Algoma comes to BC

Canada’s largest independent apple grower is moving into BC following the purchase of the last remaining assets of BC Tree Fruits Co-op to Penticton construction and development company Wildstone Construction Group.

Wildstone paid $22.75 million for BC Tree Fruits’ newly renovated packinghouse in Oliver, as well as receiving stations in Summerland and Keremeos in a deal approved by BC Supreme Court on May 16.

The transaction includes the BC Tree Fruits brand, which Wildstone will licence to Algoma Orchards of Ontario, which will restart the Oliver packinghouse this season.

“We’re looking forward to working with growers out there for many years to come,” says Algoma president Kirk Kemp. “We’d like to see if we can’t kind of stabilize the industry a bit and give growers some stability in the returns for their fruit.”

This isn’t the first time Algoma has worked with BC apple producers.

“[Ontario] had an early frost in 2012 that hammered their crop and Algoma ended up buying a lot of apples from BC,” notes Summerland grower and BC Tree Fruits vice-president Deep Brar. “They were pretty good to deal with.”

Kemp says Algoma is actively working to launch operations this summer, interviewing former employees and having initial talks with growers.

“We hope to get some people in place and get the plant ready to go,” he says. “I’ve got lots of experience in the apple deal and my facility manager has lots of experience on the tender fruit and some experience in cherries. We are hoping to get a lot of the key employees back who have run those lines before, so we plan on offering a full service of all tender fruit as well as the apples.”

A small group of growers who hoped to see co-op revived welcome Algoma’s arrival.

“It’s probably a good thing that they are here,” says group spokesperson Amarjit Lalli. “The concern is if they don’t make money they just close up shop and leave.”

Kemp says he is going in with his eyes open.

“In the first year or two we don’t have high expectations on how much fruit we are going to get,” he says. “But from the growers we’ve talked to there are still a lot looking for a long-term home. Some were happy with the pack sheds they had last year and some were not. There is inconsistent pricing and inconsistent quality. We can help stabilize both of those.”

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Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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5 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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6 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.