Family-owned orchard has deep roots in New Brunswick community
The Verger Belliveau Orchard in Memramcook, N.B. has deep roots within the Bourgeois family.
Robert Bourgeois spent his entire childhood on the farm after his parents purchased the orchard in 1967, but the history goes back even further than that. His father’s uncle originally started the orchard in 1932.
“They hired my father in 1956 to manage the orchard, which he knew nothing about. He was a former dairy farmer, but he learned,” said Bourgeois.
Bourgeois took over the family business in 2008 and helped build it to what it is today. He says running an orchard is a lot more work than most think. Farmers often have to plan their planting years in advance.
“In an orchard, it takes two to three years to order trees, get the land ready, and then another four years before you get a crop. So, you’re seven years down the road, in an orchard that people may not like the variety you planted.”
Thousands of trees, spanning across more than 90-acres of land, produce 25 different varieties of apples at the orchard, with even more in the works.
“Usually over 1,200 trees per acre on trellises, so that’s what we’re planting more every year…averaging about 5-6 thousand trees per year that we’re trying to add,” says Belliveau project manager, Guy Gautreau.
Gautreau has worked at the orchard for nearly a decade.
“I was lucky to arrive here the year that they started planting trees with machinery. Had I started the previous year, I would have probably been tasked with planting a whole bunch of trees with shovels.”
The fall harvest season is the busiest time for workers at the orchard.
“We store apples and we pack apples, and we ship apples. So September to October, I call it organized chaos,” laughed Bourgeois.
That chaos has ultimately paid off. Bourgeois says the orchard served a sparkling juice at a French convention in Memramcook 22 years ago that ended up being a big hit.
“The following Monday we started getting orders and it was out of control, we couldn’t even keep up. It took us about a year to make enough product to keep up with the demand,” says Bourgeois.
Since that success, their product list has only grown. Now the wholesaler offers a selection of wine, craft ciders, juice and even honey, all made from their own apples.
Bourgeois says he has plans to retire in the coming months, after his 65th birthday, but he hopes to pass the family business down to one of his three children.
“I’m going to retire if everything goes well, but anything can happen. I don’t mind staying either, but yes I would like to get the new blood in.”
Proving the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.