AGRICULTURE
THE FUTURE IS
PEARSHAPED.
One of the area’s oldest farms, Day’s Century Growers, goes high-tech to increase efficiency and quality. Day’s Century have been farming in the Okanagan Region for almost as long as there’s been farming in the Okanagan. In the late 1890’s, Ephraim Day homesteaded property in the heart of Kelowna and over five generations the family holdings have since expanded to encompass over 136 acres. This includes the largest pear orchard in the province, distributing Bartlett, Bosc and Green and Red D’Anjou pears across North America. The family also sells freshly picked vegetables, fruit and sweet corn in their own farm market.
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AGRICULTURE UNTITLED
“Almost 75% of our revenue comes from pears, yet it’s probably just a little over a quarter of the actual ground we farm,” says Kevin Day, who runs the current operation with his sister Karen Day. “According to my grandfather, this area is the best pear growing land in Canada. Very, very high quality. It’s a combination of climate, the heavy clay loam soil, the nearness of the lake, really just so many reasons.” In 2012, the Day’s made a bold move to take control of their pears. “My sister and I felt we could manage our crop
more efficiently if we removed ourselves from the pool system. So we built our own packing house, taking responsibility for the storage, packing and shipping of the pears we grow. Fortunately, it’s worked out.” The family stepped things up again in 2019 when they installed a state-of-the-art packing machine and a highresolution optical pear-sorting system, the first of its kind in Canada. The system scans pears for external defects, taking sixty images of each pear to ensure the highest quality and proper grading.
“IT’S SUCH A COOL EXPERIENCE TO HAVE DINNER AND TO KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WE’RE EATING WAS GROWN ON THE FARM.” –
Erin Day-Johnson Operations Manager, Day’s Century Growers
