Pascal Madevon offers professional advice on vineyard management, wine production, and marketing of white, rosé, red and late harvest wines to Canadian wineries of all sizes.

Nurseries

Head office - Langley, BC Branch offices in William’s Lake, BC and Lynden, WA Call Toll Free 1-888-675-7999 www.watertecna.com 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.

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.

Nurseries

Nurseries

Orchard Supplies

Princeton Wood Preservers Wonderful Nurseries

Knights Grapevine Nursery Eckhard Kaesekamp 3792 Feather River Blvd. Suite C Olivehurst, CA. 95961 Phone: 707-350-1148 eckhard@knightsgrapevinenursery.com knightsgrapevinenursery.com 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!

Nurseries

27920 McCombs Ave. Wasco, CA 93280 Phone: 661-758-4777 Fax: 661-758-4999 dustin.hooper@wonderful.com wonderfulnurseries.com Wonderful 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, and pistachios.

Orchard Supplies

www.pwppost.com ABBOTSFORD Fraser Valley Steel & Wire 604-856-3391 greg.wire.fvsw@shaw.ca PARKSVILLE Fenceline Products 250-248-3122 fence@telus.net ONTARIO Ardiel Acres 705-443-7613 greg@ardielacres.ca ALL OTHER AREAS Bill Everitt 877-797-7678 beveritt@xplornet.ca PWP is an industry leader in CCA pressure treated wood post and rail products for farm, orchard, vineyard and berry trellising meeting CSA080 standards. Guaranteed life expectancy of 25 years if not damaged or altered before or after installation.

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

AK-West Inc.

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.

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.

AK-West is committed to providing innovative storage and material handling products of uncompromising quality at a fair price. Our broad range of storage, organization, and transport products are used to shorten assembly times, maintain accurate inventories, optimize storage space, and improve parts protection.

2019 Buyer's Guide

Gerard’s Equipment

Calgary Location - Head Office 7111H - 6th Street SE Calgary, Alberta T2H 2M8 Toll Free: 877-979-8940 Phone: 403-279-8940 sales@ak-westinc.com www.ak-westinc.com

AK-West your single source for reusable containers and material handling solutions.

Spring 2019

43

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

Pesticides

N.M. Bartlett Inc. Astrapouch

Thunderbird Plastics Ltd.

1155 West Ave Middlesex, NY Phone: 585-259-9202 info@astrapouch.com astrapouch.com

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

Astrapouch® proudly sells a wide range of eco-friendly flexible packaging and related filling technologies including pouches, bag-in-box, dispense systems, filling equipment, co-packing, and storage solutions. Astrapouch® offers a durable, convenient and eco-friendly way to bring beverages to the consumer market. Never before has there been beverage packaging so sleek, so marketable, so efficient and so profitable. Easy open, quick chilling, stay fresh, light weight packaging from Astrapouch®.

Packaging, Containers & Boxes

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.

Packing House Equipment

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.

Pesticides

Great Little Box Company

2019 Buyer's Guide

11300 Twigg Place, Richmond, BC Phone: 604-301-3700 Toll free: 1-800-661-3377 Fax: 604-301-3745 Info@glbc.com • www.glbc.com Other Locations: 3502 Spectrum Court, Kelowna, BC Phone: 250-765-6988 748 Market St. Victoria, BC Phone: 250-384-3382 100-1500 Industry St. Everett, WA Phone: 425-349-4522 Great Little Box Company is your one source for label and packaging solutions. Products include the design and manufacture of custom and stock corrugated boxes, point-of-purchase displays, custom folding cartons, rigid boxes, clear PVC boxes, custom labels, flexible packaging, specialty packaging and the fabrication of foam packaging. GLBC also distributes a complete line of shipping supply products and moving products while providing fulfillment services and vendor managed inventory programs to its customers.

44 Spring 2019

Fruittek, LLC (USA): Ph: (360)201-7162

Fruittek Canada: Ph: 604-855-8062 Toll free (Can or U.S.): 877-826-3427 info@fruittek.com www.fruittek.com Affordable electronic sorter/sizers for small to medium sized tree fruit packers emphasizing sorting precision, and gentle handling.

• Multiscan cherry pre-sorters, sizer/ sorters and complete lines.

• Van Wamel Perfect apple, pear & round/oblong vegetable sizer/ sorters and complete lines.

• Sorting modules Include color, dimension, weight and external defects (& softness on cherries).

• UL/CSA Compliant.

• Local service and support.

Secure-Rite Mobile Storage 123 Penno Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6S1 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

BC Farm & Ranch Realty Corp.

2014 Whatcom Road Abbotsford, BC Phone: 604-852-1180 Toll Free: 1-888-852-AGRI (2474) Fax: 604-852-1191 info@bcfarmandranch.com www.bcfarmandranch.com BC Farm & Ranch Realty Corp. is BC’s first and only Real Estate office 100% dedicated to Agriculture & Acreage properties. Visit our website to browse through our vast selection of properties from house and acreage to dairy, poultry, equestrian, winery/ vineyards, nursery operations, berry farms, bare land developments and much more.

Real Estate

Refrigeration

KOOLJET Refrigeration Inc. 150 Adams Blvd.

Brantford, ON N3S 7V2 Phone: 519-752-2424 Toll Free:1-866-748-7786 Fax: 519-752-4040 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

Safety

Suite 311, 9440 202 Street, Langley, BC V1M 4A6 Toll Free: 1-877-533-1789 contact@agsafebc.ca www.agsafebc.ca AgSafe is the non-profit health and safety association for agricultural producers in British Columbia. AgSafe provides site-specific safety education, consultation and materials, as well as online workplace safety resources.

AgSafe is also the COR Certifying Partner for BC’s agricultural-associated industries and offers a Certificate of Recognition (COR) program for large and small employers.

Software

1-800-903-1492 www.croptracker.com

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!

3155 Pleasant Valley Rd. Armstrong, BC V0E 1B2 Phone: 250-938-5062 cooling@ranchovignola.com www.ranchocooling.com  -20 C Frozen Storage, 2-4C Refrigerated Storage and Dry Storage  Certified Organic – Attestation of Compliance to COR  HACCP Equivalent Food Safety Program/CFIA Inspected  Order Picking Service  Secure, 24-hour Monitoring  Short & Long Term Storage  Cross Docking Options  Exemplary Customer Service

Croptracker is a cloud-based crop management software with a mission to make fruit and vegetable production safer, more efficient, and more profitable. Growers of all sizes use Croptracker to enhance their traceability, schedule and execute tasks, monitor chemical usage, cut costs associated with supervision and auditing, and make more informed decisions for their operations.

2019 Buyer's Guide

Geen+Byrne Real Estate Team RE/MAX Kelowna

Organic compliance of storage facility verified by PACS 16-846

Call Jerry + Elya today!

Spring 2019

45

Soil Amendments

Soil & Soil Testing

Storage

Revolution Compost Lower Mainland Okanagan Kootenays USA Phone: 1-250-809-8646 compost@wearerevolution.ca www.aforceofnature.ca Revolution produces Class A Compost, an allowable input in organic farming, made with commercial food waste from Vancouver’s Organic waste stream. We produce the most contaminant free, nutrient rich compost available on a commercial scale in BC - Replacing chemical fertilizers dramatically increasing water retention and crop yields.

Give us a call today and “Join the Revolution!”

Soil & Soil Testing

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.

Spreaders

3155 Pleasant Valley Rd. Armstrong, BC V0E 1B2 Phone: 250-938-5062 cooling@ranchovignola.com www.ranchocooling.com  -20 C Frozen Storage, 2-4C Refrigerated Storage and Dry Storage  Certified Organic – Attestation of Compliance to COR  HACCP Equivalent Food Safety Program/CFIA Inspected  Order Picking Service  Secure, 24-hour Monitoring  Short & Long Term Storage  Cross Docking Options  Exemplary Customer Service Organic compliance of storage facility verified by PACS 16-846

Storage

Secure-Rite Mobile Storage Hanna Instruments Canada Inc.

2019 Buyer's Guide

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.

46 Spring 2019

Whatcom Manufacturing Inc. 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.

123 Penno Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6S1 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!

Okanagan Office Geoff McIntyre, CPA, CA Regional Leader Food & Beverage Processing 600,1628 Dickson Avenue Kelowna, BC V1Y 9X1 Phone: 250-979-2574 Toll Free: 1-877-766-9735 geoff.mcintyre@mnp.ca MNP.ca MNP is one of the largest national accounting and business consulting firms in Canada. B.C’s dynamic food & beverage industry is rapidly growing and full of opportunity. Based in Kelowna and with 20 offices across British Columbia, our beverage industry specialists provide expertise and scalable solutions to enhance all aspects of your business structure so you can effectively manage growth, streamline operations and increase profitability.

Tax Consulting

RHN Chartered Professional Accountants Osoyoos Office 8319 Main Street (2nd Floor) Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V0 Phone: 250-495-3383 Kelowna Office 620-1620 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 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.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Distribution Importation Jean Gagnon Inc Antonio Carraro 179 St Laurent West Maskinonge, PQ Phone: 819-626-0166 Fax: 819-626-0146 info@antoniocarraro.ca www.antoniocarraro.ca Antonio Carraro is a Specialty tractors for Orchard, vineyard application from 31 to 100 Hp. 4x4, articulated frame or steering direction drive, with or less cabine.

Also the RGS system option (Reversible Guide System), With gear or Hydrostatic transmission.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Avenue Machinery Corp.

1521 Sumas Way Abbotsford, BC 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

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

Handlers Equipment 339 Sumas Way Abbotsford, BC V2S 8E5 Phone: 604-850-3601 www.handlersequipment.com @handlersequipment Handlers Equipment specializes in providing top quality agriculture & construction equipment.

Handlers only stocks top-of-the-line new equipment and well-maintained used equipment. They are proud dealers of Hyundai Construction Equipment, Mahindra tractors and utility vehicles, Morooka tracked dumpers, and other short lines. In addition, Handlers stocks multiple lines of agriculture implements.

2019 Buyer's Guide

Tax Consulting

Agricultural and light construction supply and service equipment.

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

Spring 2019

47

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

NOBLE’S

4650 Trans Canada Highway Duncan, BC V9L 6L2 roly@islandtractors.com Phone: 250-746-1755 Toll Free: 888-795-1755 Fax: 250-746-5518

North Island Tractor 3663 South Island Highway Courtenay, BC V9N 9T6 russ@northislandtractor.com Phone: 250-334-0801 Toll Free: 866-501-0801 Fax: 250-334-1637 www.islandtractors.com

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Progressive Ag. Inc.

Noble’s Country Tractor 4193 Noble Road Armstrong, BC V0E 1B4 Phone: 250-546-3141 Toll Free: 1-800-661-3141 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

PrairieCoast Equipment Toll Free: 1-877-553-3373 www.prairiecoastequipment.com 8025 Dallas Drive Kamloops, BC

Matsqui Ag Repair Ltd.

2019 Buyer's Guide

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.

48 Spring 2019

LectroBlast®

By Progressive Ag Inc

Island Tractor & Supply Ltd.

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, Kverneland, Gehl, JBS, Wallenstein, Land Pride, JayLor, Farm King, Maschio and HLA equipment.

Specializing in hard-to-find parts.

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

675 Adams Court Kelowna, BC 4228 Cowart Rd Prince George, BC 44158 Progress Way Chilliwack, BC 22661 Fraser Highway Langley, BC 1531 Harold Road Nanaimo, BC Your local John Deere dealer selling specialty sprayers, tractors, and mowers for Orchard, Berry, and Vineyard growers across BC!

1336 McWilliams Way Modesto, CA 95351 Phone: 209-567-3232 Toll Free: 800-351-8101 mryckman@proaginc.com www.proaginc.com Lectroblast® sprayers can operate at low volume electrostatic, all the way up to 50 gallons per minute, dilute: ONE SPRAYER THAT CAN DO IT ALL! As chemical labels change, we can fit the need. Our sprayers are designed for orchards, vineyards, groves and nurseries. These units are built to last.

When it comes to performance…

Simply Better Coverage!

Tractors, Sprayers & Machinery

Slimline Manufacturing 559 Okanagan Avenue East Penticton, BC V2A 3K4 Phone: 250-493-6145 Toll Free: 1-800-495-6145 Fax: 250-492-7756 agsales@slimlinemfg.com www.slimlinemfg.com Slimline Manufacturing is North America’s premier manufacturer of Agricultural Sprayer Technology for farmers growing crops from grapes to nuts and orchards to hops, with an international Dealer network representing our best-inclass Sprayers and Towers in markets ranging from New York to California, BC to Ontario. The company also manufactures Evaporator Systems for multiple industry applications and operates an OEM factory-backed Parts Division and retail shop, servicing the Agriculture industry locally and across the Pacific Northwest.

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

Warehousing & Distribution

Gerard’s Equipment 5592 Hwy 97 Oliver, BC V0H 1T0 Phone: 250-498-2524 Fax: 250-498-3288 www.gerardsequipment.com

Offering a great variety of utility, dump, flatdeck, cargo, horse and stock trailers.

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.

Vineyard Equipment

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 93,000 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.

Winery Consultants

ECOVIN

Providing Canadian Grapevine Solutions

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/

ONTARIO Wes Wiens/Tina Wall Phone: 905-984-4324 sales@vinetech.ca

“You ask, we create.” With 79 years of experience, ATAGO® brings together the grape and wine industry trust in arguably the world’s best refractometers since 1940. ATAGO offers precise quality control instruments, whether it is measuring Brix, acidity, or CO2. Learn how our instruments can benefit your company at www.atago-usa.com.

QUEBEC Alexandre Jacquel Phone: 905-984-4324 qcsales@vinetech.ca

BRITISH COLUMBIA Nathan Phillips Phone: 250-809-6040 bcsales@vinetech.ca

NOVA SCOTIA Ian Kaye Phone: 902-740-2493 nssales@vinetech.ca

CONSULTING ECOVIN CONSULTING Phone: 250 510-1558 3897 Cobble Hill Rd Cobble Hill, BC johnkelly@ecovin.ca www.ecovin.ca

• Winery licensing & establishment.

• Site evaluation, equipment selection.

• Natural & conventional grape & fruit wine production.

• Organic/Sustainable & conventional vineyard establishment & management.

2019 Buyer's Guide

ATAGO U.S.A., Inc.

• Over twenty years experience.

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.

Spring 2019

49

Winery Equipment

Winery Equipment

John Brooks Company

A.O. Wilson Ltd 9597 Sideroad 17 Erin, ON N0B 1T0 aowilson.ca Eastern Canada Toll free: 1-855-857-1511 customerservice@aowilson.ca Western Canada 250-868-7650 hubert@aowilson.ca 24/7 at aowilson.ca Premium supplier to the beverage industry for nearly 75 years! We offer reliable products, advise and technical sales support for all your processing and packaging needs. Heritage, knowledge and passion go hand in hand when dealing with our company.

Of course we’d love to see you at one of our offices but we are now available for you 24/7 at aowilson. ca. Check out our vast selection of products right here. Happy shopping.

Winery Equipment

2019 Buyer's Guide

9001 Hwy 97, Oliver, BC V0H 1T2 Phone: 1-778-739-0109 info@bin97.com www.bin97.com Bin 97 Mobile Filtering Service utilizes the Bucher Vaslin Flavy crossflow system featuring the latest in high quality crossflow technology. The Flavy FX3 is fully automatic and designed to minimize wine losses with an inert gas “pushing process” and reduce oxidation due to the absence of oxygen in the unit. The Flavy FX3 is capable of filtering 1100 to 3400 liters per hour. Contact us today for your mobile wine filtration needs.

50 Spring 2019

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

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.

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.

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

Winery Equipment

Winery Equipment

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

cellar•tek west

Prospero Equipment

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

www.prosperoequipment.com

cellar•tek east #530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com Cellar-tek is a commercial winery, brewery, cidery and distillery supply company based in Canada and serving all of North America. We offer a full range of quality equipment & supplies ranging from processing to tanks to packaging and all points between.

Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers, ciders and spirits, we strive to be the “go to” support system for the 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.

Winery Services

A.O. Wilson Ltd

Technologie Inovaweld Inc. 139 Rue du Parc de Innovation La Pocatiere, QC G0R 1Z0 Michel Levesque Phone: 418-860-7987 m.levesque@inovaweld.com www.inovawine.com Technologie Inovaweld is a Canadian manufacturer of stainless steel drums & barrels for the wine and cider industry.

All of our containers are seamless and laser welded with stainless steel made in United States.

Sizes : 100, 125, 208, 227, 300 litres

Winery Equipment

1446 Industrial Avenue Sebastopol, CA 95472 Winemakers: if there is something in your wine that you don’t want, Winesecrets can help you get it out.

Winesecrets has been providing cutting edge solutions to technical challenges of wine production in the US and Canada since 2002. We are the wine industry experts in specialized liquid separation processes to include reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, ion exchange, distillation, waste water management, and more. Our Test Track service enables you to find the flavor profile you intended with just 1-2 cases of wine. We guide artisanscale producers to high tech solutions at affordable costs.

When no one else has an answer, Winesecrets has probably solved it.

Give us a call: Toll Free: 1-888-656-5553 info@winesecrets.com www.winesecrets.com

Winery Supplies

9001 Hwy 97, Oliver, BC V0H 1T2 Phone: 1-778-739-0109 info@bin97.com www.bin97.com Bin 97 Mobile Filtering Service utilizes the Bucher Vaslin Flavy crossflow system featuring the latest in high quality crossflow technology. The Flavy FX3 is fully automatic and designed to minimize wine losses with an inert gas “pushing process” and reduce oxidation due to the absence of oxygen in the unit. The Flavy FX3 is capable of filtering 1100 to 3400 liters per hour. Contact us today for your mobile wine filtration needs.

Winery Services

9597 Sideroad 17 Erin, ON N0B 1T0 aowilson.ca Eastern Canada Toll free: 1-855-857-1511 customerservice@aowilson.ca Western Canada 250-868-7650 hubert@aowilson.ca 24/7 at aowilson.ca Premium supplier to the beverage industry for nearly 75 years! We offer reliable products, advise and technical sales support for all your processing and packaging needs. Heritage, knowledge and passion go hand in hand when dealing with our company.

Of course we’d love to see you at one of our offices but we are now available for you 24/7 at aowilson. ca. Check out our vast selection of products right here. Happy shopping.

Winery Supplies

Kelowna Labs #402 - 1979 Old Okanagan Hwy, West Kelowna, BC V4T 3A4 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.

We specialize in VQA, export and Microbiological testing.

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.

Spring 2019

2019 Buyer's Guide

Winery Equipment

51

Winery Supplies

Winery Supplies

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

cellar•tek east #530 – 380 Vansickle Road St. Catharines, ON, L2S 0B5 Phone: 905-246-8316 info@cellartek.com www.cellartek.com Cellar-tek is a commercial winery, brewery, cidery and distillery supply company based in Canada and serving all of North America. We offer a full range of quality equipment & supplies ranging from processing to tanks to packaging and all points between.

Because we’re such huge fans of great wines, beers, ciders and spirits, we strive to be the “go to” support system for the 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. Gusmer Enterprises

2019 Buyer's Guide

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.

52 Spring 2019

1164 Lee Street White Rock, BC V4B 4P4 Phone: 604-538-2713 Fax: 604-538-27137 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. Supporting Scott Labs Supplier of Erbsloeh Yeasts, Enzymes, Fining Agents and Filtration Materials for the wine, juice, beer and distilling industry.

1446 Industrial Avenue Sebastopol, CA 95472 Winemakers: if there is something in your wine that you don’t want, Winesecrets can help you get it out.

Winesecrets has been providing cutting edge solutions to technical challenges of wine production in the US and Canada since 2002. We are the wine industry experts in specialized liquid separation processes to include reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, ion exchange, distillation, waste water management, and more. Our Test Track service enables you to find the flavor profile you intended with just 1-2 cases of wine. We guide artisanscale producers to high tech solutions at affordable costs.

When no one else has an answer, Winesecrets has probably solved it.

Give us a call: Toll Free: 1-888-656-5553 info@winesecrets.com www.winesecrets.com

Lessons from Ontario's Strawberry Growers

Photo Contributed

Understanding retail options and the importance of relationships applies in BC’s market too.

By Ronda Payne Ontario, like BC, produces a greater volume of fresh strawberries than processed, so looking at how those berries are sold, as well as areas for challenges and wins, can represent great opportunities for western growers.

It’s really important that you cultivate a number of different sources to sell your product,… It reduces your risk.

Kevin Schooley

“The whole industry in Ontario really developed in the U-Pick industry in the 70s,” says Kevin Schooley, executive director of the Berry Growers of Ontario.

Today, distribution of Ontario’s strawberries includes U-Pick, farm-gate markets, farmers’ markets, satellite roadside stands and wholesale options like grocery stores, the Toronto Food Terminal, auctions and sales to resellers. The wholesale side of things includes large and small retailers from Loblaw’s, Sobeys and Walmart to independent retailers.

This diversity of wholesale buyers has been a benefit to Ontario growers who

Photo Contributed

“Walmart is really becoming a good friend to local produce,” he notes.

“They’ve been fair to growers so it’s a really nice surprise.”

Kevin Schooley, executive director of the Berry Growers of Ontario, in a strawberry field.

Spring 2019

53

have seen a demand for locally-grown produce in retail channels. It’s a “pull” market more than a “push” as retailers are responding to consumers looking for locally-grown strawberries. Despite the demand, establishing and maintaining retailer relationship can be challenging.

“As a grower, you would go and visit with them at least once a year,” Schooley says. “But you’re dealing with different people all the time.”

“Some of the retailers have group meetings and have done things like give awards to create better relations,” he notes.

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable convention features a ‘meet the buyer’ component to their event based on a similar approach seen in Michigan.

“It’s like speed dating with buyers,” he says. “It’s very successful.”

The Toronto Food Terminal is often the last stop for strawberries in the province.

Photo Contributed

With any sizeable retailer, contacts change and roles shift. Growers can expect to interact with buyers, category managers, liaisons and others.

While there may be specialty stores at the terminal, growers may also end up using it as a “dumping ground” according to Schooley. Other growers turn to food banks and other charitable organizations. He explains that often the tax credits can help in recovering some of the costs of production.

number of different sources to sell your product,” he notes. “It reduces your risk.”

Ontario does differ from BC in that Junebearing berries are primarily grown for the retail market, with less weight on the ever-bearing varieties for this sales channel.

“It’s really important that you cultivate a

THE INDUSTRY STANDARD STARTS HERE

Wonderful Nurseries prides itself in the value of innovation and quality like few others. It’s what drives us every day, from our two state-of-the-art testing labs enabling 100% scion testing for internal mother blocks, to our $25 million advanced technology greenhouse facility with specialized growing systems. At the same time, we collaborate with universities, regulatory agencies and forward-thinking firms committed to the highest principles of research. Our extraordinary staff and processes make us the most trusted name in the industry, with every possible safeguard assuring you of “Growers First.” Others may talk about meeting the highest standards, but at Wonderful Nurseries, we set them.

A LWAY S R A I S I N G T H E B A R AT WO N D E R F U L N U R S E R I E S

SERVING THE WINE, TABLE GRAPE, RAISIN AND PISTACHIO INDUSTRIES WonderfulNurseries.com

661.758.4777

P.O. Box 279, 27920 McCombs Ave., Wasco, California 93280

© 2019 Wonderful Nurseries LLC. All rights reserved. WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL NURSERIES and the accompanying logos are trademarks of Wonderful Nurseries LLC or its affiliates.

54 Spring 2019

In February 2017 the Berry Growers of Ontario was formed with Kevin Schooley as executive director of the production and marketing entity for strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

It brought together the Ontario Berry Growers Association and Ontario Highbush Blueberry Growers Association and now collects a mandatory membership fee based on acreage.

Western USA: 1-800-297-5201 Eastern USA: 1-800-809-2035 CANADA: 1-888-778-2173 www.ThunderbirdPlastics.com

“Growers with two acres or more are obliged to be members,” he explains.

Recently the growers association created an industry advisory committee which is chaired by the Ontario Marketing Commission with representation from various segments within the strawberry industry including growers, wholesalers, suppliers, and other associations and organizations.

Challenges in Ontario that BC growers can learn from Like BC, Ontario is faced with an influx of cheap strawberries from California that all-too-often take the lead spot in a retail flyer with their 99 cent price tag. It’s hard for local growers to compete in a retail environment with their much higher price, but Schooley notes a different consumer wants local berries over the California grown ones, and that consumer is willing to pay more. The bargain or discount retailers aren’t interested in local fruit.

Plastic containers for small fruits harvesting, storage and transportation.

Greatest quality, friendly service, punctual delivery.

The need to differentiate locally-grown fruit from cheaper imports led to packaging changes from the growers association.

“We’ve been spending more time on that lately,” he says. “Retailers wanted that label to be more prominent.”

Not only does the new label allow retailers to easily identify the different fruit for merchandising, it gives the discerning local fruit shopper instant identification as well. However, along with the change in packaging came another challenge – that of the container itself.

Robotic Laser Bird Solutions • Effective • Affordable • Neighbor Friendly

“One of our biggest challenges is strawberry containers,” he says.

California-grown berries are most often sold in clear clamshells, so Berry Growers of Ontario went with a green mesh container with a clear lid. It’s smaller in size than previous packaging, which retailers are looking for to offset the increase in minimum wage.

“We really don’t like [the mesh container],” says Schooley. “It’s expensive but a few of the retailers really like them.”

The association is looking into new packaging options. Some growers also create specialty packs for retailers and charge a premium for this specialization.

“You can tailor things,” he says, adding this enhances the relationship and potentially brings a bigger profit for growers.

Ultimately, Schooley boils down the successes of strawberry growers to eight key messages: Growers should sell in as many market channels as possible, ensure a variety of buyers, meet with buyers often, communicate often, known costs, ensure consistent quality and supply, consider processing if needed, and turn to charitable organizations (like food banks) for tax credits to recover some costs if needed.

Growing berries in Ontario is certainly different than it is on the West Coast, but tips from the Berry Growers of Ontario can help BC growers try new strategies to lead towards success. ■

birdcontrolgroup.com • 844-406-9280

Spring 2019

55

Why Are Apple Trees Dying in BC? I encourage you to be proactive. If you see a tree with canker damage, take it out now… the chance to grow 30 more apples does not out-weigh the risk of spores spreading through your whole block.

Danielle Hirkala

By Tom Walker Growers across the Okanagan are seeing productive apple trees quickly die only a few weeks after showing signs of stress. The tree does not seem to have one particular cause for this mortality, and roots appear to be healthy. This “Sudden Apple Decline,” or SAD, is affecting orchards across the Okanagan and has destroyed as much as 40 per cent of some blocks.

At the recent BC Tree Fruit Horticultural Symposium several experts spoke to this issue, including the role of fungal pathogens, or cankers, including Cytospora in SAD, and management methods and future research.

“This is not a new problem. Cytospora was first identified in 1818,” says Dr. Danielle Hirkala, a pathologist formerly with the BC Tree Fruits Coop until a recent restructuring of the company.

“Nor is it limited to any one area. I see it across the Okanagan.”

“Things have changed so much in our growing practices,” Hirkala notes. “In the past we simply cut off the fungal affected branch and left the rest of the healthy tree to grow. Now we are growing “branches” on root stock, at very high densities and these trees are essentially weak and easily compromised.

“We may have more virulent strains of pathogens, but also by moving from 800 to 2000 trees to the acre, we are giving it way more hosts,” she adds.

Fungal pathogens are opportunistic, Hirkala stressed. The spores are active in the tree bark year-round and are able to infect the tree when it is weakened in any way. Wounds are the main source of infection, whether a leaf scar, a damaged bud, pruning or grafting wounds, but insect damage can also provide entry to the tree. The spores may be present in the tree for a number of years, but if it is affected by winter damage, or heat or drought stress during the summer, that may give the fungus an opportunity to infect the tree. An infected tree will show cankers, or splits in the bark. When the bark is pulled back, tissue damage is easily seen.

Jesse MacDonald KTT specialist at AAFC Summerland, in his family orchard with a Salish

tree with canker damage, take it out now. It may survive, but the chance to grow 30 more apples does not out-weigh the risk of the spores spreading through your whole block.”

And while the tree may continue to survive, bullseye rot caused by canker spores on the apples could appear post-harvest and cause large amounts of product shrinkage. “It looks like you delivered bins of great fruit and then when you get your pack outs, you have 40 per cent culls due to rot,” says Hirkala.

“These infected trees are going to have delayed bloom, delayed fruit maturity and reduced fruit size and are not going to produce the way they should.” Hirkala says. The fungus remains alive in the bark of a dead tree up to six months, she adds.

“Burn the dead tree if you can, or get it off your property.”

“You have to play the fine line with controlling vigour,” says Hirkala, “This is a lack of vigour disease. The tree needs to be strong enough to fight back.” It is important to flag trees that show signs of stress immediately and inspect them for damage.

The fungal problem can remain under the radar for a number of years, says Hirkala. “It’s not like fire blight which is really obvious and can whip through your block very fast,” she says.

“This can exist in your trees for several years until the trees are no longer productive and then when you walk your block and really take a look at the trunks, it’s not 10 per cent, it’s more like 75-80 per cent.”

“I encourage you to be proactive,” says Hirkala. “If you see a

Check your nursery trees carefully for canker signs, Hirkala

56 Spring 2019

Experts Say It’s 'SAD' Is it Sudden Apple Decline?

Daniel O’Gorman, plant pathologist with AAFC Summerland, reviewed recent apple mortalities across the Okanagan at the BCTF Hort Forum. “We started to get calls from orchardists last summer who were very concerned. They were seeing trees in their blocks that were showing signs of stress and then two or three weeks later they were completely dead,” says O’Gorman. “The rapid death was atypical of anything we have seen around the Okanagan and up to 40 per cent of the trees in some blocks were dying.

This was a big deal. We went and visited orchards or had people send samples to us.”

The leaves on the trees turned red or purplish, says O’Gorman. Most of the trees had cankers at the graft union and extending up the trunk. “You could see the reddish coloration indicating the canker and see fungal spore producing structures emerging through the bark,” he says.

“There was insect damage in most, but not all trees. If you dug up the roots they were healthy.”

O’Gorman says similar problems have been identified in New York and Ontario orchards and given the label ‘Sudden Apple Decline’ or SAD. “They haven’t identified a single cause of this problem. They suspect that it is multiple actors that are involved,” he explains. “The symptoms Okanagan growers are seeing, the pests that are associated and the pathogens that are isolated are similar, but not identical, to those identified in the east.”

Cornell University has looked at possible factors that are contributing to SAD and have listed fire blight, herbicide damage, boring insects, winter damage, drought stress, fungal pathogens and viruses, says O’Gorman. “In BC we have one sample positive with fire blight and herbicide damage has been identified,” he says. “As far as boring insects, we do have a growing population of apple clear wing moth.” Winter damage, drought stress and cytospora and other fungal pathogens are certainly present although they are a different group than those back east he adds.

tree that died quickly last summer.

Photos by Tom Walker

Many cultivars are susceptible. Honeycrisp in particular, as well as Gala, Sunrise, Silken, Fuji, Aurora, Ambrosia and Macintosh. O’Gorman says they plan to investigate whether there is an apparent genetic factor. “Researchers back east say trees less than eight years old are the problem, but in the Okanagan we have nine and 10-year-old trees and some up to 18 years old,” he says.

“We just took a quick look at this off the corner of our desks,” says O’Gorman. “We didn’t have a specific project.

We tried to gather as much information as we could quickly, but obviously there are a lot of question marks here.”

The light brown coloring and vertical cracks in the bark indicate fungal damage.

Spring 2019

57

advises. If the young trees are infected, don’t plant them.

“Your nursery trees are a significant investment,” Hirkala points out. If they are compromised from the start, the additional inputs over the years to a tree that may die, are simply a waste of money. “Take the time to paint the trunks of those young trees when they go in.

That is the easiest time,” she adds. Growers who raise their own trees need to be sure that the nursery area is not close to a block with fungus infected trees.

Be mindful of your pruning Hirkala adds.

“It may not be practical to clean your tools between each tree, but go back and prune infected trees last after the rest of the orchard.” Painting pruning wounds has been shown to help keep the fungus out, she adds. And be careful with summer pruning. Spores spread rapidly through moist warm air, so wait for dry weather.

“After a winter injury year, the next two years you will see more trees infected with canker,” Hirkala says. “Water or heat stress, insect and rodent damage, anything that causes the tree stress will make it more prone to canker disease.”

There are no fungicides registered in Canada for the control of cytospora on pome fruit Hirkala notes. However, products for apple scab or powdery mildew may also provide some preventative suppression of fungal cankers.

Meet our Agriculture Services Team We are customer driven, have agriculture industry expertise, and make a positive contribution to our communities, as many of us have farming backgrounds.

Jeremy Siddall District Vice President - Pacific Agriculture Services British Columbia 250-681-4656 jeremy.siddall@td.com

Ramil Biclar B.Comm Relationship Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2229 Ramil.Biclar@td.com

Dave Gill Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2224 Baldev.Gill@td.com

Rahan Ahmad Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-3819 rahan.ahmad@td.com

Lynda Ferris BBA, CAPA Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2222 Lynda.Ferris@td.com

Michelle Curcio Account Manager Vancouver Island 250-246-0859 Michelle.Curcio@td.co

Alyssa Meyer Account Manager BC Interior 250-575-5047 Alyssa.Meyer@td.com

Ted Hallman Account Manager BC Interior 250-470-3029 Ted.Hallman@td.com

“The message I really want to send today is maintain your vigour. If you have healthy trees you are not going to have a problem,” Hirkala says. “And remove all affected wood at the first sign of disease. Canker is much easier to manage with fewer resources when you catch it at the beginning, rather than trying to play catch up.” ■

Watch For Our INNOVATION ISSUE Coming In July!

®

The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

58 Spring 2019

M05338 (0415)

No Water on the Okanagan River…

By Tom Walker Art Dias stands in the middle of six empty acres in his Oliver orchard on the banks of the Okanagan river. It’s hard to tell his expression, mixed as it is with part frustration part resignation, part anger, part disbelief. But it’s not hard to tell that his prime river front land should be growing food, a fact his neighbours point out to him all the time.

But Art has a farmer’s worst nightmare.

He has land but no water. Despite being next to the river and despite years of wrangling with the directors of the world-renowned Okanagan salmon restoration project, Art does not have a reliable enough water system to risk the expense of replanting his land. “They’ve stopped me from growing food for the last nine years,” he says.

It wasn’t always like that. For 45 years, Art’s family orchard has thrived. They pumped water out of the river and the Okanagan sunshine did the rest. But that all changed when the Okanagan River Restoration Initiative (ORRI) began habitat restoration work in the river right beside Art’s property in the fall of 2009.

“My family and our neighbours the Forbes family have water rights for the river for both of our farms,” explains Dias. “Gord and I have maintained the pump systems that our dads set up and we have always had enough water, but

Photo by Tom Walker

“Everyone asks me, Art, why aren’t you growing on that land,” says Dias. “People come up to me all the time wanting to lease it. It could be in cherries, it could be in vegetables. Bare land is a hot commodity in the Okanagan.”

Art Dias stands in the middle of six empty acres in his Oliver orchard on the banks of the Okanagan river.

the ORRI changed the flows of the river and our pumps weren’t going to work.”

Directors of the ORRI said they would provide them with a water system. “We asked them to just move our intakes down river where the water would be deep enough for the pumps to draw,” recalls Dias. “But for some reason they didn’t want to follow our suggestion. I just wish they would have worked with us instead of ramming it down our throats.”

ORRI drilled two wells, even though Art’s dad had gone 380 feet into the clay and come up dry years ago. Then they installed a pump next to the gravel bar that was developing in the newly contoured river and buried the intake in the river bottom. “That was a nightmare,” Dias

remembers. “Gord and I and our kids were in the river constantly clearing sand and gravel out the intake and cleaning the screens. When the water was up to our waist we finally quit, we were afraid we’d end up in Osoyoos!”

The two neighbours finally ripped out the buried intake and rigged up their own, but they still had problems. “We were constantly cleaning sand out of the lines,” says Dias. “I would walk my watering lines every morning before I went to work, looking for sprinkler heads that were clogged. I’d do the same when I came home at lunch and then eat a sandwich in the truck on the way back to the city public works yard. It was the same after work and I’d go out and check them with a flashlight before I went to bed.”

Wine Industry Services • Sirocco Insights  online surveys, intercept interviews  focus groups, directed consumer tastings • Sensory Research Services • Regulatory Compliance

Frozen, Refrigerated & Dry Storage Spaces 250-938-5062 cooling@ranchovignola.com ranchocooling.com

www.siroccoconsulting.com

3155 Pleasant Valley Rd • Armstrong, BC • V0E 1B2

Spring 2019

59

The sand wore out his pump and when Dias had it rebuilt the mechanic told him it looked like someone had taken a file to the inside of it.

During this time, Dias and Forbes have been to countless meetings, met with water experts, engineers and lawyers.

“All those guys on the government payroll get paid to go to the meetings, and we lose money when we go, “ Dias points out.

After seven years of wrangling, the ORRI finally put in a new intake downstream

in deeper water where the farmers had suggested in the first place, and built a new pumping system. But that didn’t solve Art’s water woes. The new unit has a bigger drop to water level than previous systems. It’s ok in the spring when the water level is high, but in late summer the water has to come up some 8-10 feet.

“The 10 horsepower pump that they put in does not give me enough pressure to reliably cover all of my orchard land,” Dias explains.

Dias says the pump infrastructure that ORRI put in is good and he’s talked to

Superior Peat for your Orchard & Vineyard

Planting this Spring?

Superior Peat™ when used at planting: • Reduces the effect of replant disease • Increases your soils moisture content • Contains mycorrhizae • Balances high alkaline soils

Mulching this season?

Choose a peat or compost based blend: • Stimulate microbial activity to improve overall soil health • Add valuable nutrition aiding long term nutrient release • Increase your soils organic matter content • Reduce your irrigation requirements

the irrigation company about up-grading the pump. “I think I can get the system to where I need it, but I will need to test it through next summer to be sure, before I put in new trees,” says Dias. (The estimated cost for a high density cherry planting is $30,000 and acre).

So the land sits bare. Dias has missed eight growing seasons and the opportunity to access replant money. He had applied for replant funds to help with up grading his plantings that first year his water system was compromised. “I was planning to put in some of the new varieties of cherries,” he says. I applied for the funds, ripped out an old block, and put in an order for new trees. I had to cancel my application for the funds and cancel my tree order because I didn’t have the water."

He did the same again the next year hoping the water issue would be solved, but then gave up. “The nursery was really good about cancelling my order, but I was starting to get embarrassed.“ Both Dias and Forbes have approached the ORRI and the Canadian Okanagan Basin Technical Working Group (COBTWG) for compensation for business losses due to the lost opportunities they experienced from not having enough water but have not received a reply since their last letter in October 2017.

O&V wrote to Ministry of FLNRORD this last fall and received this reply. “At the March 2018 COBTWG meeting, the members decided more information was required. That information has been collected and is being reviewed.”

Dias and Forbes have recently written Lana Popham the Minister of Agriculture asking for her support.

Dias is clear that they are not against the ORRI project. “The return of salmon is such an international success story,” he notes. “We support the salmon, we just want to be compensated for our lost business.

“Come on you guys, this is Canada,” adds a frustrated Dias. “We can do better than this.” ■

250-493-5410

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

60 Spring 2019

ADVERTISE Booking Now for Summer & Innovation Issue 778-754-7078 lisa@orchardandvine.net

More Substance, Less Flash at BCFGA’s AGM

By Tom Walker

Among the most important was the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. The SAWP is off to a much better start this year and growers should have significantly fewer problems obtaining workers. Delegate Amarjit Lalli commended the board and staff on their efforts to overcome the difficulties. “Things have really changed since last year,” says Lalli.

“All the effort you have put into the labour issues has paid off.”

The increase in minimum wage to $13.85 an hour on June 1 is a concern as is the potential for loss of the piece rate. “Agriculture should not be paying that minimum wage,” says Jeet Dukhia, “That is an urban minimum wage.” He added that for SAWP workers the grower pays to fly the worker in and provides inspected housing at a cost of $826.00 to the worker. He noted how these costs add up for apple growers. “The cost of production is 30 cents a pound and if our income is only 15 cents a pound we are

Photo by Tom Walker

The 130th BC Fruit Growers Association (BCFGA) AGM was more subdued than recent years. The February event held in Penticton lacked the buzz of a presidential election (Pinder Dhaliwal is serving the second year of his two-year term) and there was no funding announcement by the Minister of Agriculture. In fact she did not attend this year, and delegates heard from Liberal Ag critic Ian Patton instead, but this year’s AGM did see several vital industry concerns being discussed. Labour issues, input costs, grower returns, and a path forward for the industry were the focus of reports, resolutions and discussion.

Left to right: David Dobernigg, Peter Simonsen (Vice-President), Sukhdev Goraya, David Machial, Pinder Dhaliwal (President), Sukhdeep Brar, Ravinder Bains and Glen Lucas. (GM).

losing money,” Dukhia says.

As well, the piece rate is an incentive for pickers who can easily make more than minimum wage if they choose. Growers worry that without the piece rate, they would lose the travelling pickers from Quebec and Ontario.

The Farm Labour Project run by Ron Forrest is expanding. Forrest continues to provide on-site farm safety workshops in English, French and Spanish. He remains a contact for summer employment and is providing a valuable communication service for employers and Mexican employees. “Ninety percent of issues are simply communication problems,” notes Glen Lucas. “Ron speaks Spanish and growers are starting to phone him directly. Ron is often able to sort through the problem and it goes away.”

Carl Withler, tree fruit and grape specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, reports that the replant program continues to be well subscribed with 115 growers receiving support in 2018. The average pay-out was $10,000 and the largest $76,000. Withler expects 145 applications will be funded this year. Growers are reminded that the fall of 2020 will be the last year to apply for funds to be distributed in 2021. A resolution to extend the replant program was passed.

2018/19 is proving to be a second year of lower grower returns. In addition to keeping tight control on costs and replanting new varieties, growers are looking for ways to enhance the marketing of their fruit.

A recent industry study completed as background for the Tree Fruit Competi-

Spring 2019

61

COOLING EXPERTS

tiveness Fund cited a lack of industry cohesion centred around the BC Tree Fruits Coop (BCTF) as a major impediment to the industry. A resolution was passed to encourage BCTF to apply for funds to study governance and the structure of the coop. “Over the past while it has become clear to the board, and perhaps the industry, that the current model that has been around for some 60 years to pack and sell the fruit might not be the type of model that is going to take us into the future," explains board member Sam DiMaria.

While Ambrosia replants continue at a rapid pace, the search for the next new and exciting apple by Summerland Varieties Corp is showing success. Sean Beirnes , SVC GM, spoke about the newest cultivar being developed in cooperation with the Summerland Research and Development Center. “We are very excited about SPA 1080,” says Beirnes. “I think it will be the next Ambrosia.”

519-752-2424 (866) 748-7786• •www.kooljet.com www.kooljet.com

OKANAGAN/THOMPSON/SIMILKAMEEN WEB Frost Protection Sales and Consulting 3650 Hwy 97 S, Osoyoos, BC

Sales: Rob Webster Phone: 250-485-8862 warm.wind.maker@gmail.com

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 windmachinesales@lvequipment.ca www.lakeviewvineyardequipment.com

“1080 checks a lot of boxes.” says Beirnes.

“It’s an excellent eating apple, we have been able to run it down the packing line, it is good in cold storage and it will be even better in CA.” Beirnes says that the 1080 is currently being grown in 30 test plots across Canada including in Ontario and Quebec. “You should see trees by 2021 with a planned Canadian launch by 2025,“ he says.

“There is also a ton of global interest in this apple as well.”

“We learned a lot when we released Ambrosia,” says Beirnes. He explained that 1080 would be released as a “club” apple, meaning that only a certain number of trees would be planted, by select growers, who will agree to quality standards.

There has been talk across the industry for a number of years about capitalizing on the benefits of the SIR program as a marketing tool. To further this, a resolution was passed encouraging the BCFGA to “explore the promotional benefit of the SIR program and promote the environmental friendliness of the industry.

“Regional designations are very important in the wine industry,” notes Amarjit Lalli. “If we could develop that same concept for our apples, where the Okanagan region is recognized, I think it would go a long way.” ■

62 Spring 2019

 LEGAL LIBATIONS | HANAN CAMPBELL

Translating 'Legalese' into Plain Speech Lawyers are trained to speak and write in Legalese. We are taught that specific “magic words” will achieve a certain result because a prior case was either won because these “magic words” were used, or lost because they were not.

between the two sentences above, I would choose the second one. And, I’m a lawyer.

What if I told you that this: In witness whereof the parties hereunto have set their hands to these presents as a deed on the day month and year hereinbefore mentioned.

(24 words) and this: Signed on (DATE) ___________ (2 words plus the date) mean exactly the same thing?

Which makes more sense to you? If I were asked to sign a contract, and had to choose

Res Ipsa Loquitur is Latin for “the thing speaks for itself.”

It’s a legal principle that refers to situations where it is obvious (and therefore, assumed) an injury was caused by negligence and so there is no further need to prove there has been negligence. The thing speaks for itself.

It may seem a stretch to say that anything in the law “speaks for itself” (does anyone but a tax lawyer understand the Canada Income Tax Act?). Legal documents can be so difficult to read and understand, they seem to be written in a foreign language.

This foreign language even has a name: Legalese.

F3015 STANDARD KIT

The F3015 can be fitted with a range of fixed and telescopic extension poles ranging between 1.2m to 3.5m, giving a cutting reach of up to 5m above the ground. The pruning shear is controlled by a micro switch housed in a sliding handle on the carbon fibre tube.

The shears can be operated by the user with a single cable between the battery and the pole. Trigger control information is directly centralized by an electronic microcard housed in the pole.

F3015 MEDIUM KIT F3015 MAXI KIT

ULTRA-COMPACT LITHIUM ION BATTERY

The storage cells of the battery have been chosen for their reliability and capacity to deliver intense current. Rapid charging: 90 minutes.

VEST

Corsica Equipment Inc. • CorsicaEquipment.com

There is an alternative to Legalese, and that is plain lan-

The only electronic pruning tool in the world with an interchangeable cutting head.

F3015

The tool’s versatility will be appreciated by users doing large cuts or overhead work.

For my first article, I wanted to tackle the subject of Legalese and make a confession. I, too, from time to time, have been guilty of using Legalese, that legal jargon, that “Black Speech” spoken only in the realm of legal circles.

I drew comfort from “magic words”, knowing the exact result I could achieve by using them. If I came across “magic words” I didn’t understand, I simply reached for my trusty Black’s Law Dictionary (half of which is riddled with Latin

terms) for help. However, not long ago, I was reviewing a 50-page legal document, written mostly in Legalese, and came across “magic words” I didn’t understand. As I reached for my handy Black’s Law Dictionary, I realized that without it, I couldn’t on my own understand what these two simple words staring up at me meant and what impact they had on the rest of the legal document. That made me feel helpless and rather frustrated. If as a lawyer I felt that way, how would a non-lawyer feel? Would they be able to read, much less understand, the document, which easily contained at least 100 more “magic words”?

CHAINSAW

RECIPROCATING SAW

HEDGE TRIMMER

DESUCKERING TOOL

OLIVER HARVESTER

FLOWER THINNER

Thanks to electronic recognition, the speed automatically adapts to the connected tool. This patented system is used to adjust the motor performance and thereby define the best power/ speed/torque for the tool being used.

The POWERCOUP PW2 line tools can be used with all INFACO batteries: whether the NiMh batteries for F3005 and F3010 pruning shears, or the Lithium batteries for the F3015 or L810B.

6015 Fir Ave, Summerland, BC 604-378-4826 info@corsicaequipment.com

Tying Machine The A3M V2.0 is an electrical tying device that makes vine tying easy.

Spring 2019

63

guage. Plain language does not mean “dumbing it down”.

It means communicating information in a clear, concise way that is easily understood. Legal documents do not need to be written in Legalese. There. I said it. A person should not need a lawyer to translate words in a legal document. The better use of a lawyer is to help you understand the risks contained in that legal document and how to manage them.

Making the law accessible to everyone means writing legal documents, like contracts, mortgages, insurance policies and legislation, in language that the reader can understand. The law is meaningless if no one but lawyers understands it.

Using plain language is not as easy as one would expect. In 1992, Ian Waddell, the NDP MP for Port Moody – Coquitlam, introduced a Private Members Bill to create a special committee that would rewrite new laws to be understandable by all people. His bill did not pass. Ironically, it was criticized for being written in the same Legalese he was trying to get rid of. If you google “plain language” you will see lots of organizations promising to communicate more clearly and directly with its audience. While there has been some movement, there’s still a way to go. There really is no excuse for Legalese to continue. Rather, writers of legal documents should be striving towards “legal literacy”: making sure people understand words used in the legal context so they know what is expected of them.

I am now a plain language convert. I take it as a challenge to take a rambling legal document and turn it into something that is easily read and understood. In future articles, and in my legal practice, I promise to use plain language; if I don’t, please call me on it!

In closing, I leave you with a humorous contest poking fun at Legalese (thanks to the Plain English Campaign): “The UK Plain English Campaign’s annual Golden Bull awards are given for the year’s ‘best’ examples of unnecessarily complex English. The Bishop of Blackburn was nominated for a Golden Bull in 2011 for this example of legalese in a letter sent to parishioners. See if you can understand what the bishop wrote. It concerns a parish priest who had been acting as a temporary vicar during an initial trial period before a final decision was taken as to how to fill the post.

Wine making isn’t just an art.

It’s also a complex chemical process and in today’s modern wineries, compressed gases play an increasingly important role in many aspects of bottled wine.

To find out how Praxair can help make this year a good one contact us at 1-800-225-8247

www.praxair.ca

64 Spring 2019

AND WHEREAS We have consented to the said period being so brought to an end and to the exercise of such right of presentation NOW WE HEREBY DECLARE that the said period shall come to an end on the date hereof and that the said vacancy in the said Benefice of Ansdell and Fairhaven Saint Paul in Our said Diocese of Blackburn may thereupon be filled.” ■ Hanan Campbell is an Okanagan-based lawyer at Avery Law Office in Summerland. Her legal practice is focused on assisting clients with a variety of corporate commercial matters. www.averylawoffice.ca

ARE YOU MOVING? Send us an email to change your address. info@orchardandvine.net

 MARKETING MIX | LEEANN FROESE

Make the Welcome Count For Return Visits Therefore, a welcoming experience for any business is super important; it sets the tone and mindset for the experience. A winery must understand their visitors’ expectations in order to set up the standards to meet these expectations, train staff to follow them and then guide the guests’ experiences, because looking after expectations will ensure memorable visitor experiences.

entertainment of customers, visitors, or strangers". Therefore, hospitality can be defined as the relationship between hosts and guests.

We are on the cusp now of the 2019 hospitality season in BC. Wineries are in the hospitality business, and the words “hospitality”, “welcome” and “services” are sometimes used synonymously. The definition of hospitality in the Oxford Dictionary is: "The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers." Which can be translated as "The warm and generous welcome and

8

I was talking about guest experiences to someone in the hotel world recently and one thing that stuck out was when he mentioned the guest’s “welcome experience”: referring to how a guest is received when they arrive.

Give some thought to a store, restaurant, or hotel that you have visited recently and how you were welcomed into that establishment. Were you seen or recognized, or not; and how did that make you feel?

At the heart of it all we all want to be seen and feel like we and our patronage are valued and important.

Impressing our customers is important – without visitors and customers we have no business. We need to remember who we are in business for – unless we are going to buy all our own merchandise, we need to make sure we have a loyal and growing customer base.

Let’s go through some of the scenarios and what expectations could be for the welcome experience.

• The welcome starts well before the visitor ever enters your property. On your website, ensure that there are clear directions to your winery (including hours of operation and parking options).

• When they pull into your driveway is it easy to figure out where they need to go?

Is the parking situation apparent and is the directional signage in place that gets them to your door?

• Is your big, slobbery, smelly, barky, furry dog (for those who are afraid of dogs – this is how they appear) away from the door? I am a dog lover,

SPECIALIZED MULCHERS & SPRAYERS FOR VINEYARDS & ORCHARDS !

MOBILE FILTRATION SYSTEMS

Nobili SDS (side delivery system) is a mower with a spiral shaft, that mulches grass and discharges it out between the vines. Offers improved humidity levels at the trees roots, and reduced fertilizing and herbiciding.

Wine Filtration 3 - Pall Oenoflow Crossflow Filters 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)

Selling a full line of ideal sprayers. Piggyback or Tow Behind. Single Row or Multi-ROW.

Wine Tartrate Stabilization and PH adjustment Oenodia Selective Tartrate Removal Systems (STARS) We now offer small haul flat deck trucking

Cellar Dweller Mobile Filtration Services Ltd. Lesia Wood/ Robert Kwakernaak

5592 Hwy 97 Oliver BC 250-498-2524 250-498-6231

250.497.2009 • Office 250.487.2995 • lesia@cellardweller.ca 250.460.1313 • robert@cellardweller.ca

www.cellardweller.ca

www.gerardsequipment.com

Spring 2019

65

but I’ve heard stories where farm dogs who are given free rein on winery properties have chased after visitors... the exact opposite of being welcomed!

• Have clear signage in place for your tasting room and a visible entrance/reception area, so that people know exactly where to go when they arrive.

• Note that the layout/design of the entrance sets the tone, and hopefully this tone is in alignment of your brand for what your brand values are: hip, conservative, fun, cheerful, etc.

• Cabernet Franc • Cabernet Sauvignon • Chardonnay • Gamay • Gewürztraminer • Malbec • Merlot • Muscat Ottonel

• Orange Muscat • Pinot Blanc • Pinot Gris • Pinot Noir • Riesling • Sauvignon Blanc • Sovereign Coronation • Seyval Blanc

• Shiraz • Syrah • Vidal • Viognier • Zinfandel • Zweigelt

NOTE: Many different clones are available. Rootstocks available are SO4 and 3309

contact:

MORI VINES INC. R.R.#3, 1912 Concession 4, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0 Phone: (905) 468-0822 Fax: (905) 468-0344 email: morivines@sympatico.ca • www.morivines.com

Once the visitor walks in the door, for you to smile, say hello and invite them to come inside is great, but how much further can you go? Instead of sitting behind the counter and waiting for someone to come to you, it’s a good idea to extend yourself and walk out to greet somebody and make them feel welcome.

Can you step out from behind the counter and walk over and shake their hand? Welcome them to your business, tell them your name and ask them theirs.

Then ask them where they’re from and what they are interested in getting out of their visit. If you turn the table and make the visit about them and not about your scripted visitor schtick, their entire experience is going to be so much more warmly embraced. They’re going to feel truly brought into what you do.

From there you can take them through the aspects of the visit that they’ve identified and they will feel listened to, and their tour and tasting customized.

At the end of the visit ask the customer if they’d like to stay in touch with you. This is how you can start the ongoing relationship management, and add them onto your email list, get them signed up for your wine club, and turned into a valued ambassador that will return your cheery welcome and hospitality with a positive review and word-of-mouth referrals.

In the book The Art of Welcome: what are the innovative practices that would enhance the guests’ experience in Luxury Hotels? Carine Mouradian writes “Mastering the art of welcome will bring real value to the guests and enhance the quality of all the services colouring each stay with a personal, authentic and emotional contact. This is what remains as a memorable experience creating satisfaction and loyalty to the brand.”

Makes sense to me: welcome and wow your guests, and they will be back. ■ Leeann Froese owns Vancouver-based Town Hall Brands – a full service marketing agency that specializes in wine, food, and hospitality. See Leeann’s work at townhallbrands.com or follow online at @townhallbrands

KW Automation

Electronic Weighing Fruit Grader • Two lane • Ten drops (potentially twenty) • 450 cpm • Automatic bin dumper.

Available beginning May, can be seen running. $175,000 CAD OBO Contact RoTech Process & Technical Services

250-317-3448 for further details 66 Spring 2019

 SEEDS OF GROWTH | GLEN LUCAS

A Holistic Approach to Pest Management and to reduce root-damaging nematodes;

• Pests that become resistant to pesticides (e.g. apple scab).

Pest Management concept, where pests are controlled by

• Use of mass trapping, including the use of trap crops that are more attractive to pests and then the focus of more intensive controls;

• A reduced number of pesticides leading to problems with resistance to the remaining pesticides (e.g. Spotted Wing Drosophila).

• Monitoring;

he horticultural sector is under increasing pressure from disease and insect pests. There are many ways that growers deal with pests:

• Use of biological controls, such as use of sterile insect technology, pheromones, Bt sprays, and introducing and encouraging the establishment of predators of pests;

• Biosecurity to prevent the accidental transfer (by human activity) of a pest into a new area;

• Chemical crop protection products, both organic and non-organic.

These problems are complex and again need a holistic approach, such as looking ahead with a season-long plan for control of Spotted Wing Drosophila that takes into account the Pre-Harvest Interval requirements, as well as international Maximum Residue Limits. Handling emerging pest problems relies on advance planning and more collaborative effort is needed, so that the tree fruit industry can ensure all producers are meeting market standards. If one fails it hurts us all.

T

• Horticultural practices, such as pruning to ensure open tree architecture to allow sunlight penetration and air circulation to reduce disease problems; • Use of models that predict the stages of pest development (degree day models) to better monitor pests and target pest controls; • Scouting and trapping to monitor pest presence and pest populations, including the use of sentinel crops; • Improving tree health with nutrients, assessing irrigation to ensure there is no water stress, and building soil health both for nutrition

With all of these tools, producers still have trouble controlling pests in orchards. At a recent (2017) Area-Wide Pest Management meeting organized by Summerland Research and Development Centre, one of the main conclusions was to look at pests holistically, which means not relying on any one control method, and being aware of integrated pest management principles. We need to do better.

At the 2017 Area-Wide Pest Management workshop, Dr. Paul Abrams noted “the principal of total population management (Knipling), as uniform suppressive pressure applied against the total population of the pest .. will achieve greater suppression than a higher level of control on most, but not all, of the population

The increasing complexity of managing new pests or new pest problems, includes: • Newly introduced pests (e.g.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug).

This important principle is an extension of the Integrated

• Determination of an economic threshold (below which low pest populations cause limited damage that is acceptable and ‘in balance’ with predators; • Treatment only when pest populations are on the economic threshold; • Control of entry of new pests into the area.

The movement of pests between farms is difficult to control by any one grower, and uniform suppressive pressure is also difficult to attain when there are many growers who have many different ways of managing pests.

“Total Population Management” programs do exist, such as the Sterile Insect Release Program for suppression of Codling Moth. Discussions of expanding the scope of the SIR program to other pests have been held over many years, but no imminent change is anticipated. The industry and growers in particular would be consulted long before any change would possibly take place in the program.

Dr. Abrams concluded that the

Toll Free: 877-979-8940 | Tel: 403-278-8940 | Fax: 403-225-1696 | customerservice@ak-westinc.com | www.ak-westinc.com

Spring 2019

67

challenges for effective area-wide management implementation are: • Tendency for pest control to be reactive rather than planned; Premium Tree Fruit Rootstocks

• Continued introductions of new invasive species disrupting existing programs; • Lack of dedicated program and resources for area-wide programs for new invasive species.

However, a new federal-provincial policy and initiative provide hope, though real solutions require a lot of smart effort and resources.

The 2017 federal-provincial Animal and Plant Health Strategy provides the principles and collaborative structure to make real inroads on pest management and control of invasive pests. It identifies actions in the following four areas: • Coordination through partnership and collaboration • Preventative approaches to safeguard plant health • Collection, analysis, and sharing of information • Enabling desired behaviours

CALISSI FARMS Inc. 250 317 2164 james_calissi@telus.net • www.calissifarms.com 3810 East Kelowna Road, Kelowna, BC, V1W 4H2

The strategy naturally has two distinct streams: animal health and plant health. To further the plant health side of the equation, the collaborators have established a Plant Health Council, established in October 2018 with a two year time horizon. The Council is developing a work plan with two to three priority activities to demonstrate the value of a coordinating council to plant health partners. Plant Health Council Working Groups have been established in the following areas: 1. S urveillance: enhance activities by coordinating efforts through partnership; 2. E mergency response: establish communication pathways; enhance structures and plans for effective response; 3. U pdate current biosecurity guides and improve uptake of best practices.

Additionally, a Canadian Plant Health Network is being established that will focus on organizing events to bring together plant health specialists, environmental scanning and data storage and coordination including mapping, clean plants (propagative materials), disease diagnostics and pest surveillance, and other networking activites yet to be identified.

Not just any tractor will work in vineyards, orchards and nurseries. Get the power you want with the clearance you need with a John Deere 5GV or 5GN Series Tractor. www.prairiecoastequipment.com Kamloops 250-573-4412

68 Spring 2019

Kelowna 250-765-9765

Prince George 250-561-4260

Langley Chilliwack 604-792-1516 604-530-4644

Nanaimo 778-441-3210

The opportunity to have significant improvements in pest management are apparent to the many players, but getting over the hurdles of having a great communication network and ensuring collaborative approaches were needed. Now with the new initiatives of the Plant Health Council (and its working groups) and the Canadian Plant Health Network, we have a plan to make real progress under the national Plant and Animal Health Strategy. But we will need the appropriate resources and we will need to be smart and have sustained effort to make real progress. ■ BCFGA

 THE WORD ON WINE | LAURA KITTMER

Wine Industry Long-Term Strategic Plan

F

ollowing another successful BC Wine Industry Insight Conference (March 12, 2019 at the Penticton Lakeside Resort, Penticton), the BC Wine Institute is pleased to announce the launch of the WineBC2030 long-term strategic plan.

Bringing together more than 200 industry stakeholders and key speakers, the BC Wine Industry Insight Conference provided an informative overview of the current and future states of the wine industry from industry experts. The conference concluded with the delivery of WineBC2030; a culmination of more than 18 months of industry engagement led by the BC Wine Institute in developing a ten-year strategic plan for the BC wine industry.

“In a rapidly evolving environment, the global wine industry is changing at an unprecedented rate,” says Miles Prodan, President & CEO of the BC Wine Institute.

“WineBC2030 is about coordinating efforts to provide a vibrant future for the next generation of farmers and winemakers to thrive.”

The BC Wine Institute partnered with The Artemis Group and O’Donnell Lane LLP to develop an action plan for the BC wine industry. The result is a synchronized strategy for all areas of the industry, a guide for decision-making over the next ten years that is tailored to the strengths of the region as a whole.

The road to WineBC2030 began in October 2017, when the BCWI board recognized the need for a long-term strategic plan. Since then, more than 30 meetings have taken place in 12 locations province-wide. More than 650 industry participants provided input into the plan via multiple platforms, including industry working groups with representation from each of the sub-regions in BC, local

industry experts and key stakeholders.

In addition, progress updates were regularly communicated to the industry, creating opportunities for interested members of the wine community to contribute. The intention was to create an environment of transparency, accountability and engagement throughout the planning process; too listen and learn from industry in order to build a plan that will serve this industry and the goals going forward.

“It has been a privilege working on the WineBC2030 project and getting to know the incredible people, terroir and wines of this diverse region,” says Honore Comfort, founder of The Artemis Group. “BC is truly one of the most distinctive wine regions I’ve been to. The BC wine industry has an opportunity to claim its place on the world’s wine stage. This is an exciting turning point for the industry.”

“A lot of what we are already doing is in this plan, so it’s good to have verified we are on the right track,” notes Prodan.

“The Board of Directors has enthusiastically endorsed this plan, so the next step is to implement the long-term strategic plan into our annual operations planning for years to come. Recognizing this is an industry-wide opportunity, we are committed to taking this forward.

The BC Wine Industry Insight Conference was hosted by the BC Wine Institute in partnership with the BC Wine Grape Council, the BC Grapegrowers' Association and the BC Wine Authority. ■ For more information on WineBC2030 and to follow along the process visit, WineBC2030.com Laura Kittmer, Media Relations Manager of the BC Wine Institute

WineBC2013 addresses overarching issues and opportunities that will shape and sustain the industry for decades, including sound strategies tailored to address the specific complexities of the BC wine industry.

The final long-term strategic plan for the British Columbia wine industry serves as a dynamic model designed as a high-level and visionary road map to guide implementation, facilitate decision-making, adapt to shifting external forces, and motivate an industry to grow and change.

Spring 2019

69

Advertisement

Superior Peat Inc.™ The Name Says It All As the name says, Superior Peat, which has been family owned for over 25 years, has built its foundation on harvesting and processing peat from their own bog in the hills east of Penticton. Research done at the Research Station in Summerland about 30 years ago found that by adding their peat to apple plantings the incidence of apple replant disease significantly diminished over the use of any other soil amendments.

Natural growth occurred for the business as they started delivering their peat to the horticultural industry in the Lower Mainland and back hauling different types of mulches for the landscape industry. Fast forward to today and the company has not only the mulches but is as much a soil blender as it is a peat company.

Asked a couple of years ago to come up with a mix for a major cherry planting that needed more organic matter than their peat alone supplied, Superior Peat blended a mix of their peat and mushroom compost, something they carry year-round in their bins. After one year of growth the orchardist’s comment was “he had never seen such phenomenal growth in one year.”

As home owners and commercial customers such as wineries do more and more planting in raised beds the company developed a raised bed mix. Nutrient content is extremely important, so they add Organic Advantage fertilizer to the mix, but drainage is equally critical so the blend even has some pumice in the mix.

The final recipe is a well kept secret!

Terroir has always been considered vital to any plant growth, though the word is used much more frequently nowadays with the huge increase of grape planting in the Valley, as it tends to refer to grapes and wines. Terroir refers to much more than just soil, as it refers also to the climate and the topography. However, from the company’s point of view, it is the soil that they can help with.

Recently Superior Peat has supplemented the soils and mulches it sells to make available compost both from green waste and food waste too.

As growers pay more attention to organic matter and beneficial microbes in 70 Spring 2019

If we can make it easier for the growers to apply our product and produce even better crops, then that is a win-win situation all around.

Peter Eversham , General Manager the soil and the decreased usage of water required when compost and mulches are applied, demand has increased for these products. Not all growers have the equipment to easily apply mulches or composts so the company has invested in a compost spreader their customers can use when they are applying mulches and composts. At the end of the day, says General Manager Peter Eversham, “We are in the customer service business and if we can make it easier for the growers to apply our product and produce even better crops, then that is a win-win situation all around.” The Company is looking forward to a very busy spring.

Superior Peat is now able to not only supply you with your material but also the right tool to get the job done. The company is very proud to offer its new row mulcher alongside their other great products. Farmer’s using their own tractor with loader will be able to accurately and evenly apply Superior Peat products to their vineyard and orchard rows. This

Superior Peat row mulcher is available for hire.

whole process can be a one man operation helping to alleviate labour costs.

There are so many economic and environmental benefits to be had by choosing Superior Peat.

Visit www.superiorpeat.com or enquire by telephone and email. superiorpeat@telus.net Tel: 250-493-5410 We have it covered.

1959-2019 Celebrates 60 Years in Publishing

Berries and BC Bud Emissions Impossible Four Fab Fruit Wineries ALR Review Behind Closed Doors 2015 BUYERS' GUIDE Arctic Apple Approved How Wine Came to Lillooet Growth in Similkameen Wineries The Family That Farms Together...

2014 Tractor Guide

Converting to Cannabis Creating a Succession Plan New Fraser Valley Winery Diversification at Davison

New Stone Fruit Varieties

Protecting Marsh Habitat 2016 BUYER'S GUIDE

Time for Harry McWatters

Today's Farmers Chef + Hobby Farm = Culinary Magic

Recruiting the Samurai Wasp

Wine & Liquor Laws Explained

Blueberry Research Wine Industry Comings & Goings

Innovation at Dhaliwal Farms Growing Better Trees Sperling Vineyard Going Organic Keeping an Eagle Eye on Pest Control The Challenge of Selling Wine to China

Marketing Savvy at Liquidity Cherry Orchards Heading North Responsible Water Use

2018 Tractor Issue

Originated as the British Columbia Orchardist

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 778-754-7078 | lisa@orchardandvine.net | orchardandvine.net

Spring 2019

71

ABBOTSFORD

Avenue Machinery Corp.

1521 Sumas Way

604-864-2665

COURTENAY

North Island Tractor

3663 S. Island Hwy

250-334-0801

CRESTON

Kemlee Equipment Ltd.

N.W. Boulevard

250-428-2254

DUNCAN

Island Tractor & Supply

4650 Trans Canada Hwy

250-746-1755

KAMLOOPS

Douglas Lake Equipment

706 Carrier Road

250 851 2044

KELOWNA

Avenue Machinery Corp.

1090 Stevens Road

250-769-8700

OLIVER

Gerard’s Equipment Ltd.

Hwy 97 South

250-498-2524

VERNON

Avenue Machinery Corp.

7155 Meadowlark Road

250-545-3355