100 hive operation | The six-week pollinating season starts with Okanagan apricots and ends with apples
KELOWNA, B.C. — Kevin Dunn was awestruck the first time he peered inside a beehive and saw its 50,000 inhabitants. “I said, ‘this is it,’ but I didn’t know what it was.” Now, 15 years after that mind-blowing moment in a Simalkemeen Valley field, the former newspaper photographer has a thriving business as an orchard […] Read moreStories by Ross Freake
Grower sniffs out new varieties
Proper variety selection, grading and marketing could make Okanagan garlic a gourmet product
KELOWNA, B.C. — A self-proclaimed science geek is hoping to revolutionize the garlic industry. Bill Campbell wants to overthrow thousands of years of tradition on how to grow, pick and sell the savory bulbs that add zest to food. Campbell grew up in Trail, B.C., where garlic was a popular recipe ingredient in many homes. […] Read moreGrape grower honoured for industry contributions
KELOWNA, B.C. – Hans Buchler has been so busy working in agricultural politics that it’s amazing he has had time to farm. As it was, his hectic lifestyle got in the way of plans to start a winery. “It was always in the back of my mind,” said Buchler, who grows grapes on 18 acres […] Read more
Little insect big problem in B.C.
KELOWNA, B.C. – The best agricultural minds in British Columbia are having a war council Nov. 18 to plan how to combat an invading enemy less than a centimetre long. The best they can hope for is a stalemate, to keep the spotted wing drosophila, (SWD) which was first spotted in B.C. last year, from […] Read more
Late B.C. grape harvest not stingy on quality
KELOWNA, B.C. – The B.C. grape harvest was smaller than average this year, but wine makers are optimistic the wine will be much better than average. And they’re toasting the fact that one of the latest harvests on record is finally finished. The first pickers didn’t get into the vineyards until Sept. 15, two weeks […] Read more
Price rise provides optimistic end to dismal apple decade
KELOWNA, B.C. – British Columbia’s Okanagan apple industry is ending a dismal decade on a positive price. The industry, which generates $130 million in wholesale revenue and contributes $900 million in economic activity, had a bad start to the millennium, especially the last two years. Apple growers, who make up 75 percent of the region’s […] Read more
Splash of vino produces unique-tasting beef
KELOWNA, B.C. – A former cowboy and a woman who grew up on a Saskatchewan farm are producing a brand of wine-fed beef named after an Egyptian god. Sezmu Meats, named for the god of wine, was born after Janice Ravndahl of West Kelowna, B.C., watched the cooking showThe F Word,in which hell-raising chef Gordon […] Read more
B.C. cherry crop small, but prices up
OLIVER, B.C.– Cherry grower Greg Norton jokes he would be eating lunch with Donald Trump if he had last year’s crop with this year’s prices. Okanagan growers had a “monster crop” last year, but so did Washington state, which ensured that prices were low at 67 cents per pound. This year, the crop the Washington […] Read more
Farming hardships good stepping stone to ALC post
KELOWNA – Richard Bullock believes the mental toughness he grew as a farmer prepared him for one of his biggest challenges. The Kelowna orchardist has been appointed chair of the Agricultural Land Commission, an independent agency responsible for preserving agricultural land in British Columbia. “You have to be able to take disappointment; a lot of […] Read more
Fruit sector says federal support falls short
KELOWNA, B.C. – It wasn’t want they wanted. In fact, it was only half of what they asked for, but Okanagan orchardists will take the $5 million offered by the federal and provincial governments.British Columbia Fruit Growers Association president Joe Sardinha was thankful, but noted some discontent among growers.”There is some grower disappointment that there […] Read more
