By Karen Davidson The notion that farmers should

be compensated for their eco-services to society is real for DaleVranckx Instead of waiting forgovernment to institutionalize theconcept he has taken a run-of-the-mill farm with a ldquoblueberries forsalerdquo sign and extended it intoSouth Coast Eco-Safari an agri-tourism destination

There is some real estate wis-dom to his good fortune in beinglocated between Turkey Point andLong Point Biosphere Reserve aspit of land jutting into Lake ErieThe mantra of ldquolocation locationlocationrdquo is paying off as the fami-ly operation has evolved over fiveyears from 17 acres of pick-your-own blueberries to a retail outletand an eco-safari trail Whereasabout 600 people walked throughthe farmgate in 2005 there were21000 attendees in 2010 Fromday-trippers to American touristsand locals the old adage of ldquobuildit and they will comerdquo is paying off

How did Vranckx transform theoperation His perspective is sur-prising It started with a succes-sion plan for his three sonsNicholas Wes and DJ His origi-nal tobacco farming career wassidelined with other ventures in anATV dealership and trucking bro-kerage business but in his hearthe wanted the farming life Hespied the parcel of land and seizedupon the idea of starting multiplebusinesses that would support hissons

Nicolas for one is a graduatefrom Brock University with adegree in viticulture and oenologyHe has started Southcoast Crop

Sciences a crop consulting business for local wineries Nextyear he plans to transform 7500litres of blueberry juice into wineWes loved the 50-acre Carolinianwoodlot on the property and hasforged the eco-trail where visitorscan spot everything from baldeagles to wild turkeys and flyingsquirrels Itrsquos taken three years tobuild the trail which just openedthis fall to rave reviews For $80families can ride through 13 kilometers of forested lakesidetrails for three hours and neverretrace their wheel tracks

The uniqueness of the proper-tyrsquos ecosystems is revealed with

every season In late May to earlyJune snapping turtles migratefrom the marshes up a steepembankment to lay their eggs inthe sandy soil Where many farmsmight count 20 or 30 tree speciesthere are 80 species of trees on theproperty including record-sizedcrabapple slippery elm andchokecherry The lakeside woodlot is at its peak in the fallappreciated from the comfort ofmotorized eco-carts Vranckxpoints out that they are equippedwith rubber bumpers that will notdamage the ancient trees

All the attractions aside this isstill a commercial blueberry farm

first and foremost Ten differentvarieties produce from July 1 tomid-September While some blueberries are sold at the OntarioFood Terminal most are soldthrough the pick-your-own opera-tion or ready-picked for sale intheir retail outlet Sustainablefarming practices have reducedsprays from nine to three per yearand production has increased from6000 to 16000 flats annuallyboosted by computerized trickleirrigation

The Vranckx family is one ofthe first in Ontario to experimentwith controlled atmosphere tokeep fresh-picked berries in mint

condition until better marketsmaterialize In mid-summer theywere receiving $12 per flat ofblueberries at the Ontario FoodTerminal but capitalized onSeptember markets at $30 per flatfilling a demand for local Withthis success under their belts theVranckx family wants to experi-ment with asparagus strawberriesraspberries and cherries

ldquoOur farm is more than afarmerrsquos marketrdquo says Vranckxwhose son DJ is gradually takingover management Itrsquos truly evolv-ing into an agri-tourism destina-tion with more plans for 2011

Continued on page 3

InsideWinnerrsquos circleat the Royal Page 4

Off-shore workers tell it straight Page 6

FOCUS Marketing Page 11

wwwthegrowerorg

CELEBRATING 130 YEARS AS CANADArsquoS PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATIONDECEMBER 2010 VOLUME 60 NUMBER 12

PM 40012319

Visit wwwsavvyfarmercom to learn the secrets of saving money on pest control

A farm with a view is an understatement when admiring the fall foliage at St Williams Ontario Dale and Angie Vranckx have extended their blue-berry season by carving an eco-safari tour out of their rare Carolinian forest on the shores of Lake Erie near the Long Point Biosphere ReserveThe sustainable growing practices in their blueberry patch are echoed in all the details of their agri-tourism business Photos by Denis Cahill

AGRI-TOURISM

A farm with a view sells the experience

December 15 is deadlinefor Ontario Outstanding

Young Farmer nominations

If you are between the ages of18 and 39 operate a farm andderive two-thirds of your incomefrom the farm you are eligible forthe Ontario Outstanding YoungFarmer program The 2011regional conference is slated forMarch 10 ndash 12 2011 in AjaxOntario For more information goto wwwoyfontariocanomina-tionhtml

Mozart potatoes are aringer at the Royal

The variety Mozart was developed in the Netherlands in2004 Two years later HZPC theDutch potato-breeding companyobtained plant breedersrsquo rights forMozart in Canada Mozart is mov-ing slowly but steadily into theCanadian table-stock market saysEugenia Banks OMAFRA potatospecialist The Quebec market forthis variety is increasing every

year ldquoIn 2009 I saw Mozart being

sold in poly bags in a grocery storein Ontario The bags sold out inless than 24 hours a good indica-tion of what consumers likerdquo saysBanks Here are her commentsbull Mozart offers resistance to com-mon scab and high yield to thepotato grower and flavour to theconsumer Tubersbull Oval very uniform tubers withdistinctive yellow eyes and anattractive sunrise red skin Yellowflesh colour bull Mozart has a long dormancyand stores well Qualitybull Noted for excellent table qualityno darkening following cookingmedium dry matter content bull The delicious flavour makesMozart special Eat it and youbelieve it Foliagebull Late maturing with a strongfoliageDiseasesbull Good resistance to commonscab bull Immune to potato wartbull Resistant to potato cyst nema-tode

Check water-taking permit expiry dates

Farmers with permits to takewater are being reminded to checkthe expiry date of their documentsThe Ontario Fruit and VegetableGrowers Association (OFVGA) isencouraging growers to reviewtheir paperwork this fall to ensurethat their permits remain current orcan be renewed prior to the start ofthe next growing season

ldquoItrsquos important for growers toensure they keep their water takingpermits currentrdquo says BrianGilroy Chair of the OFVGA ldquoForsome it may have been a whilesince they had to go through anapplication or renewal process Ithas changed considerably in thelast several years so it may take abit of time to gather all of therequired documentationrdquo

Horticulture and crop farmerswho use more than 50000 litresper water per day on their farmoperations are required to hold apermit to take water issued by theMinistry of the Environment Thisincludes activities such as irriga-tion or using wash water to cleanvegetables before they are packed

Farmers who have no changesin crops or water usage and whorenew their permits before theyexpire can complete a morestreamlined renewal process Any-one applying for a renewal on apermit to take water that haslapsed will be treated as a newapplicant by the Ministry and maybe subject to additional require-ments and conditions

Farmers with questions regard-ing their renewals are invited tocontact George Shearer at theOFVGA office a surface waterscientist on the OFVGA staff whocan assist growers with permitapplications and renewals Georgecan be reached at 519-763-6160ext 219 or waterofvgaorg

PAGE 2 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERSThe Canadian HorticulturalCouncil (CHC) and UnitedPotato Growers of Canada(UPGC) have togetherengaged Mark Drouin for adual role Although objec-tives and areas of activity aredifferent both organizationshave members in common Hewill serve as Vice PresidentPotatoes for CHC as well asGeneral Manager for UPGCMost recently Drouin servedas senior market developmentadvisor Horticulture and Special Crops for Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada

The Ontario Produce Marketing Association (OPMA) honouredseveral at its annual gala event Bill Nightingale Jr Delhi ONwon the OPMA Fresh Award Dan Dempster who will be retiring in the new year after 34 years with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association was honoured with the LifetimeAchievement Award Paul Mastronardi featured on lastAprilrsquos cover of The Grower received the Cory Clack-StreefProduce Person of the Year Award for innovations from Mastronardi Produce Kingsville ON The OutstandingAchievement Award was received by Virginia Zimm for theFaye Clack Communications team and its animated characterMiss Ava Cado on the ldquoAvocados from Mexicordquo campaign

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers have a new boardof directors Representing District 1 is Tony Coppola JamieCornies Paul Mastronardi Peter Quiring and Jim SlaterRepresenting District 2 is Nuanihal Gill Marco HoogenboomGerard Van Baalen Jan VanderHout and Jim Veri

The Ontario Association of Food Banks has presented the annual Paul Mistele Memorial Award to Nature Fresh FarmsLeamington Ontario Peter Quiring received the honour fordonating 600000 pounds of fresh vegetables over the past twoyears while recruiting other greenhouse growers to participateThe award is named for the Rodney-area farmer who foundedOntario Porkrsquos Donate-A-Hog Program in 1998

Charles Stevenson Wilmot Orchards opened up his farm thispast summer to a team of video journalists who chronicled theoff-shore workers on his blueberry and apple farm The result is an extraordinary video and article which appearedNovember 1 in Durham Regionrsquos newspaper Go towwwdurhamregioncom for the results

Estival lettuce topped entries in the sixth annual Seed of theYear competition at a recognition event at the Royal Agricul-tural Winter Fair Sylvie Jenni Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada was recognized for her public breeding efforts Formore details see page 4

Congratulations to horticulture competition champions at theRoyal Agricultural Winter Fair Joanne Borcsok KettlebyOntario won the Len Rush Memorial Trophy for Grand Champion Vegetable Exhibitor Ed Valdes Guelph Ontariowon the Ontario Potato Board Award for Champion TableStock Potatoes Glen Squirell G amp P Squirell Farms Shelburne Ontario won the Canadian Horticultural CouncilInternational Award for Champion Seed Potato

In last monthrsquos Ontario municipal elections Avia Eek a director of the Holland Marsh Growersrsquo Association won acouncillorrsquos seat in King Township She is a newcomer tomunicipal politics

Ben Stewart is British Columbiarsquos new agriculture ministerNo stranger to agriculture he has a farming background in thefruit industry He and his brother Tony launched Quailrsquos Gatewinery in 1989 He has also been past-chair of Vintners Quality Alliance Canada

At press timehellip

Corrections The November issue photo on page 3 had an incorrect cutline Greg Donald general manager Prince Edward IslandPotato Board is pictured with Rick Mercer of CBCrsquos Rick MercerReport On page 12 the photo of the almond tree was incorrectly identified as awalnut tree

Mark Drouin

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 3THE GROWER

Continued from page 1They include a 300-car parking lot and afarmhouse thatrsquos been transformed into aconference hall and cafeacute Landscaping willlure customers for patio drinks Eventually awinery tasting bar and gift shop will expandthe offerings

Sounds busy But remember that all family members are running separate businesses from the same home base Forthe Vranckx family eco-safari also meansenvironmental savings

Right South Coast Eco-Safari is just one ofseveral businesses of the Vranckx familyWes in the lead eco-cart manages the agri-tourism business while DJ not shownmanages the farmersrsquo marketBelow A fall view of Long Point is enjoyedfrom the eco-safari tour

A farm with a view sells the experience

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10 best marketing tips1 Create a website for each of the businesses to keep focus on branding2 Buy your own vinyl cutter to make your own signs3 Convert produce from wholesale to retail outlets for better margins4 Earn certification for Local Food Plus5 Leverage participation in Environmental Farm Plans in marketing literature6 Hire marketing studentintern to sharpen and execute marketing tactics7 Use leading-edge technology to take advantage of shoulder higher-value seasons8 Borrow concepts from other industries like Tim Hortonrsquos drive-through and apply tofarm situation9 Broaden the on-farm offerings with local produce from neighbours10 Add value to blueberries by offering novelty blueberry wine

New indoor farmersrsquo market planned for Torontorsquos eastern fringesBy Karen Davidson

The Durham Farm Fresh Marketing Association is seriouslyinvestigating an indoor farmersrsquomarket that could launch as earlyas spring 2013 Itrsquos an idea thatrsquoshome baked

A core of direct farm marketproducers and food processors isbehind the plan focused on Ajax orWhitby Ontario The demograph-ics are considered ideal withinshort proximity of near-urbanfarmlands

ldquoWe want to create a specialplace where the city meets thecountryrdquo says Marlene Werrymanager economic developmentagriculture and rural DurhamRegion ldquoOur primary target isyoung two-income families whoseek out quality products whichare made baked grown or produced locallyrdquo

Ted Eng Zephyr Organicsspeaks favourably of the ideaThisis a concept thatrsquos proven success-ful at a Calgary Farmersrsquo MarketBehind that seven-year success isEdmonton planning consultantGregory Wilkes who has beenhired for his credentials and expe-rience in the Ontario processSome of the stakeholders traveledto Calgary this past summer to

observe how it works Research to date shows that

Calgary shoppers spend approxi-mately 90 minutes at the FarmersrsquoMarket compared to 20 minutes attraditional grocers Thatrsquos becauseitrsquos a meeting place for meals arts

and cultural experiences ldquoPart of our early thinking is

how to also attract musiciansartists and food artisansrdquo saysWerry ldquoThis must be a destinationrdquo

While seasonal outdoor

farmersrsquo markets have grown inpopularity with the local foodmovement the concept for thisyear-round indoor market is alsoto make shopping an engagingexperience in the manner of displaying and selling products

Entertainment education andshowmanship are key

The Greater Toronto Agricul-tural Action Committee (GTAAC)supports the plan with a recentcheque of $25000 to fund the nextstep a business plan Thatrsquos wherethe final number-crunching will belaid bare At this stage the consultant will recommend a primary and secondary site anarchitectural design key elementsof the market capital operatingand maintenance costs

ldquoWe believe in what theyrsquoredoingrdquo says Janet HornerGTAAC coordinator ldquoIf we canreplicate their market-ready modelin terms of understanding howmany farmers are needed to makethis viable then we can form aneven stronger network with othermarketsrdquo

ldquoI find that any jurisdiction thathires an economic developmentofficer specifically devoted toagriculture more than gets itsmoneyrsquos worthrdquo says HornerldquoTheir linkages to tourism planning departments and othermunicipalities are criticalrdquo

The next step is to gather stake-holders for input early in 2011

Left to right Greg Wilkes Edmonton consultant listens to Calgary Market produce vendor explain how business has evolved to Tim OrsquoConnor Durham Farm Fresh committee member

The concept of a speakerrsquos cor-ner was put on its head at theRoyal Agricultural Winter FairInstead a listenerrsquos corner was setup to tap into consumer input for anational food strategy

Funded by the Ontario Federa-

tion of Agriculture and staffed byfood and health consultant DrMary Alton Mackey the conceptwas a simple dialogue with thethrongs of consumers visiting thepopular Journey to your GoodHealth pavilion

ldquoThis is a golden opportunity totalk to consumersrdquo says Mackeywho had dozens of conversationsand encouraged consumers towrite their ideas on cards whichwere tied to two saplings in burlapbags

ldquoWhat I found is that consumersare looking for a one-stop portalon how to buy how to prepare andhow to store foodrdquo says MackeyldquoMany donrsquot know how to cook aturkey anymore but they do likethe idea of local and sustainablefoodrdquo The web is a valuableresource only for those with com-puter skills and access

Some of the ideas gleaned arebull to teach more agriculture foodand nutrition in schools

- to grow more vegetables atschoolsbull to have government procurementpolicies that put local food intoinstitutions that are paid for bytaxpayer dollarsbull to have clearer country of originlabeling bull to be able to identify Canadianproducts including meats (logo) bull to have fairer trade with localsuppliers rather than supportingforeign food that undercuts prices

Developing a national foodstrategy is a Herculean task butone that already has a role modelin the United Kingdom Publishedearlier this year their 2030 FoodStrategy drills down into a numberof intersecting issues examiningeverything from obesity to carbonfootprints to third-world agricul-tural development (see

wwwdefragovukfoodfarmcom)The key platforms in the British

strategy arebull enabling and encouraging peopleto eat a healthy sustainable diet

- ensuring a resilient profitableand competitive food system

- increasing food productionsustainability

- reducing food systemrsquos green-house gas emissions

- reducing reusing and repro-cessing waste

- increasing the impact of skillsknowledge research and technolo-gy

As Mackey lifts the hefty print-out of the British policy she saysthat a good framework is there forCanada which is now thinkingthrough its strategy ldquoThe role ofgovernment in all this is to providerobust evidence to support peo-plersquos choices and to offer adviceon food products that fit these val-ues of sustainabilityrdquo she says

For growers a key part of thestrategy will be how to make farm-ing an attractive business Withthe average age of farmers morethan 50 the strategy should alsoaddress the sustainability of farm-ers with policies that supportmade-in-Canada products and justas importantly a value-added pro-cessing sector

PAGE 4 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

THE GROWER

Lettuce breeder Sylvie Jennishould be called three times luckyShe has been coming to the RoyalAgricultural Winter Fair for threeyears now her Estival lettucenominated for Seed of the YearThis time she won the top honourswith a track record of Estival nowcomprising close to 30 per cent ofthe total crisphead lettuce sold inCanada

ldquoThis past summer was very hotand a real test of this varietyrdquo saysJenni Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada Saint-Jean-sur-RichelieuQuebec ldquoLettuce is a cool seasoncrop which develops quality problems under hot weather conditionsrdquo

Estival has high tolerance topremature bolting and rib discolouration with a greatercapacity than other popular

varieties to produce a high headweight on a short stem Estival isalso a Vanguard-type lettuce sim-ilar to that produced in CaliforniaThis makes the variety suitable forboth fresh and processing marketswhich represented $40 million in2009

Jenni says that seed productionof 65 million seeds in 2009 hasnearly doubled to 109 millionseeds in 2010

Three other finalists for the eastdivision of Seed of the Year werealso recognized They are YukonGold a potato variety nominatedby University of Guelph professorAlan Sullivan and technicianVanessa Currie AC Gehl a hulless oat variety developed byBill Collins and Vern Burrows ofthe Eastern Cereal and OilseedResearch Centre Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada in Ottawa andAC Rigodon developed by Jean-Pierre Dubuc and Andre Comeauof the Soils and Crops Develop-ment Research Centre Agriculture

and Agri-Food Canada in QuebecCity

ldquoAs you can see with the recentSeed of the Year winner Estivallettuce and our very first winnerMillennium asparagus we encourage the fruit and vegetableindustry to nominate any publicdeveloped Canadian varietiesrdquosays Martin Harry eastern market-ing manager SeCan

This competition encouragespublic breeders to highlight theirresearch accomplishments indeveloping a new field crop forage fruit vegetable or herbvariety

The annual competition isdesigned by University of Guelphand SeCAn with support fromOMAFRA AAFC as well assponsorship from the OntarioBean Producers Ontario SoybeanGrowers Canadian Seed GrowersOntario Fruit and VegetableGrowersrsquo Association and OntarioAsparagus Marketing Board

Estival lettuce named 2010 Seed of the Year

Sylvie Jenni Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

Consumers leave ideas on tree for National Food Strategy

Mark Wales OFVGA director visits with Dr Mary Alton Mackey andexamines the idea tree set up to gather input for the national food strategy

As the national apple competi-tion celebrates its winners in arefrigerated showcase at the RoyalAgricultural Winter Fair PaulBirzins is on the trail of 2020 winners Hersquos the project managerfor the Okanagan Plant Improvement Corporation (PICO)Through the Developing Innovative Agri-Products programof Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada (AAFC) he is helping toaccelerate the pre-commercialdevelopment of new agri-productsin British Columbia Ontario andQuebec

ldquoThe challenge is to movequickly but we need time to develop the biological materialrdquoexplains Birzins The three-yearprogram focuses on new varietiesthat show the most potential inacclimatization fruit productionstorability and sensory-relatedtests If the testing sounds like amarathon it is

Working with the PICO teamand AAFC scientists he is shipping varieties from the PICObudwood orchard to nurseries ineach of the provinces Accordingto Birzins the research of theSummerland BC apple breederDr Cheryl Hampson is key inmaking the final selection determi-nations At this point the varietiesare numbered

At the Pacific AgriculturalResearch Centre (PARC) in Summerland BC Dr PeterToivonen is researching controlledatmosphere systems for the newvarieties Storability is an important component to determineon a varietal basis Slight adjustments may make the differ-ence in marketability of an apple

After clearing all the productionhurdles new varieties must passconsumer taste tests As recentlyas October the University ofBritish Columbia held a two-day

apple harvest festival in its horticultural gardens that attracted19000 visitors PARCrsquos Dr Mar-garet Cliff partnered with PICO toconduct consumer research onapple taste and appearance withapproximately 1500 participantsSensory comments were providedon three varieties SPA493 andtwo commercially available culti-vars ndash Ambrosia and Honeycrisp

The Vancouver market providesvaluable feedback in that Asiancultural tastes may differ in prefer-ences In the case of cherries forinstance opaque cherries are oftenfavoured over red cherries Deter-mining these taste preferencesearly in the breeding process canhelp narrow the varietal focus or atleast streamline varietals to specific market niches

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 5

What apple varieties will be winners in 2020

Cathy McKay a director of Plant Improvement Corporation (PICO)left and Paul Birzins project manager PICO take a minute to inspectthe winners of the national apple competition at the Royal AgriculturalWinter Fair in Toronto ON

National Apple Competition resultsThe National Apple Competition in its third year at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair attracted 128 entries Everyone who participated was a winner

RANK NAME CLUBFARM NAME

Section 820 - Commercial ApplesClass 1 - Red Delicious1st Wheelbarrow Orchards Wheelbarrow Orchards2nd Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards3rd Pate Tom Brantwood Farm4th Gilroy Brian Nighthawk OrchardsClass 2 - McIntosh1st Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards2nd Gilroy Brian Nighthawk Orchards3rd Cristan Farms Cristan Farms4th Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp SonsClass 3 - Gala1st Karmjit amp Balvir Gill Karmjit amp Balvir Gill2nd Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards3rd Enio Leardo4th Sardinha Orchards Sardinha OrchardsClass 4 - Empire1st Apple Springs Orchard Apple Springs Orchard2nd Campbells Orchards Campbells Orchards3rd Cristan Farms Cristan Farms4th GH Lambe and Son GH Lambe and SonClass 5 - Jonagold1st Scotian Gold Cooperative Scotian Gold

CooperativeClass 6 - Northern Spy1st Apple Springs Orchard Apple Springs Orchard2nd Gilroy Brian Nighthawk Orchards3rd Campbells Orchards Campbells Orchard4th Cristan Farms Cristan FarmsClass 7 - Golden Delicious1st Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp Sons2nd Pate Tom Brantwood Farm3rd Enio Leardo4th Dhoot TarseClass 8 - Crispin (Mutsu)1st Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards2nd Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp Sons3rd Gilroy Brian Nighthawk Orchards4th Pate Tom Brantwood FarmClass 9 - Cortland1st Gilroy Brian Nighthawk Orchards2nd Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards3rd Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp Sons4th GH Lambe and Son GH Lambe and SonClass 10 - Spartan1st Enio Leardo2nd Brar Harjinder3rd Scotian Gold Cooperative Scotian Gold

Cooperative4th Sardinha Orchards Sardinha OrchardsClass 11 - Champion and Reserve1st Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp Sons2nd Apple Springs Orchard Apple Springs Orchard

Section 821 - Heritage ApplesClass 1 - Tolman Sweet1st Behan Patrick J Moore OrchardsClass 2 - Gravenstein1st Scotian Gold Cooperative Ltd Scotian Gold

Cooperative Ltd2nd Cristan Farms Cristan FarmsClass 3 - Snow1st Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards2nd GH Lambe and Son GH Lambe and Son3rd Cristan Farms Cristan FarmsClass 4 - Other (named)1st Gilroy Brian Nighthawk Orchards2nd Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp Sons3rd Campbells Orchards Campbells Orchards4th Cristan Farms Cristan FarmsClass 6 - Champion and Reserve1st Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards2nd Gilroy Brian Nighthawk OrchardsSection 822 - New Variety ApplesClass 1 - Honeycrisp1st Wheelbarrow Orchards Wheelbarrow Orchards2nd Al Ferri amp Sons Al Ferri amp Sons3rd Apple Springs Orchard Apple Springs Orchard4th Scotian Gold Cooperative Ltd Scotian Gold

Cooperative LtdClass 2 - Ambrosia1st Gartrell Haritage Farms Gartrell Haritage Farms2nd Campbell Jim3rd Sardinha Orchards Sardinha Orchards4th Apple Springs Orchard Apple Springs Orchard-Class 3 - Aurora Golden Gala1st Campbell Jim2nd Fred amp Phyllis Nelson Fred amp Phyllis Nelson3rd Gartrell Haritage Farms Gartrell Haritage Farms4th Lane Mitchell amp Doug Crumback Lane Mitchell

amp Doug Crumback

Class 4 - Other (Named)1st Enio Leardo2nd Kidston Jamie3rd Roseridge Orchards Roseridge Orchards4th Lucich JosephClass 5 - Champion and Reserve1st Gartrell Haritage Farms Gartrell Haritage Farms2nd Campbell JimSection 823 - Novelty ClassClass 1 - Best collection of 5 in a basket1st Dhoot Tarse1st Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards2nd Scotian Gold Cooperative Ltd Scotian Gold

Cooperative Ltd2nd Apple Springs Orchard Apple Springs Orchard3rd Campbells Orchards Campbells Orchards3rd Sardinha Orchards Sardinha Orchards4th Cristan Farms Cristan Farms4th Enio LeardoSection 824 - Heaviest AppleClass 1 - Heaviest Apple1st Simpson Ron2nd Scotian Gold Cooperative Ltd Scotian Gold

Cooperative Ltd3rd Mennell Tristan Mennell Brothers Organics (BC)4th Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards5th Cristan Farms Cristan FarmsClass 2 - Ontario Apple Growers Trophy - CommercialVariety1st Behan Patrick J Moore OrchardsClass 3 - CHC Trophy - Winner of the New VarietySection1st Campbell JimClass 4 - Tyrell TrophyBest collection of apples1st Behan Patrick J Moore Orchards

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

Visit us at wwwnorsecocom

SUPERIOR SEEDS SUPERIOR SERVICEMichel Grat ton

Montreal Area Quebec

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

Yvon RiendeauMontreal Area Quebec

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

Yves Thibault agrCentral and Eastern

Quebec and Atlantic Provinces

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

Warren PeacockOntario

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

By Karen DavidsonWarren Libby and Sam Vurra-

bindi two former leaders at Syn-genta Canada have launched aweb-based software tool for grow-ers to calculate and compare costsof crop protection productsLaunched in mid-November at anannual subscription fee of $199the Savvy Farmer software isexpected to ease headaches ofselecting the most cost-effectivecrop protection inputs for specificinsects weeds and diseases

ldquoWersquove been giving demon-strations to crop protection compa-nies farm associations distribu-tors dealers and certified cropadvisors for two months nowrdquosays Libby president SavvyFarmer Inc ldquoAlmost 100 per centare enthusiastic and even the manufacturers are neutral tofavourablerdquo

Libbyrsquos lifetime experience inthe crop protection sector as for-

mer president of Syngenta Canadaand former chair of CropLifeCanada gives him a unique per-spective of what farmers need tobe competitive What makes thesoftware tool attractive is thatLibby has aggregated anavalanche of information throughpublic access portals and thenVurrabindi has built searchengines to quickly pull out thedesired data Together they areupdating data virtually every day

Growers can go to the websitewww savvyfarmercom for anindepth tutorial on how the systemworks Key features include morethan three million treatments formore than 700 crops in CanadaPhotos are available of a thousandweeds insects and diseases to helpgrowers correctly identify theproblems they are trying to con-trol Labels Material Data SafetySheets and safety information areavailable with the click of a

mouse ldquoInformation is powerrdquo says

Charles Stevens chair ofOFVGArsquos crop protection sectionldquoThis is another tool in our toolkitto purchase manage and use cropprotection productsrdquo

The website works much likeon-line banking New subscriberswill get a password-protectedaccount that can be accessed any-time anywhere In the year aheaditrsquos expected that an applicationwill be developed for smartphones

At launch time greenhouseproducts were not included in thedatabase but Libby does not dis-count the possibility of includingthem in the future A Professionalversion of the software is availablefor $399 per year containing alldata for Canada The subscriptionsrun from November 1 to October31 2011 at which time the servicecan be renewed

THE GROWER

PAGE 6 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

By Karen DavidsonA team of journalists have

documented in print photos andvideo what is rarely understood byconsumers off-shore workerscome to Canada because they wantto and many come year after yearlegally The multi-media projectldquoHere for the Seasonrdquo was justpublished by Metrolandrsquos DurhamRegion papers in late October

ldquoIf yoursquore looking for a sadstory of people dragged from theirhome country to work underdeplorable conditions leaving acrying family behind this isnrsquot itrdquowrote print journalist JenniferStone She wrote that many of the17000 workers who come toOntario under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programbecome part of the communityduring their six-month stay

ldquoItrsquos a great storyrdquo says video-journalist Mandi Hargrave whospent countless hours trackingseven workers on the blueberryand apple farm of Charles StevensWilmot Orchards ClaringtonOntario ldquoI have no farm background and did not have any

perceptions going into this projectrdquo

Due to the proximity of theorchard to the Oshawa GM autoplant and hard feelings about lay-offs there had been some commu-nity animosity towards the migrantworkers and false allegations thatthey were in Canada illegally Partof the paperrsquos motivation to tellthe story was to demystify whatthe workers do how they feelabout working in Canada and whythey come back

Since the end of July and untillate October Hargrave took hoursof videotape slowly gaining thetrust of the workers What shefound is that to a man they wereall wanting a better life for theirfamilies in the Caribbean or Mexico Joseph Hackett says itrsquoscheaper to buy clothes in Canadaoften sending drums of clothes andfood back home to BarbadosJavier Orihvela wants his 11-year-old daughter to have better education in Mexico Tony Ricehas been coming to Canada for 29years earning a small pension thatwill make retirement easier in

BarbadosldquoI was surprised that Metroland

papers were this interestedrdquo saysCharles Stevens who permittedthe journalists to come and go forabout two months He rejected anyfear that an unflattering story

would result knowing the temperament of his workers Thevideo showed not only harvest butcomfortable living conditions andharmonious worker interactions indowntime

In the end Hargrave witnessed

many long days in the orchard butconcluded ldquoI couldnrsquot handle theirjob They never complainrdquo

To see the articles and videogo to wwwnewsdurhamregioncomarticle164770

lsquoSavvy Farmerrsquo software will make crop protection shopping more competitive

Here for the season off-shore workers tell their story

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 7

Board briefsFollowing are highlights from

the OFVGA board meeting heldNovember 11 2010 The purposeof this brief is to keep you up-to-date on the issues that the OFVGAis working on as well as projectsand initiatives the organization isinvolved in

Safety nets

Risk management programming -OFVGA safety nets chair MarkWales reported that Ontario Porkand the Ontario Cattlemenrsquos Asso-ciation have both presented theirproposals for sector-specific RiskManagement Programs (RMP) toprovincial Minister of AgricultureFood and Rural Affairs CarolMitchell The pork and beef pro-posals are both modelled after thepilot program currently in placefor the grains and oilseeds sectorThe OFVGA will be presenting itsproposal for a modified SelfDirected Risk Management(SDRM)-style program for thehorticulture sector to the Ministeron December 7 OFVGA hasasked for letters of support fromall of its commodity members forthis proposal Groups that have notyet forwarded a letter are encour-aged to do so by the end ofNovember in advance of the meet-ing with the Minister

Environmental cost share fund-ing ndash Government cost share fund-ing for on-farm environmentalimprovements in 2011 through theCanadian On-Farm StewardshipProgram will be available as ofNovember 15 It is expected to befully subscribed in very shortorder Government funding for on-farm environmental projects wasreduced from $27 million per yearto $7 million under Growing For-ward

Canadian Horticultural Council

Traceability - The Canadian Pro-duce Marketing Association(CPMA) has been working ontraceability initiatives for horticul-ture The Canadian HorticulturalCouncil (CHC) food safety com-mittee has been tasked with work-ing together with CPMA to devel-op a joint traceability manual toensure consistency of standards

Check off on imported food prod-ucts - Laurent Pellerin Chair ofthe Farm Product Council ofCanada made a presentation toCHC regarding check off onimported products Two decadesago the CHC lobbied for imple-mentation of a check off onimported product to fund researchand promotion Regulations werebrought into effect in the 1990sand one federal agency ndash theCanadian Beef Cattle ResearchMarket Development and Promo-tion Agency ndash was created Feder-al agriculture minister Gerry Ritzhas directed Pellerin to reviewthese regulations to make themmore workable so that additionalagencies governing other com-modities might be created Under

the regulations the same check offfee that Canadian producers of acommodity pay for research andpromotion can be collected on anyimported product Research

Research priorities ndash A meetingof edible horticulture commoditygroups to set research priorities forthe sector will take place Novem-ber 17 at the Quality Inn in Wood-stock Commodity groups havebeen asked to bring three short-term and three long -term priori-ties to the meeting It is importantall commodities participate in thisprocess to ensure as accurate a pic-ture as possible of research priori-ties and needs across all of ediblehorticulture Staff from theVineland Research and InnovationCentre (VRIC) will take all theinput and distill it to determinecommonalities amongst the com-modities and will apply it to theOntario Research Advisory Net-work system set up by OMAFRA

VRIC Stakeholder Advisory Com-mittee - Harold Schooley isOFVGArsquos representative onVRICrsquos stakeholder advisory com-mittee VRICrsquos research is verymarket-focused and must havebenefit for producers for them tobecome involved in it Discussionfocused on the key issues facingOntariorsquos horticulture industrythe one large issue identified wasthe escalation of non-recoverablecosts such as the exchange ratewater permits labour energy andfood safety compliance

Crop Protection

Crop Protection chair CharlesStevens reported that several newproducts are being considered forapproval under the GrowerRequest Own Use (GROU) pro-gram this year Currently 28 prod-ucts are approved for import bygrowers for their own use underGROU Each grower must obtaintheir own application and com-plete their own paperwork but asingle truck can bring the productfor several growers across the bor-der at the same time Growersmust apply for permits each yearapplications can be submitted tothe Pest Management RegulatoryAgency (PMRA) as of January 1each year More information onthe GROU program can be foundat wwwhc-scgccacps-spcpestagri-commerceimport_grou-piapdaindex-engphp

Labour

Fair and ethical trading - KenForth represents OFVGA on a hor-ticulture value chain round tablesub-committee dealing with fairand ethical trading practices Lim-ited progress has been made on theissue of establishing a PACA-liketrust provision program for theCanadian produce industry andthe US Secretary of Agriculturehas now become involved in theprocess In the US the PerishableAgricultural Commodities Act

(PACA) licenses buyers of pro-duce to ensure that those who sellproduce receive payment for theirproducts and at the same time hasestablished legislation that pro-tects produce sellers when buyersfail to pay

National food strategy

Food has only recently become atopic for societal discussion TheOntario Federation of Agriculture(OFA) started the process ofdeveloping a national food strate-gy about a year ago A nationalworking group has been formedthrough the Canadian Federationof Agriculture (CFA) that is work-ing on this issue in all of theprovinces Canada is the only G20nation that does not have a nation-al food policy

Open for business consultations

The provincial government hastasked the agri-food industry toidentify the top five regulatoryproblems facing the sector so thatthey may be addressed The OFAwas chosen to lead the processwhich is an effort by the Ontariogovernment to reduce red tapeCommodity and industry represen-tatives have met separately withOFA to review their issues andwill meet jointly before the end ofthe year To date the commonissue identified by both groups areproblems associated with taxassessment and that governmentshould be trying to strike a balancebetween protecting private andpublic interests

Chair report

Produce issues working group ndashThis sub-committee of the horti-culture value chain round table isworking on the review and mod-ernization of federal grade stan-dards for produce The province isalso modernizing Ontariorsquos gradestandards and adopting federalgrade standards where possibleCommodity group input into thisprocess is essential

Innovation and labour - the inno-vationlabour sub-committee ofthe horticulture value chain roundtable has released a survey inNovember issue of The Grower toevaluate labour-saving technolo-gies and mechanization opportuni-ties in horticulture Growers areencouraged to complete the 18questions that look at ways to min-imize labour costs through mecha-nization and innovation

Hort for Health ndash The ldquoHorticul-ture for Healthrdquo sub-committeewill be hosting an awareness eventon Parliament Hill in March 2011to encourage MP support forefforts to establish fruits and veg-etables as one of the key solutionsto the healthcare crisis in Canada

Fruit and vegetable program innorthern Canada ndash OFVGA isworking with Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada towards devel-

oping a fruit and vegetable schoolsnack program in Canadarsquos Arcticregion The existing snack pro-gram in northern Ontario schoolsis being used as a stepping stone todevelop this new initiative Thegoal of the new program is to pro-vide fruits and vegetables to stu-dents in the north and raise aware-ness of long-term benefits ofhealthy eating by encouragingyoung people to increase theirconsumption of fresh produce

Northern Ontario fruit and veg-etable program

The rollout of the fifth year of thepopular northern Ontario schoolsnack program will begin in Janu-ary 2011 The program a partner-ship between OFVGA OntarioMinistry of Health Promotion andthe health units of Algoma andPorcupine districts provides twoservings of fruits and vegetables toapproximately 12000 elementaryschool children at 61 schools innorthern Ontario The programwas first launched in 2006 as away of raising awareness ofhealthy eating and encouragingkids to include fruits and vegeta-bles in their diets OFVGA cen-trally co-ordinates purchasingtransport and distribution of theproduce to the northern regions

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

As in previous years the OFVGArented a booth on behalf of itsmembers and encouraged organi-zations to select specific days fortheir presence at the show Thisarrangement by OFVGA allowssmaller groups the chance to par-ticipate in this event without hav-ing to incur significant staffingand booth costs for the entire 10-day show OFVGA also helped co-ordinate aHarvest Market at the Royal forfarmers to sell produce as a way ofconnecting farmers and con-sumers This was the first year ofthis initiative and initial feedbacksuggests it has good future poten-tial Recommendations for nextyear include improved signage todrive additional traffic to the mar-ket Vendors present were sellingOntario foods including applesherbs greenhouse vegetableshoney garlic organic HollandMarsh vegetables and lavender

Bunkhouse taxation

A number of organizationsincluding the OFVGA have writ-ten to the provincial ministers ofFinance and Agriculture regardingthe bunkhouse taxation issueBunkhouses have traditionallybeen assessed as farm buildingsbut are increasingly being assessedas residences which significantlychanges the tax rate applied tothese structures A request forreconsideration by an affectedgrower to the Municipal PropertyAssessment Corporation whichhandles assessment issues hasbeen turned down OFVGA willwrite a letter on this issue to

MPAC and the two Ministers inquestion requesting that theAssessment Act be amended toremove bunkhouses from the resi-dential category

Duties on Dutch pepper imports

The Ontario Greenhouse Veg-etable Growers (OGVG) won ananti-dumping case against bellpepper imports from the Nether-lands As of October 20 2010 allDutch greenhouse peppers beingsold in Canada are subject to ananti-dumping duty of 193 per centof the export price for five years

Annual General Meeting

The OFVGA annual meeting willbe held January 10 ndash 12 2011 atthe Crowne Plaza in Niagara FallsRegistration information is avail-able on the OFVGA website atwwwofvgaorg

Stakeholder survey

The Vineland Research and Inno-vation Centre is conducting a sur-vey to gauge levels of awarenesswith industry stakeholders and tocollect input for future communi-cations and research initiativesThe following link will connectyou with the survey please take aminute to assist Vineland in gath-ering this informationhwwwremotevinelandontarioca80eqr1mhnc1 The next OFVGA board meetingwill be held December 16th 2010at the OFVGA office in Guelph

CANADACUBA

FARMERTOURSThirteenth season

booking nowJanuary 31 departure from

most cities

bull 2 weeks ALL INCLUSIVEbull 7 nights in 5 star hotels

and 7 nights in country hotels

bull 3 days Varadero8 day farm tour

bull 8-day country farm tourbull 3 days Havanabull Tax deductiblebull Farmersfarm families onlybull $3200prsn double

occupancy plus airfare

Escorted by award-winningCanadian AgrologistWendy Holm PAg

604-947-2893

wendytheholmteamcawwwfarmertofarmercawwwtheholmteamca

THE GROWER

PAGE 8 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

Is it innovation or is it money

Itrsquos 2015 and the governmenthas just announced that our med-ical system will no longer covercancer treatment costs The reasoncited is that we have been payingfor this treatment for years andwhere has it gotten us Each yearmore and more people come backfor treatment the costs keep esca-lating and we are no closer to thesolution than when we started OR

The reason cited is that we

believe that there will be a cure toall forms of cancer within fiveyears so we wonrsquot bother payingfor any more treatment the poorfolks with cancer are on their ownBack to reality

The above two scenarios ofcourse are ridiculous and no rea-sonable person would ever thinkalong those lines Yet this seemsto be what is happening to agricul-ture and more specifically to oursector here in Ontario Every oneof our producers is aware of themyriad of costs that have beendownloaded onto their backs bygovernment and suppliers alikeand they suffer from the inabilityto recover these costs from themarket place This is the Cancerand like this dreaded disease it isonly a matter of time until peoplesuccumb to the disease unless ofcourse they receive treatment Itneeds to be noted that treatment isnot always the cure but even inthese cases it typically providesthe patient with more time

Over the past number of years

both levels of government haveshown a desire to move away fromrisk management programs to helpfarmers in distress and movetoward innovation as the solutionto the problem Innovation is notonly a good thing it is absolutelynecessary if the sector is to growand flourish in the future Likepeople with cancer however thereis both short term and long termneeds and this seems to be whathas been forgotten in agricultureInnovation is long term and it maybe the cure but farmers need to survive until that innovation canlead them out of the financial destitution that so many find themselves in

For months now the industryhas tried to secure an ad hoc safetynet program for Ontario farmersbut the federal government hasrefused to come to the table and theprovincial government will notcommit to a program without thefeds putting their money in first(committing) The provincial gov-ernment has stated that the current

Business Risk Management(BRM) programs are not workingfor our farmers and the federalgovernment has agreed thatchanges are necessary howeverthey are not prepared to make anychanges until the new GrowingForward program starts in thespring of 2013

Innovation may be the answer totodayrsquos and tomorrowrsquos problemsbut can it be delivered on time

The question that needs to beasked is how many farmers willsurvive until the cure spelled I-N-N-O-V-A-T-I-O-N is found

The provincial governmentreleased numbers in the spring of2009 showing the change in refer-ence margins for Ontario agricul-ture In general reference marginswere increasing yet for our sectorthey were off by 20 per cent onaverage with the tender fruit sec-tion projected to be less than halfof where it was when AgriculturePolicy Framework 1 was firstintroduced in 2003 Farmers can-not continue to absorb all the addi-

tional cost being thrown their wayand remain in business if they can-not recover them At the veryheart of the matter is that there isno mechanism to claw these costsback from the consumer Our sec-tor is at risk and I wonder howmany can survive until 2013 andthen will the design of the BRMcomponent of Growing Forward 2be adequate to fit the needs of ourfarmers

Innovation is a must but thesector needs financial help now

I donrsquot think government wouldever say that we are going to elimi-nate the treatment of cancer or someother disease today because we areexpecting a cure in five or 10 yearsbut the lack of assistance to our sec-tor and others is akin to doing thatvery thing to our farmers

Our sector needs assistance nowIt would seem to me that short

of a miracle all the innovation inthe world will not enable a deadhorse to get up and run again

For what itrsquos worth itrsquos the wayI see it

Art SmithCEO OFVGA

STAFFPublisher Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo AssociationEditor Karen Davidson 416-252-7337 kdavidsonecomentecaProduction Carlie Robertson ext 221 productionthegrowerorgAdvertising Herb Sherwood 519-380-0118 hsherwoodcogecoca

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

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo Association is thesole owner of The Grower All editorials and opinions expressedin The Grower are those of the newspaperrsquos editorial staff andorcontributor and do not necessarily reflect the view of the association

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

PM 40012319

OFFICE355 Elmira Road North Unit 105

Guelph Ontario N1K 1S5 CANADATel 519-763-8728 bull Fax 519-763-6604

The Grower is printed 12 times a year and sent to allmembers of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo Association who have paid $3000 (plus GST) per year forthe paper through their commodity group or container feesOthers may subscribe as follows by writing to the office

$3000 (+ GST) year in Canada$4000year International

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

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERSrsquoASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2010

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Brian Gilroy MeafordVice-Chair Mac James LeamingtonFruit Director Ray Duc Niagara-on-the-LakeVeg Director Jason Ryder DelhiDirector Len Troup Jordon Station

Apples Brian Gilroy MeafordFresh Vegetable - Other Jason Ryder DelhiTender Fruit Len Troup Jordan StationON Asparagus Grwsrsquo Mkg Brd Lonnie Duwyn DelhiGGOFresh Grape Growers Ray Duc Niagara-on-the-LakeFresh Vegetable - Muck Jason Verkaik BradfordON Potato Board Mac James LeamingtonSmall FruitBerries Norm Charbonneau Port ElginON Ginseng Growersrsquo Doug Bradley TillsonburgGreenhouse Jim Veri Exeter

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

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

Marketing garlic

The year 2010 will soon be history

A year ago the OFVGA starteda strategic planning process toreview and refine our Mission andVision to help us focus our activities We also looked at suc-cession planning for the Board ofDirectors and how best to providenew directors with the necessarytraining and information Strategicplanning processes are very challenging and for an umbrellaorganization like the OFVGAdiverging member goals haveadded another level of challengesDespite the challenges we havebeen focused on the ldquoGoals and

Actionsrdquo produced in Novemberrsquo09 I am pleased to report that oneof our highest priority actionitems to improve and expand theNorthern School Fruit and Vegetable Program has receivedfederal government support TheOFVGA will be partnering withothers to get Canadian-grownfruits and vegetables to Canadarsquosnorthern schools to help them dealwith the health care crisis This ispart of an overall strategy to haveCanadian fruit and vegetable farmers to be seen as providers ofthe food that contributes to thehealth and wellness of CanadiansIf successful we may need to call

our farms farmacies The Buy Local campaign

continues to grow The OntarioGovernment has supported thisinitiative with startup funding for aHarvest Market farmersrsquo marketat the 2010 Royal AgriculturalWinter Fair The OFVGA helpedturn the concept into an event thatwas more successful than mostanticipated

Foodland Ontario continues tobe a key partner in helping toadvertise Ontario-grown food toconsumers and retailers As bud-get cuts are discussed by govern-ment it is important that programsthat benefit farmers are not

reduced Government policy deci-sions have increased our cost ofproduction to the point where ourability to be profitable is in seriousjeopardy The recent stimulusspending did not benefit the agri-cultural sector in any significantway and we still require a way tooffset our increased labour costs

In other parts of The Groweryou will find information regard-ing the Ontario Fruit and Veg-etable Growersrsquo Associationrsquos152nd Annual Meeting that willtake place on January 10th 11thand 12th in Niagara Falls OntarioI hope to see you there Togetherwe can make a difference

Hort for health

Brian GilroyChair OFVGA

By the time you are readingthis the Royal Agricultural Winter

Fair will have come and goneThis year they are trying some-thing new a farmersrsquo market ven-dor area The Garlic GrowersAssociation will have a booth forthe entire 10 days of the Royal andthe more than 300000 visitors willhave a chance to buy direct fromgrowers of many different fruitsand vegetables grown in OntarioOntario consumers know that wehave the best garlic in the world --the problem is they can not getenough of it So if this works outnext year more of our memberswill have a chance to participateImagine 10 days straight of GarlicFestival with an average of 30000people a day possibly coming by

your standMy thanks go out to all who

pushed to make this opportunityhappen especially the HollandMarsh Growers Association andthe Greater Toronto AgricultureAwareness Committee (hope I gotthe name right) This will helpbring the Royal back to its roots byproviding an opportunity for con-sumers to truly buy local

With the crop all planted andmaking roots for next yearrsquos greatcrop of garlic itrsquos time for yourassociation to try and look at howour members can help fill the hugedemand for our product I have along list of disappointed customersfrom all over Canada who were

unable to get seed When demandis strong itrsquos very difficult to tellpeople ldquoNo I cannot sell you thatbulb because I need it for seed formy next croprdquo With prices at his-torical highs we have to be verycareful about how much we shouldgrow and how much we shouldsell it for

I am all in favour of getting themost I can for my crop but andthis is very important the pricecannot go up forever At somepoint people will be turned off byprice they feel is too high and thenthey will either find anothercheaper source or worse buy lessWe are not there yet however weneed to recognize what is best for

ourselves as well as our customersThe association will be work-

ing with our researchers to look atthe feasability of planting more ofthe crop from bulbuils as a way toincrease the seed supply in thefuture These will be some of thethings that we will be discussing atthe fall meeting in early Decem-ber Look for the meeting date onthe website and in our nextnewsletterSo in my next article I hope to

have some great results from salesat the Royal In the meantimehave a happy holiday and letrsquos alllook forward to a great 2011 cropwhich will be growing away underthe snow

Mark WalesGarlic Growersrsquo Association

of Ontario

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 9

Your article ldquoEthnic marketsthe promise and the perilrdquo in September 2010 The Growerissue is an excellent insight intohow farmers can take advantage ofdiverse and growing South Asianpopulation in Canada I am fromPakistan and I have paid over theyears about $3lbs of okra that isseven to 15 days old Now I amfarming myself I harvest and cook

within a day of harvesting it Diseases are very low in okra asvery few insects are after okra herein GTA

I found some what offendingthat you have only one line men-tioning Caucasian customerldquooffer samples of these new foodsto Caucasians looking to expandtheir dietsrdquo I am 9999 per centdepending on my Caucasian cus-

tomers to sell okra I do sell atthree farmersrsquo markets and 25-member CSA group I was har-vesting 150 lbs of okra a week foreight-week season I was gettingsold out every week just two tothree hours of market opening Iwas amazed how many of myCaucasian customers were comingweek after week to buy okra Fewof them bought extra so they canfreeze it for winter months I dosell my okra harvested few hoursbefore market for $3 a pint about225 grams

This model can be increased bysimply having big chain storesdoing sampling Loblaws were onmy farm this summer and werewilling to buy all okra up to 35acres of harvest Now that isgreat think about other big chainstores

I hope some one in future do afeature story about ldquoAdventuresCaucasian Torontonians and theirCulinary Adventures in EthnicCuisinerdquo If any farmer is interest-ed to grow okra I can share myexperience and our family heir-loom seeds they produce okra inabout 40 days of direct planting

Your publication is doing greatwork and I hope over the comingyears this will continueBob Balochthe fresh veggiesBrampton Ontario

OFVGA 152nd Annual Meeting and ConventionSilent auction contributors

OFVGA Annual General Meeting and Convention Policy

As the OFVGA prepares for its 152nd annual meeting the association would like to remindits member organizations of the following policy ndash put in place in 2004-05 ndash in order

to ensure proper delegate preparation and resolutions submission

bull All member organizations are entitled to one (1) delegate per 50 members within theirrespective organizations maximum of five (5)bull All member organizations are to provide to the OFVGA the number of its active membershipbull All resolutions should be brought forward in writing by December 15 of each yearbull Any of the member organizations who are required to submit their directorrsquos name inadvance (currently seven of the 10 board affiliates) should do so by December 15 of eachyear

If you are interested in donating to the silent auction please contact Herb Sherwood at 519-380-0118

Sherwood MarketingJack amp Gjan ScottPlasponics KlipKitCindy amp Steve ClayParks BlueberriesKwazar SprayersAyr Farmers MutualSarjeant Co LtdData MediaClients of The GrowerUnion GasRichmond Motors ChathamVan Kesteren HyundaiPride SeedsPioneer CanadaMcGrail Farm EquipmentThe Links of Kent Golf ClubDeer Run Golf Course

Janzen EquipmentR J EquipmentRicter Web Printing Comfort Inn ChathamBlenheim ChryslerLandini McCormick CanadaDelhaven Orchards LtdSmith amp Wilson WineryCountry View Golf CourseReif Estate WineryTravelodge ChathamComfort Inn ChathamRed Pine Inn AllistonBoston Pizza ChathamCasa Bella ChathamT-Bones Steak House ChathamBorealis Grille amp Bar GuelphLicks Hamburgers Guelph

Shoeless Joersquos GuelphKent Farm Supplies LtdBlenheim Community Golf ClubBaldoon Golf ClubDeer Run Golf CourseRidgetown Golf ClubTilbury Gulf ClubVia RailViewpoint Estate WinerySunnybrook Farm Estate WineryTim Hortons Head Office Cardinal Golf ClubAyr Turf amp Trac Inc Lailey Vineyard Winery Strewn Winery Stonechurch VineyardSwiss ChaletBoston Pizza

Turtle Jacks Aberfoyle Mill Talisman ResortCountry View Golf ClubPeller Estates WinerySunnybrook Estate WineryOntario Beekeepers AssociationCity of Guelph Tourism City of Niagara FallsBank Of Nova Scotia Landini McCormick CanadaKubota CanadaJohn Deere Agraturf Union Gas Red Pine Inn AllistonPelee Days Inn LeamingtonCrown Plaza Niagara Falls Supreme Full Service Car Wash

Diamond DetailingFarm Credit CanadaGuelph City MazdaVictoria Park Golf Club GuelphJosephrsquos Estate Wine IncCoyotersquos Run Estate WineryBank of Nova ScotiaHome Hardware Chatham ONVictoria Park Golf Club GuelphFresh Vegetable Growers ofOntarioWine KitzAndrews Scenic Acres

Mamma Marias Chatham ONWellington MotorsGuelph City MazdaThe Savvy Farmer Inc

Below is a list of the generous contributors who have donated items to the association on behalf of the 152nd annual general meeting We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their generosity

NOTICEis hereby given that the

152nd Annual Members and Directorsrsquo Meetingof the

Ontario Fruit andVegetable Growersrsquo Association

will be held in

Niagara Falls Ontario at The Crowne Plaza HotelJanuary 10 11 and 12 2011

Election of Directors of the Association will take place as well as dealingwith resolutions and any other business that may arise

For registration form and agenda visit wwwofvgaorg

Okra a big seller to Caucasian customers

December 3 Holland Marsh Growers Association Annual General Meeting Bond Head Community Centre 1 ndash 330 pm

December 7 ndash 9 Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Market Expo DeVos Plaza Convention Centre and Amway Grand Plaza Hotel Grand Rapids MI

December 16 Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario Annual General Meeting Quality Hotel and Suites Woodstock ON

January 5 6 18th Annual Southwestern Agricultural Conference Ridgetown ON

January 10 ndash 12 Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association 152nd Annual General Meeting Crowne Plaza Hotel Niagara Falls ON

January 24 25 Scotia Horticultural Congress Old Orchard Inn Wolfville NS

January 25 26 Ontario Processing Vegetable Industry Conference Hilton Hotel and London Convention Centre London ONFor information opvgopvgorg

January 25 - 27 Nova Scotia Fruit Growersrsquo Association Annual Convention Old Orchard Inn Wolfville NS

January 27 ndash 29 Pacific Agriculture ShowHorticultural Growersrsquo Short Course Tradex Abbotsford BC

January 27 ndash 31 Guelph Organic Conference Guelph ON

COMING EVENTS 2010

THE GROWERPAGE 10 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

If we all ate what we should(and exercised) wersquod be healthierTherersquos no shortage of warnings

that tell us wersquore digging our owngraves by eating foods rich in fatand sugar And a boatload of infor-mation is floating around about thevirtues of eating healthy

So why donrsquot we eat healthierUniversity of Guelph marketingand consumer studies Prof Sungh-wan Yi says it was once believed alack of nutritional information iswhat kept us on a crooked roadBut thatrsquos not an excuse anymoreProbably the most visible and verypublic example is the federal gov-ernmentrsquos healthy eating guide(Canadarsquos Food Guide) whichoffers clear advice includingeating seven to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit a day

Even on paper that sounds like

a lot to me And Irsquom not alonesays registered dietitian LiseSmedmor of Erin ldquoBut the thingto remember is that serving sizesare smallrdquo she says Indeed aldquoservingrdquo is one piece of fruit or ahalf-cup of vegetables

Still we ignore this goodadvice or worse yet scorn itDespite substantial promotionalefforts vegetable consumption hasbeen stagnant or falling in the pastthree years in Canada When ahead count takes place it turns outonly about eight per cent of Cana-dians are following Canadarsquos FoodGuide recommendations Typicalfruit and vegetable consumption isway below the recommendationscoming in at just over five serv-

ings per dayAnd while the specific amounts

may vary elsewhere the samephenomenon is occurring globallyin developed and underdevelopedcountries People are avoidingwhatrsquos good for them

As a result farmers are missinga golden opportunity to show theirtrue value to society ndash that is theynot only keep people fed they canhelp keep them healthy too

Maybe the local food move-ment will help stimulate consump-tion After all a great deal of localfood consists of fruit and vegeta-bles and accessibility is a goodfirst step towards healthy eating

But therersquos another vital keythat is taste

Professor Yi says research isshowing taste above all is whatdrives fruit and vegetable consumption Itrsquos not as big of aconcern with fruit But some vegetables simply donrsquot taste whatpeople consider to be good ndash theymight be bitter or as Yi says theymight have what he calls an ldquounattractiverdquo taste

Dietitian Smedmor agreesldquoTaste is a key component for

children and adults as eating ismeant to be an enjoyable experi-encerdquo she says ldquoTaste will oftenwin over health considerationswhen it comes to vegetables andfruitrdquo

To Yi increasing vegetableintake means the agricultural sec-tor needs to work hard to over-come the widespread perceptionthat some vegetables are not tastyand are difficult to prepare To thatend with support from the OntarioMinistry of Agriculture Food andRural Affairs hersquos assembled ateam that includes a consumerpsychologist a marketingresearcher and a nutritionalresearcher to investigate percep-tions of taste and preparation diffi-culty among Ontario consumers

The team is conducting in-depth interviews with consumersand their children to better under-stand what are considered barriersto consuming specific vegetables -- broccoli tomatoes potatoesmushrooms and Brussels sprouts

Team members have gainedsome insights already Yi saystheyrsquore finding many consumerseither have little experiencepreparing vegetable-rich dishes ordonrsquot feel confident about theirculinary skills when it comes tovegetables Consumers want whathe calls ldquodelicious but simpleeasy-to-follow recipesrdquo and theywant them readily available eitherwhile getting ready to go groceryshopping or at the store itself

The solution Smart phonesfor one giving consumers easyaccess to recipes Or short two-minute clips on local radio stationsin late afternoon when main foodpreparers are pondering what toeat for supper

Yi and his team are scaling upthe project in the spring and hopegrowersrsquo associations will join thequest for better answers and solu-tions in 2011

ldquoWersquore sure that close collabo-ration between researchers andfood producers will generate a lotof new insights about consumerperception of vegetablesrdquo he says

For our healthrsquos sake I hopehersquos right

Joint effort needed to cater to consumers

Owen RobertsUniversity of Guelph

Registrant Information

Name Member Organization

Mailing Address CityTown

Province Postal Code

Telephone Fax

Please return completed form to The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo Association355 Elmira Road North Unit 105 Guelph Ontario N1K 1S5 Tel (519) 763-6160 x 116 Fax (519) 763-6604

Registration Fees

Full Registration - 2 days $13500 (includes two breakfast tickets two lunch tickets amp a Monday evening banquet ticket + Monday Banquet convention package attendance to meetings and Chairrsquos reception)

On-site Registration $15000 (includes two breakfast tickets two lunch tickets amp a Monday evening banquet ticket convention package attendance to meetings and Chairrsquos reception)

Daily Registration $10000 (includes one breakfast and one lunch ticket convention package and attendance to meetings (Chairrsquos reception - Banquet ticket not included)

Please indicate day of attendance Tuesday January 11 2011 or Wednesday January 12 2011

OFVGA Banquet ONLY $5000 Monday January 10 2011

Grand Total $ (On-site registration will be charged an additional processing fee)13 HST (Business 10779-7821 RT) included in all prices

Method of PaymentPayment to be made by cheque or credit card Print or type clearly

Cheque Please make cheque payable to the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo Association Visa MasterCard

Cardholderrsquos Name Card Number

Expiry Date SignatureNote Credit card information provided here is for registration fee payments only

Instructions

bull Complete this form and mail or fax to the OFVGA Faxed forms MUST contain credit card information Invoices will not be issued bull If you are faxing your form do NOT mail a duplicatebull Only one person per form This form may be photocopiedbull Your name and organization will appear on your badge exactly as you indicate abovebull Print or type all information Please make a copy for your recordsbull A room block is in place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel A special overnight accommodation rate of $6995 traditional room or $9995 fallsview room (plus taxes)

singledouble occupancy until December 10 2010 request special convention rate for OFVGA After this date room rate not guaranteed Please make your reservations directly with the hotel by calling 1-800-519-9911 Check in time is 300 pm check out time is 1100 am

bull No AGM registration refunds after 430 pm on December 15 2010

Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo Association

152nd Annual General Meeting and Convention

January 10 11 and 12 2011Crowne Plaza Hotel Niagara Falls

5685 Falls Avenue Niagara Falls Ontario L2E 6W7

ldquoTaste is a key componentfor children and adults

as eating is meant to be anenjoyable experiencerdquo

- Lise Smedmor

There has definitely been achange in how governments anduniversities determine researchpriorities for the horticulturalindustry The process has alreadystarted and provides industry agreater voice in what research isconducted and where as opposedto leaving it up to researchers todecide Highlights 1 Horticultural Science Cluster ndashFunding has been provided byAAFC under the Growing Forward initiative to develop Science Clusters They chose theCanadian Horticultural Council(CHC) to address issues of anational nature for edible horticul-tural crops and the VinelandResearch amp Innovation Centre(VRIC) to deal with the landscapeamp nursery sector2 The federal government pro-vides 75 per cent of the fundingwhile the industry must come upwith the other 25 per cent Grow-er groups take things much moreseriously when they have to comeup with cash3 This is new money Govern-ment will continue to provide itstraditional funding for the existingresearch work4 The first step for CHC was tosurvey the industry to determinewhat their needs were Thisprocess has been completed andfunding for successful projectapplications has been awarded andI expect the work is underway5 VRIC will likely do the samefor ornamentals In its case theymay determine which project theyare best able to undertake andortender the project out to otherresearch institutions6 In Ontario there is now a newprocess for determining theresearch needs of the edible horti-cultural sector - Ontario ResearchAdvisory Network (ORAN)VRIC was asked by OMAFRA totake the lead on determining whatthe research priorities are forOntario producers and determinethe resources available (physicalinfrastructure and human) Thisinformation is then forwarded toORAN and they decide whichones will be funded7 Each commodity group wasasked to provide their three topshort-term research needs and

their three long-term researchneeds There were some researchneeds that were common in naturewhile others were very crop specific Interesting to note thatwhen it comes to research short -term means three to five yearsand long term more like five 10 or15 years8 For tender fruit and apples themost common issues related to

a Cutting labour costs (need tomechanise where posssible)

b Best orchard managementpractices and system to reducecosts while increasing quality andproduction ndash including the needfor chemical fruit thinners harvesting aids high density

plantings training systems etcc Quality - Post harvest han-

dling and physiology (provide bestquality to meet buyersrsquo needswhile extending the season wherepossible) This also related to theneed for improvednew infrastruc-ture in order to meet the buyerneeds for minimum brix pressuresand temperatures

d Access to the bestnewestvarieties (imported or domestic)and the need to streamline theprocess

e Marketing (including pack-ing technology packaging thatmeets consumer and buyer needsand where possible differentiateOntario from its competition) and

f Crop protection needs forexisting and emerging insects anddisease Examples fire blightpeach borer brown marmoratedstink bug

The proof of the new processwill be in the results it obtains andthe satisfaction levels of govern-ments and producers

The inherent risk of this type ofprocess is choosing whose priori-ties will be funded Winners willbe pleased while the losers willnot I suspect it will be thosegroups or sectors that can afford toprovide significant funding thatwill have a better chance (timewill tell)

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 11

Wherever you find Canadian agriculture yoursquoll find FCCCanadian producers rely on people who understand agriculture FCC financing is designed for them

1-888-823-9599 wwwfcccaadvancing

Agriculture is life

0910-13963

Horticultural research needs a new direction

Adrian HuismanOntario Tender Fruit

Producers

There has definitely been achange in how governments anduniversities determine researchpriorities for the horticulturalindustry The process has alreadystarted and provides industry agreater voice in what research isconducted and where as opposedto leaving it up to researchers todecide Highlights 1 Horticultural Science Cluster ndashFunding has been provided byAAFC under the Growing Forward initiative to develop Science Clusters They chose theCanadian Horticultural Council(CHC) to address issues of anational nature for edible horticul-tural crops and the VinelandResearch amp Innovation Centre(VRIC) to deal with the landscapeamp nursery sector2 The federal government pro-vides 75 per cent of the fundingwhile the industry must come upwith the other 25 per cent Grow-er groups take things much moreseriously when they have to comeup with cash3 This is new money Govern-ment will continue to provide itstraditional funding for the existingresearch work4 The first step for CHC was tosurvey the industry to determinewhat their needs were Thisprocess has been completed andfunding for successful projectapplications has been awarded andI expect the work is underway5 VRIC will likely do the samefor ornamentals In its case theymay determine which project theyare best able to undertake andortender the project out to otherresearch institutions6 In Ontario there is now a newprocess for determining theresearch needs of the edible horti-cultural sector - Ontario ResearchAdvisory Network (ORAN)VRIC was asked by OMAFRA totake the lead on determining whatthe research priorities are forOntario producers and determinethe resources available (physicalinfrastructure and human) Thisinformation is then forwarded toORAN and they decide whichones will be funded7 Each commodity group wasasked to provide their three topshort-term research needs and

their three long-term researchneeds There were some researchneeds that were common in naturewhile others were very crop specific Interesting to note thatwhen it comes to research short -term means three to five yearsand long term more like five 10 or15 years8 For tender fruit and apples themost common issues related to

a Cutting labour costs (need tomechanise where posssible)

b Best orchard managementpractices and system to reducecosts while increasing quality andproduction ndash including the needfor chemical fruit thinners harvesting aids high density

plantings training systems etcc Quality - Post harvest han-

dling and physiology (provide bestquality to meet buyersrsquo needswhile extending the season wherepossible) This also related to theneed for improvednew infrastruc-ture in order to meet the buyerneeds for minimum brix pressuresand temperatures

d Access to the bestnewestvarieties (imported or domestic)and the need to streamline theprocess

e Marketing (including pack-ing technology packaging thatmeets consumer and buyer needsand where possible differentiateOntario from its competition) and

f Crop protection needs forexisting and emerging insects anddisease Examples fire blightpeach borer brown marmoratedstink bug

The proof of the new processwill be in the results it obtains andthe satisfaction levels of govern-ments and producers

The inherent risk of this type ofprocess is choosing whose priori-ties will be funded Winners willbe pleased while the losers willnot I suspect it will be thosegroups or sectors that can afford toprovide significant funding thatwill have a better chance (timewill tell)

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 11

Wherever you find Canadian agriculture yoursquoll find FCCCanadian producers rely on people who understand agriculture FCC financing is designed for them

1-888-823-9599 wwwfcccaadvancing

Agriculture is life

0910-13963

Horticultural research needs a new direction

Adrian HuismanOntario Tender Fruit

Producers

For Earl Stanley the annualOFFMA tour is a chance to learnfrom every tour destination andmembers on the bus ldquoSo often

wersquore working in our business butnot on our businessrdquo says theowner of a Metcalfe Ontariomaple sugar bush 25 minutes

southeast of Parliament HillStanleyrsquos Olde Maple Lane

Farm is the site of nine acres ofgroomed gardens sugar bush and

the site of 100 weddings each yearHersquos holding a Bridal Open

House on January 22 and 23 forfuture couples to plan their

upcoming nuptialsSince touring southwestern

Ontario hersquos considering differentviewpoints from both the manage-ment and customer perspectivesHersquos thinking more about the management side and how to delegate to more employees Fromanother perspective hersquos thinkingabout his target audience of urbanites

ldquoI really didnrsquot enjoy the laven-der farm that we visited but I didrealize that folks need a place to sitand relaxrdquo says Stanley ldquoInsteadof looking at the forest maybethey need to sit in the forest I takethe maple bush for grantedrdquo

At one farm he took note ofapple fritters and wondered howthat idea might translate into apancake with a slice of applerolled in maple sugar He contin-ues to look for new products thatwill update the traditional mapletaffy or the more recent maple kettle corn

Sample straws for honey mightwork as sample straws for maplesyrup ldquoIrsquom realizing that ourchanging demographics includemore southeast Asians and theyarenrsquot familiar with maple syruprdquosays Stanley ldquoMaybe I can shareequipment with another on-farmretailer to develop this productrdquo

Everyone to a person agreesthat the bus tour is a networkingopportunity that generates busi-ness even before the first stop

Visit wwwstanleysfarmcom

After 21 years operating an on-farm mar-ket north of Barrie Ontario Lynda VanCasteren refuses to call herself an expert ldquoIhave some knowledge and some experi-encerdquo she says cannily ldquoBut wersquore alwaystrying new things learning from our mis-takes and growing our businessrdquo

Itrsquos with that attitude that she and herhusband Nicholas ventured for the first timeon the OFFMA annual tour as 10-yearmembers With an early season and gardensput to bed they were able to learn from thehost farmers and other members

When they started their business theywere primarily swine producers and cashcrop farmers but they have evolved to porkretailers and market vegetable growersTheir market serves as a venue for 70 localproducers with an on-farm bakery drivingabout 30 per cent of the business Another20 per cent of business is derived from fruitsand vegetables with a huge chunk ndash 50 percent ndash from meat sales

What they observed on the tour is thepassion of many farmers whether it be forgrowing lavender herbs or honey ldquoI admireproducers who focusrdquo says Van CasterenldquoThe lavender growers are exploring notonly aromatic and healing uses but also culinary usesrdquo

As a result of the tour she believes thatthe next step is to create an environment thatis more than transactional for her customers

ldquoI want to create a destination that conveys my philosophy for bringing healthyfood easily accessible food of the highestquality to customers in a way that invitesstronger relationships with farmersrdquo

Not every producer has the marketingskill or venue to do this but shersquos convincedthat Nicholyn Farm can aspire to creatingthis destination She allows that other agritainment venues are close by so to differentiate she wants to create a tea garden as well as cooking classes Imagine acourse that would potentially start with harvesting beets making the borsht andsending home the recipe

ldquoOur son is working with us in the businessrdquo says Van Casteren ldquoI can seethere is a future for him on the farmrdquo Visit wwwnicholyncom

THE GROWERPAGE 12 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

Stories by Karen DavidsonIn the year of social media and

virtual tours members of theOntario Farm Fresh MarketingAssociation (OFFMA) took anold-fashioned bus tour to centralOntario in mid-November It

seems some of the best learning isface to face on the bus and upclose and personal with real-lifeon-farm marketers

As many will attest OFFMAexecutive director Cathy Bartolicalways organizes an intense jam-

packed experienceOntario members were joined

by others from Alberta Quebecand Prince Edward Island Thosetour participants many of whomhave gone on the annual tour since1989 are just starting to think

about how to employ some ofthose marketing ideas on the farmnext year Herersquos a taste of whatsome hosts shared and what someof the 54 tour participants thoughtcould be adapted

MARKETINGFace to face marketers learn best practices

Lynda and Nicholas Van Casteren areproud of the locally produced preservessold at their Nicholyn Farms store

Traditional products profit from make-overs

Moving beyond transactions to a relationship with growers

ldquoItrsquos been an un-bee-lievable yearrdquo saysChris Hiemstra with a nod to his staff of 24million bees Thatrsquos the story he shared withthe Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Associa-tion which toured Clovermead Apiaries atAlymer ON The pitch starts kilometersbefore reaching the farm with teaser signsldquoYoursquoll bee there before you know itrdquo

The Hiemstrarsquos are third-generation beekeepers honing their marketing skillswell beyond honey They invested in a newwebsite branding and signage in 2010 butusually spend their marketing dollars in capital improvements to the farm ldquoIrsquodrather invest in the destination than inadvertisingrdquo says Hiemstra

Their adventure farm is a place for fami-lies wildflower walks and more recently azip-line or bee-line for kids They haverestored antique buildings even outhousesfor a glimpse of the past and house their giftshop in the midst

When 55 on-farm retailers stepped offthe bus Hiemstra viewed them as potentialconsultants asking them to fill out a surveyon what they liked and what they would

change So rather than just give advice hegot a 360 degree view

Some of that feedback has already beentaken to heart An area underneath thezipline was bare from the trampling of childrenrsquos feet so Hiemstra has sown grassseed and planted bushes before the snowflies Some folks suggested a guardrail forhis goat bridge And others suggested addi-tional safety measures

His next project is to build a new bathroom with glass walls that have beescrawling inside them ldquoIt will be a wildmoment that guests wonrsquot forgetrdquo saysHiemstra He still strongly believes thatword-of-mouth reigns although he hasjoined the Facebook era

Clovermeadrsquos new website includessocial media such as YouTube videorsquosFacebook and TwitterVisit wwwclovermeadcom

As the name says Apple Land

Station is on track with 19 acres ofpick-your-own apples The Thorn-dale Ontario farm attracts 7000 to8000 students on school tripsevery year

ldquoThe locomotive on wheels isone of the best things wersquovedonerdquo says Ernie Muzylowskyreferring to a kid-sized train Tak-ing inspiration from that themeMuzylowsky plans to double thetrack with another train

With a majority of incomeearned during a tight five-weekfall period the plans are to expandto birthday parties and eventsaround holidays A small cafeacute hasbeen added so that patrons canenjoy some of the homebaked piesand pastries on site Visit wwwapplelandstationcom

Near right Apple Land StationFar right Lavender Blue Laven-der Sparta ON sells aromatic andculinary products Photo OFFMA

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 13

Keep on track with a theme

MARKETINGNew website creates a buzz

NOTICE OF MEETINGNotice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting

of the

FRESH VEGETABLE GROWERS OF ONTARIO

will be held in the Town of Woodstock Ontario at the

QUALITY HOTEL amp SUITES Vansittart A

Thursday December 16th 2010830 am ndash 330 pm

Election of directors of the Association will take place

plus discussion of financial reports and any

Other business that may arise

Registration Forms can be located on FVGO website

REGISTRATION FORM Print this form complete then mail or fax to address belowPersonal amp Company Information Please print clearly in inkName __________________________________________________________________

First Name Middle Initial Last NameTelephone _______________Fax _______________E-mail_______________________Mailing Address________________________________________________________ _

Rural RouteStreet Address CityTown Postal CodeFVGO Member $0 Non Member $40

Payment Information___ Visa ___Master Card IF paying with Credit Card please provide the following information

___Cheque Enclosed (Please make payable to FVGO)Card ___________________________________________Expiry Date _____________Participantrsquos Signature______________________________________________________

Personal information contained on this form will remain confidential and will be used by the FVGO to registerparticipants for the 2010 FVGO AGM

Return Completed form with payment to FVGO co Mitton House 120 Main Street EastRidgetown ON N0P 2C0

or Fax (with Visa or Mastercard information) to 519-674-1512

THE GROWERPAGE 14 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

The Niagara escarpment provides the scenic backdrop for Milton Ontario ndash one of the fastest-growing towns in Canada With a burgeoning population of 90000 surrounding farms have a new customer base to lure to their sites Herersquos how three farms in the vicinity are reinvigorating theirmarketing campaigns

MARKETINGWell-established on-farm markets re-invent themselves

13

131313131313131313131313

13131313$1313131313

13amp()13+$

-0012

31313413513

)13-610-117

13813913+ 13 10067222

+13713lt1313131351313131313 13 13

13413131313131313 1313 13 13

13 713131351313+53=13131313gt54131313

13 1313131313

On 70 picturesque acres on the Niagara EscarpmentJohn and Laura Hughes have a stunning view of Oakville tothe south and the CN Tower to the far east in Toronto Atthe foot of the escarpment lies the town of Milton ldquoTheyrsquoreall potential customers of agriculturerdquo says John lookingon the positive side of urban encroachment

Indeed Springridge Farm has 1500 customers who regularly buy $50 family passes for the season Thatrsquos justone statistic in a year when they marked the 50th anniver-sary of the farm operation Yes there was new signage forthe milestone and a history wall in one barn but they spentlittle time resting on their laurels Rather they plunged intosocial media in a big way in 2010

In a yearrsquos time they have 1600 fans on Facebook 870followers on Twitter and 400 readers of their blog Thatrsquoson top of an email newsletter list of 12000 A trustedemployee manages the new social media accounts Thepower of their tweets became quickly apparent when a customer complained that she hadnrsquot been informed of anearby traffic delay on a specific day

ldquoIrsquove been following you on Twitter why didnrsquot youlet me knowrdquo she queried

These real-life lessons in real time prove that communi-cating clearly and in a timely manner can make a differenceto the customer experience Quite recently the power oftheir databases became apparent when they emailed invitations to a cookbook signing with Elizabeth Baird theretired doyenne of Canadian Living Magazine They had220 RSVPs within 48 hours Baird said it was one of thebiggest signings she had experienced

In a similar experience using Twitter targeted only to ayoung mom audience they had 200 RSVPs for a themedparty Girls Night Out on the Farm to meet Kathy Buckworth author of ldquoShut Up and Eat Tales of ChickenChildren and Chardonnayrdquo The ultimate hostess Lauraserved a glass of wine with appetizers made from the farmrsquosbakery

Imaginative events smoothly executed come naturallyto the Hughes who are still enthused after all these years ofbuilding a business ldquoWe are amazingly unique in that wefocus on the farmrdquo says Laura ldquoWe have never lost sight ofthe farm orientation in educating about where food comesfromrdquo

They book 18 birthday parties most weekends cateringto a new generation of parents who want their kids tobreathe fresh air and to make gingerbread men the old-fashioned way Offering an adult menu is attractive to theparents who can also spend some time in the well-appoint-ed giftware shop

While Springridge Farm is noted for its 15 acres of pick-your-own strawberries and pumpkins itrsquos interesting to notethat their marketing program is most successful on theshoulder seasons Most on-farm retailers would be surprised to know that Springridgersquos biggest cash flow day is Good Friday biggest bakery day is Thanksgiving Saturday biggest retail day from the gift store is third Saturday inNovember when they host the start of Miltonrsquos United WayChristmas House bus tour

After 50 years practice makes perfect

Springridge Farm

John Hughes Springridge Farm tastes one of the last day-neutral strawberries from his patch on November 17

For 30 years Andrewsrsquo ScenicAcres has earned its reputation fortop-quality strawberries at the Milton Farmersrsquo Market and beena patron sponsor of the annualstrawberry fair a fundraiser forthe local hospital In recent yearsa new venture called Scotch BlockWinery has become an award-winning producer of fruit wines

Their pick-your-own farmincludes a rainbow of fruits andvegetables including fall raspber-ries and strawberries as well asless common gooseberries andcurrants

As Bert and Lauraine Andrewsknow every year brings new challenges ldquoI got fairly excitedabout cut flowers this past yearrdquosays Bert Rather than a few rowsof flowers he expanded to an acreof dahlias eight plantings of sunflowers and six plantings ofgladiolus He was responding todemand from urban farmersrsquo markets including the MyMarketat Sick Kids Hospital in TorontoHe committed to 11 farmersrsquo markets in 2010 two more thanthe previous year

Therersquos something to learn in

every new venture Some vari-eties of sunflowers are better forcutting than others and now herecommends Cutting Gold fromStokes Seeds

Like many growers the farmemploys offshore workersTogether with area farmersAndrews organizes a Mexican-themed party at seasonrsquos end complete with Mariachi bandfood and dancing The entire community is invited to celebratethe fall harvest While the intent isto thank the workers the eventreceived local media coverage in

and of itself useful in communicat-ing the community spirit of thefarm and how the local food system works

Now that the Mexican workers

have gone home itrsquos BertAndrewsrsquo turn for some fieldchores Hersquos lifting those dahliabulbs for the winter planning toplant hope for next season

MARKETINGWell-established on-farm markets re-invent themselves

Chudleighrsquos Entertainment Farm In southern Ontario the

Chudleigh family name is synony-mous with apples Since 1959they have built a reputation with65 acres of pick-your-own applesand a hefty serving of entertain-ment So itrsquos no surprise that theyofficially operate ChudleighEntertainment Farm and a separatebusiness for their commercial bakery which buys apples fromother growers

For agri-marketers the ques-tion is how to keep the loyalty ofcustomers Tom Chudleigh saysthat marketing is a combination ofentertainment and education

ldquoHow to pick an apple how tostore an apple is still important forour customersrdquo he says ldquoI want tosee them with chin-dripping juicyapples right off the treesrdquo

The tendency is to pick applestoo early so Chudleighrsquos puts up agiant blackboard with all the applevarieties and their peak picking

season Some customers even takea photo of the blackboard toremind themselves of whatrsquos inseason

ldquoWersquove never advertised thepricerdquo says Chudleigh ldquoThatrsquos arace to the bottom of the rungrdquoPricing by the pound at $115 forexample sounds completely different than $48 per bushel

In recent years Chudleigh has

learned it pays not to have line-ups ldquoParents today are squeezingin the apple farm trip between ballet soccer and a dinner partyrdquohe says ldquoWe make sure to haveenough parking space so that families can comfortably stay twohours Be willing to add anothercash register if it means no line-ups for your customersrdquo

Apple preferences have

evolved over the years too withHoneycrisp overtaking McIntoshfor popularity Golden DeliciousCreston and Sunrise are in the topranks while Silken is capturinginterest with its porcelain whiteskin against glossy leaves Thecompany website is particularlyhelpful in educating consumersabout varieties with specific iconsto designate whether varieties are

good for baking eating or freez-ing

With 42 years in retailingtherersquos always room for a firstChudleighrsquos launched its firstApple Piefest Baking Competitionin early October with more than 20contestants vying for braggingrights The criteria were simpleeach pie must have at least a bottom crust must be homemadeand apples must be the only fruitin the pie ldquoFor me an apple pie should tastelike applesrdquo Tom Chudleigh toldthe National Post ldquonot like a spicerackrdquo

Was the national coveragehelpful Chudleigh says itrsquos hardto say when they regularly entertain 90000 visitors annuallyWithout fail Thanksgiving week-end is always a blockbuster

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 15

bull

Agricultural Commercial Industrial

50 Years of Excellent Service

Refrigeration (All Types)

Heating Air Conditioning

Controlled Atmosphere

18 Seapark Drive St Catharines ON L2M 6S6

905-685-4255

wwwpennrefrigerationcom

infopennrefrigerationcom

Check water-taking permit expiry datesFarmers with permits to take water are being reminded to check the expiry date oftheir documents The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (OFVGA) isencouraging growers to review their paperwork this fall to ensure that their permitsremain current or can be renewed prior to the start of the next growing season

Horticulture and crop farmers who use more than 50000 litres per water per dayon their farm operations are required to hold a permit to take water issued by the Ministry of the Environment This includes activities such as irrigation or using washwater to clean vegetables before they are packed

Renewing your permits before they expire means you can complete a more streamlined renewal process Applying for a renewal on a permit to take water thathas lapsed will be treated as a new application by the Ministry and may be subject toadditional requirements and conditions

ContactGeorge ShearerWater Specialist

OFVGA 519-763-6160 ext 219

waterofvgaorg

The OFVGA can help

Andrewsrsquo Scenic Acres

A harvest party for Mexican workers drew local media attention

By Karen FenskeThere are a variety of elements

which impact the market andtrends that we can change withenough resources The raspberrymarket is growing and so is theimported market share TheCanadian raspberry marketincludes approximately 78 millionlbs of fresh and processed raspber-ries of which only 36 per cent areCanadian From 2008 to 2009 wesaw imported product take oversix per cent of the total marketshare There is no data availablefor fresh imports prior to 2008

An equitable contribution sys-tem is needed to support industrygrowth Over 60 per cent of theraspberries sold in Canada arefrom importers who do not pay forany of the promotion marketingand research we do Importersneed to make equal investments inthe cost of building raspberry mar-kets as they will benefit from our

efforts Canadian exports have

decreased by 40 per cent As tradebetween countries increases withglobalization the economies ofother countries are also growingOther countries are beginning tohave the capacity to supply rasp-berries and with their aggressivemarketing are making themselves

strong competitors for our mar-kets Although our main exportmarket the US has seen 40 percent of their industry come fromoffshore Canada has seen a sub-stantial decrease in its exports intothat market Canadians need tochange this trend As well newmarkets could represent newopportunities especially forprocessed products Available data

includes raspberries mulberriesetc uncook steam or boil in watersweetened or not frozen

Consumers want affordableproducts that are good for theirhealth Food prices have increaseddue to a variety of factors includ-ing increased production costsAdapting to this change has putadded importance on research andinnovation if raspberry growerswant to remain competitive withother fruits and other suppliers Atthe same time consumers desirefood that is good for them Beforethey can be informed of the positive nutritional value of raspberries the research needs to

be done by us Funds are needed todo the production research and tovalidate raspberry health benefits

Buyers want produce that meetfood safety standards When mak-ing purchasing decisions buyers(wholesale retail or consumer)expect a supply of safe food Toensure public health and maintainconfidence food safety standardsneed to be met Implementing afood safety program requiresresources to educate growers inpractices and paperwork staff toperform audits improvements toon-farm practices standards main-tenance etc Money spent onimplementing and maintainingthese programs will aid in Canadi-ans being able to capitalize onwhat they have

Buyers want new products andrecyclable packaging Developingvalue-added products and soundrecyclable packaging are otherstrategies which can expand themarket and gain value-chain effi-ciencies Funds are needed forinnovation

Governments are nurturingself-supporting industry effortsHowever to access governmentfunding organizations must havethe capacity for sound governanceorganized reporting systems to aidin accountability be able to mea-sure performance and to demon-strate transparency with practicalcommunication strategies Infus-ing policy and structures whichcan provide a sustainable industryrequires collaboration We can domore with the little we have

Karen Fenske is the projectcontractor StratPoint SolutionsVernon BC

THE GROWER

PAGE 16 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

Researching the best for our

customers since 1881

wwwstokeseedscom Box 10 Thorold ON L2V 5E9

Call toll free 1-800-263-7233 fax 1-888-834-3334

at Stokes SeedsTrial Evaluation

Karisma

Pepper75 day large 4 lobed blocky sets continuously

Vanguard Pepper75 day extra large slightly deep 4 lobed Sets continuously

Disease package

Primo Red Tomato65 day high quality extra large very firm

Lewis Bean53 day medium dark

green 5frac12 in14 cm pods 3-4 sieve

Excellent disease package

Advice you need to turn our top quality seed into the most productive crop possible

for your area your climate your soil and your growing conditions

Leah Erickson

BC AB604-957-2359

Henry Zomer

ONMBSK905-308-4396

Jim Robinson

ONMB905-715-8595

Rob Hovius

ONPEINB519-580-3231

Paul Banks

ONNS905-688-4300

Karine Bougie

QC 514-984-0662

Marc Andreacute

Laberge QC514-984-4589

ResearchinghingcResear

g the best for ouror ourg the best f

omatoTTo ualitymy firer

customecustome

ers since 1881s since 1881er

at Stokes Seedsaluationrial EvvaTTr

sn

anguVVa yy5 da

ightly dets consease

epperd PPeuarrda large xtre

deep 4 lobeduouslyntin

kagepac

ris

sma

wis BeanLeky medium dar53 da

reen 5frac12 in14 cmg

ou nevice yyoAd

or yffo

eed to turn our top qua

limateour c yyoour areayyo

ris

pered uou

sma

r

slyy

reen 5frac12 in14 cmgevsie3-4pods

Excellent diseasekagepac

ality seed into the mos

our gour soil and yyoyyoe

op posoductive crrost prro

wing conditionsogrro

lessib

stowww

Call to

ksonLeah Eric

ABBCC604-957-2359

yHenr

ONM905-3

keseedscom

oll free 1-800-

y Zomer

MBSK08-4396

Jim Robinson

ONMB905-715-8595

x 1Bo

-263-7233 f

viusRob Ho

ONPEINB519-580-3231

aul BP

ON905-68

ON LoldThor10

1-888-834-3334ax ffa

Banks

NNS8-4300

Karine Bougie

QC 514-984-0662

L2V 5E9

c AndreacuteMar

egLaber QC514-984-4589

MARKETINGThe case for a national raspberry agency

Many growers have just fin-ished the fall season as exhibitorsor volunteers in booths Some areheading into the winter seasondesigning booths Here are somehelpful tips courtesy of CanadasOutdoor Farm Show

Tip 1 ndash Understand the purpose of your exhibit

The goal of the exhibit is not tosell your product nor to tell yourprospective clients everythingabout your company products andservices Your Exhibit mustbull Create interestbull Capture the attendees attentionbull Prompt visitors to stop

Give a favourable first impres-sion about your company and cre-ate a lasting visual impact

Tip 2 ndash Design an exhibit that cummunicates a

powerful messageYour visitors have three to five

seconds to formulate an opinion ofyour company Let them knowbull Who you arebull What you dobull Why you are different or betterthan the others

Tip 3 - Create an inviting pre-show promotion

One of the best ways to ensurethat your must-see clients visit youat the show is to invite themdirectly to your booth To ensurethe success of your pre-show pro-motionbull Use a large format invitationprinted on colorful paperbull Follow up with a reminder viaemailbull Follow up again with a briefphone call to the individual youwant to meet

Tip 4 ndash Train your exhibitstaff or it will cost youTo improve staff performance

you will need to train your exhibitstaff on how to sell in the showenvironment It takes much effortto master the show selling tech-nique but practice makes perfect and profits By modifying yourstrategy your methods and yourapproach toward your show partic-ipation you can TRIPLE yourshow results You can even mea-sure your results

Tip 5 - Adapt to the showenvironment

What is the biggest differencebetween speaking with a prospectat a show or in the field

The answer The TIME thatyou have to convince them Why1 Their time at the show is limited2 They have many exhibits tovisit and many products to com-pare3 People only register 50 per centof what they hear4 90 per cent of what you say willbe forgotten in a minute5 You (the exhibitor) need time toengage as many attendees as possible

In fact the average attendeeattention span is just 44 minutes

For these reasons and manymore you absolutely must trainyour exhibit sales staff to haveshort convincing and memorableinteractions with visitors

Tip 6 ndash Plan effective promotions and promotional

activitiesPromotional activities such as

draws giveaways and demonstra-tions can be very effective tools tohelp you succeed at the showHowever you must give themcareful thought Your objectives

are to1 Attract visitors to your booth2 Facilitate conversations betweenyou and show visitors3 Inform about the benefits ofyour products or services4 Create a tangible reminder oftheir visit to your booth

Promotional activities thatachieve these four goals are con-sidered to be effective

Tip 7 - Making the right decisions follow one simple

principleHere is a simple principle that

will help you to make good deci-sions regarding your show partici-pationldquoAll that contributes to creatingpeople interactions should beemployed Conversely anythingthat impedes attendee contactshould be eliminatedrdquo

Tip 8 - Booth design optimize your space

When designing the exhibit thetrend is to simplification simplifi-cation of the text signage visualsand of the booth space Remember

that an uncluttered booth reflects awell organized and credible com-pany Make sure that the front ofyour booth is free of unnecessaryclutter or obstructionsTip 9 - Designing the exhibit

avoid the pitfallsHere is a list of ten common

mistakes1 Text too small2 More than two types of fontsused3 Too much text4 Bad choice of words5 Visual conflict with the back-ground6 Text too low to be seen7 Too many images8 Images of poor quality9 Improper or inadequate lighting10 Damaged dog-eared graphics

Tip 10 - Ensure an effectivefollow-up

Since 80 per cent of trade showleads are never followed up andsince they are so expensive to gen-erate here are ten ways to helpyou convert them into sales1 Create your follow-up strategy

2 Define the type of client you areseeking What is your criterion3 Assign a lead captain who willensure all leads are recorded legi-bly on lead sheets4 Prioritize each leads potentialusing a simple weighting systemA B C etc5 Keep your leads in a safe placeEnter them into a data base at theend of every day6 Re-warm your leads after theshow Do a post show mailing7 Exhibit staff should be orga-nized prior to the show for follow-ing up on leads one week after theshow8 Send a very short email in theweek following the show thankingthe visitor for coming to yourbooth9 Resurrect dead leads (keep incontact with potential clients whoare not quite ready to buy)10 Educate your sales force on theimportance and value of qualifiedleads

White paper-skinned bulbs ofgarlic present a marketing dilem-ma They donrsquot have the orangeallure of pumpkins or the dimpledtextures of autumn squash Allanand Norma Granlund are three-time booth winners at the CarpGarlic Festival with a few displaytricks up their sleeves

ldquoWhen I go to a market I lookfor attractive clean booths that Ican see from a distancerdquo saysGranlund ldquoEvery year we try todo something different to createinterest This year we addedcoloured tablecloths and garliccrownsrdquo

Everyone working at Grammaand Gramparsquos Garlic booth woregarlic accessories garlic head-bands garlic-festooned hats gar-lic necklaces The paraphernaliaworks The Granlundrsquos sold out ofone of their garlic varieties withinthe first hour of business In facttheir entire annual crop of 14000to 20000 bulbs is sold in two daysat the Carp Garlic FestivalDid you know

Fifteen new farmersrsquo marketswere organized in 2010 under theFarmersrsquo Market Ontario (FMO)banner raising the provincial totalto 155 Aside from new growth

sales are growing at a rate of aboutseven per cent per year says BobChorney FMO general managerSome markets increased numberof market shopping days so thisplus new markets translates intomore than 300 new shopping daysavailable to Ontarians

Photo courtesy of Tracy LambMopani Communications

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 17

MARKETINGBoothmanship part display part theatre

Top ten tips for successful tradeshow marketing

Business Development for Farm Businesses

Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association1-800-265-9751 wwwontariosoilcroporg

Build a solid foundation for your businessattend a GYFP workshop

workshop is the place to start

Register for a workshop today

ldquoWe wanted to step back to analyze how to stay financially

viable as opposed to just floating along The Growing Your

Farm Profits Workshop fit well into our planrdquo

Helen and Marc Carere Sheep Farmers - Lindsay Ontario

You willbull identify strengths and weaknesses about your farm

in key management areasbull use a step-by-step approach to set and prioritize

goals for your businessbull learn how to customize your own action plan to

ensure your goals are achieved

Brockrsquos Cool Climate Oenolo-gy and Viticulture Institute(CCOVI) has announced that 11researchers will become newCCOVI Fellows and ProfessionalAffiliatesCCOVI Fellowsbull Dr Lester Kwong AssistantProfessor Department of Eco-nomics Brock University StCatharines ONbull Dr Annette Nassuth AssociateProfessor Department of Molecu-lar and Cellular Biology Universi-ty of Guelph Guelph ONbull Dr Michael Ripmeester Chair

and Professor Department ofGeography Brock University StCatharines ONbull Dr Narongsak (Tek) Thongpa-panl Associate Professor Depart-ment of Marketing InternationalBusiness and Strategy Brock Uni-versity St Catharines ON CCOVI Professional Affiliatesbull Carl Bogdanoff Viticulture Biol-ogist PARC Summerland BCbull Dr Margaret Cliff ResearchScientist PARC SummerlandBCbull Dr Tom Lowery Research Sci-entist PARC Summerland BC

bull Alexandra Mayeski LawyerHeenan Blaikie LLP Toronto ONbull Dr Gerry Neilsen Research Sci-entist PARC Summerland BCbull Daniel OrsquoGorman ResearchBiologist PARC SummerlandBCbull Dr Kevin Usher Research Sci-entist PARC Summerland BC

We are also happy to announcethe renewed affiliation of bull Dr Pat Bowen (ProfessionalAffiliate) Research ScientistPARC Summerland BCbull Dr Linda Bramble (ProfessionalAffiliate) Wine Writer AuthorEducator St Catharines ONbull Dr Ralph Brown (Fellow) Pro-

fessor School of EngineeringUniversity of Guelph Guelph ONbull Dr Ronald Jackson (Profession-al Affiliate) Wine Writer AuthorLe Bic QCbull Dr Karl Kaiser (ProfessionalAffiliate) Co-founder of InniskillinWines Winemaker ConsultantNiagara-on-the-Lake ON

Is it a grocery store Is it acooking school Is it a take-outfood bar

Itrsquos Longorsquos the newly openedflagship store at Maple LeafSquare in downtown TorontoLocated across from the Air Canada Centre the well-knownbrand in the Greater Toronto Areais banking its future on a meacutelangeof experiences

ldquoWersquore really excited tobecome a part of the Maple LeafSquare community and bring ourconcept of a fresh tradition to thedowntown corerdquo says AnthonyLongo CEO of Longorsquos ldquoThestore offers customers complete

one-stop shopping from greatvalue options to suit any budgetall the way to Kobe beef andeverything in betweenrdquo

Its reputation has been for freshproduce hand-selected six days aweek at the Ontario Food Termi-nal That tradition remains intactwith the claim of more than 100organic varieties of produce Someof them make their way into the40-item salad bar

But following the trend of otherdestination grocers such as McEwanrsquos the experience is partof the attraction A hot-carvingstation gourmet made-to-orderstone oven pizza made on-sitehardwood smoked meats and fisha chocolatier creating fine Belgianchocolates an in-store tortilleriamaking fresh flour tortillas andchapattis are just some of the

foodie spectaclesJust as important as the food

offerings are how they are laid outPaco Underhill bestselling authorof Why We Buy The Science ofShopping and his most recentbook What Women Want wasconsulted on design and flow ofthe store

With a nod to local craftsman-ship the new location is also hometo Corks Beer and Wine Bar fea-turing locally made beers andOntario wines No doubt the ideais to enjoy a cool one before ahockey game across the street

With this new downtown foot-print and a new state-of-the arthead office in Vaughan Longorsquosnow operates 23 stores across theGreater Toronto Area and employsmore than 4000 people

MARKETINGThe science of food shopping looks artful

THE GROWER

PAGE 18 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

THE 2011 CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL

FARM SHOWhellip GETTING BACK TO THE

ROOTS OF THE FARM SHOW

BOOK YOUR SPACE TODAY

SIGN UP BY JAN 31 2011FOR A FREE 3-DAY PASS

Visit wwwCanadianFarmShowca

USE VIP CODE CFS604

2011 CIFS CASE Highly Detailed DC-4

wwwcanadianfarmshowca

Offi cial 2011

25th Anniversary

Collectible

February 8-10 2011

Ontario-grown produce is featured at the new Longorsquos at Maple LeafSquare downtown Toronto

NEWS 11 new researchers join CCOVI network

By Lilian Schaer for AGCareThe farm gates are ldquovirtuallyrdquo

open on a series of new onlinefarm tours Online visitors canmeet real Ontario farmers and tourreal farms that grow field vegeta-bles fruit greenhouse vegetablesand grain crops - without puttingtheir boots on The project is partof ongoing efforts by AGCare ofwhich OFVGA is a member tohelp connect consumers to farmersand how their food is produced

ldquoLess than two per cent ofCanadians are involved in agricul-ture which means that most of ushave never had the opportunity tovisit a real farm or talk to a realfarmerrdquo says Paul Wettlaufer acrop and livestock farmer andChair of AGCare ldquoThe interest inwhere our food comes from hasnever been higher These new vir-tual farm tours are a great way for

kids and consumers of all ages tosee how their food is grown inOntariordquo

Each tour starts with an aerialphotograph of a farm property andfollows a series of crops throughan entire growing season Visitorscan click on different parts of theaerial photograph to enter variousbuildings and learn about differentparts of the farm through pho-tographs videos and panoramicimages similar to how real estateprofessionals market propertiesonline

A CD of all the tours alongwith a newly developed teacherrsquosguide ndash containing curriculumconnections for all grades and sug-gested classroom activities ndash wasdistributed to every elementaryand secondary school in theprovince in November Theresource was also featured at the

Science Teachers Association ofOntario annual conference lastmonth in Toronto

ldquoItrsquos important for students tohave accurate information aboutwhere their food comes from andto get connected with modern foodand farming ldquosays WettlauferldquoAgriculture touches all of ourlives in many different ways andthese tours and teacher guides willbe a valuable resource to helpbring that experience into Ontarioclassroomsrdquo

The tours can be found onlineat wwwvirtualfarmtourscawhere they have joined a series ofexisting tours of livestock farmsdeveloped by the Ontario FarmAnimal Council including dairypigs poultry sheep cattle vealdeer elk and ratites The virtualfarm tours log more than two mil-lion hits annually from visitors

who come to the site looking tolearn more about food and farm-ing

The three horticulture virtualfarm tours are hosted by vegetableand fruit grower Birkbank Farmsnear Orton greenhouse vegetablegrower Pyramid Farms in Leam-ington and peach cherry and pearproducer Cherry Lane Farms ofVineland A fourth tour focusedon corn wheat and soybean pro-duction is hosted by Blythe BraeFarms of the Woodstock areaThanks to the farm hosts for pro-viding this snapshot for consumersinto ldquotypical Ontario farmsrdquoFilming and photography for theproject were completed through-out the 2009 and 2010 growingseasons

What can you do Promotethese tours wherever you can withlinks on your websites promotion-

al materials and products ContactAGCare at 519-837-1326 oragcareagcareorg for a copy ofthe web button logo or additionalcreative ideas for promotingwwwvirtualfarmtoursca

The virtual tour project wasfunded in part by Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada through theAgricultural Adaptation Counciland with contributions fromAGCare Ontario Farm AnimalCouncil Grain Farmers ofOntario Ontario Fruit and Veg-etable Growersrsquo Association andSyngenta

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 19

Connecting farmers and consumers - virtual fruit and vegetable farm tours launched

bull 4000 people from 41 states and 10 Canadian provinces attended in 2009

bull Informative education program for fruit and vegetable growers and farm marketers ndash 48 education sessions and workshops over three days

bull Large trade show ndash last yearrsquos show had 394 exhibitors covering four acres of exhibit space

bull Pre-conference bus tour for farm marketers on Monday December 6

One registration fee covers both conferences and the trade show

(Specified workshops and tours require an additional fee)

On-line registration starts September 27 Register by November 12 to save on registration fees

The Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO

bull 450 greenhouse growers from 26 states and 3 Canadian provinces attended in 2009

bull Three days of education sessions and workshops for greenhouse growers

bull Many greenhouse vendors in the trade show

bull Greenhouse growers bus tour on Thursday December 9

PlusThe Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo

The PREMIER SHOW

for fruit and vegetable

growers and farm

marketers

December 7-9 2010

DeVos Place

Convention Center

Grand Rapids Michiganwwwglexpocom

Visit GLEXPOcom for registration program and other information

Call 734-677-0503 for registration questions or to receive registration and program information by mail

Call 616-794-0492 for information on exhibiting in the trade show

The G eerreaeat La ees Fkk itFrui egetetVVVeVet ndtatable and Faarm Mar eekkFF etet EEXPO

ww glewwww xxp oomccoee

PlusulThe Michigaan G eeenhorr ouse G oweewwoorr ersrs ExExpo

Call 734-677-050

Visit GLEXPOco

03 for registrationfo

Call 616-794-04

om for registration

questions or to re

492 or informatiof

n program and ot

eceive registration

n on exhibiting in

her information

and program infof

n the trade show

ormation by mail

American potato production is downaccording to the USDA crop report pub-lished November 9

The total potato production in the UnitedStates harvest 2010 is 399231000 cwt(203 million tons) down seven per centfrom last year The fall potato production isdown eight per cent compared to last yearFall production accounts for 905 per cent(361392000 cwt) of the total potato crop

Looking to States with a potato produc-tion of more than 15 million cwt the largestreductions in yields occurred in Minnesota(-12 per cent) Wisconsin (-11 per cent) andIdaho (-6 per cent)

ldquoThese figures are encouraging to usbecause therersquos a real opportunity toincrease prices of potatoes in the upcomingmonthsrdquo says Don Brubacher general man-ager Ontario Potato Board ldquoSupply is

shorter than demandrdquoThese production tallies are welcome

news after a tough 2009 when potato sup-plies outstripped demand in North Americadepressing prices The Ontario crop isslightly above average in yield and excellentin quality

In Manitoba where excessive rainfalldrowned out many crops processing pota-toes are down by several thousand acres

ldquoFor table potatoes itrsquos a mixed bag with anaverage croprdquo says Larry McIntosh Presi-dent and CEO Peak of the Market

Fortunes have also changed worldwidewith a poor harvest in Russia a shortagethat is switching up traditional trade pat-terns Holland is now exporting to RussiaPrince Edward Island potatoes are nowbeing shipped to export markets in theCaribbean and Central America

United States fall potato production 2010 down eight per cent

What questions do Canadiansask about our food supply andfarming practices bull How are farm animals raised ontodayrsquos farmsbull Are there hormones or antibioticsin our foodbull How does food productionimpact our environmentbull What does organically-grownfood really meanbull What effects do farming prac-tices have on our health

The answers to all these ques-tions ndash and many more ndash aboutfood and farming in Canada can befound in the new booklet rdquoThelsquoRealrsquo Dirt on Farming II ndash ThePeople in Canadian AgricultureAnswer your Questionsrdquo

The national publication hasbeen published by the OntarioFarm Animal Council (OFAC)with input and involvement fromfarmers and farm groups educa-tors and agribusinesses acrossCanada including the OntarioFruit and Vegetable GrowersrsquoAssociation

ldquoIn our fast-paced 247 140-character news environment sen-sation dominates the headlinesrdquosays John Maaskant chickenfarmer and Chairman of theOntario Farm Animal CouncilldquoThis makes it difficult for proveninformation and solid food facts to

be heardrdquo For examplebull Did you know that 98 per cent ofCanadarsquos farms are still familyowned and operated bull A Canadian farmer could onlyfeed 10 people a century ago butcan now feed more than 120 today bull Farming productivity has jumpedby 300 per cent since the 1950swhile using fewer resources lessland and newer better technolo-gies to produce more food

Anyone who wants to knowmore about farming and issuessuch as farm animal care or foodsafety will find this 44 page full-colour booklet to be a helpfulresource - perfect for studentseducators politicians and themedia This booklet is an updateto an older version published in2006 The new version contains allnew facts and statistics as well asmuch new content on topics thathave emerged over the last fouryears

ldquoThis resource has taken morethan a year to produce but hasactually been in the making sincethe last editionrsquos releaserdquo saysMaaskant ldquoIt provides statisticsand perspective on a variety oftopics ranging from agriculturaldemographics to biotechnology toorganic agriculture to environmen-tal issues Itrsquos designed to providethe basic facts on some common

but complex topics in farmingwith lots of references for peoplewho would like to find furtherinformationrdquo

Over the next few weeks

100000 copies of the resource inboth English and French will bedistributed nationally to politi-cians media libraries schoolboards and through the projectrsquos

various funding partners whichinclude national provincial andlocal agricultural organizations New with this edition a sec-ondary-school level teacherrsquosguide has been published withfunding from Farm Credit Canadaand will be distributed to highschools across Canada with thehelp of the Agriculture in theClassroom organizations in eachprovinceThe resource is also available forviewing on OFACrsquos website atwwwofacorg Additional copieswill be sold through the OFACoffice

THE GROWER

PAGE 20 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

By Alison Robertson SpecialProjects OFVGA

The Community Food SecurityCoalition (CFSC) held their 14thannual conference in NewOrleans Louisiana from October16th to the 19th It was entitledldquoFood Culture Justice The

Gumbo that Unites Us Allrdquo Thiswas CFSCrsquos largest conferenceever with nearly 1000 delegatesfrom across North America Therewere also delegates from SouthAmerica Africa and Europe

In New Orleans food is used tomake a cultural connection uniting

farmers food banks fishers faith-based organizations and others asthey work towards social justiceAt Food Culture amp Justice TheGumbo That Unites Us All attendees had the opportunity tosee first-hand the unique regionaland multi-cultural approach to

food organizing taking place inNew Orleans The event wasinfused with the unique flavourand culture of the area throughfield trips to innovative local pro-jects special lunchtime events aregional workshop track

Plenary highlights includedpersonal stories from New Orlea-nians about their food culture andrebuilding after the storm an energizing presentation by theleader of a West African peasantfarmersrsquo association and closingreflections from diverse leaders onhow to build power for the foodsecurity movement There werealso 68 workshops and networkingsessions on a wide range of topicsincluding rebuilding local foodeconomies ending poverty andincreasing food access outcomesof the US Social Forum environ-mental justice public health linksfood policy councils urban agriculture and more There werealso numerous opportunities fornetworking through topic-specificnetworking sessions forums andCFSC committee meetings

Because of my involvement inthe fruit and vegetable program inNorthern Ontario and work withthe federal government on futurefruit and vegetable programs in thefar north I was especially interest-ed in the sessions regarding theNational Farm to School Networkthe Development of State-wideFood Systems Child NutritionSuccesses and Implementationand Food Policy and PlanningOne of the core areas of discussionthroughout the conference was theneed to push for local state

provincial and national policiesand practices that would supporthealthy food retail healthier institutions national nutrition programs and sustainable foodsystems The development ofthese food security policies at boththe provincial and federal levelwould strengthen our advocacyefforts to increase access tohealthy local fruits and vegetablesfor Canadians

The conference was hosted bythe Community Food SecurityCoalition wwwfoodsecurityorgthe Second Harvest Food Bank ofGreater New Orleans and Acadi-ana and the New Orleans FoodPolicy Advisory Committee

Upcoming Events

National Conference on State andMunicipal Food Policy PortlandOregon May 19-21 2011 Thiswill be the most comprehensivenational conference on local andstate food policy in the US Thisconference will bring people fromacross North America who areworking to influence local andstate food agriculture and nutrition policy

15th Annual Community FoodSecurity Coalition Oakland Cali-fornia November 4-8 2011

National Farm to Cafeteria Con-ference Burlington Vermontspring 2012 The 6th NationalFarm to Cafeteria Conference willshowcase innovative and effectivestrategies for connecting schoolsand colleges with local farms

Leassons learned from National Farm to School Network

OnTrace Traceability Workshops 2010Processors Workshop

Tuesday November 1 2010 ndash Mississauga

Producers Workshops

Enroll Now Space is limited Register todayWorkshop cost $125 includes all day workshop lunch

and Traceability Workbook

To register and for complete information

wwwontraceca or Toll Free 1-888-38-TRACE (8-7223)

With the generous support of OMAFRA

Traceability is good for Business

Find out how it can improve yours Enroll now

Our workshops will show you how to

traceability solution

Jim Ranahan

Want to know The lsquoRealrsquo Dirt on Canadian Farming

May the bestbooth win

Farmersrsquo Markets Ontario issponsoring a Best Booth Contest Send digital photos of market stalls to fmofarmersmarketsontariocom by December 15 2010 Include thename of the vendor and hishercontact information the marketname the market manager andthe product featured Details onprizes and categories can befound on the website

By Christoph Kessel Nutrition(Horticulture) ndash Program Lead

OMAFRAMany vegetable crops had their

share of yellowing leaves this pastgrowing season During the drierhotter summer days these yellow-ing leaves displayed symptomssimilar to several nutrient deficiencies Sorting out the visualsymptoms and their possible caus-es can present a real challenge

Five common nutrient deficien-cy symptoms expressed as yellowing leaves include nitrogenmagnesium manganese iron andzinc Nitrogen is typically easy to

diagnose But the other four can beeasily confused Their similarity insymptoms makes them a challengeto diagnose While a soil reportcan indicate an adequate supply ofthese nutrients visual deficiencysymptoms can occur because plantnutrient uptake is compromisedAdverse soil temperatures andmoisture levels either too coldand wet or hot and dry can inducesymptoms

When sorting out the symptomsa good place to start is the leafrsquoslocation on the plant Nitrogen andmagnesium usually appears onolder leaves The other three typi-

cally occur on younger leavesThe table below compares thenutrientsrsquo visual deficiency symp-toms

These symptoms can indicateacute or chronic problems Whataction to take to manage the nutrient depends on confirmingthe deficiency and finding itscause Use soil and leaf analysesto confirm the deficiency If thesoil analyses do not indicate anynutrient deficiencies for the cropthe next step is to determine whythe symptoms occurred Carefullycheck soil conditions moisture ordamage from insects diseases orother animals As well reviewpast weather conditions and sprayrecords All these factors caninfluence the plantsrsquo rootrsquos abilityto take up nutrients

For more information on trou-ble-shooting nutrient deficiencysymptoms and soil diagnosticsvisit the OntarioCrop IPM websiteat wwwomafragovoncaIPMenglishindexhtml

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 21

Sorting out all those yellowing leaves

Nitrogen (fig 1) Magnesium (fig 2) Manganese (fig 3) Iron (fig 4) Zinc (fig 5)

Leaves affected Older or basal leaves Older leaves Younger leaves middleleaves may be affected

Younger leaves middleleaves may be affected

Younger andor older leaves

Overall leaf appearance

Light green or yellowing generallyappears uniformly over the leaf andwhole plant older leaves begin toyellow first starting at leaf tips ifsevere may turn brown and fall off

Individual lower older leavesturn yellow (chlorotic) inearly stages older leavesfade and yellow at tips givinga mottled or herring-bonelook dead (necrotic) areasbetween veins appear late inthe season

Diffuse chlorosis between theveins gives a mosaic-like orchequered-like appearance onyoung expanded leaves necrotic (dead) spots usuallypresent and scattered overleaf surface these may eventually tear

Youngest leaves become yellowish-green turninglemon-yellow or yellowish-white lower older leavesremain a darker greennecrotic (dead) spots are usually absent

Irregular chlorotic mottlingdeveloping rapidly intonecrotic blotches yellow-ivory to white in colouryounger leaves at growingtips are much smaller oftennarrow in appearance and ina rosette-like whorl symptoms may occasionallyappear on older leaves

Leaf veins

Leaf veins remain greenoften with broad green margins

The darker green colour nextto veins and along the mainveins gives a ldquoChristmas-treerdquo like pattern on youngerand moderately old leavessmallest veins remain greenno sharp distinctions betweenveins and interveinal areas asin an iron deficiency

Network fine green veinswith yellowing in betweengives a net-like appearancesharply contrasting narrowgreen main veins largerveins remain green

Green margins at both sides

Leaf margins

May remain green can curlup or downward giving theleaf a puckered appearance

In extreme cases marginsand tips become necroticnecrosis may extend inwardsdeveloping into a large areaspreading over the whole leafblade

Fig 1 Nitrogen deficiency corn All photos by International PlantNutrition Institute

Fig 2 Magnesium deficiency broccoli

Fig 3 Manganese deficiency celery

Fig 4 Iron deficiency tomato

Fig 5 Zinc deficiency corn

By Janice LeBoeuf Vegetable Crop Specialist

OMAFRA - RidgetownYou may be hearing more and

more about plant protection products known as SAR inducersor plant activators What does thismean

SAR or systemic acquiredresistance products actually trigger or enhance the plantrsquos nat-ural defenses against infectionAlthough they may be labeled forcontrol of plant disease they donot have any direct activity on thefungus bacteria or otherpathogen

Plants have a natural resistancemechanism that is activated oncean infection is initiated You couldthink of it as an immune responselike humans would have to aninfection This response can alsobe initiated by certain chemicals ndashby treating a plant with a SARinducer we are able to initiate theresistance response prior to aninfection Think of the response

we have to a vaccination Webuild up immunity without beingexposed to the live pathogen Ofcourse vaccinations are specific toa particular virus while SAR is abroad-spectrum response Thesechemicals use the plantrsquos own bio-logical pathways to prepare it for astronger response against disease

SAR products are used differ-ently than fungicides or bacteri-cides They need to be appliedbefore an infection occurs as ittakes time after treatment for theplant response to be activated tothe point of effectiveness They donot act directly on the pathogen sothey are used as part of a diseasecontrol program Cultural prac-tices (and fungicides or bacteri-cides where possible) are stillneeded to prevent the pathogenpopulation from building up

SAR products do not offer con-trol of all plant diseases Researchcontinues to uncover their mosteffective uses and how to use themin a pest management system As

these products come into use itwill be important to read andunderstand the labels and followrecommendations for optimizingtheir effectivenessStay up-to-date

To help you stay up-to-date onvegetable production issuesincluding new registrations andpest management recommenda-tions keep these resources inmindOMAFRA Vegetable CropUpdates

These updates are issued by theOMAFRA vegetable team when-

ever there is information of inter-est to the commercial vegetableproduction business There areseveral ways to access them Youcan find them on the OMAFRAwebsite at wwwomafragovoncaenglishcropshortvegetablehtml where there is also an e-mailsubscription feature availableThey are found in blog format atONvegetablescom ndash here you cansubscribe by e-mail or RSS andpost comments and questionsYou can also request to receive thepdf versions by e-mail or get themby fax or mail by contacting

janiceleboeufontariocaTwitter

If yoursquore a Twitter user or planto be you can follow ontariotoma-to Visit wwwtwittercomontariotomato Yoursquoll get quickupdates and news of interest to thetomato and pepper industry Youcan also send short messages andquestions back

And as always the OMAFRAvegetable pages are a rich sourceof resources and tools Bookmarkthe main vegetable page at wwwomafragovoncaenglishcropshortvegetablehtml

Systemic acquired resistance ndash what is it

THE GROWER

PAGE 22 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

Controlled droplet application systemsBy Dr Jason ST Deveau

Application Technology Specialist

Have you ever seen a con-trolled droplet application (CDA)sprayer Donrsquot feel badly if youhavenrsquot because most horticultur-al ground sprayers in Ontario useconventional hydraulic nozzleslike flat-fans or disc-cores Never-theless CDA systems have beenused world-wide in a multitude ofcrops since the early seventies Sowhy not in Ontario

Letrsquos start by illustrating thebiggest difference between the twosystems how they make droplets

Figure 1 shows a conventionalhydraulic tip using pressure toforce spray through a small ori-fice Notice how the spray starts asa perforated sheet before it disinte-grates into droplets With thismethod even the best tips producea range of droplet sizes and userelatively diluted volumes

Figure 2 shows the edge of aspinning disk on a centrifugal-energy nozzle (also called a rotaryatomizer) Liquid is fed to the

centre of the disk where it spreadsand is flung from tiny teeth tobecome threads and then dropletsWith this method a very narrowrange of droplet sizes is createdwithout having to use pressure

Companies that manufactureCDAs make some very appealingclaims about these systems Hereare a few of the most intriguingbull By changing the disks on thesprayer you can create droplets ofan optimal size range for the pesttarget (eg smaller for diseaselarger for mobile insects)bull Where hydraulic nozzles pro-duce a range of droplet sizesincluding large droplets thatbounce and small droplets that are

prone to drift CDAs create a moreuniform droplet sizebull Very low volume applications(5-50 Lha) can be made withwater-based formulations reduc-ing the number of refills neededIn some cases ultra low volumeapplications (lt5 Lha) can bemade without a carrier ndash juststraight pesticidebull Ground-based systems can be

mounted on booms in front of orbehind small vehicles or even onhand-held systems (see Figure 3)

On the other side of the cointhere are potential negatives tooas noted by institutions such asVirginia Techbull Very small droplets representdrift hazardsbull Coverage and penetration maynot be thoroughbull Highly concentrated droplets canpresent safety hazardsbull Use of concentrated pesticidesmay increase dosage errorsbull Few pesticides are labelled orformulated for very low volume orultra low volume application

But pros and cons aside per-haps the biggest reason these sys-tems arenrsquot more prevalent inOntario is the limited amount ofliterature describing their use withinsecticides or fungicides in horti-cultural crops There has beensome data on using these systemsto apply glyphosate products butnot typically in vegetables fruitsor berries

So if you are considering CDA

as an alternate means of pesticideapplication be sure to prioritizeyour goals just as you wouldbefore purchasing any newsprayer Consider work rate thesize of your planting pesticidecompatibility the potential fordrift and the ease of use and main-tenance for the unit Above allnever hesitate to ask questions andapproach dealers for on-sitedemonstrations to ensure that thesystem is appropriate for your cropbefore you try something new

Fig 1 Photo by Silsoe SprayApplications Unit CambridgeUK

Fig 2 Photo by Micron SprayersLtd Herefordshire UK

Fig 3 The Mankar Mantraportable herbicide sprayer

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 23

THE GROWER

PAGE 24 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

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

NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

RR 4 Creek RoadNiagara-on-the-Lake ON L0S 1J0

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

howardcolcucrogerscom

Howard A ColcucNursery Manager

SPECIALIZING IN FRUIT

TREES amp GRAPE VINES amp

ELDERBERRIES

VARIETY AND PRICE LIST

AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

AlpineNurseries(Niagara) Limited

YEARS

Since 1932

wwwnoursefarmscom 4136652658

41 River RoadSouth DeerfieldMassachusetts 01373

RR2 Ruthven ON N0P 2G0

Specializing in Service to Commercial

Fruit GrowersApple amp Peach

TreesPhone 519-326-9330

Fax 519-326-3083

gwfarmwavedirectnet

SCOTT-WHALEY

NURSERIES LTD

STRAWBERRY PLANTSCERTIFIED

RASPBERRY CANESProducers of Quality stock for 46 years Grown under the

Nova Scotia Certification Program Shipping across North America

Contact us for more information and a free brochureGW ALLEN NURSERY LTD

7295 Hwy 221Centreville NS B0P 1J0

ph 902-678-7519 fax 902-678-5924Email salesgwallennurserycom wwwgwallennurserycom

KEDDYCO

bull Certified Strawberry Plants amp Raspberry Canesbull All popular varieties available

bull Grown under the Nova Scotia Certification program Plants shipped across North America

Contact us for a FREE brochure

982 North Bishop Road Kentville Nova Scotia Canada B4N 3V7Ph (902) 678-4497 Fax (902) 678-0067

Email keddynurseryxcountrytv

GLADIOLUS BULBSWide variety selection for retail sales and

commercial cut flower productionCatalogue available upon request or visit our website at wwwlmbollecom

LMBolle amp Sons298 Burford - Delhi TownlineRR 1 Norwich ON N0J 1P0(519) 468-2090 Fax 468-2099email lmbolleexeculinkcom

ASPARAGUS ROOTSJersey Giant

Wrightland FarmRR 1 bull 1000 Ridge Rd Harrow ON N0R 1G0

Keith 519-738-6120Fax 519-738-3358

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums Quality

Fruit Treesfor 60 years

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd RR2

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

Email fruittreesmorinurseriescomwwwmorinurseriescom

QualityFruit Trees

for 60 years

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd RR2

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

Email fruittreesmorinurseriescomwwwmorinurseriescom

OFVGA 152nd AGMRegistration forms and agenda

available at wwwofvgaorg

THE GROWER

PAGE 24 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

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

NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

RR 4 Creek RoadNiagara-on-the-Lake ON L0S 1J0

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

howardcolcucrogerscom

Howard A ColcucNursery Manager

SPECIALIZING IN FRUIT

TREES amp GRAPE VINES amp

ELDERBERRIES

VARIETY AND PRICE LIST

AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

AlpineNurseries(Niagara) Limited

YEARS

Since 1932

wwwnoursefarmscom 4136652658

41 River RoadSouth DeerfieldMassachusetts 01373

RR2 Ruthven ON N0P 2G0

Specializing in Service to Commercial

Fruit GrowersApple amp Peach

TreesPhone 519-326-9330

Fax 519-326-3083

gwfarmwavedirectnet

SCOTT-WHALEY

NURSERIES LTD

STRAWBERRY PLANTSCERTIFIED

RASPBERRY CANESProducers of Quality stock for 46 years Grown under the

Nova Scotia Certification Program Shipping across North America

Contact us for more information and a free brochureGW ALLEN NURSERY LTD

7295 Hwy 221Centreville NS B0P 1J0

ph 902-678-7519 fax 902-678-5924Email salesgwallennurserycom wwwgwallennurserycom

KEDDYCO

bull Certified Strawberry Plants amp Raspberry Canesbull All popular varieties available

bull Grown under the Nova Scotia Certification program Plants shipped across North America

Contact us for a FREE brochure

982 North Bishop Road Kentville Nova Scotia Canada B4N 3V7Ph (902) 678-4497 Fax (902) 678-0067

Email keddynurseryxcountrytv

GLADIOLUS BULBSWide variety selection for retail sales and

commercial cut flower productionCatalogue available upon request or visit our website at wwwlmbollecom

LMBolle amp Sons298 Burford - Delhi TownlineRR 1 Norwich ON N0J 1P0(519) 468-2090 Fax 468-2099email lmbolleexeculinkcom

ASPARAGUS ROOTSJersey Giant

Wrightland FarmRR 1 bull 1000 Ridge Rd Harrow ON N0R 1G0

Keith 519-738-6120Fax 519-738-3358

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums Quality

Fruit Treesfor 60 years

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd RR2

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

Email fruittreesmorinurseriescomwwwmorinurseriescom

QualityFruit Trees

for 60 years

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd RR2

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

Email fruittreesmorinurseriescomwwwmorinurseriescom

OFVGA 152nd AGMRegistration forms and agenda

available at wwwofvgaorg

THE GROWER

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

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 25

EQUIPMENT

DON ARTHUR ORCHARD EQUIPMENT(519) 599-3058 donarthurgeorgiannet Clarksburg ON

Fall is the best time of year to buy lease or trade for best pre-seasonpricing and more time to recondition advertise and sell your tradeNew stainless steel LOW DRIFT SPRAY TOWERS to fit any TURBO-MISTSPECIAL Turbo-Mist 600 gal Narrow centrifugal pump hydraulic controls 145L tires ceramic nozzles warranty - reduced by $3000Turbo-Mist 500 gal Narrow short turn hitch nice clean $14900Turbo-Mist 400 gal Low hrs spotless cond ComingJohn Deere HD 10 ft rotary mower hydraulic sideshift centre pull towide offset new blades paint low profile tires $5500Seppi 200 flail mowermulcher almost new $5900Perfect KV220 7ft HD flail mowermulcher - all new hammersComingPerfect KG220 7ft HD flail mowermulcher - only 2 yrs Coming

NEW FEATURE Instant photos by e-mail to you - any of these items listed

Wanted For Cash Trade or ConsignmentClean Sprayers Mowers Bin Carriers Narrow Orchard Tractors

NEW SPRAYERS HAVEARRIVED

MORE ON THE WAY

EQUIPMENT amp BUNKHOUSES FOR SALE

bull Seppi 55rdquo orchard mowershredder like new - $3000

bull 3 PT Round bale shredder-$1000bull Holland pocket plantersbull 3 pt treecane planter - $500bull 2rdquo 3rdquo and 4rdquo aluminum irrigation

pipebull 20 HP 600 volt Irrigation pump -

$1000bull Quantity of used drip tubing

Gas powered Clubcar Carryall - $2500

bull IH Super A with cultivator-$2500bull New Holland TN65V 700 Hrs -

$15000bull 2 ndash 7 man approved bunk houses

- $5000 eachbull Quantity of T-Bar fence posts -

$3 each

Phone 519-401-6786

NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

Exclusive grower of select grafted nut trees and minor fruitsCultivars are tested in our own experimental orchards

Choose from Persian and black walnut heartnut butternutchestnut hazel pecan hickory gingko pine nut mulberry

persimmon pawpaw fig amp more

Proprietor Ernie Grimo

979 Lakeshore Rd RR 3 Niagara-on-the-Lake ON Canada L0S 1J0Tel (905) YEH-NUTS (934-6887) E-mail nuttreesgrimonutcom

Fax (905) YEL-NUTS (935-6887) Catalogue Site wwwgrimonutcom

TREE NUTS

Illness Forces Sale40 Minutes to Toronto Airport60 Minutes to Ontario Food TerminalBirkbank Farms is a fruit and vegetable operation with a packing wholesale and retail storebull 99 acres freeholdbull 125 additional acres rented (Total of 224 acres of land for production)bull deep well irrigation with holding pond

Permit to take water in effectbull next door to a gravel operation with expansion potentialbull 2000 sqft House mostly renovated with 1700 sqft Full open basementbull 1050sqft Luxury apartment currently rentedbull 1000 sqft Seasonal mobile home ndash mostly renovated and inspected annually by the Board ofHealthbull 15000 sqft storage and packing and retail store (1500 sq ft) common refrigerated and air- to ndashair storagesThis operation can be purchased as turn-key with all necessary equipment for a multitude of smallfruit and vegetable cropsCrops grown currently Asparagus Strawberries Raspberries Beans Peas Sweet Corn Winter Cab-bage and PotatoesThere is 3 acres of certified organic landRetail Store capable of bakery fresh produce jam making ice cream yogurt machine frozen prod-ucts and catering food service Regularly inspected and passed by Board of HealthUV Water Treatment as back-up for main house and market pack barn and quarters on separatehigh capacity UV System3 phase service for well3 phase service for market storage pack barn1 phase service for main house and seasonal quartersLocated north of the Town of Hillsburgh on busy paved road (ex provincial highway) this is an excellent investment opportunity north west of Toronto north of Georgetown in a growing area ofsouthern OntarioOwner is quite ill and as a result is looking at a Turn-key or will consider offersThere is a family held 1 acre lot that could be available separately for an interested buyer

Jeff Wilson Birkbank Farms 519-855-6519

ECO CLEANING

REAL ESTATE

Gerry Loeters for Royal LePage

RCR RealtyPH 519-765-4217Cell 519-773-6460

ORCHARD FOR SALE 42 acre orchard with very goodmix of popular varieties of apples Super location for homesales on busy highway 3miles north of AylmerOntarioAsking$66000000includingequipment

Made inCanada

ALL STAINLESS STEEL

THE GROWER

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

CONTAINERS

LLOYD BAG CO(wwwlloydbagcom)

Established in 1939

BURLAP (JUTE)TREE WRAP LINERS SHEETS

WOVEN POLYPROPYLENE

PAPERLENO MESH

COTTON AND CANVASFOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

MARK ALLOTT BEV ADDEMAN JASON LONGGeneral Manager Sales Sales

1-800-549-2247114 St Clair Street bull PO Box 208 Chatham Ontario N7M 5K3

Telephone (519) 352-9300 bull Fax (519) 352-3413E-Mail infolloydbagcom

wwwScoringAgcom

SEE home page

OPEN Search

CHOOSE SSI-EID

INPUT SSI_43E955278F

SEE the Traceback record

Worldwide SimpleSecure and Inexpensive

INTERESTED

CONTACT lenhardtthotnet

705 324 2709

TRACEABILITY

PAGE 26 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

PRUNING

Good Reasons to Contract Your Pruning

bull Experienced crewbull Exact costingbull Free estimatesbull Job completion on timebull No additional costs

associated with general labourbull Improved qualitybull reduced harvesting and

maintenance costsAvailable anywhere

in OntarioSimply the best approach tothis important factor of fruit

productionCall Dave (519) 372-0604

FRUIT amp VEGETABLE PACKAGINGWellington Wood Products (1972) Ltd

Manufacturers and Suppliers of

bull Corrugated Baskets amp Masters bull Wooden Baskets bull Wooden Hampers

bull Plastic Containers amp Bags bull Cider Supplies bull Apple Packaging amp Cartons

bull Waxed Cartons bull Custom Corrugated Cartons bull Berry Containers amp Masters

Triple Wall Bulk Bins

A large INVENTORY of all types of packagingWe can deliver your order DIRECTLY TO YOUR DOOR

For current competitive pricing call

1-800-265-2397 wwwwwponca

Wellington Wood Products410 Sligo Road WestMount Forest ON N0G 2L0519-323-1060 wwpwightmanca

Wellington Wood Products1587 B County Road 34Ruthven ON N0P 2G0519-326-2394

LOUTH amp NIAGARA ORCHARDSPO Box 43 bull Virgil Ontario bull L0S 1T0 bull 905-468-3297

4000 Jordan Road bull Jordan Station ON bull 905-562-8825

Supplying Fruit and Vegetable Growers with

bull Baskets bull Berry Boxesbull Masters bull Waxed Cartonsbull Fertilizer bull Crop Protection Materialbull Vineyard Trellis Supplies

Pipeamp Fittings

for Water Systems

bull PVC ABS Poly Copperbull Stainless Brass Steel

Product Linesbull Drip amp Micro Irrigationbull Septic amp Sewerbull Drainage amp Culvertsbull Berkeley Water Pumps

Winona Concrete amp Pipe Products Ltd

489 Main St W Grimsby ON L3M 1T4

Phone (905) 945-8515

Fax (905) 945-1149or call toll-free

1-800-361-8515

IRRIGATION

IRRIGATION

30TH ANNUAL GUELPH ORGANICCONFERENCE amp EXPO

Jan 27-30 Guelph Univ Centre - full details wwwguelphorganicconfca

Free ExpoTasting Fair 154 booths Jan 29-30 only Meet suppliers certifiers samplers

An intensive leading-edge 35 workshop program for growers by paid admission

Brochure info amp prices (519) 824-4120 ext56205

Watch for our special OMIF-funded promotion A Local Organic HomeComing

as part of this Generation Organic event Be there in January

ORGANIC CONFERENCE

THE GROWER

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

CROP TUNNELS

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 27

IRRIGATION

One-Piece and Portable Skid-Mount Systems Hydro-Coolers Medical and Process Chillers Blast Freezers

Vacuum Coolers Refrigerated DehumidifiersKOOLJETreg

Reliable Refrigeration Systems

1-866-748-7786 wwwkooljetcom Visit our website to view our complete line

Custom Built Designs bull Domestic and International Markets

REFRIGERATION

Oriental Vegetable Seeds

AgroHaitai Ltd Ph 519-647-2280 bull Fax 519-647-3188

seedagrohaitaicombull wwwAgroHaitaicom

Baby White Pak Choy-Nabai Queen

Hot Pepper-Dalong D11

Hot Pepper-Long Hot H

Hot Pepper-Super Banana

Kabocha-Litian

ORIENTAL VEGETABLE SEEDS

FREIGHT SERVICE

Customs Brokerage Warehousing amp Distribution

Transborder Freight ServicesFor additional information please contact us directly or visit our website shown belowPHONE 905-672-6255 FAX 905-672-6322website wwwcoleca email infocoleca

Servicing your import and export requirements since 1958

FOR SALEPik Rite Harvester

2007Loaded

Contact 519-796-2903

EQUIPMENT

OFVGA 152ndAGM

Registration forms and agenda available at

wwwofvgaorg

VineAlert has arrived Itrsquos anew database that compares levelsof grapevine bud hardiness for dif-ferent varieties and locationsthroughout the dormant seasonThe data will help grape growersdetermine when protective actionssuch as the use of wind machinesor other methods are warranted toprotect grapevines

Itrsquos led by Brockrsquos Cool Cli-mate Oenology and ViticultureInstitute (CCOVI) together withthe Grape Growers of Ontariowith funding from Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada

Winter injury is a major threatto the sustainability of the grapeand wine industry Throughout theseason low temperatures causedamage and in some cases evenaffect the viability of grapevinebuds Therefore monitoring ofgrapevine bud hardiness through-out the dormant period is an effec-

tive tool to assist grape growers inmanaging winter injury

CCOVI researchers say thisinformation will also allow grow-ers to understand when bud injuryoccurred and to determine whenmaximal grapevine hardiness is

achieved to protect their vinesThe degree of grapevine bud coldhardiness varies depending on theplantrsquos genetic makeup and itsenvironmental conditions As aresult VineAlert sampling willtake place during the entire dor-

mant season including the accli-mation (fall) maximum hardiness(winter) and deacclimation(spring) periods

Differences in geographicalareas such as climate soil and viti-cultural practices can also impactcold hardiness of grapevine budsduring the various periods of thedormant season Extensive region-al sampling will be done to betterunderstand these factors anddepict the variability within desig-nated Ontario viticultural areas

ldquoThe VineAlert project is themost exciting new initiative inrecent yearsrdquo says MatthewSpeck Viticulturist at Henry ofPelham Family Estate ldquoUnder-standing the elements of bud har-diness and bud survival rates in agiven year is the foundation ofgood viticultural management inOntario The real-time websiteservice being provided and the

database being compiled are atthe leading-edge of their kindgloballyrdquo

Samples of Chardonnay andCabernet franc the two mostwidely planted white and redvinifera grape varieties will betaken within the 10 designatedsub-appellations of the NiagaraPeninsula Data specific to eachlocation will be updated from lateOctober until Mid-April depend-ing on the growing season

Research trials for monitoringhardiness on these two varieties inoutlying designated viticulturalareas of Prince Edward Countyand Lake Erie North Shore willalso be initiated this year

ldquoVineAlert is an invaluable toolfor growers to manage efficientlytheir vineyard winter protectionstrategiesrdquo says CCOVI DirectorDebbie Inglis ldquoAs the projectevolves sampling will alsoinclude additional grape cultivarsin the Niagara Peninsula appella-tion as well as other designatedviticultural areas of Lake ErieNorth Shore and Prince EdwardCountyrdquo

VineAlert will be posted on the CCOVI website atwwwbrockucaccovi The data-base can be accessed by clickingldquoResearchrdquo followed byldquoResearch Updatesrdquo and ldquoVineAl-ertrdquo Growers and researchers whosign up on ldquoMy Alertsrdquo can obtaindata based on location time andcultivar and receive up-to-datenotices on new winter injury dataThe interactive website will helpgrowers make informed manage-ment decisions based on cold har-diness and injury data specific totheir conditions as well as throughresearch findings and other rele-vant information

This initiative is part of the $14million in funding under Agricul-ture and Agri-Food Canadarsquos(AAFC) Developing InnovativeAgri-Products initiative whichsupports industry-led research andinnovation This outreach projectis a collaboration between AAFCthe Grape Growers of OntarioOntario Grape amp Wine ResearchInc Weather Innovations Incor-porated KCMS Applied Researchand Consulting and BrockrsquosCCOVI and is part of CCOVIrsquosheightened emphasis on outreachto the grape and wine industry

THE GROWER

PAGE 28 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

Researching the best for our

customers since 1881

wwwstokeseedscom Box 10 Thorold ON L2V 5E9

Call toll free 1-800-263-7233 fax 1-888-834-3334

at Stokes SeedsTrial Evaluation

PS09941819

Pepper78 day large 4 lobed excellent disease package

Aristotle Pepper75 day uniform green to

red pepper

La Salle

Onion103 day large

round globe with long term

storage

EX 08767143

Corn81 day 8 in (20

cm) bicolor ear Gourmet Sweettrade corn

Advice you need to turn our top quality seed into the most productive crop possible

for your area your climate your soil and your growing conditions

Leah Erickson

BC AB604-957-2359

Henry Zomer

ONMBSK905-308-4396

Jim Robinson

ONMB905-715-8595

Rob Hovius

ONPEINB519-580-3231

Paul Banks

ONNS905-688-4300

Karine Bougie

QC 514-984-0662

Marc Andreacute

Laberge QC514-984-4589

ResearchinghingcResear

g the best for ouror ourg the best f

4y largexcellen

kage

9941819

pperda

bed eseaseac

nt

customecustome

ers since 1881s since 1881er

at Stokes Seedsaluationrial EvvaTTr

sn

La

103 daroun

a Salle

Oniony largea

nd globe

rounwith lo

nd globe m ong ter

storage

(20

meteettraden

67143

y 8 inbicolor r Gourwor

ou nevice yyoAd

or yffo

eed to turn our top qua

limateour c yyoour areayyo

ality seed into the mos

our gour soil and yyoyyoe

op posoductive crrost prro

wing conditionsogrro

lessib

stowww

Call to

ksonLeah Eric

ABBCC604-957-2359

yHenr

ONM905-3

keseedscom

oll free 1-800-

y Zomer

MBSK08-4396

Jim Robinson

ONMB905-715-8595

x 1Bo

-263-7233 f

viusRob Ho

ONPEINB519-580-3231

aul BP

ON905-68

ON LoldThor10

1-888-834-3334ax ffa

Banks

NNS8-4300

Karine Bougie

QC 514-984-0662

L2V 5E9

c AndreacuteMar

egLaber QC514-984-4589

Growers get access to new tool to combat grapevine winter injury

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 29

Did you experience severe lossdue to frost or tornados Agri-corprsquos Production Insurance fortender fruit apples and grapes pro-vides protection against not onlyfrost and wind but hail freezeexcessive moisture droughtwildlife pollination failure andsome cropsrsquo specific disease andinsect infestation provided goodfarm management practices arefollowed

If this is your first time apply-ing contact Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999 by December 20 2010An Agricorp representative willvisit to review your coveragedetermine your deposit amount andhelp complete your application

For each fruit crop you areinsuring you must insure 100 percent of your acres For more infor-mation on eligibility for 2011 Pro-duction Insurance coverage referto the Plan Overview for TreeFruit and Grape Production onagricorpcom

Are you renewing ProductionInsurance for fruit crops

Itrsquos renewal time again for yourtree fruit and grape crops You willbe receiving your renewal packageoutlining your coverage optionsand deposit amount for 2011shortly Be sure to review yourresponsibilities and coverageshown on your renewal noticeYour coverage will reflect the cov-erage you chose last year unlessyou contact us by December 202010 to change your coverageoptions2010 AgriStability fees dueDecember 31If you have not paid your 2010AgriStability fee yet you haveuntil December 31 If we do notreceive your fee by the deadlineyou will not be eligible for a bene-fitAgriStability interim paymentsavailableIf you are in financial distress youcan receive half of your estimated

AgriStability benefit on a prioritybasis before your year-end Youcan get applications on our web-site or by contacting usAre you new to AgriStability

To sign up for 2011 AgriStabilitysend your completed 2011 NewParticipant Form to Agricorp byApril 30 2011 New ParticipantForms are available on the website

or by contacting AgricorpFor more information contact

Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999 byemail at contactagricorpcom orvisit agricorpcom

Consider insuring 2011 fruit crops 2011 PRODUCTION INSURANCE DEADLINES FOR FRUIT CROPS

Action required DeadlineLast day to cancel your 2011 insurance contract

December 20 2010Apply for coverage or change your coverage selection

Pay your premium deposit (non-refundable)

Declare assignment of indemnity

Pay balance of your premium May 1 2011

AGRISTABILITY DEADLINES

Action required DeadlineLast day to cancel your 2011 insurance contract

December 20 2010Apply for coverage or change your coverage selection

Pay your premium deposit (non-refundable)

Declare assignment of indemnity May 1 2011

Pay balance of your premium

Nominations for the 2011 FCC Rosemary Davis Awardare officially open as Farm Credit Canada (FCC) seeks torecognize and honour women from coast to coast for theirleadership and commitment to agriculture

Women involved in agriculture positively impact theindustry and their communities FCC is looking for fivewomen who deserve recognition for their achievementsPast nominees have ranged from producers and educators toagrologists and veterinarians to name a few

Since 2006 FCC has honoured 20 outstanding womenwith the Rosemary Davis Award Individuals are encouraged to take the time to recognize a woman they see

making a difference in the agriculture industry Self-nominations are also encouraged

ldquoThe agriculture and agri-food industry in Canada hasbenefited from the valuable contributions of womenrdquo saysKellie Garrett Senior Vice-President Strategy Knowledgeand Reputation at FCC ldquoThis award allows FCC to honourremarkable women who make a difference to their communities and to the industry at largerdquo

Candidates are selected based on their demonstration ofleadership - through giving back to their community and theagriculture industry - as well as their vision and passion forthe industry

Created and named after a successful Canadian agribusiness owner and operator - and the first female chairof the FCC Board of Directors - the FCC Rosemary DavisAward is testament to the growing number of women whoare choosing to make a career in agriculture

Winners will be announced in spring 2011 and will havethe opportunity to attend the Simmons School of Manage-ment Leadership Conference in Boston on April 26 2011 Entries will only be received online at wwwfccrosemary-davisawardca The deadline to apply is midnight on January 17 2011

Farm Credit Canada celebrates exceptional women in agriculture

THE GROWER

PAGE 30 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010

Itrsquos that time of year againwhere Santa gets to make his listof whorsquos been naughty or nice orin this case who has been a help oran obstructionist to the bettermentof our lives If you see yourself onthese lists remember this onChristmas morning and then makea resolution at New Yearrsquos toeither continue the (good) behav-iour or improve on the (bad) activ-ity reported here

To the hard working field staffof OMAFRA dealing with ourmyriad problems- a BIG thank-you I am sure you will get some-thing under your tree- even if itdoes not have the appropriate dol-lar value you deserve for yourefforts May the year ahead pre-sent more support for your effortsincluding appropriate travel fundsto improve your ability to serveour members

For the staff at the Pest Man-agement Centre- thanks for lsquocatch-ing-uprsquo on so many old projectsMost of our members will benefitfrom these new uses even thoughthey were asked for years ago Wealso thank you for taking on anever increasing number of jointprojects with IR-4 - our future isdependent upon the most modern

and new registered productsinvolved in those projects I amsure your own lsquoin-housersquo JollySaint Nick will see to your needsthis year

I cannot miss the chance tothank each and every chemicalcompany out there for the hugenumbers of new active ingredientsbeing registered each year Wemay have lost almost 100 activessince FQPA in the USA and Re-Evaluation occurred here butmost of them have been replacedwith new actives All that saidkeep the flow going and keep upto date on our new pest challengesand resistance issues We must bea TEAM that works together forthe betterment of both I am sureyou will see a little somethingunder your tree this year like aneven faster registration process

I have a sack of coal for themanagement staff of MPAC whodetermine property assessments inOntario Their lack of understand-ing of agricultural enterpriseissues like bunkhouses is onlyexceeded by their unwillingness tohave meaningful discussions I amnot sure how they sleep at nightknowing the hurt they continue toprovide but may they feel thestones of coal inserted in theirmattress while they sleep onChristmas Eve and for the wholeof next year

The policy folks at PMRA haveout-done themselves this year Thefinal touches went into the newrules to allow generic pesticideregistration here and to increasedirect price competition Thankyou all for that In addition theyhave prepared the regulations tocodify the GROU Pesticide ImportProgram as well This has and willcontinue to insert price discipline(not exactly where some would

like it inserted but at least into thesystem) The value will increaseas more products are added aswarranted by the price differentialand by the change in pricing herethat precludes the need to importany product I know how tough itmust have been to attend so manymeetings with govrsquot lawyers sothanks from Santa for your hardwork You will be duly rewarded-maybe an extra smoke break forone and a lsquojust a bit of greyrsquo treat-ment for another Actually you alldeserve the recognition others gotlast year for a whole lot less work

May the lsquoBig Bossrsquo share a part ofthe mythical $25M with you

To the selfish anglers and theMNR staff who cater to them maythe fish never bite again and maythe public in Port Dover rise upand smite you Santa is looking fora giftable piranha to follow you inthe many miles of the OTHER 17streams that you are free to fish in(and trespass on farmersrsquo land)while you plot and scheme toremove the 150 year old dam thatcreates Silver Lake- home to oneof the most successful rowingclubs in Ontario The fact that youwere previously successful ineliminating the Sutton dam inSimcoe in no way should be takento mean that everyone is or washappy nor that the other two damsbetween Port Dover and Simcoeshould be eliminated either Howdisingenuous are you to think thatyou have the lsquorightrsquo to selectivelyreturn a stream to ldquooriginalrdquo state-whatever that is Maybe your pre-

sent from Santa should be to havea year where everything returns tothe lsquooriginal statersquo including nostocking of streams with fishcourtesy of MNR no licensing orenforcement so anyone can poachyour favourite site at will Perhapsno nylon lines or stainless steelhooks either since they came inafter the 150 year limit May adead fish inhabit your bunk for ayear

To research managementeverywhere- Santa wishes you thesame erosion of support staffoperational funds and travel as youhave foisted upon the researchprograms and staff that could havehelped this industry even morethan they have with the meagersupport they get Perhaps a year ofwearing your shoes on the wrongfeet will teach you to walk in ourshoes while making these deci-sions Perhaps atonement can behad if the next new positions fund-ed are dedicated to meet OUR stat-ed needs and not those you justthink are important (to the minis-ter) For those who have alreadyseen the light and are helpingfarmers with their stated needs -leave a night-lite on at Christmasand hope for a suitable reward

To my curling club icemaker-some valium to deal with (other)intractable members who all knowhow to make better ice May youcontinue to at least have my ice asfast as last week if a little lessswingy Santa will be watchingclosely and find a suitable rewardif all games work out like lastweek

For my mechanic who canalways figure out car problemsthat really have no reasonableexplanation my undying gratitudefor peace of mind driving Santamay drop in with the sled for an

overhaul and we can share a liba-tion for the cold nights ahead

For the Environment Canadastaff who insist on protectingCanada Geese under the MigratoryBirds Convention Act (you meanthey get to go to meetings too)may you have the dubious plea-sure of cleaning up our park inshorts no gloves and on a hot dayto really understand why thesevermin need to go Any bird hereafter Nov 1 or before March 1 isNOT migratory They are a dangerto me in the sled at Christmaswhen they should be in Mexico forthe winter Maybe if your tree isbereft of presents this year- blameit on those geese Now if youdeclare that the Act does indeednot apply to the lsquopermanentrsquo birdsand allow open season now fromNov 1 to Feb 28 you may seesomething on the day Otherwisemay you enjoy goose-greasedressing with your turkey thisyear

For my co-workers who canalways ground boundless anger orbolster depressing moments- manythanks for keeping this office thebest place to have a job-anywhereanytime Your treats will be therendash count on it

Lastly to my family who haveendured me such as I am for solong a big hug and heartfeltthanks for understanding (most ofthe time) and never complaining(some of the time) and for inspira-tion (all of the time) You know Icouldnrsquot keep at this withoutknowing you understand whatmotivates me May you enjoy thecreative presents you get thisyear

And Santa wishes all the grow-ers out there who support him allyear a very Merry Christmas anda prosperous and safe New Year

Craigrsquos CommentsSantarsquos list

Craig HunterOFVGA

for Fungicides Miticides amp Insecticides in Horticultural Cropsfor Fungicides Miticides amp Insecticides in Horticultural CropsThe SourceThe SourceCall us at

1-866-613-3336 or visitwwwengageagrocom

| wwwvalentca | 519-822-7043Read and follow the label instructions before usingAll products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valent USA Corporationcopy Valent USA Corporation 2009 All rights reserved

Minor Use

Seeking control of downy mildew through disease forecastingA new research project launched by the Fresh Vegetable

Growers of Ontario (FVGO) is hoping to find some answersto downy mildew an infection that can destroy entire cropsof onions lettuce and cucumbers Success will translateinto more income for farmers and more homegrown vegetables for Ontario consumers

ldquoThe fresh vegetable sectors need new effective andeconomical solutions for managing vegetable diseases sothat we can provide consumers with a healthy safe andplentiful supply of producerdquo says Jeff Wilson a vegetablefarmer and chair of Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario

Downy mildews can be controlled through the use of

fungicides but these must be applied before infection takesplace in order to be effective This project funded in partthrough a $24573 grant from the Farm Innovation Program(FIP) will test an improved system of disease forecastingusing rotorod spore traps to help farmers identify if theircrops are at risk Trials using onions lettuce and cucumberswill be conducted in muck soil at the Muck Crops ResearchStation in the Holland Marsh and at the Simcoe ResearchStation where vegetables are grown in mineral soils

Researchers will also be testing some newly availablefungicides to determine whether they can be effectivelyused to prevent outbreaks of downy mildews As well two

onion varieties resistant to downy mildews are newly available on the market and will be evaluated for their resis-tance quality and yield levels when compared to other com-monly grown onion cultivars

ldquoThis project will increase awareness and access to newon-farm technologies that will be important tools for vegetable growers to increase their productivity and com-petitiveness in the marketplacerdquo says Jim Rickard chair ofthe Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) which admin-isters FIP on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canadaand the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and RuralAffairs

ldquoI have a sack of coal forthe staff of Municipal Property Assessment

Corporation who determineproperty assessments in

Ontariordquo

THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2010 ndashndash PAGE 31

By Jim Chaput OMAFRA Minor Use Coordinator Guelph

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)recently announced the approval of a minor use label expansion for Reason 500SC Fungicide (fenamidone) forsuppression of downy mildew on crop group 5 Brassicavegetables in Canada

Reason 500 SC Fungicide was already labeled in Canadafor control of leaf blights of potato and downy mildew ofcucurbit vegetables as well as for suppression of downymildew on bulb vegetables

This minor use label expansion for Reason 500SC Fungicide helps to address a significant disease problem forBrassica crop producers across Canada

For suppression of downy mildew on Brassica vegetables (cabbage broccoli cauliflower Brusselssprouts Chinese cabbage kale kohlrabi bok choy collards mustard greens etc) apply 400 ndash 600 mL Reason500SC per hectare Begin applications as soon as cropandor environmental conditions become favourable for disease Applications can be made on a five-to -10 dayinterval depending upon conditions A maximum of three

applications per season is permitted however producersshould not apply more than one sequential application ofReason 500SC or other Group 11 fungicides without rotat-ing to other fungicide groups The pre-harvest interval forReason fungicide on Brassica vegetables is two days

Follow all other precautions and use directions on theReason 500SC label carefully

Reason 500SC Fungicide should be used in an integratedpest management program and in rotation with other management strategies

For copies of the new supplemental label contact JimChaput OMAFRA Guelph 519-826-3539 Marion Paibomesai OMAFRA Guelph 519-826-4963 or visit theBayer CropScience website at wwwbayercropscienceca

Suppression of Brassica downy mildew added to the Reason 500SC fungicide label

A science-based

perspectiveplease

The Alliance for Food andFarming (AFF) in the US hasreviewed the so-called dirtydozen fruits and vegetables andreleased a report recently It issupported by a web site and asmart phone app where con-sumers can calculate the amountof a certain fruit or vegetable thatthey would have to eat per day forpesticides to affect them

For examplebull A woman could consume 529servings of apple in one day with-out any effect even IF the appleshave the HIGHEST pesticideresidue recorded for apples byUSDA bull A man could consume 4013servings of peaches in one daywithout any effect even IF thepeaches have the HIGHEST pesti-cide residue recorded for peachesby USDA bull A teen could consume 1140servings of pears in one day with-out any effect bull A child could consume 1508servings of strawberries in oneday without any effect

Further information can befound in The Packer newspaperonline at wwwthe-packercom

The web site for the calculatoris wwwsafefruitsandveggiescomcalculator The report canbe found at wwwsafefruitsand-veggiescom

Downey mildew on broccoli

THE GROWER

PAGE 32 ndashndash DECEMBER 2010