Technology is transforming sectors across British Columbia, empowering industries to stay competitive, productive and future-ready. In this success story series, we’re exploring how B.C. farms are leveraging innovative technologies to solve challenges, drive growth and unlock new opportunities.
B.C. farmers looking to grow their businesses amidst rising costs have been receiving support through the BC On-Farm Technology Adoption Program (BCOFTAP) which is helping them access new technologies – such as robotic and automated equipment, farm management software, and digital sensors – that boost production, efficiency, and profitability.
During its first intake in 2023, BCOFTAP awarded a total of $2 million across 54 projects to support farmers and producers in investing in new equipment, with a second intake recently completed in 2024 for another $2 million. The program is delivered by Innovate BC and funded by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five year (April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2028) $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial, and territorial governments aimed at strengthening the competitiveness, innovation, and resilience of Canada’s agriculture sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment that the partnership commitment is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for agricultural programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.
“Our farmers work so hard to produce top-quality products for Canadians and the world,” said the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “I’m pleased that our shared investments with British Columbia have helped more farmers adopt new technology that will help them to continue to be competitive and grow their operations.”
“B.C. producers are using agritech to help improve efficiency, address labour shortages and continue to provide the high-quality and great tasting local products people here enjoy,” said Lana Popham, B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture and Food. “By assisting growers throughout the province in accessing farm technology, we are supporting family businesses and local communities. For example, at Unsworth Vineyards, the addition of new software allows the team to access all the information they need, whether they are harvesting grapes, attending a business meeting, or engaging with visitors in the restaurant or tasting room.”
In 2023, Unsworth Vineyards, a family-owned vineyard, winery, restaurant and retail operation located in Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley, received $780 through the program's first intake, to support them in purchasing new vineyard management software. The software, with a full purchase price of $1200, was adopted with the goal of boosting efficiency across the vineyard’s operations.
With wine production operations spanning across 4 separate sites, Unsworth Vineyards – one of the largest wine producers on Vancouver Island – has been navigating the rising costs of viticulture, which have impacted their ability to source labour as they continue to scale their team to meet production demands.
To help tackle these challenges, Unsworth Vineyards utilized the program funding to adopt eVineyard, a software that allows the farm to monitor key aspects of vineyard performance, including irrigation, crop health, and labour management, all from a centralized platform. Through integrating this technology into their operations, Unsworth Vineyards aimed to break down data silos, and create a safer and more empowered work environment, leading to an upskilled workforce and increased employee retention, while also being able to offer staff better wages.
We sat down with Felix Eger, Unsworth Vineyard’s Viticulturist, to learn more about their farm and the challenges they’ve faced, and how adopting new technology with the support of the program has impacted their operations.
Tell us about your farm. What do you do?
Felix: Unsworth Vineyards farms across 55 acres spread over four different sites, including a major 40-acre planting we completed this year and three smaller sites. The team overseeing the vineyard is quite small, with about 10 employees in total, including myself and a viticulture technician managing the vineyards full-time. On the winery side, we have four people handling production, transforming our grapes into wine
What is the challenge or opportunity you faced that technology could support?
Felix: Being in viticulture – a high-precision, high-input, and expensive way of farming – in a relatively small industry like B.C.'s comes with its own challenges. On Vancouver Island, everything we need has to be imported, whether from overseas or the U.S., usually through distributors. The cost of these logistics – especially putting things on a boat – means an extra 25% on the bill.
These additional costs also make finding solid, skilled workers tough, but we strongly believe in paying wages that not only support living but allow our team to thrive. While this adds to our costs, we take pride in looking after our staff, knowing that when we invest in them, they invest in us and the business.
How has the program funding helped your farm?
Felix: The funding allowed us to license the eVineyard software for both the viticulture and winery sides of our operation. This past season was the first year we used it, and it’s been excellent. It brought us into the 21st century in terms of record-keeping, communications, and traceability. Previously, we managed all of this across countless spreadsheets, notebooks, and loose papers. Now, everything is streamlined and centralized, helping us be more efficient and organized.
How has the technology you adopted impacted your operations?
Felix: For us on the viticulture side, the software has become a one-stop shop for planning, timekeeping, reporting, traceability, cost accounting, and inventory management. It’s also made things much easier for our employees – they can use a tablet or phone in the field to take pictures and upload them directly into the system, so I can access everything from my desk in real-time. This has streamlined our processes, sped up record-keeping by eliminating repetitive transposing, and allowed us to go into much greater detail with our data.
One of the main reasons we chose this technology was its ability to integrate vineyard and winery operations. Even though the software systems are different, the vineyard software has a plug-in that communicates directly with the winery software. For example, we can create a picking work order in the vineyard software, push a button, and instantly send it to the winery. This has been a game-changer, especially during the hectic four-week harvest period when everyone is working hard and communication is critical. The shared platform helps us stay organized, connected, and efficient during peak seasons.
What has been the biggest benefit of this technology to your farm?
Felix: The biggest benefit has been a significant increase in efficiency across the board. On the farming side, it’s improved labor efficiency and cost efficiency. Being able to access everything in one place, rather than sifting through countless records, has saved us time and reduced errors. The mobility of the software is another major advantage – I can access the software directly from the field, which means we don’t have to return to the home base to search for records. Overall, it’s made data entry much more timely, especially for timekeeping and tracking inputs, which are very important for traceability.
What does adopting this technology mean for your customers/consumers?
Felix: The biggest advantage from a customer perspective is the ability to provide complete traceability. If we ever receive questions or concerns about a specific bottle of wine, we can pull a full report within minutes, covering both the winery and vineyard sides. This allows us to trace exactly where the grapes came from, what products were used in the vineyard, what fertilizers were applied, and even who handled the grapes at each stage of the process. Essentially, we can provide a complete history of that bottle, starting from the season it was grown – or even the season before.
In today’s world, where traceability is becoming increasingly important, especially with sustainability initiatives and evolving regulations, we’re getting ahead of the curve. By adopting this technology now, we’re preparing for future legislation that will require us to meet stricter traceability standards. It’s also good for us, as we can easily revisit records from past seasons to analyze what we did in similar circumstances, whether related to climate or farming practices. Overall, having this level of traceability means that we’re fully prepared for whatever comes next.
How does new technology or innovation support the farming sector here in B.C.?
Felix: In an environment that’s becoming progressively challenging for farmers due to climate change and rising costs, technology is a powerful tool to help navigate these hurdles. Ultimately, it allows farmers to thrive in what they do, which is my hope for everyone in the industry. Farming should be something people do because they love it, and I really hope no one is forced to leave the industry because they can’t keep up. Technology has the potential to make that much easier.
To learn more about Unsworth Vineyard and their operations, visit www.unsworthvineyards.com
To learn more about the BC On-Farm Technology Adoption Program, visit www.innovatebc.ca/programs/bc-on-farm