Dale Thacker, a distillation expert, has been cultivating exotic crops such as peppermint, spearmint, and dill in Alberta for over 40 years. The mint industry in the area began in the late 1980s, followed by dill cultivation for essential oils used in the pickle industry. Thacker has also experimented with other crops like basils and tarragon but has focused primarily on mint and dill. The harvesting process involves drying the crops, chopping them, and using distillation techniques to extract oils, which are sold to companies like Colgate.