DECEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Vernon orchardists develop award-


winning orchard Raza brothers grateful for their opportunities in BC


by TOM WALKER VERNON – Vernon fruit


growers Tahir and Sajid Raza take pride in their orchard. But the brothers, recipients


of this year’s Golden Apple award at the BC Tree Fruit Horticultural Symposium in Kelowna earlier this year, maintain they’re not doing anything different than other growers – they’re just doing the best they can. “It is not everything we are


doing; we are getting help,” Tahir points out. “We get help from the BC Tree Fruits field service and from other farmers. One of the things that I like about Canada is that people are so willing to help.” During a visit with Country


Life in BC this fall, Tahir explained how he emigrated from Pakistan in 1992 with just US$500 in his pocket to join his wife, who was already in Vernon. He didn’t have dreams of owning an orchard, though. He just needed a job. “As a newcomer, I was just


looking to get a job of any kind,” says Tahir.


Since his family had been farming in Pakistan for three generations, Tahir found a job in a local orchard. It was a good fit for his skills. But soon, he landed a labour job at the Consumers Glass plant in Lavington. Two years later, Sajid joined


Tahir and his wife in Vernon and took a job managing an orchard in Lake Country, where Tahir joined him on his days off and holidays. “We wanted to learn as much as we could and do the best job that we could for the orchard owner,” says Tahir. When the glass plant closed in 2008, five acres came up for lease at the farm Sajid was managing. Tahir leapt at the opportunity, and leased another 12 acres nearby. He also continued to help Sajid. A partnership was formed, and the brothers never looked back.


Buying the farm


Just north of Vernon, soil tests on a 25-acre parcel came back positive. The brothers bought the property in 2010, then a second purchase. “We bought a second 25


acres but we kept our lease and the management jobs and worked our own property in the evenings,” says Sajid.


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While they were able to


buy land, there wasn’t money to pay someone to put in an orchard, so the brothers did the hard work of establishing a new orchard themselves. “We bought rootstock and did all of our own budding,” says Sajid. “Every tree you see here was grown on our farm. We planted 150,000 trees so that saved us around $200,000.” The trees, posts and wires, and irrigation systems (drip and spinners) were all installed by the family. They even found an old wire bending vice and made their own clips, saving them over $50,000.


They started with Gala and


Ambrosia apples and have added Honeycrisp. In addition to 40 acres of apples, they also have about 18 acres of cherries. The brothers are very


happy with their yields. “When we were starting


and looking at other orchards, we were seeing growers averaging 40 bins an acre,” says Tahir. “We were aiming to get 50 to 60 bins of good quality and our business would be okay, the way we did the work and grew the trees.”


While the Ambrosia trees continue to mature, Sajid says current yields are outperforming their wildest dreams. “Last year, our Galas were


over 80 bins per acre average and Ambrosia about 75,” he beams.


35


Brothers Tahir and Sajid Raza walk their Vernon apple orchard daily and it’s that attention to detail that has resulted in superior production and quality. TOM WALKER PHOTO


Attention to detail Success for the Raza


brothers starts when the trees go into the ground. “You need to fertilize according to your soil sample and have a new sample every second year,” Tahir maintains. “If you fertilize the wrong way, you are actually damaging the trees.” Another key is making sure


every bit of land is used, making sure none of the rows have gaps. “Your expenses will stay the same, as you are spraying, fertilizing and watering an empty spot, but your production is only 90%, so we never have a missing tree,” Tahir explains. He also encourages


growers to walk their orchards on a daily basis. “Stop to look and know what the trees are telling you,” says Tahir. “Then you can be on top of everything.”


The attention to detail is a hallmark of good growers, and also how the judges for the Golden Apple award determine who to recognize each year. “The judges evaluate many


aspects of the operation,” explains Charlotte Leaming, a field person with BC Tree Fruits Co-operative, which sponsors the award in partnership with the BC Fruit Growers Association. “Fruit quality and production are of course the most important, but we also want to know about other aspects of the orchard; things like, did the grower plant the block? What


techniques and innovations are used in production? On top of this, we are looking for an overall impression of a vibrant, consistent, productive, lean, mean, fruit- producing machine.” Presenting the award to


the Razas, Leaming found growers who fit the bill. To say the Raza brothers


are grateful is an understatement. “It’s an opportunity here in


Canada. If you work hard enough, you can have your dream,” says Tahir. “Working at a labour job in Pakistan, I would never been able to buy even one acre.”


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