More established ranchers are stepping away from the farm as costs rise in this ever-changing industry.

The Ministry of Agriculture is in consultations with municipalities across the South Okanagan to establish six designated sites, but no decisions have been made as harvest gets underway.

Every year, about 7,500 Mexican nationals come to B.C. to work on farms, half of them in the Okanagan. But this year, there are serious concerns about a shortage of foreign labourers.