the grower june 2016

KAREN DAVIDSON

From farmers to retailers,everyone is riding the‘asparabus.’ Foodland Ontarioestimates that 25 per cent of allOntario retailers had special displays for asparagus last year.Along with rhubarb and green-house-grown vegetables, thesetender spears are revered as thefirst taste of spring.

“Asparagus is a good newsstory,” says Ken Wall, chair ofthe Asparagus Farmers ofOntario (AFO). “Demand is upand consumption is on the rise.

According to recent medicalresearch on colon health, there’sa real upside to eating asparagusbecause of its fibre levels.”

Ontario farmers haveresponded by not only increas-ing acreage -- from 2,500 to3,400 acres in the last five years-- but improving marketableyields. Growers of the GuelphMillennium variety are achieving as much as 7,000 to9,000 pounds per acre. That’salmost double the harvest of adecade ago, prior to cultivar andmanagement improvements.

The industry has shown so

much promise that MikeChromczak has returned to thefamily farm near Brownsville,Ontario after completing a university degree and seven-year, non-farming career.

Establishing his asparagusstands in 2011 on what was formerly tobacco ground, he isnow going into this third harvest with 40 acres. Thatearly success is inspiring him toplant another 15 acres of asparagus plugs this season.

“Every year we see improve-ments,” says Chromczak, whoalso represents asparagus

farmers on the board of theOntario Fruit and VegetableGrowers’ Association. “I recognize there’s been a lot ofexpansion in the industry, soI’m preparing myself for marketing challenges on thehorizon by focusing on qualityand efficiency.”

What’s striking about theasparagus industry is how the 85Ontario growers have collaborat-ed in recent years. One exampleis how they pool their resourcesto buy packaging material inbulk from South America. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

JUNE 2016 CELEBRATING 137 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION THEGROWER.ORG

VALUE CHAIN MATTERS

Asparagus: a shooting star that’s lighting up the vegetable industry

INSIDEA lesson from Earls:know your allies Pg 11

FOCUS: Storage, containersand packaging Pg 14

Fixing the fungicide re-evaluation impasse Pg 22

Volume 66 Number 06P.M. 40012319$3.00 CDN

Mike Chromczak is proud to be one of the 85 Ontario ‘asparaguys’ shipping the spring vegetable to local retailers. With his third harvest of 40 asparagus acres underway atBrownsville, he’s one example of why this crop is expanding rapidly. After a cold spring, volumes will be at their peak during Ontario’s Local Food Week, slated for June 6 to12. Photos by Glenn Lowson.

AAFC announces onlineportal on future ag policy framework

Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada (AAFC) has announced awebsite to seek feedback fromstakeholders on developing thenext agricultural policy frame-work. As the first phase of consultation, the website willallow stakeholders the chance tocomment on Growing Forward(GF2), the current $3 billion planthat ends in 2018. This programsupports innovation, competitive-ness and market development.

The GF2 Business RiskManagement suite of programshas provided more than $4 billionto support producers in times ofsevere market volatility and disasters.

The next Policy FrameworkConsultation can be viewed athttp://ow.ly/XUjY3002YBb

Growing Forward 2 can beviewed athttp://ow.ly/sGxZ3002YOg

Mark Wales, safety nets chairfor the Ontario Fruit andVegetable Growers’ Association(OFVGA) says, “We are currently

engaged in a process with ourmember organizations to get theirfeedback using a survey thatAAFC has circulated to farmersand farm organizations acrossCanada. To date AAFC has interviewed about 2,000 farmersusing this survey questionnaire.”

The OFVGA will be request-ing the reversal of cuts made during GF2 to AgriStability andAgriInvest, that is to restore tier 2coverage in AgriStability andincrease the matchable deposit to1.5 per cent of annual net sales inAgriInvest.

Part of the lobbying effort willfocus on eliminating the newpractice of capping referencemargin calculations inAgriStability and providing moreclarity and fairness into theprocess for determining an Agri-Recovery claim. The association will also be askingthat the provinces restore dedi-cated funding for EnvironmentalFarm Plans.

Feeding families, feeding hope

The Ontario Association ofFood Banks (OAFB) would liketo say THANK YOU to Ontario’sagricultural community.Because of your support, we areable to provide healthy and nutritious produce for:• 125 food banks across theprovince who in turn serve;• 360,000 Ontarians each month,120,000 of which are childrenThrough innovative programmingand emergency food support,your donations are helping to

ensure all Ontarians have accessto fresh, homegrown produce.Please know that you are directlysupporting those who need itmost, and we could not be morethankful for all that you do.

If you would like to learnmore about the OntarioAssociation of Food Banks, or tomake a donation, please call us at416-656-4100 today! We ship bythe pallet, and can move truck-loads of time-sensitive produce ata moment’s notice.

As we look towards the start ofsummer, and gear up for the har-vest season, we hope that youwill continue to support Ontario’sfood banks. We truly could notdo what we do, without theOntario agricultural community!

CORRECTION: List ofminor use priorities posted

Apologies to our readers formistakenly printing a previousyear’s minor use priorities onpage 25 of the May issue ratherthan the current list provided byOMAFRA provincial minor usecoordinator, Jim Chaput. Thetable itemizes the projects to besubmitted to the PestManagement Regulatory Agencyand the data requirements to becompleted in 2018-19.Registration decisions for thesewill likely occur in late 2019 and2020.

The correct list has been posted to our website atwww.thegrower.org and is nowpart of the official record of theMay 2016 issue.

NEWSMAKERSTHE GROWER

AT PRESS TIME…

PAGE 2 –– JUNE 2016

Long-time executive vice-presi-dent of the CanadianHorticultural Council (CHC),Anne Fowlie, is leaving theOttawa-based organization afteralmost 18 years of service. Inher farewell announcement, shesaid, “It has been a privilegeand a wonderful opportunityand much has been accom-plished, including establish-ment of the Dispute ResolutionCorporation, AAFC PestManagement Centre and

CanadaGAP.” While she leaves on June 30, Fowlie pledges tocontinue working in the agricultural sector.

On another CHC staff change, André Bourbonniere, has left thecouncil. He was manager, policy development and research.

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs(OMAFRA) welcomes Erica Pate as the direct farm marketinglead while Jessica Kelly is on maternity leave. She will workclosely with the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association,Farmers’ Markets Ontario and other groups.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has announcedthe appointment of Errol Halkai as its new executive director.He joined CFA in 2009 as an international trade consultant andsince 2015, has held the position of acting executive director.Brigid Rivoire, the previous executive director, has retired afterserving in the role since 2001.

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association welcomesSasha Novakovic, formerly of Novaterra Environmental Ltd., tothe position of water specialist. His degree in geological engineering from the University of Waterloo and consultingexperience will make him a valuable asset as he assists Ontariogrowers with permit-to-take-water applications. He can bereached at 519-763-6160 ext 219 or [email protected]. He picksup the torch from George Shearer who is on temporary medicalleave.

Also joining staff is Alex Nichols in the role of advertising salesrepresentative for The Grower. He has held a number of positions in sales and marketing as well as the publishing industry. Based out of the Guelph office, he will be busy reaching out to advertising clients for upcoming issues and planning print and digital campaigns for 2017. He can bereached at 519-763-8728 ext 218 or [email protected].

Manitoba’s newagriculture minister is RalphEichler, MLA forLakeside, replacing outgoing NDPRon Kostyshyn.He will be in hispost just a fewweeks before the annual federal-provincial-territorial agriculture minister’s meeting scheduled for July 20-22 inCalgary, Alberta.

In web-related news, The Grower welcomes sixth-generationfarmer Keisha Rose as a new blogger to the www.thegrower.org.A graduate of the University of Prince Edward Island with aBachelor of Business Administration degree, she is working onher family-owned and operated potato farm, R.A. Rose and SonsLtd located in North Lake, PEI. Look for her blog as she chroni-cles the summer potato-growing cycle specifically and agriculturalissues generally on the Island.

Condolences to the family and friends of Joe Polito who passedon May 6. As the Ontario Produce Marketing Association noted,“His passion for produce will be sadly missed by the entire community, including customers, growers, brokers, suppliers,tradespeople and members of the Canadian and provincial produce marketing associations.”

Ontario ag minister Jeff Leal

Anne Fowlie

Ralph Eichler

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Buying as a group has keptprices competitive. This plasticcorrugated product is strongerthan traditional cardboard corrugate and has the capacityto stand up under high moistureconditions. It’s also fully recyclable by the retail stores.

Together, the growers fundthe breeding program at theUniversity of Guelph, a daunting process with a perennial that can have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.Perennial patience is what’srequired to see if new cultivarshave the longevity of theirancestors. Thanks to this long-term vision, GuelphMillennium has become thenew standard, a better-yieldingcultivar with more resistance tosoil-borne disease.

Not resting on his breedinglaurels, the University ofGuelph’s Dave Wolyn hasdeveloped a new variety aptlynamed Guelph Eclipse. Thisvariety has demonstrated higheryields than Millennium, especially in the early years ofharvest and also has significant-ly better quality in terms of percentage of number onespears. This new variety alsodemonstrates some foliar disease resistance. In 2016,there is limited seed of Eclipsein Ontario, but more is expected next year.

Another variety, GuelphEvolution, has been releasedspecifically for the market inthe United Kingdom where itemerges earlier than GuelphMillennium and is competitivewith other cultivars there. It’san interesting example of how

Ontario breeding has produceda cultivar that doesn’t rate highly in the local environmentbut does well in other warmerjurisdictions.

Two or three more varietieshave yet to be named, sincethey are still in grower trials.However, the AFO’s member-owned seed company, FoxSeeds, is expected to bring insignificant revenues that willdrive more leading-edgeresearch. These new Guelphvarieties are stimulating growthof the Ontario industry withtheir yields of 7,000-pluspounds per acre.

“It takes a lot of work and ahuge investment to growasparagus,” says Wall. “Itrequires careful harvest management, nutrient management, great weed, disease and pest control. Fernhealth has to be carefully managed into the fall, so thatcarbohydrates develop in theroots to ensure a good crop thefollowing spring.”

To keep asparagus profitable, Ontario’s industry islooking to improve the efficiency of manual harvesting.The current three or five-person harvesters are labourintensive. While single-personharvesters have been proven tobe 1.8 to two times more effi-cient, the European prototypesare relatively complex. Whilethey worked extremely well in2015 trials, there’s always theworry of timely replacement ofparts.

That’s why Ontario’s asparagus growers are developing a harvestingmachine with local engineers.Adapted to Ontario’s rowwidths and conditions, the newconcept is being tested on

several farms in Canada and theU.S. this season. Wall says thetrial must show not only efficiencies and robust performance, but also regard forworker safety.

One of the challenges is thatbattery-operated harvestersneed to be recharged. There aretwo large rechargeable batterieson each unit. Either theseheavy batteries need to beremoved and taken to a sourceof power or the harvesters needto be in close proximity to apower source. But that’s notrealistic for Ontario’s farflungfields with no hydro.

“As growers, we live on theland,” says Wall. “We’re cognizant of the environmentbut we need to be cost-effective at the same time. Gas-powered harvesters represent practical efficiencies.”

Those gas-powered harvesters are just one of thelures for urban media who mayhave never seen asparagus beds.As Bernie Solymár, AFO executive director, explains, thesecond annual ‘asparabus’ touris organized this year to getGreater Toronto Area journal-ists and foodies to visit BarrieHill Farms north of the city. Allof the communications assetsare in place with a newbrochure as well as a videoseries prepared by chef JeffCollins.

Now it’s crunch time for theentire industry, packing asparagus into a few weeks ofharvest that tapers by the endof June.

Go go www.thegrower.org to seea video of Michael Chromczak.

JUNE 2016 –– PAGE 3 THE GROWER

COVER STORY

Asparagus: a shooting star that’s lighting up the vegetable industryIncreases in Ontario asparagus acreage follow the local food trend YEAR ACREAGE

2011 2,500 acres2012 2,680 acres2013 2,540 acres2014 2,800 acres2015 3,400 acres

This 2015 planting of asparagus in Ontario’s NorfolkCounty exemplifies the strong expansion in thecommodity.

SOURCE: ASPARAGUS FARMERS OF ONTARIO

Five-man asparagus harvester

Meticulous packaging by Dwight Maddix

An asparagus display in Mississauga, Ontario Metro storePhoto courtesy of Foodland Ontario

Millennium asparagus plugs

Asparagus is a good news story. Demand is up and consumption is on the rise.

~KEN WALL““

– JUNE 2016THE GROWER

CROSS COUNTRY DIGEST

As summer grows closer, so does theabundance of summer fruit from theorchards of BC Tree Fruits Cooperative(BC Tree Fruits) growers. For the second consecutive year, an early andwarm spring will result in cherries instores by early June.

With a record 12 million pounds estimated for this season, that figure isup substantially from the 10.5 million

pounds from 2015. For the rest of thesummer fruit coming from Okanaganorchards, BC Tree Fruits is estimatingan increase in tonnage of approximately20-25 per cent across other commodities.

“Mother Nature has provided ourgrowers with very warm spring daysleading up to bloom resulting in anotherearly start to the summer fruit seasonthis year,” says BC Tree Fruits market-

ing manager Chris Pollock. “We expectto start harvesting early-season varietiesof cherries in early June, with the fruithitting retail shelves very soon after.”

The primary market for cherriesremains western Canada and the UnitedStates. The remainder is marketed andsold to key off-shore markets throughthe partnership with Sutherland S.A.Produce Inc.

BC Tree Fruits Cooperative is comprised of more than 500 local growerfamilies who grow a variety of tree fruitcommodities including apples, cherries,pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots,prunes, plums and grapes. BC TreeFruits head office is located in Kelowna,BC.

Source: BC Tree Fruits news release

BC Tree Fruits predict record cherry crop for 2016 BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Quebec Produce MarketingAssociation (QPMA) recently launchedits new “I love 5 to 10 servings a day”campaign at a networking event. QPMApresident Stephan Schmekel unveiledfour brand-new visuals that include thewell-known heart figures, plus a new slogan: “Mettez-y du coeur!” (Put yourheart into it!). The campaign will appearon numerous billboards in Montreal,Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, andSherbrooke, and on many websites aswell, including lapresse.ca, tou.tv, ricardocuisine.com, telequebec.tv – plusa generous helping of social media visibility with Facebook ads.

A networking event in late Aprilhelped raise more than $20,000 for the

“I Love” campaign. Since its originallaunch in 2004, the campaign has developed and distributed a wide assortment of simple, practical tips tohelp Quebecers get interested in eatingmore fruits and vegetables. These can befound on the “I Love” website alongwith bushels of information about fruitsand vegetables, their particular benefits,what a “serving” means, plus foodguides, adaptable information tools, andfavourite recipes by produce industryprofessionals. The campaign also has alively Facebook page that’s packed withtantalizing food facts and practical advice for a supportive community ofsome 18,000 fans.

Source: Quebec Produce MarketingAssociation news release

$20,000 raised for “I love 5 to 10 servings a day” QUEBEC

With some chemical controlsunder federal government re-evaluation, potato growers arekeen to learn more about theiroptions for controlling

wireworm. This soil-borne pesthas been causing increasingdamage to root crops such aspotatoes, rutabaga and carrotsacross Canada. The cosmetic

damage translates into less marketable crop.

At a Wireworm Research andExtension Seminar this pastspring, Prince Edward Island

growers heard about the latestresearch from Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada’s (AAFC)Christine Noronha, Bob Vernonand Todd Kabaluk.

Thimet 20G (phorate) has anew formulation and newmethod of application at planting. Another product calledCapture (bifenthrin) is effectivewhen applied as a liquid in-furrow spray at planting. Theresearchers observe that Thimet20G kills wireworms whileCapture repels wireworms fromthe tuber area. Companyresearch by FMC conducted atCavendish Farms andTechnology Crops Internationalshowed that Capture plus Titan(clothiandin) improved controlwith the added benefit of controlling Colorado potato beetle.

A SmartBox system isrequired to apply Thimet 20Galong with pinch valves to prevent release of granules atthe end of rows. The PestManagement RegulatoryAgency has a smartphone appthat allows for quick access toall approved pesticide labels.

The wireworm research teamhas hired a new researcher:Suqi Liu. Her two-year assignment started last Januarywith the PEI Department ofAgriculture and Fisheries. Sheis stationed at the Agricultureand Agri-Food EntomologyResearch Lab. The goal is tounderstand more about the biology, ecology and population

dynamics of the wirewormspecies known as Agriotes sputator.

Todd Kabaluk, an AAFCresearcher at Agassiz, BritishColumbia, is working on biological control of wireworm.A beneficial fungus calledMetarhizum is effective inattaching to wireworms andkilling them. When combinedwith a pheromone attractant ongranules spread in a field, thekill rate is as high as 95 percent. Cost-effective methodsand weather-proofing of this‘attract and kill’ system arebeing developed. He has alsodeveloped an oil-emulsion sprayof Metarhizium which will betested this season.

Source: Prince Edward IslandPotato News

Wireworm research intensifies on both chemical and biological control PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

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

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

The ‘AQUA Wetland System’ is operated out ofdoors and can achieve year-round tertiary treat-ment of wastewater. This sub-surface, vertical flowconstructed wetland consists of sand & gravel bedsplanted with moisture tolerant plant species. Wateris pumped vertically from cell to cell. There is noopen or standing water. Treatment occurs throughphysical filtration & biological degradation. Plantsshade & insulate the cells, cycling nutrients whilepreventing algae growth. There is noproduction of sludge.

The AWS has been approved for use by the Ontario Ministry of Environment through over 40 EnvironmentalCompliance Approvals. Recently the Region of Niagara began approving the AWS for treatment of ‘smallflow’ winery washwater I.e. < 10,000 liters per day. Other agencies who have issued approvals includeHealth Canada, USEPA and OMAFRA. Recent projects include:1) treatment & re-use of greenhouse irrigation leach water at greenhouses in Niagara & Haldimand2) treatment of winery wastewater at Greenlane Estates Winery & numerousother in Niagara 3) treatment of landfill leachate at sites in Pembroke, Niagara and Alabama

For additional information please Contact LloydRozema at: cell. 905-327-4571email. [email protected]

Biological control of wireworms using Metarhizium

THE GROWER

JUNE 2016 –– PAGE 5

CROSS COUNTRY DIGEST

Once again, B.C. Ambrosia growers have votedto maintain a levy on all fresh market Ambrosiaapples for marketing and research. Of those growers who voted, 62 per cent approved the newlevy of $0.02 per pound, a slight reduction fromthe $0.025 per pound in the last mandate.

In most cases, this levy will be deducted at thepackinghouse, but in the case of direct sales orinstances where the levy is not deducted by thefirst receiver, Ambrosia growers must pay the levydirectly to the New Tree Fruit VarietiesDevelopment Council (NTFVDC). Ambrosiagrowers have supported the levy since its inception in 2001.

Since 1994, B.C plantings of Ambrosia haveincreased from a few acres to more than a

thousand in 2015, with investment in new plantings expected to continue over the next several years. In fact, recent surveys of nurseriesand suppliers of rootstocks indicate that Ambrosiaplantings will total nearly 2,000 acres by 2020.

The levy funds studies to improve quality,storability of the apple and to carry out researchinto certain apple pests. In-store demonstrationsat supermarket chains have been used yearly toencourage consumer acceptance. Social mediaplatforms have been established to engage withconsumers. Videos have been produced to tell theAmbrosia story and introduce the public to theAmbrosia growers according to Bruce Currie,NTFVDC chair. For more information, visitwww.ambrosiaapples.com.

Due to the success of a three-yearpilot project, Fresh from the Farm hasexpanded to include more than 4000 eligible schools in Ontario. Since 2013,almost 300 elementary and secondaryschools have raised more than $273,000for school initiatives selling 744,000 lb ofOntario-grown produce.

“Fresh from the Farm was designedto help create a more supportive nutri-tion environment in schools by providingan opportunity for students to fundraise -in a healthy way!” Cathy O’Connor, project coordinator with Dietitians ofCanada, says.

Students raise funds by selling bun-dles of fresh Ontario root vegetables,which include potatoes, carrots, onionsand sweet potatoes, and boxes of freshOntario apples. The innovative schoolfundraising campaign serves to promotehealthy eating to families while supporting Ontario farmers through thesale of Ontario produce.

“This program benefits schools, stu-dents, their families and Ontario farmersas it helps to increase the consumptionof fresh fruit and vegetables by financially supporting both students andfarmers. Fresh from the Farm also

provides a learning opportunity to connect students to the diversity of produce grown in Ontario through onlineupdates and hands on school activities”says Dan Tukendorf, program managerwith the Ontario Fruit and VegetableGrowers’ Association (OFVGA).

Students fundraise September 6through to October 14, 2016 culminatingwith the delivery of fresh Ontario-grownfruit and vegetables to the schools inNovember. The program model involvesparent volunteers to package produce,ready for same-day customer pick-up.Interested parents, educators and

students can contact their school principal. Schools enrol at www.freshfromfarm.ca.

The overall program goal is to expandFresh from the Farm throughout theprovince over the next few years.

Fresh from the Farm is a collaborativeinitiative between Dietitians of Canada,the Ontario Fruit and VegetableGrowers’ Association (OFVGA), theOntario Ministry of Education, and theOntario Ministry of Agriculture, Food,and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). To findout more, visit www.freshfromfarm.ca orcall OFVGA at 519-763-6160.

Ambrosia growers approve levy renewal for marketing and research

Fresh From the Farm fundraiser expands to 4,000 schools

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ONTARIO

– JUNE 2016THE GROWER

CHINA

Addressing oversupplyand inferior quality

The Pagoda Group, one ofChina’s largest fruit chains, isencouraging like-minded valuechain members to face up topoor quality and oversupply offruits. The launch of the ChinaPremium Fruit IndustryAssociation is to study issuessuch as pesticide control, quality of soil, increases inimported fruits, poor brandingand volatile pricing.

For example, apple growersare estimating 40 per cent ofthe current crop will be wasteddue to oversupplies anddepressed prices. Followingother global producers, theChinese realize that new anddifferent brands will enhancefruit value.

The non-profit ChinaPremium Fruit IndustryAssociation will work toincrease consumption bylaunching a potential 100 newquality brands. Its mandate isto improve 1.3 million hectaresof fruit cultivation.

Source: FreshPlaza.com

INTERNATIONAL

CHINA

Garlic crop down, pricesup

Harvesting of China’s new-season garlic crop starts in Junein the coastal province ofShandong, but is expected tonet lower volumes. Cold temperatures over recentmonths have resulted in a 10 to20 per cent loss of crop.

Higher prices are expected,an important trend given thatChina dominates global garlicproduction. However, stores of‘old’ garlic are still high, soeven when the new harvestcomes on stream, prices maynot spike as much as predicted.


UNITED STATES

Gene-edited mushroomis a first

A new gene-editing technology known as CRISPRhas been used to create a non-browning mushroom. TheU.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) has cleared the mushroom for sale.

A plant pathologist atPennsylvania State Universityhas silenced the enzyme-producing gene that causeswhite button mushrooms toturn brown after being cut. Theresult is longer shelf life.

Researchers are excitedabout CRISPR technologybecause it does not requireinsertion of one organism’sDNA into another. From a regulatory standpoint, it meansthat the USDA does not consider the mushroom to comeunder its regulations for GMOs.


NETHERLANDS

Vegetables: a healthysnack at meetings

Researchers at WageningenUR have shown a positiveuptick in consumption whensnacking vegetables are offeredin company restaurants andconference rooms. Workingwith other seed and vegetablecompanies, researchers foundthat consumption of vegetablesduring meetings was on average74 grams per person each meeting. That’s more than athird of the daily recommendedintake.

This Netherlands universityfocuses on healthy food and theliving environment.


UNITED STATES

Peeled and sealed veg

Consumer research firmNielsen’s Perishables Groupreports that pre-chopped fruitand vegetables continue to risein sales. In the U.S., sales ofwashed, chopped or baggedfresh produce are climbing atdouble the rate of whole fruitsand vegetables. Families withkids and solo consumers leadthe trend.

Sales of value-added fruitsgrew at a compound annual rateof 7.1 per cent from 2011 to2015. Pre-chopped vegetableswere even more popular at agrowth rate of 8.7 per cent inthat period. Sales growth for allproduce grew 2.9 per cent inthe same time frame.

Retailers report that consumers skewed towardsconvenience also add higher-priced items to their grocerylist.


THE GROWER


BAILEY POOL

The main goal of weed management is to maximizecrop yield and quality by reducing weed competition infields. Weed escapes can alsoincrease the levels of foliar dis-eases, such as powdery mildewand act as habitat for insectpests, such as squash bugs.Recognizing weeds and learninghow to better control them arethe first steps to optimizing cropyield.

In pumpkin crops four problem weeds are pigweed,velvetleaf, ragweed and lamb’squarters. Being able to identifythese weed escapes early,before they become a problemis very important to ensure noyield loss occurs. Before planting it is important to consider the critical weed-freeperiod of the crop, next identifythe weeds that may pose a problem and learn which herbicides are best to controlthose weed escapes present inyour field.

Critical weed-free period

A critical weed-free period isthe time when it is very impor-tant to manage weeds to allowcrops to develop without com-petition. This will help to maxi-mize yields by reducing compe-tition during a critical time ofdevelopment for the crop.

For vine crops such as pump-kins, the critical weed-free peri-od is the first four weeks afterplanting. If weeds are adequate-ly controlled during this timethere will likely be no yield lossdue to weed competition. Afterthis time, the canopy will growover making it difficult forweeds to emerge or grow anddisturb established crops.

In order to effectively controlweeds, apply pre-emergenceherbicides to stop weeds fromemerging while the crop isdeveloping. A post-emergenceherbicide may also be needed tocontrol escapes, if some of theweeds are not controlled withthe pre-emergence herbicides.

When applying herbicides,consider the residual period; themaximum amount of time a her-bicide can be in contact withsoil before it will no longer control weeds, pre-emergence.It is also important to know howlong the rain-free interval is forpost emergence herbicides. Therain-free interval will informyou of how long the herbicide

has to be in contact with the target weed before it can be disturbed by rain.

Applying herbicides at thewrong time is a major reasonwhy herbicides fail.

When applying pre-emer-gence herbicides, if rainfall doesnot occur soon enough afterapplication, the herbicide willnot activate and therefore willnot perform. Pre-emergenceherbicides need rain to incorpo-rate them into the soil and reachweed seedlings before theybreak through the soil surface.Rain allows the herbicide toinfiltrate into the soil and betaken up the seedlings, killingthem before they emerge.When applying post emergenceherbicides, if rainfall occurs toosoon after application there is arisk of the herbicide beingwashed off the leaves and there-fore not performing properly.Post-emergence herbicidesoften work by foliar contact,therefore if the herbicide iswashed off too soon the weedwill not be killed.

In order to apply herbicidesyou must first identify problemweeds in your fields. Pigweed,ragweed, velvetleaf and lamb’squarters are very common inpumpkin crops.

Redroot Pigweed (Amaranthusreroflexus) and Green Pigweed(Amaranthus Powelli)

These two weeds are verysimilar to each other and areoften found growing in fieldstogether or in other disturbedareas. Both are found in south-ern Ontario and are annualbroadleaf weeds that reproduceby seed. See figure 1. RedrootPigweed Seedling.

Seedling Identification:• Alternate leaves• Elongated cotyledons• Underside of leaves is reddish-purple• Redroot pigweed has a hairystem and leaves whereas greenpigweed is less hairy

Common Ragweed (Ambrosiaartemisiifolia) and GiantRagweed (Ambrosia trifida)

These two weeds are also similar in their biology andbehaviours, however they arevery different in appearance.Both are found in southernOntario usually in disturbedpastures and cultivated fields.Both are annual broadleafweeds that reproduce by seed.

See figure 2 Common RagweedSeedling.

Seedling Identification:Common Ragweed• Thick, dark green cotyledonsthat are round, narrowing nearthe stem• Sometimes have purple spotsnear the leaf margins• True leaves of common ragweed are finely divided intonarrow lobes

Seedling Identification: Giantragweed• Thick, round, oval-shapedcotyledons• 3-4x larger than common ragweed• True leaves of common rag-weed are large with 3-5 lobes

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)

Velvetleaf is also a broadleafannual weed that reproduces byseed only, found in southernOntario. It is often found inannually tilled crops. See figure3. Velvetleaf Seedling.

Seedling Identification: • Round or spade-shapedseedlings• Covered in fine, silky hairs• Mature leaves are heart-shaped and come to a point andare also covered in fine, silkyhairs

Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodiumalbum)

Lamb’s quarters is an annualbroadleaf weed that reproducesby seed. It can be foundthroughout Canada in cultivatedfields, pastures and almost any-where that soil is disturbed.Lamb’s quarters can vary inappearance. See figure 4. lamb’squarters seedling

Seedling Identification:• Cotyledons are narrowly elliptic• Upper surface is dull green,maroon on the underside• Mealy grey coating on youngleaves• Mature leaves can range fromlance-shaped to broadly triangu-lar.

These features can help toidentify escapes in fields beforethey become a bigger problem.Knowing the weeds that arepresent in fields will aid inchoosing which herbicides touse and when to apply them.Knowing this can maximizeyields and cut losses in crops.

Bailey Pool is a summerresearch assistant withOMAFRA based in Ridgetown,Ontario.

Photo Credits: Peter Smith,University of Guelph.

Problem weeds in pumpkins

Figure 1. Redroot pigweed seedling

Figure 2. Common ragweed seedling

Figure 3. Velvet leaf seedling

Figure 4. Lamb’s quarter seedling

THE GROWERPAGE 8 –– JUNE 2016

NEW EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Semios offers acre by acre, metereddelivery of inputs

Semios, a provider of real-time agricultural information and precisionpest management tools, has closed an $8million financing with private equityindividuals from the Agtech community,with assistance from HaywoodSecurities. Since its founding in 2010,the company has grown to be the largestworldwide network of sensors and con-trol devices in specialty crops, providingreal-time insights into risks associatedwith weather, pests, disease, frost andirrigation. The business model is set upon a software-as-a-service basis.

Combining remote access to real-timefield conditions and acre-by-acremetered delivery of inputs is the cornerstone of precision agriculture.Semios enables improved deployment ofpheromones, frost prevention and optimization of irrigation schedules.

These types of services help reducerisks, protect valuable crops and improvegrower profitability.

Michael Gilbert, founder and CEO ofSemios says, “We are at a pivotal pointin the company’s growth with more than50,000 sensors deployed and more than10,000 acres under management.Adoption of our platform is acceleratingand our growers are asking for more features and services. With this newlevel of investor expertise and confidence, we’ll be able to expand theplatform and accelerate the growth of ourbusiness.”

The Semios team is adding new services including novel aerosolpheromone formulas to target moreorchard and vineyard pests. Because thehealth of bees and other beneficial insectspecies are under environmental

pressure, non-toxic and species-specificpheromone products are becoming moreimportant alternatives to insecticides.

Other enhancements to the platforminclude improved big data analytics topredict the risk of frost inversions, diseases and non-optimized irrigation.

The Canadian government is alsoinvesting nearly a million dollars($949,322) with SemiosBio. Announcing

the funding in mid-April, the federal agminister Lawrence MacAulay says theproject will focus specifically on fireblight in apples, and downy and powderymildews in grapes, with field testingacross Canada. The investment is beingmade through the Growing Forward 2,AgriInnovation Program.Source: News release from Semios andAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Grow your business through social media ERICA PATE and ADAMMILLER

As the weather warms andthe time for action is upon us, itcan be difficult to find the timeto continue to manage your

various social media channels. Iam sharing a few tips found inour Direct Farm MarketingBusiness Resources Guide andvarious OMAFRA fact sheetsthat will help you manage socialmedia and your time spentmonitoring it this summer.

Customer needs

Different social media channels, such as Facebook,Twitter and blogs, provide animportant opportunity for two-way communication withcustomers.

Be helpful to your customers.Focusing on sales should not bethe sole purpose of your communication. Interact andengage with customers, entertain and educate themabout agriculture and your business. This strategy will helpbuild a relationship and lead toloyalty from your customers.Loyal customers make up themajority of your company’sbusiness- it is important to formand maintain these relationships.

Social media is an opportuni-ty to address customer concernsor complaints promptly. Have apolicy for how to handle socialmedia, including negative feedback. Comments on socialmedia have the potential to beseen by existing or prospectivecustomers. Keep in mind thatcomplaints are an opportunity toimprove your service or product.Address complaints quickly tokeep your customers.

Stay active

Remember to stay active inyour communications. Socialmedia provides the opportunityfor you to provide fresh, up-to-date information for your customers. Frequent activity onsocial media will keep yourbusiness on your customers’minds. If you are having troublecoming up with regular contentremember that day-to-day activities of your business orfarm are very intriguing to mostfollowers!

Plan ahead

There are services availablesuch as HootSuite that can automatically schedule and postyour content, allowing you toplan multiple posts at one time.Connect all your social mediachannels to your website, whichwill save time and require you

to only post in one place.

Time commitment

Although social media sitesare free, time is money andusing social media requires atime commitment from you oryour staff. Allocate time todeveloping a social media strategy, building content, andmonitoring comments and activity. Commit one staffmember to update and monitorsocial media regularly. Build intime for this activity but do notdictate how they go about it.The individual in charge of yourbusiness’ social media needs tohave passion and interest in thebusiness and industry, andneeds freedom to communicate. It doesn’t take much time tocommunicate with a lot of existing and potential customerson social media, but it can bedifficult to set time aside. Tohelp maintain frequent communication, connect yoursmartphone with your socialmedia channels. This allowsyou to communicate throughsocial media from the field, inthe kitchen when your freshpies come piping hot out of theoven, or at an event as it is happening.

Social media provides a number of business develop-ment opportunities for yourbusiness. Take advantage ofwhat social media has to offerand stay connected to your customer, market your brandand build your business. For more information on how tomarket your farm or food business go toOntario.ca/agbusiness.

Erica Pate, direct farm marketinglead and Adam Miller, businessmanagement summer student, workfor the Ontario Ministry ofAgriculture, Food and RuralAffairs.

THE GROWERJUNE 2016 –– PAGE 9

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION

Board briefs and supplementary minutes The Ontario Fruit andVegetable Growers’ Association(OFVGA) board of directorsmet on April 21, 2016. Sectionchair discussions ranged fromthe Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA) re-evaluations that are currentlytaking place to the SeasonalAgricultural Worker Programextension and the Americankestrel nesting box project thatwas nominated for a Premier’sAward for Agri-FoodExcellence. A May meeting isnot taking place; the board willreconvene again in June.

Crop Protection Section –Charles Stevens and CraigHunterPMRA Re-Evaluations: CraigHunter

The Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA) isre-evaluating a number of fungicides including Ferbam,Ziram, Thiram, Rovral, Bravoand Captan.

From the OFVGA’s perspective, current farm practices are not reflected in there-evaluation data being studied. PMRA’s estimates arein magnitudes higher than theactual practice. Without data ofup-to-date field use patterns,PMRA has deemed the risks toohigh for workers and recommended to eliminatesome uses.

Scouting is the practicenoted with the most exposure ina year. PMRA also looks at whatkind of personal protectiveequipment is used.

PMRA’s policy says thatmanufacturers cannot includeattire requirements on the product label because there isno way to ensure if growers willcomply. However, on-farm safety practices and auditsensure that there is oversight, sothis acts as a strong argumentfor including attire recommen-dations on labeling.

In developing a response tothe PMRA, OFVGA directedthat a survey be included in theMay issue of The Grower tobetter understand grower usesand how labeled practices arefollowed. A link to the digitalsurvey is on the OFVGA website at www.ofvga.org. CHCand OFVGA are working onresponses to each of these re-evaluations.

Chlorothalonil webinarThis webinar was hosted by

PMRA which is actively work-ing with OFVGA. PMRAreplaced the 21-day dermal toxicity data and moved toanother approach, making it 400times greater exposure. Theyare using old data but havechanged how they go aboutinterpreting it. PMRA did saythat many crops could go backto using the 21-day dermal toxi-cology study, bringing most ofthe crops dropped from thelabel back into use.

CHC conference call with CPACCommittee

Peach leaf curl will be difficult to control if both Bravoand Ferbam uses are cancelled.They are currently the onlyeffective fungicides available,leaving the peach industry quitevulnerable.

IPM Specialist PositionCharles Stevens had a meet-

ing with the Ontario Ministry ofAgriculture, Food, and RuralAffairs (OMAFRA) regarding anIntegrated Pest Managementspecialist position; work is beingcontinued on this OFVGA resolution. More information isyet to come.

Labour Section – Ken Forth

The Seasonal AgriculturalWorkers Program (SAWP) hasbeen extended to December 31.

As workers begin arriving,please make sure their contracthas been initialled in two placesfor workers coming from theCaribbean. Contracts have beencoming into Canada either inaccurate or incomplete.

Safety Nets Section – MarkWales

Note from the April 4 CommodityCouncil Meeting

There is a Red TapeChallenge process, and in doingso, the Ontario government isgoing sector by sector and having the public comment onregulations sector by sector. Areview of the constructionindustry will take place first.The agri-food processing sectoris scheduled for review this fallbut there are no plans for agriculture at this time.

Growing Forward 3At the federal-provincial-

territorial ministers’ meeting inJuly in Calgary, the governmentwill be seeking direction for theGrowing Forward 3 program-ming. They will likely be tryingto have a signed funding agreement by the next meetingin July 2017. This is for programimplementation starting April 1,2018. The overall goal is to startGF3 on time and not run intothe lateness seen in previousprogram years.

Canadian Horticultural Council(CHC) BRM Committee Survey

A survey was given to members of the CHC BusinessRisk Management (BRM)Committee with results showingthere is variability on the typesof programs growers like; it isvery unlikely that a consensuscan be formed. This survey wasdelivered by the federal agriculture and agri-food ministry to learn about theeffectiveness of programmingunder Growing Forward 2.

Statistics by ProgramAgriStability Ontario payouts

for the 2014 program year were$33.6 million. The data showsthat if Ontario farmers had beenunder Growing Forward 1AgriStability rules, they wouldhave received almost $95 million in 2014.

AgriInvest’s forms for 2015are just going out. We encourage growers to utilize

funds in their AgriInvestaccounts to improve their farmoperation.

Self-Directed Risk Management(SDRM) – Producers who havehad no activity in or out of theprogram over three years will beissued a cheque. No numbersare available on how many thereare with money in accounts.Growers receive 65 per cent oftheir possible matching funds;growers will be getting a finalpayment soon to bring them upto 75 per cent of their eligiblematching funds. As of May 6,2016, OFVGA has released anSDRM-specific survey. Growersare encouraged to fill out theelectronic survey, found on theOFVGA website, to betterinform our lobbying efforts withregards to the program.

Research Section – HaroldSchooley

VRIC Open HouseThe Vineland Research

Innovation Centre Greenhouseopen house will take place onJune 3, 2016.

Property Section – Brian Gilroy

Grey- Bruce Counties Politicians’Meeting

On March 19, 80 politicians(federal, provincial, and munici-pal) attended the annual politicians’ meeting in Grey-Bruce County. Social license,sustainability, electricity prices,

cap and trade, and more were alldiscussed.

Farm and Food Care Canada onSocial LicenseThe Canadian Centre for FoodIntegrity will be launched inOttawa on May 31 and June 1.Coming together is a start, butworking together will define itas a success.

Farm and Food Care AGMSpeakers BureauFarm and Food Care hasapproved lower-level membersto have representatives on bothadvisory councils in a new by-law.

Bird Damage Mitigation GroupA nomination package was sub-mitted for the Kestrel NestingBox Project to the Premier’sAward for Agri-Food Innovationled by Brian Gilroy, SusanFitzgerald and Katie Burt.

Canadian Horticultural Council(CHC) – Adrian Huisman

PACA-Like TrustWork on PACA-like trust is continuing and is quite active.

CHC Fall Harvest

The Fall Harvest lobbyingevent will take place inNovember on Parliament Hilland the Ontario GreenhouseVegetable Growers have alreadypledged their participation.

Brock University’s Kestrel Nesting Box Project is off to a great start this season with seven nestingpairs. Kestrels have been shown to be a natural deterrent to bird species which damage fruit crops.Here, a male kestrel is shown in flight. Photo courtesy of Brock University.


STAFFPublisher: Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ AssociationEditor: Karen Davidson, 416-557-6413, [email protected]: Carlie Melara, ext. 221, [email protected]: Alex Nichols, 519-763-8728 x 218, [email protected] Grower reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Anyerrors that are the direct result of The Grower will be compen-sated at our discretion with a correction notice in the next issue.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 the soleowner of The Grower. All editorials and opinions expressed inThe Grower are those of the newspaper’s editorial staff and/orcontributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the associa-tion.

All rights reserved. The contents of this publication maynot be reproduced either whole or in part without the priorwritten consent of the publisher.

OFFICE355 Elmira Road North, Unit 105Guelph, Ontario N1K 1S5 CANADATel. 519-763-8728 • Fax 519-763-6604The 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.

P.M. 40012319

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2016

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEEChair Jason Verkaik, BradfordVice-Chair Jan Vander Hout, WaterdownFruit Director Norm Charbonneau, Port ElginVeg Director Mac James, LeamingtonDirector John Thwaites, Niagara-on-the-Lake

BOARD OF DIRECTORSApples Charles Stevens, NewcastleFresh Vegetable - Other Kenny Forth, LyndenTender Fruit John Thwaites, Niagara-on-the-LakeON Asparagus Grws’. Mkg. Brd. Mike Chromczak, BrownsvilleGGO/Fresh Grape Growers Bill George Jr., BeamsvilleFresh Vegetable - Muck Jason Verkaik, BradfordON. Potato Board Mac James, LeamingtonSmall Fruit/Berries Norm Charbonneau, Port ElginON. Ginseng Growers’ Ken Van Torre, BurfordGreenhouse Jan Vander Hout, WaterdownGreenhouse George Gilvesy, Tillsonburg

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

Crop Protection Charles Stevens, NewcastleResearch Harold Schooley, SimcoeProperty Brian Gilroy, MeafordLabour Ken Forth, LyndenSafety Nets Mark Wales, AlymerCHC Adrian Huisman, St. Catharines

Rewards and incentives

One of the best ways to getsomeone to do something thatyou want them to do is offerrewards and incentives. It isdone all the time in terms ofpraise, incentives (includingmonetary and other rewards),recognition, a pat on the backand many other ways. In theworkplace and in the familyenvironment, when somethingis done well, objectives are metor exceeded, effort is in place, agreat team environment is facilitated, or going above andbeyond the norm should beacknowledged.

The government of Ontariohas also put forward manyincentives to try to change cer-tain behaviour. For example,legislation aimed at curtailing

smoking and reducing theimpact of second-hand smokethrough elimination of smokingin public places has had a positive impact on health andthe environment. Seat-belt legislation, requiring all peoplein a motor vehicle to belt up,has saved lives. Conservationprograms targeting waste reduction and recycling haveraised awareness in the publicof the need to think twice abouttossing out reusable or compostable materials. All ofthese pieces of government-driven legislation have resultedin benefits to society.

There are issues, however,where it appears that the consumer is being penalized fordoing the right thing. The veryrecent elevation in the price ofelectricity, for example, is anexample of where the OntarioEnergy Board has gone off therails. Time-of-use rates for electricity in Ontario are goingup, not because there is a higherdemand for electricity, butbecause not enough electricitywas used over the past winter.For those that fall under theRegulated Price Plan, the pricesover the winter did not recoverthe full cost of serving thesespecific customers. As a result ofusing less electricity (presum-ably also because Ontario

consumers were better at conserving electricity), for thoseconsumers using more than 750kilowatt hours in a month, theyare being hit to the tune of 2.5per cent. While this may notseem like a lot of money, it isanother example of added costseven though the right thingshave been done. This is apenalty for doing the rightthing. It makes one wonderabout the true impact of conservation incentives inOntario.

But wait, this is not uniqueto electricity pricing. Naturalgas usage faced the samedeclines over the past mild win-ter and as a result the returns tothe gas companies were not ashigh as they desired. This iswhere a “natural” conservationoccurred, where there was noneed to use the product. Interms of supply and demand, itappears that the supply hasgone up and that the demandhas gone down. In simple economic terms, pricing shouldhave followed these rules. Thisis simply not the case.

The pricing for natural gasincreased April 1. The statedreason for the price increase wasthat not enough natural gas wasconsumed over the wintermonths, so revenue must begenerated to make up for the

short fall. It makes one wonderabout the incentives beingpushed by the government ofOntario, resulting in higher natural gas prices from less use.

In horticulture, growers havebeen using integrated pest management (IPM) and nutrient management plans fordecades. They do so becausethis is the right thing to do, andit provides rewards to both thefarm and to society. The use ofIPM means that the grower isbeing very targeted in the useof crop protection products,which leads to benefits of costreduction, lower incidence ofdisease resistance, efficiency,safety and reduced environmen-tal impact. But growers arebeing penalized through reductions in the availability ofproducts to combat pests.

Growers are also very cog-nizant of nutrient managementpractices and the favourableimpact they have when managed correctly. Growers arebeing asked to significantly contribute to the reduction ofphosphorus pollution in theGreat Lakes, to the same 40percentage reduction as thoseproducing in the United States.However, going from a six percent impact to a 3.6 per centimpact (from Ontario) versus a94 to 56 per cent impact from

the U.S. is more difficult forCanadian producers.

Consider this analogy. Twopeople go to the barber for ahair cut. One already has abrush cut, and the second hashair that is at least a foot long.With a 40 per cent reduction inhair on both sides, the personwith the brush cut is much closer to being bald. A 40 percent reduction in the long-haired individual’s hair lengthstill leaves that person withcomparatively speaking longhair: seven inches! The brush-cut person is not being reward-ed for already having very shorthair, and the long-haired individual is not being incentedto get the same short hair. Howis this a fair program?

Incentives should be used tocreate an environment wherestakeholders would want to dothe right thing and be rewardedfor this behaviour. And whenthe objectives of these incen-tives are met, penalties shouldnot be applied. This does notappear to be the case, however,for growers who meet the abovecircumstance. Congratulatethose who do the right thing,reward them, and it will lead tofurther efforts to meet theincentives. Do the opposite,and the opposite result willoccur.

JOHN KELLYEXECUTIVE VP, OFVGA

After a cold Ontario spring, these blueberries in bloom are a welcome sight at the farm of Dale and Angie Vranckx, Blueberry Hill Estates, St. Williams, Ontario. Photo by Glenn Lowson.

WEATHER VANE


The uproar lately over whatconstitutes humane livestockproduction serves as a reminderto all producers, regardless ofthe commodity: know yourallies, and never take your part-nership with them for granted.

Earlier this spring, in westernCanada, a popular restaurantchain called Earls Restaurantsannounced with great pride andfanfare that it was going to fea-ture only beef that was raisedaccording to certified humanestandards.

This was, of course, a marketing move. Earls, whichhas its roots in western Canada,

has been around for decadesand has long sourced its beeffrom farmers there. True, themore research we do, the morewe learn about important matters such as animal welfare,the root of humane production.

But for most producers, thisdark cloud over conventionalproduction has blown up quick-ly. It’s an affront to many livestock producers who believetheir animals are alreadyhumanely raised, and don’t theyneed certification to prove it.

And as if this wasn’t badenough, Earls rubbed salt in thewound of Canadian producersby saying it would source thishumanely produced beef onlyfrom the U.S. It said it tried toget a consistent supply fromCanada, but couldn’t.

A flurry of social mediaprotests followed. Earls ulti-mately declared it had made amistake, and would work harderwith western Canadian producers to develop a supply.

But all this only happenedbecause there was so muchbacklash. Initially, Earls wasmuch more concerned about itspublic appearance and theopportunity to seize on con-sumers’ growing confusion overfood production practices, thanit was supporting westernCanadian farmers – its long-time allies, whose homegrowncommodities helped it get offthe ground in the first place and

enjoy many profitable years. Itturns out producers didn’t knowEarls at all.

Farmers must pay attentionto this development. Food companies are now competingon measures such as animal welfare, associating it directlywith quality and consumer consciousness.

This will draw into questionfarmers’ existing standards --which, by implication, are inadequate.

Pork producer VincentBreton sensed this comingdecades ago. He’s a Canadianpioneer in certified humaneproduction, the third generationof a very successful pork-pro-ducing family. His duBretonbrand operation (of which he isnow president) has grown toinclude 550 employees. But itwasn’t always that way.Through the 1970s and 1980s,as pig farms as a whole weregrowing, duBreton needed anew way to compete or risk get-ting swallowed up or stompedon. Ultimately, that led the fam-ily to organic production, certi-fied humane production and anetwork of 200 producer farmsacross Quebec and Ontario.

Change is usually not so radi-cal. But regardless, Breton’smessage is a salient one not justfor livestock producers, but foranyone trying to keep pace withconsumers’ changing preferences. Companies need to

differentiate themselves…thatis, know your allies. When youembark on a new venture – beit organic, point of origin, orwhatever – know who is sharingthe risk. Your suppliers?Processors? Retailers? Everyonewants different, which isassumed to be better, as well.But you’re the one beingcharged with making it so. Whodo you consider to be a trueteammate in the drive towardsdifferent and better fruit andvegetables?

Ultimately, says Breton, lookto consumers for guidance.

“That’s been the thing thatworked for us,” he says.

No doubt, consumers wantsafe, nutritious, wholesomefood. On its website, Bretonsays the “instruction manual”for certified humane productionis simple: “nature.” Consumerswho accept that explanation arenot asking tough questions –but on the other hand, maybethat’s all the simple messagingthey want, or need, to let aproduct through the door. Afterthat come the hard questions –and as Earls found out, theanswers need a lot of thought.

A lesson from Earls: know your allies

Kubota Canada thought aheadwhen they built their year-roundfacility on the grounds ofCanada’s Outdoor Farm Shownear Woodstock, Ontario. Lastyear, they planted a bee-friendlygarden with bluebeard(Caryopteris) to set off theirorange-coloured tractors.

In a similar vein, theCanadian Horticultural Councilis a partner of Bees Matter. TheBees Matter Buzzing Gardensprogram offers Canadians theopportunity to combat one of themain issues affecting bee health:insufficient nutrition. If you’reinterested, sign up for a free, pollinator-friendly seed pack atwww.beesmatter.ca.

A flower packet contains theseeds for: lance-leaved coreop-sis, New England aster, denseblazing star, golden tickseed andsneezeweed.

Bee-friendlygardens inbloom

OWEN ROBERTSU OF GUELPH

PERSPECTIVE

BRUCE KELLY

Nestle Foods recentlyannounced that it was cancelingcontracts with its MalaysianPalm Oil supplier IOI over itspalm oil action plan that “thatdoesn’t go far enough” toaddress environmental concernsover its land clearing practices.IOI saw its certification underthe Responsible Palm Oil certification suspended lastmonth for non-compliance withcertain principles and criteriawithin the palm oil certificationscheme. Malaysia is a long wayfrom Canada but the hard lesson of IOI in losing a cus-tomer for non-compliance withan industry qualityassurance/safety program shouldnot be lost on Ontario producers.

Independent, third-party cer-tification (such as SustainableSeafood Certification for fishfarms and ocean fish produc-tion) has grown phenomenallysince 1993, when the RainforestAlliance certified the firstbanana plantation to meetSustainable AgricultureNetwork (SAN) standards. Thisstandard prohibits conversion offorests or other natural ecosys-tems to cropland, protects work-ers and wildlife. Today theycover more than a million farmers on Rainforest AllianceCertified farms, most of themsmallholders, cultivating 100crops on a total of 7.4 millionacres (about the size ofSwitzerland) across 42 countries.

It’s not hyperbole to say

certification has transformedthe way many crops are grownin the tropics. Slash and burntechniques are now bannedunder sustainable farming sys-tems and companies have hadto make changes if they want tobe certified. Here in Ontario,agriculture is much different.Government regulations andfarming practices are not nearlyas destructive as those used toclear rainforests, but we toomust look at sustainability systems and assurance systemssuch as the EnvironmentalFarm Plan, NutrientManagement, and CanadaGAPfor food safety to make certainassurances known to our customers.

Recently, SAN and theRainforest Alliance releasedtheir Impacts report. It documents how certified farmsadopt sustainable practicesquickly and keep improvingover time. They increase yieldsusing sustainable methods onexisting cropland, improvingproduct quality as well as productivity. Certified farmshave higher incomes, better-educated children, lessdeforestation, more trees andbiodiversity, more climateresilience, healthier soil, waterand other ecosystems.

For example, certified cocoafarms in Cote d’Ivoire and certified coffee farms in Peruyielded 1.5 to two times asmuch per acre as non-certifiedfarms, and had higher netincomes (291 percent higher inCote d’Ivoire).

Certification can never deliver perfection. It’s a system

of checks and balances thatrewards improved practiceswhile identifying and correctingunsustainable ones. By design,certification is an iterativeprocess, taking producers on along-haul journey to continuallyimprove practices.

The CanadaGAP FoodSafety certification has provento be such a program. It sets outcertain base standards thatgrower/packers must meet toensure food safety such as watertest, worker sanitation and riskassessments on product source,but also encourages growers toembark on a philosophy of sustainability of their source,process and customer satisfac-tion. It increases transparencywith the customer and is helping to secure the public’strust in food and farming.

“Farmers in our sector of agricul-ture, Edible Horticulture, arealways striving to produce the bestquality vegetables by following bestmanagement practices that consumers have come to trust.” ~ Avia Eek Vegetable GrowerHolland Marsh

Clearly, certification alonewon’t be enough to bring allthat land into sustainable production. It’s a valuable tool;it proves we can raise yields onexisting cropland using sustain-able methods, which is what weneed to do to meet rising fooddemand and feed nine billionpeople by mid-century withoutcannibalizing forests or otherecosystems.

Here in Ontario we havemany government regulationsthat already ensure our foodsystem is at high levels oflabour standards, worker safety,environmental stewardship andfood safety compliance. They’refar higher than much of theworld but inspection and extension and training programsremain a big piece of the largersustainable agriculture puzzle.

None of these approacheswill magically eliminate unsustainable practices on billions of acres of farmlandworldwide. But that shouldn’tdeter us from using the tools wehave to tackle even the toughest, most problematicareas of agriculture, and working to put the whole sectoron a sustainable trajectory.

Agriculture is the mostimpactful human activity on theplanet, bar none.

We don’t have the luxury ofnarrowing sustainability impera-tives to conform to the conve-niences or limitations of busi-nesses, governments or evencertification systems. We haveto come together to transcendthem and make global agricul-ture conform to the non-nego-tiable limits of sustainability setby the planet. After all, movingto another one is not an option.

Bruce Kelly is environmental program manager, Farm & FoodCare Ontario.


THE GROWER

Certification plans: Businesscost or right to play?

June 3 Vineland Research and Innovation Centre Greenhouse Open House, Vineland Station, ON 12-4 pm Register for 30-min tour at www.vinelandresearch.com

June 6-12 Ontario Local Food Week

June 8 Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. Annual General Meeting and 25th Anniversary Celebration, 4-8pm, Country Heritage Park, Milton, ON Tickets are $125, Register by June 1, www.oafe.org

June 11 Food and Farm Care’s Breakfast on the Farm, Veldale Farms, Woodstock, ON

June 12 Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame, Gambrel Barn, Country Heritage Park, Milton, ON www.oahf.on.ca

June 17 Garlic Growers of Ontario Field Day, Muck Crops Research Station, Bradford, ON

June 20-22 United Fresh Convention and Show, Chicago, IL www.unitedfreshshow.org

June 29 Food and Beverage Ontario Annual General Meeting, Steam Whistle Brewery, Toronto, ON

July 6-7 Canadian Horticultural Council Board of Directors’ Summer Meeting and Tour, Lower Mainland, BC

July 9-10 Norfolk Lavender Festival, Apple Hill Lavender and Bonnieheath Estate Lavender and Winery, Simcoe, ON www.norfolklavenderfestival.com

July 18 – 21 International Fruit Tree Association Regional Study Tour, Rochester to Geneva, NY

July 19 Ridgetown Vegetable Open House, University of Guelph-Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, ON

July 20-22 Federal-Provincial-Territorial Agriculture Ministers’ Annual Meeting, Calgary, AB

July 26-27 Canadian Horticultural Council Mid-Summer Apple Meeting, Moncton, New Brunswick

August 3 Controlled Atmosphere Clinic, Grand Rapids, MI

Aug 13-17 International Strawberry Symposium, Quebec City, QC [email protected]

Aug 17-18 North American Strawberry Growers’ Summer Tour, Quebec

August 17 Peak of the Market Family Fun Day, Winnipeg, MB

August 18 Ontario Potato Field Day, HJV Equipment, Alliston, ON

Aug18-20 Quebec Produce Marketing Association Annual Convention, Montreal, QC

August 24 Ontario Biennial Grape Tailgate Tour, Location TBA 9 am-2 pm

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

Sept 14 Ontario Produce Marketing Association Annual Golf Tournament, Brampton, ON

Sept 14 Grape Growers of Ontario Celebrity Luncheon, St. Catharines, ON

Sept 18 6th Annual Toronto Garlic Festival, Artscape Wychwood Barns, Toronto, ON www.torontogarlicfestival.ca

October 3-4 Advancing Women Conference, Fairmont Royal York, Toronto, ON

COMING EVENTS 2016

Taking good care of the soil is just one of many environmentalstewardship practices. Photo by Glenn Lowson.

Finding the most effectivetools to drive sales should be apriority in your business.Chances are consumers under-stand a tomato or a potato, how-ever if you have a new varietythey will want to try it. Productdemonstrations or demos areoften very effective, howeverthey are also very costly.

A demo really lifts your prod-uct above the noise. When con-sumers stop to try your product,the amount of focus they giveyour item is disproportionatelygreater than the others. Whenyou think there are approxi-mately 35,000 stock-keepingunits (SKUs) in the averagestore, how many of these itemsdo consumers really think aboutbuying? If your product is beingsampled it will move to the topone per cent!

There is no secret to the suc-cess of the demos at Costcowhere they make it part of thelisting process and the execu-tion is very good. People go toCostco looking for products tosample so they can decidewhether or not to buy.

You have to accept a certainnumber of consumers will justeat or drink for free. No differ-ent than advertising, many willread your message but nevertake action. The key is gettingthe ones who will buy to actual-ly pick up the item and put it inthe cart.

You need to be working ondemos before, during and after

Before the demo

Most of the large retailers(with the exception of Costco)will use a third party to coordi-nate and execute demos.Personally I believe this iswrong because it takes one ofthe most effective tools for sup-pliers and retailers and adds alot of complexity to the process.The retailer really is looking atdemos as a revenue-generatingtool as opposed to a sales tool.Think of it as them renting thespace. It is reality so you haveto work with it.If you are participating in theretailer’s locally grown cam-paign, often they want thegrower to do the demo. This is

so much more effective than thethird party. I would encourageyou to make plans for this. It isdifficult because they want youthere when you are trying toharvest. If possible it is veryvaluable to find people in yourorganization who can take theday or two to go to the stores.Think of it as the cheapest mar-ket research you can do.Challenge your employees tobring back information fromconsumers and make it a projectas opposed to just handing outsamples. Take a few minutes tomake sure they know what tosay and how to talk to the con-sumer.

There are a number of veryimportant things to do inadvance of the demo to ensuresuccess:

1. Develop a relationship withthe demo company or the storepersonnel and make sure youknow who to communicatewith.

2. Provide the person doing thesampling with informationabout the product, how to pre-pare or sample and a list of fre-quently asked questions (FAQs)for the item. Remember thesepeople are working for you andthey need to understand youritem. Do not assume they knowanything about your product orwhat to do with it.

3. Coordinate inventory throughthe retailer’s warehouse and tothe stores. Most demos arenever on a retailer’s merchan-dising plan so you have toensure the inventory flowsthrough to the store on time.Make sure you allow for anincrease in sales. There is noth-ing worse than investing in ademo and running out of stockpart way through. Great to sellit all but what a missed opportu-nity!

4. Talk to your category manag-er about the demo and theexpected sales lift. Often theynever even know about demosso make sure you get credit fordoing it and agree on theexpected sales lift. They mighthave some prior knowledgefrom other products in the cate-gory.

5. Coordinate delivery of sig-nage and coupons or otherpoint-of-sale (POS) materials.The distribution channel willbe slow so make sure you allowenough time. Retailers haveenough challenges getting theirown POS to their stores on timeso don’t expect they will do itfor you. These stores are big soeven if it gets to the store it cantake two to three days to befound.

6. Demos are very costly. One

option is to consider a comple-mentary partner. This helpsreduce your costs and mightprovide a better experience forthe consumer.

7. Promote the demos on socialmedia. Let consumers knowwhen and where. This canbecome very powerful if theretailer shares it with their fol-lowers because usually theyhave thousands. This is veryvaluable if the actual growerwill be there.

8. Set targets for the demo salesand the new baseline after thedemo is done.

9. Clear your schedule to be inthe stores on the demo days.

During the demo

While the demo is happeningyou need to be a part of theaction. This is the only way youwill ensure you get the returnon your investment and learnfor the next one.

1. Create a checklist for thepeople conducting the demos toensure their time is effective.Think about what you want tolearn. If you are paying for thedemos you need to visit thestores to ensure you are gettingvalue for your investment.

2. If you are paying for thedemos and they are in a numberof stores enlist other people inother geographic areas of yourbusiness to help with the storechecks. This gets them engagedand gives you important infor-mation. Provide them with thechecklist.

3. Take photos of the demosand post them on social media.

4. Talk to the demo people (ifyou are using a third party) andget feedback. They do this allthe time, so they can assess theconsumer response.

5. Talk to the consumers at thedemos. People love it whenthey feel like they have inputinto products and if you share alittle behind the scenes infor-mation.

6. Track the sales results. Ifyour item went into the ware-house prior to the demo askyour retailer to help you under-stand the sales during thedemo.

7. Email a photo to the categorymanager. This tells them youare in the stores and it is achance for you to remind themyou are doing your part to drivesales.

After the demo

The follow up after thedemo is just as important as thework prior to the sampling. Youneed to have the information todetermine if this is worth theinvestment and be able toanswer the question: should wedo it again?

1. Get the sales through thefront end prior to, during andafter the demo. You will onlyknow if the baseline salesincrease if you get all three ofthese sales numbers. The goalshould be to deliver a new base-line after you have invested inthe demo. Compare the resultsto the targets you set.

2. Do a post mortem of all thetings that went well with thedemo and the opportunities forimprovement next time.

3. If your store checks provedyou did not get 100 per centexecution (it happens morethan you think) go back to thedemo company for free demosin the future.

4. Follow up with the retailer toshare the results and agree onthe benefits.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THEDESK

Meet in a store

Category managers don’t get tospend nearly as much time instores as they should. They get

stuck in their office and part ofthe glue that binds them to theoffice is meetings with suppli-ers. Often they will book fulldays of back-to-back meetingswith one supplier after another.

One opportunity to differen-tiate you from the crowd is tosuggest meeting at a store. Thisgives them an opportunity toschedule some time in the storeand then you can meet where itall happens. No sales ever hap-pen at the office.

You can stand in front of thecategory to see what it reallylooks like. Most stores havespace to sit down with a coffeeand have a brief meeting. Myexperience has been that manymeetings in stores focus on thefuture where as meetings in theoffice can be stuck in the past.

If you have some ideas tomake demos more effectiveplease give me a call at (902)489-2900 or send me an email [email protected].

Peter Chapman is a retail consultant, professional speakerand the author of A la cart-A suppliers’ guide to retailers’ priorities. Peter is based inHalifax NS, where he is the principal at GPS BusinessSolutions. Peter works with producers and processors to helpthem navigate through the retailenvironment with the ultimategoal to get more of their items inthe shopping cart. [email protected].

THE GROWER


RETAIL NAVIGATOR

Why demos are effective

PETER CHAPMAN


FOCUS: STORAGE, CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING

Recyclable alternative coatings for corrugated boxes now outpace wax coatingsKAREN DAVIDSON

In the United States, more corrugated boxes are beingshipped with recyclable wax alternative coatings than traditional wax treatments. The Corrugated PackagingAlliance announced study results in the fall of 2015, citing10.6 billion square feet of repulpable boxes with waterbased coatings were shipped versus 9.8 billion square feet

of waxed treated boxes the previous year. It’s the firsttime that waxed coatings have shown a downward trend.

The same trend is afoot in Canada says JohnMullinder, executive director, Paper and PaperboardPackaging Environmental Council. There are now almost50 wax alternatives that have passed North American cer-tification standards for repulpability and recyclability.Progress has been made in replacing all types of wax-treat-ed boxes whether they are cascaded, impregnated or cur-tain-coated.

Glue and ink manufacturers have developed new for-mulations that overcome the adhesion and print issues ofthe past. Hot-melt glue systems provide a strong bondalong the carton’s glue joint and new ink additives allowfor better print quality. The boxes are stamped with anindustry-approved logo to indicate that the box is madewith certified wax alternatives that fit the criteria for fullrecyclability.

“It is important to have a clear understanding of howthe box is being used,” says Stephen Moore, account manager with Moore Packaging Corporation, Barrie,Ontario. “Where certain fruits and vegetables are cooledusing ice and water and packed outdoors in all conditions,we have found that the growers want to continue usingour traditional wax treatment. However for those cropsthat are cooled and packed in a controlled environment,we encourage them to explore wax alternatives and theresponse has been quite positive.”

The movement has been prodded by major retailerswho recognize the marketing and cost reduction opportu-nities that come with using wax alternatives. Recoveryrates for old corrugated containers (OCC) continue to

increase and supermarkets can generate extra revenuewith the return of their baled corrugate as opposed to paying for the disposal of waxed cartons. This practicedemonstrates the retailer’s commitment to using sustainable packaging.

At Moore Packaging Corporation, a variety of differentrecyclable coatings is offered in addition to curtain coatwax treatments, all of which are sourced domestically andhave been approved by the Canadian Food InspectionAgency for food contact. Their line of coatings can beapplied to any combination of liners: inside, outside orboth.

“We always recommend a small trial run before movingto full scale production,” says Moore. “This allows thegrower to try the cartons in their everyday environment toensure they are happy with the performance of the coating.”

“One size does not fit all,” says Moore. “So we offercommon footprints and custom designs to meet the customer’s needs. And we understand the importance ofbranding, so we have a graphic design department that canbuild your logo and message.”

While growers are encouraging Canadian consumers to‘buy local,’ they are also supporting local packaging manufacturers.”

“Our industry takes a great deal of pride in our recovery efforts,” says Moore. “We also understand thatgrowers need a shipping container that can hold up againstmoisture. With advancements in wax alternative coatings,we can continue to be the most reliable, cost effective andsustainable packaging choice for our customers.”

Prince Edward Island spruces up potato warehousesThe red soils, blue waters and green fields of Prince

Edward Island are postcard-perfect. Potato growers, keen-ly aware of the tourist benefits, are encouraged to invest intheir warehouse storage.

Each year, the PEI Potato Board sponsors the PotatoWarehouse Improvement Competition under the PEIRural Beautification Society Competition. First prize is

$400. Runner-up receives $200. Entrants are required to submit photos before improve-

ments are made and a list of the plan. Post-renovationphotos are taken as well.

This year’s entry deadline is June 15 at www. peirbs.cawhile the deadline for completed improvements isSeptember 1. Points are given for general appearance of

the property, absence of clutter/machinery/dirt piles, exterior appearance of the building, condition of warehouse, identification and signage, landscaping andlighting/illumination of the area.

The concept of this competition could be exported easily to other areas of the country.

July Focus: Farmers' markets and agritourism

Call Alex866-898-8488 x [email protected]

BOOK BY JUNE 15



Corrugated means less use of fossil fuels JOHN MULLINDER

When the world is rapidly moving to reduce itsreliance on non-renewable fossil fuels, the corrugated produce box, not the plastic crate, is thelogical choice for growers and retailers.The corrugated box originally derives from a renewable resource: trees. Canada has an enormoussupply, with about one-tenth of the world’s forestarea. Less than 0.5 per cent of Canada’s commercialforest was harvested in the latest data year withonly two-thirds of what the provinces set as the sustainable limit actually cut.

By law, those trees have to be successfullyregenerated. And they are. Almost 1,000 new treeseedlings are planted every minute somewhere inCanada. Our country also leads the world in third-party certification of sustainably managed forestsand chain-of custody certification.

Compare this sterling record with the extractionof non-renewable fossil fuels such as the crude oiland natural gas feedstock used to make plasticproducts, and you’ll see where we are coming from.Those fossil fuel deposits are being rapidly depleted worldwide and their continued extraction, processing, and usage is regarded by many as acause of global warming and climate change.

Unlike the forest sector, the oil and gas industrydoes not have an equivalent independent third-party certification of crude oil or natural gasextraction, nor any equivalent chain-of-custody certification for its products, as far as we are aware.Wouldn’t you think that Canadian produce retailerspromoting plastic crates would be insisting uponthis, as they do for paper goods?

There’s more. Oil and gas extraction is responsible for almost three times as much net

deforestation in Canada than the whole forestindustry! Check it out for yourself on page 23 ofNatural Resources Canada’s annual 2015 report TheState of Canada’s Forests.

The paper industry is a major user of renewableenergy, with more than 60 per cent of its mills usingcarbon-neutral biomass or hydro to power theirplants. Fossil fuel production has a much more difficult journey to reach carbon-neutrality.

Corrugated has other environmental attributes aswell. Most of the corrugated boxes made in Canada,in fact, are 100 per cent recycled (in many casesmade from the very same corrugated boxes that pro-duce retailers bale up at the back of their stores andsend for recycling). We estimate that retailersreceived about $50 million for this material lastyear. It’s our feedstock for new boxes.

And virtually all Canadians can recycle them (96per cent according to an independent study). The actual recovery rates for old corrugated are veryhigh (an estimated 85 per cent nationally, and anamazing 98 per cent in Ontario’s Blue Box system).Unlike plastic crates and most other plastics, paper materials are also compostable.

The choice between corrugated boxes and plastic crates really boils down to an economic decision in our view, although the debate is oftenclouded by sometimes dubious environmentalclaims and misinformation. Get your facts out onthe table for everybody to see and be able to backthem up.

The Canadian corrugated industry is justifiablyproud of its environmental record and performance.The corrugated box is the renewable, sustainableoption.

John Mullinder is executive director, Paper andPaperboard Packaging Environmental Council.

It’s not a box. It’s a billboard. Canadian corrugated is a billboard for your brand. It’s tried, tested and new.

Proud supporter of the Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC)

www.ppec-paper.com

VISIT US AT WWW.CCCABOX.ORG

TO LEARN MORE

Photos by Glenn Lowson.

– JUNE 2016

THE GROWER


Vacuum cooling lengthens shelf life for lettuce

KAREN DAVIDSON

Let us grow lettuce. As ayoung man, Henk Droogendyktook the opportunity to grow ahigh-quality product based onmethods of innovation, efficien-cy and commitment. For morethan 25 years now, the Dutchfarmer and his family have specialized in field lettuce:Romaine, Boston and Leaf varieties.

As labour costs continue toescalate, he is employing more

mechanical devices on hisPrinceton, Ontario farm. A vacu-um chamber, for example, isnow in its third year of use, forcooling freshly cut lettuce. Itwas sourced from RomcoIndustries, a Brantford, Ontariocompany and is serviced twice ayear by Tim Boers, the systemspecialist from Agrimaint.Vacuum pressure is required tocool produce from outside temperatures to 1°C within 30minutes.

A natural gas generator with a160 horsepower engine is used

to pull the air out of the chamber creating high negativepressure, i.e. a vacuum which isdirectly proportional to a drop intemperature. Refrigerant coolsthe surrounding air moleculeswhich is the second part of theprocess. This is an improvementover forced air systems whichcan take up to 24 hours toremove core heat from the produce. Another benefit of thenatural gas generator is that it isone-third the cost of diesel fuel.

“Even bugs will be killedwith this system,” says

Droogendyk. The lettuceremains fresh and crisp, andretains a long shelf life throughthis technology.

Growing lettuce is finickybusiness. Seeds are plantedevery four days in early Marchwhich continues into the begin-ning of August. Young plantsare then transplanted in thefield four weeks after seeding.By the end of May, a team ofuniversity students are handharvesting the product andpacking it into either corrugatedboxes or reusable plastic containers (RPCs) dependingon the end customer. Theseboxes are loaded onto pallets ona field trailer. For Romaine lettuce, one corrugated box willhold 24 heads and one RPC willhold 14 heads.

It takes one hour to harvestsix pallets of produce for theseefficient workers. The trailer isthen driven to the farm ware-house where Droogendyk uses aforklift to place three skids at atime into the vacuum chamber.

This is repeated every 30 minutes to cool all the skids oflettuce. A tractor load of lettuceis shipped daily to BayshoreVegetable Shippers, a whole-saler based in Burlington,Ontario.

“I’m 100 per cent a Bayshore grower,” says Droogendyk.“They stand behind the farmerand support the sale of localproduce.”

The success of this growingand cooling system has encour-aged Droogendyk to experi-ment with baby greens andspinach. He has invested in ahigh-density seeder from Italy, aRoopack Spimaro harvester, aFerrari Remoweed and othermachinery to become evenmore efficient on his 60 acres.

“With California drying up, Ithink that buying local is catching on,” says Droogendyk.“Customers want to be closer tothe farm and want to understand where their vegetables are coming from.”

University students hand harvest Romaine lettuce.

Lettuce is packed in corrugated boxes or reusable plastic containers which are stacked on pallets on afield trailer.

Droogendyk’s forklift maneuvers skids into place.

Three skids of lettuce can be cooled at one time in the vacuumchamber, a process that takes 30 minutes to take core heat down to1°C.

Labelling is part of the CanadaGAP food safety guidelines foridentifying lot number and pack date. Photos by Glenn Lowson.

JOHN WARBICK

Cold storages are no differentthan your vehicle. When takinga long trip, most people checkover their vehicle to make sureit is operating properly and anyproblems are addressed. Thesame goes for your cold storage. Most cold storages sit idlebetween seasons and are firedup just in advance of the storageseason. It is always a good ideato perform a regular inspectionand complete needed maintenance to ensure yourcold storage is structurally fitand operating properly. Yourcold storage contractor can assistwith preparing an inspectionand maintenance schedule.Here are a few simple itemsstorage owners can complete ontheir own.

1. Examine the condition ofyour building. Start from theroof down looking for faultyroofing and openings caused byage, wind or animals. Eaves androof vents should be unobstructed. Outside walls andfoundations should be straightand look in new condition.

2. Clear debris from your fanand condenser. Your coolingequipment will usually have acondenser unit on the outside ofthe building which removesheat from the building using afan blowing air through whatlooks like a vehicle radiator(condenser). This fan and con-densor need to be kept clear ofdebris and obstructions toensure maximum air flow.Restricted air flow will reducecooling efficiency, decreaseequipment life and drive uppower consumption.

3. Check doors for good gasketsthat seal. Any broken or crackedseals should be replaced. Airinfiltration is the second highestcooling load for a cold storage.

4. Check ceilings and walls onthe inside for discolouration orsigns of mold or rot. If any ofthese symptoms are present,they should be addressed.Concrete floors should be dryand in new condition. Floorswith cracking and shifting mayindicate a structural problemand a building contractor shouldbe consulted.

5. Examine and clean the evaporator coils. Your coolingsystem will usually have evaporator coils which look likea vehicle radiator with a fanhanging from the ceiling. Aswith the outside component ofthe cooling system, the evapora-tor coils need to examinedclosely and be cleaned with noair flow restrictions.

6. Contact your refrigerationcontractor for updates. Beforestarting up your cooling systemand giving it a test run, it is agood idea to contact your refrigeration contractor for anyspecial procedures to follow.

7. Monitor the inside temperature. Once your coolingsystem is operating, the insidetemperature should be monitored and any changesfrom design temperatures orprevious years should be noted.Your refrigeration contractorshould be consulted for possiblecooling system issues.

8. Prevent the spread of decay-causing organisms. Priorto using your cold storage, it isalways a good idea to ensureproper sanitation to reduce thespread of decay-causing organisms. Take a look aroundfor any safety issues or hazardswaiting to happen. Withincreasing electricity rates, it

may be beneficial to have yourrefrigeration contractor inspectyour cooling system annually toensure it is operating at peakefficiency.

For more information, pickup the following factsheets atyour local OMAFRA office oronline: Troubleshooting ColdStorage Problems (94-083) and

Forced-Air Cooling Systems forFresh Ontario Fruits andVegetables (14-039).

John Warbick is an engineer withOMAFRA, horticulture crop systems, based at Vineland Station,Ontario.



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IFCO North America hascompleted installation of proprietary SmartGuardianmonitoring technology in all sixof its U.S. Reusable PlasticContainer (RPC) service centers. The innovative software monitors and controlsIFCO’s RPC cleaning and sanitation process to ensure itmeets strict company and industry food safety standards.

“IFCO RPCs have devel-oped a well-deserved reputationfor safety, efficiency and sustainability,” said DanielWalsh, president of IFCONorth America. “As the marketleader in reusable fresh foodpackaging, we constantly striveto improve our products andservices and SmartGuardian isthe latest example of our com-mitment to that core principle.”SmartGuardian has beeninstalled at all six of IFCO’s

U.S. RPC processing facilities:• McDonough, Georgia (August2015)• San Antonio, Texas(December 2015)• Bolingbrook, Illinois (January2016)• Rancho Cucamonga,California (January 2016)• Portland, Oregon (January2016)• Fresno, California (February2016)

Water pressure and tempera-ture, detergent and disinfectantconcentrations and contact timeare continually monitored viasensors to ensure each RPC isprocessed correctly. If any parameter is not in line with thespecified value, the systemautomatically sends an alert ormay stop the wash machine. Each pallet of clean RPCs isthen identified with a qualitylabel identifying the wash

location, wash machine, and thedate and time the RPCs werewashed. Lastly, as the palletsare loaded into trucks for

distribution, the system trackswhich customers are scheduledto receive the RPCs.

Source: IFCO North America newsrelease

THE GROWER



KAREN DAVIDSON

Ethylene-absorbing film is now used inEurope, a trend that could migrate toCanada.

“This product was originally developedwith a corrugated packaging company inSpain,” explains Grant Ferguson, vice-president of sales and marketing forChantler Packaging, an international com-pany, with offices in Mississauga, Ontario.

“It’s a product geared towards high-endretailers with high-value produce such aspeaches and cherries,” says Ferguson. ThePrimePro Core, incorporated into microflute material, absorbs ethylene, the planthormone that’s released when producestarts to ripen and decay. The productextends shelf life without having to putproduce into modified atmosphere pack-aging. The aesthetic needs of retailers aremet while consumers get access to the

freshest fruit possible. The product was developed in partner-

ship with Flexomed, a packaging printingand graphics company based in Valencia,Spain. The firm took the PrimePro shelflife extension technology and laminated itto corrugated trays and compact boxes,leading to an easy application of ethylene-absorbing material without therequirement of additional materials orlabour, such as tying, sealing, or gassing.

PrimePro Core won a LiderPackAward, annually held in Barcelona, forBest Food Packaging 2015. Efficacy of theproduct has been proven at the Universityof California-Davis at the Post-HarvestInstitute.

While not available in Canada to date,stone fruit, cherries and pears would beideal candidates for this kind of packagingpresentation. These are delicate productsthat need to be packaged with somethingmore robust than a tray and caddy.

Ethylene-absorbing film lengthens shelf life for high-value produce

SmartGuardian technology to monitor cleaning processes at all U.S. reusable plastic container wash centers


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PAGE 20 –– JUNE 2016 THE GROWER


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THE GROWER


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Usually it is the press whofumes about getting govern-ment papers that are heavily‘redacted.’(That means thatsome/all of what had been contained in the notes has beendeleted or blacked out.) I satdown a few days ago and wrotea piece about just what Ithought about the current stateof the fungicide re-evaluationsat the Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA).These products are the backbone of all our plant disease management programsin virtually every crop grown inCanada, and include: Bravo(Echo), Captan (Maestro),Rovral, Thiram, Ferbam, Ziram,Polyram and mancozeb. Theseare a virtual who’s who of multi-site fungicides that areexcellent controls in their ownright, but prop up all the otherregistered single-site fungicidesto avert, prevent or at least mitigate the effects of pestresistance that develop quicklyto single-site products. My firstarticle actually got a little per-sonal and included allegationsthat came from the heart.

I decided, upon proof-read-ing it, to start my own redactingprocess, just to spare any seriousrepercussions. Hence this newcolumn, as all that was left ofthe old one was the title! Overthe years of writing this columnI have never been so het upabout an issue. (About somepeople, yes, but not about a single issue.) In order to actual-ly have a column this month, Idecided to focus on how to fix

the situation so it doesn’t hap-pen again, down the road. Thefollowing will be some of thetext of my comments to PMRAregarding their proposal to alterthe re-evaluation approach.

Dear PMRA,I believe we both want to

make sure that the registeredpesticides available for use inCanada meet a global standardthat assures the public of safety.It takes a partnership of users(growers), registrants, and regu-latory officials to not only makesure the correct data is availableto make such decisions, but alsoto ensure that products, as used,pose no unacceptable risk.

In order to make sure of theabove, it takes a partnershipapproach all through theprocess. In the current process,that does not occur. Theapproach that you espouse inPRO 2016-02 only suggests consultation part way throughthe process. This is not a truepartnership! Until all sides canwork with trust and cooperation,you will never achieve what youare trying to attain. After carefulexamination of The PestControl Products Act andRegulations, I can find no actualLAW that prevents you fromdoing any of the following. Ifyou have internal policies,directives, and guidelines thatyou feel constrain change,please feel free to ignore them,change them, make exceptionto them, or likewise create aworkable solution in spite ofthese prior self-imposed limitson activity. This is actually legalto do, notwithstanding someinterpretations!

The start has to be with openand transparent communicationswith the other partners. It muststart at the beginning of the re-evaluation process. Before adate has been set to commencea review, PMRA should alreadyknow what they have in termsof data, in the file of that activeingredient. That can determinewhat further data is neededbefore any risk assessment iscalculated. The start of theprocess begins when all the

partners first sit down, reviewwhat these data “gaps” may be,but only after careful examina-tion of the current actual usepatterns and comparison to current labels. There may wellbe uses no longer needed.There may be pending minoruse expansions that need to beconsidered as well. Each partnerneeds to make commitments ofwhat they can/will produce, andby a set date. Full and open disclosure helps to keep folkson time and keeping commit-ments. PMRA should not (evermore) have to make recourse togeneric numbers, inappropriatedatabases, or to data not appropriate for use in Canada.

In the past we have seen theuse of provincial water qualitydata; some of it highly question-able for use to predict pesticidelevels in surface and/or groundwater. Any and all such soliciteddata should come with a pedigree that is available to all.If a ‘witch-hunt’ of wells orwater courses was conductedafter a known spill, it should beso noted. (It may be interestingdata, but not applicable to anestimation of soil/water residuesfollowing labelled use) If thedata is from known field trialswhere active ingredient hasbeen applied at known doses,yet non-detectable amounts arefound in some sites, then by allmeans the standard use of halfthe level of detection makessense. It does NOT make senseto use this technique when it isnot known if the active WASEVER APPLIED THERE!However, that has been done inthe past and has led to widelyexaggerated assumptions of lev-els in certain sites. Even worse,the use of a model to create apositive number of a residue inwater is highly questionablewhen the actual use patternwould only be for a tiny fractionof the land area feeding anaquifer. What works in a modelfor a confined trial with a (tiny)amount of soil is inappropriatefor Canada-wide decisions.

The current approach is veryheavy on determining the worstcase (and beyond that) of

potential hazard. It has evenmore shortfalls in the mitigationof risk after examining the usepatterns. Once again, the use ofmodels falls far short of actualexamination of the current usescenarios. Even registrants maybe behind the current use sce-narios due to the rapid changesthat are happening in the field.Once again, a real partnershipwould mitigate that lack ofknowledge. It would seem thereis good confidence that growerswill read and follow the instruc-tions for the care needed inmixing, loading and applicationof the product. We were alwaystaught that handling pure prod-uct before dilution with waterwas the most risky part of expo-sure to the pesticide. It appearsthat while there is confidenceabout this part of the exposure,there is angst about the expo-sure to (much lower) residueson the plant to the point thatthe use of the pesticide is nowdeemed unacceptable.

Part of this is because ‘estimates’ of field activitieshave been grossly overestimat-ed. Part of this also has to dowith the use of estimates of howmuch of the residues on a plantactually rub off onto a worker.Further, the estimates of thelongevity of active residues ofany/all pesticides on a leaf leavea lot to be desired. Lastly, butmost importantly, there is noconsideration for the use of protective clothing in post-application situations to reduceeven the small amounts thatcould be transferred to a work-er.

Once again an ‘unwritten’rule ‘exists’ that since workersmay not necessarily read a label,they would then be unable toknow what clothing to wear inwhat fields. This is coming from

the same folks who assume agrower will ensure the re-entrytimes are obeyed, the pre-harvest interval is adhered to,and that all safety equipment isused by themselves or any farmworker when applying the purepesticide!

I am sure all your staff feelthey are professionals. Would itsurprise you to learn that grow-ers are also professionals? Dothey not deserve the credit forthe Grower Pesticide SafetyCourse they take? Do they notget credit for the On-FarmFood Safety Courses they take?Nor the audits they must passto stay in business? Then thereare the workplace worker safetycommittees that all growersmust create when there are fiveor more workers. This requiresgrowers to meet with workers todiscuss such issues, and toensure compliance. Farmerstake affront when it appearsthey are being treated the wayit appears you have been treating them.

Partnerships work. We havelots of examples. The way towork in the future demandspartnerships in order to be suc-cessful. We know that just asyou are professional and wantthe best outcomes, we tooexpect better consideration ofour skills and professionalismthan the immediate past hasshown.

The problems inherent inthese eight re-evaluations mayhave been just the catalyst to‘get it right’ down the road. Wefully expect significant changesto the current proposals, basedon the data that we and the reg-istrants provide. Anything lesswould be unimaginable.

Yours sincerely,Your Partner, A Grower

CRAIG HUNTEROFVGA

MINOR USE

CRAIG’S COMMENTS

Fixing the re-evaluation impasse

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Go go www.thegrower.org to see a video aboutthe value of fungicides in Canadian horticulture


MINOR USE

Bayer launches first-ever Group 5 fungicidefor Canadian wine grapes

On April 19, 2016, Bayer announced thelaunch of Priwen fungicide for control of powderymildew in Canadian wine grapes.

“At Bayer, we are dedicated to pursuing newtools that address specific needs for growers,”said Jon Weinmaster, portfolio manager, horticul-ture, at Bayer CropScience Inc. “As the onlyGroup 5 fungicide available for wine grape grow-ers in Canada, Priwen not only offers growers anew and unique foliar fungicide, but one that ishighly effective against powdery mildew.”

Priwen offers xylem-mobile systemic protec-tion, moving to the leaf tips and underside ofleaves.

“Thanks to its unique active ingredient,Priwen is also an excellent rotation and resistancemanagement tool, which supports wine grapegrowers’ efforts to manage tough diseases yearafter year,” said Weinmaster.

Priwen is formulated as a 500 g/L emulsifiableconcentrate and is available in 1L jugs, with 12 X1L jugs per case.

For more information regarding Priwen, grow-ers are encouraged to talk to their local retailers,visit www.cropscience.bayer.ca/priwen, or follow@Bayer4CropsCA on Twitter.

Source: Bayer news release

Pardner herbicide label expanded for management of weeds in carrots grown on muck soil in CanadaJIM CHAPUT

The Pest Management RegulatoryAgency (PMRA) recently announced theapproval of an URMULE registration forPardner Herbicide for management ofweeds on carrots grown on muck soils inCanada. Pardner Herbicide was alreadylabeled for use on a wide range of cropsfor weed control in Canada.This minor use project for carrots wassponsored by Quebec HorticulturalCouncil in 2013 as a result of minor usepriorities established by growers andextension personnel.The following is provided as an abbrevi-ated, general outline only. Users shouldconsult the complete label before using

Pardner Herbicide.Pardner Herbicide is toxic to aquatic

organisms and non-target terrestrialplants. Do not apply this product orallow drift to other crops or non-targetareas. Do not contaminate off-targetareas or aquatic habitats when sprayingor when cleaning and rinsing sprayequipment or containers.Follow all other precautions and direc-tions for use on the Pardner label care-fully.

For a copy of the new minor use labelcontact your local crop specialist, region-al supply outlet or visit the PMRA labelsite http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/registrant-titulaire/tools-outils/label-etiq-eng.php

Crop Target Rate (L/ha) Applications

Carrots grownon muck soil

Labeledweeds

1.0 – 1.2 1 (One) - apply 3 – 4 days prior to cropemergence. 45 days pre-harvest interval.

Quadris fungicide label expanded for control of Anthracnose (leaf curl) on celery in CanadaJIM CHAPUT

The Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency (PMRA)recently announced theapproval of an URMULE registration for Quadris fungi-cide for control of Anthracnose(leaf curl) on celery in Canada.Quadris fungicide was alreadylabeled for use on a number ofcrops in Canada for control ofdiseases.

This minor use project wasinitiated in 2015 and submittedto PMRA by Ontario as a resultof minor use priorities established by growers andextension personnel.

The following is provided asan abbreviated, general outlineonly. Users should be makingpest management decisionswithin a robust IPM programand should consult the complete label before usingQuadris fungicide.

Quadris fungicide is toxic toaquatic organisms. Do not apply

this product or allow drift toother crops or non-target areas.Do not contaminate off-targetareas or aquatic habitats whenspraying or when cleaning andrinsing spray equipment or containers. Azoxystrobin is persistent and will carryover. Itis recommended that this product not be used in areastreated with azoxystrobin duringthe previous season. The use ofthis product may result in contamination of ground water,particularly in areas where soilsare permeable (e.g. sandy soil)and/or the depth to the watertable is shallow.

Follow all other precautionsand directions for use on theQuadris fungicide label carefully.

For a copy of the new minoruse label contact your local cropspecialist, regional supply outletor visit the PMRA label sitehttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/registrant-titulaire/tools-outils/label-etiq-eng.php

Note: This article is notintended to be an endorsementor recommendation for this

particular product, but rather anotice of registration.

Jim Chaput is minor use coordinator, OMAFRA, Guelph,ON

Crop Target Rate (L/ha) Applications Pre-harvest interval(days)

Celery Anthracnose (Leaf curl)

1.12 Maximum of 3 1

@growernews The Grower www.thegrower.org

THE GROWER


CONSUMER OUTREACH

A new collaboration network with a focus on foodwill be coming to Canada soon with the launch of TheCanadian Centre for Food Integrity (CFI). Farm &Food Care Canada, a national charitable organizationwith the vision for building public trust in food andfarming, will be introducing The Canadian CFI at theirfirst annual Public Trust Summit in Ottawa May 31-June 1.

Farm & Food Care Canada is a unique coalition created in 2011 that works together with many partnersfrom farmers to associations and food companies fromcoast to coast with a shared commitment to providecredible information about food and farming toCanadians. The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity will be a newdivision of Farm & Food Care Canada and an affiliateof The Center for Food Integrity based in the UnitedStates. This will provide a unique North American

approach and perspectives on the questions and conver-sations about food in our increasingly interconnectedglobal food system.

“Public demand for transparency is growing and consumers want to know more about how their food isproduced and who’s producing it,” said Crystal Mackay,Farm & Food Care Canada CEO. “The new CanadianCentre for Food Integrity will work with its membersand the Canadian food system at large to share informa-tion and demonstrate our values when it comes to outstanding animal care, environmental stewardshipand producing safe food.”

The inaugural Canadian Public Trust Summit willencourage collaborative discussion and learning formany farm and food system leaders, while providingconcrete actions for the future. Pre-registered for theSummit already are more than 150 of Canada’s food,farming, and food industry leaders from across all

sectors from aquaculture to vegetables. Their aim willbe to:• Be among the first to hear new, extensive Canadianresearch on public trust in food and farming;• Learn from a roster of speakers from the UnitedKingdom, the European Union and the United Stateshighlighting lessons learned from their parts of theworld related to public trust in food and farming;• Help shape the future discussions on food and farming in Canada.

With farm food industry leaders from across Canadaattending, a suite of global speakers, and the launch ofnew Canadian research, the Public Trust Summit andthe new Canadian Centre for Food Integrity is settingthe table for success.

To learn more about the summit and the work ofFarm & Food Care Canada and the new Canadian CFIvisit www.FarmFoodCare.org/canada.

New national network aims to earn public trust in Canadian food

Photos by Glenn lowson

the grower june 2016

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