committee. Looking back
It all began when Dietrich and Paulina Driediger arrived in B.C. from the prairies in 1944. Rhonda’s grandparents began growing strawberries on a 10-acre farm on 56th Avenue.
Her parents, June and George, came back to B.C. in the summer of 1954 to help his parents harvest the strawberries. It became more than just a visit and they took over the farm the next spring. During the next few years it grew to a 25-acre operation. By 1963, they were farming about 250 acres, with some leased land and some purchased, and George’s brother Peter and his wife Hilda joined in, incorporating as Driediger Bros. Farms Ltd.
There were many changes as farming became more mechanized, with machines instead of people planting and weeding. Today, new rows are even planted using a GPS instead of twine to align them.
Rhonda, her older brother Murray, sister Brenda and younger brother Michael were brought up on the farm, and helped out as they grew up. Over the years, her parents bought out her aunt and uncle, then in 1981 they divorced. Rhonda’s mother bought out her father and her brothers became involved in the farm’s operation.
However, in 1997, when her older brother divorced, Rhonda and her husband Peter Olson were drawn in to the family farm. They made a big decision to leave their comfortable home, city lives and their travelling and move into a double-wide trailer on the farm.
The year previous, Driediger Farms had begun packing on-farm, and that side of the business grew and grew. In 2001, they bought out Rhonda’s mother and four years later, they bought out her younger brother as well.
Looking ahead
In the past seven years, she says they’ve increased capacity 300 per cent and they’re doubling that now, with a plant expansion.
More blueberries are being planted on the farm, especially the mid-season Bluecrop and later Elliot varieties. Driediger says they plan to add facilities to produce Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) berries as well. That way, whenever there’s an
6 British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2010
overage of any berries over what’s been pre-sold fresh or for processing, they can freeze them on the farm. “We can pack them and bag them ourselves and sell them to the public,” she explains.
“It’s all about self-sufficiency. We have a good reputation and name, so that’s a good way to sell them. It’s about gaining better control of our own products,” she adds.
JUDIE STEEVES
Blueberries and raspberries produced on Langley’s Driediger Farms.
She’s had to turn down sales because she didn’t have enough blueberries on hand, so she’s always looking for larger growers to partner with. “We could ship more than we do,” she says. Driediger does much of her selling in the fall, so by the time fruit is ripening the next summer, it’s all spoken for. “That way, I’m not overwhelmed at harvest time,” she explains. Driediger sells much of the produce to retail chain stores such as Costco, but also all over the continent. Rather than in the farming itself, the money is in providing value-added, she believes, so whether it’s the fruit stand or the packing operation, improvements are important. Plans are afoot to rebuild the 30- year-old fruit stand so it’s more up-to- date and more efficient at handling the many customers who have made it a habit to travel to Driediger Farms to buy. Many also make it a family excursion and come to pick their own berries every year.
Driediger admits that returning to farming was riskier than she had realized it would be, and working with your family can be challenging. However, she says she’s learning to be proactive about getting rid of irritants and bottlenecks.
As well, she confides, “I used to do everything on the farm. Now, I’m big into delegating.”
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