During a boating trip through France in January, John and Geri Della Bosca came across a company called Lunor.

Lunor specializes in pre-cooked vegetables – “retort packaging” which means the vegetables are vacuum sterilized, destroying all bacteria.

With a shelf-life of one calendar year, this method enables consumers to store these vegetables at room temperature, eliminating the tin can and the excess water that comes with it.

John says the plant itself can be scaled to accommodate the size of agriculture in Prince Edward County.

“I think farmer-owned means the farmer is in on the processing, process makes the money. So why shouldn’t the farmer be involved in that?” added John.

John says it’s important that the farmer see the process through to the consumer.

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Brian Beiles moved to The County for the “retirement stage” of his life and hasn’t slowed down since.

After the firm he was working for in Toronto shut down, Brian decided to move his mobile consulting business in The County.

Thanks to the Internet and the short-drive to Toronto, Brian and his wife are mixing quality of life with business.

Brian says since moving to The County, he and his wife have found that they’ve been involved in various initiatives in The County on a volunteer basis.

He has been on the committee for the successful county Jazz Festival for the past three years, has done pro-bono consulting work for Taste the County and some organizational and development work for Public Works.

He currently sits on the Prince Edward County Arts Council as vice-chair.

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John and Geri Della Bosca had two choices when they retired: buy a condominium and walk down to the Yacht club every day, or live in the city. Five years later, they find themselves running Stone House Farm, a successful organic farm located on County Road 15 in Picton.

Stone House Farm offers a range of produce, including 14 different lettuces, which they call their “healthy mix,” watercress, seven different varieties of potatoes, and their county-renown eggs and tomatoes.

John is also secretary for the Prince Edward County chapter of Canadian Organic Growers, one of 15 chapters throughout Canada.

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Katie Misener and Rick Willing’s business runs by one motto: “TV Sucks – Ride your bike.”

In 1989, both Katie and Rick, who are married and affectionately refer to each other as emperor and empress-for-life, opened up the Bloomfield Bicycle Company in Bloomfield.

Katie says being, “smack-dab in the middle of the island,” is one of many reasons they were able to have a bike shop in Bloomfield.

Bloomfield Bicycle Company isn’t your standard bike shop, they offer a wide variety of services, including; club rides, repairs, bike rentals and guided tours around the rolling hills in Prince Edward County.

Official website: Bloomfield Bicycle Company

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