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Photo by Kim Elsasser
Family Business
Amarjit, Sunny, Kamal and their son Arvin Dhaliwal and niece, Ameera in the packing house.
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Family History
The late Banta Singh Dhaliwal in the orchard.
It can take years to hone the knowledge and diverse skills that make a good farmer, and young farmers today face many additional challenges including the significant cost of land to even get started. At just 28 years old, Sunny Dhaliwal, proprietor of Dhaliwal Farms in Keremeos, is demonstrating that opportunities do exist for young farmers with entrepreneurial drive, commitment to innovation and good support around them.
Dhaliwal Farms had its beginning in the 1980s when Banta Singh Dhaliwal, his wife Punjab Kaur and their sons came from India to Oliver, BC and purchased a 10 acre parcel of land. In India, Banta and his family were also in the farming business. Nine years later the family sold what had grown to a thriving orchard business and Sunny’s father and three brothers bought a 100-acre parcel in Keremeos. Growing up in this environment Sunny not only learned how to farm, his entrepreneurial skills developed to where he was managing the day-to-day operations of the farm by the time he was 23. Today, Dhaliwal Farms includes 180 acres with diverse revenue streams, employing up to 65 workers in peak season.
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Photo by Kim Elsasser
Row Spacing
By reducing the distance between the rows Sunny gained an extra 30-35 rows while leaving room for the tractor.
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Photo by Kim Elsasser
Irrigation
Self operating automatic filter and back flow cleans the irrigation water, flushes, self cleans and keeps unclean water from returning to the well. Supplied by Nulton Irrigation.
Eighty of the 180 acres are in the orchard, devoted to apricots, peaches, cherries, nectarines and apples. The other 100 acres are devoted to a new high density apple planting project initiated this year. While high density planting is being done by other farms in the area, Dhaliwal Farms is spacing the rows nine feet apart instead of the usual 10 feet to maximize efficiency and yield. When planting is completed by the end of 2016, the orchard will include one of the most innovative water technology systems in the farming industry which can be monitored by a mobile device.
A second arm to the business is Sunny Valley Fruit which packs and markets its own fruit, and fruit it buys from other growers to a wide range of customers including Walmart, Krown Produce, Safeway and Sobey’s. “I realized it was important to invest in innovative processes and equipment to grow the business and keep pace with the larger packing houses,” Sunny says, “so this year we installed a new automated compact packing line that allows us to pack and sort to meet our clients’ unique requests.” The list of growers and customers working with Sunny Valley Fruit gets longer every year. “We simply have great growers that grow amazing fruit,” Sunny says.
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Photo by Kim Elsasser
Packing House
The Sunny Valley Fruit packing house.
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Photo by Kim Elsasser
Warehouse
Sunny Valley Fruit packs and markets their own and other growers fruit.
The third arm of the business is Agri-pak Packaging Ltd. which was purchased from long time founder Tony Laranjo in 2014. Agri-pak supplies fruit packing supplies to other packing houses and orchards. With locations in Osoyoos and Keremeos it provides everything fruit packers need to get their fruit to market anywhere in the world, from Keremeos to China.
Sunny was a customer of Tony’s for many years while Tony owned Agri-Pak and when Sunny bought the company, he also gained a valuable mentor. “When Sunny showed interest in buying the business, I knew he was someone who could keep it growing, “says Tony. “He is a good farmer and a good businessman. His customers like him, he listens and is easy to get along with, and is a hard worker. For his age, he’s very accomplished.”
“It is really important for young farmers to have the support of a mentor,” Sunny says. “I know farming, but when something like a weather disaster occurs, as younger farmers we don’t have the patience that older, more experienced farmers do. While we just see a crop has been ruined, they take it in stride as part of the ups and downs of farming.”
Sunny says having access to family land and family members to work in the business is almost essential for young farmers to get into farming today. Sunny’s mother Amarjit supervises the packing house and his wife Kamal handles the paperwork for the business. (Sunny and Kamal are also proud parents to their son Arvin who was born in April of this year.)
“You also have to stay current with trends and new growing techniques and products, and maintain good communication with your customers. An advantage young farmers have today is the amount of information that is available online and our comfort zone working online. People should know that young farmers are taking orchards to the next level and making farming into a great business,” Sunny says.
Farm Credit Canada has also played a key role in the form of financial support for the recent investments in equipment and infrastructure. “When we’re preparing financial solutions for our customers, we look at a number of factors, including their management skills, work ethic, drive to succeed and knowledge of their industry,” says FCC’s Senior Relationship Manager, Amos Rossworm. “Working with Sunny on his family project, it was clear they had all the ingredients for success and we are proud to have contributed to helping them establish and grow their business.”
In peak season, the farm is in full swing before dawn and Sunny is often back on the forklift after dinner. “Being out in the orchard at the end of the day where I can reflect on this beautiful farm and what we have created is the best part of it all,” Sunny says. ■
Did You Know?
The average Canadian farmers is 54 years old.
The proportion of young producers has declined by more than half since 1991. That year, producers under 35 comprised 19.9% of the total population. In 2011, they made up 8.2% of the population.
Despite the reduced number of young farmers, they often count among the country’s most successful producers. In 2006 and 2011, young farmers were both more likely to appear in the producer class with the highest revenues, and least likely to appear in the class with the lowest revenues. They lead the charge to innovate and capitalize on new opportunities.
Farm Credit Canada, March, 2016
