Skimikim Nursery works in the area of plant propagation and cultivation. Skimikim Nursery grows spruce, and fir, and pine, and larch, "quite a bit of it, a lot (of larch) for the Kootenay area, where there is a high demand, and it makes pretty good trees for lumber," said Kusisto, because it sustains healthy survival rates and grows quickly.
The nursery spends a year to germinate, plant, and grow a sturdy little seedling and then packages the tiny conifers for 'on-time' delivery commitments. Skimikim may produce cedar seedlings as well; certain areas in the central part of BC grow cedar; everything depends on what area is due for plantation.
The cedar tree, furthermore, holds a more consistent value with marketplaces here and around the world. Current market pressures have reduced demand for trees sold primarily into the US marketplace, which has taken a downturn in housing starts and is expected to stay down for several more months.
Indeed, in the forest regeneration business the operations are indoors at this time of year for most of the 50 staff on 100 acres where they are growing trees a few kilometres west of Salmon Arm. The month of January is well past the time when, "all the outdoor stuff is done." These days the action occurs inside in growing new batches using indoor buildings and facilities and some greenhouse activity which also goes on year-round.
Through December extra staff was still employed, "processing plants to be graded boxed, then it is on to seed in January again. It is a short turn around, no big gaps in work-load. By the time we finish this activity and clean up we are on the sowing line of the next set up."
Employment at Skimikim Nursery is found as follows, "We have a reasonable amount of full-time employees 12 months of the year, and another large amount 9 1/2 mos., and 6 mos. employment for a certain amount of part-time."
At the turnover from harvest, "is the time of year for quite a number of part-time employees. They come mostly from around the surrounding area in a 30 km radius of Salmon Arm, from Enderby, Armstrong, Chase; it is about 50 employees who show up.
"It's our busiest period," in the amount of people employed, "that is what we like to have on-site most of the time. We have them come and then quit, but some people like it because it is winter employment with only a few jobs where people have to go work outside. They can work without a jacket."
Skimikim Nursery, "lies about 12 km west of Salmon Arm, up a valley in primarily agriculture land, a mountain to the south, a valley runs to the east, Shuswap Lake is west, and it is a really pretty spot."
It is, "decent, our winters are not too harsh, but at around 1,200 ft. we always get snow. We got some (in early Dec.) but we have this pineapple express from the west that warmed things up overnight." Other years Jim has seen a snow pack as deep as 10 feet.
Skimikim is still doing stuff for Stuwix Resource Joint Venture and while they haven't done a whole lot new this year because the industry is in a downturn of closing and dormant mills, the replanting sector will continue to play catch up either with forestry industry projects or forest fire replantations.
"Planting is superior to natural regeneration for producing a forest," said Kusisto, regarding the cultivated regeneration, stating that it produces faster and healthier forests, although some species are faster to reproduce than other regenerators in the natural environment, than others, including cedar.
