Up Front


ell,” you might say, “I thought this magazine was all


By Bryden Winsby


about tree fruits and grapes and wine. What gives with the vegetables and nuts?”


Then again, you probably won’t say anything, accepting as you will our brilliant decision to do something different, to climb out of the box and see what some interesting folks are up to — activities that aren’t really very far removed from what we usually cover.


Besides a stint as the first mayor of Lake Country when it was incorporated about 20 years ago, longtime orchardist Bob McCoubrey has involved himself with a variety of volunteer endeavours, latest of which is development of the community garden concept, as a means of growing produce for food banks and teaching the basics of agriculture to novice farmers.


As Associate Editor Judie Steeves explains in our cover story, McCoubrey and his confreres are on the lookout for some suitable land to expand the incubator program — and they’ll welcome additional expertise (retired or not) to help out. Meanwhile, down in the Similkameen, two couples are growing almonds and pistachios successfully — nuts that are associated most with California. As regular contributor Susan McIver learned, it might even be possible to make them commercially viable in our dry but cooler climate. Viability is often at the core of decisions made by the province’s Agricultural Land Commission, which, as most of you know, saw its chairman replaced last spring. The move was more than a bit controversial, as were legislative changes that have the land reserve divided into two zones. Former Saanich mayor Frank Leonard is now at the helm and unlike his predecessor, Richard Bullock, has no agricultural background. But to be fair, his long career in local politics has given Leonard a pretty good understanding of what the ALR is. Judie Steeves


4


Now, for something different ... almost “W


caught up to him during a recent visit to West Kelowna and got him to explain how he views the job and how he intends to do it. Under the new


system, Zone 1 covers prime farmland in the Lower Mainland,


Fraser Valley, the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island, while Zone 2, covers the North, the Kootenays and the rest of the Interior.


In case you didn’t know, the ALC is comprised of Leonard and 18 commissioners representing six regions, three of which are in Zone 1 — South Coast, Island and Okanagan. The commissioners from the latter are no strangers to the land reserve.


Gerry Zimmerman former Kelowna fire chief and city councillor, has sat on the Central Okanagan Regional District Board, the Black Mountain Irrigation Board and the Okanagan Basin Water Board.


Greg Norton has been a fruit farmer in Oliver since 1988. Prior to that he was a foreman with the local irrigation district and has served on several agriculture-related committees. He is also past-


president and director of the Okanagan Cherry Growers Association and was the founding chair of the Sterile Insect Release Program.


Jim Johnson of Cherryville has had the least to do directly with farming. He is an owner and operator of a personal catering business and worked in the forestry industry for 35 years. He is a former chair and alternate director with the Regional District of the North Okanagan. Elsewhere in this issue, Susan McIver relays some of the more interesting workshop topics at this summer’s popular grape and wine symposium in Penticton, Gary Strachan delves into the intricacies of winery pump selection, and we talk with Summerhill Pyramid Wines founder Stephen Cipes about his vision of an all-organic Okanagan. Oh, and after a long hot summer, keep your fingers crossed for a serious cold snap this winter. Why? Read on ...


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2015


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