Before moving to Lake Country and purchasing ¹ó°ù²¹²Ô°ì91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Orchard, California residents Jamie and Glenn Rose did plenty of research on what it would take to make for a successful farm operation.
In their native California, farm operations were able to add value to their business in a variety of ways, including the ability to host events like weddings on their land.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœW³ó±ð°ù±ð I come from, if you own a farm ¾±³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s cool and ¾±³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s hip and ³Ù°ù±ð²Ô»å²â,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ said Jamie last week at her operation, now called Rose Family Orchard and where her and her family have been trained by Walter Frank, who owned the farm since 1959.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœT³ó±ð²â »å´Ç²Ô91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t have as many regulations there. They have a lot of agri-tourism things that go hand-in-hand with ´Ú²¹°ù³¾¾±²Ô²µ,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ she said. 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœW³ó±ð²Ô we moved from California my goal was to have an agri-tourism operation where I could have weddings and ±ð±¹±ð²Ô³Ù²õ.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ
The Rose Family Orchard produces apples, cherries, plums, peaches and grapes on 10.4 acres of land. There is a small pond on the property the couple plans to fix up and create a spot for weddings. Since buying the property, they have added a commercial kitchen to make specialty items and turned a storage shed into a store-front where they sell fruit and other things, like chocolate covered cherries.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵԨ´Ç³Ü have to »å¾±±¹±ð°ù²õ¾±´Ú²â,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ she said. 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœO²Ô what I make on fruit alone I ·É´Ç³Ü±ô»å²Ô91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t survive with the property prices the way they are and with the fruit commodity prices the way they are. ±õ³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s not sustainable. But there are ways to make money if you are ³¦°ù±ð²¹³Ù¾±±¹±ð.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ
Farmers have already been getting creative with concerts and different events being held on a regular basis at wineries and in orchards. But the regulations for events was clarified somewhat in a provincial government announcement last week. The government said it was a move that will help farmers increase income.
Previously farmers would have had to go through a municipality as well as the Agriculture Land Commission to get approval to host a non-farm event on land within the Agriculture Land Reserve (ALR).
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœA high proportion of the land base in Lake Country (44 per cent) is in the ´¡³¢¸é,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ said Lake Country director of planning Mark Koch. 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœ±õ³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s always that balance to protect farm land for the future and also encourage the local economy and provide amenities and reasons for people to spend money in the community. I think this change is pretty positive knowing that it »å´Ç±ð²õ²Ô91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t allow for permanent ²õ³Ù°ù³Ü³¦³Ù³Ü°ù±ð²õ.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ
Lake County has had ¾±³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s issues with non-farm use of agriculture land in the past, and failed in a court bid to shut down a radio controlled remote control flying club, which still operates on Lodge Road, leasing farm land for its club use.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœA²õ long as it »å´Ç±ð²õ²Ô91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t affect the neighbours or the agriculture, I think ¾±³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s a better use of agriculture land than certainly a flying ³¦±ô³Ü²ú,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ said Lake Country Mayor James Baker. 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœâ¶Ä˜W±ð do get calls from people about the concerts in orchards because it keeps the neighbours up. I think 10 events in a year on an orchard should reduce conflict with ²Ô±ð¾±²µ³ó²ú´Ç³Ü°ù²õ.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ
Farms that want to host weddings or other events can now move forward with the events if they follow the regulations. According to government, land owners will not need a permit from the ALC to host specific activities like commercial weddings, concerts or non- agriculture related festivals, providing that:
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ The farm is classified as having farm status under the Assessment Act
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ No new, permanent structures are being built
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ All parking is on the farm (no road parking) and the parking area is not permanent or interferes with the ´Ú²¹°ù³¾91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s agricultural productivity
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ The number of guests at any event no more than 150
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¢ The number of events is 10 or less in a calendar year
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵÀá am very happy with the new regulations for the most ±è²¹°ù³Ù,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ said Jamie Rose. 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵÀá think ¾±³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s a win for farmers and a good way to bridge the gap in allowing some freedom but not too much freedom, which is ¾±³¾±è´Ç°ù³Ù²¹²Ô³Ù.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ
Rose does say there needs to be more clarification in the regulations and she added she has already had interest from numerous community groups to have events in her orchard including a church group, ·É´Ç³¾±ð²Ô91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s networking group and she also has a waiting list for weddings, despite the fact her land ·É´Ç²Ô91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t be ready to host an event for another year.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵÀáf I get three months of weekend events in a year, ³Ù³ó²¹³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s more than the 10 ²â´Ç³Ü91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™r±ð ²¹±ô±ô´Ç·É±ð»å,91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ he said. 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵÀá would like to have more. What if I have someone who wants to host a birthday party? ±õ³Ù91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s all going to be beneficial to the community. People will have to stay in hotels and ³Ù³ó±ð²â91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™r±ð going to go to the ·É¾±²Ô±ð°ù¾±±ð²õ.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ