42 Getting to know
BC’s agri-culture Saskatchewan transplant eyes the differences
I’m a Prairie woman with farm roots. Both sets of
VIEWPOINT by MYRNA STARK LEADER
grandparents farmed – one at Chamberlain, SK and the other near Paddockwood, north of Prince Albert. Since owning my own home in Regina for about 25 years, I always planted a backyard garden. I love growing vegetables and flowers. Fresh flower cuttings adorn my kitchen from my earliest perennials to the last blooms of fall – often protected from frost by nightly covering. My strong belief is to enjoy the blossoms while living, not on my grave. Although I am not a fruit or
vegetable preserver like my mom was when I was growing up, the garden helped teach my two children how a tiny seed, with some care – but
often not that much – transforms into food. It was also surprising to learn how many neighbourhood kids had never planted and were eager to help. I recall one little girl being so surprised by the
tininess of a carrot seed. When it was grown, those same children bit into that fresh carrot and without prompting, they voiced that it tasted different – better. This isn’t knocking the food supply system. As Canadians, we are blessed with great food and myriad choices. However, I think most will agree that produce tastes better fresh- picked, not when it arrives on refrigerated trucks.. So, when I moved to
Kelowna at the beginning of September, I knew about the local food and looked forward to it. I touted it as a selling point for living here to my 11- year old who is a self- professed fruit-a-holic. We picked huge and delicious
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • OCTOBER 2017
BC boasts the most diversified agriculture in the country. Residents can often take that for granted, but newcomers like journalist and photographer Myrna Stark Leader relish the fresh options available at local farmers’ markets. MYRNA STARK LEADER PHOTO
cherries when we put our stuff in storage in July. As I write this, we’ve been enjoying local tomatoes, peaches, pears and plums every day. My husband has never had so much fruit in his diet! Not to mention all the other offerings – cheeses, breads, beverages and the list goes on.
Buying local didn't surprise
me, but just how much of the culture I had to learn did. Everyone I speak with has a
Agriculture is our way of life too
Meet Graham In 13 years at FCC, Graham’s helped hundreds of Canadian producers build their dreams. Like everyone on your FCC team, Graham knows your industry and he’ll get to know you.
1-800-387-3232
fcc.ca
recommendation of where to buy what. All roadside sellers are not equal and neither are prices. There is local food – particularly produce – in every grocery chain that I have visited. And not just one or two things, but several. Local is front and centre and it is labeled as such. One big chain even had where the products came from printed on a chalk board – Abbotsford, Enderby and so on. We did see local vegetables in the stores in
Regina from time to time. The difference here is their prominence. At home, the challenge is
often sourcing enough product for major chains. I am curious to learn what makes BC different. Prices also vary widely. I see
pears from $2.49/pound to the ones I picked up the other day for $0.65/pound at a local orchard. Granted they were labeled as seconds, maybe because of size or a slight – and I mean slight – blemish. I’ve actually bought full-priced pears in Regina with more marks.
I visited the local farmers
market, too. Naturally, my eyes tracked to the big bunches of fresh flowers for $8 but the variety of products and selection was amazing. Vegetables, meat, cheese, baked goods, honey and spreads, sauces and salad dressing, drinks and on and on. This is another treasure in
We help agricultural businesses to stay safe, healthy and productive.
the local food scene. But more than one person has said that the market now caters to many tourists so you have to know prices and be a smart market shopper. I do know that the frozen fresh raspberry and mango popsicle that I bought for my daughter as a treat was really out of this world and beat the Slurpee she said she craved. Regina has a market but the selection in Kelowna is huge. There’s organic and traditional production that one needs to ask about, too. The cherries I mentioned earlier were sprayed once a week for pests. I learned this by talking with the owners who have been in the orchard business for three generations. Knowing what I do about ag, I was okay with the treatment but it wasn’t something they advertised. And there are other
opportunities aside from buying and eating. A friend of mine recently spent the day voluntarily picking plums to be donated. Another went out for the day to help harvest pears.
When we left Regina, we TRAINING
SAFETY TOOLS PROFESSIONAL ADVICE COR CERTIFICATION
Graham Bolton FCC Senior Relationship Manager
Let us help you get started now
call us at: 1.877.533.1789 (toll free)
www.AgSafeBC.ca
ON-SITE & ONLINE SUPPORT
were gifted a certificate for a local wine tour which will be yet more learning. Are blends worth more than wines made from a single variety? How many wines do I have to taste before I know them all? A nice young man in a private liquor store recommended a local limited- run white wine that was on sale and it was divine. Sometimes living in the moment is fine. Myrna Stark Leader recently
moved to Kelowna and we are delighted to welcome her to the Country Life in BC writing team. She can be reached at
myrnaleader@gmail.com.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
