The Grower Newspaper July 2012

KAREN DAVIDSON

DELHI, ON -- How long does ittake to measure longevity? In thecase of asparagus, a career life-time.

Just ask Dave Wolyn, aUniversity of Guelph breeder,who along with technician PaulBanks, have spent 23 years bring-ing the aptly named Millenniumasparagus cultivar to its currentapex.

“We still don’t know the actual peak of Millennium after13 years in commercial produc-tion,” says Wolyn. Where othercultivars have tailed off at sevenor eight years, Millennium is stillproducing, tripling yields of theold open-pollinated varieties to6,000 pounds per acre.Historically, asparagus stands areexpected to have a lifetime spanof 15 to 20 years.

“Longevity – you can’t shortcircuit that trait in asparagus,”says Wolyn. “How to find goodparents, good crosses and goodseed production, true to variety, is difficult.”

Millennium’s main sellingpoints are longevity, but alsoyield and tolerance to replantwhich translates into tolerance toroot diseases. The breeding teamis looking to improve foliar disease resistance and spear quality when temperatures getabove 30o Celsius. “That’s whatthe new cultivars need to have,”says Wolyn.

This genetic package hasimpressed not only Ontario growers but those in Michiganand other cool climate zonesaround the world. And so, thesales of seed have grown exponentially to $1.6 million in2011.

That seed scoreboard has presented a dilemma for theOntario Asparagus Growers’Marketing Board, a non-profitorganization. The Ontario FarmProduct Marketing Commissionhas warned the non-profit statuscould be jeopardized with such alucrative income and recommend-ed an arms-length businessarrangement.

It’s taken months of meetingsto structure for the long-term, butthe asparagus growers have justannounced a new legal entity, FoxSeeds. Named after the well-drained soils of the Norfolk sandplains, this new company has itsown board of directors. JeffWilson is chair and Jason Ryderis vice-chair. Just as importantly,

Fox Seeds has a separate bankaccount from the association.

Here’s how it works. TheUniversity of Guelph owns theintellectual property forMillennium and subsequentbreeding work for what could becalled Millennium 2. The aspara-gus marketing board has access toMillennium seed as a licensee ofthe University of Guelph. FoxSeeds is the sub-licensee. Thisarrangement segregates seed salerevenues which can then covercosts such as royalties to the university, technician time, andequipment and land leases. Italso allows a generous portion offunds to be plowed back intoresearch to benefit the Ontarioasparagus industry.

As Jason Ryder, vice-chairexplains, “What this means is notnecessarily more acres of aspara-gus, but more yield and saleableproduct per acre. It also meansthat our growers have access tolocal seed.”

“This is not a golden goose,”

warns Ed DeHooghe, Delhi,Ontario asparagus grower.“There’s a lot of risk.”

What DeHooghe outlines is adisturbing pattern of closures.Memories are still sharp about theprovincial government’s abandonment of a breeding site atCambridge, Ontario 10 years agowhich set back the breeding program by years. Asparaguscrowns can’t be transplanted to adifferent site without compromis-ing the scientific data, includingthe elusive trait of longevity.This year’s federal closure of theDelhi Research Station hasrenewed fears of similar pullbacks and what consequencesmight be in store if anything wereto happen to the provincialSimcoe Research Station or itsstaff.

These negative experienceshave informed a more commercial approach for FoxSeeds.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

JULY 2012 CELEBRATING 132 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION VOLUME 62 NUMBER 07

The ultimate worker, the honeybee is an essential service that never goes on strike. In this case, honeybees are critical to asparagus pollination, carrying pollen from male to receptive female plants. It’s just one step of the laborious breeding process directed by University ofGuelph’s Dave Wolyn and technician Paul Banks. Together, their years of work have resulted in germplasm that’s worth a bundle to theOntario Asparagus Growers’ Marketing Board. Photos by Denis Cahill.

Asparagus seedco stands for a new business model Fox Seeds is in the hunt for $10 million in sales

INSIDEQuebec lettuce competes in U.S. Page 4

Alberta opens new research greenhouse Page 6

Speakers’ corner at TechX-Change hort show 6

www.thegrower.orgP.M. 40012319

Longevity – youcan’t short circuitthat trait in asparagus. How tofind good parents,good crosses andgood seed production,true to variety, is difficult.”

~ Dr. Dave Wolyn,University of Guelph

“

THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERSSobeys has appointed MarcPoulin as successor to BillMcEwan as its president andchief executive officer, effective June 29. A Sobeysemployee since 1997, he’s ledthe Quebec operations since2001, most recently as president of its IGA operationsthere. Claude Tessier willbecome the new IGA president.

Poulin has spent more than 30years in food retailing, packagedgoods and financial services.Years ago, he was with the Oshawa Group as vice president of grocery merchandising when that company was acquired by Sobeysin 1998. Sobeys’ parent is Empire Co. based in Stellarton, NovaScotia. Sobeys owns or franchises more than 1,300 stores acrossCanada under several banners that include Sobeys, IGA, Foodland,FreshCo, and Thrifty Foods. (For more in-depth analysis, see RetailNavigator, page 10.)

Bernard Panneton and Shahrokh Khanizadeh, both research scientists at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada experimentalfarm in Frelighsburg, Quebec are looking for new positions with thefarm’s closure announced at the end of the growing season. Thissite is considered essential to the Quebec Apple Cultivars andRootstocks Evaluation Project which assesses promising cultivarsbefore planting in orchards.

Saskatchewan’s new agriculture minister is Lyle Stewart. TheThunder Creek MLA owns a cattle farm near Pense, west of Regina.

Farm & Food Care’s first chair is John Maaskant, a ChickenFarmers of Ontario representative and past chair of the OntarioFarm Animal Council. Vice-chair is Larry Lynn, representingGrain Farmers of Ontario. Treasurer is Joe Hickson, representingthe Ontario Seed Growers’ Association. Executive member at largeis Heather Copland, representing Grober Inc.

Chris Veillon has returned to Mastronardi Produce, Kingsville,Ontario, as director of marketing. He had been with the companypreviously, for three years, before moving to a Canadian retailer ofchildren’s toys for educators in August 2010.

Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation have announced triple 2012winners of the Friend of the Greenbelt Award: the Wine Council ofOntario, the Grape Growers of Ontario and the Liquor ControlBoard of Ontario (LCBO). According to a recent KPMG report,the LCBO sells more Ontario wine than any other region and VQAwine has the fastest growing sales. VQA wine sales at the LCBOhave more than doubled over the past five years to more than $110million annually and now make up about 40 per cent of totalOntario wine sales.

This year’s World Food Prize goes to Israeli scientist, Daniel Hillel,who has pioneered micro-irrigation to maximize efficient waterusage in dryland and arid areas of agriculture. His water manage-ment concepts, promoted by the U.N. Food and AgricultureOrganization – are now used on more than six million hectaresworldwide. The award was founded by former Nobel peaceprize winner Norman Borlaug.

Condolences to the family of David Hobson, past president of theCanadian Horticultural Council (1996) who passed away inKelowna, B.C. on May 12 after a long battle with leukaemia. Hewas actively involved in the BC Fruit Growers’ Association, the BCFederation of Agriculture and the Central Okanagan HeritageSociety.

AT PRESS TIME…Agritourismexplored

For a dozen years now,Harvest Ontario has published aguide that’s considered the bestsource for agritourism destina-tions in Ontario. This year’scover features the Thatcher family – Dana, Adam, Sophie,William and Thomas – ofRockwood, Ontario. They finishpigs and raise lambs and calvesfrom birth, selling naturally-raised meat products. They aremembers of Ontario Farm Freshas well as verified MyPick producers with Farmers’ MarketsOntario.

Harvest Ontario is an excellentguide to 500-plus farms growingfresh produce, bed-and-break-fasts, and a chart to what’s in season. The various wine-growing areas of Ontario areexplored, with new wineries inthe listings. Farmers Markets

Ontario are also listed withdetailed information.

The guides are available inHome Hardware, Home BuildingCentres and Home Furniture loca-tions while quantities last.

Syngenta re-brandsits vegetable seedlines

During 2012, the Rogers,Synergene Seed & Technologyand Pybas Vegetable SeedCompany brand varieties arebeing transitioned to the Syngentabrand. This brand approachmatches with the recent integra-tion of its crop protection, seedcare, seeds and traits businessesinto one Syngenta.

“Although the Rogers,Synergene and Pybas logos andnames will no longer appear onpackaging and materials,Syngenta remains committed todelivering the same proven quali-ty and performance in its varietiesthat you've come to know andtrust for more than 135 years,”said Scott Langkamp, head ofvegetables for Syngenta in NorthAmerica. “Moreover, the rich history and strong reputation ofthe Rogers brand will be fullyintegrated as a significant component of and enhancementto the Syngenta brand.”

Syngenta foresees a one-yearsellout period for packagingbranded with the legacy companylabels. During this transition period, all brands will be active inthe market.

Seedway launcheseCommerce website

Vegetable seed companySeedway has launched an e-com-merce area on its website foronline purchase of commercial,untreated and organic vegetableseed.

User-friendly improvementsinclude enhanced product listings,sorting options, page views, shopping cart and checkoutprocess. The upgrades make theonline shopping experience simpler and faster.

For more information, visitwww.seedway.com.

Megaquarryfundraiser: July 28

A StoMp the Megaquarrywalk/bike/run fundraiser isplanned for July 28, overlookingthe proposed 2,316-acre lime-stone megaquarry north ofOrangeville, Ontario. It’s opento all ages and abilities, and isexpected to draw 2,500 partici-pants.

A course map of the 5 km, 10km, half marathon and marathonevents take full advantage of thearea’s rolling landscape andscenic vistas. This area is primepotato land and home to manyvegetable farmers.

All profits will go towards theNorth Dufferin Agricultural andCommunity Taskforce (NDACT)to help pay for scientific studies,legal fees and other expensesassociated with stopping the pro-posed quarry. To register, visitwww.ndact.com.

PAGE 2 –– JULY 2012

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NOTICEA photo of ginseng under shade netting was placed on page 10of the June 2012 issue. The Grower would like to give acknowledgment and credit to Dubois Agrinovation for use oftheir photo.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

An independently owned, five-acre site is currently being planted with crowns grown out byNew Liskeard’s Superior PlantUpgrading and Distribution(SPUD) laboratory. This site,dedicated to producing seed, isoverseen by a production commit-tee consisting of Ed DeHooghe,Paul Banks and Bill Saunders.

In addition, a science, technol-ogy and innovation committeehas been struck for long-rangeplanning. This committee consistsof Ken Wall, Charles Welsh,Gord Surgeoner and Dave Wolyn.Yet to be determined are members of a marketing committee.

“New upcoming hybrids thatare soon to be released givegrowers a good commercial sniffof what’s to come,” says JeffWilson, chair, Fox Seeds, whorecites a long breeding history inOntario. “The biggest challenge is

to determine the world market forMillennium seed,” says Wilson.“We really don’t know what thatis.”

In the U.S., the states ofMichigan and Washington aregrowing more asparagus,responding to a resurgence inconsumer demand. Asparagus isbecoming more of a mainstreamvegetable with year-round avail-ability from competitors such asPeru. Ontario’s breeding programis one of the few in a cool-climatezone and, as such, is of interest tosimilar latitudes in the UnitedKingdom, Germany and China.

If Fox Seeds is successful, asits growers aim to be, then $10million in revenue is not unthink-able with two new cultivars. Theultimate score would be to sell toChina, today’s global leader inasparagus.

While marketing will be challenging, Dave Wolyn insistsbreeding is still the nut to crack.And that’s why he’s excited aboutthe stability that Fox Seeds

provides. “The reference genome for

asparagus is expected to be published by an internationalresearch group within a year,”says Wolyn. “With molecularmarkers today, it’s cheaper andeasier to identify the traits wewant. We simply couldn’t affordto do this five years ago.”

This year’s asparagus crop ishistory with Ontario cornering thefresh market from May 1 to endof June. With a strengthening ofconsumer demand, the hope isthat processors may come backtoo. This future scenario ishedged, if you will, by incomefrom genetics that’s funneledback to research.

How long will it take to knowif this business model works? Askin 10 years.

JULY 2012 –– PAGE 3

THE GROWER

Asparagus seedco stands for a new business model

INTERNATIONAL

LABOUR

Who’s to pickWashington apples?

While a bumper apple crop ispredicted in Washington state’sYakima Valley, growers worrythere won’t be enough hands toharvest the crop. Last year,about three per cent of the cropand revenue of up to $60 millionwere lost due to lack of labour.

Strict immigration laws andeven stricter border enforcementkeep out potential workers. TheU.S. labour department estimatesthat 50 to 70 per cent of the sea-sonal agricultural work force isillegal.

"We need some kind of move-ment of something somewhere,"says grower John Verbrugge."Not just a little bit of this, a lit-tle bit of that. Maybe when thereis a shortage of food, maybesomeone will address the prob-lem."

Source: FreshPlaza.com

DISEASE

Michigan reportslong-term cherrydamage

Michigan growers are report-ing widespread bacterial canker,weakening cherry trees for thelong-term. This past spring’sfreezing weather during a prema-ture blooming season causedsmall injuries that allow access tobacteria. The trees were stuckfor weeks in their bloom stage,which meant that canker had lotsof time to kill the parts of thetree that produce the buds fornext year.

Jim Nugent, a cherry growerand researcher, says many lowerbranches of his trees havebrowned leaves, dead buds andare covered in sticky goo. Theseverely weakened trees coulddie over the next few years.


PROMOTION

Movie marketinggoes bananas

DreamWorks Animation SKGInc. is promoting the release ofits movie, Madagascar 3:Europe’s Most Wanted, withstickers and quick response (QR)codes on bananas. There’s a log-ical link with the movie’s storyline of a banana-powered air-plane flown by monkeys.

Dole Fresh Fruit Co. says that100 million bananas in the U.S.and Canada will sport the stickerand QR code to reach themovie’s target market: mothers.Consumers are directed to a co-branded mobile page atwww.dole.com/madagascar. Inthe past,movie tie-ins havebeen withsoft drinksand candy.However,childrennagging

RESEARCH

New digs for vegetable breedingresearch

Bayer CropScience hasexpanded its centre for vegetableresearch and development inLeudal, the Netherlands. It isequipped with state-of-the-artlaboratories for seed technology,cell biology and molecularbreeding research as well ashigh-throughput biotech services.

Bayer vegetable seeds aresold worldwide under theNunhems brand. Many success-ful products have alreadyemerged including: tomatoes thathold onto their juice after cut-ting, melons that change theircolour when they have reachedoptimal flavour and ripeness, ormild-flavoured onions with alonger shelf-life.


Murray Porteous (L), asparagus grower and Dave Wolyn, University of Guelph, inspect new upcominghybrids.

parents to buy junk food is notgoing over so well in an era ofmessages about childhood obesi-ty. Permission-based marketingworks better when parents canbuy into the promotion and theproduct.

The prototype for this market-ing was set in 2007 when theDreamWorks studio launchedShrek the Third with a promo-tion on packaged apple slices atMcDonald’s fast-food chains.That successful venture has ledadvertisers to explore more waysto enhance traditional snack part-nerships with healthier brands.While fruit partnerships aregrowing, one question remains.No one has partnered with veg-etables.

Source: Globe and Mail

This is not a golden goose. There’s a lotof risk.” ~ Ed DeHooghe“

What this means is not necessarily moreacres of asparagus, but more yield andsaleable product per acre. It also means thatour growers have access to local seed.” ~ Jason Ryder

“Photo by Dave Wolyn

KAREN DAVIDSON

Jean-Bernard Van Winden isused to crossing the lines. As alettuce and onion grower on thesouthern shore of Montreal, heexcels at exporting 80 per cent ofhis produce to the United States.Based on the muck soils of theSt-Rémi area, the operation funnels its produce through theborder crossing at LaColle. Intotal, the farm is just four hoursfrom Boston and six hours fromNew York.

It’s a compelling story of competitiveness in a businessthat’s never been easy since VanWinden and a friend bought thefarm for $250,000 in 1979. Notdaunted by high interest rates,they delved into high-value crops.Like so many other Canadianfarmers, their confidence wasborne out of a family history surviving war-torn Europe whereVan Winden’s grandfather hadfarmed the muck soils of Delft,Holland and where his father hadbarely survived as a prisoner ofwar.

That instinct for survival hasserved them well. Today, theygrow 375 acres of iceberg lettuce,

125 acres of romaine lettuce, 110acres of carrots, 115 acres ofonions, 60 acres of Chinese cabbage and 60 acres of leeks.Both Van Winden and his partnereach have two sons on the farm.

“We’ve always been proactivein research and technology,”explains Van Winden. “We werethe first to wrap and pack in thefield, and first to sell lettuce inbulk to value-added/processing

facilities.” Growth in the last 15 years has

been in the value-added segment:ready-to-eat, bagged, lettucemixes, food service. The freshmarket, while stable, is actuallysoftening as consumers wantmore convenience in their leafygreens. Working with a market-ing group, Veg Pro International,the Van Winden farm has con-tracts to supply Fresh Express,Dole, Ready Pack and others.

While the U.S. market is lucra-tive, the demands are stringent.“There is absolutely zero tolerance for insects or defects ofany kind,” says Van Winden.Through Veg Pro International,they have access to the packingfacilities that are compliant withfood safety criteria of theCalifornia Leafy GreensAgreement. CanadaGAP provides the auditing services.

For all the mechanization andtechnology invested in the opera-tion, Van Winden still bumps intobarriers that money can’t remove.

“Crop protection is a hot topicand one which I have passionate-ly advocated for many years,”says Van Winden. “It is criticallyimportant to be in a competitiveposition with the U.S. If we are tocompete with California, then wemust have access to the sameproducts and tools. We must havecomplete harmonization andequal and simultaneous access toproducts.”

“More buyers are demandingreduced-risk products and wecannot have access to the prod-ucts later than our competitors inthe U.S. This is particularly anissue for value-added productsand ones where there is zero tolerance for insects and disease.”

Regulatory burdens are frus-trating access to the northeasternU.S., a marketplace of 100 mil-lion people. This doesn’t makeeconomic sense when perishableproduce should find the closest

markets, fuel efficiently. There’sno reason not to be competitive,even with a dollar at par.

In addition to restricted accessto crop protection products, VanWinden is concerned thatAgriculture and Agri-FoodCanada (AAFC) is pulling outsupport to world-class research atthe Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,Quebec station.

“There have been significantcuts which have absolutelyastounded us,” says Van Winden.“We have entered into researchcontracts with AAFC, have con-tributed financially and as anindustry with $60 million for lettuce in Canada. This isabsolutely unacceptable.”

Fears are that research atSaint-Jean will continue for 2012but will be shut down for 2013.Without breeders such as SylvieJenni developing new cultivars

like Hochelaga that can resist dis-ease and pests, the prospects forcompetitiveness are diminished.

To continue grower-focusedresearch in muck crops, VanWinden favours a partnershipwith AAFC. “Private models areexpensive to establish and manage and industry does nothave the resources to replicate theMcCain, Pepsico and Frito Laymodels.”

To address these competitive-ness issues, Van Winden encourages the CanadianHorticultural Council to keepfocused on pesticides, research,innovation, plant health anduntangling regulations. Histrucks cross the U.S./Canada border every day, but it’s thoseinvisible barriers that siphon profits in the long-term. The hopeis that the RegulatoryCooperation Council – the primeminister’s initiative to reduce reg-ulatory burdens with the U.S. --can remove those trip wires.

PAGE 4 –– JULY 2012THE GROWER

Removing ‘trip wires’ critical to trade with U.S.WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

About 80 per cent of the lettuce production south of Montreal is exported to Boston, New York and otherstateside cities. The quality of the leafy greens — disease and insect-free -- is undisputed, but competitive-ness is stymied by cumbersome regulations.

Jean-Bernard Van Winden, St-Rémi, Quebec lobbies for equalaccess to crop protection products available in the U.S. tocompete in the lucrative northeast U.S. market of 100 million consumers.

Chile-based companyHortifrut has signed a deal to supply blueberries to 14,000McDonald’s restaurants in NorthAmerica through its subsidiaryNaturipe Farms. The deal was

made possible through its innova-tive ‘Ready to Eat’ technology,which allows it to supply freshblueberries to food service chains.The company has invested aroundUS$20 million into the ‘Ready to

Eat’ technology which is appliedat a facility in Delano, California.The technology is expected to be

implemented in Chile inNovember this year with a US $5million processing plant, while a

U.S. East Coast plant could be onthe cards in the future.

Hortifrut signs McDonald’s blueberry deal

On June 7, 2012 the Safe Food for Canadians Act wasintroduced in efforts to strengthen the Government’s ability to protect Canadian families from potentially unsafefood. The proposed Safe Food for Canadians Act willimprove food oversight by: • instituting a more consistent inspection regime across allfood commodities; • implementing tougher penalties for activities that put thehealth and safety of Canadians at risk; • providing better control over imports and exports; and • strengthening food traceability.

The Act will consolidate the Fish Inspection Act, theCanada Agricultural Products Act, the Meat InspectionAct, and the food provisions of the Consumer Packagingand Labelling Act. The Act will align inspection andenforcement powers across all food commodities, improving the safety of food as well as reducing overlapand helping the industry to better understand and complywith food safety law. The Act will also provide a newmechanism for regulated parties to seek review of certaindecisions made by CFIA officials.

By further aligning Canada’s food safety system with

those of our key trading partners, the Act will enhanceinternational market opportunities for the Canadian foodindustry. A new authority in the Act would allow certifica-tion of any food commodity for export and increase globalconfidence in Canadian food. The Act will also strengthencontrols over imported food commodities, introduce powers to register or license regulated parties, and prohibitthe importation of unsafe foods. For more information onthe Safe Food for Canadians Act, please visit www.inspection.gc.ca

HEATHER GALE

We realize there are a numberof CanadaGAP ProgramParticipants who, unfortunately,have been impacted by frost damage to Ontario orchards thisspring. If you have experienced atotal crop loss and will not needto be CanadaGAP-certified thisseason, please communicate yoursituation to us. We will conveythis information to your certifica-tion body (GFTC / QMI-SAIGLOBAL).

Contact us Mailing address:Email: [email protected] Program c/o CHCFax: 613-226-4497 9 CorvusCourt Questions: 613-226-4880Ext. 206 Ottawa, ON K2E 7Z4It is important that you inform usin writing. If we don’t hear fromyou, and no audit or self-assess-ment is completed in 2012, with-out other information the CHCand certification body would notbe aware of your situation andwould conclude that you havesimply let your certification lapse.Regarding your program enroll-ment fees, CHC's policy is as fol-lows:

If you have already paid yourprogram enrollment fee for 2012:• You can have your paid enroll-ment fee carried over and appliedto next year. You must requestthis in writing to CHC.• You remain "enrolled" in theprogram but are simply inactivethis season.

• Alternatively, you may with-draw from the program andrequest a refund of your paidenrollment fee for 2012, less a$100 administrative charge. Youwould need to re-enroll next year.If you haven’t yet paid your program enrollment fee for 2012:• Please let us know your situa-tion, to avoid receiving an invoicefrom CHC. You may alreadyhave received an invoice, and wewill continue to send statementsunless we hear otherwise fromyou.

For those enrolled in optionA1 or A2:• You must inform us of your sta-tus if you lost your crop and don’tneed your certification this year.• You are not expected to submita self-assessment checklist for theyear of the crop failure. There isno crop and nothing to assess interms of safe food handling practices.• If you are in Year 2, 3 or 4 ofthe four-year audit cycle: if thereason for the crop loss is frostdamage, this does not present anynew food safety risks for nextyear. Therefore in 2013 youwould continue on where youwould normally be in the cycle.For example, if 2011 was Year 1in the program, 2012 was to beYear 2 -- then 2013 will be Year3 and 2014 Year 4. You wouldnot have to start over in Year 1next season.

Heather Gale is CanadaGAPnational program manager.

THE GROWER


The Canada-OntarioEnvironmental Farm Plan (EFP)

“Today’s farmers are proud to work towards a healthyfuture for all. The EFP has received tremendous uptakefrom the farming community because it supports,through financial incentives, what farmers have beendoing all along – providing a diversity of crops,reviewing best management practices as knowledgechanges, and understanding the essential nature ofagriculture within society.”

Doug Van Luyk,Vegetable Producer and Director of the

Holland Marsh Growers’ Association

Sign Up Today!Register online at

www.ontariosoilcrop.org/workshopsContact:

/gnSkch Rhcd SgU khi .eikhoaeagn !llhTcSnchg1-800-265-9751

The EFP educational workshop is free and is a pre-requisite for manycost-share programs in Ontario• Complete an assessment to identify environmental strengths and risks• Design an Action Plan based on your priorities and timeline• Have the Action Plan peer-reviewed and deemed appropriateNote to CanadaGAP

enrollees

CANADIAN HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL

Safe Food for Canadians Act introduced

KAREN DAVIDSON

BROOKS, AB -- Water. Cleanwater. It’s a common theme inthe greenhouse industry whetherit’s Alberta or Ontario. Growersin both provinces are conductingresearch that reflect the nature oftheir respective growth curves. Nationally, greenhouse salestopped $1.1 billion in 2011. Mostof that was generated in Ontariowith $778 million in sales, dwarf-ing Alberta’s slice of $39.3 mil-lion.

Just because Alberta’s industryis much smaller doesn’t mean itisn’t playing a role in research.The Alberta government has

recently invested $17 million toopen a research-focussed green-house in Brooks, Alberta. Why?The town that’s best known forits XL Foods beef processingplant is also home to the govern-ment’s Crop DiversificationCentre South.

Business development leaderssee an opportunity to producemore locally-grown produce in abooming province. They also seepotential to hook up with FortMcMurray’s oil-and-gas industryto take advantage of waste heat.The politics, if not the economics,are obvious in greening the fuelindustry with greenhouse vegeta-bles.

Of the 328 greenhouse crop

growers in Alberta, 50 are locatedin the Redcliff-Medicine Hat area,primarily producing vegetables.Alberta growers are unique in thatseedless cucumbers are the majorcrop compared to tomatoes inOntario and other provinces.

In a 2010 survey conducted bythe Alberta Greenhouse Growers’Association, the findings under-score that water will become abigger issue in a sector thatrecorded 10 per cent growth from2001 to 2010. • a large number of growers didnot keep records of water use• growers used multiple watersources including: dugouts(32%); wells (24%); canals (4%);city water (35%); rivers (6%)• Almost half of the growers(45%) reported quality of waterwas hard• Only 4 out of 10 growers (39%)collected water from greenhouseroofs• Only 4 out of 10 growers (41%)knew the sodium level in theirwater• Only 3 out of 10 growers (31%)recycled greenhouse water

With 167 acres in vegetableproduction – 76 in cukes, 71 intomatoes, 16 in peppers, three inlettuce and more recently oneacre in eggplants -- it’s importantto remember that these statisticsrepresent vegetable, nursery andfloral growers.

Mohyuddin Mirza, a green-house consultant and one of thereport’s authors, says that Albertagrowers have recycled water forthree decades. With more recentfocus on winter production, a fewgrowers have installed heat-pas-teurization systems.

In the case of theRedcliff/Medicine Hat area, thegrowers tap into treated waterfrom the city which in turnsources water from the SouthSaskatchewan River. They recy-cle water through ultra-violet ster-ilization and biofiltration systems.Lacombe-area growers, on theother hand, collect water from

their greenhouse roofs and sourcefrom dugouts.

With these industry statisticsas background, it’s easy to under-stand why the new Brooks green-house complex has a storage tankfor collected rainwater. In suchan arid climate, water is preciousand humidity control is a keycomponent for the health of thetomatoes and peppers currently intrials.

As John Zhang, manager ofthe greenhouse complex gives atour, he points out a poster foraquaponics.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

THE GROWER


Greenhouse sector sets the table for cleaner water in Alberta . . .RESEARCH

As manager of the Greenhouse Research and Production Complex,John Zhang welcomes private businesses and associations who want toconduct their own trials in Brooks, about two hours’ drive east ofCalgary. Averaging 10.2 hours of sunshine per day in July and record-ing reasonable gas prices for heating, Brooks is an ideal place to con-duct research.

The new 60,000 square-foot, one-acre facility features 10 researchbays, four production greenhouses (both poly and glass) with adminis-trative, training, storage and plant management work areas. Red HatCooperative, headquartered in nearby Medicine Hat, was quick on thedraw to test Endeavor tomato cultivars.

“It’s open to greenhouse growers, breeders, crop protection com-panies and fertilizer manufacturers,” says Zhang. “It’s a businessmodel that bridges public research and commercial interests.Hopefully this model can work better than others.”

INTERNATIONAL PLOWINGMATCH AND RURAL EXPOWaterloo Region 2012

Roseville, ONSept. 18–22, 2012

www.ipm2012.ca1.800.661.7569

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The four vertical red hoses are the irrigation feeding lines. The fourwhite pipes on the ground under the gutter are the drain lines to col-lect the leach from the slabs for recirculation. The metal pipe on thebottom left corner is a ground heating pipe.

THE GROWER


CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Not to be confused with hydro-ponics, this system combines fishand plant culture so that the fishwaste serves as a source of nutri-ents for the plants. In turn, theplants regenerate the water qualityabsorbing mineral salts. Thewater is recirculated in a closedloop.

In Alberta’s spring greenhousenewsletter, Nick Savidov,explained, “The key factor in anyaquaponic system is an active roleof microorganisms, which linksfish and plants to form a self-sustainable ecosystem, while themicroorganisms are excluded andnutrients are supplied as mineralfertilizers in hydroponics.Microorganisms have multiplefunctions in aquaponic systemsincluding breakdown of organicmaterial, promoting plant rootgrowth and protecting both fishand plants from diseases. The discovery of the enhanced plantroot growth in aquaponics wasreported for the first time byAlberta researchers.”

While aquaponics are not likely to storm the greenhouseindustry anytime soon, it’s anexample of integrated waste management, an issue thatOntario growers are now facing.

“Canadian water is a heritage

for everyone,” Mirza says. “Let’sshare our information to make ourproduction practices sustainablefor the entire sector.”

LEAMINGTON, ON – Thesheer size of the burgeoninggreenhouse vegetable sector --2067 acres -- and how it useswater is attracting scrutiny of theprovince’s Ministry of theEnvironment (MOE). In the lasttwo years, MOE has sampled andtested water quality in theLeamington area, measuringincreasingly elevated levels ofnutrients, particularly phosphorus.Some greenhouse farms are con-tributors.

“The ministry indicates thatthe nature of these nutrients sug-gests a fertilizer-based source,”says Justine Taylor, environmen-tal projects specialist, OntarioGreenhouse Vegetable Growers(OGVG).

A sector-driven plan is alreadyunderway that spans regulatoryreform and science. In January2012, the OGVG applied to theagriculture minister to have thegreenhouse vegetable sector regu-lated under the NutrientManagement Act.

“We feel strongly that theoverall environmental footprint ofgreenhouse vegetable productionis small compared to other areas

of industry and agriculture, butwe are not yet where we need tobe,” says Don Taylor, chair,OGVG. “Issues like the phospho-rus releases recently identified bythe MOE sampling studies inEssex county need to beaddressed. Our farmers need thetype-specific standards, best man-agement practices and solutionslike those developed for the live-stock sector under the NutrientManagement Act. As part of thiseffort, we have initiated a numberof environmental research pro-grams which will go a long wayin developing the informationbase we need for these standardsand practices.”

On the science front, a multi-pronged effort totals about $1.25million of public and private sec-tor funds in research in the next

two years. One of the largest is$570,000 to showcase efficientgreenhouse water recycling sys-tems. The goal is to reach 100 percent recycling of greenhousenutrients by developing technolo-gies to control the build-up oflimiters in the recycling water, todetermine a utilization or disposalstrategy for the limiters that areremoved and then to documentthe environmental and economicbenefits of efficient recycling.The entire sector is cooperating inthis project from the Towns ofLeamington and Kingsville to theprovincial ministries of agricul-ture and environment, the federalag ministry and The OntarioGreenhouse Alliance (TOGA).

Funding in this and other pro-jects has been tapped from a num-ber of programs: Farm Innovation

Program (FIP), CanadianAgricultural Adaptation Program(CAAP), and Showcasing WaterInnovation Program (SWIP).

These projects will extend thecapabilities of recirculation sys-tems that have operated in veg-etable greenhouses since the mid-1990s. While $71 million hasbeen invested in these technolo-gies to date – about 80 per cent ofOntario’s greenhouse productionis grown with recirculating facili-ties – the growth and scale of thesector demand some fine-tuningto propel the cluster into worldleaders of totally closed loop systems. In the interim, theOGVG recommends all new andexpanding greenhouses incorpo-rate nutrient recirculation. Ownersof older facilities are encouragedto retrofit, as finances allow, toinstall nutrient recirculation systems.

The OGVG is also recom-mending all growers examinetheir plant fertility programs toclosely match fertilizer applica-tions with crop requirements.Whether that’s achieved throughenhanced recycling or throughsafe application as fertilizers tofield crops, it’s up to individualgrowers.

Results of some research pro-jects are expected as early as thisfall.

. . . and OntarioRESEARCH

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The Canadian fruit and vegetable specialists

THE GROWER


STAFFPublisher: Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ AssociationEditor: Karen Davidson, 416-252-7337, [email protected]: Carlie Robertson, ext. 221, [email protected]: Herb Sherwood, 519-380-0118, [email protected]

The Grower reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Any errors that are the direct result of The Grower will be compensated at our discretion with a correction notice in the nextissue. No compensation will be given after the first running of the ad.Client signature is required before insertion.

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association is thesole owner of The Grower. All editorials and opinions expressedin The Grower are those of the newspaper’s editorial staff and/orcontributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the association.

All rights reserved. The contents of this publicationmay not be reproduced either whole or in part without theprior written consent of the publisher.

P.M. 40012319

OFFICE355 Elmira Road North, Unit 105

Guelph, Ontario N1K 1S5 CANADATel. 519-763-8728 • Fax 519-763-6604

The Grower is printed 12 times a year and sent to allmembers of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association who have paid $30.00 (plus G.S.T.) per year forthe paper through their commodity group or container fees.Others may subscribe as follows by writing to the office:

$30.00 (+ G.S.T.) / year in Canada$40.00/year International

Subscribers must submit a claim for missing issues withinfour months. If the issue is claimed within four months, butnot available, The Grower will extend the subscription byone month. No refunds on subscriptions.

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2012

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEEChair Mac James, LeamingtonVice-Chair Ray Duc, Niagara-on-the-LakeFruit Director Norm Charbonneau, Port ElginVeg Director Jason Ryder, DelhiDirector Jason Verkaik, Bradford

BOARD OF DIRECTORSApples Brian Gilroy, MeafordFresh Vegetable - Other Mary Shabatura, Windham CentreTender Fruit Fred Meyers, Niagara-on-the-LakeON Asparagus Grws’. Mkg. Brd. Jason Ryder, DelhiGGO/Fresh Grape Growers Ray Duc, Niagara-on-the-LakeFresh Vegetable - Muck Jason Verkaik, BradfordON. Potato Board Mac James, LeamingtonSmall Fruit/Berries Norm Charbonneau, Port ElginON. Ginseng Growers’ Ken Van Torre, BurfordGreenhouse Jan Vander Hout, WaterdownGreenhouse Don Taylor, Durham

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

Crop Protection Charles Stevens, NewcastleResearch Harold Schooley, SimcoeProperty Brian Gilroy, MeafordLabour Ken Forth, LyndenSafety Nets Mark Wales, AlymerCHC Murray Porteous, Simcoe

Both the federal and provincialbudgets are in their final stagesand will be passed without modi-fication despite the lobbyingefforts of OFVGA and theCanadian Horticultural Council.The major changes concern thestandardized containers act andthe risk management program.When the new programs or lackthereof are in place we will allhave to learn to live with them.

Looking to the future, theprovincial government is in theprocess of bringing forward newlegislation in the fall; the Great

Lakes Protection Act on whichthere has been some preliminaryconsultation with agricultureincluding OFVGA. It is hopedthat more discussion takes placebefore the act becomes law; someof the points include optimalwidth of vegetated bufferstrips, application of liquidmanure, waste water dischargeetc.

The second piece of legislationis the Local Food Act. Very littleis known about this so far.

One point of interest, food pro-cessing revenues alone surpass

the automotive industry.Everyone needs to keep up-to-

date as this new legislation movesforward. Stay tuned.

Legislation is in the pipeline

MAC JAMESCHAIR, OFVGA

From an article in The Packer– The United States Departmentof Agriculture (USDA) pesticideresidue data (2010 Pesticide DataProgram Annual Summary) onfresh produce and other foodsconfirm that the residues do notpose safety concerns. The datahas been used since 1995 to compose the so called “DirtyDozen” list of produce with themost pesticide residues.

The USDA and other federalofficials emphasize the safety ofthe food supply.

The data supports advice to

consumers to eat more fruits andvegetables, whether conventional-ly grown or organic.

Carl Keen, professor of nutrition and internal medicine atthe University of California,Davis, said, “The potential healthbenefits of increasing one’sproduce intake clearly outweighthe hypothetical risks associatedwith the ingestion of the traceamounts of pesticides that mightbe associated with these foods.”

Ray Gilmer, vice president ofthe United Fresh ProduceAlliance said that “United Fresh

is gratified that the USDA’s PDPreport verifies the safety of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal.”

According to the report, overall pesticide residues foundon foods tested are at levels wellbelow the tolerances set by theEPA. Of the 12,845 samplescollected and analyzed, theUSDA found that only 0.25 percent of samples tested at levelsexceeding EPA tolerances.

The so called “Dirty Dozen”refers to produce with the mostpesticide residues. The USDA

confirms that the levels are wellwithin tolerance and that theypose no safety concerns. Thisbeing said, referring to them asthe “Dirty Dozen” is totally unfairand misleading.

I am sure Canadian data alsoconfirms these results and wetotally support United Fresh intheir attempts to have the use ofthat term discontinued.

USDA says pesticide residue not a food safety concern

ADRIAN HUISMANONTARIO TENDERFRUIT PRODUCERS

Ontario ag minister Ted McMeekin (L), is shown theeffects of extensive frost damage to apples by growerRichard Feenstra, Ontario Apple Growers chair BrianGilroy and Ontario Tender Fruit Producers chair PhilTregunno. A freak hail storm cut a swath through the organic

asparagus field of Charles Welsh, Scotland, Ontario.According to the Ontario Asparagus Growers'Association, yields were already down 30 to 40 per centacross the sector due to extreme spring weather. The sea-son ended two weeks earlier than usual.

Davina Lechowicz has partnered with Tom Komienski tooperate a roadstand stand near Scotland, Ontario. Herentrepreneurial spirit has been aided with graphics fromFoodland Ontario and an eye for presentation of the season's first strawberries.

THE WEATHER VANE

THE GROWER

Connecting consumers andfarmers has become a new imper-ative. Research from the OntarioMinistry of Agriculture, Food andRural Affairs has shown peoplewant some kind of connection tothose who grow their food. Onecompany is taking that connectionto the next level – by actuallysending Ontario consumers to theprairies for a farm weekend.

In May, BASF randomly

approached people at aCambridge shopping mall, andoffered two of them the chance tospend parts of next month onSaskatchewan and Alberta commercial farms.

There’s no script or debateplanned. Instead, the initiative isbeing presented as an opportunityfor an on-farm discussion aboutwhy farmers do what they do –including using crop protectionproducts -- and why consumersthink like they do.

The visit will be recorded inpart and used for education andtraining. Scott Kay, businessdirector for BASF Canada,expects the results to be enlight-ening for all concerned – thefarmers involved, the consumersand BASF staff. “I want our company to have informed conversations about farmers andconsumers, too,” he says.

Sponsoring a cross-Canadafarm experience is one way tohelp move those conversationsalong. People hold farmers inesteem, yet sometimes consider

farming to be corporate andunruly.

Factually, that’s not true – theoverwhelming majority ofCanadian farms continue to befamily owned and operated.They’re growing in size – andindeed the ones dubbed “commer-cial,” deemed to be the most likely to support a full-time farm

family, are becoming morenumerous, according toUniversity of Guelph research.They may have incorporated,mainly as a business move to protect their assets.

Still, misunderstandingsabound, particularly about therole of multi-national corpora-tions in agriculture. Crop protec-tion products seem to be a partic-ular target. Industry organizationssuch as CropLife Canada thatsupport commercial farms havean army of statistics that showhow much less farmers wouldlikely produce if it was not forcrop protection products.

For example, they say consumers pay less for groceries

as a result of modern technology– almost 60 per cent less, in fact.

And they maintain that withoutcrop protection products and plantbiotechnology, Canadian farmerswould need 37 million more acresof land – about the total annualcrop area of Saskatchewan – toproduce the same amount of foodthey produce now.

Research-based information isvital for a calm, measured conver-sation about the need for suchproducts. In fact, it’s vital. At arecent symposium sponsored byBASF, JoAnn Buth, a newlyappointed Canadian senator and aformer president of the CanolaCouncil of Canada, told partici-pants there’s “an increasingdemand for science to demon-strate impact.” Ottawa will con-tinue funding research, but thescientists will need to show howtheir studies affect the lives ofCanadians, and others.

And with federal and provin-cial budgets stretched to the limit,expect to see corporations such asBASF becoming more active inresearch. They too have heardgovernments say industry needsto be more active. They’re plan-ning accordingly, and they’reramping up communications –including new ventures such asprairie farm weekends -- to helppeople understand where they fitin.

Farm weekend one step to bridging producers and consumers

OWEN ROBERTSUNIVERSITY OFGUELPH

PERSPECTIVE

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I want our company to have informedconversations about farmers and consumers,too.” ~ Scott Kay, BASF Canada“

There are some significantchanges happening at Sobeys andyou need to be aware of them.

The first big change is leader-ship; we all know Bill McEwen isretiring. Sobeys announced onJune 7th that Marc Poulin wouldbe the new president of Sobeys.The decision took longer thanfirst indicated which could meanit was a tough decision and thatmore than one qualified candidatewas in line for the position. MarcPoulin has been responsible forSobeys Quebec operations, whichwas probably the most successfulregion for the company. They aregood stores in a tough market. Itis apparent that he has beenrewarded for his strong perfor-mance in this market. The chal-lenge now will be to rise aboveone region that is very unique andrun a national retailer. I wouldexpect we will see more IGA initiatives in other regions.

If you work with Sobeys, youshould know that they are starting to implement morenational initiatives under theSobeys One program. The previous strategy was veryregional. It had to happen, youcannot compete with nationalretailers such as Loblaws andWalMart with a cost structure thatrepeats every function four timesacross the country. There areadvantages to being a goodregional operator but the

advantages have to be realized inthe bottom line.

It is a challenge to work in anorganization going through thistype of change. Trust me - I havebeen there. The people in eachregion are doing what they thinkis right, then someone decidesthere will be one way to execute aprogram. It might not be perfectin each region but, when you lookat the national picture, it is theonly solution. Not wrong, buttough to take when you are theone who has to change. Therewill be a lot of internal tension.

Be aware of this when work-ing with Sobeys. There will beconsiderable change for the

employees - and not just one ortwo programs. People will question their role and future,which leads to distractions andstress. Make sure you considerthis in all of your interactionswith them.

If you do not work withSobeys, the message is the same.Understand what is going on withyour customer and remember theyare people. Organizational changeis tough for many people and itwill impact their work, so youneed to make sure you incorpo-rate it in to your interactions withthem.

So you want to raise yourprices?

Unfortunately cost increasesare a fact of life in the foodindustry. The challenge is to getretailers to accept the increase

without major loss of sales anddisrupting the relationship youhave been working so hard todevelop. There are several factorsthat need to be considered withincreases: timing, trust, commodi-ty pricing and retail pricing.

Timing is critical. Most retailerswill only accept cost increases incertain months. You need toknow these and work your con-versation around these time lines.November and December are crit-ical months for selling and mostretailers will not entertain anycost increases during this time.They are focused on selling andplans are made several months inadvance, so retail prices cannot

change. Make sure you plan costincreases within the windowsthey give you. You should alsogive the retailers some warning ifyou can - lay the groundworkabout ingredient costs or labourcosts. Tell them you are doingeverything you can but in threemonths it might not be possible tohold the line.

Your relationship is very impor-tant and a cost increase is a goodtest. If you looked for an increaselast year and based it on rising

ingredient costs that did not mate-rialize, you can be assured youwill have a tougher time this year.Make sure you have your factstogether and can justify theincrease. Retailers understandcosts go up; they are dealing withit every month in their stores andwarehouses. Assemble your business case and do not makeunfounded claims.

Many ingredients are commodities and it is relativelyeasy to prove that commoditycosts are increasing or decreasing.Make sure you have the facts correct. That eliminates the greyarea that leads to mistrust. If acommodity is 10 per cent of yourcost, a 10 per cent increase in thatcommodity is not a three per centcost increase; it is one per cent inthe mind of the retailer.

The final thing you have to con-sider when trying to increase acost is what will happen to theretail price. You know your costtoday and you know the retailprice today. If your cost mustchange by five per cent, what willhappen to the retail price? Does itgo to a level that will slow salesor change the ad retail price? Ifso, consider the ramificationsbefore making the change.Chances are the retailer willeither pass the increase on to theconsumer in a higher retail priceor challenge you on the change.They are not going to absorblower margins.

This is a critical component ofyour relationship with your cus-tomers. You must both come tothe conclusion that the price isfair. No one likes to see a costincrease but, if you manage therelationship, you can minimize

the negative impact on your busi-ness.

Your next vacation can pay dividends!

You need to remember two wordswhen you are visiting grocerystores: retail anthropology. I thinkthis is a great term for checkingout what is going on in retailstores. I had the opportunity tospeak in Winnipeg recently andone of the people working withthe host association suggestedthat these trips are retail anthro-pology. Sounds much more excit-ing than 'visiting a grocery store'and it is very appropriate. Go inwith the idea you are going tolearn something or discover someideas.

When you travel, pick yourstores carefully and do someresearch before you go. Find outwhere the new stores or the goodones are. There is always some-one in the industry who can be aresource before you land in a newplace. If you are in Canada andgoing to the U.S., an obviouschoice would be a Target storebefore they start to open inCanada in 2013.

If you have a phone with acamera, take a few discreet pho-tos and remember to share themwith your customers when youget home. You never know whatgreat ideas you will see in termsof execution, packaging, mer-chandising or even new items. Ifyou have the opportunity to travelsomewhere such as Europe, takenote of the flavours, sizes andpackaging. Although we do notlike to admit it, often they areahead of North America in termsof trends.

Remember to look at the entirestore and find some ideas thatmight be good to suggest to yourcustomers as well. Retailers lookforward to getting some insightinto other markets. Pick up a fewflyers and go through them to seeif there are themes or item combi-nations that might work for youor your customers. Sharing thiswith your customers is anotheropportunity to illustrate you areinterested in their business as wellas your own.

I admit it does make my fami-ly cringe some times when I say Ineed to do some retail anthropol-ogy, but they understand. I canfind great things in stores. Youcan do the same. Your summervacation can pay big dividendswhen you get home and implement all the new ideas!

Peter Chapman, a retail foodconsultant and professionalspeaker, is principal of GPSBusiness Solutions, based inHalifax, Nova Scotia. Peter workswith producers and processors tohelp them navigate through theretail environment with the ultimate goal of getting moreitems into the shopping cart. [email protected].

THE GROWER


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July 10 Ridgetown Vegetable Open House, Ridgetown, ON

July 12 – 14 Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change, St. Williams, ON

July 15 – 17 13th Annual Oenology Viticulture Conference, Penticton Convention Centre, Penticton, BC

July 26, 27 International Fruit Tree Association Study Tour, South Shore, 20 miles south of Montreal, QC

August 4 Food Day Canada

Aug 14 - 15 North American Strawberry Growers Association summer tour, Halifax, NS.

Aug 24 – 26 Winona Peach Festival, Winona, ON

Sept 8, 9 Stratford Garlic Festival, Stratford, ON

Sept 11 – 13 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock, ON

Sept 12 – 14 Federal, provincial, territorial agriculture ministers’ meeting, Whitehorse, Yukon

November 1 Ontario Harvest Gala, Delta Hotel, Guelph, ON

Nov 2 – 11 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, ON

COMING EVENTS 2012

THE GROWER


Farm media tour shines spotlight onapples, tender fruits and horticulturalresearch

KELLY DAYNARD

If you were following the con-versation on Twitter on June 14,you would have thought thatevery food enthusiast in Ontariowas visiting a farm that day.

The chatter from more than100 tweets was generated by abus load of food writers, blog-gers, chefs and professional homeeconomists participating in Farm& Food Care Ontario’s annualToronto media tour. This year’ssold-out event of 50 included rep-resentatives from the Globe andMail, Chatelaine, Toronto Star,Toronto Sun, What’s Cooking,Fresh Juice Magazine, City Bitesand others.

Annually, the tour focuses ondifferent types of crop and live-stock farms within driving dis-tance of Toronto. The farmmedia tour was co-hosted byDairy Farmers of Canada andsponsored by the Ontario Fruitand Vegetable Growers’Association, Ontario AppleGrowers and the VinelandResearch and Innovation Centre.

With Niagara region as thedestination, the Ontario AppleGrowers’ general manager KellyCiceran, set the context with thefrost crisis of April. The groupwas shocked to learn of the frostdamage and estimates of a loss of88 per cent of the 2012 Ontarioapple crop. One freelance writer,in her evaluation form, wrote thatshe was astounded to learn “howvulnerable our farmers are andhow dependent they are on theelements like weather.”

Arriving at the orchard of ArtMoyer in Grimsby, the grouplearned about apples, sour cher-ries, grapes and pears. Pointing tosome of the apple trees in hisorchard, Moyer noted that treesthat would traditionally have 80apples on them might now have12 to 15 which makes the produc-tion too low for a commercialcrop. Regardless of the damage,though, Moyer noted that thetrees must still be pruned andcared for as normal through the2012 growing season so thatthey’re ready for production in2013.

During their visit, the grouppeppered Moyer with questionson such topics as the sciencebehind pruning, pest management(both insects and deer), foreignworkers, farm succession plan-ning and research into apple vari-eties and tree densities.

Leaving Grimsby, the tourcontinued to the VinelandResearch and Innovation Centreto see research plots for globalvegetables more suited toCanada’s newest immigrants.Different types of eggplant, okra,Chinese hot peppers, Indian redcarrot and yard long beans are

just some of the produce that arebeing adapted for Canada’s short-er growing season.

Michael Brownridge,Vineland’s research director inhorticultural production systems,explained that Ontario imports$61 million worth of exotic veg-etables per month. If farmers inOntario could grow those crops,these imports could be replacedby local growers.

Valerio Primomo, Vineland’svegetable breeder, talked aboutthe centre’s work growing sweetpotatoes. He also touched onsome of the more unique productssuch as round cucumbers – anitem that spurred a flurry of pho-tographs and tweets.

One food writer tweeted that

she was “proud to be Canadianbecause the Vineland ResearchStation is doing some greatwork.” Another noted that theyhad no idea “of the amazing inno-vation being pursued atVineland.”

The group then enjoyed agourmet Taste of Ontario lunchsponsored by Dairy Farmers ofCanada and catered by Chef Jan-Willem Stulp of the Grand OakCulinary Market in Vineland andfinally a tour of a progressiveAncaster dairy farm.

Farm & Food Care partnersannually with different farm orga-nizations to introduce differentcommodities to the food experts.Suggestions for future tour stopswithin an hour’s drive of Toronto

or Ottawa are always welcome.Email ideas to [email protected]

A second tour will takeOttawa-area writers and chefs to

farms near the nation’s capital inSeptember.

Kelly Daynard is communica-tions manager, Farm & FoodCare Ontario.

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Michael Brownridge, research director in horticultural productionsystems, welcomes food media to the Vineland Research andInnovation Centre.

THE GROWER


THE GROWERJULY 2012 –– PAGE 13

08:00 AM -- Departing from theQuality Inn at Airport

09:00 AM -- Arriving at BurgessBasketsNewport Station, Nova Scotia• Tour of box factory

10:00 AM -- Departing BurgessBaskets

10:45 AM -- Arriving at WebsterFarmsCambridge, Nova Scotia• Biennial Raspberries• Raspberry variety trial and newKentville selections• Raspberry trellising• Matted row strawberry

production

11:45 AM -- Departing WebsterFarms

12:00 PM -- Arriving at BerwickApple Dome for lunchBerwick, Nova Scotia

01:30 PM -- Departing BerwickApple Dome

01:45 PM -- Arriving at VitalBerryCentreville, Nova Scotia• Strawberry plasticulture – day-neutrals and June-bearers• Compost x fertigation research trial

03:00 PM -- Departing VitalBerry


THE GROWER


2012 Summer Tour, Aug. 14 & 15

HerbicideGroup

Site of ActionHerbicideExample

WaterVolume**for BestResults(L/ha)

WaterVolume**for Best

Results (Imp.gallon/ac)

1 Inhibitors of acetyl CoA carboxylase(ACCase):

Assure II, Excel,Poast Ultra, Select,Venture

100 - 300 10.7 – 32.1

2 Inhibitors of acetolactate synthase(ALS) and also called acetohydroxyacidsynthase (AHAS)

Prism, Pursuit 100 - 400 10.7 – 42.8

3 Microtubule assembly inhibitors Prowl H2O 200 minimum 21.4

Treflan 100 minimum 10.7

4 Synthetic auxins 2,4-D, Dicamba,MCPA

100 - 650 10.7 – 69.5

5 Inhibitors of photosynthesis at photo-system II, Site A

Princep Nine-T 300 32.1

Sencor, Sinbar 150 - 300 16 – 32.1

6 Inhibitors of photosynthesis at photo-system II, Site B

Basagran 100 - 400 10.7 – 42.8

7 Inhibitors of photosynthesis at photo-system II, Site B (alternate binding site)

Lorox 100 - 600 10.7 – 74.9

9 Inhibitors of 5-enolpyruvylshikimimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSP)

Round-up(glyphosate)

50 - 300 5.3 – 32.1

10 Inhibitors of carotenoid biosynthesis Ignite 170 - 220 18.2 – 23.5

13 Diterpene synthesis inhibitor Command 5 - 375 10.2 – 40.1

14 Inhibitors of protoporphyrinogen oxi-dase (Protox)

Aim, Chateau, Goal2XL

100 - 500 10.7 – 53.5

15 Conjugation of acetyl co-enzyme A Dual II Magnum 150 – 400 16 – 42.8

20 Inhibits cell wall synthesis Site A Casoron Non specified Non specified

22 Photo system I – electron diverters Gramoxone 187 -1100 20 – 117.6

29 Inhibitors of cellulose biosynthesis Alion Minimum 93 Minimum9.95

Are you applying the proper watervolume with your herbicides?KRISTEN CALLOW, WEED MANAGEMENTPROGRAM LEAD – HORTICULTURE

Why is water volume so important when youapply herbicides? Inadequate spray volumes willresult in poor coverage of the herbicide on the weedsurface. Herbicide coverage is critical because thespray solution acts as the carrier of the herbicideactive ingredients that are absorbed by the weedscausing death. Weed density, environmental condi-tions, and growth stage of the weeds should be

determined prior to making applications.Higher water volumes are usually required for

contact herbicides (Group 6, 10, 14, 22 and 27), par-ticularly when:• spraying a pre-seed burn off when weeds are small• spraying through a dense canopy• spraying later in the day or evening when weedleaves may not be as horizontal to intercept the herbicide

Follow label directions to maximize herbicide performance.

Table 1. Water Volumes for the Best Herbicide Results*Conversion factor: Multiply gal/ac by 9.35 to get L/ha**Volumes on herbicide labels vary based on crop type, crop growth stage, weed type and weed growthstage

JIM CHAPUT, OMAFRA,MINOR USE COORDINATOR,GUELPH

The Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA) hasapproved several emergency useregistrations for Delegate,Entrust, Malathion, Pyganic andRipcord insecticides for control /suppression of spotted wingdrosophila (SWD) in NovaScotia, Prince Edward Island,Quebec, Ontario, Alberta andBritish Columbia on berry cropsand stone fruit. In 2011, the emer-gency use registrations of severalof these products helped berrycrop and stone fruit producersmanage this serious pest problem.Furthermore several minor usesubmissions are underway to seekeventual, full registration of theseproducts for SWD control inCanada.

SWD is a new pest to North

America and attacks thin-skinned,ripening fruit of blueberries, rasp-berries, strawberries, peaches,apricots, cherries, nectarines,grapes and others and was identi-fied in fruit growing areas in theU.S. and British Columbia in2008 and 2009. Larvae hatch andfeed on the fruit. Diseasepathogens and other insect pestscan enter through the egg-layingholes, causing further deteriora-tion of the fruit. The damaged,infested fruit is unmarketable andan economic loss to growers. In2010 significant fruit damageoccurred in B.C.’s stone fruit andberry crops. In 2011, SWD spreadto many regions of NorthAmerica putting many berry cropand stone fruit producers at riskfor serious crop losses. See thefollowing link also:www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/pest-alert-swd.htm

THE GROWER

BERRY FOCUS


Company Name:

Address:

City: Prov./State:

Postal Code/Zip:

Tel:

Fax:

General Email:

Mailing Address �if different than above�:

Website:

Year Established:

Products:

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers� Association�s second bi-annual, industry-wide, universal guide assists farmersin finding companies and organizations within the fruit and vegetable sector.

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association is bringing the industry together, again – and you can help. If youare interested in being listed, FREE of charge, merely fill out the information below and fax it back to 519-380-0011 .

This resource guide will be sent out via The Grower throughout Canada, providing fruit and vegetable farmers with avaluable contact tool for future reference. While keeping it as simple as possible, the guide will be broken into 12sections for ease of management and accessibility for the farmers using it.

This is one booklet that will always be on-hand with fruit and vegetable farmers in Canada – count on it.

The sections for the guide are as follows �please circle each applicable section for your business�:Equipment Pollination Seed RootstockIrrigation Greenhouse Packaging ContainerCrop protection Fertilizer Miscellaneous Farm Organizations

It’s literally a “Who’s Who” for the fruit and vegetable industry. Don’t be left behind.Get your information in today.

For advertising in the guide, contact Herb Sherwood who will be happy toexplain other options aside from the FREE listing.Ph: 519-380-0118 Fax: 1-519-380-0011Email: [email protected]

Pricing

Back Page. . . $1,250 Inside back. . .$1,100 Inside Front . . . $1,100Page 3 . . . $1,100 Full Page . . . $975 3/4 Page . . . $8501/2 page . . . $625 1/4 page . . . $375Process Colour is available on all pages and is included in cost per page

Emergency use registrations for spotted wing drosophilaThe following table provides a summary of the

emergency use registrations for SWD on the Entrust,Delegate, Malathion, Pyganic and Ripcord labels.

Consult the full product labels for detailedinstructions, precautions and restrictions. Notethat each label is approved for use on crop sub-groups 13-07A (caneberries), 13-07B (bushber-ries), grapes, strawberries and crop group 12

(stone fruit) except for Pyganic. Product Rate(s)

Remarks Pre-harvest Interval(s)

DELEGATE

Consult label for crop specific information Maximum of 3applications peryear with a re-treatment interval of 7 days

5 days – cherries 4 days - grapes 3 days – apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, bushberry 1 day – caneberries, strawberries

ENTRUST

Consult label for crop specific information Maximum of 3applications peryear with a re-treatment interval of 5 days

9 days – grapes (hand harvest) 5 days – cherries 4 days – grapes (mechanical harvest) 3 days – apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, bushberry 1 day – caneberries, strawberries

Tour cont’d03:30 PM -- Arriving at G.W.Allen NurseryCentreville, Nova Scotia• Nursery packing house andnorthern variety screenhouse• “Southern” certified strawberrynursery field• Raspberry certified nurseryfield• “Northern” certified strawberrynursery field

05:00 PM -- Arriving at C.O.Keddy Nursery for supperKentville, Nova Scotia

Day 2

08:15 AM -- Arriving atElmsdale Sobey'sElmsdale, Nova Scotia

09:00 AM -- Departing ElmsdaleSobey's

10:00 AM -- Arriving at MillenFarms Debert, Nova Scotia

• Strawberry plasticulture (day-neutrals, June-bearers, and 60-day crop)• Matted row strawberry produc-tion system• Raspberries• Fresh pack wild blueberries• Fresh QC traceability system

12:00 PM -- Departing MillenFarms

12:15 PM -- Arriving atMasstown Market for lunchMasstown, Nova Scotia• Tour of market

02:45 PM -- Arriving atEikelenboom VineyardsRines Creek, Nova Scotia• Welcome by John Eikelenboom• Tour of vineyard

JOHN KELLY

Market analysis. New crops.Industrial uses of established hor-ticultural crops.

Check out these topics at theSpeakers’ Series at Canada’sFruit & Veg Tech X-Change July12 and 13 in St. Williams,Ontario. Organized by ErieInnovation andCommercialization, these topicswill provide a window on horti-culture’s future.

Tracking the trends

John Cranfield, a University ofGuelph professor, brings years ofanalysis of market trends in foodand health. Using a value chainperspective and pointing out thatconsumers will dictate the marketpull, Cranfield will help produc-ers target markets that may be

underserved, providing moreopportunity for profitability.

One such example is global veg-etables, a market that’s becomemainstream to serve the growingpopulation of immigrants fromsouthern and eastern Asia as wellas the Afro-Caribbean community

in the Greater Toronto Area(GTA). Valerio Primomo fromthe Vineland Research andInnovation Centre will focus onspecific opportunities such asyard long beans. Now when chil-

dren are asked to eat their “veg-gies, ” they may be asked to eatonly one bean! Jamie Reaume,executive director of the HollandMarsh Growers’ Association, willcontinue in the same vein,

describing how bok choi has beenmarketed from the the muck-soilsarea north of Toronto.

Researching new crops

Hazelnuts represent a very strongopportunity for Ontario growers.Martin Hodgson, a hazelnutfarmer from Courtland Ontario,will evaluate the market potentialthrough Ferrero Canada Inc.’sNutella and Ferrero Rocherchocolates. His slide show willprovide personal experience aswell as analysis of how hazelnutsfit within a diversified horticultur-al economy.

Other crops provide potentialfor their nutraceuticals and specif-ic impacts on human health.With much research, Jim Toddsays that health claims in anynumber of horticultural cropscould produce profits in theincreasing health and wellnessmarket.

A current development is hops,with the burgeoning micro-brew-ery market demanding local prod-uct. Hops were grown in Ontariountil the 1930s when acreagedecreased due to disease prob-lems and market pressures.OMAFRA’s Evan Elfort willhighlight commercial hop cultivarresearch that’s underway to sup-port more than 20 hop growers inOntario.

Tapping into industrial uses

Imagine a field of dandelionsproducing inputs for rubber tiresor non-allergenic latex gloves andmedical devices.


THE GROWER


Innovation is focus of CFVTX Speakers’ Series

CANADA’S FRUIT & VEG TECH X-CHANGE

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees.

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees.

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums Quality

Fruit Treesfor 60 years.

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd., RR#2

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S1J0 T: 905-468-3217 F: 905-468-7271

Email: [email protected]

www.morinurseries.com

QualityFruit Trees

for 60 years.

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd., RR#2

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S1J0 T: 905-468-3217 F: 905-468-7271

Email: [email protected]

www.morinurseries.com

•

Agricultural * Commercial * Industrial

50 Years of Excellent Service

Refrigeration (All Types)

Heating, Air Conditioning

Controlled Atmosphere

18 Seapark Drive, St Catharines ON, L2M 6S6

905-685-4255

www.pennrefrigeration.com

[email protected]

Lots to see at summer show, July 12 - 14

Valerio Primomo

Dave Wolyn

It’s trade show time. Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Changewill be rolling out the “green” carpet on July 12, 13 and 14.Located on the shores of Lake Erie in Norfolk County, St.Williams is located on a horticultural highway that stretchesfrom Essex County to Niagara Region.

A free brunch will be served from 10 am to 11:30 am onopening day. Two hundred and fifty exhibitors will be demon-strating specialized equipment on the grounds. A two-dayspeaker program will highlight the latest research. Look for theequipment innovation contest, live demos and a Farm FamilyXPO. The launch of ‘robot farmers’ is expected to draw acrowd.

“With Essex County and the greenhouse growers concernedmore than ever with environmental impact and water recircula-tion, these growers are motivated to attend the X-Change with

their families, to see such things as irrigation field days and the new greenhouse farmer robot launch,” statesJillian McCallum, Essex County Growers’ Association. “Ourgreenhouse operations have significant impact in the horticul-ture sector; they are serious about technology and educating the next generation, they know they will see it all in one place at the X-Change this July.”

For those visiting on Saturday, plan to catch David Chilton,Canadian author of “The Wealthy Barber Returns.” He’s slat-ed to speak at 12 noon, discussing financial planning as itrelates to agriculture. For more information and a $5 discountcoupon, see www.fruitveg.ca

Plan to follow The Grower’s editor, Karen Davidson onTwitter, as she tweets from the show on Thursday, July 12.@karenthegrower.

THE GROWERJULY 2012 –– PAGE 17

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16Industrial chemicals from plantswill be the focus of University of

Guelph’s Dave Wolyn. Joininghim will be Franco Berutti from

the Institute for Chemicals andFuels from Alternative Resources(ICFAR) at Western UniversityEngineering in London who willshowcase opportunities for theJerusalem artichoke. The plantshows economic potential forindustrial use as a precursor toproduce biofuels and biochemi-cals. The active ingredients takenfrom different parts of the plantcan be used for food additives,flavours, pharmaceuticals andmedicinal purposes.

Learning what’s new in cropprotection

To stay on top of the latest incrop protection, take in OFVGA’s

Craig Hunter, who will be updat-ing growers on the latest registra-tions and tools. Hunter is anexpert advisor, specializing inpesticide, minor use, food safetyand on-farm pesticide manage-ment issues.

As the organizer of theSpeakers’ Series, Erie Innovationand Commercialization continuesto provide access to new tech-nologies and to encourage diver-sification in the south centralOntario region.

John Kelly is vice president, ErieInnovation andCommercialization, OFVGA.

CFVTX Speakers’ SeriesCANADA’S FRUIT & VEG TECH X-CHANGE

Uni

verc

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009_

11_1

8-j

Self-propelled harvester

FALC products

Carrot HarvesterOnion Harvester

Vegetable washers and polishers

Vineyard equipmentCabbage harvester

Stripper LF Trimmer LF

Soil preparationA program designed to help Ontario farmerswith water taking permit needs

Surface Water Services

Ground Water Services

George ShearerSurface Water Specialist

Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association

105-355 Elmira Road NorthGuelph, Ontario N1K 1S5ph: 519-763-6160 ext. 219

cell: 519-222-3272 fax: 519-763-6604email: [email protected]

BEDDINGPRO

SPRING OR FALL THE BEDDINGPRO DOES IT ALLbetween the rows in the spring or on top of the rows in the winter

The only round bail shredder that offers controlled and consistant spreading and requires only a 40 hp tractor.

The best solution for all spreading requirments.

Double R Manufacturing270 Branch Road, Crapaud PE, C0A 1J0

1-888-658-2088 • [email protected] • www.doublermanufacturing.com

THE GROWER


Program highlights

July 12

Meet the brokers. Cost of brunch is included indaily admission. Five or six brokers from Ontarioand Michigan will speak about their services andwhat they offer!

July 14

Rob Knipf, Investment Advisor at TD WaterhousePrivate Investment Advice is pleased to bring DaveChilton to the 2012 X-Change. A highly soughtafter speaker globally, David will deliver a com-pelling message on smart financial planning as itrelates to agriculture. Saturday, July 14th - includedin the price of general admission.

CANADA’S FRUIT & VEG TECH X-CHANGE

CALL ABE FIRSTFOR BETTER PRICES, MORE

CHOICES, FAST, AND FRIENDLY SERVICE. BUY A DIESEL ENGINE

PUMP UNIT FROM THE DIESEL MECHANIC.

NEW IRRIGATION PUMPUNITS ON TRAILER

• Cummin 4 cyl, 80 HP• Cummin 4 cyl turbo, 105 HP • John Deere, 4 cyl, 80 HP• Cummin 6 cyl, 165 HP-5.9L• Iveco/Cummins, 4cyl, 105HP • Iveco/Cummins, 6cyl, 173HP

Etc., Etc.

Rovatti PumpsBerkeley Pumps, etc.

And many more new or used up to 550 HP.

We build them all big or small.Also couplers, hoses, clamps, forsuction, camlock, ringlock, bauer

etc.

A. KOOLMEESR.R. 1, Otterville, ON N0J 1R0

(519) 879-6878 Fax: (519) 879-6319

Here is one example of 2011 test plots showing amaranth.

THE GROWER

MARKETPLACETo advertise phone: 519-380-0118 • 866-898-8488 x 218 • Fax: 519-380-0011

EQUIPMENT

DON ARTHUR ORCHARD EQUIPMENT(519) 599-3058 [email protected] Clarksburg, ON

NEW Turbo-Mist SPRAYERS - CLEAN TRADES NEEDED - ALL MAKESLOW DRIFT SPRAY TOWERS to fit any TURBO-MIST - IN STOCK NOW

Turbo-Mist 500 gal, Myers Centrifugal Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500Turbo-Mist 400 gal, 30” Fan, Standard Outlet or Tall TowerJohn Bean/FMC 252 Stainless, 500Gal Hydr-Valves, A-1 . . . . . . . . $7,500Durand Wayland 500 gal, Stainless Steel, Centrifugal Pump . . . $5,500Perfect ZA380, 13ft Rotary Mower, 11ft + Swing Cutter . . . . $4,950Votex 3-PH, 11FT Mower, New Blades - 6 Yrs Old . . . . . . . . . . . $4,700New and Used Bin Trailers For Wood and Plastic Bins . . . . . . . In StockBin Rotator for Tractor Loader or Forklift , Incl Forks & Hose . . . . . . .$1,100

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FOR SALETwo produce lines.

1st: Greefa 2 lane 12 drop color sorter/sizer includes 8round tables with three cross conveyors. It also has an

Orbit labellerall in excellent condition, works great.$30,000 obo.

2nd: 2 lane 8 drop Autoline weight Pro Sizer for tomatoes, peppers or fruit. 360 bushel per hour, greatline.Serviced by an Aweta tech last fall. Works great,

$10,000 obo.

Call 519.476.4623

Pipe& Fittings

for Water Systems• PVC, ABS, Poly, Copper

• Stainless, Brass, SteelProduct Lines

• Drip & Micro Irrigation• Septic & Sewer• Drainage & Culverts• Berkeley Water Pumps

Winona Concrete & Pipe Products Ltd.

489 Main St. W., Grimsby, ON. L3M 1T4

Phone (905) 945-8515 Fax: (905) 945-1149

or call toll-free

1-800-361-8515

CONTAINERS

LOUTH & NIAGARA ORCHARDSP.O. Box 43 • Virgil, Ontario • L0S 1T0 • 905-468-3297

4000 Jordan Road • Jordan Station, ON • 905-562-8825

Supplying Fruit and Vegetable Growers with:

• Baskets • Berry Boxes• Masters • Waxed Cartons• Fertilizer • Crop Protection Material• Vineyard Trellis Supplies

CONTAINERS

CONTAINERS

CLASSIFIEDS

Slightly used watermelon andpumpkin cardboard bins for sale.36” and 30” bins in very goodshape. $3 for 30”, $5 for 36”.Call 519-318-8709

For Sale: National cucumbergrader. 8 sizes. Works great.$2,000. 289-237-8053

For Sale: Crop tumbler, wet &dry sections. Variable speeddrive. Excellent condition. 519-424-2632

THE GROWER


BIOPROTECTION


NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

R.R. #4 Creek RoadNiagara-on-the-Lake, ON. L0S 1J0

Tel: (905) 262-4971Fax: (905) 262-4404

[email protected]

Howard A. ColcucNursery Manager

SPECIALIZING IN FRUITTREES & GRAPE VINES &

ELDERBERRIES. VARIETY AND PRICE LISTAVAILABLE ON REQUEST

AlpineNurseries(Niagara) Limited

REAL ESTATE

The 'AQUA Wetland System'“A new breed of constructed wetland”

AQUA Treatment Technologies Inc. designs and installsthe 'AQUA Wetland System' (AWS) for tertiary treatment of many types of waste water including sani-tary sewage, landfill leachate, dairy farm & abattoirwastewater, greenhouse irrigation leachate water &mushroom farm leachate water (i.e. manure pileleachate) and high strength winery washwater.

The 'AQUA Wetland System' is operated out of doorsand can achieve year-round tertiary treatment of waste-water. This sub-surface, vertical flow constructed wetlandconsists of sand & gravel beds planted with moisture tolerant plant species. Water is pumped vertically from cell to cell. There is no open or standing water.Treatment occurs through physical filtration & biological degradation. Plants shade & insulate the cells,cycling nutrients while preventing algae growth. There is no production of sludge.

The AWS has been approved for use by the Ontario Ministry of Environment through over 40 EnvironmentalCompliance Approvals. Recently the Region of Niagara began approving the AWS for treatment of 'smallflow' winery washwater I.e. < 10,000 liters per day. Other agencies who have issued approvals includeHealth Canada, USEPA and OMAFRA. Recent projects include:1) treatment of cider mill washwater at Bennett's Apple and Cider in Ancaster2) treatment of winery washwater at DiProfio Wines and Lincoln Farm

Winery in Niagara3) treatment of pond water at Hihojo Farms for supply of hog drinking waterFor additional information please Contact LloydRozema at: cell. 905-327-4571email. [email protected]

WATER TREATMENT

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Tel: (519) 849-6730Toll free: 877-550-7412

Fax: (519) 849-6731

THE GROWER


CROP TUNNELSIRRIGATION

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ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION

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THE GROWER


Disclaimer: I didn’t make theseup! They are based on readilyassessable news clips and otherpublic sources.

Didja ever wonder: How theCanadian Food InspectionAgency (CFIA) could justify hav-ing a staffer travel weekly to andfrom Guelph to Ottawa for a year(to the tune of over $100,000) toconsult on, wait for this, savingmoney! The excuse rolled outwas that he was consulting withseveral Ottawa staff using ‘secret’documents that could not becopied nor shared electronically. Iremember a wise Deputy Ministerwho defined ‘secret’ as anythingthat was not yet on his desk. If itexisted on paper (or electronical-ly), others must already be ‘in onit’ and have seen it. Likewise, ifseveral staff worked on this issuefor a year, and were sworn tosecrecy, why could it not beavailable to him to use ‘secretly’from Guelph? Does anyone reallybelieve it was not ‘leaked’ some-how during that year? (In additionto all of this, what could possiblybe so secret yet be available forso many to work with daily for ayear?)

Didja ever wonder: Why thefederal agriculture ministry wouldclose down their only sprayertechnology program (inSaskatoon)? In an era wherefocus on pesticide use, environ-mental safety, worker protection,and food safety continues to makeheadlines, how can one justifycutting out a world-class opera-tion? Oh, I think the ministerialanswer was that it would allow

industry to step up to do thework! Duh!! It was to ensure thatwhat came from the applicationindustry to farmers for their usewas indeed functional, opera-tionally safe, and how to optimizeits benefits while safe-guardingthe operator and the environment.If one assumes that industry willnow do this, how does oneexplain all the changes, modifica-tions and downright dismissal ofsome equipment that came as aresult of the evaluations comingfrom this program? That equip-ment was ‘supposed’ to havealready been grower-ready! I stillrecall a twilight meeting where anew (and somewhat naïve)sprayer salesman was demonstrat-ing a new machine to a group ofapple growers. He asked some ofthe growers to get right into thetree canopy and he would spraywater from the sprayer to showhow much tree penetration itcould get. It did do a great job ofpenetration! However, when we(independent extension staff)were asked by the host grower toexamine the machine, not reallyto our surprise it had been set upwith a full set of D-45 swirls and#7 discs! (Much like from thelocal car-wash!) If used asequipped, it would spray outabout 1200 gallons per acre--overthree tanks per acre! The growerswere so impressed with the per-formance, they never bought any!

Didja ever wonder: Why therewas a recent announcement thatall provincial adaptation councilswould be dis-banded, and allresearch and development pro-jects would be evaluated justfrom Ottawa? Given that thefunds are distributed to provincesbased on a formula, and that theprovincial groups decided whatwere the most pressing needs,locally, and what work should getthe highest (if any) priority forfunding, and given the cost foradministration for each provincecame from their allocation, whatwas the problem? Perhaps thevery fact that these councils werehugely efficient, very well con-nected to the local needs via theirmemberships, and maybe becausethey were NOT bending towardsany particular political position

but rather, addressing growerneeds, it was felt that more politi-cal control was necessary. Puttingit all in Ottawa may not savemuch in administration costs. Itwill certainly eliminate the mostand best local inputs towardsdeciding how and where to allo-cate the provincial shares.

OOPS! I got ahead of myself.Who thinks there will continue tobe a hard and fast provincial oreven regional allocation? Whothinks there will even be a pro-gram? Who even suggested thatfair and appropriate fundingwould be done equitably, and not

re-directed to more ‘favourable’locations and ‘folks’? What canbe definitely said is that a highlyefficient, fair, and reasonableapproach to ensuring allocation offunds in each province will beeliminated. Would it not havemade more sense to makeGREATER use of them to deliverumpteen other programs? Wouldit not have made sense to utilize aGOOD delivery system than toscrap it, and keep other ones thatare not as transparent, and not aswell run? In fact, wouldn’t it havebeen better to scrap the Ottawaevaluation centre instead? (Iguess we all know who was clos-er to the decision makers!)

Didja ever wonder: Why anopposition member of the Ontariolegislature would find it necessaryto introduce a private member’sbill to modify the ‘CosmeticPesticides Ban’ to at least allow

licensed applicators to spray forserious pest issues with some“banned” products? After threeyears of increasing problems, thepublic may be fed up, but thehouse has done nothing to fixtheir woes! The reports from vari-ous sources suggest the three-yearsupply of ‘the good stuff’ thatmany stockpiled in their garageshas now been used up. The evi-dence is plain to see! In additionto serious weed infestations, thegrub control in lawns is out ofcontrol! Plus, there are now somenew invasive species of insectsthat can attack and destroy over

300 species of plants. None of theregistered products that may helpare available to a homeowner. Inaddition, there have been some‘reduced risk’ products registeredby Health Canada, but these havealso been kept away from home-owners’ use! There ARE someproducts available, but ‘in theday’ none of these would have amarket share, because they do notwork well enough, or longenough, or cheaply enough to sat-isfy many consumers! The privatemember’s bill did not receive all-party approval, and it died on thefloor of the legislature. The intentof the proposed bill was good-- toat least allow commercial applica-tors to apply the ‘effective stuff’,when warranted. It would be niceto see more education and re-cer-tification for applicators and thepublic put in place too, but that isanother story!

Didja ever wonder: Why theprovince would allow a munici-pality (Coleman Township innortheastern Ontario) to pass aby-law using the ‘Health andSafety provision’ under theMunicipal Act, to restrict pesti-cide use? In fact, one of the‘sorta’ good things about theCosmetic Ban Act was to elimi-nate all such existing local by-laws dealing with pesticides. Thisis a new one. (Makes one wonderwho drafted it, what their back-ground is, who they receive fund-ing from, etc.) It not only restrictsdomestic pesticide use, it requiresfarmers to report, INADVANCE!!, each and everypesticide application they aregoing to make. This runs in oppo-sition to A) Common sense; B)Good pest management practice;C) The intent of the CosmeticBan Act.

Once again we have a‘runaround’ of having three min-isters involved. Isn’t it so easy toshrug and say “It is not myresponsibility/problem”? It affectsagricultural producers, but pesti-cides are not the agriculture min-ister’s responsibility. It affects theenvironment minister, because itis about pesticides, but, since theby-law comes under theMunicipal Act, it is not hisresponsibility. The minister ofMunicipal Affairs is directlyaffected, but because farmers andpesticides are not his problem,there is no problem for himeither! Has anyone asked whatthe municipality is going to DOwith these plans, even if theywere available? Has anyone theregot the level of expertise toreview them and even know whatthey mean? Does Health Canadaneed such a third (with question-able expertise) level of scrutinyafter they have approved thelabeled uses for all of Canada?What comes next? Will campersneed to fill out paperwork to useDEET? Will the sod-replacementbusinesses continue to grow?Time will tell.

Didja ever wonder: What else Iperuse and gather when keepingup on pesticide issues?

You don’t want to know!!!

CRAIG’S COMMENTS

From the ‘Didja ever wonder?’ files

CRAIG HUNTEROFVGA

MINOR USE

Didja ever wonder if a dandelion seed head is perfection or a pest?Photo by Denis Cahill

Valent Canada, Inc. and the PestManagement Regulatory Agency(PMRA) recently announced theregistration of Quash (metcona-zole) fungicide for several cropsin Canada. This is the secondgroup of registrations for thisactive ingredient in Canada andmarks an important milestone inaddressing the pest control product technology gap betweenthe U.S. and Canada. BASF’s

Caramba fungicide containingmetconazole was registered forcereals, soybeans and sugarbeets

in 2011. These products and thediseases they control have beenidentified for many years as

important disease managementtools needed by Canadian producers.

JIM CHAPUT, OMAFRA,MINOR USE COORDINATOR,GUELPH

Engage Agro Corporation andthe Pest Management RegulatoryAgency (PMRA) recentlyannounced the registration ofPhostrol (sodium, potassium andammonium phosphites) fungicidefor several crops in Canada.Phostrol belongs to the phospho-nate group of fungicides and thisregistration marks an importantmilestone in addressing the pest

control product technology gapbetween the U.S. and Canada. This group of fungicides includ-ing Phostrol and the diseases theycontrol have been identified formany years as important diseasemanagement and resistance management tools needed byCanadian producers.

Phostrol fungicide is registeredfor control or suppression of pinkrot and late blight of potato,downy mildew of grape, leafygreens, cucurbits and head andstem Brassicas, leather rot ofstrawberry, Phytophthora root rot

of raspberry and ornamentals, lateblight of tomato and Pythiumblight of turf.

Consult the full product labelfor detailed instructions, precautions and restrictions.

For copies of the new Phostrolfungicide label contact JimChaput, OMAFRA, Guelph (519)826-3539 visitwww.engageagro.com

THE GROWER


Phostrol fungicide granted Canadian registration MINOR USE

Labelexpansiongranted forGoal 2XLherbicide

The Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA)recently announced the approvalof a minor use label expansionfor Goal 2XL herbicide (oxyfluo-rfen) for control of redroot pig-weed and purslane and suppres-sion of lady’s thumb and easternblack nightshade on broccoli,cabbage and cauliflower inCanada. Goal 2XL herbicidewas already labeled for manage-ment of weeds on dry bulbonions, strawberries and fieldconifers in Canada.

Goal 2XL herbicide can beused for control or suppression oflabelled weeds on broccoli, cab-bage and cauliflower at a rate of1.13 - 2.0 L per ha applied oncepre-transplant (preplant). Goal2XL can be applied in a mini-mum of 200 L water per haapplied after completion of soilpreparation but prior to trans-planting. Consult the label forspecific details about crop injury,soil texture and transplant vigour. Do not apply Goal 2XL herbicideto broccoli, cabbage and cauli-flower within 60 days of harvest.

For copies of the new supple-mental label contact KristenCallow, OMAFRA, Ridgetown(519) 674-1335, Jim Chaput,OMAFRA, Guelph (519) 826-3539 or visit the DowAgroSciences Canada website athttp://www.dowagro.com/ca

Quash fungicide now available

Late blight

THE GROWER


Phostrol® helps maintain the quality of your

potatoes while in storage so you can get the most

out of your crop. Phostrol® is an extremely systemic

and highly unique fungicide that provides effective,

convenient & flexible preventative protection of late

blight and pink rot when applied during the season

and at harvest.

Now Registered!

Always read and follow label directionsPhostrol is a registered trade-mark of Engage Agro Corporation.

For more information on Phostrol please contactEngage Agro 1-866-613-3336engageagro.com

Make themall count.

The Grower Newspaper July 2012

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Transcript of The Grower Newspaper July 2012