Few 2014 pears remain
British Columbia pears are almost at the end of the season, with only a few remaining shipments of the 2014 crop left. “We have a few bins left to pack,” explains Rodger Chisholm, operations manager for Day’s Century Growers. “We grow and pack only our own pears. We built our own packing facility in 2012 with a common store cooler and two CA rooms, but we’ve outgrown it.”
Independent and brokered
Day’s Century Growers supply their pears to both small independent stores, as well as more prominent supermarket chains. “We sell our pears through a broker, who then supplies them to stores like Safeway, Costco, and Thrifties,” adds Chisholm.
Bartlett a consumer favorite
Many consumers prefer Bartlett pears for their juiciness and quick ripening. They are also the first pick of the season, allowing Washington State to grow a surplus of Bartlett pears to keep fresh in CA storage until other growers run out. The demand then rises, and Washington growers can sell at a premium price.
D'Anjou pear packs big flavor
While pear varieties like Bosc and Bartlett are well known in the produce section, the lesser recognized D’Anjou pear packs a great flavor. “It’s a hard pear when it’s picked and stored in the cooler, but when ripened properly it eats like a peach,” states Chisholm, “if more consumers were informed about the D’Anjou pear and ripening practices, it would easily become a bestseller.”
Updated facilities
This year, Day’s Century Growers will be erecting a new storage building to be finished in August with the intention of increasing their production and storage capabilities. “In the future, we may want to grow different varieties of pears,” states Chisholm, “we were outgrowing our existing storage facility while we were building it. Our new facility will have four CA rooms with computer operated controls and use nitrogen generated on site, plus a CO2 scrubber to deal with the respiration of the fruit whilst it is dormant.”
For more information please contact:
Rodger Chisholm
Operations Manager
Day’s Century Growers
Tel: 250-860-7935
Fax: 778-484-0061
www.dayscenturygrowers.ca