Meet the Folks Who Grow Your Fruit: McCoubrey Farms

“If I do this, what else will happen?”

That’s big picture thinking. And it’s the motto Bob McCoubrey lives by. Fabulous, we say.

So, what about this Bob guy?

“Farmer Bob” is the Lake Country guy reputed to grow the best organic pears in the world—that’s what his loyal customers claim, anyway.

When we asked Bob how he does it, he humbly gave credit to good soil on the orchard he worked from the 1970s until 2011. Next, he sang the praises of his distributors, particularly Kelowna’s Urban Harvest Organic Delivery. He’s also quick to mention the supportive role his wife, Sharon, has played as partner. Bob gives new meaning to the humble, salt-of-the-earth type. 

He also raves about the wisdom of his mentor, long-time Okanagan tree fruit consultant Linda Edwards. Linda taught him a lot - she suggested he consider organic farming when his pests became resistant to all but one conventional farming chemical. He was ready to sell and move on. But with nothing to lose, Bob gave Linda’s advice a go. She guided him into eliminating pests without those chemicals and helped him through the organic conversion process in 1989.

Success came early and stayed late. Along the way, Bob learned to appreciate the key role sage mentors play in agricultural communities; communities are interrelated units, after all.

Bob might not seem to take much credit, but it sounds to us like he’s worked darn hard over the years—and gained a lot of wisdom himself. In fact, organic farming changed how he views life.  It opened his eyes to the symbiotic relationships between trees, birds, soil, insects, and people. Soon he saw those connections everywhere—life is holistic, he realized.

When I do my job as a farmer, I try to minimize my effects on the natural system because I understand how integrated it is. Once I went organic, my approach to farming changed. My approach to everything changed. I was much more aware of the interconnectedness.

Now this organics granddaddy is a mentor himself. He’s served on industry committees and boards to give back to the community. He’s hosted annual “Meet the Farmer” harvest celebrations to connect with customers. He’s exchanged tips and tricks with other organic farmers to support a shared vision. And most of all, he’s supporting the next generation of farmers, even in retirement.

In an unusual arrangement, Bob and Sharon recently sold McCoubrey Farms to a young couple interested in farming. Bob’s commitment to his community inspired him to creatively combat the Okanagan’s notoriously high land prices: he arranged a land sale with reasonable terms to a new generation of farmers. The reward? Satisfaction from remaining immersed in his native soil. There’s also the bliss of seeing his trees live on, producing their beautiful fruit, nurtured by his protégés. It’s better than big dollars.

Sounds like a wise mentor.

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Stay tuned for the story of Bob’s successors, Matt and Molly Thurston of Claremont Ranch Organics.

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Michelle Superle wordsmiths with a mission—to make the world a better place and have fun doing it. She’s an English instructor at the University of Fraser Valley, where she teaches literature and writing courses encouraging students to see the world more clearly and use their mighty powers of awesomeness for good. Outside the classroom if she’s not writing, she’s riding horses, running trails, cross-country skiing, or bending yogically. Share a word or two with Michelle.