Okanagan orchardists dealing with ups and downs of warm start to fall

Orchardists have started the fall harvest of 2022 and the warm start in the Okanagan is mostly working in their favour.

“The apple harvest this year is going pretty smooth so far. Our harvest is about seven to 10 days later than last year because of the cool spring that we had,” said Sam DiMaria, owner and operator with Bella Rosa Orchards.

“That delayed the bloom and consequently the timing of the maturity of the apple. The nighttime temperatures go below 10 C which is what we want. We need those cool nighttime temperatures and then we need the sunny warm days during the days and that really helps to bring the colour on.”

Mani Gills, owner of Gills Family Orchard Kelowna said, he is behind when it comes to picking fruit, which means the season will be extended and that could cause issues.

“It just means that my workers are here till mid-November, so the longer we’re picking, the less time I get a chance to get some pruning done before winter comes,” Gills said.

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Both DiMaria and Gills use the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and have planned well in advance to have workers come for the season. However, workers are only able to work for eight months and with a late start to the season and a late harvest, the clock is ticking for staff.

“Labour is the biggest issue,” Gills said. “It’s our biggest cost and it’s always tough with labour every year. If you want to bring in foreign labour, it’s expensive

DiMaria said he would like to hire locally but he feels this job isn’t appealing to many people in town. He also says the job itself is very demanding.

2:05 Winemakers are happy with the warmer autumn

“We are open to local help. If there is anybody that comes up the driveway looking for a picking job, we’ll give them a picking job. All they have to do is show up. But unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

DiMaria said they must preplan and can’t wait until harvest time to hire staff. He also said it’s a tough job and not everyone is willing to do it. Regardless, DiMaria said this is one of the stronger years for Bella Rosa since coming out of COVID.