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GEORGIAN BAY APPLES
When David and Hanna Doran arrived in Cape
Rich in 1837 they planted a few McIntosh Red apple seedlings that they had
brought with them. It was
their hope to grow enough apples for their own use and possibly have a few
to sell, never dreaming that it would be the beginning of one of the
area’s major industries. Farmers
in the Beaver Valley area had been experimenting with various fruit trees,
but had found that peaches, pears and apricots produced blossoms too early
and they were often killed by frost. The
Doran’s success soon encouraged other settlers throughout the Southern
Georgian Bay area to plant apple orchards and it became a year round food
staple throughout the district. Northern
Spy, Russets and McIntosh Red were some of the most popular varieties and
soon they were being shipped to other parts of Canada as well as Great
Britain and U.S.A. In 1870, Collingwood Evaporator Works was
established to produce dried fruit which was easier to ship and store.
As the demand for dried apples for Great Britain and U.S.A. grew,
farm wagons filled with barrels of apples lined up at the dock. By
the turn of the twentieth century, three evaporators were needed to
process all the apples being shipped from the area.
It had only taken about fifty years for a good sized industry to
grow out of just a few trees. It was 1894 that the first company to pack,
and export whole apples was created.
Apple storage facilities soon became common, always located near
railway lines to make shipping easier.
A special barrel capper was used to seal the barrel lids in place
and create a light pack which would not bruise the fruit.
By the end of the century, John Mitchell, with financial help from
the government began an experimental fruit farm in Clarksburg.
Here he worked with apples, cherries, peaches, pears, gooseberries
and plums. The Mitchell name
was a controlling factor in the neighborhood and Mitchell Apple Juice
became well known throughout the area.
In 1905 Mitchell, his family and friends organized The Georgian Bay
Fruit Growers Association and because of the transportation opportunities
in nearby Collingwood, the industry continued to grow. In 1906, P. Haines and Son started peeling
and coring apples for the production of dried apples. The business was
sold to Golden Town in 1977 and a small press was installed to produce
unfiltered apple juice. In
1979 the equipment was improved and they started producing fresh and
frozen apple slices. In 1981
a 9,000 sq. ft. plant was built on 100 acres in Collingwood Township.
A 2,700 cold storage bin and modern peeling technology equipment
were added in 1990 expanding its size to cover 44,000 sq. ft. and making
it possible to produce all their products under one roof. They presently have the most modern equipment and techniques
to process and transport their apple products. The most popular apples for processing are top grade Northern
Spy, not enough of them are grown in the area so many are purchased from
other parts of Ontario, New York, Michigan and Quebec. The Apple Valley Juice Corporation is
another processing plant in the Thornbury area.
They have been in service since 1989 and produce a line of all
natural, cider, juices and fruit smoothies.
Besides their own line, they sell under the trade names Tropicana
and President’s Choice “Sweet Apple Cider”.
They also have a new line of single-serving premium fresh juices
and smoothies sold under the Second Cup and Apple Valley labels.
Of the 700 apple growers in Ontario, 60 of
them are in the Georgian Bay Area. The
most popular type grown in this area is McIntosh followed by Honeycrisp,
Northern Spy, Ambrosia and Gala. Even
though the part of this area, now known as the Municipality of Meaford
lost 17,500 acres of orchard to the Government when they decided to build
the Tank Range at Cape Rich in 1942, there is still
1,200 acres in operation today earning Meaford the title of Apple
Capitol of Ontario. Methods
have improved, as the older, larger trees in many orchards are being
replaced with dwarf varieties which allow more of them to be planted on
the same amount of land, increasing production and there is less need for
the use of ladders when picking. Apple
picking is still done by hand and there is only a short period of time
(about 6 weeks) to remove them from the trees before the danger of frost.
Locals are hired whenever possible but there are also a large
number of pickers that come to the area from other places to finalize the
job. A large number of the apples produced are
sold fresh in roadside stands and farmers markets which also sell apple
products such as pies, jam and cider along with other fruits, vegetables,
honey and maple syrup. There is also some opportunities to pick-your-own
or buy directly at some of the farms.
Some apples not sold in a reasonable period of time are placed in
cold storage for sale later. Some
of the orchards have their own storage facilities but there are also a
number of other options for storage.
Meaford has one of the larger storage plants and they are hoping to
expand and improve it in the near future.
Their plans include establishing a new sewer system and to begin
processing some of the apples there.
Co-operatives can be a big help to all
types of farmers and apple growing is no exception.
They provide a chance for producers with a common interest to unite
in trying to achieve new economic benefits and share the risks, thus
improving their competitive position. The
Georgian Bay Growers’ Co-operative was established in 1993 by 22 apple
growers. It helps the growers to respond to market requirements in the
apple industry and provides them with bargaining power.
By pooling their products, smaller growers gain access to more
markets. Many retail outlets prefer to purchase from one organization than
with many individual small farms. The Co-op operative has an apple storage
and packing plant that is regulated by 22 of the shareholders and they
hire 40 full time and 5 part time employees Binkley Apples Limited, on R.R. 1,
Thornbury, packs, markets and exports Ontario-fresh apples, many of them
grown in this area. It was
established in 1961 and packs apples that meet and exceeds Agriculture
Canada Fancy and Ontario Orchard Crisp standards.
The product goes through strict inspection procedures on a computer
controlled packing line and is then transported in temperature-controlled
trailers. One last company worth mentioning started
to compliment the apple growing industry.
Bay Bins is privately owned, but during the last 10 years it has
managed to capture 95% of the market for produce bins in Ontario and
Quebec. They hired 16
employees and produced up to 350 bins a day, some of them being shipped as
far away as Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Sources
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