InsideA golf course is at core ofapple winery Page 4

Essex county:From food to biofuel Page 11

FOCUS: New equipment and technology Page 14

www.thegrower.org

By Karen DavidsonThree years from now, no

grower will blink at this list: fuzzymelon, callaloo, eggplant, okraand yard long beans. Today, thesecrops are the focus of a researchproject to diversify food produc-tion in the Greater Toronto Area(GTA).

The Greenbelt Foundationrecently announced $88,000 infunding to The Stop CommunityFood Centre and the VinelandResearch and Innovation Centre(VRIC). This tops up the contribution made by the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’Association and a larger allocationof funds from the federal-provincial Growing Forward program.

Until now, growers seem tohave ignored the elephant-sizedopportunity sitting in the corner.Canadians of south Asian descentrepresent Toronto’s largest ethniccommunity, about 718,000 strongand spending $396 million annual-ly on vegetables. Next, in terms ofdollars spent, are ChineseCanadians at $252 million, followed by Afro-CaribbeanCanadians at $84 million.

Clearly these are big numbers –and they’re getting bigger.“Displacing just 10 per cent oftoday’s imports represents a $73million market for Ontario farm-ers,” says Dr. Jim Brandle, CEO,VRIC.

The research project calls forproduce harvest to be taste-testedthrough Toronto-based communi-ty food programs and marketssuch as The Stop. To identify andhighlight ethnic tastes, The Stophas sponsored the Global RootsGarden, which features vegetables

common to seven of Toronto’sethnic communities. The Chinesegarden, for example, grows bokchoy, hot peppers, cucumbers,long beans and Chinese okrawhereas the Latin American garden showcases corn, cilantro,tomatillos, ancho peppers and

squash. Each of the remaininggardens-- South Asian, Somali,Italian, Polish and Filipino--exhibits the same culture-specificknowledge of the growing habitsof native plants.

Changing Canadian demo-graphics are driving this

movement for more ethnically-appropriate produce. At lastspring’s Canadian ProduceMarketing Association, DavisYung of Fresh Produce Inc. shareda slide that forecasted dramaticchanges in visible minority population in the coming decades.

As a produce importer/exporterbased in Vancouver, he shared anexperienced perspective on thepromise of selling to these newmarkets and on the peril of notmarketing to them properly.

Continued on page 3

In Ontario, the Holland Marsh is one of the few areas with expertise in ethnic produce. That’s due to growers such as Spencer Chan who has20 years of experience selling crops like this Chinese broccoli to a community of Chinese immigrants in Toronto. To help educate growers aboutthese new markets, the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association will have samples of these new ethnic vegetables on display at theirbooth at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, September 14 – 16.

OFVGA SUMMER TOUREssex county pulses with economic activity

CELEBRATING 130 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATIONSEPTEMBER 2010 VOLUME 60 NUMBER 09

Is that a cicada or a combine?August is the perfect time to witness the economic heartbeat ofEssex county. Mechanical harvesters are pulling up tomatovines. Huge trucks are lumberingwith their loads to the weighscales of nearby processing factories of Heinz and Sunbrite.Melon packing lines are busysorting fruit for shipment to theOntario Food Terminal, threehours away in Toronto. Vastgreenhouses, constructed with thelatest European glass technology,ripple over the pancake land-scape. Vineyards vie for sunshinealong Lake Erie while inland, 600acres of potatoes provide the earliest taste of spuds for the

province. Mac James, Vice-Chair of the

Ontario Fruit and VegetableGrowers Association (OFVGA) isone of those potato farmers whohosted the annual summer tour onhis home turf. He provided aninsider’s perspective of Essexcounty that’s located betweenfresh bodies of water – Lake St.Clair to the north and Lake Erie tothe south.

“The diversity is unique inEssex county,” says James. “Wegrow a smattering of every specialty crop imaginable-- evenblueberries.”

For example, he pointed outdouble-cropped land where thesecond planting of green beans

will be harvested later this fall. While traveling along the

lakeshore, he talked about the tornado damage along TheGolden Mile, the original stretchof greenhouses built in the 1950sthat launched a multi-million-dollar export industry.

Just off the shores ofLeamington is Pelee Island, thespit of land that welcomes migrat-ing birds every spring and isfarmed intensively for grapes. Inthe fall, the grapes are taken byboat from the island to theKingsville dock for transport tothe Pelee Island Winery.

With this cornucopia at hand,it’s no surprise that Agricultureand Agri-Food Canada has

operated a research station inHarrow for more than a century.It’s home to the Greenhouse andProcessing Research Centre, oneof 19 federal centres acrossCanada.

Essex county is also home to agreen energy movement. Just inthe last year, fields of tropical-looking miscanthus are beingplanted to be cubed and burned asbiofuel to lower heating costs ingreenhouses.

In hosting a tour of theLeamington area, the OFVGAbrought together a wide spectrumof industry and government. Itsmonthly board meeting was alsoheld there.

Ethnic markets: the promise and the peril

P.M. 40012319

PAGE 2 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERSThe Grape Growers of Ontario have announced that JoannieRochette, Olympic skating bronze medalist, will be the featurespeaker at the Scotiabank/Scotia McLeod Celebrity Luncheon.The annual affair will be held at the Roma Club, St Catharineson September 15.

Left to right: Kimberly Hundertmark, Executive Director of theNiagara Wine Festival; Bill Schenck, 2009 Grape King; DebbieZimmerman, CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario; and,Matthias Oppenlaender, Vice-Chair of the GGO Board ofDirectors.

Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and ViticultureInstitute has hired James J. Willwerth as its new viticulturist.A quality services sensory coordinator with the LCBO, Willwerth brings a strong knowledge in vine physiology, coldhardiness, viticulture practices, soil/irrigation management andintegrated pest management. Their new oenologist is Dr.George Kotseridis, who brings years of European expertise inwine flavour chemistry, fermentation, aging aroma compoundsand winemaking technology. Most recently, he has been teach-ing at the Agricultural University of Athens in Greece.

OMAFRA has appointed a new Vegetable Crops Specialistbased in Guelph, ON. Marion Paibomesai comes well qualified. She supported the specialist position as a summerstudent in 2006 and 2007. She will be advising on pests, diseases and minor use issues.

Also working on the OMAFRA horticulture file is Evan Elfordas New Crop Development Specialist. Based in the Simcoeoffice, he is working on production and marketing informationfor new, non-traditional specialty and niche market cropsincluding value-added processes. Before joining OMAFRA, he worked with a direct farm marketing association, an overseas agricultural project, the University of Guelph and ahorticultural farm operation.

Congratulations to Jeff Aubry, Coyote’s Run Estate for theGrape Growers of Ontario Pinot Noir Award. His teamreceived the kudos for the 2007 Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir.

In additional winery news, PondView Estate Winery has openedits premises in Niagara-on-the-Lake under the leadership ofLuciano and Adriana Puglisi. Their opening will take advantage of consumer traffic coming for the Niagara WineFestival, September 17 to 26.

New retail sign and labeltoolkit available

Ontario’s Ministry of Agricul-ture, Food and Rural Affairs isoffering tips and easy-to-use,downloadable templates andinstructions for labeling fruits andvegetables.

Clear and accurate labeling andsignage help consumers makeinformed purchasing decisions. Ifyou sell Ontario-grown fruit andvegetables at the farm gate, road-side stands, farmers’ markets orany other retail location, yoursigns and labels must comply withRegulation 378, Grades – Fruitand Vegetables of the Farm Prod-ucts Grades and Sales Act, whichregulates grading, packing, mark-ing and marketing of designatedfarm products.

For more information, call 1-877-424-1300 or go to:www.omafra.gov.on.ca

AgriInvest deposits nowaccepted at financial

institutionsAgriInvest deposit notices are

in the mail with information onhow and where to make 2009AgriInvest deposits. Growers cannow make AgriInvest deposits at aparticipating financial institutionof their choice. Moving accountscloser to where producers live andwork gives flexibility to keeptrack of funds more easily and toearn a competitive rate of intereston deposits.

Growers must open an accountat their local financial institutionand make their 2009 AgriInvestdeposit by the deadline indicatedon their Deposit Notice to receivea matching contribution from gov-ernments.

Existing funds currently heldby the federal government will betransferred to the producer’s AgriInvest account held at theirfinancial institution. Producerscan request a withdrawal fromtheir AgriInvest account throughtheir financial institution at anytime during the year.

For more information, call 1-866-367-8506 or visit the web-site at www.agr.gc.ca/agriinvest.

Hot off the press History books are labours of

love. Ask Elizabeth Chatten andMary Macklam who have just fin-ished “The History of theNorthumberland and DurhamApple Growers’ Association.” Ithelps that they are both descen-dants of early growers. They havespent four years poring over theimpeccably typed minutes of theassociation which have beenarchived at the local agricultureministry’s office in Brighton,Ontario. They have rooted outphotographs of great-grandfathers,nosed around local libraries andinterviewed current growers.

“How did these apple growersget organized without computers,phones and cars?” says Chatten.“It was a very different worldthen.” The pioneers of the indus-try were determined and diligent,inviting well-educated speakers totheir annual meetings to learn thebest methods of apple growing.Grown close to the shores of LakeOntario, the apples fromNorthumberland and Durhamcounties were put into barrels,shipped by train to Montreal andthen taken by ship to the UnitedKingdom.

Today, the association isknown as the East Central OntarioFruit and Vegetable Growers. Thebook can be ordered for $20 bycontacting Essence Publishing at1-800-238-6376 or www.essence-bookstore.com

Four bursaries available Deadline is September 30The Ontario Processing

Vegetable Growers (OPVG) andthe Ontario Fruit and VegetableProcessors Association (OFVPA)are continuing with a bursary fundto support and encourage individ-uals pursuing a career in anyaspect of the processing vegetableindustry. These organizations areworking together to ensure thatthere are new individuals who willhave the interest, skills and abilities to further develop andgrow this sector of Ontario’s agri-food economy.

A $2000 bursary in memory ofJim Whitson may be awarded toan eligible candidate attendingRidgetown College.

New this year will be a $3,000bursary presented to a qualifiedstudent in memory of Ken Epp,former director and Vice-Chair-man of the Ontario ProcessingVegetable Growers. Applicantsmust be a resident of Ontario andregistered as a full-time student atany college or university enteringthe second, third, fourth or post-graduate year of study whichrelates to some aspect of the processing vegetable industry.

For further information regard-ing the bursaries, please contact:John Mumford, Ontario VegetableProcessing Growers at 519-681-1875 or Jane Graham, OntarioFruit and Vegetable ProcessingAssociation at 519-896-5967.

The bursary application formsare available at www.opvg.org oron request from the above offices.Applications must be submitted nolater than September 30 and willbe received by regular mail at 435Consortium Court, London,Ontario N6E 2S8 or by email atopvg.org or fax 519-685-5719.Applications can also be submit-ted online.

Correction:Further to the news item on

page 2 of the August issue, VortexPackaging has worked directlywith Loblaw Companies for twoyears to develop new packagingfor tender fruits to address shrinkand food safety issues. This summer’s launch was based onsuccessful trials in pilot cities.Phil Short, the developer, has 250acres of tender fruit himself, lending grower expertise to theproject.

At press time…

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

Yves Thibault, agr.Central and Eastern

Quebec and Atlantic Provinces

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

Warren PeacockOntario

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

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 3THE GROWER

Continued from page 1This is a line more growers may beforced to walk since visibleminorities are expected to increaseto 63 per cent of the population inToronto and 59 per cent in Van-couver by the year 2031. Moresurprising still is that this trendwill be reflected in smaller urbancentres as well, from Abbotsford,British Columbia at 39 per cent toLondon, Ontario at 22 per cent.

Some local growers alreadyhave personal experience with thiscultural evolution. Take StanJackson, for instance. In the late1970s, he served a large Asianpopulation in Mississauga,Ontario, offering such delicaciesas green pepper leaves to the Fil-ipino population (the leaves areused like spinach). Catering tothis market led Jackson to seedcompanies in San Francisco thatspecialized in meeting the produceneeds of local ethnic communities.Edible gourds, bitter melons, egg-plants all became part of Jackson’sstock and trade with an accompa-nying learning curve on produc-tion practices. He learned to buildtrellises, for example.

“I got quite a taste of oddballproduce,” says Jackson, citing histime-intensive experiment withokra. “They are very time-con-suming to harvest every other dayto deliver to the one-and-a-halfinch requirement.”

Part of Jackson’s deepeningreservoir of knowledge came fromhis own Mexican workers whowork on his 12 acres near Ancaster, Ontario. One of the mostcommon errors is to assume that

each country has a homogeneouscuisine, he says. If you think thatyou’ll specialize in the Mexicanmarket, think again. Mexico has31 states and each has its ownvariation on ingredients and techniques.

“Each one of my workers hasgiven me different clues depend-ing on their native region,” saysJackson. Serrano peppers orjalapeno peppers may curry favourwith some Mexicans whilepoblanos are very much in season

with others.Over the years, Jackson has

found that the so-called tropicalplants thrive in southern Ontario.“These crops are accustomed tohigh disease pressure, so it’s actually easier to grow them herein some ways,” he says. “Genetically, they are stronger.”Downy mildew, which may afflictCanadian cucumbers, is not aproblem in some ethnic varieties.(See page 30 for more on production practices.)

Before you plant an acre ofokra, consider Jackson’s advice:• quiz your ethnic customer baseon what they want and understandwhat regional cuisine their tastesare based on. • research seed companies thatsupply tested seed. Baker CreekHeirloom Seeds based in Mans-field, Missouri; Johnny’s SelectedSeed and Stokes are good bets. • figure out how to direct market toan independent, small to mid-sizedLatin specialty store or Chinese

grocer• be prepared that certain ethniccommunities may not want to dealwith you and that they may buytheir own farm acreage to supplytheir needs• start small• offer samples of these new foodsto Caucasians looking to expandtheir diets• keep current with the food chainfrom customers to plant breeders.

The promise and the peril

Okra - Abelmoschus esculentus,lady finger is primarily used insoups, stir fries and salads.

Presented by Davis Yung, Fresh Produce Inc., at Canadian Produce Marketing Association. May 2010. Source: Statistics Canada.

To date, ethnic markets havebeen viewed by many growers tobe closed communities and verylittle seems to be changing.Spencer Chan has been growingChinese broccoli, snow peas, babybok choy and yu choy for 20 yearsin the Holland Marsh, north ofToronto. Starting with 10 acres, hehas gradually amassed 21 acres of

his own and leases another 75acres locally to supply his inde-pendent Asian grocers in Toronto.

Chinese farmers in the Marshhave immigrated over the yearsfrom China, each bringing a keensense of how to coax the mostfrom the rich muck soils for their produce. Ethnic or conventional,Marsh growers like Richard Wong

are no strangers to handpicked andhand-packed produce, frequentlyhiring labour from their own ethnic communities.

“Prices for ethnic produce havegone down over the last four orfive years,” says Chan, “becauseof more local growers not cheaperimports. Retailers have morechoice now and even though my

customers like my quality, theresult is the same, lower prices forall of us.”

Retail demand for ethnic produce is growing because ofimmigration but, he points out,produce is also now available attraditional retailers that have nevershown much interest in catering toethnic markets. Although numbers

alone have moved mainstreamgrocers to start offering ethnic produce, more often than not it’simported, not local.

Herein lies the peril. The sameissues face growers in this nichemarket as with conventional produce. Down to the dollar, ethnic produce competes withglobal markets.

Ethnic produce, global markets

Callaloo - Amaranth Tricolor,Bayam, kulitis, Chinese spinach isa leafy vegetable used in soups oreaten steamed.

Fuzzy Melon - Benincasa hispidavar. Chien gu, also called fuzzygourd or hairy gourd is used insoups and stir fries. It can also befilled and steamed.

Eggplant - Solanum melonge-na var.esculentum, aubergine,baingan, brinjal can be grilled,fried and baked.

Yard Long Bean - Vignasesquipedalis, Chinese long beanor snake bean. The tender podsare eaten both fresh and cooked.

By Karen DavidsonWithin sight of Lake Ontario

and within a few miles of appleorchards, the Canadian Horticul-tural Council held its summermeeting in Oshawa. Some of thosehighlights are reported here or aspart of the New Equipment andTechnology section in this issue(see page 15). For more details,contact Joe Sardinha, Chair,Apple Working Group and President, BC Fruit Growers’Association.

For Fred Archibald, the math issimple. 100 bins of apples equals5,000 cases of apple wine. Thetransformation equals profit.

Back in the early ‘80s, the equa-tion wasn’t evident. Hailstorms fortwo consecutive years quicklychanged the fledgling wholesaleapple operation into a pick-your-own venture. Not unlike makinglemonade from lemons, he startedto press cider from hail-pittedapples. Today, Archibald’s EstateWinery near Bowmanville,Ontario makes more money fromcider and apple wines than applesthemselves.

“Wine is not perishable likefresh fruit,” says Archibald, whohosted the annual Canadian Horticultural Council AppleWorking Group tour in earlyAugust. “Everything we do drives

traffic to the winery.”The surprise tactic is a nine-

hole, four-acre golf course, smackdab in the middle of the orchard.Due to the family-friendly rates,customers are lured back time andagain for a round while kids golffor free. A ladies’ league priced at$240 for 20 weeks is an especiallyclever hook. Everyone checks inat the bakery/winery and usuallychecks out with apple pies, fruitwine and apple-themed gifts.

Getting planning approvals forthe golf course took determination

and some savvy to amend municipal bylaws and DurhamRegion’s official plan. “It was thesame procedure as if I was constructing a 40-story building,”says Archibald. As an urban planner in an earlier life, he had askill set that was handy for movingthe process along.

Since he installed the golfcourse six years ago, the plan haspaid off with repeat visitors andcorporate tournaments. What better way to kick off the springseason than a wine and food

festival the last Saturday of May tocoincide with apple blossoms.

After a busy summer catering tothe Cider House Golf Course, Fredand Sandy Archibald kick intogear for the pick-your-own appleoperation. Although they runschool tours for kindergarten tograde-three school children,Archibald is careful about beingauthentic in his approach. Heexperimented with a petting zoobut quickly realized that livestockhad never been part of his resume,so he discontinued the attraction.“We’re not a Disneyworld farm,”he concludes.

The Archibald’s Estate Wineryhas its busiest season in Decem-ber. As one of only 15 fruit wineries in Ontario, he has experi-mented with apple-cranberry andapple-sweet cherry combinations,linking with Ontario growers forthe fruit inputs. If he adds a newwine to the list, he deletes one,keeping the line-up of 15 offeringsfresh and in tune with flavourtrends.

A surprising addition to the drylist is a black cherry and currantfruit wine, a counterpoint to theperception that all fruit wines aresweet. According to his website,www.archibaldswinery.com, he isalso experimenting with a HoneyCrisp wine. His best seller is a

hard cider containing tart McIn-tosh and Ida Red apples. With 6.2per cent alcohol, this cider ispriced at $10.95 for a 750 ml bottle. His caveat is simple:always use Ontario-grown fruit.

With a heritage from Vinelandin the Niagara peninsula, FredArchibald has mixed productionknowledge with marketing acumen for a smooth-tastingresult.

PAGE 4 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

THE GROWER

CANADIAN APPLE INDUSTRY MEETINGOrchardist proves fruit wines as profit centre

• 4,000 people from 41 states and 10 Canadian provinces attended in 2009

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

• Large trade show – last year’s show had 394 exhibitors covering four acres of exhibit space

• 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

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

• Three days of education sessions and workshops for greenhouse growers

• Many greenhouse vendors in the trade show

•  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, Michiganwww.glexpo.com

Visit GLEXPO.com 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.

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Charles Stevens, (R) Wilmot Orchards, talks about pest managementissues with the Apple Working Group on a tour of his farm near Newcastle, ON.

Fred Archibald shares hisorchard marketing practices withthe Apple Working Group on atour of his Archibald’s EstateWinery, Bowmanville, ON

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 5

“We live in a global village,”says Farid Makki. “We are notinsulated from China which isramping up apple production.”

That’s the message that Makkidelivered to the Canadian Horti-cultural Council’s Apple WorkingCommittee in early August. He’sAgriculture and Agri-Food Cana-da’s point person for the fruitindustry as Senior Market Devel-opment Advisor based in Vancou-ver. As his chart shows (right),about 43 per cent of the world’sapples are now grown in the Mid-dle Kingdom.

Planted area is stabilizing, saysMakki, but yields and productivityare increasing. That said, produc-tion costs are rising throughout theChinese system.

Closer to home, the U.S isfocusing on sustainability for thefuture. The program of the U.S.Apple Outlook Conference,August 19 and 20, proved thismantra with a panel devoted toApples 2020. Already, Washing-ton state’s apple growers and ship-pers have released estimates of arecord fresh apple crop of 108.8million cartons for the 2010-11year, about five million more thanlast season. British Columbia’sapple growers live next door andwill feel the full effects first.“This level of overproduction isexpected to undercut prices inCanada,” says Joe Sardinha, Presi-dent, BC Fruit Growers’ Associa-tion.

With these global factors inplay, there is no protection for pro-ducers other than innovation inevery aspect of the chain. Makkisays it’s more important than everto be aware of what’s happeningaround the world and to adopt bestpractices and adapt. Italy, forexample, is reorganizing with newtechnology and marketing toolssuch as club programs, protectedgeographic indicators, new applevarieties and brands.

Other European countries arenot faring so well. France contin-ues to see a decline in plantedacreage with a decrease in thenumber of producers and volumeof exports. Poland can be consis-tently counted on for low-priceapples and, to date, an inability tomodernize its production and mar-keting system. To the east, Russianeeds capital to modernize itsapple industry with productionfluctuating year to year.

Size has nothing to do with suc-cess. Chile is an example worthwatching. It’s a relatively smallcountry in South America that hasexpanded fruit production general-ly and is now expanding appleacreage specifically. Its template,built on grapes, is now takingadvantage of its investments in thelatest technology to meet stringentexport standards.

Makki says B.C. trade missionsto Chile have come home“wowed” by the vision and strate-gy of the apple industry there.Interestingly enough, Canada iscurrently negotiating a free tradeagreement with Chile – an agree-ment that can only hasten trade in

fruits. Canada’s sliver of the apple pie,

so to speak, is challenged by low-cost producing countries such asChile. Appreciation of the Cana-dian dollar has not helped in thiscompetitive marketplace. Domes-tically, Canadian consumption ofapples is stagnating or decliningwith heavy pressure from otherexotic fruits. Greater retailer con-solidation and expectations weighheavily on the industry as growersbear the burden of increasing pro-duction costs.

Given this environment, Makkipoints out opportunities toincrease orchard productivity withhigh-density plantings producingconsumer-desirable varieties.Marketing efforts need to strength-en consumer appeal of apples byemphasizing health and fun bene-fits, as well as the “buy-local”

experience. Makki earmarks new export

market opportunities in Russia,Middle East and India – all verydifferent cultures and economies.By selecting the markets with thelowest risk/highest reward poten-tial, he feels that sales can bemade. Building a brand or trade-mark around Canadian products isa wise investment. To think big,think about marketing alliancesand partnerships with those whoalready have local knowledge.

Looking outside the apple fra-ternity to other Canadian successstories, one would think of prairiepulses. These edible seeds –lentils, chickpeas and kidneybeans - don’t have much profile ondomestic menus, but Canada isnumber one in the world in globalexports. Guess what country is thebiggest buyer? India.

As the apple world turns, Canada guards its sliver of the pie2008 World Production:

69.6 Million Metric Tonnes

Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations(FAOSTAT)

THE GROWER

PAGE 6 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

SPECIES AT RISKFarm Incentive Program

A new cost-share program linked to the Environmental Farm Plan is

in place for farmers who take action on selected environmental BestManagement Practices that play a key role in contributing to a healthyand diverse environment as well as helping sustain productionand profitability on the farm.

Financial support for Best Management Practices including:

• Upland and Riparian Area Habitat Management• Erosion Control Structures in Riparian Areas• Shelterbelt and Native Vegetation Establishment• Resource Planning

MNRPHOTO

OSCIAPHOTO

K. SCHMIDT

New Environmental Cost-Share Funding Opportunity for Farmers

For details contact:

Your local OSCIA Program Representative

or 1-800-265-9751 or visit www.ontariosoilcrop.org

Old greenhouse technique used for new lettuce crops By Karen Davidson

Canada’s greenhouse industryemploys a raft of environment-controlled, energy-efficient tech-nology to grow tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. BritishColumbia’s Scott Pelton of FableFarms takes the sophisticated science a step further with threeacres of lettuce using nutrient filmtechnique (NFT).

The computer-controlled system regulates a shallow streamof water containing dissolvednutrients past the bare roots of thegrowing plants at just the rightflow rate and depth in a watertightchannel. The nutrient-rich film ofwater speeds plant growth whilethe thick root mat’s upper surfaceis exposed to oxygen. All theplant’s needs are uniquely balanced for optimal growth. Toboost production, operators mustchoose the proper channel slope,flow rate and channel length tosuit their crop.

While NFT is not new, Peltonhas modified the system for differ-ent varietal types of lettuce. Twoacres of his Pitt Meadows, B.C.greenhouse are devoted to butterlettuce alone. Using seeds sourcedfrom Holland, he plants 40,000 to50,000 seeds per week in a peatmoss substrate before movingthem to the water channels. Producing 52 weeks a year, he utilizes supplementary high-pres-

sure sodium lights during shortdays and dark weather to compen-sate for the often overcast skies ofthe “Wet Coast.”

The NFT system has worked sowell that Pelton is now experi-menting with Swiss chard andsalanova, new, multileaved lettucetypes that are available in differentleaf shapes and colours. The headsseparate easily into bite-sizedleaves ideal for salads and sandwiches. The convenience

factor makes it attractive for families looking to cut down onpreparation time.

In the winter months, his lettuce production can earn up toone dollar per head, falling back to50 to 60 cents per head in the summer. The Oppenheimer Groupmanages sales to retail and foodservice customers in BritishColumbia, Alberta and Washing-ton state.

“The beauty of this lettuce is

that we trim the roots and nowashing is required,” says Pelton.“The product goes straight to retailin a recyclable clamshell or plasticbag. We don’t require the producehandlers touching it because it’sprotected, and has increased shelf-life due to the fact it is stillalive with the root on.”

Hydroponically grown lettuceappears, at the outset, to be a no-brainer for food safety reasons.However, the recyclable clamshell

costs 25 cents alone, an expensethat must be passed along as costof business. Retail markup resultsin a further price increase of 50cents on the packaging, says Pelton. With delicate butter let-tuce, margins are tight competingagainst California bagged lettuce.

“We’re now looking at verticalflow packs,” says Pelton. The$100,000 machine can producepillow bags which would be idealto protect the cooled lettuce,while reducing the level of packaging. The investment, stillin the research phase, would alsohelp to mechanize the labour-intensive operation.

“At this time, we can growmore than we can sell,” says Pelton. New technology is help-ing to produce healthy and safefood, but now the challenge is topackage and market it.Scott Pelton shows some of the butter lettuce grown at Fable Farms, Pitt Meadows, B.C. Canadian green-

house lettuce production is valued at $22 million per year.

Salanova

Following are highlights fromthe OFVGA board meeting heldJuly 15, 2010. The purpose of thisbrief is to keep you up to date onthe issues that the OFVGA isworking on, as well as projectsand initiatives the organization isinvolved in.

And be sure to check outOFVGA’s new website atwww.ofvga.org and sign up toreceive news updates to yourinbox as soon as they are posted!

Crop Protection

Grower Requested Own Use(GROU) – The GROU committeemet with PMRA to provide feed-back on how the program is work-ing. The program was establishedto replace the old Own Use Import(OUI) program as a way of equal-izing price discrepancies on cropprotection products being soldboth in Canada and the UnitedStates. It allows farmers to applyfor a special permit to bring aproduct into Canada from the U.S.for their own use as long as theproduct sold across the border isidentical to the one being sold inCanada.

For growers, the GROU suc-cess story this year is PURSUIT -almost 500 GROU import permitswere issued to farmers in westernCanada this year, resulting in thecost of the product dropping from$930/jug to $580/jug. Currently,17 products are on the approvedGROU importation list. OFVGAMinor Use Specialist Craig Hunterreported that new horticultureproducts were added to theapproved list this year based onsubmissions made by OFVGA.See the complete list of approvedproducts here: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/agri-com-merce/import/_grou-piapda/index-eng.php.

New minor use registration – Aminor use registration for Quintechas been approved in Ontario.Quintec is a powdery mildewproduct that is the first Group 13fungicide approved in Ontario.This means growers can rotate this

product with any other mildewproduct to keep resistance fromdeveloping. It has been approvedfor use in cucurbits, stone fruit andsmall fruits.

Ontario Pesticide Advisory Com-mittee (OPAC) – Long-timeOPAC chair Clay Switzer is step-ping down. A new chair will beappointed by the provincial gov-ernment. OPAC’s mandate is toadvise the Minister of the Environ-ment on matters relating to pesti-cides and pest control and providerecommendations on pesticideclassifications.

Product registration data require-ment changes – Pest Management Regulatory Agency(PMRA) and CropLife Canadahave been working on changes tosimplify the data manufacturersare required to submit to PMRAfor a product to become registered.The required data will be moresubjective and include value of theuse of product in addition to justefficacy data. It will be a simplerdocument that can include datafrom other jurisdictions or fromother uses the product is alreadyapproved for. To date, manufac-turers have been required to conduct their own field trials inCanada to generate data. OFVGAhas been pushing for this changesince 2001.

Proposed changes to data protec-tion rules – New rules governingdata protection for pesticides cameinto effect on June 23. They pro-vide manufacturers 10 years ofexclusive data protection and thepossibility for an additional fiveyears if they add up to 15 minoruses to their product registrations.

Safety Nets

AgriInvest - Safety Nets sectionchair Mark Wales reported that2009 AgriInvest forms have notgone out yet. (See update on page2) Banks are offering accounts forfarmers for AgriInvest accounts.Forms will have a PIN numberthat you will need to go to the

bank to open your account.OMAFRA numbers show lessthan 60 per cent of Ontario farm-ers have taken advantage of the2008 AgriInvest program.

Enhanced AgriInvest – TheOntario Agricultural CommodityCouncil (OACC) technical com-mittee met to discuss what anenhanced AgriInvest programcould look like so that staff fromOntario Ministry of Agriculture,Food and Rural Affairs(OMAFRA) could prepare somecost estimates. The committeeagreed on a definition of allowablenet sales, picked four allowablematching contribution levels ofthree, four, five and six percentand cap levels of 1.5 million, 3million and no caps. Based onthese parameters, OMAFRA ispreparing a report that will goback to OACC and commodityorganizations.

Federal Provincial Territorial(FPT) ministers’ meeting – Thenews release of the most recentFPT meeting of agriculture ministers recognized that currentprograms are not working, whichopens the door for work to develop alternative programming.In conjunction with the FPT, thefederal government announced$450 million in funding for flood-ravaged prairie farmers throughthe AgriRecovery program.Affected farmers will receive$30/acre on top of what they couldqualify for through other programssuch as crop insurance. At lastreport, 12 million acres of land areunplanted in Saskatchewan thisyear, with 750,000 acres unplantedin Manitoba.

Labour New government legislation

requires all workplaces in Ontarioto have a policy on violence andharassment in place. The policymust be clearly posted andexplained to all employees. Thislegislation applies to farm employers as well. The Farm Safe-ty Association has information onthe legislation and how to imple-ment it on-farm available on itswebsite: www.farmsafety.ca/pages/work_voilence.html.

Chair’s ReportOFVGA Chair Brian Gilroy

attended numerous events thisspring on behalf of OFVGA,including a fundraiser for provincial agriculture ministerCarol Mitchell in Toronto on May31. He was present at Queen’sPark on June 3 when ConservativeMPP Jim Wilson presented a reso-lution calling for the governmentto support Ontario farmers byimplementing a business risk management program, and alsoattended a political networkingevent at Blue Mountain markingWilson’s 20th anniversary as anMPP. Brian continues to beinvolved in discussions aimed atcontinuing the northern school

fruit and vegetable snack programin Ontario, as well as efforts todevelop a national snack program.

Tornado damage updateStacey Cahill from Agricorp

reported that Agricorp had its customer service program up andrunning within days of the tornadostriking the Leamington area thisspring. This is based on learningsfrom the tornado that struck theMeaford area last year. Agricorphas been tracking losses and damage as a result of the tornado,with the majority concentrated ongreenhouse and tree fruit produc-ers. Although it’s still too early toput a dollar figure on the damage,Cahill says 30 greenhouse growersand six tree fruit growers arereporting losses. OMAFRA is collecting information on allinsured and uninsured losses – anyproducers with damage are askedto contact Agricorp with details.

OFVGA summer BBQ The OFVGA summer BBQ

will take place in the Leamingtonarea on August 18th. The day willinclude tours of various farmingoperations in the area.

Next board meeting date:Thursday, August 19, 2010.

Board briefsTHE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 7

AgriInvestDon’t miss out on 2009 AgriInvest benefits

The AgriInvest program helps you manage small income declines on your farm. Each year, you can make a deposit into an AgriInvest account, and receive a matching contribution from federal, provincial and territorial governments. You can then withdraw the funds when you need them the most.

To participate in AgriInvest for 2009 you must:

submit your 2009 AgriInvest form;open an AgriInvest account at a participating financial institution of your choice; andmake your deposit by the deadline shown on your AgriInvest Deposit Notice.

Application deadline for 2009 is September 30, 2010.Please note: If you miss the deadline, you can still submit the form until December 31, 2010. However, the amount used to calculate your maximum deposit will be reduced by 5% for each month (or each part of the month) that your application was submitted late.

For more information, call 1-866-367-8506 or visit www.agr.gc.ca/agriinvest.

THE GROWER

PAGE 8 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

There were two notable resultsthat came out of the AgricultureMinisters’ Federal Provincial Territorial meetings held in July.The first was the $450 millionAgri-recovery program for prairiecrop producers and the other wasthe acknowledgement that the current suite of Business Risk

Management programming is notworking. This acknowledgementmay not sound like much but itwas only a few short months agothat the Federal Minister of Agriculture said 80 per cent ofCanadian farmers were happy withthe programs. To be fair these programs have paid out a lot ofmoney over the years but there area few questions. Is the moneygoing to where it is needed? Howcan these programs better protectfarmers from circumstances outside their own control?

I think most would agree thatthe majority of farmers in thiscountry are not bad managers.They simply cannot control theuncontrollable.

We have a system that penal-izes farmers who are caught inlong-term declines in commodityprices and profitability. Ten yearsago when the Agricultural Policy

Framework was created there wasa deliberate decision not to supportpoor farm management. There wasnothing put in place however toprotect the farmer when there werelong-term sector problems.

While I agree with the ratio-nale behind not wanting to supportpoor farm management I cannotagree with the apparent policy ofnot supporting farmers caught insectors experiencing long-termdeclines.

Occasionally I hear someoneask why should government support sectors that find them-selves in long-term declining situations? Maybe we should justabandon those sectors. After alljust look at the manufacturing sector and how that has been downsized.

What we are talking abouthowever is food production, foodsovereignty, food safety and our

heritage and I believe that is worthprotecting. In fact I believe government has an obligation toprotect it through appropriate program design; and to date thatdesign has proved to be most elusive.

Is it possible to develop a pro-gram that puts dollars where theyneed to go? To differentiatebetween poor farm managementand long-term sector challenges?A program that fits the goals andobjectives for a better Canada?

I believe it is possible but to getthere we need to establish whatthose goals are. It’s impossible todevelop a suitable program if youdon’t know what those goals are.

We have seen a shift in policyfrom risk management programstoward innovation. That approachis going to take time. Until we getthere, we will need to have innov-ative safety net programming that

works to protect farmers from sec-tor specific issues, flexible enoughin design to adapt to the diverseneeds of Canadian agriculture.

Hats off to Ontario Ag MinisterMitchell and others who have rec-ognized the need but it will alsotake the federal government toembrace and accept their role inbringing these much neededchanges about. Unfortunately, atleast to date, there has been nowillingness on their part to do so.

Canadian agriculture is morethan just food production. It’sabout food security, food safety.Farmers create thousands of jobs,support local economies and amyriad of spin-off jobs while providing the basis for otherindustries to function and thrive . .. And that is why we need to protect it!

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

Art SmithCEO, OFVGA

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

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

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

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

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

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ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ASSOCIATION 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 Grws’. Mkg. Brd. Lonnie Duwyn, DelhiGGO/Fresh Grape Growers Ray Duc, Niagara-on-the-LakeFresh Vegetable - Muck Jason Verkaik, BradfordON. Potato Board Mac James, LeamingtonSmall Fruit/Berries Norm Charbonneau, Port ElginON. Ginseng Growers’ Doug Bradley, TillsonburgGreenhouse 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, SimcoeAGCare/Nutrient Man. Charles Stevens, Newcastle

More than just food production

The past eight months, I haveobserved the state of farming inOntario. Although Ontario’sfarmers work efficiently and aresome of the most productive any-where, the ability of above aver-age farmers to recover their cost ofproduction from their market

returns, is becoming much moredifficult.

I have learned recently that theOntario Government has the rightto control land, water and air usewithin Ontario. They have beenvery active developing policies toprotect these resources. Our farmland must be preserved andzoning restrictions like the Greenbelt have been implementedwhich effectively prohibits thedivision of our best farmland. Ifsociety is going to demand that ourland needs to remain farmlandthen I feel that society needs to domore to help make farming profitable. In the past few yearsgovernment policy, however wellintentioned, has dramaticallyincreased the production costs ofOntario’s fruit and vegetable farmers. Quality demands areincreasing, food safety and traceability protocols are being

implemented and our ability to doall of these things profitably is lesslikely. I believe that the profitabil-ity problem is much worse thanpredicted. Do the people ofOntario, of Canada want their foodgrown close to home? If they do,they need to be telling their politicians and grocery store operators that more needs to bedone to support our farmers.

Recently the “Buy Local” campaign has been receiving significant government supportand some of the major retailershave made statements like, “Ofcourse we need to be supportingour hard-working farmers.” Weneed to get the message out therethat more needs to be done. Theretail and consumer focus on “RollBack Prices” or “Pay Less – LiveBetter” have made it very challenging for farmers to pass theincreased cost of growing and

harvesting food, on to the retailer.We are a high cost-of-productioncountry and somewhere else cangrow our food a bit cheaper.

The government has dedicateda lot of resources to try and helpOntario’s farmers, but we are sucha diverse group that what worksfor some will not work for all. TheOntario tree fruit sector has beenstudied at great length --every 10to 20 years-- for close to a centurynow. The most recent study waspart of The Orchards and Vineyards Transition Program. AStrategic Plan for the sector hasbeen reviewed collectively bymost of the value chain partnerswhich include farmers, pack-ers/marketers, processors, retail-ers, and government. There arevery concrete action items. I sensean unwillingness to seriously consider ideas or activities thatvary too much from the current

status quo. As an apple farmerwith 23 years of experience theonly thing I know is that no twogrowing years have been the sameand that the status quo is threaten-ing the sustainability of our treefruit industry.

Despite a very challenginggrowing year in 2009 we produceda large crop of high quality fruitthat will return less per pound thanI received back in 1987. In 22years, our cost of production doubled with labour rates goingfrom $4.60 to $9.50 an hour.

I have used apples in many ofthe examples because they reflectmy reality. The situation is verysimilar with a lot of other fruit andvegetable farmers. If we are serious about maintaining somedegree of food sovereignty actionmust be taken soon.

‘Pay less- live better’ is not a national food strategy

Brian GilroyChair, OFVGA

Tis the season for garlic festivals!As I write this, I am one day

away from the Newmarket Garlicis Great Festival, and just homefrom attending the Perth LionsGarlic Festival last weekend. Wewill now look forward to the Stratford Kiwanis Garlic Festivalon Saturday September 11.

Garlic Festivals are a great wayto meet some of the best customerswe have. People love to see all thedifferent varieties as well as all thedifferent ways to prepare and storeour crop. Also since some festivalstwin with a local farmers’ market,customers can buy produce tocook with garlic: fresh tomatoes,

eggplant, herbs and spices. Every-one can sample different ways ofpreparing garlic and make theironce-a-year purchases and contactsfor future requirements. Garlic is agreat draw if you are thinking ofgetting a festival started in yourarea and, once established, canbring in thousands of customers.

The 2010 crop is now all har-vested, dried and is all too quicklyselling out. Some growers arealready planting the 2011 crop inthe north and those of us furthersouth are thinking of cracking seedfor planting early in October. Thisyear the crop was reasonable with

some variation depending on localrainfall and growing conditions.The demand for the crop can bestbe described as simply over-whelming! The demand for localfresh garlic has probably neverbeen this great. The demand forgarlic for seed for 2011 is evengreater. Consumers, after years ofbeing served up only crap fromChina, are demanding locallygrown garlic.

Every week new requests for garlic seed come from as far awayas Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

With the current demand for

seed, your association will belooking at production from bulbuils as a way for growers tomake extra seed available in thelong run, while also dealing withissues around bulb and stem nematodes. We will have a smallamount of “clean seed” availableto plant from our research projectat New Liskeard. We will beworking with researchers atRidgetown to get advice for planting and raising garlic frombulbuils and will get this posted onour website at www.garlicgrow-ers.on.ca as quickly as possible.

Mark WalesGarlic Growers’ Association

of Ontario

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 9

The August issue of The Growercontained an article entitled “Thevalue equation,” which offered avery one-sided perspective on theOntario Greenhouse VegetableGrower’s (OGVG) request to the Honourable Carol Mitchell, Minister of Agriculture, Food &Rural Affairs for changes to thecontainer tolls to reduce the excessive and inordinate shareborne by greenhouse growers.

The OGVG’s request for a tollreduction was certainly not intend-ed to suggest that greenhousegrowers see little or no value inOntario Fruit and VegetableGrowers’ Association (OFVGA)membership, as inferred in thearticle. In fact, as the OFVGABoard and CEO are well aware,greenhouse growers see great benefit from some OFVGA

activities on issues common toboth field and greenhouse produc-tion, such as those relating tolabour and pesticides. However,greenhouse growers also facemany challenges not common infield horticulture that, for varyingreasons, have little or no priorityon the OFVGA agenda. As aresult, in growers’ minds, the benefits of OFVGA membershipsimply do not justify 227 growerspaying 45 per cent of the container tolls used to fund theOFVGA.

It is important that all OFVGAgrowers understand that thisrequest was made only after extensive efforts to secureimprovements to the OFVGA’saccountability and governancestructures. These efforts includedone-on-one discussions, motions

at the OFVGA Annual GeneralMeeting, and independently facilitated discussions before representatives of the Farm Products Marketing Commissonand OMAFRA. As the OFVGA’sBoard and CEO know, theseefforts have yielded no meaningfulor substantive changes to theOFVGA’s governance andaccountability mechanisms. Allefforts for achieving progressthrough direct discussions with theOFVGA Board have failed.

It is critical to understand thatthe OGVG Board has been pursuing these changes at therequest of, and with the full support of, our membership.OGVG growers have asked theirBoard repeatedly to attempt tomake the OFVGA more aware ofand responsive to greenhouse

issues. The OFVGA CEO was inthe room at the OGVG AnnualGeneral Meeting in October 2008when our growers’ frustration withthe lack of progress led to the successful resolution seeking tosever the OGVG’s ties with theOFVGA. Our growers ask theirBoard about our success in securing change at every opportu-nity. This is often the first issueraised at our regular grower meetings and committee personmeetings.

Finally, it is important that allgrowers understand that a market-ing board’s accountability to themembership for the fees it collectsis very real and direct; theOFVGA has no direct accountabil-ity to growers for the containertolls they collect. Growers who areunhappy with their marketing

board’s fee structure or spendingdecision have regular democraticopportunities to change those policies by voting in other directors who support their views.There is absolutely no such linkbetween the container tolls growers pay and their membershipin the OFVGA; a grower whochooses to end their membershipin the OFVGA will still berequired by provincial statute topay the tolls, and has no power tochange the rates regardless ofwhether they are satisfied with theOFVGA Board’s performance orresults.Sincerely,Len Roozen, ChairOntario Greenhouse VegetableGrowers

Greenhouse Growers respond

September 4 Bittersweet Farm Big Brothers, Big Sisters Family Fund Day, Straffordville, ON, 10 am-6

September 9, 10 Shores of Erie International Wine Festival, Amherstburg, ON

September 14 – 16 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock, ON

September 15 Ontario Produce Marketing Association 2010 Produce Industry Golf Tournament, Nobleton Lakes Golf Club, Nobleton, ON

September 15 Grape Growers of Ontario Scotiabank/Scotia McLeod Celebrity Luncheon, Roma Club, St. Catharines, ON

September 17 – 19 Packaging Summit 2010, Queen’s Landing, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

September 18 Stratford Garlic Festival, Stratford Fairgrounds, ON

September 21 – 25 International Plowing Match, St. Thomas, ON

October 2 Apple Day Open House, Simcoe Research Station, Simcoe, ON 1 – 4 pm

October 13 Women in Agri-Business Symposium, Spring-field Golf and Country Club, Guelph, ON

October 15 – 18 PMA Fresh Summit, Orlando, Florida

October 16 Holland Marsh Soupfest, Springdale Christian Reformed Church, Bradford, ON

October 21 Ontario Harvest Gala, Delta Guelph Ballroom, Guelph, ON 6:30 pm www.ofac.org

November 5 – 14 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, ON

November 12 Ontario Produce Marketing Association Annual Gala Event, Liberty Grand, Toronto, ON

November 12, 13 Saskatchewan Green Trades Conference, Saskatoon Inn, Saskatoon, SK

COMING EVENTS 2010

THE GROWER

PAGE 10 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

I’m a big fan of local food andits potential impact on fruit andvegetable growers, especiallythose who sell at farmers’ marketsor roadside stands, or even grocerystores who support their area farm-ers and pay them accordingly.

I believe the local food movement is having a positiveeffect on food awareness overall,and prompting some people totake a new interest in agriculture.They’re not getting the whole picture if they think local food isall they need to know about

farming. But it’s a great entrypoint, because it’s attainable andunderstandable.

More farmers are offering toursof their grounds and facilitieswhere possible, to bridge the gapbetween city and country. That’sfighting the good fight. Theseefforts speak of the need for on-going public relations training,knowing how to control an agen-da, whatever it might be, andanswer tough questions construc-tively.

Consumers need to be remind-ed, though, that local food is not apanacea for good health.

I’ve seen surveys that suggestpeople think local food is betterfor them than the alternative. Andthat may be true, as the foodmakes its way up to the farm gate.But after that, a lot depends on theconsumers themselves. They, orprocessors, can turn local foodinto a dietary disaster as easily asfood from anywhere.

My perspective is influencedgreatly by a recent trip throughMemphis. The city sports a fascinating mix of culture, agricul-ture and food, all tied closely

together by the poor sharecropperswho moved into the city andbrought with them their music –which would become known asthe delta blues -- and their menus.

Some found a better way oflife. But prosperity eluded manyof those who arrived in the city,creating a legacy that Memphiscan’t shake. Today, it’s one of thepoorest cities in the U.S., withnearly one-quarter of the residentsliving below the poverty line.That’s about twice the U.S. nation-al average.

It’s also one of the most seden-tary of America’s largest metro-politan areas, as well as one of themost obese. Southern-hospitalitystyle food consumption is part of

the culture, at homes and in restaurants. So much of it is fried -- chicken, fish, steak, oysters, youname it.

And let’s not forget othernotable indulgences, such asElvis’s peanut butter and bananasandwiches, which in bulk featurea half-stick of butter. Gracelandsells fridge magnets with therecipe.

To people from Memphis,that’s local food in the traditionalsense.

In Canada, we have our ownmisguided cultural food icons(poutine quickly comes to mind).But we also have an incrediblefoundation for healthy food,should we make that choice,

thanks to farmers’ efforts. They dotheir job with aplomb, makingsure we have all we need, at aprice we’re willing to pay.

It’s up to us to determine whathappens to food after it leaves thefarm. For example, health authorities want us to eat less salt.I speak to people all the time whosay they’ve put away the salt shaker in favour of spices. Butthey still feel helpless becausemany processors are slow inreducing salt content.

In fact, it seems that no matterwhere you look, it’s not the on-farm production methods or theraw commodities that make food aproblem -- rather, it’s the process-ing, manufacturing, preparationand consumption. Combine thatwith inactivity, and obesity movesin fast.

As consumers, we can’t keepeating food willy nilly withoutpaying attention to nutrition andexercise. Let’s learn from Memphis. We can only hope tohave its rich culture. But we needto try to avoid the pitfalls thatcome with too much of a goodthing.

Even local food can’t save a deep-fried diet

Owen RobertsUniversity of Guelph

Grower pesticide residues misleading

We’re in the middle of primefruit and vegetable season. Theheat and sun of the summer bringwith them roadside stands, farm-ers’ markets and local food storesbrimming with fresh, Ontario-grown produce. I, for one, assomeone who supports local foodproduction and values Ontario’sfarmers, am in my element as I’mrevelling in the seasonal bounty ofour fields.

But this season also annuallygives new life to the ongoingdebate about whether or not weshould be using crop protection

materials in our food production.Earlier this summer, a U.S. activistgroup released its yearly list offruits and vegetables they say consumers should avoid becausethey contain the highest levels ofpesticide residues.

The list, which included consumer favourites such aspeaches, strawberries, blueberries,apples and cherries, garnered considerable negative media attention and counselled consumers that the only safe alternative was to buy organic.The underlying message was thatfruits and vegetables produced byconventional methods, whichinclude the use of crop protection,are not safe – a message, in myopinion, that is pretty misleadingand certainly doesn’t tell thewhole story.

Now I’m not anti-organic byany means. Part of the beauty ofour country is that we have choice– choice as farmers to grow whatwe want and choice as consumersin what we’re able to buy. But I’malso pretty sure we wouldn’t beable to enjoy the plethora of delicious, nutritious and yes,affordable produce if farmers,

both conventional and organic,weren’t able to use a variety ofmethods to protect their cropsagainst pests and diseases.

What’s important is that weneed to keep everything in perspective, including how weassess and portray risk. And thatcan be difficult in our currentenvironment. The media love asensational headline that canevoke a reaction from its audience– and our fast-paced 24-hour newscycle can make it impossible totake the time to properly investi-gate or analyse what research findings and scientific test resultsactually mean. Residue testing is one such example. Twenty years ago, wetested things such as water andfood for trace residues of contami-nants and measured those traces inparts per million. Today, our testing equipment has become sosophisticated that we’re measuringin parts per billion and even partsper trillion. This means we’re pret-ty much guaranteed to find some-thing – but that’s when we need tostep back and evaluate what thatfinding actually means.

A recently released review of

the above-mentioned list by a U.S.panel of experts concluded that,yes, residue levels were found onthose fruits and vegetables. Butthose residue levels were belowthe accepted, legal minimums setby government. The fact thatwe’re finding them at all is due toour ability to detect ever-smallerproduct traces and not because thelevels are unacceptably high. Theexperts also concluded that there’slittle evidence to suggest thatthere’s a significant difference inthe nutritional quality of organicfoods over those grown using conventional methods.

Here at home, farmers inOntario alone have reduced theiruse of crop protection products bymore than 50 per cent in the lasttwo decades. And consumersacross the country are generallyconfident in our home-grown foodsupply and think farmers are doinga pretty good job at growing ourfood responsibly. In fact, a Canadian national study on con-sumer attitudes towards farmingand food production conducted byIpsos Reid last year showed thatnine in 10 Canadians feel theirfood is safe.

When you have the chance, talkto your customers – wherever youmight encounter them – about howyou grow your produce. You aretheir most direct connection totheir food and as a farmer, youhave the credibility that comesfrom firsthand experience aboutwhat you do on your farm andwhy. The way I see it, someonewho works with crops every dayand eats the foods that they growhas much more authority on thisissue than a one-sided list thatdoesn’t tell the whole story.

AGCare, Agricultural GroupsConcerned About Resources andthe Environment, is a coalition offarm organizations committed tocommunicating about agricultureand the environment. AGCare isthe environmental voice ofOntario’s 45,000 crop and øøhor-ticulture farmers.

Save the date! The third annualOntario Harvest Gala will be heldOctober 21st – where an excitingnew charity dedicated to agricul-tural awareness and education willbe launched this year. Visitwww.ofac.org for details.

Lilian SchaerAGCare

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 11

OFVGA SUMMER TOUR AND BBQ

Nobody grows ‘em better than you do?

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is your

chance to go head-to-head with the

very best our country can produce.

Here are this year’s dates for

Entries and for Judging – better

get going, and good luck growing!

P OTATO E STuesday, Nov 2nd, 4:00 pm

V E G E TA B L E SWednesday, Nov 3rd, 10:30 am

A P P L E SThursday, Nov 4th, 1:00 pm

G I A N T V E G E TA B L E SCORN STALK, SUNFLOWER & AMARANTH BY HEIGHT WATERMELON BY WEIGHTGIANT PUMPKIN OR SQUASH CHALLENGE

Wednesday, Nov 3rd, 7:00 pmALL OTHER CLASSES

Saturday, Nov 6th, 11:00 am

Entries Close Monday, Oct 18thFor entry forms, complete program, hotel, tour & ticket information, visit our website.

FRUIT & VEG – it’s Showtime!The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, November 5 -14

www.royalfair.org

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Essex County Associated Growers banded together to produce this “Buy Local” map for a brochure and a website that links consumers to crops in season. Their 60th Annual TradeShow will be held November 23 and 24.

THE GROWERPAGE 12 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

OFVGA SUMMER TOUR AND BBQTomato producers tap into Lake Erie’s fresh water

A water permit and a 24-inch intake pipe built into LakeErie have changed the lives of 13 growers in Essex County.Standing at the pump house in Leamington, WaynePalichuk explained the journey of seven years to pass all theregulatory hurdles, including the Great Lakes Charter. Thissummer, the paperwork is all worth it as the LeamingtonArea Drip Irrigation (LADI) group harvests 2,500 acres ofprocessing tomatoes after a droughty season. The 36-kilo-metre pipeline has 60 “stand-ups” or water outlets as farnorth as 7.5 kilometres from Leamington.

Global Positioning Satellite technology allows the grow-ers to lay down drip tape between the rows to optimizewater penetration. Water rates are charged on a gallon perinch basis. In the second year of operation, the group hasadded two greenhouses to the system, a financially savvymove to amortize some of the costs over 12 months of theyear.

With a long-term goal of keeping competitive with California -- which is quickly running out of water – theforesight of this group to tap into the freshwater of LakeErie has been rewarded by the Premier’s Award of$100,000. It’s not quite the lottery given the cost to thegrowers of $7.5 million. Their winnings have been plowedback into a telemetry system to more accurately measurewater flows and to communicate data to smart phones fortimely valve shut-offs.

Extreme weather in Essex County pressures producers and prices As a fifth-generation farmer, Keith Wright values his

heritage of 280 acres conveniently located in one block nearHarrow, Ontario. He and his wife Susan cultivate everythingfrom apples to asparagus, cabbage, peaches and melons.

At his location, all manner of weather has afflicted theircrops. “First it was frost in May and then the tornado inJune,” says Wright. “Then it was drought in July and badmarkets in August.”

All the crops have been early. Despite plantings a weekapart, all the melons have ripened at once and the distributionchannels are full of not only melons but early peaches andplums. Wright is placing his hopes on his Red Delicious andGala apples.

Other growers are still counting their losses from the tornado. Wright cites a neighbour who lost 100,000 peachseedlings. And greenhouses are still repairing roof damage.

Right: One call changes everything. The melon packing lineramped up to make a delivery from Wrightland Farms to theOntario Food Terminal.

August 16 launched harvest of field tomatoes in the Leamington area. At the farm of Paul Tiessen, and his parents Martin and Suzanne, the mechanical harvester was staffed with a crew to manually discard the odd green tomatoes. About10 days before harvest, the field is sprayed with Ethrel, which is derived from the plant hormone ethylene. This naturally hastens maturity and guarantees an even colour of all the tomatoes. Photos by Herb Sherwood.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 13

OFVGA SUMMER TOUR AND BBQSpecialty tomatoes expand the category

Leamington has deservedly earned its title asTomato Capital of Canada. Not only does Heinz andSunbrite process tomatoes into paste and ketchup, butgreenhouses hydroponically grow several kinds offresh tomatoes. Traditional beefsteak and roma toma-toes still vie for a place in foodservice, while othergourmet tomatoes are capturing upscale restaurantsand gourmet cooks.

At Prism Farms, Vic Tiessen and his sons Ryanand Mike specialize in Campari and Champagnetomatoes. With 7.2 acres under glass and 10.5 acresunder double poly, their operation is devoted totomatoes that can literally be found on the cocktailcircuit from Chicago to Toronto to New York.

In summer months, a crop can go from bloom toharvest in six weeks. Under lower light conditions,the rotation is more like 10 weeks.

One of their challenges is to manage heating costs.

They have built boiler capacity to burn miscanthus, afast-growing bamboo-like grass. To that end, they aregrowing miscanthus plugs to set out in the field withthe hopes of expanding home-grown biomass. With4,000 rhizomes per acre, they expect one or twotonnes of harvest in the first year. In the second year,the biomass should increase to three to six tonnes.By year four, they expect to harvest eight to 12tonnes of biomass. They calculate a need for 6,000tonnes of biomass per year for their heating needs.

With these long-term plans in mind, the Tiessen’shave purchased equipment in partnership with Pyramid Farms to convert miscanthus into cube format for combustion. “We plan to be operational bythe summer of 2011 supplying cubes to the greenhouse market for heating fuel,” says MikeTiessen.

Viewpointe Estate Winery pioneersEssex’s own grape varietal

Standing in the basement wine cellar of Frenchoak barrels, Jean Fancsy readily admits that Viewpointe Estate Winery is slowly building itsinventory of wine. About 12,000 cases per year to beexact since its vault was built in 2006. That comparesto the 200,000 cases of wine that neighbouringwineries might produce a few miles away.

It’s all part of the Lake Erie North Shore and PeleeIsland viticulture region where grape growers mixtheir art with agritourism. That is certainly the casewith the Viewpointe facility that’s been designed for

hospitality functions, wine-tastings and food prepara-tion courses. It’s also the site for a distance learningcourse from Niagara College that links budding vintners.

Under ideal economic conditions, proximity to theU.S. border is supposed to be a plus. However,American traffic was definitely softer in 2009 and isjust starting to tick again. For Americans used to thesweeter grape varietals grown in Michigan, they willfind a unique taste in the vinifera varieties grown andbottled at Viewpointe. A most unusual variety isAuxerrois, more traditionally known in the Alsaceregion of France. Seldom seen in Canada, the Viewpointe Auxerrois at 13 per cent alcohol offers asurprise alternative to its ancestral cousin, Chardonnay.

In addition to Auxerrois, one of Viewpointe’sundertakings is to breed a varietal that’s exclusive toEssex, weather-hardy and resistant to disease. TheFancsy’s pioneering work won the Premier’s awardfor innovation earlier this year.

Jean Fancsy The tour group takes a moment to savour the latest issue of The Grower.

THE GROWER

PAGE 14 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGYIrrigation schedules can be modified with streamflow gauges

Stories by Karen DavidsonThe summer of 2010 is as good

a test as any of the irrigation chal-lenges in a stressed watershed. InOntario, the Innisfil Creek WaterUsers Association hosted an irri-gation tour in mid-summer in 33degrees Celsius. The objectivewas to show how various cropsrespond to heat and moisturestresses during extreme condi-tions. The group was formed justthree years ago when the averagewater flow in Innisfil Creek, esti-mated to be 5,000 gallons-per-minute during the summer, fellprecipitously to 356 gallons-per-minute, leaving many without ade-quate water.

This year, the group discussedbest management practices includ-ing adopting a water managementplan, using flow meters and devel-oping groundwater sources froman aquifer that is not used in thehousehold. The group viewed new

streamflow gauges that have beeninstalled on the Innisfil, Bailey andBeeton creeks by the NottawasagaValley Conservation Authority(NVCA). Growers can nowaccess real-time streamflow data24 hours a day. Access to thisinformation can help with schedul-ing water takings to even outdemand and reduce impacts to theenvironment.

The monitoring platform iscompletely off the grid, using solarpower and broadcasting datadirectly to the Internet says BrianSmith, Water Resources Technol-ogist, NVCA. The pole is made ofthree-inch tubing held in place byfour feet of concrete in a 10-inchsauna tube. The housing is specif-ically fabricated to hold the equip-ment. Sensors are housed in theshelter to calculate depth by mea-suring back pressure from bubblesemitted from a hose in thestreambed.

Around-the-clock monitoring isprovided through a wirelessmodem and web hosting. TheSolar Stream/Datagarrison compa-nies manufacture the modems andstore the data. The modems useRogers-based GSM technologywhich is transferred at reasonablecost. Limited data download isavailable to all stakeholders. “Wehave found the companyapproachable for requests andtroubleshooting and the website tobe fast and reliable,” says Smith.

The amount of flow within thestream is determined by measuringthe level of the water and compar-ing it to a corresponding table ofmeasured flows at various levels.Modern technology --bubbler/pressure transducer/datalogger – measures the backpres-sure of bubbles from an orificeline to calculate the depth.

The irrigation tour broughtmany growers and governmentofficials together to better under-stand the permit-to-take waterprocess. Any grower or businesswanting to take more than 50,000litres of water per day must have apermit from the Ontario Ministryof the Environment.

The Innisfil Creek area is well-known for its crop production ofpotato, sod, carrots and onionswhich the 2006 census valued atabout $10 million.

Application Deadline - October 31, 2010

If you’re about to build a new livestock building, you owe it to yourself to check out the High Performance New Construction (HPNC) Program. It’s likely you could reap substantial benefits. Visit hpnc.ca to find out how you can make your project qualify. Download the agribusiness worksheet to instantly see your potential incentive amount. Not only is it easier than you think—it can make your new livestock building healthier and more profitable for years to come.

Contact us today. The rewards could be green – in more

ways than one. For more information call 1-888-OPA-HPNC

or visit www.hpnc.ca. Applications available online.

Are you planning to build

a new livestock building?

Then contact us right away.Don’t miss the boat.

The HPNC program is one of those financial

incentive concepts that actually works.

We got on board early and we’re already

seeing a payback. Plus, the incentives are a real

bonus. It was easy, and they made it happen

for us. Paul Allen, Distribution Manager, Columbia Sportswear‘ ’

Weather station Stream flow

Seed of theYear

finalists for 2010

Four seed varieties have beennamed finalists in the fifth annualSeed of the Year competition foreastern Canada, sponsored by theUniversity of Guelph and SeCan.

AC Rigodon oats, AC Gehlhulless oats, Estival lettuce andYukon Gold potatoes are the 2010finalists.

These varieties along withtheir breeders will be honoured atthe eastern Canada Seed of theYear recognition event at theRoyal Agricultural Winter Fair inToronto in November. The win-ner will be announced at thattime.

The event will be open toindustry professionals, plantbreeders, media and farming com-munity members.

Through the Seed of the Yearapplication process, breeders areencouraged to highlight theirresearch accomplishments indeveloping a new field crop, forage, fruit, vegetable or herbvariety. Any publicly developedCanadian variety is eligible tocompete.

Entries were evaluated basedon innovation, presence through-out the value chain, sustainability,marketability and overall impacton the Canadian agri-food industry.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 15

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGYLooking inside apples to cull defects

Algoma Orchards Limited isone of the first companies in NorthAmerica to purchase and implement equipment to detectinternal defects in apples. Aftercertain storage time, an apple canappear healthy outside but it canpresent defects and brown markswhen cutting, says Tom Coleman,

Algoma’s Retail/Food AccountManager.

“This system of full transmis-sion – light which crosses the fruitright through – allows total visibility of the apple,” says Coleman. “Most systems on themarket can only detect half or aquarter of internal problems.”

Installed in mid-summer justbefore the 2010 harvest, the Aus-tralian-manufactured Insight NIR

(near infra-red) camera is non-invasive. It is positionedbehind the “photo radar” machinewhich takes 64 pictures per secondof each apple determining howeach apple should be sorted forcolour and size. The combinationof these technologies allows Canada’s largest independentapple packing house to more nearly meet specific requirementsof customers such as Loblaw,Wal-Mart and Costco.

This new equipment, manufactured by MAF-RODA,was demonstrated to the nationalApple Working Group whichtoured the Newcastle, Ontariofacility in early August.

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

KUBOTA R420 WHEEL LOADER, PALLET FORKS & BUCKET $17,000KUBOTA L3600 4WD, CAB $13,000KUBOTA R520 WHEEL LOADER, FORKS & BUCKET $21,000KUBOTA R520 WITH BACKHOE $29,000KUBOTA M120 4WD, CAB, 98 HP, LOADER 960 $39,000KUBOTA M7040 LOADER, CAB, BACKHOE $39,000FARMALL 140 WITH CULT. $4,500LANDINI 6830 WITH MID CULT. $7,500

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LIVE ROBOTIC MILKING DEMOS • Featuring Lely & DeLaval

GROBER YOUNG ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE• Showcasing Live Research Trials

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“When we started into dairy goats, we purchased our equipment and set up our suppliers from those that we met during the Show. It’s always time well spent.”

M MWeaver Farms, Belmont ON

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Left: Tom Coleman, AlgomaOrchards Ltd.

THE GROWER

PAGE 16 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

How savvy are you aboutsocial media?

If you don’t know the term“social media” then ask yourteenager. It’s how the young gen-eration is communicating throughmultiple channels. Recent mediareports in the Globe and Maileven suggest that phones arebecoming outdated for “talking.”More data is now being transmit-ted by phone than voice mail forthe first time in history.

For growers, these communi-cation technologies present oppor-tunities for faster, more accuratecommunication internally andexternally. A smartphone cankeep you connected to your fieldstaff if you’re in the packhouse. Ablog can communicate the startand the finish of your season tocustomers. A video can educatehow you produce food safely andresponsibly. All of these tools can

help build your brand. Waudware Incorporated, a

software developer for the produce industry, has given permission to reproduce this quiz.

Take this quiz to see how muchyou know (or don’t) about socialmedia outlets.1. The second generation ofdevelopment and design that facil-itates info sharing and collabora-tion on the World Wide Web isreferred to as . . .

2. Web log is a . . . 3. Tool to share videos is . . . 4. Tool to share photos is . . .5. Collaborative information hubsare called . . .6. Search engine for blogs is . . .7. Find friends and classmates,meet new people, listen to freemusic and build playlists, sharephotos, watch videos on . . .8. A business-oriented site mainlyused for professional networkingis . . .9. A service that enables its usersto send and read text-based postsof up to 140 characters posted onthe author’s profile page anddelivered to subscribers is called .. .10. A utility used to conduct livemeetings or presentations via theInternet is called a . . .

Strawberry and vegetable growers answer to uniform straw coverage

12 reasons why the BeddingPro is your best choice1. It requires 40 hp, which meansgreat fuel savings, and a minimum ofdust and noise.2. The compact design suits confined areas.3. It offers controlled and uniformeddistribution , which means less timeand less waste.4. Less waste means less productused.5. Less product means you don’t

harvest as much, or you have product to sell.6. If you don’t need as much product, that is less you have to purchase.7. Can be used on skidsteer or tractor.8. BeddingPro shredes canary grass, straw, frozen bails, silage, and corn silage.9. The BeddingPro costs a fraction of other brands.10. Try and find another that can do all this at a weight of less than 1200 lbs!11. It also has self loading, extra bail carrying capability, wide spreading option andhydraulic model.12. It is well built, low maintance. and has no exotic parts.

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

1-888-658-2088 • beddingpro@gmail.com • www.doublermanufacturing.com

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Vortex Packaging designs innovative containers for the produce industry with the retailer in mind and the grower aswell. this package offers fruit that can't be touched by others

at retail and presents well, ithas also proven to increaseshelf life by several days.

Vortex Packaging Niagara Inc.3325 First Avenue Vineland Station, ON Tel. 905-562-4857 Fax 905-562-4291

Email: philshort@nbfproduce.com

Answers:1.Web 2.02.Blog3.YouTube4.Flickr5.Wikis

6.Technorati7.Facebook8.LinkedIn9.Twitter10. Webinar

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 17

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show,held Sept 14 to 16 at Woodstock,Ontario, is an ideal place to scoutnew equipment and technology.Here are some highlights specificto the horticultural industry.

The Kubota On Tour (KOT)Mobile Marketing Platform hasbeen traveling across Canadasince April. This speciallydesigned, interactive, one-of-a-kind vehicle supports dealer spe-cial events and trade shows as wellas offering training for customers.

In Support Mode, the publiccan experience interactive, touchscreen electronic displays, watchvideos via digital projection, purchase merchandise at the Kubota retail store, and receiveexpert advice on Kubota productsat the customer information desk.

In Training Mode, the unit cantrain up to 20 people at one time,theatre style, using digital projection w/computer link andinteractive electronic training

displays. www.kubota.ca Willsie Equipment Sales Inc.

is a fruit and vegetable equipmentcompany based in Thedford,Ontario. Their exhibit is close tothe Celebrating Healthy LivingExpo where horticulture-relatedexhibits can be found.www.willsie.com

OnTrace Agrifood Traceabil-ity will be registering premisesIDs on-site as well as offeringtraceability workshops.www.ontraceagrifood.com

The ATV Test Track will beopen to farmers to test-drive arange of all-terrain vehicles fortheir farms.

The Farm Credit Corpora-tion will be launching its DriveAway Hunger campaign for September 20 to October 15. Thegoal is to collect 1,000,000pounds of food for local foodbanks. www.fccdriveawayhunger.ca

www.hjv.ca

Fluid Handling Products * Grimme & Spudnik Parts

A complete line of Veggie/PotatoEquipment Parts including:* Sizing Chain* Belted Chain (webs) - All Makes* Kryptane Support Rollers* Terog Sprockets* Grading Stars & Foam Rollers* PTO Components

HENSALL: 866-476-2424 ALLISTON: 877-458-3276

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Poly Storage Tanks- all sizes & shapes -

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FARMERS: TAKE ACTION!

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RINSE + REMOVE + RETURN

Recycle ALL your empty pesticide containers.Getting involved is no cost to you, and it’s simple –

1. Triple or pressure RINSE to ensure no product is wasted.

2. REMOVE caps and booklets

3. RETURN them ALL to your local collection siteWithout these simple steps, your containers cannot be properly recycled.

For locations in your area, please visit our website.

WARWICKORCHARDS & NURSERY LTD.

7056 Egremont Rd. R.R. 8 Watford, Ontario N0M 2S0

Tel: (519) 849-6730 Toll free: 877-550-7412Fax: (519) 849-6731

Email: warwickorchards@brktel.on.ca

• BIN TRAILERS • Tree STAKES• BIN FILLERS • TIE MATERIAL• Picking LADDERS • TREE GUARDS• Picking BUCKETS

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THE GROWER

PAGE 18 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGYProgram can help make farm buildings high performance

By Ontario Power AuthorityOntario farmers and other own-

ers of agribusinesses are keenlyaware of the need to control thecosts of production. Constructionof new facilities offers a uniqueopportunity to “build it better” –by taking advantage of new ener-gy-efficient technologies that costless when they are incorporatedfrom day one and keep deliveringenergy and cost savings year afteryear.

Now there is a way to reducethe initial cost of investing in ener-gy efficiency even more. TheOntario Power Authority’s HighPerformance New ConstructionProgram (HPNC) was launched in2008 to provide incentives forbusinesses to reduce their powerdemands. The goal is for the pro-gram to eliminate 50 megawatts ofpeak electricity demand across theprovince by the end of 2012.

This program is a great oppor-tunity for agribusinesses to includeenergy-saving measures in thedesign and construction of newfacilities – whether it’s a barn,maintenance shop, milling or pro-cessing centre, storage building,greenhouse or other structurerelated to agricultural production.Significant renovations of existingfacilities can also qualify forincentives.1

The HPNC is very easy to

access. It offers two streams – a“prescriptive” and a “custom.”What this means is that applicantscan choose from a menu of pre-approved technologies withproven electricity savings or sub-mit a project with a customized setof efficiency upgrades to apply foran incentive based on modeledelectricity demand savings.

Qualifying applicants receive$250 for every verified kilowattsaved when they select from thelist of pre-approved, “prescrip-tive” technologies and incorporatethem in their building project.2 Thelist of pre-approved technologiesincludes many of the most impor-tant energy-saving opportunities inagricultural production:• standard prescriptive lightingmeasures– ENERGY STAR® compact flu-orescent light bulbs, high-perfor-mance T-8 fixtures, T-5 fixtures,metal halide lamps and ballasts(meeting ANSI #M154 standard),and commercial-grade occupancysensors• barn-specific prescriptives –energyefficient lighting, recircula-tion ventilation, creep heat pads,high temperature cutout ther-mostats, creep heat controllers,low-energy livestock waterers,and photocell and timer combina-tions to minimize daytime lightingoperation

• natural exhaust ventilation anddual ventilation systems – across arange of applications includingpoultry, livestock and dairy opera-tions as well as greenhouses.

Many of these measures notonly lower energy costs but alsoenhance the comfort and health offarm animals and/or the quality ofproduce.

Enbridge Gas Distribution isdelivering this program with helpfrom Union Gas, and it is availableacross Ontario. Since the programgoal is to reduce peak electricitydemand, applicants don’t have touse natural gas in their construc-tion projects to qualify. For thosewho are planning to use naturalgas in new construction, however,there are opportunities to apply foradded incentives through naturalgas utility programs.

The HPNC program has

already proved popular with agri-cultural businesses. This sectoraccounted for 25 per cent of appli-cations and 30 per cent of savingsin the program’s prescriptivestream as of early 2010.

Agribusinesses planning newconstruction or major renovationsstill have time to apply to this pro-gram. HPNC program applica-tions will be accepted for approvalthrough to October 2010, and pro-jects must be completed, evaluatedand delivering energy savings byDecember 2012. Some other rulesand conditions apply. Applicationforms as well as more informationon project eligibility can beobtained from the HPNC websiteat www.hpnc.ca or by calling us at1-888-OPA-HPNC.

1 A renovation must involve replac-

ing at least two major building

systems and involve shutdown ofthe building for at least 30 days.2 A prescriptive project must be eli-

gible for a minimum of $1,000 inincentives.

Electricity conservation onOntario farms is produced by theOntario Power Authority to pro-vide information about energyconservation and efficiency andinnovative applications to helpOntario farmers better managetheir electricity costs. This publi-cation, available online atwww.powerauthority.on.ca, exam-ines a variety of technologies andbest practices that improve farm-ing operations and reduce energycosts. Your comments and sugges-tions are welcome. To have yourname added to the mailing list,send an e-mail note to info@powerauthority.on.ca.

Although the Produce Trace-ability Initiative has backed offsome of the aggressive milestonesfor this fall, shippers on the frontline with international customersare forging ahead. Albert Streef,for one, has just installed new soft-ware at his Princeton, Ontariofarm that makes Streef Producecompatible with the CanadaGAPaccredited program.

The family firm has used TheProduce Inventory Control System(PICS) for 10 years at the OntarioFood Terminal. It was purchasedfrom and technically supported byWaudWare Incorporated. Nowthere’s an interface between thefarm’s potato and snap bean pro-duction and the sales departmentin Toronto.

“The biggest challenge is identifying fields of productionbecause they’re always in rotation,” explains Streef. “Stepone is to identify the produce, itsoriginating field and the volume.The bulk truck picking up the harvested produce from the fieldmust present that information fordata input. The beauty of this system is that we always have aninventory of empty containers thatare assigned lot numbers. Inessence, we can keep better trackof our container inventory as it’s

drawn down so we can replenishon a more timely basis. We nolonger have to do physical inventory.”

Streef recognizes that newcomputer software always presents a learning curve. Heassigned a university student tooversee the summer installation sothat it would be ready for harvest.

“Food safety is a moving target,” says Streef. “The require-ments to do business with Sobeys,Loblaw and Wal-Mart are gettingmore stringent all the time. So wemight better have a protocol to follow that we understand fromthe outset.”

Charles Waud, President ofWaudWare Incorporated, under-stands that while the produceindustry wants to provide traceability, it must minimize thefinancial impact on business. It’sa delicate balance in deciding howmuch traceability is enough. In acompany newsletter, Waud saysthat smaller farms and packinghouses, if well-organized, can beproficient at traceability by label-ing products as they arrive with adate code or unique identifier andthen making note of what productswent out on customer orders.Computerization is not needed forbusinesses like these. However,

manual tracking systems can beoutgrown with steady or cyclicalvolume increases or the additionof new products.

Here are two approaches toconsider:Basic labeling. If you’re commit-ted to traceability and decide to gowith basic labeling, here’s how toproceed:• enter the information you wishto track (potentially the field orarea that the product came from,what kind of product, date picked,date packed and other relevantinformation).• store the information in a computer tied to some kind ofidentifier (lot code, Julian date,etc).• print stickers with this identifi-er and any other desired informa-tion• label the product at either theitem level, case level or palletlevel

When you ship the product tocustomers, the next step would be:• record the identifier (lot code,etc) that you shipped to each customer

Complete inventory systemThe optimum way to imple-

ment traceability in any businesswould be to:

• record the products as theyarrive into your inventory systemand capture all of the informationlisted previously (field, areagrown, vendor, etc)• If you sell the product in theform that you receive it, then thesystem will be able to keep trackof which lot codes went to whichcustomers.• If you pack or repack product,the complexity increases becauseyou need to keep track of theinputs that were used to makeintermediate or final output items.

For example, let’s say you purchase cantaloupes and then youpeel and cut them into chunks.Those chunks become anotheritem which should have a lot identifier that can be tracked to theoriginal cantaloupes. Continuingon, let’s assume you take thosecantaloupe chunks and mix themwith pineapple and melon chunks,grapes and syrup to make fruitsalad. The fruit salad would haveanother lot identifier in the system.

The system would automatical-ly keep track of the fact that thefruit salad came from a number ofdifferent inputs.

Continued on page 20

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 19

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGYCustomized computer software traces produce

from field to commission house

Trioplus Stretch Wrap The new generation of balewrap.

A product from Trioplast

should always improve

your business!

- Increase your efficiency.

- Improve you profitability.

- A better choice for the

environment.

www.trioplast.com

Eco-Light

21831 Cooks Road,

Mt. Brydges, Ontario

Office: 519-264-2708 John Pol: 519-868-4330

j.pol@sympatico.ca

Storage Control Systems, Inc.has developed an entirely newsystem for micro controlledatmosphere storage, the Oyster.This simple method over a palletof produce extends the life bymodifying only the atmosphereinside each individual pallet ofproduce.

Oxygen and carbon dioxidecontrol can be monitored viaexternal tubing connected to thepallet using quick-connect fittings.

This allows the tubes to stay inplace while the pallet is removedfrom the cold store, and thenavailable for the next sealed palletto go into that store location. Control can be accomplishedmanually or by a complete computer control system that cansample up to 100 pallets. Uniquesetpoints are programmable foreach pallet.

For more information contact1-800-487-7994.

THE GROWER

PAGE 20 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

Carrot Harvester

Univerco Carrot Harvesterwith Cleaning Table.

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Cell:1-902-393-4805

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

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Continued from page 19If a fruit salad customer called

with a problem, your inventorysystem has tracked all the infor-mation you need to quickly andeasily identify all the customerswho received the product affiliat-ed with the problem. As well, youwould be able to notify all thevendors of all the items used in thefruit salad. Attempting to keep

track of individual inputs likethese without using a computersystem would be virtually impos-sible.

A produce business can gofrom a simple manual system ifneeds are not complex, to a basiclabeling-only system, to a fullinventory system to keep track ofeverything.

Working together with Data Media Data Media, World Wide Mailing Specialists and The Grower areworking together to meet the needs of our clients.

On a recent tour of their facility in Oakville, Ontario, Carlie Robertson,Production Manager and Herb Sherwood, Sales Manager got to seefirst hand how their mailing operation works; from sorting to inserts,bundling and strapping and of course shipping.

Our Sales and Production Department both work very closely withDave Campbell, General Manager, Data Media to ensure that The Grower and client inserts get delivered where and when theyare supposed to.

As a Client you can target your market with The Grower by doinginserts by commodity, province or both. We can sort and deliver bypostal code, do Post-it Notes and polybag your flyer, catalogue or promotional material.

The Grower, at 130 years is the oldest farm paper in print today. It is the voice of the Ontario Fruit And Vegetable Growers Associationand has a national circulation of 11,500 subscribers.

If you require more information please contact Herb Sherwood, Salesat 519-380-0118

Customized computersoftware traces produce

Controlled atmospheresfor individual pallets

Oyster Micro Controlled Atmosphere System

A new project was started thisspring looking at biofumigantcover crops during apple orchardrenovation for replanting. There isa parallel project in tomatoes looking at biofumigant covercrops to reduce vine decline problems.

Chemical fumigants are expensive and under close environmental scrutiny. Biological

fumigant options like cover cropsand organic amendments such asmanure or compost offer somepotential to suppress nematodesand disease complexes in appleand tomato production systems.

As part of the project, threeapple replant sites were estab-lished in late spring/early summer.The apple orchards were removedeither last fall or this spring, and

these sites will be replanted toapples next spring. Two projectsites are in Norfolk County and thethird site is in Essex County nearHarrow. Cover crops of orientalmustard and pearl millet have beenestablished.

Mustard growth has been a bitvariable in the plots, depending onrainfall. The mustard flowers arequite attractive to bees. The fieldwas just buzzing as samples werecollected a few weeks ago.Recently, the spring mustard cropwas chopped and incorporated torelease the chemical biofumigantfrom the plant tissues. It is critical

to incorporate the mustard immediately after chopping toreduce the loss of these volatilecompounds. In mid-August, a fallcrop of mustard was re-establishedfor a late summer/fall cover for asecond incorporation/ fumigation.

Pearl millet is a tall grassy plantwhich is a non-host for manynematodes. This warm-seasonplant has been enjoying the warmsummer, growing more than 150mm or five feet in some areas.Recently, the millet was mowed at30 cm (12 inches) tall to promotetillering and to keep the growthlush and easy to break down.

The plots will continue to bemonitored and sampled over thenext few years to track the growthof the new trees.

Biofumigant cover crops maynot provide all the pest controlgrowers would like to see. Onlytime and further sampling will tell.However, the cover crops do helpto improve the soil and buildgreater diversity in the soil life thatis present. For more informationon this project, contact:

Anne Verhallen, Project Leadat anne.verhallen@ontario.ca orLeslie Huffman, Apple Specialistat leslie.huffman@ontario.ca

Ontario’s grape industry istesting a laser-scare system toprevent birds from stealing thevineyard crop. Just under trial thissummer under direction of HughFraser, OMAFRA ag engineer,the anti-avian device consists oftwo lasers which are adjustablefor direction on a portable,15-foottripod. The concept is to scareaway birds without the noise ofbird-bangers.

“We’re not sure if it will workyet,” says Fraser. “The question iswhether it will work in the day-time when birds are feeding.”

The manufacturer is B.C.-based Carpe Diem Technologies.According to its website, the operator sets the speed and horizontal and vertical amplitudes. The system is powered by two gel pack batteriesstored in a control box that arerecharged during the day by asolar panel.

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 21

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGYPutting biofumigant cover crops to the test for orchard replant

ATTENTIONVEGETABLE GROWERS

SEE YOU AT CANADA'S OUTDOOR FARM SHOWSCOVA DIESEL PUMPS & OCMIS REELS IN-STOCK

PLANTING EQUIPMENT FROM STANHAY, CHECCHI & MAGLI AND SFOGGIA

PHONE (705) 458-4003 rwequipment@bellnet.cawww.rwequipment.ca

Planters & DiggersPotatoes/Garlic/ Bulbs

1 Operator - 2 Rows 6000 Plants/Hr/Unit

• VEGETABLE SEEDERS

Planet Jr. Gaspardo Cole

• CASH CROP PLANTERS

Conventional – Pneumatic (Air)

• FERTILIZER ATTACHMENTS

(SideDressers)

• ROW CROP WEEDERS, ETC.

• DISC HILLERS

• SPECIALIZED ROW CROP EQUIPMENTCultivator Steels, Sweeps, Hoes, Furrowers,Hillers, Etc.

JOHN C. GRAHAM CO. LTD.DISTRIBUTORS

88 Erie Street North • P.O. Box 13Leamington, Ontario • N8H 3W1

Tel:(519) 326-5051 Fax: (519) 326-0480

Testing new ways to control birds

The meteoric rise in labourrates is motivating all growers tore-evaluate how to cut costs withmechanical aids. In the last coupleyears, grape growers are adoptingtwo pieces of equipment that significantly shave those costswhile offering additional benefits.

A leaf remover uses mechani-cal suction and cutting to pull thegrape leaves away from the fruit-ing zone in a vineyard and cutthem at the petiole. The idea is toexpose the grapes to sunlight andallow them to fully express theircharacteristics. Increased air flowthrough the fruiting zone allowsthe fruit to dry more quickly andprevents rot and disease. Whenspray is required, it’s easier to penetrate to the fruit and therefore,more targeted and often less pesticide used.

Pete Buis, Glenlake Orchardsand Vineyards, at Niagara-on-the-Lake, used this equipment for thefirst time in 2010. He grows 200acres of grapes so knows fromfirst-hand experience how labour-intensive and time-sensitive theprocess is. Leaf trimming needs tobe done early and quite often asecond time before harvest.

“It was a huge labour savings todo this by machine rather than byhand,” says Buis. “Quality isimproved at the same time.”

Return on investment for a dou-ble-sided machine in a 50-acrevineyard is about one to two years,says Joe Pillitteri, Lakeview Vine-yard Equipment Inc.

“Previous mechanical methodswere more crude and would oftencause berry damage that wouldnegate any labour cost savings,”says Pillitteri. “The latest technol-

ogy comes from France whichspecializes in equipment for thegrape industry. It uses advancedsensor mechanisms to allow opti-mal leaf removal with minimumfruit damage.”

Single-sided units without sensor technology cost about$14,000 and double-sided unitsare priced at about $26,000.

After harvest, a second piece ofequipment comes into play: a prepruner. It uses a set of cuttingdiscs and cuts unnecessary canesoff the top part of the trellis in avineyard. As the driver approach-

es the row, the disc barrels spinand overlap, cutting the top 12 to24 inches of dormant growth fromthe vines. When the disc comes toa steel post, the operator mustpress a button that temporarilyopens the barrel and then releasesit to pass the obstacle. Some mod-els are equipped with an electroniceye that performs this functionautomatically.

Doug Hernder of HernderVineyards at Niagara-on-the-Lakeused a pre-pruner for the first timein 2009. “It saves at least 30 percent in labour,” says Hernder.

“With 60 per cent of our 260 acresin vinifera varieties, it was a bigsavings.”

The pre pruner cuts the tops ofthe vines into small pieces whichare then mulched back into thesoil. Previously, labourers had tocut, then pull the pieces out of thetop wires. This was demandingwork since the vines are oftensecured by tendrils.

The pre pruner ranges in costfrom $18,000 to $34,000 depend-ing on options and length of cutting disc barrel.

“We are an importer for

companies such as Gregoire andPellence in France,” says Pillitteri.“We count on their extensive R &D to bring us products that areessentially field-ready for NorthAmerica. That said, we also endup making modifications to themachines to fit some grower-specific needs in our trade area.For example, growers who experience increased vigour intheir vines sometimes need sharper blades on their pre prunerto handle the increased volume ofresidual vine wood.”

THE GROWER

PAGE 22 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

FOCUS: NEW EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGYMechanized vineyard equipment cuts labour costs

TIMM ENTERPRISES LTD.

3 point hitch P.T.O. driven SPADING MACHINESThe spading machine uses large spades to break up the soil up to

12” (30cm) deep.

Features:

• No dead furrow

• Mixes manure, compost etc. completely

• Allows for better drainage as it does not create a flat bottom

• Allows for better air penetration

• Creates ready to use fields and beds, no plowing, discing or

harrowing needed!

Models in stock from 40.9” to 86.6” wide, sizes up to 13’ available

by special order.

Mail: P.O. Box 157, Oakville, Ont., Canada L6J 4Z5

Office & Warehouse: 5204 Trafalgar Rd., Milton, Ont., Canada L0P 1E0

Phone (905) 878-4244 Fax (905) 878-7888 Sales 1-888-769-TIMM (8466)

www.timmenterprises.com

Comments on the Gramegna Spading Machine...It is simply amazing! It incorporates our compost readily and does every-thing else the literature sheet and independent tests said it would do.......The spading machine you sold us works wonderfully. We had a problemwith heavy soils and no real solution short of getting different land. Yourmachine literally solved our problem.......Perhaps the most important contribution of spading is that it eliminates

the use of ploughs, disks, and harrows....

Visit www.timmenterprises.com/machines/spader.htm to see the spading machine in action!

The Gregoire DX 20 leaf remover.

The Gregoire Pre Pruner.

Time to showcase what we doIt’s Royal time – and we are promoting what we know to be true:farming is year-round, our products are second to none, and areavailable when the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair brings farming tothe city. Let’s really show them.

We are inviting farmers and their respective organizations to participate in a 10-day Royal Harvest Homecoming Farmers’ Market – and let consumers, politicians, and your fellow farmersknow what we grow and harvest.

It’s educational, it’s exciting to be part of a new venture – which thefarmers’ market will be, and the best part of all: the space is nocharge. We are working in partnership with the folks at the Royal tostart a new tradition – one that harkens back to days of old – and wewant you to be there.

If you are interested in showcasing the finest food and farm foodproducts, then contact the OFVGA office and leave them your pertinent contact information so that we can get back to you andmake this an opportunity to remember.

We need your participation to make this a reality. Let’s make this ashowcase to remember (and make some profit at the same time).

For more information contact Alison Robertson: 519-763-6160 x121

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 23

By Becky Hughes, John Zandstra and Adam Dale,

University of GuelphDayneutral strawberry plants

have the capacity to flower andfruit continuously during thegrowing season. For many years,we have recommended that growers remove the blossom clus-ters from dayneutral strawberryplants for the first six weeks afterplanting to allow the crowns toestablish before they fruit. Wewanted to find out if this six-weekperiod could be reduced, decreasing costs and potentiallyimproving productivity.

Trials were established in May2007 to examine the effects offour, six and eight weeks of blos-som removal following plantingon the yield, berry size and time of

harvest in the first and secondpicking years of dayneutral straw-berries. The trials were located atthe University of Guelph ResearchStations in Cedar Springs and NewLiskeard. Seascape was planted inNew Liskeard, and Albion andSeascape were planted in CedarSprings. Twenty-plant plots wereestablished in twin rows with20cm between plants and 30cmbetween rows on raised beds at 2mcenters. The beds were coveredwith 1.0 mil black polyethylenemulch. All plots received regulardrip irrigation. Fertilizer wasapplied through the drip system. Cultural practices wereadapted to the local soil and cli-mate. In New Liskeard the plantswere covered with straw mulchand a 1.5 oz/sq yd floating row

cover for the winter. A 1.0 oz/sqyd floating row cover was used inCedar Springs.Fruit was harvested from a 1-metre section of each plot twiceweekly in the first and secondyear. Fruit was sorted into unmar-ketable and marketable (regularlyshaped fruit with a diametergreater than 1.5 cm and no rot).The marketable fruit was weighedand counted, and berry weightswere calculated.

In the planting year at CedarSprings, there were no significanteffects on either the yield or berryweight of Albion and Seascape(Table 1). However, the yield andberry weight of Albion tended toincrease as the length of blossomremoval increased. The trend wasthe opposite for Seascape, as both

the total and marketable yieldtended to decrease as the blossomremoval period increased.

As the time from bloom to harvest is around 30 days, youwould expect to harvest soonerwith a shorter blossom removalperiod. This was the case in the

cooler climate in New Liskeardbut not in Cedar Springs. In NewLiskeard, the first harvest started27 to 34 days after the end of blossom removal (Table 2). InCedar Springs, the first harvests ofSeascape all occurred at the same time regardless of the lengthof blossom removal. Higher temperatures in Cedar Springsmay have delayed flower initiationin the treatments with four and six

weeks of blossom removal. If thishad not happened, perhaps theyields of these treatments wouldhave been even higher.

The length of blossom removalin the planting year had no effecton yields or berry size in the second picking year in CedarSprings (data not shown), howeverthere were effects in the secondyear in New Liskeard (Table 2).The shortest period of blossomremoval in 2007 resulted in thehighest yields and berry size in

Seascape in 2008 in NewLiskeard.

In summary, when the blossomclusters were removed for onlyfour weeks after planting,Seascape yields were not reducedin either Cedar Springs or NewLiskeard. This should reduce costs

and, provided it is not too hot,result in earlier harvests. Perhapsit is possible to decrease the lengthof blossom removal even furtherespecially if large-crowned plantsare available. A trial is planned for2011 comparing the effects ofcrown size at planting and the length of blossom removal on production of dayneutral strawberries.

1 Values within columns with different letters are significantlydifferent.2 Calculated from the planting dateto the first harvest date.3 Blossoms removed in the firstyear only.

Funding for this project wasprovided by the Ontario BerryGrowers Association, the Agricultural Adaptation CouncilCanAdvance Program and theUniversity of Guelph/OMAFRAEnhanced Agreement.

Effects of length of blossom removal onproduction of Albion and Seascape

dayneutral strawberries

Cultivar Blossomsremoved

for3

Days to harvest2

Yield (kg/m) Averageberry

weight (g)Total Marketable

Seascape 4 weeks 85 4.0 2.9 14.86 weeks 85 3.9 2.7 15.08 weeks 86 3.7 2.6 15.7Average 85 a 3.9 a 2.8 a 15.2 b

Albion 4 weeks 94 2.1 1.6 15.76 weeks 89 2.3 1.6 16.48 weeks 97 2.4 1.8 16.4Average 93 b 2.3 b 1.7 b 16.2 a

Table 1. Days to harvest, yields and berry weights in the first pickingyear in Cedar Springs.1

Blossomsremoved for 3

1st picking year 2nd picking yearDays toharvest2

Yield (kg/m) Av. berryweight (g)

Yield (kg/m) Av. berryweight (g)Total Marketable Total Marketable

4 weeks 62 a 1.1 a 0.6 a 11.3 a 4.4 a 3.0 a 10.8 a

6 weeks 75 b 1.1 a 0.6 a 10.0 b 3.8 ab 2.5 b 10.3 ab

8 weeks 83 c 1.0 a 0.5 a 9.9 b 3.3 b 2.2 b 10.1 b

Table 2. Results for the first and second picking year for Seascape in New Liskeard.1

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

John Zandstra, University of Guelph, in the dayneutral trials at CedarSprings.

If you grow a crop that can beconsumed raw, you should beaware that contaminated irrigationwater can contaminate your crop.For that reason it is important totest your irrigation water on a reg-ular basis. The Canadian Councilof Ministers of the Environment’s

(CCME) guideline is 100 cfu E.coli per 100 mL of irrigationwater. If your water is at or belowthis number then the water is a lowrisk for contamination. If yourwater test comes back higher thanthat value, don’t panic. There are acouple of questions you should

first ask:- Did you sample out of your irrigation pond or out of youremitter or irrigation line? Sampling out of a pond is difficult.Depending on how deep yourpond is, you may not be samplingclose to the intake or you may be

dredging from the bottom and getting inaccurate numbers. - Did you have a heavy rain a fewdays prior to sampling? Heavyrains can stir up the bottom of theirrigation pond and re-suspendmore bacteria into the water.- Did you accidentally contami-nate your sample by touching thelip of the bottle with dirty hands orplace the lid down on the groundwhile you were filling the bottle?- Was it possible that the samplewas not tested within 24 hours ofcollecting and/or sitting at roomtemperature for some time? For areliable test, the sample should betested within 24 hours and kept at4°C.

The best thing for you to do istake another sample from the irrigation line and send it in foranalysis. If it again comes backmuch higher than the CCME recommendation now would bethe time to do some investigation:- Has there been a lot of animalactivity around your irrigationpond?- Could run-off be contaminating

your pond?- Could there be a change of activ-ities upstream?

In the meantime, if you knowyour water is at high risk fromcontamination you need to makesome decisions:- Can you choose a less risky formof irrigation such as trickle irriga-tion?- Can you allow the water to settlein the pond between irrigationevents?- Can you find another watersource such as a second pond orwell source that you could use asback-up?- Can you divert stream waterinto a pond before irrigation toallow bacteria to settle?- Can you reduce the impact ofrun-off into a pond with a vegeta-tive strip or build a berm?

Irrigation water is an importantconsideration for food safety. Formore information, see the revisedOMAFRA factsheet - ImprovingOn-Farm Food Safety throughGood Irrigation Practices 10-037.

By Sandra Jones, Crops On-Farm Food Safety

Program LeadThe current recommendation

for irrigation water is that E.colishould be at or below 100 colonyforming units (bacteria) per 100ml water. For testing irrigationwater, choose an accredited labo-ratory but make sure the lab knowsthat the sample being submitted isirrigation water, not drinkingwater. A list of laboratories can befound on the Ontario Ministry ofthe Environment websitewww.ene.gov.on.ca/en/water/sdwa/licensedlabs.php or theCanadian Association for Labora-tory Accreditation site(www.cala.ca).

Ask the laboratory for a sterilebottle to collect your irrigationwater sample. The best way tosample irrigation water is to collect the water sample at thepoint where it contacts produce -

such as at emitters or when itleaves the guns or risers, or whenit “rains” down on the crop. Carefully remove the cap from thebottle and take care not to toucheither the lip of the bottle or theinside of the cap. Fill to the lineidentified on the sterile bottle,screw the lid on tightly and immediately refrigerate. Transportthe sample in a cooler with ice to awater testing laboratory within 24hours.

You should sample your irriga-tion water at least once a monthwithin the season to establish abaseline for your particular pondor water source. After that, sampling a couple of times perseason will help you detect majorchanges in water quality. For moreinformation on water testing, seethe revised OMAFRA factsheet -Improving On-Farm Food Safetythrough Good Irrigation Practices10-037.

THE GROWER

PAGE 24 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

Could you benefit from a

better business approach?Does your organization want to increase market profitability and innovation through beneficial business management practices?

If so, AMI can help with funding. To be eligible, your

project must:

Demonstrate the benefits of business planning

Address farm business management gaps and opportunities

Support on-farm implementation of beneficial business management practices

For complete funding criteria and more information:

www.takeanewapproach.ca • 519-822-6618

•

•

•

What does your water test mean for food safety?

How to test your irrigation water

Photo by Korinne Robertson

THE GROWER

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

EQUIPMENT

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

Several Models: 5-Bin or 6-Bin, Tandem Axles or Single Axle WithSoft-Ride Flotation Tires, Narrow, Low Profile Model With AdjustableWidth Axles For Plastic or Wood BinsApple Bin Dumpers (Rotator) - Fit Forklift or Tractor LoaderFlail Mulchers in Stock: Grind Up Old Leaves, Prunings, Grass &Debris After Harvest

- Seppi 6 1/2 Ft. Flail - Almost New $5,900- Seppi 8 Ft Flail - Low Hours, Like New - Coming- Perfect 7 Ft H.D. Flail - New - At Last Year Pricing

Turbo-Mist: New Orchard/Vineyard Sprayers and Stainless Steel Low-Drift Spray Towers Arriving in October. Plan Early For Next Year.

Best Wishes for a Prosperous Harvest

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

BIN CARRIERSNEW AND USED

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 25

CONTAINERS

LLOYD BAG CO.(www.lloydbag.com)

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 • P.O. Box 208, Chatham, Ontario N7M 5K3

Telephone (519) 352-9300 • Fax (519) 352-3413E-Mail: info@lloydbag.com

APPLE GRADER1999 Greefa MSE 4-lane

apple grading system for sale.

50' long 4' wide with 10 drops.

Located inKentville, Nova Scotia,

Canada.Van Meekeren

Farms LTD.902-678-2366 or

info@givethemawink.com

PICKLED VEGETABLES CONTAINERS

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

Supplying Fruit and Vegetable Growers with:• Baskets • Berry Boxes• Masters • Waxed Cartons• Fertilizer • Crop Protection Material

Mesh Plastic Berry Quarts Distributor for Baskpac Plastic Baskets

CHANGE OFADDRESS?

1-866-898-8488 ext. 221

THE GROWER

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

NURSERY / SEED / ROOTSTOCK

Quality fruit trees

for over 50 years.

Peaches Apricots NectarinesPlums Pears

Cherries Apples

1695 Niagara Stone Road, RR 2NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, OntarioL0S 1J0Phone: 905-468-3217Fax: 905-468-7271E-Mail: fruittrees@morinurseries.com

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

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

plants@sympatico.ca

Howard A. ColcucNursery Manager

SPECIALIZING IN FRUIT

TREES & GRAPE VINES &

PRIVET HEDGING.

VARIETY AND PRICE LIST

AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

AlpineNurseries(Niagara) Limited

QUALITY FRUIT TREES

• APPLE on M9 and M26• PEAR on Quince

Order NOW for best selection

WARWICKORCHARDS & NURSERY LTD

7056 Egremont Rd. R.R. #8Watford, Ontario

N0M 2S0warwickorchards@brktel.on.ca

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

Fax: (519) 849-6731

PAGE 26 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

ScoringAg.com

for exporting to USA:

Traceback and trace-up systems,

COOL acceptable,

PROVEN:

SIMPLE,

SECURE,

INEXPENSIVE

lenhardt@thot.net705 324 2709

ww

w.s

cori

ng

Ag

.co

m

TRACEABILITY HELP WANTED

Diverse, long established produce wholesal-ing company, specializing in domestic and imported fruits and vegetables, is seeking anexperienced produce trader based in Ontario,Canada.

To compliment the existing team, we aresearching for a driven, experienced individual who is will bring strong customerrelationships across Canada, and global supplier contacts in order to generate newbusiness for the company.

The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic self starter, capable of managingtheir own workload, and persistent in a salesenvironment. This is a work hard, play hardenvironment that will reward those who arealways pushing to be at the top of the game.Language skills will put you at an advantage, but are not essential.

Compensation will be commensurate withexperience.

Please submit your resume and salaryhistory confidentially toresponddcl@gmail.com

FREIGHT SERVICE

Warehousing & Distribution Transborder Freight Services.

For additional information please contact us directly or visit our website shown belowPHONE: 905-672-6255 FAX: 905-672-6322website: www.cole.ca email: info@cole.ca

Servicing your import and export requirements since 1958

ECO CLEANING

www.thegrower.org

THE GROWERSEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 27

haygrove.com l 1-866-HAYGROVE l tunnelbuzz.com

Haygrove Owners Conference (others welcome) December 3, 2010 - Lancaster, PA

Learn from the experts! in BritainSept. 26-29, call to register (deadline Aug 13)

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

CROP TUNNELS

Vortex Packaging designs innovative containers for the produce industry with the retailer in mind and the grower aswell. this package offers fruit that can't be touched by others

at retail and presents well, ithas also proven to increaseshelf life by several days.

Vortex Packaging Niagara Inc.3325 First Avenue Vineland Station, ON Tel. 905-562-4857 Fax 905-562-4291

Email: philshort@nbfproduce.com

FRUIT & VEGETABLE PACKAGINGWellington Wood Products (1972) Ltd.

Manufacturers and Suppliers of:

• Corrugated Baskets & Masters • Wooden Baskets • Wooden Hampers

• Plastic Containers & Bags • Cider Supplies • Apple Packaging & Cartons

• Waxed Cartons • Custom Corrugated Cartons • Berry Containers & Masters

* Triple Wall Bulk Bins

A large INVENTORY of all types of packaging.We can deliver your order DIRECTLY TO YOUR DOOR.

For current, competitive pricing call

1-800-265-2397 www.wwp.on.ca

Wellington Wood Products410 Sligo Road WestMount Forest, ON N0G 2L0519-323-1060 wwp@wightman.ca

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

CONTAINERS

FreeAdmissionEveryone Welcome

Essex County Associated Growers - Bounty of the County60th Annual Trade Show

Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010 - 9:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov 24, 2010 - 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Kinsmen Recreation Centre • 249 Sherk Street, LeamingtonFor more information, contact Mary Jane Dalrymple at 519-326-4481

View the newest agricultural technology and equipment and attend informative speaker programs. Cooking Demonstrations daily!

TRADE SHOW

Trip Draw!Door Prizes

FARMERS MARKET

EverySaturday 8 am - 1 pm

125 Simcoe Road

Community Centre - parking lotBradford and District Memorial

On October 16th find the Market at

www.soupfest.ca

www.gotobwg.ca

Buy Fresh

Open until October 30th

Buy Local

Meet you at the Market!

Bradford, ON

day 8 am - 1 pmaturrdSyervE

d and District MemoriaBradfor

k lC C

oad125 Simcoe Rd, ONBradfor

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.gotobwg.cwww

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THE GROWER

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

IRRIGATION

REFRIGERATION

Pipe& Fittings

for Water Systems

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PAGE 28 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

REAL ESTATE

Gerry Loeters for Royal LePage,

RCR Realty.PH. 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 Aylmer,Ontario.Asking$660,000.00includingequipment.

CLASSIFIEDS2007 Harnois Greenhouse,40X102 ovaltech III, completewith benches and furnaces andautomatic controls. Asking$27,000.00. Fantastic lookingstructure. Poinsettia Pot coversand sleeves form Highland Sup-ply. Preformed for 4,6,8 and 10inch pots. No longer growingpoinsettias. Will email photos.Please call (519) 695-5342. Serious inquiries only please.

GreenhouseFor Sale

Woodstock / Paris70,000 sq ft greenhouse on 10 acres land. MLS 667584

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

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

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 29

ONTARIOSouthwestern Brian Sutton (519) 652-0469West Central Dave Reeves (519) 586-3713Niagara Matt Peters (905) 328-6276Georgian Bay Jayme Bartlett (416) 460-9665East Central Sean Bartlett (905) 376-2362South Eastern Doug Allen (613) 925-4031Accounts Manager Bruce Disher (905) 563-8261QUEBECWestern Dist. Brent Waller (450) 827-2462Eastern Dist. Francois Jobin (450) 298-5207NEW BRUNSWICK Blair Stirling (506) 488-2147NOVA SCOTIA/PEI Ken Sanford (902) 679-3373

Steve McDow (902) 680-8697PRAIRIES Bryan Waller (204) 888-8411BRITISH COLUMBIA Jim Chamberlain (250) 868-3711

New program funds on-farm protection of species at risk Ontario farmers can now access

funding for on-farm projects toprotect species at risk under a newgovernment program launched inearly August for the 2010 cropping year.

The Species at Risk FarmIncentive Program (SARFIP) willprovide cost-share funding forfarmers to implement best management practices that helpprotect species at risk and essentialhabitats located on-farm. TheOntario Ministry of NaturalResources has provided $800,000to the program this year throughthe Species at Risk StewardshipFund and the Government ofCanada has committed $400,000through its Habitat StewardshipProgram for Species at Risk.SARFIP will be delivered byOntario Soil and Crop Improve-ment Association (OSCIA) under

an agreement with the OntarioFederation of Agriculture (OFA)who represents the Ontario FarmEnvironmental Coalition.

“We are pleased to have a newprogram available that can helpfarmers with costs associated withprotecting species at risk,” saysBarry Hill, a farmer and Presidentof OSCIA. “About 180 ofOntario’s wildlife species are considered to be at risk and farmers can play an important rolein protecting our province’s biodiversity.”

In order to qualify for fundingof up to 50 per cent of approvedproject costs, eligible Ontario farm

businesses must have a peer-reviewed Third Edition Environ-mental Farm Plan and have selected at least one of the bestmanagement practices (BMP)from the SARFIP list. Portions offive specific BMP categories areeligible for cost-share fundingunder this new initiative: Uplandand Riparian Area Habitat Management, Erosion ControlStructures (Riparian), ImprovedPest Management, Shelterbelt andNative Vegetation Establishmentand Resource Planning.

SARFIP is a new program thatcannot be combined with existingcost-share opportunities associatedwith the Canada-Ontario FarmStewardship Program. For morespecific details, farmers areencouraged to contact their localOSCIA Program Representative orvisit www.ontariosoilcrop.org.

The short-eared owl is one of 190wild species at risk in Ontario.Others include whip-poor-will(bird), wild hyacinth (plant),snapping turtle (reptile) andgrass pickerel (fish).

BASF helpscontrol

troublesomediseases

BASF is in the final stages ofdefining Initium fungicide, a newactive ingredient designed to protect a wide array of specialtycrops and ornamentals from disease. Research on Zamprofungicide—a new multi-modepreventative fungicide for spe-cialty crops, and Orvego fungi-cide—a formulation specificallyfor the greenhouse and nurserymarkets was presented at theAmerican PhytopathologicalSociety (APS).

BASF researchers discussedthe profile for Initium and thefungicide ametoctradin, a newOomycete-specific fungicide,which belongs to a new class ofchemistry. Kristin Klappach,Ph.D., Global Fungicide Devel-opment, presented the overallprofile of Initium. This newactive ingredient, a product ofBASF research and discovery, isbeing researched extensively incontrolling major plantpathogens, such as downymildews and Phytophthora spp.on vine, vegetable crops andornamental plants. EPA registra-tion is expected in 2012.

Zampro fungicide, a newmulti-mode preventative fungi-cide, was addressed at APS byKatherine Walker, Technical Service Field Representative. Apremix combination of Initiumand dimethomorph, Zampro isdesigned to add a layer of protec-tion against Oomycete diseases,such as downy mildews and Phytophthora spp in a variety ofspecialty crops. Zampro isexpected to be registered in 2012.

“Because Zampro containstwo modes of action, it will helpgrowers manage resistance issuesin crops, such as vegetables, potatoes, grapes and hops,”Walker said.

THE GROWER

PAGE 30 –– SEPTEMBER 2010

It is human nature to want toshare both the good and the badexperiences one has, with the nexthuman contact one has. The following is all about a good contact, or I should say contacts, asthere were 16 involved.

As a long-time sorta-golfer, Ithink that adventures on the coursecan reveal much about people. Thisweek I had the great good fortuneto once again participate in a golfexperience known as ‘ExtremeGolf.’ Playing in five various for-mats, we managed to get in threedays and 90 holes of ‘pleasure’under burning sun: This in spite offorecasts of rain every day. (It didrain back home which goes to

show how favoured golfers canbe!)

All 16 are roughly associatedthrough common background, current or past employment, and inmany of their personal attributes.Having written that, they are as different as chalk to cheese inmany other things as well. I suspect all but one or two haveslugged hay into a barn in 100degree weather- hotter in the uppermow at this time of year! This hastaught the lesson that no matterhow tough or unpleasant the task, ithas to be done, and no one else isgoing to do it- so get it done. Allhave dealt carefully with irate ‘customers’ and have found a wayto appease them, and keep themcoming back. This equally appliesto their dealings with their staff. Inthis time of tight margins, it is soimportant that staff understandthey must generate several timesthe cash value of what they arepaid. A $12 per hour student cando the soil sampling while the $50person must expedite productsales, delivery, and follow-up toensure customer loyalty and repeatbusiness.

On the golf course, they can beas tough a competitor as you willever see, but at the same time

willing to give a hand out or a handup to anyone who needs it. Ifsomeone is faltering with a putteror a driver, there is always thought-ful advice on how to fix the problem, even if it means a closermatch or even a potential personalloss. It is this selflessness shownthat has been planted in the individual over their lifetime andtheir career.Humour has always been a vehicleto get over rough spots. This grouphas taken humour to new heights.Mimicking the ‘chirp’ of one player or the special laughter ofanother is common, and alwaysgets a laugh. Recollecting somespecial incident, even of a pastyear, always brings back specialmemories. The group has so manyshared memories that no onewould be excluded in the discussions just because they cannot attend.

In short, the event has bondedus as perhaps no other event coulddo. I know that any member wouldhelp another if the need was there.I also know that no one would seeka ‘gimme’ in life or in businesswhen they knew they had to deliv-er on an issue. There is both prideand determination present, on andoff the course.

It is both interesting andenlightening to know how many ofthe group has taken on extraresponsibilities as leaders in theirindustry or business associations,even when already over-committedto their business. It is also interest-ing to see that even though theyhave retired, several members stillcome out to remain ‘connected’with the goings-on in the industry.Likewise, the discussions on issuesoften refer back to how things hadbeen handled in the past, and theirsage advice is given freely and listened to avidly. There are no‘secret’ discussions.

Sharing is the norm, includingthe work done while there, the useof accommodations, the use of vehicles and equipment.

A large part of the success ofthe whole event is based on the funwe have every minute! Who couldforget the ‘whale’ sighting out onthe lake one year? Who will soonforget the ‘beeping reception’ atthe end of the last match? Who willforget the libation provider onTuesday? Who will forget the spir-it of cooperation in preparingmeals, doing clean-ups, and gettingthe annual bonfire going? Thereare a thousand new memoriesevery year, but best of all is in

knowing that each and everyonethere would go out of their way tohelp any other -- in business or intheir personal life. We even had adiscussion about how the eventcould be transposed to other areas.

Perhaps it could work, if the‘right’ people were invited, and thesame selflessness was practised. Ido know that it would be a hit foreveryone who got to take part. Theorganization does not happen without a great dedication, and a special touch. It would need that asa starting point to give it a chance.We are lucky in having the bestorganizer already!

Perhaps the lessons learned onthe golf course are what give all 16the ability they have to succeed intheir lives. Perhaps the fact thatthey are indeed successful is whythey can relax on the course. (Mostof the time!) The thrill of a birdieor the agony of a shot into the pondis all a part of the game, just as theyare in life. The ability to share sofreely with others one may onlysee once or twice a year is special.

Perhaps if the spirit of the gameand the pleasure of the event couldbe bottled and dispensed whereverand whenever needed, the worldwould be a much better place. Iwould like to think so.

Craig’s CommentsExtremely good friends

Craig HunterOFVGA

for Fungicides, Miticides & Insecticides in Horticultural Cropsfor Fungicides, Miticides & Insecticides in Horticultural CropsThe Source...The Source...Call us at

1-866-613-3336 or visitwww.engageagro.com

| www.valent.ca | 519-822-7043Read and follow the label instructions before using.All products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valent U.S.A. Corporation.© Valent U.S.A. Corporation, 2009. All rights reserved.

Minor Use

So you think you can grow ethnic crops?By Karen Davidson

Is that amaranth or callaloo? Well, actually, they are thesame crop.

That’s just one of the issues facing growers who are newto ethnic crops. They have many global names!

When staff of the Pest Management Regulatory Agencyvisited the Simcoe Research Station earlier this summer,Melanie Filotas related some of the findings of how thesenew crops are faring in test plots. She is OMAFRA’s Inte-grated Pest Management Specialist for specialty crops. Incollaboration with the Vineland Research and InnovationCentre, OMAFRA staff have planted three varieties each ofyard-long beans, fuzzy melon, Asian eggplant and amaranth.

When planting these new crops, look for the same pestsas are common to members of their botanical families thatare commonly grown in Ontario. For example, Coloradopotato beetle and verticilium wilt are regularly found ineggplant and have also been found in Asian eggplant.“Japanese beetle damage was a surprise to us in this crop,but we don’t know if it’s related to the location of our plot,”says Filotas.

Japanese beetle has also shown its appetite for amaranthas have the diseases phomopsis and pythium. Leafhoppershave damaged yard-long beans. Fuzzy melon appears to besusceptible to many of the same pests (e.g. powdery

mildew, alternaria and downy mildew) as more commonmembers of the cucumber family, but symptoms don’talways look the same on fuzzy melon as on squash orcucumbers.

“When you are growing ethnic crops, you should alsolook up the major pests of the crop in its native region anddetermine if they are also present in Ontario,” says Filotas.“However, expect the unexpected because you can nevercompletely predict what will attack your crop under Ontarioconditions.”

Confirming what registered products to use can also bechallenging. Many specialty crops have very few registeredproducts, although this is not always the case. Crops are putinto groups for the purpose of pesticide registrations, and insome cases a product will be registered on an entire cropgroup. An ethnic crop grower needs to determine what cropgroup and subgroup the ethnic crop belongs to. For exam-ple, amaranth belongs to subgroup A of Crop Group 4 - theLeafy Non-Brassica Vegetables group, which also includeslettuce and spinach. Only products registered on all of cropgroup 4, or on crop subgroup 4A can be applied to amaranth. Products labeled only on spinach or lettuce, oronly on crop subgroup 4B cannot be applied to amaranth.Newer pesticides are more likely to have crop group registrations that include these ethnic crops. Be sure to consult the label or if in doubt, contact a specialist.

PMRA Summer Tour participants learn about key pestmanagement concerns on Asian vegetables at the Univ. ofGuelph, Simcoe Research Station, July 20, 2010

By Jim Chaput, OMAFRA,Minor Use Coordinator, Guelph

Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc.and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)recently announced the registration of Quintec(quinoxyfen) fungicide for severalcrops in Canada. These are thefirst registrations of this newactive ingredient in Canada andmarks an important milestone inaddressing the pest control producttechnology gap between the U.S.and Canada. This product and thedisease it controls have been identified for many years as a crit-ical disease management toolneeded by Canadian producers.

Quintec fungicide is registeredfor control of powdery mildew ongrape, stone fruit (apricot, cherry,nectarine, peach, plum, plumcot,etc.), strawberry, melons, pumpkins, winter squash, head lettuce, leaf lettuce and hops. Thefollowing table provides a summa-ry of the crop registrations on thenew Canadian Quintec fungicidelabel. Consult the full productlabel for detailed instructions, precautions and restrictions.

Follow all other directions foruse on the Quintec fungicide labelcarefully. Consult individual cropand powdery mildew control recommendations on the Quintecfungicide label for additional userestrictions.

Quintec fungicide should beused in an Integrated Pest Man-agement program and in rotationwith other management strategiesto adequately manage resistance.Consult provincial guidelines andlocal extension specialists formonitoring protocols and diseasemanagement recommendations.

For copies of the new label contact Jim Chaput, OMAFRA,Guelph (519) 826-3539, or visitthe Dow AgroSciences Canadawebsite at www.dowagro.com/ca

THE GROWER

SEPTEMBER 2010 –– PAGE 31

Quintec (quinoxyfen) fungicide granted first Canadian registration for several specialty crops

REDUCED FREIGHT for the MacroBin 32 now available!New MacroBin 32s are available for direct shipment from our Kentucky plant. Loaded on 53' trailers in a 10-pak configuration, 140 MacroBin 32s can be shipped in one load, instead of just 112. This is a 25% increase in quantity per load, for a significant savings in freight charges.

For more information, please visit: www.macroplastics.com/comfyontarioU.S. Headquarters: 707-437-1200Northeast Regional Office: 585-271-2454

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NEW reinforced foot design makes MacroBins even more durable and stronger than ever.

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Crop or CropGroup

Rate Product perhectare (mL / ha)

Remarks Pre-harvest interval

Quintec Fungicide

Stone fruit 500 Apply Quintec Fungicide before visibile symptoms of powdery mildew appear. A maximum of 5 applications is permitted on 10 to 14 day interval.

7 days

Grapes 300 Apply Quintec Fungicide before visibile symptoms of powdery mildew appear. A maximum of 5 applications is permitted on 14 day interval.

14 days

Strawberries 300 - 440 Apply Quintec Fungicide before visibile symptoms of powdery mildew appear. A maximum of 5 applications is permitted on 10 - 14 day interval.

1 day

Melons, Pumpkins,Winter Squash

300 - 440 Apply Quintec Fungicide before visibile symptoms of powdery mildew appear. A maximum of 4 applications is permitted on 10 - 14 day interval.

3 days

Head and leaf let-tuce

240 Apply Quintec Fungicide before visibile symptoms of powdery mildew appear. A maximum of 4 applications is permitted on 10 - 14 day interval.

1 day

Hops 300 - 500 Apply Quintec Fungicide before visibile symptoms of powdery mildew appear. A maximum of 2 applications is permitted on 14 day interval.

21 days

New website

launchedHere’s where you can access

timely information on commercialtomato and pepper production inOntario. The new website waslaunched just as late blight wasdiscovered in tomatoes near Simcoe and in potatoes near Alliston. OMAFRA experts are advisingcrop scouting and immediatefungicide application.

These updates provide timelyinformation on crop production,pest identification, pest control,pest monitoring, weather, changesto pesticide registrations, meetings, conferences, new publications of interest to the vegetable industry, and more.

THE GROWER

PAGE 32 –– SEPTEMBER 2010