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Peach Harvest
Glenn Rose harvesting peaches in Lake Country.
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Rose Family
The Rose family traded Los Angeles traffic jams for driving a tractor in Lake Country.
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Emily Rose and Walter Frank
Previous owner and mentor Walter Frank, teaching Emily Rose about the apple growing.
It’s a long way from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles to the pastoral landscapes of Lake Country, but it was a transition Jamie and Glenn Rose embraced in order to achieve the dream of a farming lifestyle for their family.
In the process of creating Rose Family Orchard, the couple put aside their business careers in California to move to Canada and buy a farm in Lake Country. By taking the time to research the potential for a sustainable farm and create a detailed business plan, they avoided many lessons they could have learned by trial and error. In under two years, Rose Family Orchard is on the fast-track to reaching its goals. This was recognized by the Lake Country Chamber of Commerce earlier this year when it presented the farm with its 2016 Agricultural Innovator of the Year award.
Inspiration for this family affair goes far back for both Jamie and Glenn. As a child, Jamie’s mother worked at a ranch in Irvine, California and the memories of that experience left Jamie longing for a life in agriculture. Glenn was born in Toronto and his family moved to Las Angeles when he was five. He had worked on a horse ranch when he was a youngster and had the same subtle yearning. The couple met in Los Angeles, married and had two children, Aidan and Emily but as the pressure of managing two careers while raising a family steadily increased and the recession peaked in 2008, they began to explore other options for their family. They decided they wanted to raise their children in Canada around a farm or orchard lifestyle far from the big city.
“Glenn had a strong connection to his Canadian roots and when I asked him where in Canada he wanted to live, he replied, “Google the warmest part and let’s move there,” recalls Jamie. In the summer of 2013 they rented a house in Lake Country and fell in love with the area. They returned in December to make sure they could handle the Canadian winter, then went back to LA, listed their business and house for sale, and began telling friends and family they were moving to Canada.
Many agricultural properties have been purchased as part of a dream without due diligence applied to the business of farming. While the Roses were strongly attracted by the beauty and “sense of place” that characterizes Lake Country, “we also liked the solid base of agri-tourism businesses that were here,” says Jamie. “Having spent many vacations in wine country in California we saw how the industry developed. We saw the growth of wineries, restaurants and supplemental businesses that fed into a massive agri-tourism industry around the regions of Napa, Paso Robles and Santa Ynez. We could see this area of Canada developing in the same way and felt it was poised for long term growth as more and more businesses moved into the area.”
With Lake Country chosen as the location, the couple zeroed in on a potential property that had been farmed for decades by the Franks, one of the District’s pioneer farm families. They did a business plan that helped them secure financing towards the business through Farm Credit Canada and as part of their market research began working with the property’s owner, Walter Frank to learn farming first hand. “We didn’t know much about being orchardists but we’re hard workers and eager to learn,” Jamie says. “Walter is still a valuable mentor to us along with several other farm operators in the area.”
Many avenues were explored as potential income streams. Making use of wasted fruit on the orchard was a concern to the Roses and they became intent on salvaging as much of the fruit as they could. They also realized early that the going price for fruit would not provide them with enough income to make a living from selling only fruit, so they expanded into baked goods to achieve additional revenue. After making small quantities of pies, frozen fruit, canned fruit, dried fruit and fruit juice they realized there were good marketing opportunities for products made from B grade fruits. Working with the District of Lake Country and Interior Health, they gained a BC food manufacturers’ license and built a small commercial kitchen in their house to step up production.
To ensure some continued revenue in the non-fruit producing seasons, the couple took chocolate making classes and began making chocolates. With the exceptional response from family and friends to their creations, they started a business called Okanagan Sweets and now market the chocolates under that name. In their first growing season, 2016, they added a large garden in the front of the property with the idea of growing produce just for the family, but the yield was so large they built a small farm store on the property and sold the products from there. “It’s a bit of an addiction now just to see how much we can expand our production,” says Jamie. The garden has doubled in size since they started it and a squash garden is being put in this spring. The farm’s garlic crop has tripled, haskap berries have been planted and blackberries are next on the list. Grape production is expected to double.
The formal mission for the farm, identified in the business plan, centres on “strengthening the relationship between consumers and the orchard through direct marketing of high quality fruit and produce, and offering positive farm experiences.” In their application for the Lake Country Agricultural Innovator Award, three factors demonstrate how this mission is being accomplished. Less than 5% of what the farm grows turns into waste compared to the industry standard of 20% to 40%. It produces a diverse, “fun” line of food products using items grown on the farm, and starting in 2017, the orchard will offer food-based events where people living or staying in the Okanagan can enjoy unique farm experiences including gourmet picnic lunches and farm tours. Longer term plans include classical music and theatre luncheon events, and a cidery and tasting room on the property.
Farm weddings are also on the horizon and putting the elements in place for this part of the business plan was a major education. Even before purchasing the property, Jamie and Glenn researched what was needed to comply with local zoning, but when their application was nevertheless turned down by the Agricultural Land Commission, the District of Lake Council staff stepped up to support them. “Almost every Council member and their Economic Development Officer came out to tour the farm,” says Jamie. The District worked directly with the ALC on our behalf to have the application reviewed and finally it was approved,” says Jamie. “The message sent out by our Mayor and the District was, ‘This is what we want for our community.’ “
From the District’s point of view, “The Roses are approaching agricultural business in innovative ways,” says Lake Country’s Economic Development Officer Jamie McEwan. “They are passionate, dedicated and taking the right steps to properly plan and execute a business model that fits with the community. We’re here to work with them along this exciting path.”
“Yes we have big plans and it will take several years to reach the breadth of what we would like to offer,” says Jamie. “We feel that Lake Country is the perfect place to call home as we grow and shape our orchard into a unique property where tourists and locals can enjoy all that the Okanagan has to offer.” ■
