How this Abbotsford family farm is turning goji berries into a legacy

In the heart of Abbotsford’s Fraser Valley, among apple trees and cider taps, a small, bright-red berry is quietly making its mark. Goji berries, mostly known as a superfood staple, are often found dried or frozen on store shelves. They have found a home at Taves Family Farm, where owner Loren Caves is growing them and selling them fresh, frozen, and dried. However, the farm is about more than berries: every plant, every cider, and every quirky label tells the story of family legacy and community. When visitors pick fruit, they step into a living narrative that goes back almost a hundred years ago and has been evolving since.

The Taves family has deep roots in the region. Loren recalls “My grandfather who we called Opa, fled Communist Ukraine in the late 1920s and settled in the Fraser Valley in 1934. By 1940, he had purchased land nearby, connecting the family to the area.” Loren’s father later bought the current farm property in 1969, and Loren remembers, “My dad bought dynamite and blew all the stumps out and cleared the land. Everything you see here is built by my dad and me.” Definitely not a DIY project for the faint of heart.

Five years ago, goji berries arrived at the farm almost by chance. Loren was already operating a greenhouse growing peppers and eggplants when a friend, Peter Breederland, retired. Loren explains, “He had all these goji plants and he and I were friends. He says, Loren, I just don’t see this goji business dying off. I think you’re the right guy to take it over. And I agreed with him.”

Tiny berries, massive costs

Gojis currently occupy around 2,500 to 3,000 square feet of the farm. They break dormancy in March, begin branching in spring and then continue to produce fruit on that years’ new growth until about the middle of September. “We start picking them normally end of July. So it’d be right around now,” Loren says.

Each goji plant might produce around five pounds in a season, but actually getting them off the bush is another story. “Can you imagine labour at $22 an hour, picking rice? That’s kind of their shape and size,” Loren laughs. On average, a worker can only manage about five pounds an hour. To put that in perspective, someone picking blueberries could grab nearly double or even triple that in the same time. That difference means the labour cost for gojis works out to about $4.50 a pound, several times higher than more familiar berries. It’s one of the reasons gojis end up being some of the most expensive berries you can grow in B.C.

Growing pains

Goji berries represent a different set of challenges, even for an experienced farmer. Loren says, “It’s not hard to grow them. It’s hard to pick them. And the market is really small. It’s a very inelastic market. If I drop the price in half I still have the same number of people.” Even with a small market, Loren focuses on a specific client base rather than worrying about volume or trends.

The farm grows goji without spraying, though they are not certified organic. Disease adds another layer of complexity; an anthracnose outbreak threatened part of this year’s crop, but a horticulture-trained worker pruned and contained the infected plants. Loren notes, “New eyes on things. It’s always a good thing to have.”

Distinct taste, dedicated market

Botanically, gojis belong to the tomato family, so they offer a distinctive flavor. Loren describes them as having “a little of that savory tomato flavor, very sweet cherry tomato as well… and a little bit of a twang.” It is a unique experience for the palate. 

The farm incorporates gojis and other specialty crops into a series of ciders, each represented by a farm animal on the label. Genji the duck is on the label for the Goji Berries cider, while Ganders Goose represents gooseberries. Loren says, “We play with the words and have a lot of fun with them. But they do represent, in a sense, the authenticity and roots of what the farm is all about. All of our drinks… there’s some backstory that’s part of the farm, and we try to create a nice farm experience out of those stories—something people can have fun with and drink.”

Loren has long focused on less common berries rather than mainstream crops. He explains, “I have grown my berry career since 1986. It has always been my specialty. It has never been blueberries and raspberries and all the main ones that people grow. I have always stayed out of those markets, and I have always stayed in the small, very inelastic markets.” This long-standing commitment shapes how he approaches goji cultivation today, balancing the challenges of a small, dedicated market with the rewards of growing something truly unique.

Where every berry has a story

The farm isn’t just about berries for Loren; it is about land sustainability and connecting with the community. He says, “We’re a multi-generational farm. We want this land to keep producing. Every year we are full here, with people coming out and picking our crops… through school tours, education… and giving to the community.”

From Opa’s first land purchase nearly a century ago to every unique cider label and umbrella-shaped goji berry, Taves Family Farm shows that agriculture can be rooted in tradition and transformed into something remarkable. At Taves Family Farm, even the smallest berries tell the biggest stories.