Carajou Fruit Company
Cameron Gray, Erin Carlson, and Scott Babin of Carajou Fruit Company looking at the instructions for the new optical sorter.
From a Summerland cherry orchard to a Vancouver Island winery and apiary, the Investment Agriculture Foundation of British Columbia is helping make things easier for a pair of small farms who want to see their businesses grow, as well as their industries and local economies.
A hands off approach
For Carajou Fruit Company, it was technology that was needed to increase profitability while reducing the “hands on” aspect of the cherry orchard business. Erin Carlson manages the family-owned operation and noted that IAF funding allowed for the purchase of an optical defect sorter and grader.
“It is the latest technology to ensure that we can pack and ship more delicious cherries more efficiently,” Carlson said.
Like most orchards, payroll is one of the largest expenses and although the equipment far from eliminates human involvement, any reduction helps the bottom line.
Carlson says the technology cuts the need for staff by about one-quarter to one-third. “Another benefit is that when we have a good year, the machine does a good job. When we have a bad year, it still does a good job.”
Carlson explained that while the cherry industry is sizeable, it is still small enough that growers know each other. After Carajou took the step as the first grower to put an optical defect sorter in, Carlson said growers from around the valley came to see it.
“It certainly isn’t cheap equipment and you have to do a renovation to get it in your packing facility,” she said. “But that’s what [IAF and the bank] are there for.”
According to Carlson, the sorter’s infrared and RGB cameras assess every single cherry and will sort based on imperfections, size, shape, softness and colour. Witnessing the benefits Carajou experienced in their first year with the machine has contributed to a handful of other growers following suit.
The local land of wine and honey
According to Abel O’Brennan of Coastal Black, the Courtenay Comox region is a hotbed for local food sales.
“It’s amazing how much people gravitate towards it,” he said. “We’ve hit that kind of food culture in Courtenay Comox, where the valley is already so turned onto that idea.”
O’Brennan’s mother learned about IAF funding and O’Brennan immediately saw the benefit of creating a buy local campaign. With berry fruit wines, a bistro, large event space and honey products he embarked on print and radio advertising with some supplemental signage.
While it’s hard to measure accurately, he feels there have been positive results from the program with about an 18 per cent increase in winery sales and some growth with honey sales.
“Marketing is such a tricky animal,” O’Brennan noted. ”I absolutely would do it [apply for a grant from IAF] again. So many farmers are intimidated by the application process, but it’s not that bad. It’s a great program and I’m 100 per cent happy we did it and support it.”