KAREN DAVIDSON

Six thousand acres ofHoneywood silt loam, coveted bypotato growers surroundingShelburne, Ontario, sit at the headof a simmering controversy. “TheBMW of soil” is how KateArmstrong describes the legacy ofher great-great-great-great grand-father who first farmed there in1853. It’s prized for the artesiansprings and seeps that naturallywater the crop through droughts.

Quietly amassed since 2006,this land, and its water sources,are now owned by The HighlandCompanies, a fact that positionsthem as one of the largest potatogrowers in Ontario and supplierof about half of the region’s pota-toes. On March 4 of this year, ina move out of character for apotato grower, Highland filed anapplication to the Ministry ofNatural Resources (MNR) tobegin excavating a quarry onapproximately 2,200 acres oftheir holdings. Equally troublingto many in the region, Highlandis controlled by The BaupostGroup, a privately held Boston-based hedge fund with assets ofmore than US$22 billion undermanagement. Now out of theweeds, it appears they want toditch potatoes and instead, dig for21st-century industrial gold:limestone.

“If the quarry plan goesthrough, I won’t be able to farm,”says potato grower Dave VanderZagg. The site of the proposedquarry is critically located at the

headwaters of five rivers --Grand, Pine, Nottawasaga,Saugeen and Boyne – that flowoff the escarpment elevation intothe countryside. The fertileplateau forms a roof for theNiagara Escarpment whoseexposed spine runs throughDufferin County. Given the 200-foot anticipated depth of the quar-ry, surrounding farms would bestarved of the water that normallyfeeds 15,000 acres of potatoesand many other rotational crops.

“This is not just about soil butabout water,” says Leo Blydorp,director and policy advisor to theDufferin Federation ofAgriculture (DFA). “Aggregatesare needed in Ontario to supportthe province's growth. The ques-tion is -- where should our aggre-gates come from? We believeaggregates should come from out-side the Niagara Escarpment, theGreenbelt, and away from envi-ronmentally sensitive areas,”Blydorp wrote in an opposingbrief submitted to the MNR.

“Water is a main issue as faras it impacts people’s lives,” saysLindsay Broadhead, spokespersonfor The Highland Companies,who notes that the topic surfacedoften in the 2,000 public lettersreceived in the 45-day commentperiod and in the additional 3,700letters received during the exten-sion until July 11. Highland hasrecently agreed to treat all of thecomments with equal weight.They are obliged to respond toconcerns in the next two years asMNR reviews the application andto conduct further research ifrequired.

From Highland’s perspective,their application meets “consider-able” environmental requirementsset out by the AggregatesResource Act, the Planning Act,the Environmental Protection Actand the Ontario Water ResourcesAct. “Our analysis concludes thatwith water management systems,and with checks and balances inplace, groundwater levels wouldbe maintained with no adverse

impact on the Pine River subsystem,” says Broadhead.

Citing the province’s ownstudy, State of the AggregateResource in Ontario, Broadheadsays that Highland can help meetthe anticipated demand for anaverage of 186 million tons ofaggregate in each of the next 20years. Proximity of the proposedHighland quarry to the GoldenHorseshoe is an asset, she says,because about 100 million tonswill be needed with the city ofVaughan considered the nucleusof demand. This view is consis-tent with Highland’s website, anda video with a panoramic view ofToronto’s city skyline.

Not all politicians are of thesame view. DFA has asked thetownship of Melancthon to classi-fy the region as a specialty cropsarea, a designation that wouldprotect the land for ongoingcrops. While the municipal politi-cians mull over that request, theConservative MP for the region,David Tilson, has been active on

the file by petitioning for an envi-ronmental assessment at the fed-eral level. In contrast,Conservative MPP Sylvia Jones,although initially seen as a vocalopposer of the quarry, has recent-ly been conspicuously silent onthe quarry that would blast rock312 days a year and consume 600million litres of water a day.

Contrary to its savvy businessand political moves in Toronto,Highland feels no compunction topolish its corporate citizenship inMelancthon Township. Whenlocal potato grower Glen Squirrellsigned a letter of concern regard-ing environmental impacts thatwas submitted to MNR lastspring, it was done in his role asthe chair of the Ontario PotatoBoard. Little did he know thatHighland would promptly termi-nate long-standing agreements tosupply seed potatoes to their farmmanagers.

Continued on page 3

SEPTEMBER 2011 CELEBRATING 131 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION VOLUME 61 NUMBER 09

It’s about the water! Growers are bottling their anger and directing it towards a sign campaign that urges politicians to nix a mega-quarrythat would impact a renowned potato-growing area near Shelburne, Ontario. Representing the cause (L-R) are: Jon Squirrell, Mark Atkinson,Glen Squirrell, Diane French, Dave Vander Zaag and Dale Rutledge.

Potato growers looking to hedge quarry’s pitfalls Water dispute spills into GTA

INSIDENova Scotia hostsapple working group Page 4

OFVGA Summer Tour highlights Page 12

Focus: New equipment and technology Page 14

www.thegrower.orgP.M. 40012319

PAGE 2 –– SEPTEMBER 2011THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERSCongratulations to two Canadian exhibitors who recently showed atthe 2011 Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Flavour Expoin Monterey, California. Led by Larry McIntosh and his team,Manitoba’s Peak of the Market took first place, a reprise of theirwin at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association earlier thisyear. (The exhibit was featured on page 5 of The Grower’s Mayissue).

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers won second place ‘Best ofShow’ with a newly commissioned booth that incorporated point-of-sale display units. These will be used by retailers through an in-store education program to be launched this fall, thanks to fundingfrom the Ontario Market Investment Fund. OGVG representativesat the conference and expo included: director James Cornies,director Jim Veri, general manager George Gilvesy, marketingcoordinator Laura Brinkmann, and Ontario Greenhouse MarketersAssociation manager Margaret Wigfield.

Chantal Hébert, Toronto Star public affairs columnist and CBCNational News commentator on the “At Issue” panel, is this year’sguest speaker at the Grape Growers of Ontario annual celebrity lun-cheon. The September 14 event in St. Catharines is the officiallaunch of the Niagara Wine Festival.

Colleen Haskins is the new OMAFRA On-Farm Food Safety Program Lead. Most recently, she was with the Norfolk FruitGrowers’ Association.

Sean Myles has been appointed Canada Research Chair in Agricultural Genomics. He is an assistant professor at the NovaScotia Agricultural College and recently addressed the CanadianApple Working Group on his research to accelerate apple breeding.

Condolences to the family of Danny DiFrancesco who passedaway August 3. Most recently, DiFrancesco was the director ofsales and marketing with Ippolito Fruit and Produce Ltd. As along-time member of the produce industry, he mentored many overthe years.

Also in memoriam is John Fortino, one of the founders of Fortino’s Supermarkets in Ontario. He passed away May 17.

AT PRESS TIME…Potato predictions

Canada’s empty potatopipeline is likely to get plugged.That’s the prediction of MarkDrouin, vice-president, CanadianPotato Council, as an influx ofNorth American, new-harvestpotatoes hits supermarkets inearly fall.

“Yes, there will most likely besome overshipping at the begin-ning of the marketing season, butbuyers shouldn’t base prices on along crop,” Drouin says. “I’madvising potato growers to buildrelationships with their buyers toprepare them for the entire sea-son’s supply. While we have sim-ilar acreage to last year, we areprojecting decreased yields.”

Those statistics, compoundedwith similar supplies in the U.S.,mean the domestic potato cropwill tail off sooner than expectedgoing into 2012.

Bunkhouse update

Earlier this year, an importantchange was made to the Assess-ment Act by the Government ofOntario involving farmbunkhouses. In December of2010, it was announced that eligi-ble farm bunkhouses would betaxed at the farm property classrate beginning January 1, 2011. The Municipal Property Assess-ment Corporation (MPAC) hasbeen working with farm organiza-tions to ensure that farmers areaware of the regulation changeand identify any bunkhouses thatare eligible under the new criteria.

In the coming weeks, property

owners with eligible bunkhouseswill receive two separate commu-nications from MPAC: • A letter advising growers thattheir bunkhouse qualifies for thefarm property class rate; and • An Amended Notice to reflectthis change for the 2011 tax year.

In addition, MPAC will alsonotify the corresponding munici-palities so that they can make theappropriate adjustments to theproperty taxes.

If you think that yourbunkhouse may be eligible underthe new criteria and you have notreceived any communicationfrom MPAC, contact 1 866 296-MPAC (6722) Monday to Fridaybetween 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

To review the Regulation,please visit the ServiceOntario e-Laws site.

Apple researchboosted in the Maritimes

Thanks to a federal investmentof $226,000 to the Nova ScotiaFruit Growers Association, Mar-itime apple growers are lookingforward to research results toimprove apple quality. Over thenext three years, researchers fromthe association will work withresearchers at the Atlantic Foodand Horticultural Research Centrein Kentville to study how weatherimpacts the maturity and qualityof new high-value apple varieties.

Stats Canada to survey harvestedfruits and veg

As usual, a Statistics Canadasurvey will be mailed this fall toall fruit and vegetable growers inCanada to obtain data on harvest-ed production and value of select-ed crops. A government represen-tative will phone you betweenOctober 31 and November 27 toobtain data on harvested produc-tion and value of selected fruitand vegetable crops.

For the third consecutive year,Statistics Canada has amendedthe survey to confirm final valuesfor storable commodities from2010. Called section C, this isapplicable to growers of apples,cabbage, carrots, dry onions,

rutabagas and turnips.

Funding for carrot processing plant

Provincial funding worth$750,000 is slated for a new carrot processor in Wheatley,Ontario. Bolthouse Farms willcreate up to 100 new jobs withinthe first two years.

The Rural Economic Develop-ment Program will allow Bolt-house Farms, which has partneredwith a local grower, Nature’sFinest, to grow and process freshcarrots. Bolthouse Farms willrenovate a 66,000 square footprocessing facility in Wheatleyand is anticipated to earn $7 million in sales in its first year.

Webinars offer assistance for PTI

The Canadian Produce Mar-keting Association (CPMA) is onstandby to help industry meet theProduce Traceability Initiative(PTI) milestones. Webinars willbe held in September. All indus-try trading partners, companiesjust starting to implement PTI,companies in mid-stream with theprocess and traceability solutionproviders are invited to partici-pate says Lianne Wand, CPMA.

There is no registration fee. Note the following sessions:

1. PTI’s 5 Ws (and 1 H): Who,What, When, Where, Why andHow – Monday, August 29, 11am-12 noon EDT/8-9 am pmPDT2. Implementing PTI: Best Prac-tices for Packer/Shippers –Wednesday, September 7, 2-3 pmEDT/11 am-12 noon PDT3. Implementing PTI: Best Prac-tices for Assigning GTINs –Wednesday, September 14, 2-3pm EDT/11 am-12 noon PDT4. Implementing PTI: Best Prac-tices for Case Labeling –Wednesday, September 21, 2-3pm EDT/11 am-12 noon PDT5. Implementing PTI: Best Prac-tices for Hybrid Pallet Labeling –Wednesday, September 28, 2-3pm EDT/11 am-12 noon PDT6. Implementing PTI: Best Prac-tices for Retailers – Wednesday,September 28, 2-3 pm EDT/11am-12 noon PDT

To register: visit the PTI web-site’s events page.

2914, Cure-Labelle Blvd, Laval (Québec) Canada H7P 5R9Tel: 514-332-2275 Toll free: 800-561-9693 Fax: 450-682-4959 Toll free: 800-567-4594

Visit us at www.norseco.com

SUPERIOR SEEDS, SUPERIOR SERVICEMichel Grat ton

Montreal Area, Quebec

Tel: 514-332-2275Fax: 450-682-4959

Yvon RiendeauMontreal Area, Quebec

Tel: 450-454-9997Fax: 450-454-5015

Yves Thibault, agr.Central and Eastern

Quebec and Atlantic Provinces

Tel: 418-660-1498Fax: 418-666-8947

Warren PeacockOntario

Tel: 519-426-1131Fax: 519-426-6156

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers win second placeexhibit at the 2011 PMA Foodservice Flavour Expo.

Mark Drouin, vice-president,Canadian Potato Council, viewsnew varieties at the OntarioPotato Day, August 19.

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 3THE GROWER

INTERNATIONAL

PRODUCTIVITY

Broccoli growersseek corridoron U.S. east coast

Most of the broccoli con-sumed in the United Statescomes from California or Mexi-co, but there's a new effort togrow broccoli on the east coastas well. Thanks to a $3.2 millionUSDA grant, a study is underwayon how to create a broccoli-growing corridor from Florida toMaine.

Growers in Virginia, especial-ly near the Blue Ridge, are figur-ing out what strain of broccoli isbest suited for their area whereheat and humidity can ruin abroccoli crop.

Americans are eating morebroccoli than ever with consump-tion doubling in the past 25years. The project aims to growbroccoli closer to consumers. Source: FreshPlaza.com

POLICY

United Fresh CEOvisits Ontario

As part of the United FreshProduce Association’s tour to sixeastern states, senior staff visitedLeamington, Ontario on August17. The meeting highlighted howU.S. policy is shaped by mem-bers on key issues such as foodsafety, labour and increasing pro-duce consumption.

“Our visit to Leamington rec-ognizes the stake that our Cana-dian members have in soundU.S. policy, and vice versa,”President and CEO Tom Stenzelsaid. “Our industry transcendsgovernmental borders, anddeserves fair and equitable busi-ness and government standardsamong all trading partners. Ourmembers in more than 30 coun-tries around the world are just asinterested in pending new U.S.food safety regulations as ourdomestic members.”Source: FreshPlaza.com

EXCLUSIVITY

French potato grownon Channel island

Retailer Tesco is now sellingthe world’s most expensive pota-toes across the U.K. Called LaBonnotte, they are usually hand-harvested on a small Frenchisland. An exclusive supply forTesco is now cultivated on theisland of Jersey for the equiva-lent of £2.65 per kilo.

“La Bonnotte are the caviar ofthe potato world and kilo for kiloare among the planet’s mostexpensive foods along with whitetruffles, saffron, macadamia nutsand Beluga caviar,” says Tescosenior potato buyer Andy Black-ett. “As seaweed is added to thesoil to enrich their production,there is a distinct hint of seasaltiness as well as lemon and anearthy nuttiness.” Source: PotatoPro newsletter

CREATIVITY

U.K. retailer launches rainbowcauliflower

Tesco, the United Kingdom’slargest food retailer, is launchingmulti-coloured cauliflower in anattempt to revive sales of thevegetable. It’s a commoditythat’s down 6.5 per cent in U.K.sales while broccoli has edged uptwo per cent. Vivid orange,emerald green, shocking pinkand traditional white varieties

will be sold in the rainbow packto cultivate kid cravings.

Grown in Lincolnshire exclu-sively for Tesco, the colouredcauliflower types are all natural-ly produced but have beencrossed with other types of Brassica in order to create excit-ing colour variations.

“These cauliflowers arealmost works of art and have areal wow factor that should real-ly create a stir with shoppers andhopefully children at dinner-time,” said Tesco greens buyerJeni Gray.

The coloured cauliflower vari-eties follow the arrival of pinkand yellow mushrooms into thefresh produce aisle. Source: FreshPlaza.com

Potato growers looking to hedge quarry’s pitfalls

Continued from page 1

The community has beenrubbed raw to the point that several action groups have coalesced in surprising ways.Unlike many rural land-useissues, the mega-quarry proposalhas tapped into a vein of urbanactivism. The Shelburne area isweekender country, attractingToronto professionals who havenow become comrades-in-armswith their farming neighbours.

Volunteers canvassing and distributing “Stop the Quarry”and “Protect our Water” signswork under the auspices of theNorth Dufferin Agriculture andCommunity Taskforce (NDACT).Chair Dale Rutledge has becomea local voice strengthened byurban-based Food Secure Canada,Sustain Ontario and the TorontoFood Policy Council.

“This marks the first time thatfood security advocates haveworked together with rural

residents and farmers to oppose adevelopment issue,” say CarlMichener, a local resident and acommunications consultant work-ing pro bono to raise awareness.“Each of the three groups has aslightly different reason foropposing it.”

In the weeks leading to theOctober 6 provincial election,signs protesting the quarry arebecoming as common in MetroToronto as Melancthon Town-ship. And, politicians of allstripes should expect to be interviewed by city media aboutagriculture, aggregates and theAmerican company that has setits sights on mining limestonefrom prime Ontario farmland.

Baupost is already on recordwith its modus operandi of

searching out underperforming,undervalued and often cash-strapped assets to fund bigreturns. Seeing that template putinto action in other Americanjurisdictions has rural and urbancitizens alike questioning High-land’s recent purchase of parts ofa rail line that could link the proposed quarry to the port ofOwen Sound as well as Toronto.Highland’s spokesperson deniesany plan to export the limestoneas “expensive” and confirms thecompany’s plan “to use 100 percent of the aggregate for theGreater Toronto Area market.”

Such business questions willbe answered in due course, butthe most pressing question todayis political: apart from farmers,who is prepared to stand up for

the land? “I still believe in democracy,”

says Vander Zagg. “I think ourgrassroots citizens’ movementwill work.” Joined by fellowpotato growers Dale Rutledge,Glen Squirrell and vegetablegrower Diane French, they’realready busy organizing a post-election event for mid-October,creatively called Foodstock.French shares their optimism andhope in telling of one prominenturban politician who answeredthe call when asked to supporttheir cause. It’s hard not tobelieve that if Jack Layton hadwon his own personal battle, hewould have backed up strongencouragement with evenstronger commitment.

Not far from Horning’s Mills, Ontario, the pristine waters of the PineRiver spill over an old dam. Access to water, like this source, worries potato and vegetable farmers if the mega-quarry is approved.

Take stock of new ground tacticsThis is not the first time that farmers have battled commercial interests to protect prime agricultural

land. What’s always difficult is harnessing a groundswell of opposition for the long haul, both financiallyand emotionally.

In southern Ontario, a chain of food activists links some very disparate groups from both rural andurban spectrums. Here are some ideas that could be replicated in other jurisdictions: July 3 En Plein Air ‘Paint In’ attracted 40 artists to the Hills of the HeadwatersAugust 28 Tractor Canada Convoy with John VartySeptember 21 Downstream-Downtown will focus on the impact to water September 30 Queen’s Park Rally to celebrate harvest featuring foods from the area October 16 Foodstock, a public food event to be headlined by chef Michael Stadtlander

KAREN DAVIDSON

“The global outlook for applesis competition, competition, com-petition,” says Farid Makki,senior market development advi-sor, Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada.

That’s no surprise to the Cana-dian Horticultural Council’sApple Working Group whichrecently met in Nova Scotia todiscuss how to improve the indus-try’s fortunes. Here’s his analysisof both challenges and opportuni-ties.

“Everyone – including theU.S.and China – is feeling thepinch,” says Makki. “Worldwideapple production keeps increas-ing, while production costs con-tinue their upward trend anddemand is sluggish.” He itemizedthe commonalities among apple-growing countries: • Increased concentration alongthe supply chain with number offirms declining at every level(grower, packer, storage, market-ing)• More stringent fresh marketrequirements (quality, food safe-ty, traceability, sustainability)• Rising cost of resources (land,capital, labour, water, power,transportation and chemicals) andincreased challenges in accessing

them (particularly for land, waterand labour).• Static or declining demand forfresh apples in many developedcountries due to intense competi-tion from processed snacks andother types of fruit such asberries, tropical fruit • Sluggish demand in many coun-tries with growing supplies hasled to an increasing share of theworld’s apple production entering

international trade• Potential for growth in demandhas moved from developed worldto the developing world• Apple industry affected bymacroeconomic forces that influ-ence key economic parameterssuch as income levels, taxation,inflation, interest rates andexchange rates.

With this international contextas background, Makki suggests a

number of opportunities for Cana-dian apple growers. Besides theobvious step of increasingorchard productivity and yields,growers can seek to improve con-sistency of quality in packed-outproduct, alter the product mixwith “appropriate” varieties andstrengthen the consumer appeal ofapples. Perhaps the biggestopportunity is to seize the “buy-local” trend with a brand or trade-

mark. These moves could pay offwith stronger relationships withretailers sourcing Canadian-branded apples. Finally, theremay be opportunities to increaseCanadian apple exports to coun-tries such as Russia and India,where a growing middle classappears to have an insatiableappetite for high quality importedgoods, including fresh apples.

Continued on the next page

PAGE 4 –– SEPTEMBER 2011THE GROWER

CANADIAN APPLE INDUSTRY MEETING

Competition increases in global apple industry

ake part in the biggest indoor

agricultural show in North America –

it’s your chance to show the world the

quality of your produce or to promote

your ideas for improving agriculture.

Through education and entertainment,

The Royal’s exhibits help the public get closer

to the source of their food, and to experience first-hand

the careful preparation and environmental consideration that

goes into bringing the bounty of the field to their tables.

The Royal is also a great place to bring the family. Take in

The Royal Horse Show, see the amazing President’s Choice®

SuperDogs or treat the kids to the Family Fun Zone. Wine, dine,

snack and sample. Learn about the latest in healthy eating.

Or take the opportunity to do some one-of-kind Holiday

shopping.

For details about programs and registration visit

royalfair.org

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Show ’em you can grow ’em! THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL WINTER FAIR, NOV 4-13, 2011

T

Canadian Fresh Apple Imports by Country of Origin

Continued from last page

Russia is already the largest apple importer in the worldand India has been increasing significantly its fresh appleimports in the last five years, particularly from the U.S.

On this final point, the Apple Working Group has beenconsidering a benchmarking (competitiveness) study onthe Canadian apple industry, says Joe Sardinha, chair,Apple Working Group. If a proposal is accepted by Agri-culture and Agri-Food Canada for funding, a study wouldlook at key export markets in the U.K. and U.S. as well as

the domestic market. “The primary focus is to measure client needs and pref-

erences in key domestic and export markets and to mea-sure the performance of Canadian apples as they competewith a myriad of rival exporting countries,” says Sardinha.“These studies are useful in identifying gaps in quality orother customer satisfaction problems that may be con-tributing to loss of markets or market share. The potatoindustry conducted a similar benchmarking project fortheir sector a few years ago.”

The group also looked at overall pricing. It’s down

slightly, says Sardinha, but there is no indication of dump-ing. Even with a healthy supply of apples, retailers arereluctant to differentiate between the varieties and are“premium-shy.” Gala apples at $.88/pound, for example,provide very slim margins.

To try to understand the retail sector better, the AppleWorking Group plans to take a page from its potato col-leagues. For the annual general meeting next March, thegroup hopes to have a half-day session with retailersexploding some of the purchasing myths.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 5

The Canadian Apple Working Group visited theAnnapolis Valley of Nova Scotia for good reason thissummer. Besides producing 10 per cent of all Canadianapples, the area is home to the 188-hectare KentvilleResearch Station which has been a beehive of activity for100 years.

Now called the Atlantic Food and HorticultureResearch Centre, it’s celebrating the researchers who havebred or evaluated fruit cultivars specifically suited to themaritime climate. To name just a few, they range fromNova Spy apples to L’Acadie Blanc wine grapes. This isalso where 60 per cent of the strawberry varieties grown inCanada were developed.

Today, the station’s strengths are as varied as theresearchers. For instance, Mark Hodges, research centredirector, has his own stake in comparing the bioactiveproperties of spinach grown in Nova Scotia with that ofTexas. He’s looking at whether the generally more stress-ful environment of the maritime climate actually translatesinto more antioxidants that protect the plant – and con-sumers.

For the Apple Working Group, Hodges summarized thespecific apple research in progress which will have impli-cations for the entire Canadian industry.

1) Using genomics to accelerate apple breeding: Mapping of fruit genetic make-up will help speed up applebreeding in the future by identifying genes responsible for

particular traits. We are planning to sequence the genomeat seedling stage and then predict adult traits.2) International cultivar evaluation trial: We are testing new cultivars from around the world forperformance in the maritime region. This year we have189 cvs in our trial (split almost 50:50 between scab resis-tant and susceptible). 3) From root stock to genetic improvement: We're evaluating and naming promising Kentville breed-ing progeny, such as apples ('Cotton Candy', 'Masonova','Evangeline') and pears ('Canadian Gold'). We're also eval-uating 15 new apple rootstocks this year.4) Research on organic pest management: We are studying innovative herbicide and fungicidereplacement strategies for organic apple production. We'realso incorporating fruit fly bait as part of apple orchardIPM, as well as studying organic methods to control Euro-pean Apple Sawfly.

Old orchard soils contain root pathogens such as Pythi-um and nematodes. As fumigants are being phased out, weneed alternatives. As a result we're examining effects ofdifferent composts and different compost applicationmethods on incidence of ARD.

CANADIAN APPLE INDUSTRY MEETING

Competition increases in global apple industry

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DEC. 6-8, 2011DEVOS PLACE CONVENTION CENTER

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Veteran tree fruit breeder, Charlie Embree, has beenstudying apple varieties for over 40 years.

THE GROWER

The Greenbelt Fund recently announced 15 grantees forthe “Broader Public Sector Investment Fund: PromotingOntario Food.” As a sister organization of the Friends ofthe Greenbelt Foundation, it is helping to increase theamount of Ontario food served in daycares, schools, uni-versities and colleges, hospitals and long-term care facili-ties.

“In this second round of grants we are seeing leaderswho are making systemic change in order to incorporatemore Ontario food into their food service operations,” saysBill Duron, program director, Greenbelt Fund. “The edu-cation sector is one of those leaders, taking initiatives toeducate the next crop of food service professionals. Thismeans more high-quality Ontario food and home-cookedmeals in public institutions.”

Here is a partial list of the most recent grantees.

100 km Foods Inc.: Providing Fresh Ontario Food toPublic Institutions – $171,000

Having established a successful local food distributionsystem in the Greater Toronto Area, 100 km Foods willnow expand their service to public institutions. This grantwill help grow their existing distribution model and con-nect farmers directly with chefs and buyers in public insti-tutions such as the Greater Toronto Airport Authority andthe University of Toronto.

Dairy Farmers of Ontario: Bringing Nutrition toOntario Schools - $100,000

This grant will bring nutritious Ontario dairy productsto 40 of the province’s middle schools. The Nutrition Cen-tre pilot project will install vending machines to supplysingle servings of milk, yogurt drinks made with Ontariodairy and fruit, Ontario cheese and cracker packets, babycarrots, sliced apples and apple or apple/pear juices. Aspart of the program, 4-H Ontario members will also visitthe schools to educate students about local food seasonali-ty and sutainable agricultural practices.

Holland Marsh Growers’ Association: Connecting theFarmer to the Foodservice Business - $50,000

One way to connect farmers to the food value chain isby identifying a go-between with foodservice distributors.Holland Marsh Growers are hiring a broker to connect the100 farmers in the Marsh and their products with foodser-vice distributors operators and buyers. This project willfoster the systemic change that is necessary to grow theamount of Ontario food available to public institutions.

The Corporation of Norfolk County: Cultivating Rela-tionship from Local Producers to the Consumer -$150,000

To increase the amount of local food served at the

County’s health care institutions, Norfolk will use thisgrant to track and change food procurement policies atthree facilities. A coordinator will liaise with the facilities,growers and processors to determine opportunities formenu revisions and substitute imported product with local-ly sourced product. The results of this program will beshared with health care facilities throughout the Province.

Simcoe County Farm Fresh Marketing Association: ANew Model for Local Food Distribution - $35,000

By collecting data on current purchasing practices inthe county’s public institutions, the association will devel-op a strategy to influence the procurement of more Ontariofood for county institutions and farmers.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre: Diversity inLocal Food Options for Public Institutions - $25,000

This project assesses the demand for ethno-culturalvegetables in public institutions. Vineland will survey dis-tributors, operators and customers to identify marketopportunities and create tools and resources for farmersgrowing these crops.

For more information about the Greenbelt Fund’s pro-gram and grants, visit www.bpsinvestmentfund.ca.

Greenbelt Fund announces 15 grantees

PAGE 6 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

New project funds market, consumer researchinto ethno-cultural vegetables

Field trials of new ethno-cultural vegetable crops have startedin Ontario under guidance of the Ontario Fruit and VegetableGrowers’ Association (OFVGA) and Vineland Research andInnovation Centre (VRIC).

The project is focused on such crops as: Indian kaddu, Chi-nese red hot pepper, okra, yard long bean, Asian eggplant, ama-ranth, fuzzy melon, round eggplant, maca, tomatillo, bottlegourd, daikon radish and Indian red carrot.

“Our demographics are changing,” says Brian Gilroy,OFVGA chair. “The vast majority of Canada’s immigrants usedto be of European background and now more than half are ofAsian heritage. Fruit and vegetable farmers are looking for newways to diversify their market and we have the unique ability inOntario to grow many different crops.”

“Market intelligence and profitability are important if grow-ing world crops is to be successful in Ontario,” says Jim Bran-dle, CEO, VRIC. “Our farmers are good at growing traditionalcrops, but there has been limited expertise in growing, market-ing or selling new crops. This is now changing. This project is

about creating a profitable opportunity for growers through toretailers.”

The three-year project includes consumer and market poten-tial assessments, analysis of new varieties and crops desired byconsumers and retailers, on-farm production trials, taste andquality assessments, and transfer of production information tofarmers. Trials are underway thanks to funding provided in partby Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the CanadianAgricultural Adaptation Program.

Three meetings are slated to highlight this year’s trial cropsand provide information to interested farmers:• August 29 at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre inVineland Station• August 30 at University of Guelph research station in Simcoe• September 7 at J. Collins and Sons in Copetown

All meetings start at 6 pm.

Right: Grower Stan Jackson offers Tinda Asian gourds to agrowing multi-cultural base at the Milton Farmers’ Market.

KAREN DAVIDSON

Dr. Oetker, the German manufacturer ofone of every three frozen pizzas sold inCanada, plans to build its own facility inLondon, Ontario, rolling out 50 millionpizzas per year. Its multi-millioninvestment will generate more than a crust

for producers of tomato paste, vegetables,meats and cheeses.

“With an array of fresh, high-qualityOntario ingredients nearby, we look for-ward to supporting local food processorsand businesses by sourcing these productsfor use in the production of our pizzas,”said Dr. Martin Reintjes, executive vice-president, Dr. Oetker GmbH.

While the footprint of the 220,000square-foot plant is still being finalized,government officials are facilitating meet-ings with potential suppliers. “The volumeswill be high,” says John Swan, investmentattraction consultant, Ontario Ministry ofAgriculture, Food and Rural Affairs(OMAFRA) who has visited their plants inGermany. “The specs will also be high.Everything has to be individually quickfrozen.”

The news is a welcome surprise for Naturally Norfolk, an individual-quick-frozen (IQF) plant in Delhi. “Yahoo!”says Jim Irvin, president. “It’s great to seesupport for the local food industry, sharedacross many sectors. This new plant cer-tainly provides an additional opportunityfor local growers and processors to partici-pate in Canadian and foreign markets.”

While the types of ingredients required

are relatively conventional, the new plantwill offer an outlet for regional processingsays John Kelly, vice-president, Erie Innovation and Commercialization. “Thisis exactly the kind of expansion we had

encouraged by supporting Naturally Norfolk’s business development andlaunch this year!”

Spinach, for example, is a common itemon Dr. Oetker’s most popular pizzas.

Swan says there’s an opportunity for someof that leafy green to come from Ontarioin-season. The list extends to field tomatoes, mushrooms, hot peppers, greenhouse peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and spring onions.

The deal has come to fruition after threeyears, with a $7 million sweetener fromOMAFRA’s Rural Economic DevelopmentFund. Swan is excited to see the results forthe food chain. “I don’t think the fullimpact of the volumes are totally understood and what this could mean in thefuture,” says Swan.

THE GROWER

Dr. Oetker ’s first North American pizza plant slated for OntarioWhen the plant is operational in 2013, vegetable growers hope to get a slice

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 7

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London, Ontario will become the production hub for North America for Dr. Oetker’spopular pizza brands. They include Ristorante, a thin-crust gourmet pizza; Casa diMama, an Italian homemade-style pizza; and a new product, Panebello, a bakery crustpizza.

More about Dr. Oetker Canada

Since 1960, Dr. Oetker Canada Ltd.has provided food products to Canadianconsumers from its headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. Dr. Oetker produces and distributes a variety ofdesserts and dry baking mixes (Shirriff,Added Touch and Dr. Oetker branded)and frozen pizzas (Ristorante, Casa diMama and Panebello). The Canadiancompany is a subsidiary of the family-run Oetker Group which is currently ledby Richard Oetker, great-grandson of theoriginal founder. Established in 1891with the launch of Germany's first bak-ing powder, today Dr. Oetker runs aglobal business with 2009 sales of $2.5billion.

THE GROWER

PAGE 8 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

The national Agri-Stabilityprogram is not sufficient forfarmers’ needs. To understandwhy, let’s look at the programdesign principles and the realitiesof the time period during whichthey were developed.

One of the underlying princi-ples was that government shouldnot support farmers who hadmore than two negative margins

in their Olympic average; no matter what the cause. CAIS, thepredecessor of our current program, was designed in thedays of a 75-cent dollar, cheap oiland much lower costs for inputssuch as fertilizer, pesticides andlabour. These are all factorsbeyond a farmer’s control; manyfarmers are suffering negativemargins through no fault of theirown yet are paying the price dueto poor program design.

Agri-Stability does not triggera payment until there is a mini-mum 15 per cent drop in produc-tion margin, so it is quite possiblethat a farmer can suffer substan-tial declines and even losses butnot receive an Agri-Stability pay-ment. If this continues over time,the farmer’s reference margin isseverely eroded meaning reducedcoverage and perhaps ultimatelyleading to disqualification fromthe program due to too many neg-ative production margins.

Agri-Stability is a whole farm

program that best suits singlecommodity farm operations, suchas grains, cattle or hogs. All hogor cattle prices go up or downtogether and grain farmers typi-cally only grow a few differentcrops such as corn, wheat or soy-beans, whose prices often rise orfall in tandem.

Its intent was to help farmersin years of low returns, andrequires rebuilding of marginswithin the five-year referencemargin calculations. To do this,the farmer needs to experiencereduced costs or improved pricesto increase his/her productionmargin, meaning it works mosteffectively for commodities withdrastic but short-term pricingcycles. The problem? Much ofOntario’s non-supply managedsectors are experiencing long-term, not short-term, cycles.

Edible horticulture is verydiverse and most of our farmersproduce a wide range of crops,resulting in diversification on

most fruit and vegetable farms.This diversification is a form ofself-insurance, limiting both theprice highs and lows across theentire farming operation. What itdoes not do is prevent long-termmargin declines caused by ever-increasing expenses that ourfarmers are unable to recoverfrom the market place.

The majority of our productionis perishable and non-storable, sowe don’t have the option of wait-ing for a better price. Global trademeans the size of the Ontariocrop has very little bearing onprices our farmers receive. Pricesare determined by the largechains and the price at which theycan purchase similar, albeitimported produce. On the exportside our high dollar value limitswhat our producers receive.

Globalization has made usprice takers, unable to recover thehigher costs from the marketplace.

Agri-Stability payments are

triggered when a farm’s produc-tion margin drops by more than15 per cent of his/her referencemargin. Our crop diversity pre-vents major drops in total farmincome as well as reduces theupward motion of the productionmargin in a good year. This limitsa farmer’s ability to rebuild a ref-erence margin and is causing ref-erence margin declines onOntario fruit and vegetable farmson a per unit basis.

Until the basic design flaws ofthe Agri-Stability program arefixed, the program simply can notmeet the needs of our farmers.

We are not bad managers,rather at the mercy of too manyfactors beyond our control. Thisis why we need the federal gov-ernment to financially contributeto SDRM so that it will givefarmers the support of a fullyfunded program they so desper-ately need.

For what it is worth, it’s theway I see it.

ART SMITHCEO, OFVGA

STAFFPublisher: Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ AssociationEditor: Karen Davidson, 416-252-7337, kdavidson@ecomente.caProduction: Carlie Robertson, ext. 221, production@thegrower.orgAdvertising: Herb Sherwood, 519-380-0118, hsherwood@cogeco.ca

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 2011

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEEChair Brian Gilroy, MeafordVice-Chair Mac James, LeamingtonFruit Director Ray Duc, Niagara-on-the-LakeVeg Director Jason Ryder, DelhiDirector Norm Charbonneau, Port Elgin

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’ Doug Bradley, TillsonburgGreenhouse Jan Vander Hout, WaterdownGreenhouse Don Taylor, Durham

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

Crop Protection Charles Stevens, NewcastleResearch Harold Schooley, SimcoeProperty David Lambert, Niagara-on-the-LakeLabour Ken Forth, LyndenSafety Nets Mark Wales, AlymerCHC Murray Porteous, SimcoeAGCare/Nutrient Man. Charles Stevens, Newcastle

Why Agri-Stability isn’t working for edible hort in Ontario

Good day! The provincialelection campaign will be in fullgear as this edition is released andI urge every farmer of fruit and

vegetables to engage their candi-dates, to educate them on thechallenges and opportunities thatwe are dealing with.I have included excerpts from aletter that has been sent to all can-didates from the Ontario AppleGrowers.

Dear (Candidate in the October6th provincial election) Re: Ontario Apple GrowersOrchard Revitalization Proposal

The Ontario Apple industry isa shadow of its former self. Anindustry that has been the leaderacross Canada in apple acreageand production is quickly shrink-ing. We have constant pressurefrom imports which in turnreduces returns for our apple

farmers. The Ontario AppleGrowers (OAG) now represents213 commercial apple growerswith a farm gate value of $62million (2010) and both thesenumbers seem to shrink eachyear. Our farmers are strugglingto have their returns coverincreased costs from provinciallyimposed minimum wage legisla-tion, as well as fuel, electricity,crop protection materials andpackaging, to name but a few.

The OAG wants to change thetrend of shrinking acreage, fewerapple farmers and smaller returns.Our goal is to be proactive andmake investments in the industry,for the betterment of apple farm-ers and Ontarians. This is whythe OAG has developed the

“Orchard Revitalization Program”proposal.

The proposal addresses andsupports many initiatives that areimportant to Ontarians and the(Political Party) – healthy dietsfor healthy Ontarians, local foodproduction, environmental sus-tainability, job creation and ruraleconomic development. It is ourdesire to have a strong farmer andgovernment partnership that willsee growth and sustainability inthe apple sector. Unfortunately,OMAFRA Minister CarolMitchell has recently rejected theproposal.

Every other apple-producingprovince’s government is workingwith and financially supportingtheir apple farmers to revitalize

their apple industries. The timehas come for Ontario to helpapple farmers adopt the technolo-gy required to revitalize our appleindustry.

Thank you for taking the timeto review our attached proposal.Feedback has been positiveregarding cost/benefit ratio, returnon investment and its focus on thelong-term sustainability of applefarming in Ontario. If elected,will you help implement theOntario Apple Growers OrchardRevitalization Proposal?

We would be pleased to meetand discuss the issues ofOntario’s fruit and vegetablefarmers.

Politics is not a spectatorsport!

Politics is not a spectator sport!

BRIAN GILROYCHAIR, OFVGA

I just got back from picking upa few things at our local grocerystore and was pleasantly surprisedto see so much local produceincluding Ontario peaches.Everything looked great and peo-ple were picking them up andsupporting the Buy Local Move-ment.

I also notice the price of ourpeaches at $2.99 per 3 L basketand being a bit of a history buff, Iremembered that the same 3 Lbasket of peaches sold at $2.99over 20 years ago. I couldn’t helpbut wonder if the producers’ costswere the same as they were back

then (NOT). On the way home I stopped at

a local fruit market and saw thesame peaches in the same 3 Lbasket priced at $4.99 and peoplewere picking them up.

So, who’s keeping the price ofproduce down? Certainly not thegrowers who have seen their costsskyrocket in recent years. Is itthe consumer? It didn’t seem likethe consumers who were ready topick up a good basket of fruit at areasonable price at the farm mar-kets. So it seems like it is theretailers who use Ontario fruit asa loss leader in order to attract

customers to their stores.We appreciate the support we

receive from our retail partners.Growers couldn’t survive withoutthem. Our growers move largevolumes during these featureweeks. Unfortunately, the fol-lowing week, when the retailprice moves up to $3.99 and$4.99 sales drop off. It wouldseem that consumers have beentrained to wait for the loss leaderpricing.

But, wouldn’t it be a betterstrategy to advertise at say $3.49or $3.99 per basket and allowboth the retailer and the grower to

make a reasonable margin? Onemajor retailer in Quebec does justthat and moves just as much vol-ume week after week and yearafter year regardless of what thecompetition does. Their cus-tomers seem prepared to pay areasonable price for a good basketof fruit. Result – the growers arehappy, the retailer is happy andthe consumer is happy.

Yes, $2.99 per basket moves alot of fruit but if no one is makinga profit, what’s the point. Would-n’t it be wiser to start raising thebar a little each year?

Who’s keeping the price of our produce down?

ADRIAN HUISMANONTARIO TENDERFRUIT PRODUCERS

I was increasinglyastonished whilereading the front

cover article in themost recent issue of The Grower.First, I am totally surprised thatone needs to do a study to

discover that people preferflavour in their peaches. Second,comparing U.S. peaches to Canadian peaches seems ratherpointless as there are so manyCanadian growers who do notproduce a delicious peach. And

third, a study to determine how togrow a good quality peach seemsalso a waste of time. The latterhas been done by some of us foryears.

My husband and I have beengrowing good quality peaches and

other fruit for more than 30 years.Although we are only a smalloperation, we make a good livingoff our farm. We produce top-quality fruit, demand for which isgreater than what we can supply.

We emphasize pruning at theproper time, are very carefulabout the amount of nitrogen weapply, hand thin our peaches andpick at the optimum time.

Obviously, produce grown inthe U.S. needs to be pickedgreener in order to survive thetrip north. However, there areCanadian peaches in my local

grocery store that should havebeen left on the tree for anotherweek. So perhaps recommendingall Canadian peaches is not such agreat idea.

Mr. Andrewes and Mr. Leppare to be commended for wantingto bring a good-tasting peach tothe consumer. Perhaps if allgrowers would be concernedabout the taste of their product,the consumer would not need tobe encouraged to buy Canadian.

Henny SchouwenaarSt. Catharines, ON

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 9

A mandated, mandatory elec-tion such as the one Ontario willexperience next month takes thespontaneity out of campaigning.But does it ever help with plan-ning. For example, consider howfarmers have prepared for theOctober 6 political face-off, witha succinct election kit and overarching key messages.

The nine-page kit, assembledby the Ontario Federation ofAgriculture, offers direction forpreparing local strategies that willensure agriculture and food are apriority in rural ridings…which,of course, should be the case anyway, but always isn’t.

Why go to such measures?The federation says it’s in farm-ers’ best interest to “engage andequip” candidates with sound,factual information about agricul-tural issues in Ontario. “Thepoliticians we help elect will bemaking decisions and creatingpolicy that can impact the futureof Ontario’s agri-food industry,”it says. “Let’s do everything wecan to help them understand theimportance of our industry.”To that end, the federation has afew statistics for farmers to keepin their back pockets. It points outthat in Ontario, agriculture supports 164,000 jobs, pays $7billion in wages and salaries, generates $3.4 billion in taxes and

contributes 13 per cent of theprovince’s gross domestic product. These are all importantfigures in a recovering economy,as is the fact that every $1 offarm product generated in Ontarioproduces $6 in final sales.

In other words, a lot of peopledepend on farmers for a living —and depend on farmers’ ability tomake a living. That’s why decision makers need to clear andmaintain a path that’s free ofimpediments that make it tough tofarm, such as the regulations andred tape created in urban board-rooms that are far removed fromrural Ontario.

Farmers are Ontario’s biggestland-owning business segment,and need to be at the table eitherpersonally or through elected representatives when decisionsare made that affect farming.Everyone suffered through a longperiod of change and disengage-ment as agriculture fell off thepublic agenda. Now that it’s back

on, farmers have some catchingup to do. Effective lobbying andcommunicating are more impor-tant than ever, explaining agricul-ture’s role in society for matterssuch as environmental protection.But there also has to be a clearunderstanding in society that regulations are needed that givefarmers the same kind of accessto roads and highways as the public, to move harvests to consumers or the next level ofprocessing.

In fact, some organizations,such as the Canadian Federationof Independent Business, say regulatory reform is the numberone issue for agriculture. Theprovince knows farmers are serious about this, and asked thefederation of agriculture to stick-handle Ontario’s Open For Busi-ness information gathering andcensus-building exercise over thepast year or so. The idea was tofind ways to make Ontario a moreattractive and productive place to

do business. Federation presidentBette Jean Crews says it wasgroundbreaking that the farmcommunity was called on to leadthe charge. One of the recurringthemes through this consultativeprocess was regulatory reform.

The federation says otherissues on farmers’ plates thiselection are energy, ecologicalgoods and services, rural infra-structure, and business risk management. Broken down, theseinclude the food-versus-fueldebate for crops, support forfarmers’ efforts to preserve landand water used by the public,healthy rural communities thatserve farmers and foster tourism,and shared support for insuranceprograms that protect farmerswhen prices are low but peoplestill have to eat.

Prospective politicians whosee a farmer coming with campaign kit in hand should beprepared. Farmers mean business,in more ways than one.

Farmers are early with election priorities

OWEN ROBERTSUNIVERSITY OFGUELPH

PERSPECTIVE

LETTER TO EDITOR

Reader questions need for consumer study on peaches

The Essex County Associated Growers are pleased toannounce the

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Tuesday, November 22 & Wednesday,November 23, 2011

Kinsmen Recreation Complex249 Sherk St., Leamington, Ontario

View the newest agricultural technology/equipment,and attend informative speaker programs.

For more information, contact Jillian McCallumat (519) 326-4481 or ecag@bellnet.ca.

Following are highlights fromthe OFVGA board meeting heldJuly 21, 2011. The purpose of thisbrief is to keep you up-to-date onissues that the OFVGA is work-ing on, as well as projects and ini-tiatives the organization isinvolved in.

Safety Nets

Self Directed Risk Management(SDRM): Section chair MarkWales reported that the principalfocus to date was on developingand finalizing details of the newprogram, with the horticultureworking group meeting through-out May and June. SDRM cover-age includes two per cent of anoperation’s Allowable Net Sales(ANS) up to $2.5 million and 0.5per cent on amounts above thatin year one. Growers do not needto make a matching contributionin the first year of the program.For subsequent years, coverageincludes two per cent ANS up to$2.5 million, 1.5 per cent cover-age on 2.5 to 5.0 million and oneper cent on amounts beyond fivemillion. After year one, farmerswill need to make matching con-tributions and will be required tohave an AgriStability account.

Agriculture Minister CarolMitchell made the officialannouncement of all the RiskManagement Programs (RMP) ona farm near Mitchell at the end ofJune. Horticulture-specific infor-mation sessions will be held asfollows:August 31 – Red Pine Inn, AllistonSeptember 6 - Travel Lodge,ChathamSeptember 7 - Knights of Colum-bus, Delhi

September 8 - Prudhommes Inn,Vineland

All commodity sessions willbe held as follows:August 30 – Kern’s Hall, NewLiskeardSeptember 22 – St. Isidore Recre-ation Centre, St. Isidore (French)September 27 – The Emo Inn,Rainy River ( 7 – 9 pm Centraltime)

Please pre-register for the ses-sion you wish to attend by visit-ing www.omafra.gov.on.ca/ english/RMPInfoSessionReg-Form.htm or calling 1-877-424-1300. For more information onthe new program, visitwww.ontario.ca/rmp.

Wales and OFVGA ChairBrian Gilroy attended a meetingin Ottawa arranged by Member ofParliament Bev Shipley where 17Ontario rural MPs and representa-tives from Ontario's non-supplymanaged commodities discussedthe issue of federal participationin RMP. Out of this meeting wasa promise to form a smaller groupof four MPs and commodity rep-resentatives that would work tofind solutions.

Federal-Provincial-Territorial(FPT) Meeting: The recent FPTMinisters Meeting was held onJuly 4-7 in St. Andrews, NewBrunswick. Agenda items includ-ed a presentation of the NationalFood Strategy that the Ontarioand Canadian Federations ofAgriculture have been workingon, as well as discussions sur-rounding Growing Forward 2, theproposed successor to the currentframework. Ontario’s MinisterMitchell did not sign the FPTpress release as there was no support for Ontario's Risk

Management programs.

Crop protection

Minor use budget cuts: It wasrecently announced that Agricul-ture and Agri-Food Canada hasproposed cutting the six milliondollars it provides to the PestManagement Regulatory Agency(PMRA) to help with work onminor use and international har-monization issues. Currently, thebudget at Health Canada (whichoversees PMRA) is not facingany reductions. OFVGA is work-ing on this issue in conjunctionwith the Canadian HorticulturalCouncil, Canadian Federation ofAgriculture and Pulse Canada.

GROU program: Canadian pric-ing for Agrimec was recentlyreduced to within one per cent ofthe U.S. price. The Grower lastmonth featured an article on theimport experience of two Canadi-an farmers who used the programto bring product across the border– as well as the savings they wereable to realize for their opera-tions. ReTain, made by Valent,was asked to be placed on theapproved GROU list but the man-ufacturer did not release therequired data for the U.S. prod-uct. As a result of lobbying inOntario, ReTain’s price has beenreduced by 33 per cent, bringingit very close to the U.S. price.The reduction is retroactive topurchases made as of October2010. The herbicide Velpar, madeby DuPont, is now available forimportation under GROU.

Property

Water: Section chair David Lam-

bert attended the Canadian WaterSummit, where agriculture washighlighted several times as beingthe most consumptive water user.There are efforts underway tobegin charging industry for wateruse; agriculture must make sureto maintain an exemption fromany type of payment scheme.

Regulations: A number of farm-ers across various edible horticul-ture commodities are reportingdifficulties with duplicationand/or lack of clarity betweenvarious agencies and governmentdepartments. This is resulting inproblems getting approvals forexpansions and other changes.OFVGA will be highlighting thisissue as part of the Open forBusiness initiative being coordi-nated by the OFA on behalf ofOntario agriculture. If you cur-rently are or have recently experi-enced difficulties in this regard,please email the OFVGA atinfo@ofvga.orgwith any details.

Municipal assessments: MarkWales will be meeting with thechair of the Municipal PropertyAssessment Corporation (MPAC)in August to review property defi-nitions and other issues that relateto agricultural assessments.Ontario Finance Minister DwightDuncan had promised at a meet-ing with Ontario Federation ofAgriculture representatives lastDecember to address this issue,but no action has been taken todate.

Canadian Horticultural Council(CHC)CHC president Jack Bates, VicePresident Murray Porteous andExecutive Vice President AnneFowlie spent a day at the nationalheadquarters of Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada, CanadianFood Inspection Agency and thePest Management Centre at theend of June to meet with varioussenior government officials. Thisincluded Dr. Manjeet Sethi, headof the Pest Management Centre.There was acknowledgement thatwe are seeing major pests todaywhich were not a problem in thepast and that industry concernsover resistance must beaddressed. It is becoming increas-ingly important for industry toarticulate in a substantive mannerthe benefits and results of thePMC and minor use program.

The CHC representatives alsomet with Steven Baker, VicePresident Operations, andCameron Prince, Lead, Modern-ization Initiative, at the CFIA.This was an opportunity for horti-culture to profile the sector andits issues to the new VP. Recentprojects and outcomes werereviewed and the need for finan-cial risk mitigation in Canadathrough a US-style PACA-liketrust program.

Advocating for AgricultureCrystal Mackay and Heather Har-grave from AGCare and theOntario Farm Animal Council

(OFAC) provided the Board withan update of the public outreachactivities the two organizationsare involved in. OFVGA is amember of AGCare. Current pro-jects promoting farming and foodproduction include the popularFaces of Farming calendar, theReal Dirt on Farming II publica-tion, a school-based Farm Cre-ativity Contest for kids, the FarmFlicks video competition for 16 –25 year-olds, a new Friend aFarmer pilot project that will paira farmer with a classroom for ayear and allow the two to corre-spond with each other, ag ambas-sador training for youth, the virtu-al farm tour website that featurestours of 21 different farms includ-ing three horticultural operationsand farm tours for food mediaand culinary students.

Erie Innovations updateJohn Kelly provided the Boardwith an update of activities atErie Innovation and Commercial-ization. Some current projectsinclude:

Ontario South Coast Wineriesand Growers Association: Thereare a number of wineries alreadyestablished in the area such asFlorence Estates Winery, VillaNova Estate Winery, BurningKiln Winery, Wooden Bear LWinery and Blueberry HillEstates and there is interest in thedevelopment of others to takeadvantage of the ideal climate andgeography available in thesecounties. Currently, there aremore than 100 acres of grapesbeing grown in Norfolk Countyalone, with another 20 acresplanned. One of the medium-termgoals of this new organization isto create Ontario’s fourth Desig-nated Viticulture Area (DVA) inthe region, behind Niagara, theErie North Shore and PrinceEdward County. The Associationincludes not only grape growersbut growers of cherries, blueber-ries and other fruit who are inter-ested in producing fruit wines inthe region.

Ontario Lavender Association:This new association coverslavender production in all ofOntario, not just the South Cen-tral Ontario Region, and includesfarmers as far away as Ottawaand Windsor who are interestedin developing lavender as a prod-uct, including soaps, aromathera-py popcorn (lavender kettle corn)and creams. Another major inter-est is the development of lavenderfestivals. An event of this naturein Washington State results in sixmillion dollars of economicimpact over the course of oneweekend, which members arenow trying to re-create inOntario. In July 2011, 400 peopleattended a festival here in Ontariothat proved to be very successfulfor the host farmers, who sold outof most of their products over thecourse of the weekend.

Continued on the next page

THE GROWER

PAGE 10 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

Board Briefs

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LILIAN SCHAER

The Stratford area was thefocus of a farm tour for 45 Toronto-area food writers thispast spring. Columnists, editors,recipe developers, cookbookauthors, bloggers and other culinary professionals spent a daylearning about how food is produced, meeting local farmersand getting a chance to have theirfood and farming questionsanswered by experts.

The spring media tour, hostedby AGCare and the Ontario FarmAnimal Council (OFAC), hasbecome a popular event on thefood world calendar in theGreater Toronto Area. In fact, thisyear, the event was fully sold outwith a waiting list several weeksin advance of the tour. Since itslaunch in 2006, approximately 30participants per year have takenadvantage of the opportunity totour local Ontario farms and meetdirectly with farming experts inorder to learn what it takes togrow Ontario’s food.

The role of talking to peopleabout where our food comes fromseems, by default, to have come

to rest with farmers. Most Cana-dians, as we know, are severalgenerations removed from thefarm, meaning there is little directconnection to the land and thecrops that are grown on it. Ourschools do not teach agricultureand the food and home economicsprograms of years past havemostly disappeared from modernclassrooms.

At the same time, the localfood movement has awakenedconsumer interest in Ontario-grown or produced foods andchefs are clamouring to bringmore of them onto menus acrossthe province. That’s whereAGCare (of which OFVGA is amember) and OFAC saw anopportunity to build an outreachprogram for food media and culinary professionals by takingthem directly to the source –farms and farmers themselves.

The tour focuses on differentregions and different types ofproducts every year. This year,due to many requests from pastparticipants, the tour headed outto Perth County, with stops atMontforte Dairy, an organic vegetable farm and a hog farmthat specializes in heritage swinebreeds and wild boar. Steve Martin from Waterloo area

Martin Family Fruit Farm talkedabout his family’s apple businessand their perspectives on organicversus conventional productionsystems. Other local farmers mingled with tour participants toanswer questions about crop,dairy, egg and beef farming.

AGCare and OFAC also reachout to up and coming chefs andculinary instructors, offering fourfarm tours per year on a lotterysystem to interested Ontariocooking programs. This year

marks the fourth year of this initiative; approximately 125 students from Fanshawe Collegein London, George Brown inToronto, Sir Sandford Fleming inPeterborough and Loyalist Col-lege in Belleville will participatethis year. Two student tours werehosted this past spring with theremainder being held this fall. As a tour host, it can be dauntingto have a busload of reporters,writers and culinary professionalsshow up on your doorstep.

However, it also represents atremendous opportunity to tellyour story, debunk myths andshatter some popularly held mis-conceptions about Ontario foodand farming. We appreciate all ofyou who have taken the time tohost a tour or speak to tour partic-ipants over the past number ofyears. This program would not bepossible without people willing toshow off their businesses and talkabout what they do to producefood in Ontario.

Continued from page 10

Other new associations: Dr.Kelly is working towards helpinggrowers of both hazelnuts andsweet potatoes to organize intoassociations similar to the laven-der and south coast winery groupsin order to help these growersadvance their sectors.

Studies and projects looking athow farmers can access the mar-ket place: Erie Innovation andCommercialization secured fund-ing through the Sand PlainsDevelopment Fund for a studyconducted by the George MorrisCentre. This report looked at theissues faced by small and largebuyers and sellers in Ontario. Forexample, most large buyers don’tdeal with small sellers and it canbe a challenge for large sellers toconnect with the large buyers.Volumes, quality, consistency ofproduct, price can be stumblingblocks. Many small sellers, whichinclude a large number of Ontariogrowers, can’t get access to largebuyers so are forced to look tosmaller markets. The GeorgeMorris Centre has now beenasked to recommend how tomove forward. Some activities arealready happening, such as theontariofresh.ca initiative of theFriends of the Greenbelt, so perhaps there are opportunities tointegrate efforts. A funding application has just been submit-ted to the Greenbelt Fund for aproject to help identify howgrowers can access the broaderpublic sector (institutions,schools, hospitals, universities,daycares), which is a significant

buyer of product.Development of biomass forenergy: Dr. Kelly chairs a business case working group thatis looking at using biomass forthe Nanticoke power plant. Allcoal-fired facilities in Ontariomust be transitioned out of coalby 2015, so this group is lookingat the technical, financial andvalue chain perspectives of bio-mass crops for energy, such asmiscanthus, switchgrass andnative blue. Very few farmershave experience growing thesecrops so OFA and OSCIAsecured funding from the Agricul-tural Adaptation Council to devel-op real life situations where farm-ers are growing and harvestingthese crops. About 900 acres arepart of this program, with somesites within SCOR.

Hazelnut development: FerreroCanada manufactures a spread(Nutella) and confectionary prod-ucts in Brantford which usehazelnuts, sourcing most of themfrom Turkey, as well as the U.S.and Italy. The company is inter-ested in the potential growth oflocal hazelnut production.Ontario’s challenges for growinghazelnuts are cold temperatures,eastern filbert blight and a budmite. New varieties and cultivarsare being developed to addressthese, but the challenge is to growan industry from zero to 10,000acres in about ten years. A steer-ing committee involving Ferrero,OMAFRA, the University ofGuelph, Society of Ontario NutGrowers and others has mappedout the plan for hazelnut develop-ment. This includes many

innovative technologies, including the use of tissue cultureto increase numbers, varietalselection to enhance disease andcold resistance, and agronomicdevelopments.

Russian dandelion and castor:Both crops have industrial oilapplications, castor for its

particular poly-hydroxylated fattyacid and Russian dandelion as agood source of natural rubber thatcan be used in tires and latexgloves. University of Guelph andOMAFRA in Simcoe are interest-ed in the opportunity for these tobecome large crops in the area.Erie Innovation and Commercial-ization is also steering the

development of an Ontario CastorConsortium, including the University of Guelph, Trent University, Queen’s University,University of Toronto and theUniversity of Waterloo.

The next OFVGA board meeting will take place on August25th at the Best Western in Simcoe, starting at 9 a.m.

Board briefs

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 11

Talking farming to foodies

Organic produce grower Antony John speaks to food writers on his farm near Stratford.

KAREN DAVIDSON

Deep in its veins, Norfolk County isstill tobacco country. Whether it’s actualacres of tobacco or memories of it, thecrop’s heritage is everywhere. As the destination for this year’s Ontario Fruit andVegetable Growers’ Association summertour, Norfolk County’s fields of leafreminded everyone of how that crop helpsto cover the risk of transition to lavender,sweet potatoes or grapes.

Transition is exciting for Anita andSteve Buehner of Bonnieheath Lavender,former tobacco growers, who started grow-ing lavender in 2003. It’s been a long haulsearching for cold-tolerant varieties thatwill also yield the quantity and quality ofoil. At their Waterford, Ontario farm, theyhave just planted a sun-ray design oflavender radiating from a central gazebo.The pattern is designed to showcase different shades of lavender.

Utilizing structures from the past, theyare drying sheaths of lavender in old tobacco kilns. That’s before the sheathsenter a de-budding machine and the headsare distilled into essential oils.

Besides lavender, the Buehner’s haveplanted eight acres of grapes with theintention of adding an on-farm winery tothe mix. A tractor tour showcases not onlythe oldest black oak in Norfolk County, butnative grasses planted in 2009 as part ofthe Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS)program. Butterflies and other insectspecies are attracted to this buffer zonebetween grapes and nearby forest. Togeth-er, all of these elements portray a farmthat’s evolving into an agri-tourism destination. Their first lavender festivalthis summer attracted 400, a positive startto developing a trail to other like-mindedfarm entrepreneurs in the area.

Tobacco is still part of the mix for theVan Berlo family with 150 acres planted

this year. Sweet potatoes, however, haveproven a worthy crop with 700 acres incultivation. Invention has saved the cropfrom quick extinction on Ontario soils,with custom-made planters and diggersthat can efficiently harvest the volumesneeded.

With seedstock sourced from Mississip-pi, North and South Carolina, Peter VanBerlo insists on timely planting for thefinicky crop. Sweet potatoes dislike coldfeet and won’t get a good start withoutwarm soil temperatures. Similarly, harvestmust be completed quickly before frost

takes a nip. With proper equipment, onlyideally-sized sweet potatoes are gatheredfrom the field yielding about 25,000pounds per acre.

The expensive step is curing sweet potatoes, storing them at 85 degrees F forseveral days before final storage at 55degrees F. They are handled as little aspossible before being washed and packed,upon client demand. Berlo says they canhardly keep up with the growing demandfor sweet potatoes.

Continued on next page

THE GROWER

PAGE 12 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

OFVGA SUMMER TOUR AND BARBEQUE

T is for transition in Norfolk County

Anita Buehner, Bonnieheath Lavender. Photos by Herb Sherwood.

Peter Van Berlo, Berlo’s Best Sweet Potatoes

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 13

Delhi’s town history is steeped in thetobacco auction exchange, but as recentlyas this summer, a new business is pointingthe way to opportunity. Just two monthsinto operation, Naturally Norfolk’s Individ-ual Quick Freeze (IQF) plant is going fullsteam with the help of a government grantmatched by private investors.

Jim Irvin has repurposed a plant to pre-serve the bounty of local growers. To date, the line has processed onions,edamame, elderberries, blueberries andstrawberries, displacing about two millionpounds of imported product. Besidesfreezing produce, Naturally Norfolk candry fruits such as raspberries and can makeslurries or purees out of strawberries.

The plant’s business model of offeringservice for fees is working with severalclients who still maintain ownership of theproduct. Pearl onions are a current exam-ple of how Naturally Norfolk is freezingthe product for a grower group.

A second business model is also in playwith Irvin planting his own peas, beans andsweet corn, harvesting and freezing at hisplant. However, Mother Nature’s latespring has put the harvest back and there-

fore, line schedules. Balancing all theclient needs during the season means theplant is running 24/7.

Tobacco heritage is preserved in a mag-ical way at Burning Kiln Winery. MikeMcArthur and several partners have par-layed tobacco acres into a winery that’sjust opened this summer with the first ofthe 2010 vintage.

Also chair of the South Coast Wineryand Growers’ Association, McArthur isencouraging others to adapt their tobaccosoils to a higher calling. The objective isto have enough growers to tend 125 acresof grapes, the critical mass to qualify for afourth designated viticultural area inOntario. That goal appears to be attainablein about two years.

John Kelly, vice-president, Erie Innova-tion and Commercialization, has played apivotal role in connecting these variousoperations with government programs,business mentorship and organizationalmanagement.

With his office situated at the SimcoeResearch Station, Kelly continues to over-see a remarkable transition in Norfolk andthe south central Ontario region.

OFVGA SUMMER TOUR AND BARBEQUE

T is for transition in Norfolk County

Jim Irvin, Naturally Norfolk. Ontario Ag Minister Carol Mitchell and OFVGA chair Brian Gilroy.

The Burning Kiln Winery opened two months ago with a 2010 vintage.

The VanderHout’s like theirtwo robotic sprayers so much thatthey have two more on order.This greenhouse operation with15 acres of cucumbers wants

in-house sprayers for the expansion planned for later thisyear near Waterdown, Ontario.

“The payback is difficult tocalculate,” says Jan VanderHout,

“but for certain, it’s a labour-saving device that takes only oneperson to monitor versus two people to spray.”

Whether the sprayer is usedfor fungicides or insecticides, itreduces occupational exposure tothe products and consistentlydelivers crop protection row afterrow, with no fatigue. “There areno idiosyncracies throughout thegreenhouse,” says VanderHout.

Manufactured in Holland byBerg, this piece of equipment canbe calibrated to specific needs foruse on a pipe rail system. It runswith an electric motor on arechargeable 24-volt battery. Themachine is calibrated for thespeed of a brisk walk, adjustingwater volumes and crop protec-tion product according to thecrop’s needs. These precise cal-culations mean that there are nomissed spots or areas of heavier

coverage, improving the thoroughness of pest control compared to manual application.

For this robotic sprayer towork at top-notch levels, Vander-Hout recommends carefully balancing spray volume, dropletsize and ground speed usingwater to calibrate the sprayerespecially when the robot is new.

In some models, the sprayer isautomatically moved from row torow sending a text to the operator’s phone in the event ofan error.

STORIES BY KAREN DAVIDSON

When global positioning sys-tems (GPS) stormed agriculture adecade ago, no one imagined thatthe next horizon would be robot-ics. The technology that has revo-lutionized the automobile industryis about to make inroads into for-eign territory: horticulture.

“The timing is ripe for robotictechnology to go into new verti-cals,” says Matthew Rendall,president, Clearpath Robotics,Kitchener, Ontario. Born in 2009,the fledgling company is an off-shoot of the University of Water-loo’s department of mechatronicsengineering, one of its newest disciplines. Robotic history issteeped in military and aerospaceapplications. The most high-pro-file example is those unmanneddrones in Afghanistan. With aproven track record, developmentcompanies are looking for new

applications. “Agriculture was at the top of

our list,” says Rendall. “With thedownturn of the automobileindustry in 2008, it was natural tolook at agriculture which is stilllabour-driven. About 18 monthsago, we started to look at ginseng,asparagus, tomatoes, peaches andgrapes for opportunities to deployprototypes.”

Ginseng is a good example ofa crop that could become moreefficient. With susceptibility topests and disease, and exposure tofluctuating international markets,ginseng could benefit from costcontrol. Most of all, escalatinglabour rates threaten long-termprofitability.

Rendall thinks that Clearpath’srobotic mule, the Husky, mayreplace manual labour in trans-porting product from the field.“Any repetitive activity in a rowcrop is a candidate for robotics.We’re a long way from a totally

robotic harvest – horticulture willstill need hand-picking – butrobotic-assisted farming canhelp.”

What Rendall will be demon-strating at Canada’s Fruit andVeg Tech X-Change in early

September is a micro tractor thatcan be hitched to a trailer fortransporting blueberries from thefield. The sensors, so critical toprecision agriculture, will beshowcased in a new application.

Although still at a prototype

stage, robotics must be cost-com-petitive with other farm equip-ment to be adopted. That businesscase will need to be built by evaluating transportation savingsfrom the field to packhouse andlabour savings.

“We’re at a stage where we’reready to engage innovative farm-ers who want to see Canadiantechnology in Canadian crops,”says Rendall. He maintains thatthe technical expertise is there,but now needs to be married tomarket champions and financialinvestors.

For some, robotics may seemas out-of-this-world as the astronaut’s walk on the moon.But if you could imagine amower hitched to a robot pro-grammed to cut orchard grass atnight – with military precision --would you be willing to take thatfirst step? To participate in a pro-totype trial, call Matthew Rendallat 1-800-301-3863 ext 801.

THE GROWER

NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Robotics revolution

PAGE 14 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

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Robotic sprayer saves labour, improves pest control

This Dutch-made robotic sprayer saves labour and metes out consistent pest control in the cucumber greenhouse of Beverly Farms,Waterdown, Ontario. Photo by Denis Cahill.

A robotic mule, the Husky, will be showcased at Canada’s Fruit andVeg Tech X-Change, September 1-3.

It’s a labour-savingdevice that takes only oneperson to monitor versustwo people to spray.”

- Jan VanderHout

“

DR. JASON S.T. DEVEAU, APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST

GILLIAN FERGUSON, GREEN-HOUSE VEGETABLE IPMSPECIALIST

Many people think it was IsaacAsimov (1920-1992) that coinedthe word “robot,” but it was actu-ally Czech playwright KarelCapek (1890-1938), from theCzech word for “forced labour”or “serf.” Now some greenhousesare using robots to spray tomatoesin Leamington, Ontario.

There are a lot of advantagesto using automated sprayers in agreenhouse scenario. Unlikehandguns or pulled trolleys, theyproduce a more consistent spraypattern and they greatly reducethe chance of operator exposureto pesticide. Still, robot sprayersare only as good as the parame-ters that control them. Some pre-liminary trials were held atNature Fresh Farms to diagnosethe spray coverage produced bythe robot (see Figure 1).

The sprayer was set to operateat ~350 pounds per square inch,traveling at a rate of 75 metersper minute, spraying from a verti-cal boom equipped with five flatfan nozzles. Water sensitive paper(which turns from yellow to bluewhen water contacts it) wasplaced in three locations in thetomato canopy: directly behindthe fruit and facing the sprayer,upside down (exposing only theedge of the card to the sprayer)and sideways (also exposing thethin edge of the card to thesprayer). When engaged, thesprayer flew down the 125 metrealley, riding on the hot water

pipes and emitting a spray patternthat appeared to com-pletely envelop the tar-get row. When the cardswere retrieved, however,the coverage was not allthat it could be… when

asked, the robot made noexcuses (see the right-hand

column of papers entitled “Flatfan” in Figure 2).

The nozzles were thenchanged from the vertically-aligned flat fans to hollow cones.The intent was that the spraywould be emitted from so manynew angles that it would penetratethe canopy more effectively andvia a swirling motion, cover moreof the targets. The robot was re-tooled, the paper targets replaced,and the sprayer sent back downthe alley. This time, the spray wasmore dispersed and gave theappearance of better directed cov-erage… until the cards showeddifferently. In fact, it appearedthere was even less coverage!

Perhaps it was too much pres-sure, causing the spray to over-shoot the tomatoes. The pressurewas reduced to 100 psi and thesame cards were left in place andre-sprayed. With the exception ofthe card behind the tomatoes,there was very little change.

Perhaps the spray was too fineand larger droplets would bounceand fall through the canopy? In2004, work performed by scien-

tists in Spain demonstrated thatthe optimal distance from tomato-to-nozzle in a greenhouse wasabout 35 centimetres becausegravity distorts the spray beyondthat distance. The tips werereplaced with nozzles emittingcoarser droplets and the samecards re-sprayed. Still no change.

Perhaps the sprayer was mov-ing too quickly? It has beendemonstrated that a slower travelspeed can improve canopy pene-tration in fruit trees, berry bushesand grape vines. The sprayer wasslowed to 50 metres per minuteand the cards sprayed for a fourthtime… to no avail. (see the mid-

dle column of papers entitled“Hollow Cone (x4)” in Figure 2).

Finally, almost in desperation,the tips were replaced with dual-flat fans (see Figure 3), which areoften used in field crops such aswheat to apply fungicides to con-trol fusarium in wheat heads. Thetargets were replaced with freshcards and the sprayer wasreturned to its original settings,with the exception of dual flat

fans installed at 45 degree anglesrather than vertically-aligned con-ventional flat fans. The result wasspectacular. The cards received somuch coverage that two becamedrenched and curled. (see the left-hand column of papers entitled“Dual Flat Fan” in Figure 2).

This is where the trial ended,but the next step is to considerreducing the output until the cardsreceive an even application of

about 85 drops per square cen-timetre (a benchmark for goodcoverage) rather than the drenchthat led to run-off. A judicious

reduction should result in finan-cial savings in pesticide costs byreducing wastage. Even withoutthe reduction in output, the opera-tor can be confident that the sprayis hitting the target, which shouldonly improve control.

Take home: Greenhouse toma-to growers should consider usingwater-sensitive paper to test noz-zle arrangement on their high vol-ume sprayers. Dual flat fans havenot been investigated in cucurbitsor peppers, but it might be worthexploring. Incidentally, the robotdidn’t seem to care one way orthe other.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 15

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Tips on robotic spraying of greenhouse tomatoes

Figure 1 – Robot sprayer in greenhouse tomatoes

Figure 2 – Water sensitive paper sprayed with water using a variety ofsprayer parameters. Cards are yellow until contact with water turnsthem blue. The cards in the right-hand column were sprayed with flatfans and illustrate insufficient coverage. The cards in the middle col-umn were sprayed four times with hollow cone nozzles and illustrateinsufficient coverage. The cards in the left-hand column were sprayedwith dual flat fan arrangement and illustrate excessive coverage.

Figure 3 – TeeJet’s Twinjet Nozzle

2011 is a perfect example ofextreme weather. A wet, coolspring in central Canada gaveway to hot, droughty conditionsin July that prompted irrigation.Go figure.

Fortunately, the OntarioResearch Fund – Research Excellence Program has beentapped for $2.86 million so ateam of scientists can betterunderstand how climate change isimpacting Ontario’s grape andwine industry.

Brock University ProfessorGary Pickering will lead a teamof 19 researchers conductingextensive research in a number ofclimate-related disciplines thathave become a threat to Ontariogrape growers. Pickering, a biological sciences professor whois also a researcher in Brock’sCool Climate Viticulture andOenology Institute (CCOVI), saidthe evidence is “irrefutable.”

“Adapting to climate changerepresents arguably the singlemost urgent challenge facing theworld,” he said.

The funds will be used for thefollowing projects:

Climate Change This program will use advancedmodeling techniques to determinehow the climates of Ontario’swine regions will evolve over thenext 30 years. With industry itwill develop adaptive strategies toreduce risks and optimize grow-ing conditions, as well as identifypotential new viticulture areas forfuture expansion.

Grapevine HardinessThe severe weather events that

have taken place in recent yearsare anticipated to worsen substan-tially in the future. These weatherevents challenge the ability ofmany vinifera grape vines to notonly produce quality fruit, butsimply to survive. This programis aimed at optimizing grapevinewinter hardiness by understandingthe acclimation and de-acclima-tion process of grapevines, andthe viticultural and environmentalstresses affecting them.

Grapevine Molecular BiologyThis program will develop plantsand markers to breed for winterhardiness, and will identify genesthat can act as markers for abreeding program. This programwill lay the groundwork for thecreation of winter hardy elitevinifera wine varieties, which willprovide a permanent and reliablesolution against vine damagecaused by low temperature winterinjury.

Methoxypyrazine Remediation Methoxypyrazines are green andunpleasant tasting compoundsfound in wine. They are due toinvasive pest species that are now

prevalent in Ontario because ofclimate change, and also grapesthat fail to attain full ripenessbecause of unsuitable weatherduring the growing season. Thefocus of this program will be theapplication of technologiesalready patented by this researchteam, as well as the developmentof new approaches to removingthese compounds from juice andwine.

Sparkling Wine ProductionThis program will use a systembiology approach to developstrategies based on wine yeast toincrease the efficiency and prof-itability of sparkling and wineproduction in Ontario. This willhelp to solidify sparkling wine asa successful style for theprovince, as well as hedge againstunfavourable climate for tablewine production, and help todiversify Ontario’s wine offeringsin the competitive internationalmarketplace.

Appassimento-style Wines Ripening grapes off-vine afterharvest represents a new andexciting innovation for theOntario wine industry to over-

come climatic barriers to obtain-ing fully ripe grapes. The semi-dried fruit can then be fermentedinto an appassimento-style wine,similar to Amarone, using vari-eties grown in Ontario to produce

value-added quality-driven uniqueproducts with distinctive flavourprofiles. The goal of this programis to identify the best drying techniques and to optimize theproduction process overall.

THE GROWER

NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Climate change research to sustain grape and wine industry

PAGE 16 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

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Debbie Inglis, director of CCOVI, leads Jim Bradley, MPP for St.Catharines, and Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation, on a tour of CCOVI’s research facilities.

Hydraulically-operated platforms are becoming theequipment of choice in high-density apple orchards for labour-intensive tasks that would normally be performed using ladders such as pruning, thinning,tying tree tops and stapling wires.

Global Fruit, Clarksburg,Ontario started with an Italian-made model in 2004 to install thesupport systems and hail nettingfor 140 hectares of orchard plant-ed to Red Prince, Honeycrisp andMcIntosh varieties. But throughnormal wear-and-tear, equipment

breakdowns were inevitable andshortage of parts forced the farmcrew to manufacture their ownplatforms – with custom featuresof course.

In total, seven platforms arecurrently in use at the farm usinga self-propelled, modified four-wheel drive utility tractor and anautomatic steering feature. Oncestarted, the platform is programmed to move forward at.1 meters per second.

“We could not operate in ahigh-density orchard withoutthem,” says Dave Hutchinson,

Global Fruit orchard manager.“Besides productivity gains, theplatform’s ergonomic designreduces strain on workers.”

Platforms allow two workersto prune one to 1.5 hectares perday – a considerable improve-ment compared to less than .5 hawith ladders. On thinning, lookfor productivity of 650 trees perhour which translates to 1.5 to 2hectares per day. Some of thebiggest gains are realized in harvest with averages of five tosix bins/worker/day compared to

half that amount harvested withworkers on ladders.

In total, six Ontario applegrowers are testing the platforms,measuring speeds and productiveoutput against traditional manuallabour says Kelly Ciceran,Ontario Apple Growers generalmanager. The project is fundedthrough the Farm Innovation Program.

“Our aim is to demonstrate toall growers in Ontario, using ourlabour rate and orchard manage-ment practices, the savings that

could potentially be realized byadopting the platforms for pruning in winter and summer aswell as thinning in the orchard,”says Ciceran.

Demonstrations are plannedfor all growers in early April,2012 during dormant pruningtime. The other co-operators are:Dave Gibson, Algoma Orchards;Pete Geerts, Birnam Orchards;Chris Hedges, Martin’s FamilyFruit Farm; Tom Chudleigh,Chudleigh’s; Tom Ferri, T & KFerri.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 17

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Platforms ease picking strain, decrease labour costs

At Global Fruit, the platforms were customized to add a picking bagon a swivel pedestal that allows workers to pick into the bag and gently lower the full bag into the apple bins.

In mid-August, platforms were tested at Birnam Orchards near Arkona, Ontario. Workers were thinningEmpires. Photo by Leslie Huffman, OMAFRA.

With a monthly hydro bill of$10,000, Doug Van Luyk isstrongly motivated to savemoney on his Holland Marshfarm. So last year, he installed acomputerized fresh air systemthat turns off the refrigeration unitin his carrot cold storage onceoutdoor temperatures reach 32degrees F. At that point, outsidecold air is pumped in to keep his400 tons of carrots at the appro-priate temperature. With last winter’s cold temperatures in thefirst year of operation, energycosts plummeted to about 20 percent of normal.

“Until we installed this freshair system last year, we neverturned the refrigeration off on thisfarm,” says Van Luyk, Newmar-ket, Ontario. “With global warm-ing, we don’t get the cold weather

in November, so it’s important toget carrots to 32 degrees F assoon as possible after harvest.”

But wise stewardship of thecrop also includes conservingenergy. “It’s very challenging toestimate the cost of runningrefrigeration equipment, saysDoug Trivers, Dayson Agricultur-al Ventilation Ltd., who installedthe fresh air system. “Evaporatorfans, condensor fans and compressors all consume energy.Depending on the refrigerationsystem design, the equipment willrun at different speeds or cycle onand off throughout the day tocontrol the amount of heat to beremoved from storage. Defrostcycles are also required, whichadd to the complexity of ‘estimat-ing’ power use. Unless we actually monitor the power of the

refrigeration equipment alone, wereally do not know the powerused by refrigeration equipment.To convince growers to installthese new systems is tough if youcan’t quantify the savings.”

“What I do know is whenMother Nature cooperates with acool night during fall pull-down,a single 10 HP fan can removethe same amount of heat as 20 HPof refrigeration – and no defrostis required!”

Trivers explains how the freshair system works. A plenum wallis built with fans behind it to pushthe air between the boxes of carrots. Cold outside air is blended with inside storage air,then humidified before beingdelivered to the carrots at a temperature of 32.2 degrees F.

“We are careful not to freeze

the humidifier water,”says Trivers. In conventional systems,exhaust fans blow airout, but there’s limited capability tocontrol the tempera-ture of the incomingair which enters atambient temperature.

To add even moreenergy savings, variable speed driveswere added to theplenum fan motors.Once the field heat isout, and less airflow is required,the drives are used to slow downthe fans. Fan laws work in thegrower’s favour – at 80 per centof the speed, the airflow is 80 percent but the power consumptionis cut in half. At half speed, the

fan will use 1/8th of the power. While the technology is

nothing new to potato growers,it’s only thanks to recent grantsthat carrot farmers have been ableto implement the computerizedsystems. “I can actually checkthe barn temperatures and modifythem from a smartphone,” saysVan Luyk. The grants came fromOntario’s Environmental FarmPlan and the Greenbelt GreenEnergy Program for Agriculturecovering a percentage of thecosts.

With this system in place, thebenefits are threefold: humidityis distributed evenly throughout,the quality of the stored crop isimproved and energy is saved.Van Luyk’s project is one of ninethat sought energy savings in veg-etable storages in the HollandMarsh.

THE GROWER

PAGE 18 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Fresh air system reduces cooling costs

39,200ATTENDEES

715EXHIBITORS

2010 SHOW STATS

WHEREFARMERS

MEET™

“It is all about farming. We like seeing all the crop companies and having actual testplots where you can see and compare.”

Kor Reinink, John and Darren PenningaCorner Rock Farm, Arthur ON

CANADA’S OUTDOOR FARM SHOW 2011ORGANIC & MARKET VEGETABLE EXPO

HORTICULTURE EQUIPMENT DEMOS

NEW SPRAYER DEMO LOCATION • Spray Coverage vs Travel Speed

BIOGAS EXHIBITS & DEMOS

BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PLOTS • Miscanthus & Switchgrass

TILLAGE FOR CORN STALKS DEMO

NEW AG-BIZ PAVILION

NEW PASTURE/GRAZING DEMOS LOCATION

WOODLOT EXPO

CANADIAN ENERGY EXPO • Presented by Ag Energy Co-operative

Doug Van Luyk

Potato planting just got moreefficient with a German-manufac-tured Grimme 840 compact,eight-row folding planter. DaveVander Zaag, an Alliston, Ontariopotato farmer, put this new equip-ment to work in the spring of2011, planting 95 acres per daycompared to 60 acres per day.

“Our customer was looking for

increased productivity,” saysDaniel Man, HJV Equipment.“He had a 6-row Grimme planterbut due to the high traffic volumegoing from one location to anoth-er, going to a standard 8-rowmodel was not an option.”

Some of the initial enhance-ments were the installation ofhopper extension, cat walk,

rollover tarp with easy tarp, twochemical application kits, fourcamera kits with 19-inch monitorand a PTO generator. As part ofthe 8-row folding prototype, HJVincluded a hilling system for one-pass planting and hilling toreduce field time and create effi-ciency.

“One obstacle was that thehopper capability was not as largeon the standard 8-row, thereforewe created a solution to accom-modate it,” says Man. “To opti-mize the capacity, we designedand manufactured a potato boxthat quick attaches to a pay loaderwith a hydraulic front door foreasy metering of the potatoes in

the hopper. We then incorporateda rollover tarp for the potatobox.”

Here is how the new planterperformed compared to the previ-ous 6-row Grimme system.

Previous 6 Row GrimmePlanter with bulk truck and elevator(based on 12 hour day)Planter fills per day 15Planter filling time approx 12 minPlanter filler time per day 3 hoursPlanting time 9 hoursPlanting speed 4 miles per hourRow per pass 6Acres per day 60

New 8 Row Folding System loading with pay loader(based on 12 hour day)Planter fills per day 28Planter filling time approx 1.50minPlanter filling time per day 0.75hoursPlanting time 11.25 hoursPlanting speed 4 miles per hourRows per pass 8Acres per day 95

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 19

NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Eight-row potato planter covers more ground in a day

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8-row Grimme potato planter

At the Aug 18 Ontario Potato Day hosted at HJV Equipment, a new3-row Spudnik harvester was on display, ready for immediate harvestin the Alliston area. “It’s the first in Ontario,” says Paul Smith, HJVEquipment, “with a terra float system and depth-sensing technolo-gy.” This means that no cut potatoes will enter the bunker system,translating into a higher-quality harvest. What’s more, the Idaho-made machine can continuously harvest with no need to stopfor transfers to a truck. If an operator has to stop even six to seven

minutes to unloadevery time, thoseminutes can addup to lost productivity.That can meanquite a differencein expenses,either throughovertime at thecrunch of harvestor lost quality innarrow windowsof harvest. Thisnew machine iscurrently harvesting at thefarms of BobMcKenzie and Dave VanderZaag.

Faster harvester

Paul Smith, HJV Equipment

When P.G. Enns Farms in Niagara-on-the-Lake decidedto upgrade sorting equipment for their peach packing oper-ation, they quickly realized that they also needed toimprove their system for delivering empty cartons to thepackers. That’s when he called Pacline, Mississauga,Ontario.

Although Enns Farms did have a basic monorail systemto carry empty cartons, this old system was now incompati-ble with the new sorting equipment.

They replaced the simple monorail with a PAC-LINEoverhead conveyor system. It features a universal chaininside an enclosed tubular track. The new conveyor track,which can handle steep elevation changes and tight curves,

was precisely designed to take empty cartons from the car-ton-forming area and to go up over and around new sortingequipment and then back down to a level convenient to thepeach packing operators on the floor.

This system allowed the floor to be clear and unclutteredof cartons and packing material, adhering to the higheststandards of food and operator safety.

Robb Enns says that the PAC-LINE- system hasimproved productivity for their packing operation. “It issuch a simple system, I don’t know why everyone in thisbusiness doesn’t have one.”

THE GROWER

PAGE 20 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

Only at Sheehan’s TruckCentre we offer our customer’s everything fromgreat trucks, fast deliveryof parts to extraordinarycustomer service. We arelocated in a 52,000-sq/ftfacility with 65 highlytrained staff to take care ofyour transportation needs.We have over 200 newand used vehicles on display in our newlypaved lot. Call us today for a test drive, quote on a new truck or any other questions that youmay have.

557 Highway 5 West, RR 2 Dundas, Ontario L9H 5E2 Tel: (905) 628-0551 Fax: (905) 628-4316galer@bellnet.ca www.galerfarmequipment.com

Some sectors of the produce industry might be hard-pressed to take the ‘pizza test.’ That’s the ability to identi-fy the sources of all the ingredients on a pizza. Wherewere the tomatoes grown? Where were the peppersgrown? And so on. What’s more, that information needs tobe communicated on the face of polybags.

For Norfolk Fruit Growers’ Association (NFGA), thechallenge is to meet specifications in export markets whichrequire the name of the supplier, batch code, pull code andother assorted information on a one-inch by 1.5-inchsquare rectangle at the bottom of the bag of apples. Ayear ago, the business installed a Posie Packer labelingmachine to reduce the manual labour of stickering bags,but the process still has challenges.

“With a wicket of 250 stickers, there is a fan of stickersat the end of the roll,” says Tom O’Neill, general manager,NFGA. “It’s hard to get the sticker at the very bottom ofthe bag because the bag shifts going through the labelingmachine. ”

Nevertheless, the automated labeling machine is animprovement over hand-stickering. Labels, either paper orplastic, imprinted with supplier information in a humanreadable format, offers the lowest cost method to transmittraceability information to the consumer.

The Posie Packer company, based in Guelph, Ontario,claims that its bag-labeling machine can apply labels up tofive times faster than manual application with the ability toapply two labels per cycle on wicketed or non-wicketedpoly bags (plain, gusseted or zip lock). There are no limi-tations on size of bag or required label location. Labourcosts associated with labeling can be reduced up to 90 percent.

John Vandergrift, owner, Posie Packer, offers a freeassessment of how bags, labels and label location will runon the machine and the potential return on investment.His website, www.producebaglabeler.com, also offersaccess to a database of more than 75 traceability softwareproviders.

NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Labeling machine stickers time-sensitive data on polybags

Posie Packer machinery profitably eliminates drudgeryjobs involved in labeling produce bags.

Conveyor improves carton delivery

VEGETABLE EQUIPMENT FOR CARROTS, ONION, POTATOES

FOR SALE - 4 row potato windrower, all new belts and bearings 1 year

warranty. $24,000- Onion digger , new chains and cutter bar. $3500 - 2 self propelled carrot harvesters. $18,000 and $24,000- 1300 gallon Gregson sprayer 100ft booms, chemical

eductor, floatation tires, mint condition. $55,000 used 2 seasons

- Self propelled 785 Willmar sprayer. $40,000 or best offer.- Thomas B88 air Vac harvester, Good condition. $35,000 - Lockwood 2 row harvester, Good condition. $8,000- Hill Machinery telescopic bin piler with 36" sizer and

grading table. $6500- MF 410 grain combine in mint condition. $3500- 2 row, 3pt hitch Univerco Regi weeder. $2500

3211 - 8th Line Bradford, ON

L3Z 2A5Ph: 905-960-0033sales@agriveg.ca

w w w. a g r i v e g . c a

Market gardeners will find anew focus in the Organics andMarket Vegetable Expo at Cana-da’s Outdoor Farm Show, Sep-tember 13 – 15 near Woodstock,Ontario.

“This year we have rearrangedthe real estate on the North Mallto make way for a larger offeringfor those producing market veg-etables and organics in response

to the local food “buy local buyfresh” demands,” says DougWagner, vice-president of Cana-da’s Outdoor Farm Show.

A number of companies willbe demonstrating equipmentspecifically designed for organicand horticultural production,including small-scale agriculturalequipment for intensive vegetableproduction, weeding and special

mowing applications. “Sometimesvisitors get overwhelmed by thesheer size of the large equip-ment,” says Wagner, “so we aremaking sure we showcase smalland demonstrate the versatility ofthese machines.”

The expo will also featuremini-seminars on important relat-ed topics. One of the speakerswill be Don Ross, a well-known

author in eastern Ontariowho has helped establish“Local Flavours,” a groupof 120 members whoassist in developing mar-kets for local producers.Other topics will includehow to brand product,mixing agri-tourism withfood production, and newdevelopments in organicproduction.

“The Organic Councilof Ontario will be high-lighting the opportunitiesand breakthroughs theorganic sector is making in agro-ecology, green technology andprofitability,” says Jodi Koberins-ki, the Council’s Executive

Director. “We will also be onhand to inform farmers about thenew Foodland Organic designa-tion which identifies Ontario-produced organic foods.”

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 21

NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Small is big at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

Greenhouse and Heating Systems

Canada’s Leading Greenhouse Manufacturer

Tel: 519-582-3081 Fax: 519-582-0851Toll Free: 888-786-4769

RR 1, Simcoe Ontario, Canadainfo@decloetgreenhouse.com www.decloetgreenhouse.com

Complete Greenhouse Systems Since 1986

DECKER MANUFACTURING

Decker BrandMulti Fuel BoilersKen Tigchelaar, Distribution Rep.Tel: 519-623-7688 Fax: 519-623-3478ken@kkgreenhouses.comwww.deckerbrand.com

Serving Canada & U.S. Coast to CoastHot Water Boilers

Lorie Jocius (R) and StefanieNagelschmitz, Canada’s Outdoor FarmShow, tend to the new organic gardenshowcasing rainbow Swiss chard.

As the 2011 garlic crop staysnestled under a varying blanket ofsnow, growers met on SaturdayDec 11 for the annual fall meeting.After a year of some of thestrongest demand and best pricesfor our crop, it was an opportunityto look at what happened and what

the future will bring.We had a growing season that

had extreme drought in the deepsouthwest, a lot of heat unitseverywhere, and more than suffi-cient rainfall in many areas. Wehad some scattered and very seri-ous damage due primarily to bulb

and stem nematode. Becky Hugh-es from New Liskeard pointed outthat nematode numbers will buildup in a cool wet year (2009) andyou will always see the damageeffect in a hot drier year ( the hotbeing the key). For growers whohad an infestation it was devastat-ing. As well there have been grow-ing challenges in China, Californiaand other areas.

Along with rampant inflation inChina which has increased the costof all their produce and thankfully

made their garlic a scarser andmore expensive commodity, all ofthese factors as well as over-whelming Canadian consumerdemand for our product haveresulted in some great selling andpricing opportunities.

So what will this mean for the2011 and future crops? Withdemand strong and prices to grow-ers ranging from $5 to $ 10 perpound depending on where and inwhat form you sell, the outlook isvery positive. One major chain has

put Ontario garlic back on theshelves in their high value storesand have realized that they mustpay a decent price in order to havethe best product for their cus-tomers. Seed was in very shortsupply and will continue to be forsome years to come. As growerswe are looking to increase produc-tion from bulbuils as a possibleway to increase acreage sooner.

However more research inproper methods needs to be doneas historically growing from bul-buils has not always been success-ful. As an association we will bedoing some research and postingthe info for members on our web-site.

We will be applying for a size-able Agricultural AdaptationCouncil grant to continue with ourClean Seed program developmentin light of the problems with bulband stem nematode. It was pointedout by researchers at the meetingthat fumigation has no effect.Because of the nature of garlic,you can sterilize the soil but if youplant infected garlic cloves thenyou just perpetuate the problemand the weather will determinehow bad your damage will be.Crop rotation helps but you wouldtypically need to wait at least fiveyears before returning to an infect-ed field and again, if you plantinfected seed then you still havethe problem.

We will be looking during theproject on how to quickly increasethe supply of clean seed for grow-ers.So all in all, a well attended fall

meeting with lots of input frommembers. We have lots of workfor the years ahead. One other itemthat we did discuss was price.With any product you have toalways be careful not to priceyourself out of the marketplace.Garlic, although unique, may stillneed to remember this. At somepoint as price rises, the goodwilland pent-up demand for our prod-uct could evaporate if prices gettoo high. As growers we do ofcourse need to ensure that we getthe best return for our crop, so thatis what we will have to balance indetermining next season's pricepoints.

On behalf of myself and yourassociation, I hope the holidayshave been good to you and yourfamily as we all look forward toproducing the best garlic in theworld.

THE GROWER

PAGE 22 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

OFVGA Annual General Meetingand Convention Policy

As the OFVGA prepares for its 152nd annual meeting, the association would like to remind its member organizations of the

following policy – put in place in 2004-05 – in orderto ensure proper delegate preparation and resolutions submission.

• All member organizations are entitled to one (1) delegate per 50members within their respective organizations, maximum of five.• All member organizations are to provide to the OFVGA the number of its active membership.• All resolutions should be brought forward, in writing, by December 15 of each year.• Any of the member organizations who are required to submittheir director’s name in advance (currently seven of the 10 boardaffiliates) should do so by December 15 of each year.

NOTICEis hereby given that the

153rd Annual Members and Directors’ Meetingof the

Ontario Fruit andVegetable Growers’ Associationwill be held in

Niagara Falls, Ontario at The Crowne Plaza HotelJanuary 9, 10 and 11, 2012

Election of Directors of the Association will take place aswell as dealing with resolutions and any other business

that may arise.

Business Development for Farm Businesses

Your business plan• is a map - following it gives you confidence that

you know where you’re going• will help you develop creative ways to implement

and reach your farm business goals

Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association1-800-265-9751 www.ontariosoilcrop.org

Build a solid foundation for your business…..develop a business plan

workshop is the place to start!

Register for a workshop today!

A business plan revolutionizes a farming operation. Speaking frompersonal experience, this written living document impacts the

future but even more so the day to day operations of the farm.

Dr. Peter Vander Zaag, Past Chair of the Agricultural Management Institute

COST-SHARE

FUNDING

AVAILABLE*

*Cost-share funding available until further notice

Sept 1 – 3 Canada’s Fruit and Veg Tech X-Change, St. Williams, ON

September 6 Self-Directed Risk Management information meeting, Travelodge, Chatham, ON

September 7 Self-Directed Risk Management information meeting, Knights of Columbus Hall, Delhi, ON

September 8 Self-Directed Risk Management information meeting, Prudhommes Inn, Vineland, ON

Sept 8 – 11 The Shores of Erie Wine Festival, Amherstburg, ON

Sept 10 Vineland Research Station’s Centenary Open House, Vineland Station, ON 11:30 am - 4:30 pm

Sept 10, 11 Stratford Garlic Festival, Old Stratford Fairgrounds, Stratford, ON

Sept 12 Ontario Asparagus Association Twilight Meeting & BBQ, 6:30 pm, Simcoe Research Station, Simcoe, ON

Sept 13 – 15 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock, ON

Sept14 Ontario Berry Growers’ Association Twilight Meeting, Jennen Market, Thamesville, ON

Sept 14 Grape Growers of Ontario Celebrity Luncheon featuring Chantal Hebert, Club Roma, St. Catharines, ON

Sept 25 Toronto Garlic Festival, Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto, ON

October 5, 6 Canadian Greenhouse Conference, Scotiabank Convention Centre, Niagara Falls, ON

Oct 14 – 17 PMA Fresh Summit, Georgia World Congress Centre, Atlanta, GA

COMING EVENTS 2011

Looking back and looking forward

MARK WALESGARLIC GROWERS’ASSOCIATION OFONTARIO

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 23

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

REAL ESTATE

Gerry Loeters for Royal LePage,

RCR Realty.PH. 519-765-4217Cell. 519-773-6460

ORCHARD FOR SALE. Outstanding orchard Farm in fullproduction with very good varieties including strawberries andyounger trees. List of varieties available with age and quantityof trees, crops not included in asking price, but available. Alsolist of equipment available but not included. The orchard is rec-ognized as the best or one of the best orchards in Ontario.Very good home and storage buildings on property.Great opportunity to get into the business with increased pro-duction in the coming years. Asking $1,300,000.00.Address: 5893 Sawmill Road and 5894 Sawmill Road, RR2Aylmer, Malahide TWP, Elgin County

Beautiful Bayfield

40 acre country property. Presently

used for Greenhouse& Market Gardening

Operation. LargePond & 4 bedroom brick home.

MLS 299970 Call John for information.

John Jantzi, Sales RepresentativeRE/MAX a-b Realty Ltd., Brokerage

519-273-2822 (office) • 519-571-3894 (cell) - JohnLOOKING TO BUY OR SELL.....GIVE US A CALL!Each Office Independently Owned & Operated.

Elgin County – 129 acres, 112wkble on the lake, east of PortStanley. 40,000 sq ft greenhousewith tempered glass and DutchVenlo. In potates, vegetables andcash crops. Natural gas runs to theback of the parcel where 2 shedsare located; 1@ 40x80 with con-crete floor & 1@ 36x110. Irrigat-ed from 2 ponds and lake. 3 bdrmranch on half acre included butcan be purchased separately.Offers many possibilities.$1,400,000 for complete package.Norfolk County – ProfitableGourmet Potatoe Farm marketingto the Toronto Food Terminal.400+ owned and leased land. 49acres and buildings included.Equipment is in addition.$2,200,000.

FOR FULL DETAILS ONTHESE AND MORE, INCLUD-

ING MAPPING AND PHO-TOGRAPHS PLEASE VISIT:

www.JustFarms.ca

Sutton Group-SelectRealty Inc.

JoAnne Baines, sales representativePhilip Chabot, broker

519-495-7117

Certis USA has registeredCYD-X in Canada, an insectici-dal virus that is used by conven-tional and organic growers tocontrol codling moth in applesand pears. CYD-X contains anaturally occurring virus thatinfects and kills the larvae of thecodling moth. Because the virusis host-specific, it does not infect

beneficial insects or otherwildlife.

Its novel active ingredientoffers flexibility in organic pro-duction, in IPM programs or intank mixes in conventional pro-grams to control this pest.Engage Agro, based in Guelph,Ontario, will be the distributor ofthis new product.

MINOR USE

Engage Agro to distribute codling mothinsecticidal virus

Codling moth in apple

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 donarthur@georgian.net Clarksburg, ON

Several Models: 5-Bin or 6-Bin, Tandem Axles or Single Axle WithSoft-Ride Flotation Tires, Narrow, Low Profile Model With AdjustableWidth Axles For Plastic or Wood BinsApple Bin Dumpers (Rotator) - Fit Forklift or Tractor LoaderNEW TURBO-MIST SPRAYERS - VARIETY OF MODELS IN STOCKLOW DRIFT SPRAY TOWERS to fit any TURBO-MIST - IN STOCK NOW

Perfect KG220,, H.D. Flail Shredder, New Hammers . . . . . . . . $6,500Seppi 200 Flail Mower, Cut Grass or Mulch Prunings. . . . . . . . .$5,500Wifo Heavy Duty Bin Rotator Attachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ComingPerfect ZA380, Adjustable Offset, Swing Cutter, New Blades . . $5,500

HAVE A SAFE AND PROSPEROUS HARVEST

BIN CARRIERSNEW AND USED

SPRAYERS FOR SALE3 referb JB Modulars Sprayers• REFURB JB LV 321

Narrow, $5995.00• NEW Hardi 3pt. Air

Cannon, $4500.00• NEW 100gal 3pt JB

Air, $7500.00• New Durand Vineyard

Sprayer Great Price. Over Stock.

• Barely used Hardi Mercury call for $$

FORKLIFTM.F. 4500, 21 ft.Mast, 48” forks.

2WD DieselPH: 519-599-5535

eveningsEmail: mcmurchyfarms

@georgian.net

PAGE 24 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

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

1-800-265-2397 • www.wwp.on.caMount Forest 519-323-1060 • Leamington Area 519-326-2394

Manufacturer & Distributor

Produce PackagingoduPr ackaginguce P

CONTAINERS

FOR SALEVegetable Walk-in Cooler

40� long/30� wide/10� highSliding/loading door

on 40� side3 years old

Please contact George: 905 971 2144 or emailamltd3@netzero.net

CLASSIFIEDS

APPLE BINS FOR SALE: usedin good condition. Approx 500.Phone 519-599-5841, email oaklane@georgian.net

100’s of 40"L X 32"W X 29"Hwood crates available. Must sell!Below market pricing.Ask about any other size crate,skid or pallets you use. Wedeliver or you pick up.Call Phil: 519-835-0295Email: philip@barco.cawww.barco.ca

Onion Harvester pull type sidedischarge, $2,500; Onion Har-vester self propelled side dis-charge, $6,500; Univerco OnionPuller, $12,500; Univerco CarrotHarvester, $15,000; PicklingOnion Equipment, $7,500;Howard 8 foot Rototiller, $3,500;Multivator, $2,500; 2705 MFTractor, $8,500; 2775 MF Trac-tor, $13,000; TM 125 New Hol-land Tractor, $38,000; 100 pieces6 inch Irrigation Pipe; 100 pieces5 inch Irrigation Pipe; Pipe Fit-tings (call for pricing) ; 21 Irriga-tion Stations, $200 each; 7 Irri-gation Guns, $300 each; BerkleyIrrigation Pump diesel driven,$6,000; PTO driven IrrigationPump, $1,500; 250 Used WoodTotes, $35.00 each. Call Leamington (519) 326-0093.

CLASSIFIEDS CLASSIFIEDS

Irrigation pipe for sale. Mostly 3inch lengths and some 4 inch.Call 289-237-3893.

www.thegrower.orgwww.ofvga.org

Advertiseyour used

equipment inthe classified

section of The Grower newspaper

Call Carlie519-763-8728

THE GROWER

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

NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

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: fruittrees@morinurseries.comwww.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: fruittrees@morinurseries.comwww.morinurseries.com

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

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

howardcolcuc@rogers.com

Howard A. ColcucNursery Manager

SPECIALIZING IN FRUIT

TREES & GRAPE VINES &

ELDERBERRIES.

VARIETY AND PRICE LIST

AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

AlpineNurseries(Niagara) Limited

QUALITY FRUIT TREES

• APPLE on M9, B9 and M26• Peach on Bailey• PEAR on Quince

]ORDER NOW FOR BEST SELECTION

WARWICKORCHARDS & NURSERY LTD

RR 8, 7056 Egremont Rd. Watford, ON N0M 2S0

warwickorchards@brktel.on.caTel: (519) 849-6730

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REFRIGERATION

On July 1, 2011, Ontario intro-duced a new regulation regardingfruit, vegetables, honey andmaple products. Regulation119/11 falls under the Food Safe-ty and Quality Act, 2001. Itreplaces three regulations in theFarm Products Grades and SalesAct: Regulations 378 - Grades,Fruit and Vegetables, 384 -Honey and 386 - Maple Productswhich have been revoked. Regu-lation 119/11 affects the sale,packaging, labelling, transporta-tion and advertising of produce,honey and maple products.

Regulation 119/11 applies tofresh fruit and vegetables, honeyand maple products. It alsoincludes sprouts, fresh culinaryherbs, in-shell nuts and peanutsand edible fungi, not subject tothe federal Canada AgriculturalProducts Act. This provincial reg-ulation reflects current industryneeds and practices and removesbarriers to innovation while pro-moting food safety.

Labelling requirements are inaddition to any federal require-ments that may apply under theConsumer Packaging andLabelling Act (Canada) and theFood and Drugs Act (Canada).Refer to federal governmentrequirements to ensure compli-ance.

This document notes severalimportant changes for farmersand packers. An official copy ofthe Food Safety and Quality Act,2001 and Regulation 119/11 -Produce, Honey and Maple Prod-ucts can be accessed on theOntario government e-laws web-site, under Current ConsolidatedLaw at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLESWhat is Covered� This regulation applies

to any produce that can be com-mercially grown or harvested inCanada. This includes fresh fruitand vegetables and, for the firsttime, sprouts, fresh culinaryherbs, nuts and peanuts in theshell, and edible fungi.� This regulation does notapply to:• produce grown and harvested

for personal use and consumption,• minimally processed fruit orvegetable products, for examplesliced mushrooms, fruit or veg-etable trays or apple cider. Pleaserefer to Regulation 119/11 for acomprehensive list because this isnew,• any produce imported from out-side Canada that is not commer-cially grown or harvested any-where in Canada (this produce iscovered under federal legislation)• any fruit or vegetable grown forthe purpose of seed production,• and for the first time, in-shellnuts and peanuts harvested forany purpose other than for humanconsumption. Please note this isnew.

Regulation 119/11 prohibitsharvesting, selling, packing ortransporting contaminated pro-duce.

Grade StandardsProduce, other than potatoes,

no longer needs to be sold bygrade as of July 1, 2011—this isnew in this regulation.

As requested by industry,grade standards still apply topotatoes until July 1, 2016.

Packaging and ContainersThis regulation now allows

produce, other than potatoes, tobe packed in any suitable packageof any size. Between July 1, 2011and July 1, 2016 potatoes arerequired to be packed in the pack-age sizes specified in the regula-tion.

Advertising and DisplayIn the previous regulation,

advertising rules applied to“print” materials only. Regulation119/11 advertising and displayguidelines apply to any “media”(for example: print, electronic,digital) after June 30, 2011. Theregulation requires the product’sorigin, the net quantity for pack-aged produce and in the case ofpotatoes, their grade.

To help consumers, signs arerequired for displays of produceat retail outlets and farmer’s mar-kets. After June 30, 2011, thesigns must include these ele-ments:• The origin of the produce.• The price per unit of weight, ifsold by weight.• The word “sweet” or “hot” forpeppers, as appropriate.

The print on a retail displaysign must be readily discernibleand of a size reasonable in pro-portion to the size of the sign.

Product LabellingRegulation 119/11 requires

produce packages or master con-tainers to be labelled with thepacker’s name and full address(or that of the person for whom itis packed). The label must alsoidentify the country or provinceof origin of the produce. The printsize required is the same as thatrequired under the Fresh Fruit andVegetables Regulations under theCanada Agricultural ProductsAct.

If labels on produce containedin master containers are easilyand clearly discernable, the sameinformation need not be appliedto the master container.

If the produce is packed insuch a way that it is not readilyvisible, the common name of theproduce must be indicated.

If labels on previously usedpackages or master containers donot meet the new regulation’slabelling requirements, they mustbe completely removed or obliter-ated and replaced with newlabels.

Packages of nuts, peanuts andedible fungi must now complywith origin labelling requirements

by July 1, 2013.Labelling is not required on

packages of raspberries andstrawberries that have a capacityof 1.14L (1 quart) or less if theyare sold directly from the fieldwhere they are grown.

Packages of peppers need tostate whether they are “hot” or“sweet”.

Potato packages must belabelled with the grade of thepotatoes (until July 1, 2016).Packages of yellow flesh potatoesare required to indicate that thecontents are “yellow fleshed pota-toes”.

Packages of apples, pears andYukon Gold potatoes no longerneed to be labelled with the vari-etal name.

Regulation Prohibits Misrepre-sentation

Regulation 119/11 also pro-tects farmers, packers and con-sumers from misrepresentation.The Regulation outlines specificrequirements prohibiting false ormisleading information on labels,packaging and containers, or mas-ter containers. In particular, itprohibits the misrepresentation of:• the name and full address of thepacker of any produce or the per-son for whom it was packed• the place where produce wasgrown or harvested • the amount of produce in apackage• any grade of potatoes estab-lished in the regulation.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 27

119/11 replaces three regulations

Food safety audits andrecord keepingCOLLEEN HASKINS, ON-FARM FOOD SAFETY PROGRAMLEAD, OMAFRA GUELPH

The requirement of having a food safety audit for farm productionis increasing, and some of the major retailers are requesting a shortturn- around time for these to be completed and producers to be certi-fied. Produce commodities are classified into different risk categories,and some retailers are requiring high-risk produce to be certified first.Audits are focused on the season in which the commodity is beingproduced, and typically occur during harvest or packing. Many auditsrequire a minimum of three months of records to be completed prior toan audit being conducted., However if nutrient applications weremade in the previous fall for the next year’s production, those recordsmay be considered during an audit as well. With any food safety pro-gram, it is imperative to maintain and keep your records as proof ofdue diligence for your farm productions and often to be kept for twoyears at a minimum. Contact your retailer or customer to verifywhich food safety program they require and the requirements forrecord keeping before you schedule your audit. Now is the time to getstarted and the good news is, we can help! Food safety questions?Ask us. Visit our website for more food safety information and additional resources. www.ontario.ca/good-ag-practices.

COLLEEN HASKINS, ON-FARM FOOD SAFETYPROGRAM LEAD, OMAFRAGUELPH

When training your workersin policies on the farm, especial-ly for work during crucial productions times such as harvestand final packing, it is necessarythey are aware of all the foodsafety risks and are trained appropriately. Areas that need to be addressedduring Worker Policy Trainingare:• Worker Practices – designatedareas for eating, drinking, smok-ing, medications and other per-sonal belongings• Hand Washing – ensure train-ing on proper hand washing tech-niques, using potable water,soap, hand wipes and sanitizinggel• Clothing and Footwear – suit-able clothing, footwear (and safe-ty equipment) for the expectedtask is available, clean, intact,and there is separate storagespace for work clothes• Injuries and Illness – any openwounds, cuts or individuals dis-playing symptoms of an illnessare not in contact with food with-out taking the appropriate mea-sures to prevent contamination.Keep in mind, a “worker” is anyindividual on the farm associatedwith the farm processes and pro-duction of the commodity. Fortraining information andresources, please call 1-877-424-1300 or visit our websitewww.ontario.ca/good-ag-prac-tices. Food safety questions?Ask us.

CAITLIN SIMOPOULOS, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

Strawberry viruses are generally con-trolled through clean plant propagation.Although viruses are rare in cultivatedstrawberries, wild strawberries can poten-tially harbour viruses that can spread toneighbouring cultivated fields. While manyviral infections show no symptoms, mixedinfections of more than one virus can causeper cent crop loss (Chang et al., 2007).

OMAFRA and the University ofGuelph’s USEL (Undergraduate StudentExperiential Learning) program have intro-duced a strawberry virus research projectto investigate the type and amount of virusin strawberries across Ontario as well as todevelop tests to diagnose possible viralinfections. After program completion, wehope to develop information sheets on spe-cific virus symptoms, as well as more

information on the development and use ofstrawberry virus diagnostic tests.

Sampling in fields showing possibleviral infections is in progress. Some symp-toms we presently believe could be causedby a virus are interveinal chlorosis (Fig. 1),crinkled leaves (Fig 2.), mottling (Fig. 3),

stunted plants, small and asymmetricalleaves, cupped leaves, and a patchy field.If you have observed these symptoms inyour strawberry fields, please contact PamFisher at pam.fisher@ontario.ca.

Thanks to the Ontario Berry GrowersAssociation for supporting the project with

funding from the Farm Innovation Pro-gram.

Chang, L., Zhang, Z., Yang, H., Li, H.,Dai, H. 2007. Detection of strawberryRNA and DNA viruses by RT-PCR usingtotal nucleic acid as a template. J. Phy-topathology. 155, 431-436.

THE GROWER

PAGE 28 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

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Figure 1, interveinal chlorosis Figure 2, crinkled leaves Figure 3, mottling

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 29

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THE GROWER

PAGE 30 –– SEPTEMBER 2011

It must be very interestinginside government circles thesedays as they struggle to find waysto cut their budgets and still getthe work done. Most of us havebeen there before with our busi-ness or personal finances. Theremay be games played where onehopes that if a certain set ofoptions are laid out, the inevitablechoice is to be exempted fromcuts because the result could becatastrophic. Wiser heads maydecide that they will make severecuts while just accepting thebacklash from the public as aresult of the loss of service orspeed of delivery.

The ones we need to foster arethose who will look at the wholeof that for which they are respon-sible, and then decide how to doit all, but smarter, and accept thebacklash from those who may saythey are taking too much risk, orthat they are no longer doingwhat an Act or Regulationrequires.

In fact, almost all the opera-tional activities in any govern-ment department or ministry areset by policy, directive, or guide-line. These are NOT “the law,”

but the staff has often forgottenthis and remains so dedicated tothem that they become stuck in arut that makes changes to proce-dures difficult if not impossible. Iknow: I once had the opportunityto suggest major changes to legis-lated requirements and when Iwas innovative, it took a lot ofargument (why would they think Icouldn’t argue?) but in the end,my suggestions prevailed (and arestill in vogue today).

In fact the policies, directivesand guidelines are set by staff todefine the what, when, where andhow they work to fulfill the Actand Regs. They are changed,altered, averted or ignored attimes when it suits the staff. Itonly takes a very strong seniorperson to condone this as it upsets‘protocol.’ Nonetheless, they arein fact only self-imposed rules ofpractice, and can be changed bythe very staff that created them!There are many ways that majorchanges could be made at boththe federal and provincial levelsthat could create savings of stafftime, and resources but I will con-strain my ideas to the realm ofpesticides.

First and foremost, we need toaccept the reviews and conclu-sions of competent authorities forany data requirements towardpesticide registration. Of course,that means constant verificationsfor such competencies, but thatcould be a part of a much widerglobal/NAFTA approach to regis-tration anyway. (We already dosuch things for laboratory compe-tency, so this is Not a newapproach) Canada could/shouldfocus on a very few areas of theregistration process that the restof the globe could use, and a

bare-bones approach on someother areas where we currentlyexpend large amounts of stafftime and resources. Likewise, wecan adopt time-saving methodssuch as changes by letter of noti-fications rather than vast datarequirements and reviews. Itseems to work elsewhere! (And itcould be done rapidly too!) Manysubmissions that take up to 18months could be done in weeks ordays instead.

Efforts could be better syn-chronized with other governmentagencies as well. If Food Safety isat the bottom of residue testingand not the ‘use’ of a product perse, than maybe we do not need tobe spending so much effort onseeking the lowest dose, or thelowest MRL, but focus instead onthe best efficacy and a residuelevel that on a crop/food basisdoes not pose a food safety risk.Once again, considerable stafftime could be re-directed to moreimportant issues.

One of those important issuescould be to create and massage a“Canadian” dietary model thatcould be used to ensure FoodSafety calculations are done withus in mind. (I for one am tired ofhearing that our Canadian govern-ment uses a U.S. model becauseours is 40 years out-of-date.) If onthe other hand we would alsoaccept all other U.S. approachesto pesticide regulation, we couldabolish our entire system. (I amnot necessarily in favour of goingthat far!)

There are huge expendituresmade on residue test trials doneevery year. What risk could beproven if these were dramaticallycut by relying on data alreadyknown from elsewhere? If 50

trials from a wide range of sitesand countries already show a narrow range of variation, whyare we spending inordinateamounts of resources to ‘do it allagain’ here? The same wouldapply for soil residue tests, efficacy tests, worker exposuretests, and many more.

We CAN be more efficient,but even if the senior manage-ment could convince a ministerthat it would be safe to do so, thebigger ‘sell’ will be to get thestaff to change how they work.Entrenched thinking is often thebiggest barrier to improvement.(That is why the Japanese‘Kaizen’ approach of involvingall staff in continuous improve-ment keeps anyone from gettingstuck with ‘ownership’ for anystatus quo, and leads to a betterenvironment for change.)

These same ideas can holdwater at the provincial levels aswell. Many requirements havejust continued without seriousthought about change or elimina-tion. What were good ideas orabsolute needs under past condi-tions may well not be so impor-tant or even necessary today.Nonetheless, it always takes polit-ical will to push forward on majorchanges, especially when someare dearly held onto by staff.Hence we have ten provincial andthree territorial Acts and Regsthat all have different approachesto doing the same things. Evensome things that one would takeas givens such as mandatorygrower, vendor and applicatortraining, examination and re-test-ing are lacking. Commonapproaches to permit require-ments do not exist. Even the pro-hibitions on uses vary by

province. Wouldn’t it be refresh-ing to have a much simpler com-mon ‘code of practice’ for allprovinces that would allow sim-pler cheaper and faster approvalsor prosecutions where needed?Wouldn’t it be less expensive ifmuch of the work done at provin-cial levels was done once at thefederal level and adopted at theprovincial level? It can be done,but only if the death-grip onprovincial regulation were to beloosened.

I am not proposing that anyfederal or provincial bureaucratneeds to fall on their sword overany of this. In fact, we need thesame determined approach thatthey have now in doing their jobs(and holding on to dearlybelieved principles) to be redi-rected into changing theirapproach to do it even better withfewer resources. We know thatthese budget cuts are inevitable!We also know that just expectingstaff to do even more work somuch harder that they can do itall as in the past will send them tothe stress-leave list or worse. Wealso know that they DO want toensure all the safety requirementsare met. We want them met too!We are proud of Canada’s world-wide reputation for this safety!

It CAN all be done ‘smarter’while still ensuring those safetylevels we crave. It will take boldsteps. They MUST be taken. Wewill support them to make themwork.

As Canadians all, we mustwork together on this because thestatus quo is not an option, andany other alternative is notacceptable.

CRAIG’S COMMENTS

Tough changes, great opportunities

CRAIG HUNTEROFVGA

MINOR USE

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Project Code Project Title Crop PRR06-130 Environmental assessment and phytosanitary efficacy of a drift recovery sprayer grape

PRR07-230 Developing mating disruption for the integrated management of grape berry moth grape

BPI06-320 Potato virus Y (PVY O and PVY N:O) impact on potato cultivars and management through oil sprays potato

MUR07-040 Development of novel and blended formulations and application technologies for low risk management of wireworms in potatoes potato

PRR07-490 Sustainable management of the soybean aphid with biological control agents and reduced risk- and bio-pesticides soybean

PRR06-880 Reduced risk management of lygus plant bugs in Ontario strawberry strawberry

To find these documents, visit www4.agr.gc.ca

Pest Management Centre’s Sustainable Crop Protection Projects

Fulfill 50WG insecticide isnow registered to control aphidsin highbush blueberries and leafyvegetables. This is welcomenews as aphids can harm cropsdirectly by sucking nutrients fromplant tissue or can be the primaryvector of devastating plant dis-eases. In leafy vegetables, suchas lettuce and celery, aphids cantransmit viruses that cause stunt-ing, leaf curling, yellowing and

sunken lesions, resulting in mar-ketable yield losses. In recentyears, the blueberry scorch virus,vectored by aphids, has caused upto 80 per cent yield loss in certainblueberry varieties and hasbecome a widespread diseaseacross British Columbia.

“Fulfill 50WG will allow pro-ducers to manage the direct andindirect detrimental effects ofaphid infestations, which can be

extremely damaging to crop qual-ity and yield,” says Ann Vermeer-sch, technical lead at SyngentaCanada.

The active ingredient,pymetrozine, enters the leaf tissuequickly, working to stop aphidsfrom feeding after they come incontact or ingest the product. Thetranslaminar and systemic activityprovides residual control ofaphids for up to two weeks.

Additionally, this product fitswell into an integrated pest man-agement (IPM) system. Producershave often had to rely on broad-spectrum insecticides to preventaphid infestations. The special-ized chemistry minimizes theimpact on non-target beneficialinsects and pollinators.

The combination of residualcontrol and specialized chemistryin an IPM system will help pro-

ducers reduce the number ofinsecticide applications neededfor aphid control and diminish therisk of flaring up other pests inthe field.

For more information pleasego to www.syngenta.com.

Source: Syngenta news release

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2011 –– PAGE 31

MINOR USE

New aphid control in highbush blueberries and leafy vegetables

ChateauherbicideWDG labelexpandedon fieldpeppers JIM CHAPUT, OMAFRA,MINOR USE COORDINATOR,GUELPH

The Pest Management Regu-latory Agency (PMRA) recentlyannounced the approval of anURMULE registration forChateau herbicide WDG for con-trol of weeds on field peppers inCanada. Chateau herbicide wasalready labeled in Canada forcontrol of weeds on several veg-etable and fruit crops.

The following is provided as ageneral outline only. Usersshould consult the complete labelbefore using Chateau HerbicideWDG.

Chateau Herbicide can beapplied at a rate of 140 g per ha(coarse-textured soils) to 210 gper ha (medium textured soils) asa hooded or shielded spray torow middles prior to transplanting peppers for pre-emergence control of weeds.Rainfall or irrigation must occurbetween application and transplanting in order to activatethe product.

Do not apply more than 210 gper ha during a single growingseason. Plants should be grownon raised or plastic mulched bedsthat are at least 10 cm higherthan the treated row middle andthe mulched bed must have aminimum of 60 cm bed width.There are a number of other veryimportant precautions to followfor field peppers; consult thelabel for details.

For a copy of the new minoruse label contact Kristen Callow,OMAFRA, Ridgetown (519)674-1335, Jim Chaput,OMAFRA, Guelph (519) 826-3539 or visit www.valent.ca

THE GROWER

PAGE 32 –– SEPTEMBER 2011