By Karen Davidson Therersquos a reason that the Old

Farmerrsquos Almanac still holds anaudience Weather never repeatsitself

If forecasts could be true everyfarmer would be rich plantingmore planting less Thatrsquos nothow it worked last year for PeterSchouten partner in HeppellrsquosPotato Corporation in SurreyBritish Columbia After a latespring with 30-day gaps in planting the fall harvest wasrained out with four inches in 36hours With 756 acres in potatoesalone he lost $2 million

ldquoItrsquos tuition spent for knowledge gainedrdquo saysSchouten who is also chair of BCFresh a company that annuallymarkets $50 million of root cropsfor 52 farm families ldquoThe soonerwe can look back at this once-in-a-century event the betterrdquo

Crop insurance proved inade-quate covering perhaps 30 percent of the input costs The lobbyfor AgriRecovery funds has yield-ed nothing not even a nod fromthe provincial government Arecent turnover in agriculture min-isters means new briefings areneeded to keep the file alive

Ever optimistic he is forgingahead with 2011 plans to growhigh-quality crops and to offertop-rate service to clients Toreduce risk he is cutting potatoacreage to 540 acres and joint venturing on another 100 He willgrow fewer types of potatoeswhile increasing the mix of high-value nugget potatoes

Schoutenrsquos high standardsinclude food safety He estimatesthis line item costs $40000 annu-ally for hair nets gloves staffing

and audits With little crop tomarket this winter there will belabour savings due to the fact hehalved his staff from 67 to 30

With his banker asking formore documentation than everbefore on working capital and cashflow charts he is spending moretime on examining costs and mar-gins While the BC labour rate isone of the lowest in Canada at$800 per hour there are plenty ofitems on the cost ledger

ldquoNumbers are important but Idonrsquot want to lose the entrepre-neurial flavour of this farmrdquo hesays ldquoThe farm has been in theHeppell family since 1920 but Ican see that we have to be mind-

ful of every detailrdquoThe farm also grows pumpkins

squash and some forage crops forrotation relying on certified seedfor best results In the balmyPacific climate they have plantedas early as Feb 17th and neverbeen later than March 1

Between now and seedingSchouten will be finalizing marketing plans for both the farmand BC Fresh The flooding hascaused a 15 per cent price increasein local potatoes with more pricehikes expected as supplies dwindle It will be important tocommunicate to consumers whythose prices are going up to keepthe loyalty of those who want

local produce Part of the plan is to continue

putting the faces of farm familieson the transport trucks of BCFresh This is a way of keeping theheat on grocery chain buyers whoultimately decide on what potatoesto buy at what price

Although BC potatoes areconsumed primarily within theprovince growers are price-takersdue to the volume of potatoesgrown stateside in Washingtonand Idaho ldquoIrsquom not a big fan ofthe Canadian dollar right nowrdquostates Schouten referring to theease of potatoes crossing the border at an at-par dollar

On the whole Schouten has

weathered the storm with a positive attitude concentrating onwhat the farm does really wellHersquos not unlike many businesspeople digging in for the longhaul The irony is not lost on himthat he irrigated his potatoes during a dry summer only to beflooded out Compare his story tothat of another grower in Ontariowho agrees that profit can be measured in inches

ldquoFlorida froze this morningrdquosays Bill Nightingale Jr ldquoso Irsquomselling like crazyrdquo

Continued on page 3

InsideGhesquiere Plant Farms goes bankrupt Page 3

How old is theMcIntoshapple

Page 5

FOCUS tracing produce from field to fork Page 11

wwwthegrowerorg

CELEBRATING 131 YEARS AS CANADArsquoS PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATIONJANUARY 2011 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 01

PM 40012319

Visit wwwsavvyfarmercom to learn the secrets of saving money on pest control and to give savvy farmer a free trial

Weather good and bad plays a pivotal role in the fortunes of the produce industry Peter Schouten Heppellrsquos Potato Corporation Surrey BritishColumbia was photographed early in the 2010 potato season before he lost $2 million in the washout of fall harvest He shares his business philosophy as he flips the calendar for a fresh outlook

Two under 40 weather vanes for the future

Bunkhouses reassessed

The Ontario government ischanging the farm bunkhousesproperty tax classification fromresidential to farm beginning Janu-ary 1 2011 Approximately 2000bunkhouses are located on farmsacross the province housing about15000 temporary or seasonalworkers

Farmers with residences thathouse temporary workers will paythe farm property tax rate whichis 75 per cent lower than the resi-dential rate Farm properties areassessed by Municipal PropertyAssessment Corporation

OFVGA advises that youshould check that your bunkhouseis taxed at the farm rate If yourbunkhouse has been taxed at theresidential rate appeal it toMPAC

ldquoThis change will ensure con-sistent property tax treatment forfarm properties across theprovincerdquo said Dwight DuncanOntario Minister of Finance

ldquoMany of our growers arestruggling with low prices andrapidly increasing costs that makeit challenging to compete in aglobal marketplacerdquo says BrianGilroy chair OFVGA ldquoHorticul-ture is a vital contributor of jobsand economic activity to thisprovince and we appreciate thissupport from the government tohelp keep our sector viablerdquo

2010 potato harvest inCanada down 4 per cent

The preliminary productionestimate for the 2010 Canadianpotato crop is 97279000 hun-dredweights (4412575 tonnes)

This is down four per cent fromlast yearrsquos revised productionreports Statistics Canada

Area planted was set at 356700acres (144356 hectares) downfour per cent while area harvestedis estimated down five per cent at344000 acres (139217 hectares)

British Columbia experiencedthe largest decrease in productiondown 48 per cent Close to half ofthe planted area was not harvesteddue to extreme weather conditionsduring harvest Saskatchewanshowed the next greatest decreasedown 22 per cent due to both areaand yield decreases Ontariorsquos pro-duction was up four per centbecause of an increase in the areaplanted

For the second year in a rowthe value of the Canadian potatocrop broke the billion dollar markto come in at $11 billion This is

down from the record $12 billioncrop for 2008 The average valueon all potatoes sold consumedseeded or fed to livestock was$1161cwt compared to $1198the previous year

Pillitteri Wines honoured

Richard Slingerland and WillowPivarnyik Pillitteri Estate Winescelebrate the honour with StevePeters Speaker of the OntarioLegislative Assembly (centre)

Red and white wines from Pil-litteri Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake were chosen as theofficial VQA wines of OntariorsquosLegislative Assembly for 2011More than 150 MPPs and staffvoted on their preference from sixOntario VQA wineries in a latefall event Pillitterirsquos 2007 Caber-net Sauvignon and 2009 Exclama-tion Reserve White received themost votes

Horticultural leaderchairs Agricultural Adaptation Council

Re-elected for a second termJim Rickard will continue to chairthe Agricultural Adaptation Coun-cil (AAC) which has committed$206 million to more than 2500projects over the last 15 years

A new structure for the AACBoard was put into place at theDecember 2010 annual meetingThe AAC Board continues to have16 elected members whichincludes 14 sectoral group directors and two youth-at-largedirectors The two youth-at-largepositions were added to attractyouth representatives into leader-ship roles There are also two non-voting liaison positions fromgovernments

The names and sectoral groupsof the newly elected members ofthe Board and Executive are - Chair Jim Rickard Horticulture

- Vice Chair John Kikkert General Farm Interest- Treasurer Fred Wagner GrainsSeedsOilseedsSpecialty Crops- Secretary Kristin Ego MacPhailOther IndustriesCommodities

- Wayne Black Youth-at-Large- Ron Dancey Agri-BusinessRetailFood Processor- Ed Dehooghe Horticulture- Judy Dirksen Livestock- Kelly Duffy Youth-at-Large- Oliver Haan Livestock- Ian Harrop Supply Management- Don Lobb Other Organizations- Don McCabe General FarmInterest- Tom Posthuma Supply Manage-ment- Gord Surgeoner Agri-busi-nessRetailFood Processor- Brian Wiley GrainsSeedsOilseedsSpecialty Crops- Ezio Di Emanuele Federal Liaison- Hugh Berges Provincial Liaison

New outdoor hort showslated for September 2011

A new outdoor show gearedspecifically for horticulture islaunching September 1 to 3 nearSimcoe Ontario Under the man-agement of Jordon Underhill thefirst annual Canadarsquos Fruit andVeg Tech X-Change aims toshowcase and demonstrate the latest in equipment and globaltechnology

Vanden Bussche Irrigation isone of the first exhibitors to commit to live demonstrationsOther specialized equipment man-ufacturers are expected on the200-acre farm of Dale Vranckx A4000 square-foot convention cen-tre upgraded buildings asphaltparking lot and other amenitiesmake this a hospitable meetingplace on Lake Erie The heart ofOntariorsquos horticulture industry iswithin a 90-minute drive

The first two days of the eventwill be slated as professionalindustry days for producers onlyThe final day will target the weekend farmer consumers andrural property owners A speakerrsquosprogram will be chaired by DrJohn Kelly vice-president ErieInnovation and Commercializa-tion

For more information visitwwfruitvegtechxchangecom orphone 226-381-0282

PAGE 2 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERSLeamington Area Drip Irrigation Inc was honoured at theEssex County Associated Growers for their pioneering work onpiping water from Lake Erie

Photo Mars Lehr Paul Tiessen Peter Epp Ken Hamm TomKeller Len Driedger Greg Dick Ken Stasko Missing WaynePalichuk (chair) Tom Dick Four-E Farms Glen and ToddWaites Tri-B Acres Ed Verbeke presented the award Photo byHerb Sherwood

Ontario Asparagus Growers elected Jason Ryder Delhi as theirnew chair at a recent annual general meeting Vice-chair is Murray Porteous Waterford and Charles Welsh Scotland istreasurer

Bette Jean Crews enters her third term as president OntarioFederation of Agriculture with vegetable grower Mark Walesand Don McCabe remaining vice-presidents Wales has indicated his focus is on municipalities while McCabe isfocused on internal governance and projecting a united voice togovernment

Dean Anderson an Ontario farm safety leader was re-electedfor a second term as chair of the Canadian Agricultural SafetyAssociation Anderson is regional director western Ontariowith Workplace Safety and Prevention Services Alsoacclaimed to the board of directors are Denis Bilodeau vice-president of LrsquoUnion des producteurs agricole and AndreBonneau of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Othermembers include vice-chair John Gordon Canadian Centrefor Health and Safety in Agriculture Bruce Johnson executivedirector of BCrsquos Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Associa-tion Lauranne Sanderson associate professor at the NovaScotia Agricultural College and Billy Woods a farmer fromTorbay Newfoundland

Congratulations to Steve and Lisa Cooper Zephyr Ontarioand Lauren and Ryan Maurer Grenfell Saskatchewan whowere named Canadarsquos Outstanding Young Farmers for 2010Coincidentally they are graduates of the George Morris Centrersquos 2009 Canadian Total Excellence in Agricultural Management (CTEAM) program

In memoriam Ontariorsquos grape industry marks the untimelypassing of Susan OrsquoDell co-founder of EastDell Estates atBeamsville She was a driving force behind the growth of vintner Diamond Estate Wines and Spirits

Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow becomes chair of the Sen-ate Agriculture Committee in the US She is best known forwinning expansion of programs for fruits and vegetables in the2008 US Farm Bill

Glen Squirrell was re-elected for his second term as chair of theOntario Potato Marketing Board Chris Kowalski is vice-chairThey are joined by directors Mac James Harry BradleyShawn Brenn and Rick Wallce

Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario welcomed Tom MiedemaNewmarket as their new chair and Mark Srokosz Grand Bendas vice-chair at their annual general meeting Mary ShabaturaWindham Centre joins the board as a new director

At press timehellip

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400gal yarSpt raSmre CIPRALISPEC

E

Continued from page 1Just before Christmas Nightin-

gale was buying green peppers inbulk from growers in Floridarepacking in his Delhi Ontariowarehouse and selling to a majorgrocer

A third-generation farmer hetook over the 1000-acre operationin the early 2000s and was joinedby his sister Carmina in 2007The business has evolved in thelast decade from being a grower toa grower-packer to a grower-packer-shipper The objective hasbeen to vertically integrate thebusiness and to deal directly withthe grocery chains

Adopting the latest technolo-gies Nightingale Farms blazed apath on drip irrigation and coveredstructures stretching the production season and maintaininga reputation for quality organicproduce The economic advan-tages of those pioneering movesonly last a year or two until otherscome on stream That ldquotechnologyfirstrdquo philosophy has completelychanged in recent years due to grocery chain business practices

The grocery chain buyers tookon as many grower-packers asthey could since 2005 and in theprocess demanded far more product than could be soldexplains Nightingale In the lastthree years over-production hasflattened margins

ldquoNow itrsquos efficiency over qualityrdquo says Nightingale ldquoWeare investing in semi-automatedsystems to compete with labour

costs of $1025 per hour and willtrim our labour force by 20 percent this year Automated packag-ing picking and harvesting arewhatrsquos necessary Diesel fuel ischeaper than labourrdquo

The search for automatedequipment and technology regularly leads them to horticultur-al centres of excellence Califor-nia Spain Holland and Israel Themarvel is that Israel lacks waterbut its technology still out-performs other countries for

quality of produce Margins canrsquot be increased by

technology alone In Ontariorsquoshigh-cost environment Nightin-gale has spread his risk by shiftingsome of his production to Floridaand quitting high-labour cropscompletely ldquoSure itrsquos nice to havethe local food demand in yourback pocket but it only goes sofarrdquo he concedes

The business plan for 2011 istight on every number ldquoWersquorecutting back drastically on new

trials and experimentsrdquo saysNightingale ldquoItrsquos all about everypennyrdquo

Like Peter Schouten hersquos hadto close the book on 2010rsquos weather-related losses Two back-to-back heat waves in earlyAugust matured bumper crops ofcantaloupes that had no marketHe dumped 20000 cases of

cantaloupes on the ground for aloss of $200000

The irony is that the OntarioProduce Marketing Associationjust honoured Bill Nightingalewith their ldquoFreshrdquo award of theyear with a nod to his innovationand high-quality produce

ldquoThis award cost more moneythan you can imaginerdquo he sayswith black humour ldquoIt might aswell have been diamondsrdquo

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 3THE GROWER

By Karen DavidsonGhesquiere Plant Farms Ltd a 300-acre Simcoe Ontario

farm well-known for its propagation of strawberry plantsand raspberry canes for domestic and US customers wentbankrupt November 30 Financial problems ruptured whenpayroll could not be met by the nursery farm leaving 136Mexican and Caribbean workers without their last twoweeksrsquo pay

Under federal labour law these workers are eligible forpayment under the Wage Earner Protection Program to amaximum of $3104 for unpaid wages

ldquoIrsquom confident the workers will be paidrdquo says KenForth president of the Foreign Agricultural Resource Man-agement Services (FARMS) program ldquoItrsquos never goodnews when therersquos a financial problem but I donrsquot think itrsquosa black eye for the industry There have been 500000 prob-lem-free placements since the FARMS program started in

1966 We placed 15400 workers in 2010rdquo Century Services a financial services firm and a secured

creditor confirmed that the foreign consulates immediatelyinitiated paperwork for payment ldquoItrsquos a cumbersomeprocess but it does workrdquo says Tammy Kemp director ofrisk and compliance Century Services ldquoBy law the first$2000 per worker must be paid by Century Services andthe government covers the remainder up to the maximumcoveragerdquo

Meanwhile the first creditorsrsquo meeting was held inHamilton Ontario on December 17 According to publicdocuments on the BDO Canada website creditors rangefrom the Canada Revenue Agency ($13 million) to Scot-land Agro Mart (over $500000) to Ontario StrawberryGrowers Association ($77000)

Indeed the berry growers have experienced ldquosignificantarrears since 2008rdquo says Kevin Schooley executive direc-

tor OSGA ldquoItrsquos cut into our nest egg for special projectsrdquo Two months ago OSGA warned members to buy stock

only from inspected premises so concerned were the exec-utive about impending developments Schooley is advisingmembers to place orders early for nursery stock from otherbusinesses in Ontario Nova Scotia and Quebec to get thebest variety selection

According to the nursery farmrsquos website the operationwas started in 1959 by Belgian immigrant HerryGhesquiere who made a solid reputation of the businessSon Carl took over the farm management in 1995 hiringsales people in Florida and California Since 2004 the farmhas operated under Ghesquiere Plant Farms Ltd Key web-site pages have not been updated since spring 2007 a cluethat in hindsight communicates problems much earlierthan recent months

Ghesquiere Plant Farms Ltd has gone bankruptOff-shore workers to be paid back wages

Two under 40 weather vanes for the future

BC Fresh is unique in putting their family members on transport trucks that haul produce to markets in theLower Mainland of British Columbia

Brief bioThe bio Bill Nightingale Jr

Age 29

Farm Nightingale Farms Delhi ON

Business philosophy ldquoMaximize efficiencyrdquo

Website wwwnightingalefarmscom

The bio Peter Schouten

Age 40

Farm Heppells Potato Corp SurreyBC

Business philosophy ldquoTherersquos always a better wayrdquo

Website wwwheppellsca

Bill Nightingale Jr has been a pioneer in tunnel structures at his Delhi ON farm

PAGE 4 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

THE GROWER

By Karen DavidsonWith slim budgets and big

issues the Fresh Vegetable Grow-ers of Ontario are digging deep forsurvival both as an associationand as individual growers Theumbrella group represents allunregulated vegetables from artichokes to zucchini

The past year has challenged allgrowers with wage increasesenergy hikes and gaps in fightingpests due to lack of controls orchemical resistance ldquoIn articulat-ing our concerns to the powers thatbe we have communicated thatthe current approach to lobbyinghas failed our producers miser-ablyrdquo according to outgoing chairJeff Wilson at the December 16annual general meeting

Part of the thinking is that itrsquos nolonger enough to walk the corri-dors of political power With only52000 Ontario farmers and 318farm organizations demands togovernment are diluted Moreeffective says Wilson is using thepower of mass media to reach consumers and build demand forlocal vegetables

Wilson gave the floor to theHolland Marsh Growersrsquo Associa-tion which has led an aggressivecampaign to win the hearts of con-sumers in the Greater TorontoArea Jamie Reaume executivedirector explained that their 113farmers have expanded the notionof the salad bowl to the soup bowl

partly to educate consumers aboutthe year-round supply of root veg-etables Food-centred events withfarmers serving their favouritesoups have attracted thousandsalong with spin-off publicity inmajor metropolitan newspapers

ldquoWe donrsquot use words like com-modities because for consumersthey only know oil and goldrdquo saysReaume ldquoPutting a face to farm-ers who are highly trusted hasworked for usrdquo

Reaching out to consumers issavvy strategy especially giventhe thousands of newly arrivedCanadians ldquoThose of you whodonrsquot go to places like the OntarioFood Terminal may not realize thechanging face of our industry --the change in buyer patterns andgrower make-up is dramaticrdquo saysWilson

Just a handful of growers haveexperience with the changingtrends of the last three years whereAsians are taking over green grocers and beating the chainstores in the produce aisle At thesame time Indo-Canadians arefinancing farms and getting into

vegetable production The ques-tion is how to tap into this growing community

No matter who is growing veg-etables production challengesremain With so many differentkinds of vegetables it is difficultto prioritize research The cycle ofresearch funding is in full swing

with difficult decisions for SimcoeResearch Station a key hub forhorticulture supervised by theUniversity of Guelph

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and RuralAffairs allots $54 million to the

University of Guelph but not allthat money is destined forresearch A portion is earmarkedfor administration but more con-troversially growers have learnedthere is an allotment to the artsdepartment

This news does nothing to abatethe frustrations of vegetable grow-ers struggling to research clubrootresistance in cabbage or bacterialrot in tomatoes For yet anothernuanced view on the needs forresearching organic and conven-tional methods go no further thanDr Catarina Saude

ldquoA disease is a disease whetherthe producer is growing organical-ly or notrdquo says Saude ldquoWe needto look at pathology problems notjust leafy vegetable problemsrdquo

For those who wish to insuretheir crops the Fresh Market Vegetable Acreage Loss programis available through Agricorp Inthree years the insurance programhas grown to 75 farmers who in2010 insured 9941 acres Theclaims paid have equaled just over$713000 for $18 million in premiums Customers are notgoing up but acreage is accordingto Stacey Cahill industry specialist Agricorp

Even with the best insuranceprogram and research back-upgrowers must make peace with themarkets Itrsquos tough to figure outhow Quebec-grown broccoli cansell for $14 per case in Montrealand $8 per case in Toronto

Weather Pests Markets Some-where in this story is the blackhumour of a Far Side cartoon

Competitiveness should be key issue in election year

The 60th AnnualMuck Vegetable

ConferenceHoly Martyrs of Japan Parish Centre

167 Essa StreetBradford Ontario

Trade Show NoticeMarch 30 amp 31 2011

Please contact Matt SheppardPhone (905) 775-3317

Fax (905) 775-3318

In a first a vegetable farmer made a cameo appearance in the 2011Face of Farming calendar The popular calendar published by theOntario Farm Animal Council is distributed to politicians and mediaLook for Kyle Horlings a fourth-generation vegetable farmer in theHolland Marsh near Bradford He came home to farm with his fathersiblings and grandfather after graduating from the agricultural program at Ridgetown College

These yellow beans were harvested at the farm of Larry Verbeke inOntarios Essex County Photo by Korinne Robertson

What do the Hungarian pianistFerenc Liszt and the McIntoshapple have in common Both arecelebrating a 200th anniversary in2011

As marketers seize upon thesemilestones to shed a spotlight on atried and true brand the questionbecomes how relevant is a producttoday at 200 years Happily thestory of the McIntosh apple -- discovered in Dundela Ontario ndashhas long legs Ontario AppleGrowers has hired the promotion-al agency Faye Clack Communi-cations (FCC) to celebrate notonly McIntosh apples but 13 othercommercial varieties

ldquoThere is such a long familyhistory to the McIntosh apple thatwersquove chosen Family Day Febru-ary 21 to host a winter apple ballin Canadarsquos largest ballroomrdquosays Kelly Ciceran managerOntario Apple Growers

The free event to be held atTorontorsquos Westin Harbour Castlehotel from 11 am to 2 pm willfocus on family activities rangingfrom apple tastings to arts andcrafts For kids and those youngat heart therersquos the opportunity todance the McIntosh MacarenaOrganizers will attempt to breakthe current World GuinnessRecord for apple bobbing whichstands at 266 people Long afterthe event the promotion beat willcontinue with McIntosh applerecipes

For consumers the McIntoshcontinues to be the most widelyavailable variety with 25 per centof the Ontario apple crop consist-ing of this variety Although pro-duction is down more than 30 percent in 2010 more than 66 millionpounds were harvested in OntarioThe variety is well-known acrossCanada with orchards in BritishColumbia Quebec NewBrunswick and Nova Scotia

By Karen DavidsonCall it Purdyrsquos PR gambit

Pitching saskatoon berries to theCBCrsquos prime-time Dragonrsquos Dentakes moxie But thatrsquos exactlywhat Sandra Purdy and AllisonOzog did on October 13 with theirtelevision appearance asking foran investment of $250000 inPrairie Berries in exchange for499 per cent of the company

The fact that den masters KevinOrsquoLeary and Robert Herjavecclaimed ignorance of the westernCanadian superfruit was wavedaway by Calgarian Arlene Dickin-son whose local knowledge

proved pivotal in seeing the poten-tial for sales In fact Dickinsonsaid she would invest if she couldhave 10 per cent royalties on everypound of saskatoons sold over current levels of 400000 poundsper year Purdy agreed

Even if Purdy had come awaywith no investment she knew shewould win unparalleled awarenessof saskatoon berries and her Keel-er Saskatchewan-based companywith an audience of 500000

ldquoWhen I started the DragonrsquosDen process I didnrsquot plan for theaftermathrdquo says Purdy ldquoAfter theshow aired we received 250

emails and I did 16 media interviewsrdquo

Prairie Berries wants to becomethe next Ocean Spray of NorthAmerica raising the profile ofsaskatoons to the superfruit statusof cranberries She can fairly callthe berry a superfruit with itsample array of anthocyaninswhich fight cancer and a long listof maladies Already Purdy hasdeals with Dairyland to incorpo-rate saskatoons into yogurt and

with Lassonde Juices to mix withfruit drinks She now wants to goto the next level by promotingsaskatoons as an ingredient forheart-healthy foods

Will it take millions of dollars toearn success as some dragons suggested Time will tell but theDragonrsquos Den pitch may turn outto be one of the more creativeways to get the 120-acre orchardand Individual Quick Freeze (IQF)facility on the map Purdy alsoleads the Saskatoon Berry Councilof Canada creating a critical massof growers and processors to polish the berryrsquos profile

While the on-air deal lookedexciting due diligence remainsPurdy and Dickinson met inToronto in early December to discuss the fine print PrairieBerries is currently an ingredientsupplier but Purdy hopes that oneday soon saskatoon berries will befruit readily available in retail

As Purdy is fond of telling threecranberry farmers once startedwith a dream too And that dreamturned into Ocean Spray

Editorrsquos note to see the pitchgo to wwwyoutubecom andsearch CBC Dragons Den 5-4Prairie Berries

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 5

MARKETINGSaskatoon berry pitch sealed with a drink

Anniversaries pose uniquemarketing challenges

Sandra Purdy prepares her saskatoon berry pitch to the CBC program The Dragonrsquos Den Aspiring entrepreneurs face five multi-millionaires each with the expertise and money toturn infant ideas into grown-up fortunes Arlene Dickinson was hooked

ldquoWhen I started the DragonrsquosDen process I didnrsquot plan forthe aftermathrdquo -Sandra Purdy

What do the Hungarian pianistFerenc Liszt and the McIntoshapple have in common Both arecelebrating a 200th anniversary in2011

As marketers seize upon thesemilestones to shed a spotlight on atried and true brand the questionbecomes how relevant is a producttoday at 200 years Happily thestory of the McIntosh apple -- discovered in Dundela Ontario ndashhas long legs Ontario AppleGrowers has hired the promotion-al agency Faye Clack Communi-cations (FCC) to celebrate notonly McIntosh apples but 13 othercommercial varieties

ldquoThere is such a long familyhistory to the McIntosh apple thatwersquove chosen Family Day Febru-ary 21 to host a winter apple ballin Canadarsquos largest ballroomrdquosays Kelly Ciceran managerOntario Apple Growers

The free event to be held atTorontorsquos Westin Harbour Castlehotel from 11 am to 2 pm willfocus on family activities rangingfrom apple tastings to arts andcrafts For kids and those youngat heart therersquos the opportunity todance the McIntosh MacarenaOrganizers will attempt to breakthe current World GuinnessRecord for apple bobbing whichstands at 266 people Long afterthe event the promotion beat willcontinue with McIntosh applerecipes

For consumers the McIntoshcontinues to be the most widelyavailable variety with 25 per centof the Ontario apple crop consist-ing of this variety Although pro-duction is down more than 30 percent in 2010 more than 66 millionpounds were harvested in OntarioThe variety is well-known acrossCanada with orchards in BritishColumbia Quebec NewBrunswick and Nova Scotia

By Karen DavidsonCall it Purdyrsquos PR gambit

Pitching saskatoon berries to theCBCrsquos prime-time Dragonrsquos Dentakes moxie But thatrsquos exactlywhat Sandra Purdy and AllisonOzog did on October 13 with theirtelevision appearance asking foran investment of $250000 inPrairie Berries in exchange for499 per cent of the company

The fact that den masters KevinOrsquoLeary and Robert Herjavecclaimed ignorance of the westernCanadian superfruit was wavedaway by Calgarian Arlene Dickin-son whose local knowledge

proved pivotal in seeing the poten-tial for sales In fact Dickinsonsaid she would invest if she couldhave 10 per cent royalties on everypound of saskatoons sold over current levels of 400000 poundsper year Purdy agreed

Even if Purdy had come awaywith no investment she knew shewould win unparalleled awarenessof saskatoon berries and her Keel-er Saskatchewan-based companywith an audience of 500000

ldquoWhen I started the DragonrsquosDen process I didnrsquot plan for theaftermathrdquo says Purdy ldquoAfter theshow aired we received 250

emails and I did 16 media interviewsrdquo

Prairie Berries wants to becomethe next Ocean Spray of NorthAmerica raising the profile ofsaskatoons to the superfruit statusof cranberries She can fairly callthe berry a superfruit with itsample array of anthocyaninswhich fight cancer and a long listof maladies Already Purdy hasdeals with Dairyland to incorpo-rate saskatoons into yogurt and

with Lassonde Juices to mix withfruit drinks She now wants to goto the next level by promotingsaskatoons as an ingredient forheart-healthy foods

Will it take millions of dollars toearn success as some dragons suggested Time will tell but theDragonrsquos Den pitch may turn outto be one of the more creativeways to get the 120-acre orchardand Individual Quick Freeze (IQF)facility on the map Purdy alsoleads the Saskatoon Berry Councilof Canada creating a critical massof growers and processors to polish the berryrsquos profile

While the on-air deal lookedexciting due diligence remainsPurdy and Dickinson met inToronto in early December to discuss the fine print PrairieBerries is currently an ingredientsupplier but Purdy hopes that oneday soon saskatoon berries will befruit readily available in retail

As Purdy is fond of telling threecranberry farmers once startedwith a dream too And that dreamturned into Ocean Spray

Editorrsquos note to see the pitchgo to wwwyoutubecom andsearch CBC Dragons Den 5-4Prairie Berries

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 5

MARKETINGSaskatoon berry pitch sealed with a drink

Anniversaries pose uniquemarketing challenges

Sandra Purdy prepares her saskatoon berry pitch to the CBC program The Dragonrsquos Den Aspiring entrepreneurs face five multi-millionaires each with the expertise and money toturn infant ideas into grown-up fortunes Arlene Dickinson was hooked

ldquoWhen I started the DragonrsquosDen process I didnrsquot plan forthe aftermathrdquo -Sandra Purdy

By Karen DavidsonWith the asparagus seed busi-

ness exceeding $600000 fromOntario growers customers in theUS and the UK directors areinvestigating a business model thatwould be at armrsquos length from theOntario associationThatrsquos a keyissue says Jason Ryder newlyelected president at the recentOntario Asparagus Growersrsquo Mar-keting Board (OAGMB) meeting

ldquoWersquore looking at the parame-ters for seed productionrdquo saysRyder ldquoItrsquos about how to supplyreplanting needs in the US andgetting more out of our breedingresources hererdquo

Thanks to the breeding effortsof Dr Dave Wolyn and PaulBanks from the University ofGuelph and Bill Sanders summerseed production manager therewas a 98 per cent increase inOntario asparagus seed quantity in2010 Ontario growers benefitedfrom being able to order seedquantities up to and exceeding 15per cent of their equivalentacreage for replanting (1 acre = 1unit = 20000 seeds) Replacingolder fields with a newer morevigorous hybrid variety is essentialto gaining higher yields and production efficiency

Stepping up production alsorequired providing capacity andensuring quality ldquoWe purchased aPhair Seed Cleaner that reducedthe amount of time to clean seedby one to two daysrdquo says MarvinKarges executive directorOAGMB The association is alsolooking at investing in a high-volume seed counter ldquoThis willbecome increasingly important aswe endeavor to increase our seedunits each yearrdquo

Equally important is continuedinvestment to increase the impactof Millennium cultivars and otherUniversity of Guelph varieties fortrial and production in world mar-kets To date almost $23 millionhas been generated in seed salessince 1999 Originally funded bythe Canadian Horticultural Com-mission Tax Remission programwhich concluded in 1998 theassociation is further committed to$13 million of research with theUniversity of Guelph and theAgricultural Adaptation Councilover the next three years

Asparagus is one of the horti-cultural crops that is quicklybecoming globally commoditizedreports Jeff Wilson directorresearch and seed developmentOAGMB While China is the vol-ume producer Peru continues its

push in the number two spot with28000 hectares in 2010 and aver-age yields of 115 tons per hectare(FreshPlazacom September 92010)

Labour energy regulatory bur-dens and land use policies all con-tribute to Ontario having the high-est cost of production of any juris-diction Itrsquos still a struggle to com-

pete against imports with freshlocal product thatrsquos early ndash as itwas in 2010 ndash then shut down byfrost only to come on strongagain

More research is required onsoil-borne diseases and their man-agement specifically phytophtho-ra Michigan State University hasdone work to the point that no rec-ommendations exist for currentplantings says Wilson but newplantings offer an opportunity formanagement to be incorporatedinto the breeding program

Still to be investigated is therole of plant nutrients in relation tooverall plant health The relation-ship of plant nutrientshealth tohuman nutrition is yet to beexplored with the role of rutin yetto be determined

Plans for a mid-season market

for number two grades is understudy To date work on an individual quick freeze (IQF) planthas been frustrated by lack ofOntario processors and inexpen-sive imports

Ontariorsquos 98 asparagus produc-ers stewarded fewer acres in 2010(2540) than mid-decade reflectingagriculturersquos trends in all com-modities for fewer farmers Thereare 57 growers with less than 20acres reports Karges

ldquoIf the planets align we couldhave a very profitable seed busi-ness and substantially fewerOntario growers in the yearsaheadrdquo says Karges ldquoWe need toresolve how to reinvest the valueof the seed business back into theindustry that returns the largestbenefit This is the challengerdquo

THE GROWER

PAGE 6 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Revenues from Ontario asparagus seed breeding bring potential and challenge

Paul Banks (l) a University of Guelph researcher and Marvin KargesExecutive Director of Ontario Asparagus Growersrsquo Marketing Boardare pleased with the seed business

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THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 7

Board briefsOntario Fruit and Vegetable

Growersrsquo Association (OFVGA)December 2010

Following are highlights fromthe OFVGA board meeting heldDecember 16 2010 The purposeof this brief is to keep you up-to-date on the issues that the OFVGAis working on as well as projectsand initiatives the organization isinvolved in

Audit reportRepresentatives from Tonin amp

Co LLP reviewed their draft auditreport with the Board for theOFVGA fiscal year ended October31 2010 Final financial state-ments will be presented to theOFVGA membership at the annu-al general meeting in January2011

LabourTony Dean a former provincial

Deputy Minister of Labour tableda report to the Minister of Labourin early December following areview of Ontariorsquos occupationalhealth and safety prevention andenforcement system Dean withthe support of a panel of safetyexperts from labour and employergroups and academic institutionslooked at a range of issues includ-ing safety practices impact of theunderground economy on healthand safety practices and legislationand how it serves worker safety

Canadian Horticultural CouncilResearch priorities for GrowingForward II - OFVGArsquos represen-tative to the Canadian Horticultur-al Council (CHC) Murray Porte-ous attended an Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada (AAFC) con-sultation session focused onresearch needs and priorities forthe next Growing Forward pro-gram Some discussion focused onhow to move innovation forwardDue to a change in federal govern-ment policy on information shar-ing AAFC no longer providesinformation publicly on variousresearch projects and initiativesbeing worked on This limits theability to develop internationalresearch collaborations andinhibits producers and industryfrom accessing cutting edgeresearch work Only publishedpapers on completed research arecurrently available

Sustainability ndash Porteous also rep-resented CHC at a dialogue meet-ing on the future of Canadian agri-cultural sustainability The sessionincluded representatives from theentire food supply chain frominput manufacturers and producers

to major retailers The group islooking at how the future of agri-cultural sustainability can be han-dled in Canada In Europe con-sumer demand is driving theindustry towards environmentallabelling of food products ndash forexample the carbon footprintassociated with the production of aparticular food item ndash and there isconcern in Canada that if theindustry does not become involvedin this area standards and rulesmay be dictated by activist groupsFarmer participants at the meetingstated that itrsquos important that anyinitiatives in this area be simpleand affordable for farmers toimplement and be compatible withthe various existing programsgrowers are already involved in

ResearchResearch priorities ndash A meetingof edible horticulture commoditygroups to set research priorities forthe sector was held in NovemberThe meeting was convened by theOFVGA and commodity groupswere asked to bring three shortterm and three long-term prioritiesto the meeting Staff from theVineland Research and InnovationCentre (VRIC) has been workingto evaluate the input from themeeting distil it to determinecommonalities amongst the com-modities and apply it to theOntario Research Advisory Net-work system set up by OMAFRAIt is expected this process willbecome an annual event to gathergrassroots input into research pri-orities The following broad themesemerged from the discussionbull Production efficiency ndash mecha-nization and how to reduce labourcostsbull Environmental sustainability ndashunderstand and improve the envi-ronmental sustainability of theproduction systembull Enhancing product quality andavailability ndash includes extendingshelf-life of produce and lengthen-ing the production season andenhancing product qualitybull Crop protection ndash long-termneed for understanding of pestdynamics and resistance develop-ment and short term needs forproblem solving in specific cropsbull Food and health ndash takingadvantage of public focus onhealth and disease preventionstrategies by understanding defin-ing and quantifying health benefitsof horticultural products

Crop ProtectionRepresentatives of the OFVGA

crop protection committee met

with senior staff at the Pest Man-agement Regulatory Agency(PMRA) recently Several keycrop protection issues were dis-cussedbull Sevin ndash As this product aninsecticide used in fruit and veg-etable production is currentlyunder review growers haveagreed that it be removed from theapproved products list of theGrower Requested Own Use(GROU) program Growersagreed to this move in order tosupport the manufacturer that isinvolved in the review processdeciding it is better to have accessto the product in the long termthan risk the chance of losing it ifthe manufacturer cannot fund thereview The GROU program letsfarmers buy an identical crop pro-tection product in the UnitedStates at considerably lower costand import it into Canada for theirown use bull Telone ndash Telone a soil fumi-gant has been withdrawn from themarket by its manufacturer due toa request by PMRA for extra dataconcerning the possibility of traceamounts of Telone being detectedin the water table OFVGA hasasked PMRA to reconsider so thatDow will reinstate the productThere are no known environmen-tal or health problems with Teloneand there is currently no replace-ment product available for grow-ers in Canada bull Resistance ndash Growers are con-tinuing to push the issue of pestresistance to crop protection prod-ucts If this issue is not addressedthe industry will have to keep reg-istering more and more products inorder to keep on top of pest threatsto horticulture crops

Grower Requested Own Use ndashEleven new candidate products arebeing evaluated by PMRA forinclusion on the GROU productlist A decision is expected mid-winter The GROU programallows growers to apply for per-mits to import approved crop pro-tection products from the UnitedStates that are identical to onesavailable in Canada provided theyare for their own use Some prod-ucts are available in the US at alower price than in Canada Moreinformation on the GROU pro-gram can be found at wwwhc-scgccacps-spcpestagri-com-merceimport_grou-piapdaindex-engphp

New products ndash A considerablenumber of new generic products isbecoming available and OFVGAwill provide information as it

emerges Several new activeingredient registrations are alsopending

Safety nets

SDRM program proposal -OFVGA Chair Brian Gilroy CEOArt Smith and Safety Nets ChairMark Wales met with provincialagriculture minister Carol Mitchellon December 7 to present a riskmanagement program proposal forthe horticulture sector TheOFVGA safety nets committeedeveloped a modified Self Direct-ed Risk Management (SDRM)-style program for edible horticul-ture in lieu of the cost of produc-tion-based Risk Management Pro-gram (RMP) that had previouslybeen considered The diversity inedible horticulture ndash over 100 reg-ulated and non-regulated crops ndashmade the collection of datarequired for the creation of anRMP program difficult and therewere concerns about potentialtrade implications from export-dependent commodities

Leaders of the Ontario Agricul-ture Sustainability Coalition(OASC) had a follow-up meetingwith Minister Mitchell on Decem-ber 16 All OASC commoditygroup members with the exceptionof Ontario Sheep have now pre-sented their sector-specific riskmanagement program proposals tothe Minister The Minister contin-ues to reiterate that grass-rootssupport for these programs is criti-cal and that provincial groupsmust continue to press a lobby atthe national level to bring the fed-eral government to the table Afollow-up meeting with the Minis-ter and OASC leaders will takeplace in January

Infrastructure program ndash Thenext round of consultations forGrowing Forward II will takeplace at the end of March andearly April The OFVGA safetynets committee is now working onparameters for an infrastructureprogram for horticulture thatwould provide funding for on-farm infrastructure improvementsThe draft parameters will be pre-sented to the Board at its nextmeeting in February

Tornado assistance ndash The OntarioTornado Assistance Initiativefunded under AgriRecovery hasprovided $572000 in assistance to13 apple growers affected by the2009 tornado that struck theMeaford Ontario area Growersreceived $45 per tree lost in thedisaster

Property

Bunkhouse taxation ndash TheOntario government announced onDecember 13 that farm bunkhous-es will be taxed at the farm prop-erty class tax rate effective Janu-ary 2011 These buildings hadlong been assessed as farm build-ings for tax purposes but somehave started to become subject toresidential assessment in recentyears resulting in dramatic andunexpected tax increases payableby some farmers Growers withbunkhouses are encouraged tocheck their assessments and if aresidential assessment has beenapplied to proceed with an appealto the Municipal Property Assess-ment Corporation

Meeting with provincial gov-ernment representatives - OFVGASafety Nets Chair Mark Walestogether with OFA President BetteJean Crews met with agricultureminister Carol Mitchell andfinance minister Dwight Duncanon December 15 to discuss a vari-ety of issues These includedbull Developing a definition offarming - there is currently noofficial definition in the provinceof Ontario as to what is consideredto be farming A committee will beformed between producersOMAFRA and Finance to helpdevelop a definitionbull Agriculture-specific watertaking permits ndash the current per-mit to take water program includesagricultural users together withmunicipalities and high volumeusers Farm organizations havelong been asking for a specializedpermit program for farmers It wasagreed that OMAFRA and Min-istry of the Environment represen-tatives would work with agricul-ture to move this issue forward bull Environmental goods andservices payments ndash a workinggroup involving Ministry of theEnvironment Ministry of NaturalResources and OMAFRA willlook at what other jurisdictions aredoing regarding environmentalgoods and services payments andhow this might be addressed inOntario

Targeted product developmentto increase competitiveness ofthe fruit and vegetable sector

OFVGA has submitted a fund-ing application to the CanadianAgricultural Adaptation Program(CAAP) for a project to help iden-tify new fruit and vegetable cropsthat could potentially be grown inOntario and Quebec

Continued on page 28

THE GROWER

PAGE 8 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

We have recently been asked toidentify the changes required toAgri-Stability that would make it aworkable program for our sector

Before Agri-Stability can befixed we need to first understandits current deficiencies

The whole concept of Agri-Stability and CAIS beforethat goes back to 20002001 andwas a change in direction awayfrom entitlement-type BusinessRisk Management (BRM) pro-grams to needs-based programsMy point is not to argue which isbetter because that depends ononersquos own circumstances or

opinion but rather to make a fewcomments on the current program

The reality is that the conceptor adoption of reference marginprotection goes back to 20002001ie protect an individual farmerrsquosmargin the concept was bornhowever in a time of a 75 centdollar The method of how to han-dle negative margins was alsoborn at that same time I have beentold on numerous occasions that itwas felt that government shouldnot support bad farm managementand hence the treatment of nega-tive margins was establishedUnfortunately this suggests thatthe thinking of the day was that iffarmers were experiencing negative margins for any period oftime that they must be poor farmmanagers I would suggest that noone envisioned our dollar at paritywith the US greenback nor didanyone envision the massiveincrease in input cost such as oilfertilizer and labour all of whichlie outside the control of farmers

Back in 2000 the impact ofglobal trade had not been fullyfelt we were still protected by lowcurrency valuations relative to ournumber one trading partner and

the availability of produce from allcorners of the earth was just starting

Herein lies the biggest part ofthe problem farmers absorbingthese new costs while not beingable to recover these costs fromthe marketplace Typically theonly thing going up are the costsand not the returns As a conse-quence the margins continue toerode all outside the control ofmost farmers

The first thing that I would liketo see is to amend the referencemargin calculation to recognizethe additional costs outside thecontrol of producers that can notbe recovered from the market-place for example labour rates Byusing the actual wages paid in theproduction margin calculationwhile at the same time taking outany increase over and above inflation would help protect themargin Of course Agri-Stabilitypayments do not cover the entireshortfall but 70 per cent paymentgoes a long way to relieve thefinancial pain of this social policyFarmers as employers would stillcontribute their portion to socialpolicy This same process could be

used for all government-legislatedcosts and in this way the total costof these social programs is notdownloaded directly onto the backof farmers The cost would belargely borne by government(society) as it should be

Other things that need to bechanged would be the negativemargin viability test This is wherea farmer has more than two negative margin years in hisherOlympic average When this happens the farmer has no cover-age whatsoever hardly fair inthese times of eroding referencemargins

Another issue is the risingvalue of the Canadian dollar Irsquomnot sure if this can be directlyaccounted for in the national safe-ty net program but it speaks loudand clear as to the inability formost in our sector to recover theseever increasing costs and is amajor factor for the financially difficult times that most in our sector are experiencing

Outside of the Agri-Stabilityprogram it may be time to developa long overdue national food strategy so that we can measurethe effectiveness of the BRM plan

Then there is the issue of capsboth in Agri-Stability and Agri-Invest Regarding Agri-Investcaps there is no simple answerthere are those who want smallercaps and those who want bigger orno caps at all The way I look at itis that if this is an agricultural program and not a social programand since this is supposed to beneeds-based then it follows thatthere should be no cap

Regarding Agri-Invest there isno question that the cap and thecontribution rate are just too smallfor if you empty your account inone year you will be left with adeficiency or short fall in youraccount for several years until itcan be rebuilt so that there isequivalent of 15 per cent annualnet sales in that account

These are just some of theissues that will need to beaddressed before Agri-Stabilityand Agri-Invest can be a workableprogram for the edible horticulturesector

For what it is worth itrsquos theway I see it

Art SmithCEO OFVGA

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

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

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

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

PM 40012319

OFFICE355 Elmira Road North Unit 105

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

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

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

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

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERSrsquoASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2010

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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

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

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

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

GrsquoDay and Happy New YearIf our last board meeting is a bell-wether of things to come 2011will be no less challenging thanlast year

We are working on a Self-Directed Risk Management(SDRM) program that will bemore flexible for our growers

We are excited that Agricultureand Agri-Food Canada has com-mitted $6 million over three yearsto develop a school snack programin the far north Our own NorthernSchool Snack Program whichoffers fruits and vegetables to

northern Ontario school boards isa template that offers manylessons for the future As well welook forward to the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion doubling its efforts in 2011 withbriefing of health units and logistics planning

But most importantly we areannouncing a pilot program for thenext two years that will injectfunds directly into our sectorgroups for research and marketingThe payout formula is based onthe percentage of membership andcontainer fees paid to the OFVGA

by farmers and associations of thevarious commodity sectors

Research and marketing fundswould be made available in 2011as follows

Apples $15390Asparagus $2010Berries $6000Fresh Grapes $4140Ginseng $3660Grapes $4860Greenhouse $127800Potatoes $24600Tenderfruit $39390Unreg Veg $72150

Specific parameters around theprogram and distribution of fundswill be determined early in 2011We look forward to finalizing thedetails at our first board meetingFebruary 10

But first we look forward tofresh input from the members atlarge at our annual general meet-ing January 10 ndash 12 in NiagaraFalls Itrsquos a great networkingevent

Wishing every grower goodplanning weather this winter

Dollars to plan on

Brian GilroyChair OFVGA

Ask any producer of fresh horticultural crops how the 28 percent increase in the minimumwage has affected them and theywill all tell you that they have notbeen able to recover these increas-es from the marketplace and thatreality threatens to put them out ofbusiness In the tender fruit industry alone the number ofgrowers has declined from 550 to360 in just five years

At least one local politiciangets it Re-elected Lincoln MayorBill Hodgson has called on hisnew council to ldquofight for thetownrsquos agricultural sector over the

next four years at a time wheninternational and national pressures continue to challengelocal growersrdquo

He stated further that ldquoas anagricultural lsquoGreenbeltrsquo communi-ty they must continue to pressureboth senior levels of governmentto step up to the challenge of profitability in the farm sectorrdquo

Ron MacDougall an Ontariorepresentative on the National Producer Advisory Committeealso gets it At a recent meeting ofthe Ontario Agricultural Com-modity Council (OACC) Ronstated that ldquoInnovation is a word

we are hearing a lot these daysThe agri-food industry in thiscountry has always been innova-tive and forward thinking Prof-itability is what moves any indus-try forward and therefore we needto address those issues that inhibitprofitability Profitability alsohelps with innovation We havelaws and regulations in Canadathat our competitors do not have todeal with that increase our cost ofproduction How do we competewhen those extra costs are beyondour controlrdquo The 28 per centincrease in Ontariorsquos minimumwage is just one example

Now to add to our labour painswe anxiously await the SupremeCourtrsquos ruling on the Fraser vsOntario case which threatens togive the agricultural workers theright to unionize and collectivelybargain possibly including theright to strike during harvestTime will tell The results could bedevastating

We strongly agree with theLocal Food movement and thankour many supporters at the consumer and retail levels but atthe end of the day there must be aprofit

Labour pains affecting bottom line

Adrian HuismanOntario Tender Fruit

Producers

Correcting Agri-Stability

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 9

OFVGA 152nd Annual Meeting and ConventionSilent auction contributors

OFVGA Annual General Meeting and Convention Policy

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

to ensure proper delegate preparation and resolutions submission

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

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

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

R J EquipmentRicter Web Printing Comfort Inn ChathamBlenheim ChryslerLandini McCormick CanadaDelhaven Orchards LtdSmith amp Wilson WineryCountry View Golf CourseReif Estate WineryTravelodge ChathamComfort Inn ChathamRed Pine Inn AllistonBoston Pizza ChathamCasa Bella ChathamT-Bones Steak House ChathamBorealis Grille amp Bar GuelphLicks Hamburgers GuelphShoeless Joersquos GuelphKent Farm Supplies Ltd

Blenheim Community Golf ClubBaldoon Golf ClubDeer Run Golf CourseRidgetown Golf ClubTilbury Gulf ClubVia RailViewpoint Estate WinerySunnybrook Farm Estate WineryTim Hortons Head Office Cardinal Golf ClubAyr Turf amp Trac Inc Lailey Vineyard Winery Strewn Winery Stonechurch VineyardSwiss ChaletBoston Pizza Turtle Jacks Aberfoyle Mill Talisman Resort

Country View Golf ClubPeller Estates WinerySunnybrook Estate WineryOntario Beekeepers AssociationCity of Guelph Tourism City of Niagara FallsBank Of Nova Scotia Landini McCormick CanadaKubota CanadaJohn Deere Agraturf Union Gas Red Pine Inn AllistonPelee Days Inn LeamingtonCrown Plaza Niagara Falls Supreme Full Service Car Wash Diamond DetailingFarm Credit CanadaGuelph City MazdaVictoria Park Golf Club Guelph

Josephrsquos Estate Wine IncCoyotersquos Run Estate WineryBank of Nova ScotiaHome Hardware Chatham ONVictoria Park Golf Club GuelphFresh Vegetable Growers ofOntarioWine KitzAndrews Scenic Acres

Mamma Marias Chatham ONWellington MotorsGuelph City MazdaThe Savvy Farmer IncRW Thomas IncTD Canada TrustDupont CanadaFarm Credit CanadaSupreme Full Service Car Wash

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

NOTICEis hereby given that the

152nd Annual Members and Directorsrsquo Meetingof the

Ontario Fruit andVegetable Growersrsquo Association

will be held in

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

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

For registration form and agenda visit wwwofvgaorg

Looking back and looking forward

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

We had a growing season thathad extreme drought in the deep

southwest a lot of heat unitseverywhere and more than sufficient rainfall in many areasWe had some scattered and veryserious damage due primarily tobulb and stem nematode BeckyHughes from New Liskeard point-ed out that nematode numbers willbuild up in a cool wet year (2009)and you will always see the dam-age effect in a hot drier year ( thehot being the key) For growerswho had an infestation it was devastating As well there havebeen growing challenges in ChinaCalifornia and other areas

Along with rampant inflation inChina which has increased the costof all their produce and thankfullymade their garlic a scarcer andmore expensive commodity all ofthese factors as well as over-whelming Canadian consumerdemand for our product haveresulted in some great selling andpricing opportunities

So what will this mean for the2011 and future crops With

demand strong and prices to grow-ers ranging from $5 to $10 perpound depending on where and inwhat form you sell the outlook isvery positive One major chain hasput Ontario garlic back on theshelves in their high-value storesand have realized that they mustpay a decent price in order to havethe best product for their customers Seed was in very shortsupply and will continue to be forsome years to come As growerswe are looking to increase produc-tion from bulbuils as a possibleway to increase acreage sooner

However more research in

proper methods needs to be doneas historically growing from bulbuils has not always been successful As an association wewill be doing some research andposting the info for members onour website

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

We will be looking during the

project on how to quickly increasethe supply of clean seed for grow-ers

So all in all a well attended fallmeeting with lots of input frommembers We have lots of workfor the years ahead One otheritem that we did discuss was priceWith any product you have toalways be careful not to priceyourself out of the marketplaceGarlic although unique may stillneed to remember this At somepoint as price rises the goodwilland pent-up demand for our prod-uct could evaporate if prices gettoo high As growers we do ofcourse need to ensure that we getthe best return for our crop so thatis what we will have to balance indetermining next seasons pricepoints

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

Mark WalesGarlic Growersrsquo Association

of Ontario

THE GROWERPAGE 10 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Heading into the New Yearsomethingrsquos happening in the foodsector thatrsquos giving University of

Guelph Prof Sylvain Charleboishope that finally consumers arerealizing the words ldquocheaprdquo andldquofoodrdquo are not joined at the hipThis bodes well for Ontario fruitand vegetable growers this couldindeed be the year consumersembrace quality instead of quanti-ty

Charlebois the associate deanof research for the UniversityrsquosCollege of Management and Eco-nomics keeps a close eye on fooddistribution He says that in 2010specialty store sales (such as delisand bakeries) across Canadajumped an impressive 10 per cent

In the food sector which mea-sures change in small incrementsthats considered a major jump

Comparatively convenience storepurchases which often involvesnacks and cheap calories fellfour per cent

To Charlebois that means themessage may be getting throughthat quality comes at a pricehellipasdoes food safety including trace-ability

Canada does a pretty good jobat food safety Charlebois whoproduces a bi-annual report cardon food safety in the worldrsquos 17richest countries ranked Canadafourth this year

That may seem high givensome well-publicized problemswersquove had

But consider the times younever hear of instances when food

is safe ndash which is the overwhelm-ing majority of the time day inand day out That doesnrsquot make thenews Disasters do which are trag-ic and reverberate throughoutsociety But in reality they arefew and far between All thingsconsidered food safety in Canadais almost as good as it gets any-where

But when it comes to tracingthe source of problems wersquore notso good Charlebois ranks us 13thof 17 for several reasons

First our country is huge andthe distances we need to movefood simply make traceabilitymore difficult

Second we follow the USAnd it ranks 14th In the US

traceability is not revered to thesame degree as it is in Europe forexample And given that we tradethe most with the US our systemis only as good as it needs to be tosatisfy that countryrsquos demandsUnfortunately as long as we dis-tance ourselves from Europeanstandards wersquore also denying our-selves access to a 500-million per-son market

Finally we live in a countrywhere consumers are not used topaying for food safety includingtraceability Therersquos a belief thatitrsquos built into the cost of food orthat it just happens It doesnrsquot ofcourse and presently we donrsquot payenough for food to introduce manynew measures at additional costsLikewise Ottawa is reluctant toadd another layer of food safetyrules because it knows neither itnor consumers nor the food indus-try wants to pay for them

But Charlebois thinks that men-tality is changing and points to therise in sales at specialty shops Bypatronizing those outlets con-sumers are saying for a changetheyrsquoll pay more for quality Couldthis cultural shift include the ideathat quality includes safety Wersquollsee

All this bodes well for the fruitand vegetable industry which ischallenged by traceability becauseitrsquos tougher to define lots than it iswith say livestock If food trace-ability is considered in the contextof the entire value-chain ndash that isfrom the manure that was appliedto the fields to grow food to theshelf-stockers who last touched itndash then traceability becomes anintrinsic part of food safety notjust something that happens whentherersquos a calamity or a recall

Charlebois thinks consumerswill be more inclined to pay fortraceability and safety if they canactually see it in action in com-mon places such as grocery storesrepresented by modern technolo-gy For example bacteria-sensi-tive food packaging has beendeveloped at the University ofGuelph and elsewhere that turnscolour in the presence of contami-nation You donrsquot need a govern-ment agency to tell you how soonthat food is about to spoil and thatthe quality is lacking

Thatrsquos the new food safety andtraceability Accessible applica-ble and understandable Welcometo 2011

This could be the year consumers embrace quality

Owen RobertsUniversity of Guelph

Registrant Information

Name Member Organization

Mailing Address CityTown

Province Postal Code

Telephone Fax

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

Registration Fees

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

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

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

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

OFVGA Banquet ONLY $5000 Monday January 10 2011

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

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

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

Cardholderrsquos Name Card Number

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

Instructions

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

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

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

Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growersrsquo Association

152nd Annual General Meeting and Convention

January 10 11 and 12 2011Crowne Plaza Hotel Niagara Falls

5685 Falls Avenue Niagara Falls Ontario L2E 6W7

Stories by Karen DavidsonWracked by spinach and

tomatopepper recalls a coupleyears ago the North Americanindustry is targeting 2012 for asupply-chain-wide traceability system for every case of produceSurveys indicate that 70 per centof those selling to the US arepledged to meet that goal including a half dozen Canadiancompanies such as BC Hot HouseFoods Langley and MastronardiProduce Kingsville Ontario

At the outset the ProduceTraceability Initiative (PTI) setambitious milestones The fall2010 milestone of sharing GlobalTrade Item Numbers (GTIN) withbuyers was pushed back due tolack of alignment between grower-shippers but otherwise the pro-gram continues with several pilotsin the US

By the end of 2011 three mile-stones should be met ability toshow human-readable GTIN codeson cases to encode information ina bar code and to read and storeinformation on inbound cases By2012 the target is to read and storeinformation on outbound cases

ldquoThere is still extensive work toaddressrdquo says Jane Proctor vice-president policy and issuemanagement Canadian ProduceMarketing Association (CPMA)Four working groups are lookingat master data implementationcommunications in the value chainand technical aspects Theseldquoworkhorserdquo groups are nowjoined by a new leadership councilwhich met for the first time inOctober 2010

For the initiative to succeedhigh-level executives are neededthroughout the chain to beengaged and invested in theprocess Two Canadian compa-nies The Oppenheimer Groupfrom British Columbia and JDMarketing Leamington Ontariohave representatives on this newcouncil

ldquoThe council acts as one voiceone visionrdquo says Jim DiMennaJD Marketing ldquoWe need to man-age through the rough waters as towhat retailers and foodserviceexpect from traceability The keyis to have input so that there is nofragmentationrdquo

The key concerns for the indus-try are measuring the return oninvestment and analyzing whethertechnology exists to accomplishthe goals

ldquoItrsquos great to say wersquoll havetraceability in a packing housewith access to electricity but itrsquosharder to execute under field con-ditions After we achieve our basicgoals will other parties demandcase traceability or piece traceabil-ity The challenges for us in Cana-da are no greater than many pro-ducers in the US With theemphasis on homegrown andlocally grown produce the issue oftraceability also questions the pro-duce going to farmersrsquo marketsNo one is exempt from worryingabout food safetyrdquo

ldquoSignificant improvementshave been made on the ability tocapture information during thepicking process for outboundcases for distributorsrdquo says Proc-tor

While the costs of hardwaresoftware and logistics to meetthese goals can be significant fundamental shifts in attitudes arenow appearing ldquoHaving printersin the field to generate labels hasnot been typical but some of thelarger grower-shippers are nowseeing benefits beyond traceabili-tyrdquo says Proctor ldquoThey areremoving inefficiencies in currentsystemsrdquo

Some of these benefits arereduced shipping errors increasedspeed of invoicing and faster payments of those invoices better

inventory management and betterbusiness practices In the event ofa product recall producers can be

more surgical The PTI has so many tentacles

to coordinate that an additional

two interest groups are followingdevelopments the AssociationInterest Group of which Proctor isco-chair and the GSI InterestGroup These groups consistmainly of US organizationshowever the Ontario GreenhouseVegetable Growers is an activemember of the Association Inter-est Group

For detailed information onPTI go to wwwproducetraceabil-ityorg An Implementation Guidefor Growers is useful for thosewho donrsquot pack produce and whoare starting to research the process

Editorrsquos note A detailed arti-cle ldquoBar coded for liferdquo was pub-lished in the January 2010 issue ofThe Grower We have archivedthis companion piece on the web-site for future reference

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 11

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYElectronic tracking set to revolutionize produce industry

Source Produce Traceability Initiative October 2010

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERSrsquo ASSOCIATION105-355 Elmira Road NorthGuelph Ontario N1K 1S5Ph 519-763-6160Fax 519-763-6604

Tuesday January 11 2011700 am - 800 amRegistration Office Opens - Brock RoomBreakfast Buffet

800 am - 945 amOntario Apple Growers Board AGM - ElizabethUnregulated Veg - Canadian ABUnregulated Fruit - King George Room

1000 amAnnual General Meeting Welcome - Niagara RoomOpening Remarks - Deputy Minister John Burke

1030 am - 1200 pmbull Chairrsquos report bull CEOrsquos report bull Bylaws bull Election of Directors bull Financial report

1200 pm - 1215 pmElection of Chairperson

1215 pm - 1230 pmGuest Speaker ndash Sandra Jones Foodland Ontario

1230 pm - 145 pmLabour Section Luncheon and Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessLabour Guest - Ken Langer WSIB

145 pm - 315 pmProperty Section Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessProperty Guest - Margaret Walton Planscape

315 pm - 330 pmBreak

330 pm - 500 pmCrop Protection Section Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessCrop Protection Guest - Warren Libby ldquoThe Savvy Farmerrdquo

Wednesday January 12 2011700 amRegistration Office Opens - Brock Room

730 amBuffet Breakfast - Brock Room

830 am - 1000 amResearch Section Business Meeting - Niagara Roombull Chair report bull Committee BusinessResearch Guest - Ahmed Bilal Vineland Research amp Innovation Centre

- John Kelly Erie Innovation amp Commercialization

1000 am - 1015 amBreak

1015 am - 1145 amSafety Nets Section Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessSafety Nets Guest - Neil Currie Ontario Federation of Agriculture

1145 am - 100 pmChemtura Sponsored Golden Apple AwardLuncheon open to all

100 pm - 300 pmAnnual General Meeting continuesbull Resolutions bull Adjournment

The 152nd Annual General Meeting and Convention will be held atThe Crowne Plaza HotelNiagara Falls Ontario

Annual General Meeting and Section Business Meetings will take place in the Niagara Room

THE ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERSrsquo ASSOCIATION

152nd Annual General MeetingJanuary 10 11 amp 12 2011

agendaMonday January 10 2011300 pm - 500 pmRegistration Office Opens - Brock Room500 pmReception amp Banquet Cocktails - 500 - 600 pm Opening Remarks Dinner - 600 - 800 pm - Niagara RoomChair address Award of Merit Guest Speaker - Bruce VincentSilent Auction - 300 - 930 pm

Stories by Karen DavidsonWracked by spinach and

tomatopepper recalls a coupleyears ago the North Americanindustry is targeting 2012 for asupply-chain-wide traceability system for every case of produceSurveys indicate that 70 per centof those selling to the US arepledged to meet that goal including a half dozen Canadiancompanies such as BC Hot HouseFoods Langley and MastronardiProduce Kingsville Ontario

At the outset the ProduceTraceability Initiative (PTI) setambitious milestones The fall2010 milestone of sharing GlobalTrade Item Numbers (GTIN) withbuyers was pushed back due tolack of alignment between grower-shippers but otherwise the pro-gram continues with several pilotsin the US

By the end of 2011 three mile-stones should be met ability toshow human-readable GTIN codeson cases to encode information ina bar code and to read and storeinformation on inbound cases By2012 the target is to read and storeinformation on outbound cases

ldquoThere is still extensive work toaddressrdquo says Jane Proctor vice-president policy and issuemanagement Canadian ProduceMarketing Association (CPMA)Four working groups are lookingat master data implementationcommunications in the value chainand technical aspects Theseldquoworkhorserdquo groups are nowjoined by a new leadership councilwhich met for the first time inOctober 2010

For the initiative to succeedhigh-level executives are neededthroughout the chain to beengaged and invested in theprocess Two Canadian compa-nies The Oppenheimer Groupfrom British Columbia and JDMarketing Leamington Ontariohave representatives on this newcouncil

ldquoThe council acts as one voiceone visionrdquo says Jim DiMennaJD Marketing ldquoWe need to man-age through the rough waters as towhat retailers and foodserviceexpect from traceability The keyis to have input so that there is nofragmentationrdquo

The key concerns for the indus-try are measuring the return oninvestment and analyzing whethertechnology exists to accomplishthe goals

ldquoItrsquos great to say wersquoll havetraceability in a packing housewith access to electricity but itrsquosharder to execute under field con-ditions After we achieve our basicgoals will other parties demandcase traceability or piece traceabil-ity The challenges for us in Cana-da are no greater than many pro-ducers in the US With theemphasis on homegrown andlocally grown produce the issue oftraceability also questions the pro-duce going to farmersrsquo marketsNo one is exempt from worryingabout food safetyrdquo

ldquoSignificant improvementshave been made on the ability tocapture information during thepicking process for outboundcases for distributorsrdquo says Proc-tor

While the costs of hardwaresoftware and logistics to meetthese goals can be significant fundamental shifts in attitudes arenow appearing ldquoHaving printersin the field to generate labels hasnot been typical but some of thelarger grower-shippers are nowseeing benefits beyond traceabili-tyrdquo says Proctor ldquoThey areremoving inefficiencies in currentsystemsrdquo

Some of these benefits arereduced shipping errors increasedspeed of invoicing and faster payments of those invoices better

inventory management and betterbusiness practices In the event ofa product recall producers can be

more surgical The PTI has so many tentacles

to coordinate that an additional

two interest groups are followingdevelopments the AssociationInterest Group of which Proctor isco-chair and the GSI InterestGroup These groups consistmainly of US organizationshowever the Ontario GreenhouseVegetable Growers is an activemember of the Association Inter-est Group

For detailed information onPTI go to wwwproducetraceabil-ityorg An Implementation Guidefor Growers is useful for thosewho donrsquot pack produce and whoare starting to research the process

Editorrsquos note A detailed arti-cle ldquoBar coded for liferdquo was pub-lished in the January 2010 issue ofThe Grower We have archivedthis companion piece on the web-site for future reference

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 11

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYElectronic tracking set to revolutionize produce industry

Source Produce Traceability Initiative October 2010

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERSrsquo ASSOCIATION105-355 Elmira Road NorthGuelph Ontario N1K 1S5Ph 519-763-6160Fax 519-763-6604

Tuesday January 11 2011700 am - 800 amRegistration Office Opens - Brock RoomBreakfast Buffet

800 am - 945 amOntario Apple Growers Board AGM - ElizabethUnregulated Veg - Canadian ABUnregulated Fruit - King George Room

1000 amAnnual General Meeting Welcome - Niagara RoomOpening Remarks - Deputy Minister John Burke

1030 am - 1200 pmbull Chairrsquos report bull CEOrsquos report bull Bylaws bull Election of Directors bull Financial report

1200 pm - 1215 pmElection of Chairperson

1215 pm - 1230 pmGuest Speaker ndash Sandra Jones Foodland Ontario

1230 pm - 145 pmLabour Section Luncheon and Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessLabour Guest - Ken Langer WSIB

145 pm - 315 pmProperty Section Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessProperty Guest - Margaret Walton Planscape

315 pm - 330 pmBreak

330 pm - 500 pmCrop Protection Section Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessCrop Protection Guest - Warren Libby ldquoThe Savvy Farmerrdquo

Wednesday January 12 2011700 amRegistration Office Opens - Brock Room

730 amBuffet Breakfast - Brock Room

830 am - 1000 amResearch Section Business Meeting - Niagara Roombull Chair report bull Committee BusinessResearch Guest - Ahmed Bilal Vineland Research amp Innovation Centre

- John Kelly Erie Innovation amp Commercialization

1000 am - 1015 amBreak

1015 am - 1145 amSafety Nets Section Business Meetingbull Chair report bull Committee BusinessSafety Nets Guest - Neil Currie Ontario Federation of Agriculture

1145 am - 100 pmChemtura Sponsored Golden Apple AwardLuncheon open to all

100 pm - 300 pmAnnual General Meeting continuesbull Resolutions bull Adjournment

The 152nd Annual General Meeting and Convention will be held atThe Crowne Plaza HotelNiagara Falls Ontario

Annual General Meeting and Section Business Meetings will take place in the Niagara Room

THE ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERSrsquo ASSOCIATION

152nd Annual General MeetingJanuary 10 11 amp 12 2011

agendaMonday January 10 2011300 pm - 500 pmRegistration Office Opens - Brock Room500 pmReception amp Banquet Cocktails - 500 - 600 pm Opening Remarks Dinner - 600 - 800 pm - Niagara RoomChair address Award of Merit Guest Speaker - Bruce VincentSilent Auction - 300 - 930 pm

THE GROWERPAGE 12 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

MONTREacuteAL 2011

Donrsquot Miss Canadarsquos Leading Produce Convention amp Trade Show

86th Annual Canadian Produce

Marketing Association

Convention amp Trade Show

April 13-15 2011

Palais des congregraves de Montreacuteal Montreacuteal QC Canada

Enhance your business in Canada

Take advantage of great education and

networking opportunities

Connect with representatives from throughout

the produce industry major Canadian retailers

wholesalers foodservice operatorsdistributors

growersshippers and more

Just for starters Pier 27 Pro-duce has a food safety advantagewith a block of 800 acres for car-rots onions parsnips and beetsBesides reducing travel fromfields to their packing and ware-house operation near KeswickOntario itrsquos easier to identify andtrack the myriad of productioninputs from variety to harvest date

ldquoWhenever we conduct a mockrecall we discover that the weak-est link is keeping track of receiptof raw productrdquo explains GarySmith plant manager Pier 27 Produce A strong agronomic program with the best-performingvarieties and cultural practicesresults in produce thatrsquos easier towash pack and store Harvestinga rough patch in the field with diseased or decayed vegetablesimmediately starts a ripple reaction

Consider an example from lastsummerrsquos hot season A carrotvariety that had normally performed well did not hold upunder high temperatures

ldquoA carrot may look dirty andbeautiful in the box but when itrsquoswashed all the imperfectionsshowrdquo says Smith ldquoHot core temperatures of the carrots result-ed in splits a less than ideal rawproduct for the two-inch peel thatwas contractedrdquo

ldquoOur main varieties that we

seem to use every year are CelloBunch Envy Enterpize and SugarSnax from Seedway and Stokesrdquosays Smith

That is whatrsquos involved in selling carrots to two plants of amajor US salad producer In thiscase the carrots are peeled and cutbefore being shipped stateside tobe shred for salads The food safety requirements are rigorousfor a cut product including vari-

ety seeding date field numberharvest date and pack date

With 50 per cent of Pier 27 Produce going to the US foodsafety is a key determinant forongoing business Itrsquos been anuphill learning curve in the lasttwo years as Smith contractedNSF Davis Fresh a third-partyauditing firm from California Inaddition to regular audits he hashired a local consulting firm to

conduct mock recalls and to adviseon food safety on a monthly basis

He now has standard operatingprocedures for food safety thatinclude cleaning schedules lineswabs microbiology sampling ofdrains and employee training Oneof the surprise elements of a recentaudit was the questioning ofemployees on how they performedcertain procedures

ldquoImplementing training ensures

the whole team is on the samepagerdquo says Smith ldquoEveryonewears disposable aprons armsleeves gloves and hair netsrdquo

An audit is a lot of work Smithadmits but when food safety practices are part of the everydayroutine then therersquos nothing tofear from an audit

Most recently the companyinstalled a state-of-the-art metaldetector that exceeds North American requirements A grantfrom OMAFRA and the GrowingForward program defrayed thetotal outlay

But thatrsquos small comfort withbigger challenges ahead for wastewater treatment Smith is research-ing how to meet different require-ments from government and localconservation authorities Depend-ing on the season the businessuses anywhere from 10000 to300000 litres per day of chlorinat-ed water for processing Hersquoslooking to enhance environmental-ly friendly ways to handle wastewater

Each clientrsquos specificationsvary Smith is searching for a soft-ware program that will help withthe food safety requirements Todate he hasnrsquot found it When thecomputer goes down where doyou turn for daily informationSmith still believes in manualrecord-keeping for his day pack

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYA grower shares the dirt on food safety

The Smith family (left to right) Mike Gary Jr Gary Sr Brad Paul Sr Ian and Paul Jr take food safety seriously with a third-party auditor and monthly ldquobest practicerdquo reviews Photo by Jamie Reaume

For two years now apple grow-er Harold Schooley has been con-ducting audits for QMI-SAI Glob-al across Ontario With 45 auditsper year and review of another 45self-audits he is gaining a nitty-gritty view of how producers arefaring

ldquoI canrsquot audit your headrdquoSchooley says ldquoToo often grow-ers will have the facts in theirhead but the records need to bewritten to be audited and verifiedrdquo

The good news is that the foodsafety programs are workingldquoThe scores are going up and itrsquosvery gratifying that people are tak-ing this seriously and have correct-ed issues raised in last yearrsquosauditrdquo says Schooley A recentrecall (due to Salmonella) ofimported produce that wasrepacked in Ontario was virtuallyhandled in a matter of hoursbecause of the excellent traceabili-ty system the packer had put inplace

All that said Schooley hassome pertinent advice for growerson how to improve1) Start with or update to themost current 2010 manual pub-lished by the Canadian Horti-cultural Council (See full detailson page 18 of this issue) Contactyour respective commodity groupto obtain the password so that youcan download the manual andappendix from the website Pro-ceed to the first of 24 sections forthe how-to material 2) Hire an advisor as an individ-ual or as a group to get startedwith on-farm-food safety Bothprivate consultants or OMAFRAcan be commissioned for this Thebasics are water hygiene and san-

itation Safe use of fertilizersmanure and pest control productsis also stressed3) Once the consultant hasbrought you up to speed takeresponsibility for your own foodsafety program and record

keeping Too many times theauditor will arrive and the growerwonrsquot know where the records areor how procedures have been exe-cuted 4) Use the CanadaGap forms ordevelop your own that are fully

equivalent to CanadaGAP Toooften growers will develop theirown forms and they donrsquot containthe same information or require-ments Spray records are a goodexample You can use your ownbut make sure they contain all therequired information you will bescored on5) Understand water testingKnow when to take water testswhere to take them from and howto read the test results 6) Keep hygiene a top priorityamong your staff A training ses-sion is not enough The topic mustbe kept current and top-of-mind

every day Do this with signs inthe appropriate places And insiston frequent hand-washing7) Record lot numbers of pestcontrol products PCP numbersdonrsquot change but lot numbers do 8) Take notes on calibration ofsprayers Itrsquos not enough to justcopy the procedure into yourrecords You need to show the mathof how the application was calcu-lated in accordance with the label9) Write down cleaning and san-itizing procedures (they are notthe same thing) Post these foreasy reference in the appropriateareas Record when these are car-ried out10) Use clipboards with a pen ona string Record-keeping sheetsare not useful if the pen has gonemissing or the records are kept inan office away from the actionKeep these as handy as possiblefor appropriate staff and ensurethey sign or initial the records11) Post your illness policy in abunkhouse or on a bulletinboard where workers will readit Communicate with staff thatthey should not report to work ifthey are ill 12) Tabulate information inbinders in an orderly fashionThis saves time for the auditor andfor you13) Conduct a mock recall Mostretailers donrsquot like to participate inthese activities but at the farmlevel itrsquos important to do this oncea year Herersquos a sample situationThe Canadian Food InspectionAgency detects contamination onyour product on the retail shelf(for example a pathogen wood orglass splinters a chemicalresidue) How do you proceedfrom here A mock recall woulddescribe your process in detail14) Complete and submit theseven-page self-audit question-naire as close to harvest as possi-ble if you are on the four-yearprogram Answer all questions15) Get over being mad aboutfood safety and its associatedcosts Just get on with the job

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 13

bull

Agricultural Commercial Industrial

50 Years of Excellent Service

Refrigeration (All Types)

Heating Air Conditioning

Controlled Atmosphere

18 Seapark Drive St Catharines ON L2M 6S6

905-685-4255

wwwpennrefrigerationcom

infopennrefrigerationcom

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYAn auditor shares the dirt on food safety

The processing line of two-inch peeled carrots at Pier 27 Produce (see story opposite) shows the metal detector positioned on the moving belt of carrots

For two years now apple grow-er Harold Schooley has been con-ducting audits for QMI-SAI Glob-al across Ontario With 45 auditsper year and review of another 45self-audits he is gaining a nitty-gritty view of how producers arefaring

ldquoI canrsquot audit your headrdquoSchooley says ldquoToo often grow-ers will have the facts in theirhead but the records need to bewritten to be audited and verifiedrdquo

The good news is that the foodsafety programs are workingldquoThe scores are going up and itrsquosvery gratifying that people are tak-ing this seriously and have correct-ed issues raised in last yearrsquosauditrdquo says Schooley A recentrecall (due to Salmonella) ofimported produce that wasrepacked in Ontario was virtuallyhandled in a matter of hoursbecause of the excellent traceabili-ty system the packer had put inplace

All that said Schooley hassome pertinent advice for growerson how to improve1) Start with or update to themost current 2010 manual pub-lished by the Canadian Horti-cultural Council (See full detailson page 18 of this issue) Contactyour respective commodity groupto obtain the password so that youcan download the manual andappendix from the website Pro-ceed to the first of 24 sections forthe how-to material 2) Hire an advisor as an individ-ual or as a group to get startedwith on-farm-food safety Bothprivate consultants or OMAFRAcan be commissioned for this Thebasics are water hygiene and san-

itation Safe use of fertilizersmanure and pest control productsis also stressed3) Once the consultant hasbrought you up to speed takeresponsibility for your own foodsafety program and record

keeping Too many times theauditor will arrive and the growerwonrsquot know where the records areor how procedures have been exe-cuted 4) Use the CanadaGap forms ordevelop your own that are fully

equivalent to CanadaGAP Toooften growers will develop theirown forms and they donrsquot containthe same information or require-ments Spray records are a goodexample You can use your ownbut make sure they contain all therequired information you will bescored on5) Understand water testingKnow when to take water testswhere to take them from and howto read the test results 6) Keep hygiene a top priorityamong your staff A training ses-sion is not enough The topic mustbe kept current and top-of-mind

every day Do this with signs inthe appropriate places And insiston frequent hand-washing7) Record lot numbers of pestcontrol products PCP numbersdonrsquot change but lot numbers do 8) Take notes on calibration ofsprayers Itrsquos not enough to justcopy the procedure into yourrecords You need to show the mathof how the application was calcu-lated in accordance with the label9) Write down cleaning and san-itizing procedures (they are notthe same thing) Post these foreasy reference in the appropriateareas Record when these are car-ried out10) Use clipboards with a pen ona string Record-keeping sheetsare not useful if the pen has gonemissing or the records are kept inan office away from the actionKeep these as handy as possiblefor appropriate staff and ensurethey sign or initial the records11) Post your illness policy in abunkhouse or on a bulletinboard where workers will readit Communicate with staff thatthey should not report to work ifthey are ill 12) Tabulate information inbinders in an orderly fashionThis saves time for the auditor andfor you13) Conduct a mock recall Mostretailers donrsquot like to participate inthese activities but at the farmlevel itrsquos important to do this oncea year Herersquos a sample situationThe Canadian Food InspectionAgency detects contamination onyour product on the retail shelf(for example a pathogen wood orglass splinters a chemicalresidue) How do you proceedfrom here A mock recall woulddescribe your process in detail14) Complete and submit theseven-page self-audit question-naire as close to harvest as possi-ble if you are on the four-yearprogram Answer all questions15) Get over being mad aboutfood safety and its associatedcosts Just get on with the job

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 13

bull

Agricultural Commercial Industrial

50 Years of Excellent Service

Refrigeration (All Types)

Heating Air Conditioning

Controlled Atmosphere

18 Seapark Drive St Catharines ON L2M 6S6

905-685-4255

wwwpennrefrigerationcom

infopennrefrigerationcom

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYAn auditor shares the dirt on food safety

The processing line of two-inch peeled carrots at Pier 27 Produce (see story opposite) shows the metal detector positioned on the moving belt of carrots

By Ron DoeringEvery time we get a recall of

imported food we have anotherround of huffing and puffing thatwersquore not doing enough to protectCanadians the media spend a dayor two pushing scary stories aboutthe awful dangers of importedfood The most recent alarm origi-nated from the release of an inter-nal Canadian Food InspectionAgency (CFIA) audit So Irsquomoften asked is Canada doingenough

That was the question the CFIApresident posed to the CFIA audi-tor Asking him that is like askingmy barber whether I need a hair-cut To auditors you can never doenough They are bound to saythat there was ldquoinadequate moni-toringrdquo an inadequate ldquoperfor-mance measurement frameworkrdquoand inadequate ldquorisk managementprocessesrdquo Filled with everybureaucratic audit-speak clicheacuteyou can think of (but thin on

practical solutions) the internalaudit unnecessarily alarmed theCanadian public through themedia hype that it predictably generated

The same president thatordered the audit then had toinstruct the CFIA vice-presidentof Operations to write letters toeditors to ldquoclarify the facts andassure Canadians that all food soldin Canada whether domestic orimported must be safe in linewith federal requirementsrdquo and ofcourse that ldquowe will continue toimprove our management ofimported food safetyrdquo Theresponse to the internal auditreceived no media play so thisself-inflicted wound served toundermine Canadian confidencein our food supply while doing little to enhance the safety ofimported food

The most significant result ofthe audit was the pre-emptiveannouncement prior to the auditrsquos

release that the CFIA intends toconsult Canadians on possiblenew regulations to enhance thesafety of imported foods Theseconsultations will likely highlightthe need to modernize the CFIArsquoscomputerized import system Nodoubt the CFIA will resurrect theearlier legislative proposal torequire more importers to belicenced

These reforms if enacted willenhance efficiency but do little toimprove food safety There will befew other changes in the way weregulate imported foods Thatrsquosbecause there is very little morethat the state can do that will actu-ally make a real difference Whilethe state makes and enforces rulesits essential role necessarily is tobe the auditor of the industryrsquosrisk management systems In thecase of imported food it can anddoes carry out limited surveil-lance border inspections and veri-fication audits of other countriesrsquo

systems allocating resourcesaccording to safety and economicrisk (we still over inspect meat fortrade reasons but thatrsquos anotherstory) But the state couldnrsquot beginto audit the tens of thousands ofplants in the 193 countries fromwhich we import food Moreoveran audit on Wednesday doesnrsquotguarantee what happens on Thurs-day A doubling of inspection atthe border would still leave mostimported food uninspected mdash weget 6000 truckloads of food fromthe US every day

The primary responsibilitymust rest with industry which isfinally getting serious in havingcomprehensive third-party auditsof foreign suppliers Most largecompanies are adopting a range of

auditassurance systems and theseare slowly being co-ordinatedthrough the new Global FoodSafety Initiative But there is still along way to go When problemsarise and they will given the sizeof the import trade the CFIA willactivate its excellent recall systemThe CFIA is mostly doing what itcan even if itrsquos not seen asenough

Ronald L Doering BA LLBMA LLD is a past president ofthe CFIA He practices food law inthe Ottawa offices of GowlingLafleur Henderson LLP E-mailhim at Ronalddoeringgowl-ingscom

Reprinted from Food in Cana-da NovemberDecember 2010issue

THE GROWERPAGE 14 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYPanel to be chaired by specialist in agriculture and food law

Ron Doering a partner inOttawarsquos legal firm Gowlings andspecialist in agriculture and foodlaw will be chairing the new Ministerial Advisory Board onfood safety issues The panel wasannounced by federal agricultureminister Gerry Ritz on November18 The announcement meets oneof the 57 recommendations ofSheila Weatherill who examinedthe 2008 Listeria outbreak thatresulted in more than 20 deaths

The panel is expected to examine one of the current food

safety issues recently explored ina series by the Globe and Mailhow to monitor imported food

ldquoYou canrsquot test your way tofood safetyrdquo Doering told TheGrower in his first interview aschair He recalled the Guatemalanraspberry crisis a few years agowhen a Canadian inspector reported thumbs-up after a first-hand look at the operation What happened is that the water used oninspection day wasnrsquot the waterused a week later when no one waslooking Unfortunately the

raspberries were washed in watercontaminated with the protozoanparasite Cyclospora And thatrsquosthe lesson learned about the costsof 247 testing of perishablegoods

ldquoIf you open the back of a truckndash and remember therersquos 5000 to6000 trucks a day from the US ndashthe Canadian state canrsquot possiblymonitor all the producerdquo saysDoering

The advisory board includes - David Chalack an Alberta cattleindustry leader

- Keith Downey Saskatchewancanola research pioneer- Rob McLaughlin former deanOntario Agricultural College- Harold Bjarnason former Agri-culture Canada associate deputyminister- Marcel Groleau Quebec dairyfarmer- Brooke Taylor former NovaScotia agriculture minister

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The food safety risk of imported foodIs Canada doing enough

As with all crop protection products read and follow label instructions carefullyThe DuPont Oval Logo DuPonttrade The miracles of sciencetrade Altacorreg and Rynaxypyrreg

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THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 15

We asked Joe Sbrocchi chairof the Canadian Produce Market-ing Associationrsquos Industry Technology Advisory Committeeto comment on food safety Healso sits on the food safety com-mittee of Mastronardi ProduceKingsville Ontario

His extensive experience withtwo major retailers in Canadaand now in his role as VP Salesand Marketing with MastronardiProduce positions him well toanswer some questions for TheGrower

The food safety program is amajor topic of focus for the largegreenhouse vegetable companyrelative to their clients through-out North America

He collaborated with colleagues within their businessin both Canada and the UnitedStates

The Grower Given the ProduceTraceability Initiative (PTI) whatsteps are underway at MastronardiProduce to comply Do you planto meet 2011 milestones

Sbrocchi Yes Mastronardi Pro-duce will be in a position to com-ply with the PTI published mile-stones At this point we feel confi-dent in our abilities in this areaand carry out mock recalls so thatwe can feel secure that wersquore pro-tecting human life and our retailcustomerrsquos reputation should thereal dilemma ever manifest itselfIt can be argued that in todayrsquosworld to not approach this topic ina manner such as this is simplytempting disaster As for seeingthings through the lens of busi-ness it is our position that if we do

the right things the business goalswill be realized in due course

Virtually all retail and food service customers have clearlyindicated their focus on food safe-ty and the underlying linchpin ofefficient trace and recall Thesemandates come from the highestechelons of these organizationsGiven the grave consequences thatresult in anything that even resem-bles a lackadaisical approachtowards these directives compa-nies that do not take the utmostcare and emphasis on Food Safetytoday put themselves at risk of notbeing around in the future

The linking piece to the FoodSafety puzzle is the need for anefficient fast and effective abilityto trace issues to their root cause atthe speed necessary to protect ourconsumers

The short answer is that trace-ability is fundamental in deliver-ing this end goal

The Grower What additionalpersonnel or technology over andabove your already-robust systemare required to meet these mile-stones

Sbrocchi In our case the onlyadditional technology was to haveall our growers purchase the print-ers and software in order to printthe PTI conforming labels Timewas needed to generate the manycodes We are currently rollingout a new enterprise-wide systemand are just now ensuring that allour item codes match so that oursystem recognizes them enterprisewide

The Grower When you conduct

mock product recalls what haveyou learned that may be of use toothers Beyond the usual suspectsof E coli salmonella and listeriaare there other watch-outs

Sbrocchi In past mock scenariosone significant finding was to takethe recall beyond the first tier -that is to know your customers andto the 2nd or 3rd level customerthat they may sell your product toin order to ensure effective trace-ability of your branded productonce it has left your custodyRegardless of who may be in pos-session of your branded productitrsquos your brand image you own ityoursquove developed it and it needs tobe protected

Your product may also be in acustomerrsquos own private label Irsquomsure any of your readers who areselected to supply such items isaware of the rigour that is associ-ated with becoming and retainingthat status If you are doing so withany private label why would yoube different in approach to yourown label In fact a key benefit ofbeing exposed to such programs islearning how to scale processesand protocols across your entireenterprise

As for the other ldquowatch-outsrdquobeyond the key strains of the threemain pathogens cited -at this timewe are not testing for otherpathogens instead however wemake sure that yeasts and mouldsthat contribute to some of thesepathogens are controlled whereverpossible

The Grower Describe how youuse bioluminescence technologiesand what are its benefits

Sbrocchi ATP bioluminescencetechnology is used by our Sanita-tion Staff as a quick and rapid ini-tial check on the effectiveness ofsanitation Tests are done daily atthe end of the sanitation shiftSanitation Staff do not know inadvance which site will be testedOnce an area has been cleaned andsanitized Sanitation Supervisorwill conduct tests on individualsites and obtain a reading in justunder one minute If results fallunder a pre-determined lowthreshold then site is consideredeffectively cleaned and is releasedfor production If results fallbetween a low to medium thresh-old then the site is considered OKfor production yet is put on noticefor extra cleaning during the nextsanitation shift If site is above amedium threshold then site isconsidered to not be effectivelycleaned The site is then re-cleaned and retested before pro-duction Readings are recorded inan ATP Site Register and trackedby facility and Sanitation StaffThis rapid response indicator foreffectiveness of cleaning is veryuseful for fine-tuning the Sanita-tion Program especially for hard-to-reach and hard-to-clean areas

The Grower Describe the com-ponents of your post-harvest test-ing program

Sbrocchi Our Post-Harvest pro-gram is used to test the safety andquality of our inbound and fin-ished products and to conductresearch on new packaging tech-nologies Our Post-Harvest Spe-cialist and Microbiologists main-tain the program by measuring and

reporting quality and microbiolog-ical attributes (these could includeweight shape size colour firm-ness defects sugars acidity pres-ence of pathological amp spoilageorganisms and check packagingfor integrity labeling require-ments and customer specifica-tions) All information is trace-able and can be reported back tothe production staff or grower forimmediate corrective action ifneeded

The Grower What role doespackaging play in preventing contamination Are you using orresearching new packaging mate-rials

Sbrocchi All of our suppliers takefrequent samples and test them forcontamination All supplies arecarefully packaged and sealedfrom the environment We areconstantly researching and testingnew materials and packaging for-mats introducing a few new itemsevery year both from a productand also from a packaging per-spective

In addition the microbiologyprogram tests packaging for pres-ence of pathological and spoilageorganisms All packaging must bepre-approved by either the CFIAor the Department of Food Safetyin the US to ensure that it meetsgovernment regulatory require-ments

The Grower Food safety proto-cols cost a lot of money As a lineitem what percentage does foodsafety represent in total cost ofproduction

Sbrocchi Our investments andcosts for maintaining a certifiedfood safety and quality manage-ment system are quite highConsidering however the multiplefood safety scares prevalent to ourindustry over the last ten yearsand the level of importancedeemed by ourselves our cus-tomers and the end consumers ofour products we see food safetyprograms as a permanent and nec-essary part of the business similarto the need for insurance

We have facilities in Canadaand US and have highly educat-ed staff running multiple foodsafety and quality programs forour corporation and maintainworking laboratories For an orga-nization of our size ndash the costs aresignificant Yet we feel thisinvestment of time and money iswell worth the expense given thatitrsquos the right thing to do Sincewersquove implemented our food safe-ty and quality management sys-tem wersquove seen rejections andcomplaints decrease our relation-ships with our customers and gov-ernment agencies improve and anunexpected added benefit is thatemployee morale has improvedPeople take pride in and like work-ing for a company that makes safeand quality products We donrsquotjust talk it -we live it

THE GROWER

PAGE 16 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYSafe products happy employees

THE G

RO

WER

JAN

UA

RY 2011 ndashndash PAG

E 17

VIP amp EXHIBITOR PARKING

SATURDAY LIVEAUCTION

OUTDOOR EXHIBITSPACE

MARKET PAVILIONS

HOSPITALITY

BARN

CONVENTION CENTRE

SATURDAYFARMERSMARKET

GENERAL PARKING

GENERAL PARKING

830am - 500pm Exclusive Industry Day830am - 500pm Exclusive Industry Day 500pm - 1100pm ldquoPride In Growing Dinner amp Dancerdquo830am - 400pm PublicConsumer amp Industry Day

THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Canadas Fruit amp Veg Tech X-Change is the first of its kind in North America It is long overdue for the fruit and veg industry to have its own live showcase Producers for the most part are visual learners show them it can work for their farm operation and you have significantly advanced the sales cycle

-Marc Vanden Bussche - Vanden Bussche Irrigation Ltd

EXHIBITORS WANTEDSTOP

Mark Your

Calendar

X-CHANGE HEADLINE NEWS

SEPT

EMBER

1 2

3 2

011

NORFO

LK C

OUNTY

ONTA

RIO

anadarsquo

s Frui

t amp Ve

g

Tech X

-Change

X-CHANGE HEADLINE NEWS

2263810282 | FRUITVEGTECHXCHANGECOM

Outdoor Exhibit Space ONLY $1sq ftRide amp Drive Space ONLY $30sq ft

Pick Your Prime Location Today RIDE amp DRIVESITES

RIDE amp DRIVESITES

LAKE ERIE

INDUSTRYPAVILIONS

INTRODUCING

ODUCING

INTRTROD

G

EE

SPSP EEEEIBITBITIBITDOORDOORR ER ETDTD

M ET PRKET P

VPAAVPPA

euit amp VVerCanadas F

X-CHANX-CHANX-CHANX CHANourk YYoPic

Ride amp DOutdoor E

h X Change is theecg Te

NGE HEADLINNGE HEADLINNGE HEADLINNGE HEADLINr Prime Loca

Y e Space ONLLYDrivExhibit Space ONL

thits kind in Norst offir

NE NEWSNE NEWSNE NEWSNE NEWSodaytion Ta

$30sq ftY $1sq ftLLY

PI

VILIONSAAVPPAYINDUSTRRY

E amp S

E amp D

advanced the sales cor k forthem it can wodcase Prwe sholiv

vAmerica It is long oeuit amp VVerCanada s F

22638

heanden Busscc V-Marlecyc

tion andam operartheir ft or the most pars fucer

uit and vor the frdue fervh X-Change is the ecg Te

810282

tion Lrigahe Iranden Bussce - VVa

y e significantlvou had yws shonere visual learar

e its ovy to hag industrevth its kind in Norst offir

U2 | FR

Ltd

w wno

UITVEG

GTECH

CHANX

NGECO

OM

dar rrda

Calenda STM

OPurour

da

k Yn

Yo OPMar

Cal

rkOY STSTO

CanadaGAP is issuing updatesto the OFFS Manuals for 2011The 2011 version incorporatespreviously released updates asapproved by the Global FoodSafety Initiative (GFSI) in 2010as well as a few other minorimprovements Updated versionswill be issued on the CanadaGAPwebsite as they are finalizedbull Combined Vegetables v51 bull Greenhouse v51bull Tree and Vine Fruit v51 bull Leafy Vegetable amp Cruciferaev51 bull Small Fruit v51bull Potato v54

Some updates required in orderto complete GFSI benchmarkingincluded bull In Section 6 Agricultural Chem-icals new requirements wereadded for product destined for

export markets New Appendix Rdeveloped to provide further guid-ance to producerspackers whomust meet this requirementbull Analyses done by an accreditedlaboratory (eg water tests) mustbe performed to standards equiva-lent to ISO 17025bull Section 12 New text added toprocedures in employee trainingand employee illness sectionbull Product release procedureswere added to Sections 18 and 21bull Section 23 Annual mock recallrequired New Appendix Q addedto help producerspackers meetthis requirementbull Section 24 Annual internal auditrequired

Other updates (please note thisis not a complete list)bull Composting procedure added toAppendix C as requested by

usersbull Clarification that requirementsrelated to Water for Fluming andCleaning (Section 15) also applyto ice slurryslushbull Clarification to Section 11 Personal Hygiene Facilities ifemployees are using water andsanitizer to wash hands papertowel is needed to dry hands firstin order to maximize the effective-

ness of hand sanitizerbull Inclusion of some field vegeta-bles grown for processing withinthe scope of the OFFS Manualsbroccoli Brussels sprouts cab-bage cauliflower beans peas andsweet cornbull Clearer definitions included fortertiary water biosolids sewagesludge and other key termsbull Section 6 Commercial fertilizerscan be stored with agriculturalchemicals as long as

- co-storage is not prohibited byregulation

- fertilizers and agriculturalchemicals are each kept in a sepa-rate designated area within thestorage

- fertilizers are contained in abag jug tote etc bull Section 15 Water for Flumingand Cleaning Clarification to the

requirements for water used towash hydro-cool cool flume orrinse leafy vegetables and cruciferaebull Modifications made to Ice handling and storage procedures inSection 16bull Section 17 Market ready pack-aging materials must be stored atleast 8 cm away from the wall

An announcement to all CHCmembers and industry affiliateswill be communicated once allnew manuals are posted Programparticipants will receive a CDcopy directly by mail All mem-bers will have access to the latestmanuals at wwwcanadagapcaenmanualsoffs-manualdown-loadsaspx

The implementation date(effective date for certificationpurposes) of all updates will beApril 1 2011Review the changes

To familiarize yourself with thechanges please download theRevisions documents which trackthe changes that have been madeto the manual since the previouslyreleased version These can be found on the websitewwwcanadagapca in both English and FrenchManual Differences Summary

and Audit ChecklistUpdates to the Manual DifferencesSummary and Audit Checklist willalso be released in due course Themost recent versions are availablefor download on the website or bycontacting the CHC NationalOffice at 613-226-4880 Ext 206or offshortcouncilca Photo byMastronardi Produce

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYUpdated OFFS Manuals and audit checklist to be released for 2011

THE GROWER

PAGE 18 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Track your fruit production with Field Manager PRO

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

$

$

Your customers want products that are traceable With Field Manager PRO you can track your inputs costs and activities Increase the marketability ofyour fruit crop and get a complete picture of yourproduction and field records Field Manager PROincludes desktop and mobile software

1-800-667-7893 | wwwfccsoftwareca

Order nowand you couldwin an Arctic

Cat ATV

Contest details at wwwfccsoftwarecadyff

See how easytraceability can be

Please note that nominationsfor the 2011 CHC On-Farm FoodSafety (OFFS) Technical Work-ing Group will be accepted untilJanuary 25 2011

The Technical Working Group(TWG) serves a technical adviso-ry role to the CHC Food SafetyManagement Committee which isresponsible for governance andmaintenance of the CanadaGAPprogram Nominees with foodsafety and commodity-specificexpertise are sought Appointmentto the TWG is made annually bythe Management Committeewhich attempts in constituting thegrouprsquos membership to balanceregional representation knowl-edge of different horticulturalcrops and various types of produc-tionstoragepacking Announce-ment of the appointments for 2011will be made by the Food SafetyManagement Committee at theCHC AGM in March

Currently the group meets oncea year face-to-face and holds con-ference calls as needed Traveland meeting expenses are paid forby the CanadaGAP program

To submit a nomination emailoffshortcouncilca by January25 2011

Call fornominations

We asked Joe Sbrocchi chairof the Canadian Produce Market-ing Associationrsquos Industry Technology Advisory Committeeto comment on food safety Healso sits on the food safety com-mittee of Mastronardi ProduceKingsville Ontario

His extensive experience withtwo major retailers in Canadaand now in his role as VP Salesand Marketing with MastronardiProduce positions him well toanswer some questions for TheGrower

The food safety program is amajor topic of focus for the largegreenhouse vegetable companyrelative to their clients through-out North America

He collaborated with colleagues within their businessin both Canada and the UnitedStates

The Grower Given the ProduceTraceability Initiative (PTI) whatsteps are underway at MastronardiProduce to comply Do you planto meet 2011 milestones

Sbrocchi Yes Mastronardi Pro-duce will be in a position to com-ply with the PTI published mile-stones At this point we feel confi-dent in our abilities in this areaand carry out mock recalls so thatwe can feel secure that wersquore pro-tecting human life and our retailcustomerrsquos reputation should thereal dilemma ever manifest itselfIt can be argued that in todayrsquosworld to not approach this topic ina manner such as this is simplytempting disaster As for seeingthings through the lens of busi-ness it is our position that if we do

the right things the business goalswill be realized in due course

Virtually all retail and food service customers have clearlyindicated their focus on food safe-ty and the underlying linchpin ofefficient trace and recall Thesemandates come from the highestechelons of these organizationsGiven the grave consequences thatresult in anything that even resem-bles a lackadaisical approachtowards these directives compa-nies that do not take the utmostcare and emphasis on Food Safetytoday put themselves at risk of notbeing around in the future

The linking piece to the FoodSafety puzzle is the need for anefficient fast and effective abilityto trace issues to their root cause atthe speed necessary to protect ourconsumers

The short answer is that trace-ability is fundamental in deliver-ing this end goal

The Grower What additionalpersonnel or technology over andabove your already-robust systemare required to meet these mile-stones

Sbrocchi In our case the onlyadditional technology was to haveall our growers purchase the print-ers and software in order to printthe PTI conforming labels Timewas needed to generate the manycodes We are currently rollingout a new enterprise-wide systemand are just now ensuring that allour item codes match so that oursystem recognizes them enterprisewide

The Grower When you conduct

mock product recalls what haveyou learned that may be of use toothers Beyond the usual suspectsof E coli salmonella and listeriaare there other watch-outs

Sbrocchi In past mock scenariosone significant finding was to takethe recall beyond the first tier -that is to know your customers andto the 2nd or 3rd level customerthat they may sell your product toin order to ensure effective trace-ability of your branded productonce it has left your custodyRegardless of who may be in pos-session of your branded productitrsquos your brand image you own ityoursquove developed it and it needs tobe protected

Your product may also be in acustomerrsquos own private label Irsquomsure any of your readers who areselected to supply such items isaware of the rigour that is associ-ated with becoming and retainingthat status If you are doing so withany private label why would yoube different in approach to yourown label In fact a key benefit ofbeing exposed to such programs islearning how to scale processesand protocols across your entireenterprise

As for the other ldquowatch-outsrdquobeyond the key strains of the threemain pathogens cited -at this timewe are not testing for otherpathogens instead however wemake sure that yeasts and mouldsthat contribute to some of thesepathogens are controlled whereverpossible

The Grower Describe how youuse bioluminescence technologiesand what are its benefits

Sbrocchi ATP bioluminescencetechnology is used by our Sanita-tion Staff as a quick and rapid ini-tial check on the effectiveness ofsanitation Tests are done daily atthe end of the sanitation shiftSanitation Staff do not know inadvance which site will be testedOnce an area has been cleaned andsanitized Sanitation Supervisorwill conduct tests on individualsites and obtain a reading in justunder one minute If results fallunder a pre-determined lowthreshold then site is consideredeffectively cleaned and is releasedfor production If results fallbetween a low to medium thresh-old then the site is considered OKfor production yet is put on noticefor extra cleaning during the nextsanitation shift If site is above amedium threshold then site isconsidered to not be effectivelycleaned The site is then re-cleaned and retested before pro-duction Readings are recorded inan ATP Site Register and trackedby facility and Sanitation StaffThis rapid response indicator foreffectiveness of cleaning is veryuseful for fine-tuning the Sanita-tion Program especially for hard-to-reach and hard-to-clean areas

The Grower Describe the com-ponents of your post-harvest test-ing program

Sbrocchi Our Post-Harvest pro-gram is used to test the safety andquality of our inbound and fin-ished products and to conductresearch on new packaging tech-nologies Our Post-Harvest Spe-cialist and Microbiologists main-tain the program by measuring and

reporting quality and microbiolog-ical attributes (these could includeweight shape size colour firm-ness defects sugars acidity pres-ence of pathological amp spoilageorganisms and check packagingfor integrity labeling require-ments and customer specifica-tions) All information is trace-able and can be reported back tothe production staff or grower forimmediate corrective action ifneeded

The Grower What role doespackaging play in preventing contamination Are you using orresearching new packaging mate-rials

Sbrocchi All of our suppliers takefrequent samples and test them forcontamination All supplies arecarefully packaged and sealedfrom the environment We areconstantly researching and testingnew materials and packaging for-mats introducing a few new itemsevery year both from a productand also from a packaging per-spective

In addition the microbiologyprogram tests packaging for pres-ence of pathological and spoilageorganisms All packaging must bepre-approved by either the CFIAor the Department of Food Safetyin the US to ensure that it meetsgovernment regulatory require-ments

The Grower Food safety proto-cols cost a lot of money As a lineitem what percentage does foodsafety represent in total cost ofproduction

Sbrocchi Our investments andcosts for maintaining a certifiedfood safety and quality manage-ment system are quite highConsidering however the multiplefood safety scares prevalent to ourindustry over the last ten yearsand the level of importancedeemed by ourselves our cus-tomers and the end consumers ofour products we see food safetyprograms as a permanent and nec-essary part of the business similarto the need for insurance

We have facilities in Canadaand US and have highly educat-ed staff running multiple foodsafety and quality programs forour corporation and maintainworking laboratories For an orga-nization of our size ndash the costs aresignificant Yet we feel thisinvestment of time and money iswell worth the expense given thatitrsquos the right thing to do Sincewersquove implemented our food safe-ty and quality management sys-tem wersquove seen rejections andcomplaints decrease our relation-ships with our customers and gov-ernment agencies improve and anunexpected added benefit is thatemployee morale has improvedPeople take pride in and like work-ing for a company that makes safeand quality products We donrsquotjust talk it -we live it

THE GROWER

PAGE 16 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYSafe products happy employees

THE G

RO

WER

JAN

UA

RY 2011 ndashndash PAG

E 17

VIP amp EXHIBITOR PARKING

SATURDAY LIVEAUCTION

OUTDOOR EXHIBITSPACE

MARKET PAVILIONS

HOSPITALITY

BARN

CONVENTION CENTRE

SATURDAYFARMERSMARKET

GENERAL PARKING

GENERAL PARKING

830am - 500pm Exclusive Industry Day830am - 500pm Exclusive Industry Day 500pm - 1100pm ldquoPride In Growing Dinner amp Dancerdquo830am - 400pm PublicConsumer amp Industry Day

THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Canadas Fruit amp Veg Tech X-Change is the first of its kind in North America It is long overdue for the fruit and veg industry to have its own live showcase Producers for the most part are visual learners show them it can work for their farm operation and you have significantly advanced the sales cycle

-Marc Vanden Bussche - Vanden Bussche Irrigation Ltd

EXHIBITORS WANTEDSTOP

Mark Your

Calendar

X-CHANGE HEADLINE NEWS

SEPT

EMBER

1 2

3 2

011

NORFO

LK C

OUNTY

ONTA

RIO

anadarsquo

s Frui

t amp Ve

g

Tech X

-Change

X-CHANGE HEADLINE NEWS

2263810282 | FRUITVEGTECHXCHANGECOM

Outdoor Exhibit Space ONLY $1sq ftRide amp Drive Space ONLY $30sq ft

Pick Your Prime Location Today RIDE amp DRIVESITES

RIDE amp DRIVESITES

LAKE ERIE

INDUSTRYPAVILIONS

INTRODUCING

ODUCING

INTRTROD

G

EE

SPSP EEEEIBITBITIBITDOORDOORR ER ETDTD

M ET PRKET P

VPAAVPPA

euit amp VVerCanadas F

X-CHANX-CHANX-CHANX CHANourk YYoPic

Ride amp DOutdoor E

h X Change is theecg Te

NGE HEADLINNGE HEADLINNGE HEADLINNGE HEADLINr Prime Loca

Y e Space ONLLYDrivExhibit Space ONL

thits kind in Norst offir

NE NEWSNE NEWSNE NEWSNE NEWSodaytion Ta

$30sq ftY $1sq ftLLY

PI

VILIONSAAVPPAYINDUSTRRY

E amp S

E amp D

advanced the sales cor k forthem it can wodcase Prwe sholiv

vAmerica It is long oeuit amp VVerCanada s F

22638

heanden Busscc V-Marlecyc

tion andam operartheir ft or the most pars fucer

uit and vor the frdue fervh X-Change is the ecg Te

810282

tion Lrigahe Iranden Bussce - VVa

y e significantlvou had yws shonere visual learar

e its ovy to hag industrevth its kind in Norst offir

U2 | FR

Ltd

w wno

UITVEG

GTECH

CHANX

NGECO

OM

dar rrda

Calenda STM

OPurour

da

k Yn

Yo OPMar

Cal

rkOY STSTO

CanadaGAP is issuing updatesto the OFFS Manuals for 2011The 2011 version incorporatespreviously released updates asapproved by the Global FoodSafety Initiative (GFSI) in 2010as well as a few other minorimprovements Updated versionswill be issued on the CanadaGAPwebsite as they are finalizedbull Combined Vegetables v51 bull Greenhouse v51bull Tree and Vine Fruit v51 bull Leafy Vegetable amp Cruciferaev51 bull Small Fruit v51bull Potato v54

Some updates required in orderto complete GFSI benchmarkingincluded bull In Section 6 Agricultural Chem-icals new requirements wereadded for product destined for

export markets New Appendix Rdeveloped to provide further guid-ance to producerspackers whomust meet this requirementbull Analyses done by an accreditedlaboratory (eg water tests) mustbe performed to standards equiva-lent to ISO 17025bull Section 12 New text added toprocedures in employee trainingand employee illness sectionbull Product release procedureswere added to Sections 18 and 21bull Section 23 Annual mock recallrequired New Appendix Q addedto help producerspackers meetthis requirementbull Section 24 Annual internal auditrequired

Other updates (please note thisis not a complete list)bull Composting procedure added toAppendix C as requested by

usersbull Clarification that requirementsrelated to Water for Fluming andCleaning (Section 15) also applyto ice slurryslushbull Clarification to Section 11 Personal Hygiene Facilities ifemployees are using water andsanitizer to wash hands papertowel is needed to dry hands firstin order to maximize the effective-

ness of hand sanitizerbull Inclusion of some field vegeta-bles grown for processing withinthe scope of the OFFS Manualsbroccoli Brussels sprouts cab-bage cauliflower beans peas andsweet cornbull Clearer definitions included fortertiary water biosolids sewagesludge and other key termsbull Section 6 Commercial fertilizerscan be stored with agriculturalchemicals as long as

- co-storage is not prohibited byregulation

- fertilizers and agriculturalchemicals are each kept in a sepa-rate designated area within thestorage

- fertilizers are contained in abag jug tote etc bull Section 15 Water for Flumingand Cleaning Clarification to the

requirements for water used towash hydro-cool cool flume orrinse leafy vegetables and cruciferaebull Modifications made to Ice handling and storage procedures inSection 16bull Section 17 Market ready pack-aging materials must be stored atleast 8 cm away from the wall

An announcement to all CHCmembers and industry affiliateswill be communicated once allnew manuals are posted Programparticipants will receive a CDcopy directly by mail All mem-bers will have access to the latestmanuals at wwwcanadagapcaenmanualsoffs-manualdown-loadsaspx

The implementation date(effective date for certificationpurposes) of all updates will beApril 1 2011Review the changes

To familiarize yourself with thechanges please download theRevisions documents which trackthe changes that have been madeto the manual since the previouslyreleased version These can be found on the websitewwwcanadagapca in both English and FrenchManual Differences Summary

and Audit ChecklistUpdates to the Manual DifferencesSummary and Audit Checklist willalso be released in due course Themost recent versions are availablefor download on the website or bycontacting the CHC NationalOffice at 613-226-4880 Ext 206or offshortcouncilca Photo byMastronardi Produce

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYUpdated OFFS Manuals and audit checklist to be released for 2011

THE GROWER

PAGE 18 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Track your fruit production with Field Manager PRO

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

$

$

Your customers want products that are traceable With Field Manager PRO you can track your inputs costs and activities Increase the marketability ofyour fruit crop and get a complete picture of yourproduction and field records Field Manager PROincludes desktop and mobile software

1-800-667-7893 | wwwfccsoftwareca

Order nowand you couldwin an Arctic

Cat ATV

Contest details at wwwfccsoftwarecadyff

See how easytraceability can be

Please note that nominationsfor the 2011 CHC On-Farm FoodSafety (OFFS) Technical Work-ing Group will be accepted untilJanuary 25 2011

The Technical Working Group(TWG) serves a technical adviso-ry role to the CHC Food SafetyManagement Committee which isresponsible for governance andmaintenance of the CanadaGAPprogram Nominees with foodsafety and commodity-specificexpertise are sought Appointmentto the TWG is made annually bythe Management Committeewhich attempts in constituting thegrouprsquos membership to balanceregional representation knowl-edge of different horticulturalcrops and various types of produc-tionstoragepacking Announce-ment of the appointments for 2011will be made by the Food SafetyManagement Committee at theCHC AGM in March

Currently the group meets oncea year face-to-face and holds con-ference calls as needed Traveland meeting expenses are paid forby the CanadaGAP program

To submit a nomination emailoffshortcouncilca by January25 2011

Call fornominations

THE G

RO

WER

JAN

UA

RY 2011 ndashndash PAG

E 17

VIP amp EXHIBITOR PARKING

SATURDAY LIVEAUCTION

OUTDOOR EXHIBITSPACE

MARKET PAVILIONS

HOSPITALITY

BARN

CONVENTION CENTRE

SATURDAYFARMERSMARKET

GENERAL PARKING

GENERAL PARKING

830am - 500pm Exclusive Industry Day830am - 500pm Exclusive Industry Day 500pm - 1100pm ldquoPride In Growing Dinner amp Dancerdquo830am - 400pm PublicConsumer amp Industry Day

THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Canadas Fruit amp Veg Tech X-Change is the first of its kind in North America It is long overdue for the fruit and veg industry to have its own live showcase Producers for the most part are visual learners show them it can work for their farm operation and you have significantly advanced the sales cycle

-Marc Vanden Bussche - Vanden Bussche Irrigation Ltd

EXHIBITORS WANTEDSTOP

Mark Your

Calendar

X-CHANGE HEADLINE NEWS

SEPT

EMBER

1 2

3 2

011

NORFO

LK C

OUNTY

ONTA

RIO

anadarsquo

s Frui

t amp Ve

g

Tech X

-Change

X-CHANGE HEADLINE NEWS

2263810282 | FRUITVEGTECHXCHANGECOM

Outdoor Exhibit Space ONLY $1sq ftRide amp Drive Space ONLY $30sq ft

Pick Your Prime Location Today RIDE amp DRIVESITES

RIDE amp DRIVESITES

LAKE ERIE

INDUSTRYPAVILIONS

INTRODUCING

ODUCING

INTRTROD

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EE

SPSP EEEEIBITBITIBITDOORDOORR ER ETDTD

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CanadaGAP is issuing updatesto the OFFS Manuals for 2011The 2011 version incorporatespreviously released updates asapproved by the Global FoodSafety Initiative (GFSI) in 2010as well as a few other minorimprovements Updated versionswill be issued on the CanadaGAPwebsite as they are finalizedbull Combined Vegetables v51 bull Greenhouse v51bull Tree and Vine Fruit v51 bull Leafy Vegetable amp Cruciferaev51 bull Small Fruit v51bull Potato v54

Some updates required in orderto complete GFSI benchmarkingincluded bull In Section 6 Agricultural Chem-icals new requirements wereadded for product destined for

export markets New Appendix Rdeveloped to provide further guid-ance to producerspackers whomust meet this requirementbull Analyses done by an accreditedlaboratory (eg water tests) mustbe performed to standards equiva-lent to ISO 17025bull Section 12 New text added toprocedures in employee trainingand employee illness sectionbull Product release procedureswere added to Sections 18 and 21bull Section 23 Annual mock recallrequired New Appendix Q addedto help producerspackers meetthis requirementbull Section 24 Annual internal auditrequired

Other updates (please note thisis not a complete list)bull Composting procedure added toAppendix C as requested by

usersbull Clarification that requirementsrelated to Water for Fluming andCleaning (Section 15) also applyto ice slurryslushbull Clarification to Section 11 Personal Hygiene Facilities ifemployees are using water andsanitizer to wash hands papertowel is needed to dry hands firstin order to maximize the effective-

ness of hand sanitizerbull Inclusion of some field vegeta-bles grown for processing withinthe scope of the OFFS Manualsbroccoli Brussels sprouts cab-bage cauliflower beans peas andsweet cornbull Clearer definitions included fortertiary water biosolids sewagesludge and other key termsbull Section 6 Commercial fertilizerscan be stored with agriculturalchemicals as long as

- co-storage is not prohibited byregulation

- fertilizers and agriculturalchemicals are each kept in a sepa-rate designated area within thestorage

- fertilizers are contained in abag jug tote etc bull Section 15 Water for Flumingand Cleaning Clarification to the

requirements for water used towash hydro-cool cool flume orrinse leafy vegetables and cruciferaebull Modifications made to Ice handling and storage procedures inSection 16bull Section 17 Market ready pack-aging materials must be stored atleast 8 cm away from the wall

An announcement to all CHCmembers and industry affiliateswill be communicated once allnew manuals are posted Programparticipants will receive a CDcopy directly by mail All mem-bers will have access to the latestmanuals at wwwcanadagapcaenmanualsoffs-manualdown-loadsaspx

The implementation date(effective date for certificationpurposes) of all updates will beApril 1 2011Review the changes

To familiarize yourself with thechanges please download theRevisions documents which trackthe changes that have been madeto the manual since the previouslyreleased version These can be found on the websitewwwcanadagapca in both English and FrenchManual Differences Summary

and Audit ChecklistUpdates to the Manual DifferencesSummary and Audit Checklist willalso be released in due course Themost recent versions are availablefor download on the website or bycontacting the CHC NationalOffice at 613-226-4880 Ext 206or offshortcouncilca Photo byMastronardi Produce

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYUpdated OFFS Manuals and audit checklist to be released for 2011

THE GROWER

PAGE 18 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Track your fruit production with Field Manager PRO

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

$

$

Your customers want products that are traceable With Field Manager PRO you can track your inputs costs and activities Increase the marketability ofyour fruit crop and get a complete picture of yourproduction and field records Field Manager PROincludes desktop and mobile software

1-800-667-7893 | wwwfccsoftwareca

Order nowand you couldwin an Arctic

Cat ATV

Contest details at wwwfccsoftwarecadyff

See how easytraceability can be

Please note that nominationsfor the 2011 CHC On-Farm FoodSafety (OFFS) Technical Work-ing Group will be accepted untilJanuary 25 2011

The Technical Working Group(TWG) serves a technical adviso-ry role to the CHC Food SafetyManagement Committee which isresponsible for governance andmaintenance of the CanadaGAPprogram Nominees with foodsafety and commodity-specificexpertise are sought Appointmentto the TWG is made annually bythe Management Committeewhich attempts in constituting thegrouprsquos membership to balanceregional representation knowl-edge of different horticulturalcrops and various types of produc-tionstoragepacking Announce-ment of the appointments for 2011will be made by the Food SafetyManagement Committee at theCHC AGM in March

Currently the group meets oncea year face-to-face and holds con-ference calls as needed Traveland meeting expenses are paid forby the CanadaGAP program

To submit a nomination emailoffshortcouncilca by January25 2011

Call fornominations

CanadaGAP is issuing updatesto the OFFS Manuals for 2011The 2011 version incorporatespreviously released updates asapproved by the Global FoodSafety Initiative (GFSI) in 2010as well as a few other minorimprovements Updated versionswill be issued on the CanadaGAPwebsite as they are finalizedbull Combined Vegetables v51 bull Greenhouse v51bull Tree and Vine Fruit v51 bull Leafy Vegetable amp Cruciferaev51 bull Small Fruit v51bull Potato v54

Some updates required in orderto complete GFSI benchmarkingincluded bull In Section 6 Agricultural Chem-icals new requirements wereadded for product destined for

export markets New Appendix Rdeveloped to provide further guid-ance to producerspackers whomust meet this requirementbull Analyses done by an accreditedlaboratory (eg water tests) mustbe performed to standards equiva-lent to ISO 17025bull Section 12 New text added toprocedures in employee trainingand employee illness sectionbull Product release procedureswere added to Sections 18 and 21bull Section 23 Annual mock recallrequired New Appendix Q addedto help producerspackers meetthis requirementbull Section 24 Annual internal auditrequired

Other updates (please note thisis not a complete list)bull Composting procedure added toAppendix C as requested by

usersbull Clarification that requirementsrelated to Water for Fluming andCleaning (Section 15) also applyto ice slurryslushbull Clarification to Section 11 Personal Hygiene Facilities ifemployees are using water andsanitizer to wash hands papertowel is needed to dry hands firstin order to maximize the effective-

ness of hand sanitizerbull Inclusion of some field vegeta-bles grown for processing withinthe scope of the OFFS Manualsbroccoli Brussels sprouts cab-bage cauliflower beans peas andsweet cornbull Clearer definitions included fortertiary water biosolids sewagesludge and other key termsbull Section 6 Commercial fertilizerscan be stored with agriculturalchemicals as long as

- co-storage is not prohibited byregulation

- fertilizers and agriculturalchemicals are each kept in a sepa-rate designated area within thestorage

- fertilizers are contained in abag jug tote etc bull Section 15 Water for Flumingand Cleaning Clarification to the

requirements for water used towash hydro-cool cool flume orrinse leafy vegetables and cruciferaebull Modifications made to Ice handling and storage procedures inSection 16bull Section 17 Market ready pack-aging materials must be stored atleast 8 cm away from the wall

An announcement to all CHCmembers and industry affiliateswill be communicated once allnew manuals are posted Programparticipants will receive a CDcopy directly by mail All mem-bers will have access to the latestmanuals at wwwcanadagapcaenmanualsoffs-manualdown-loadsaspx

The implementation date(effective date for certificationpurposes) of all updates will beApril 1 2011Review the changes

To familiarize yourself with thechanges please download theRevisions documents which trackthe changes that have been madeto the manual since the previouslyreleased version These can be found on the websitewwwcanadagapca in both English and FrenchManual Differences Summary

and Audit ChecklistUpdates to the Manual DifferencesSummary and Audit Checklist willalso be released in due course Themost recent versions are availablefor download on the website or bycontacting the CHC NationalOffice at 613-226-4880 Ext 206or offshortcouncilca Photo byMastronardi Produce

FOOD SAFETY AND TRACEABILITYUpdated OFFS Manuals and audit checklist to be released for 2011

THE GROWER

PAGE 18 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Track your fruit production with Field Manager PRO

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

$

$

Your customers want products that are traceable With Field Manager PRO you can track your inputs costs and activities Increase the marketability ofyour fruit crop and get a complete picture of yourproduction and field records Field Manager PROincludes desktop and mobile software

1-800-667-7893 | wwwfccsoftwareca

Order nowand you couldwin an Arctic

Cat ATV

Contest details at wwwfccsoftwarecadyff

See how easytraceability can be

Please note that nominationsfor the 2011 CHC On-Farm FoodSafety (OFFS) Technical Work-ing Group will be accepted untilJanuary 25 2011

The Technical Working Group(TWG) serves a technical adviso-ry role to the CHC Food SafetyManagement Committee which isresponsible for governance andmaintenance of the CanadaGAPprogram Nominees with foodsafety and commodity-specificexpertise are sought Appointmentto the TWG is made annually bythe Management Committeewhich attempts in constituting thegrouprsquos membership to balanceregional representation knowl-edge of different horticulturalcrops and various types of produc-tionstoragepacking Announce-ment of the appointments for 2011will be made by the Food SafetyManagement Committee at theCHC AGM in March

Currently the group meets oncea year face-to-face and holds con-ference calls as needed Traveland meeting expenses are paid forby the CanadaGAP program

To submit a nomination emailoffshortcouncilca by January25 2011

Call fornominations

By Lilian Schaer for AGCareAs the New Year unfolds and

AGCare works its way towards anamalgamation with the OntarioFarm Animal Council (OFAC)we want to take a few minutes tolook back at the organizationrsquosachievements and highlights fromthe year just passed

Operational alliance withOntario Farm Animal Council

A discussion paper on theOFACAGCare amalgamation hasbeen circulated to founding mem-ber boards chairs and staff whichincludes highlights from a jointstrategy session and the Memoran-dum of Understanding that hasbeen developed between the twoorganizations AGCare is seekinginput to ensure the new organiza-tion meets the needs of its mem-bers A proposed structure for thenew entity will be presented to thememberships of AGCare andOFAC for discussion and the issuewill be voted on at the annualmeetings of both organizations inApril 2011 AGCare and OFAChave very similar mandates andover the past five years have beensharing staff resources officespace and most projects

Virtual farm tours unveiledAGCare launched its new virtu-

al farm tours in November 2010Online visitors can meet realOntario farmers and tour realfarms that grow grain field veg-etables fruit and greenhouse veg-etables - without putting theirboots on The tours are hosted atwwwvirtualfarmtoursca A CDof all the tours along with a newlydeveloped teacherrsquos guide ndash con-taining curriculum connections forall grades and suggested class-room activities ndash has been distrib-uted to every elementary and sec-ondary school in the province Theresource was also featured at therecent Science Teachers Associa-tion of Ontario annual conference

Great Lakes Water QualityAdvisory Panel

In 2010 potato grower ChrisKowalski served as AGCarersquos rep-resentative on the StakeholderPanel for the Great Lakes WaterQuality Agreement as one of threeseats designated for agricultureThe panelrsquos purpose was to adviseCanadian negotiators during nego-tiations concerning amendmentsto the Canada ndash US Great LakesWater Quality Agreement whichmay have impacts on irrigationand permits to take water

Clean Water Act and WasteDiversion Act

AGCare submitted responses tothe Environmental Bill of Rights(EBR) on both the Clean WaterAct (regulations addressing thedevelopment and implementationof source protection plans) and theWaste Diversion Act The Min-istry of the Environment began areview of Ontariorsquos Waste Diver-sion Act in 2008 and in October2009 released a report that includ-ed proposed changes to the Act

Environmental Farm Planupdates

Two AGCare representativesHenry Denotter from Ontario Soiland Crop Improvement Associa-tion and Jim Poel of the OntarioProcessing Vegetable Growersparticipated in the updating of twochapters of the EnvironmentalFarm Plan program dealing withcrop rotationmanagement andfarm waste management

Proactive media project completed

The three year proactive mediaproject wrapped up in the spring of2010 Close to 200 farmers partic-ipated in media training sessionsthroughout the course of the pro-gram Five farm tours were heldfor media and food professionalsin the Toronto and Ottawa areaswhere participants came from awide variety of publications andmedia outlets including the FoodNetwork Toronto Sun TorontoStar Kraft and Food and Drink aswell as many cookbook authorsand freelance writers The projectalso included development of theFarming Sources website a one-stop shop for media looking forsources and information aboutOntario agriculture and a mediaprogram that saw over 40 opedcolumns published in Ontarionewspapers over the life of theproject

Agriculture in the City EventThe Agriculture in the City

event held at Erin Mills TownCentre in Mississauga in Octoberfeatured 20 agricultural exhibitorsas well as a demonstration stageAGCare and OFAC took the leadin organizing this event on behalfof Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada and a committee of farmgroups The goal was to bringagriculture to an urban environ-ment in order to reach out to non-farm consumers about food andfarming Public outreach projects Farm

Creativity Contest Faces ofFarming Dirt on FarmingThis marked the first year that

AGCare was a partner in OFACrsquosFarm Creativity Contest On a pro-vided postcard kids from juniorkindergarten to Grade eight drawpictures about farming farmingpractices or farm animals andwrite about what theyrsquove drawnPrizes are available in each ofthree categories AGCare alsopartnered in several of OFACrsquossuccessful public outreach effortsto ensure positive environmentalmessaging about all kinds of farmswas put forward One example theFaces of Farming project is sentto media politicians and grocerystores across the provinceAGCare supported the new ver-sion of the Real Dirt on Farmingas well with 100000 copies print-ed late in the fall of 2010 Viewall these projects online atwwwfarmissuescom

Farm Care Foundationlaunched

The Farm Care Foundation aninitiative of AGCare and OFACwas launched in October 2010 andwill focus its activities on ensuring

public trust and confidence in foodand farming The new foundationa registered charity that is a sepa-rate entity from both OFAC andAGCare will focus on several keyobjectives including buildingrelationships with new donors anddeveloping an effective and pro-fessional fundraising program tosupport OFAC and AGCare initia-tives such as regional and nation-al agri-food awareness and issue-specific work related to the envi-ronment and farm animal care

As the New Year unfolds andAGCare works its way towards anamalgamation with the OntarioFarm Animal Council (OFAC)we want to take a few minutes tolook back at the organizationrsquosachievements and highlights fromthe year just passed

Operational alliance withOntario Farm Animal Council

A discussion paper on theOFACAGCare amalgamation hasbeen circulated to founding mem-ber boards chairs and staff whichincludes highlights from a jointstrategy session and the Memoran-dum of Understanding that hasbeen developed between the twoorganizations AGCare is seekinginput to ensure the new organiza-tion meets the needs of its mem-bers A proposed structure for thenew entity will be presented to thememberships of AGCare andOFAC for discussion and the issuewill be voted on at the annualmeetings of both organizations inApril 2011 AGCare and OFAChave very similar mandates andover the past five years have beensharing staff resources officespace and most projects

Virtual farm tours unveiledAGCare launched its new virtu-

al farm tours in November 2010Online visitors can meet realOntario farmers and tour realfarms that grow grain field veg-etables fruit and greenhouse veg-etables - without putting theirboots on The tours are hosted atwwwvirtualfarmtoursca A CDof all the tours along with a newlydeveloped teacherrsquos guide ndash con-taining curriculum connections forall grades and suggested class-room activities ndash has been distrib-uted to every elementary and sec-ondary school in the province Theresource was also featured at therecent Science Teachers Associa-

tion of Ontario annual conference Great Lakes Water Quality Advi-sory Panel

In 2010 potato grower ChrisKowalski served as AGCarersquos rep-resentative on the StakeholderPanel for the Great Lakes WaterQuality Agreement as one of threeseats designated for agricultureThe panelrsquos purpose was to adviseCanadian negotiators during nego-tiations concerning amendmentsto the Canada ndash US Great LakesWater Quality Agreement whichmay have impacts on irrigationand permits to take water

Clean Water Act and WasteDiversion Act

AGCare submitted responses tothe Environmental Bill of Rights(EBR) on both the Clean WaterAct (regulations addressing thedevelopment and implementationof source protection plans) and theWaste Diversion Act The Min-istry of the Environment began areview of Ontariorsquos Waste Diver-sion Act in 2008 and in October2009 released a report that includ-ed proposed changes to the Act

Environmental Farm Planupdates

Two AGCare representativesHenry Denotter from Ontario Soiland Crop Improvement Associa-tion and Jim Poel of the OntarioProcessing Vegetable Growersparticipated in the updating of twochapters of the EnvironmentalFarm Plan program dealing withcrop rotationmanagement andfarm waste management

Proactive media project completed

The three year proactive mediaproject wrapped up in the spring of2010 Close to 200 farmers partic-ipated in media training sessionsthroughout the course of the pro-gram Five farm tours were heldfor media and food professionalsin the Toronto and Ottawa areaswhere participants came from awide variety of publications andmedia outlets including the FoodNetwork Toronto Sun TorontoStar Kraft and Food and Drink aswell as many cookbook authorsand freelance writers The projectalso included development of theFarming Sources website a one-stop shop for media looking forsources and information aboutOntario agriculture and a mediaprogram that saw over 40 oped

columns published in Ontarionewspapers over the life of theproject

Agriculture in the City EventThe Agriculture in the City

event held at Erin Mills TownCentre in Mississauga in Octoberfeatured 20 agricultural exhibitorsas well as a demonstration stageAGCare and OFAC took the leadin organizing this event on behalfof Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada and a committee of farmgroups The goal was to bringagriculture to an urban environ-ment in order to reach out to non-farm consumers about food andfarming Public outreach projects Farm

Creativity Contest Faces ofFarming Dirt on FarmingThis marked the first year that

AGCare was a partner in OFACrsquosFarm Creativity Contest On a pro-vided postcard kids from juniorkindergarten to Grade eight drawpictures about farming farmingpractices or farm animals andwrite about what theyrsquove drawnPrizes are available in each ofthree categories AGCare alsopartnered in several of OFACrsquossuccessful public outreach effortsto ensure positive environmentalmessaging about all kinds of farmswas put forward One examplethe Faces of Farming project issent to media politicians and gro-cery stores across the provinceAGCare supported the new ver-sion of the Real Dirt on Farmingas well with 100000 copies print-ed late in the fall of 2010 Viewall these projects online atwwwfarmissuescom

Farm Care Foundationlaunched

The Farm Care Foundation aninitiative of AGCare and OFACwas launched in October 2010 andwill focus its activities on ensuringpublic trust and confidence in foodand farming The new foundationa registered charity that is a sepa-rate entity from both OFAC andAGCare will focus on several keyobjectives including buildingrelationships with new donors anddeveloping an effective and pro-fessional fundraising program tosupport OFAC and AGCare initia-tives such as regional and nation-al agri-food awareness and issue-specific work related to the envi-ronment and farm animal care

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 19

AGCare 2010 year in review ndash highlights and achievements

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

Visit us at wwwnorsecocom

SUPERIOR SEEDS SUPERIOR SERVICEMichel Grat ton

Montreal Area Quebec

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

Yvon RiendeauMontreal Area Quebec

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

Yves Thibault agrCentral and Eastern

Quebec and Atlantic Provinces

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

Warren PeacockOntario

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

By Becky Hughes and AdamDale University of Guelph Red raspberries can be divided

into two groups those that bear

fruit on the first-year canes calledprimocanes and those that fruit onthe second-year overwinteredcanes called floricanes

Most raspberries we currentlygrow in Ontario are floricane-fruiting or summer-bearing culti-vars These are usually grown

under one of two management sys-tems In the annual system thevegetative primocanes and thefloricanes grow together Afterharvest the floricanes are removedand the primocanes continue togrow and produce a crop the fol-lowing year Each year there iscompetition between developingprimocanes and the bearing flori-canes In a biennial system therow is mowed to the ground everysecond year Primocanes developin the absence of floricanes thefirst year and produce fruit in thesecond year Raspberries in thissystem are picked every two yearsDuring the fruiting year primo-cane growth is usually suppresseduntil the first harvest to reducecompetition with the floricanesand give higher yields

Fall-fruiting or primocane-bearing raspberries such asAutumn Britten and Heritage areusually mowed to the groundevery year and the primocanesbear fruit late each summer andinto the fall

Yield in summer-bearing rasp-berries is influenced by cane den-sity cane size and primocanecompetition Most studies on theideal cane density for red raspber-ries were completed over 20 yearsago These studies took place inEurope and North America wherecultural practices row spacing andcultivars varied Dale (1989)reviewed these studies and con-cluded that if the cane density wascalculated on the total land areathe cane density for maximumyield was remarkably consistentHe concluded that the ideal fruit-ing cane density in the traditionalannual production system isbetween five and eight fruitingcanes per m2 of total land areaBushway et al (2008) recommendlower cane densities of three-fivecanes per linear foot with nine feetbetween rows or four-six canesper m2 of total land area

In a biennial floricane-fruitingsystem with primocane suppres-sion cane density can be doubledas there is little or no competitionfrom non-fruiting canes

Most growers prune based onthe number of canes per linearmeter of row The above tablegives the ideal number of canesper linear meter for various rowspacings In each scenario the row

width should be maintained at 30cm or less As cane density insummer-bearing raspberries isincreased the yield per canedecreases there are fewer fruitinglaterals fewer fruits per lateraland smaller fruit (Dale 1989) Inthese cultivars growers have tobalance increased yield per unitarea with decreasing fruit size andincreasing disease pressure ascane density is increasedTheremay also be a relationshipbetween cane density and winterinjury in floricane-fruiting vari-eties with less dieback at lowercane densities (Buszard 1986)

In primocane-fruiting raspber-ries research suggests that thenumber of fruiting canes over thewhole season should be similar tothat used in biennial croppingYield is influenced by both canedensity and the length of the grow-ing season However fruit size inprimocane-fruiting raspberries isnot decreased as cane densityincreases (Bushway et al 2008)Many growers maintain a maxi-mum row width of 30 cm anddonrsquot thin canes in primocane-fruiting cultivars The recom-mended cane density is currentlybetween 10 and 16 canesm2 Cur-rent research on cane managementin high tunnel primocane-fruitingraspberries in Quebec appears toconfirm the recommended densi-tiesThese numbers are a guidelineonly because cultivars manage-ment practices disease controlgrowing conditions such as hightunnels and other factors willaffect yield However the lessonto be learned is that the ideal num-ber of canes per meter of rowchanges with row spacing

ReferencesBushway L M Pritts and DHandley 2008 Raspberry andBlackberry Production Guide forthe Northeast Midwest and East-ern Canada NRAES-35 157 pp Buszard D 1986 The effect ofmanagement system on winter sur-vival and yield of raspberries inQuebec Acta Hort 183 175-181 Dale A 1989 Productivity in redraspberries Hort Rev 11185-228

THE GROWER

PAGE 20 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

THE 2011 CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL

FARM SHOWhellip GETTING BACK TO THE

ROOTS OF THE FARM SHOW

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

Visit wwwCanadianFarmShowca

USE VIP CODE CFS604

Awards will

be given out

once again

in 2011

Show Runs Daily 900am-430pm

2011 CIFS CASE Highly Detailed DC-4

wwwcanadianfarmshowcaOffi cial 2011

25th Anniversary

Collectible

February 8-10 2011

The ideal red raspberry cane density

Production System canesm2Distance (m)between rows

caneslinear m of rowfruiting vegetative

Primocane fruiting 10-16

15 15-24 ----20 20-32 ----25 25-40 ----30 30-48 ----

Floricane-fruiting -Annual System

5-820 10-16 10-1625 12-20 12-2030 15-24 15-24

Floricane-fruiting - Biennial System- Non-bearing year

10-16

20 20-32- Bearing year 20 20-32- Non-bearing year 25 25-40- Bearing year 25 25-40- Non-bearing year 30 30-48- Bearing year 30 30-48

Ideal number of red raspberry canes for the various production systems and row spacings (center to center)Adapted from Dale (1989)

Social media and networking

By Pam Fisher OMAFRA berrycrop specialist

Everyone is talking aboutTwitter and Facebook andYouTube and how to use thesesocial networking tools to marketyour business and your message Irecently heard a great speaker onthis topic Dan Toland works forthe Ohio Farm Bureau as a com-munication specialist

Dan has published a guide forfarmers on using social mediaThis is a great resource for grow-ers who are wondering how to getstarted with these new tools

Link to the publication ldquoDis-

cover Your Social Web an OhioFarm Bureau Guide to SocialMediardquo httpofbforguploadsSocial-Media-Guide-V2_single-pages-PRESSpdf

Link to the Ohio Farm BureauSocial Media web pagehttpofbforgmedia-and-publica-tionssocial-media

You can also learn more aboutsocial media for marketing yourbusiness by attending the OntarioBerry Growers Association Annu-al Meeting Feb 22 in StCatharines For more informationcontact infoontarioberriescom

The Ontario Berry Growers Associationwill hold their annual meeting on TuesdayFebruary 22 2011 at the Four Points Sher-aton Suites in St Catharines Berry meet-ings continue at the 9th Ontario Fruit ampVegetable Convention February 23 atBrock University The Ontario Fruit andVegetable Convention will be held Febru-ary 23 through February 24 with speakersessions covering a variety of industry spe-cific topics educational workshops theFarmers and Friends evening networkingevent and a tradeshow featuring over 150exhibitors highlight this years event

For more information on the OntarioFruit and Vegetable Conventionwwwofvcca

For more information on the OntarioBerry Growers Association meeting KevinSchooley 613-258-4587 or infoontari-oberriescom

Ontario Berry Growers Association ndashOntario Fruit and Vegetable Convention

Berry ProgramTuesday February 22 2011 - Four Points

Sheraton Suites St Catharines900 am - Our Newest Strawberry Culti-vars and How We Select Them Dr AdamDale University of Guelph

930 am - Production Insurance forStrawberries Rebecca Metzger AgriCorp

1000 am - Grower Profile ndash BelluzFarms Thunder Bay Kevin Belluz Bel-luz Farms Thunder Bay

1045 am - BREAK

1100 am - Raspberry Cane Managementfor Improved Production John LewisAgrapoint Nova Scotia

1130 am - Marketing Promotional Mate-rials and Videos for OBGA MembersKevin Schooley Ontario Berry GrowersAssociation

1200 pm - OBGA Annual Meeting ampLunch

130 pm - Chateau Herbicide for Straw-berries Tom Tregunno Engage Agro

200 pm - Weed Control in Row Middles(panel discussion) Kristen CallowOMAFRA Mr Tigchelaar TigchelaarBerry Farms John Cooper Strawberry-Tyme Farms Rob Chesney Thames RiverMelons Norm Charbonneau Hi-BerryFarm

230 pm - Preventing Drift and SprayBurn Problems Mike CowbroughOMAFRA and Jason Deveau OMAFRA

330 pm - Round Table Discussions Join 2of the 4 discussions 30 minutes per round1 Choosing a Sprayer for Small FruitsRoss Parker Red-Trac International amp

Jason Deveau OMAFRA 2 Pest Management for Day NeutralsPam Fisher OMAFRA3 Finding a Weed Control Solution Kris-ten Callow OMAFRA Dr Rob NurseAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada 4 Using Facebook Twitter and SocialMedia Kevin Belluz Belluz Farms andWill Heeman Heeman Strawberry Farm

430 pm - Adjourn

730 pm - Strawberry Fertigation Semi-nar Sponsored by Plant Products815 pm - OBGA social time and refresh-

ments

Ontario Berry Growers Association ndashOntario Fruit and Vegetable Convention

Berry ProgramWednesday February 23 2011 - Brock

University St Catharines

930 am - Berry Pest Management Inte-grating New Insect Control ProductsPam Fisher OMAFRA

1000 am - Be Ready for Spotted WingedDrosophila Hannah Fraser OMAFRA

1030 am - Soil Revitalization with Com-post for Improved Strawberry Produc-tion John Lewis Agrapoint Nova Scotia

1100 am - Management of Nematodes inBerry Production Systems With SpecialReference to Soil Quality Dr GeorgeBird Michigan State University Michigan

1130 am - Pesticides SustainabilityStewardship and Consumer PerceptionDr Steve Savage Cirrus Partners Ever-green Colorado

1215 - 200 - Lunch amp Trade Show

200 pm - National Berry Marketing Ini-tiative Karen Fenske StratPoint SolutionsVernon BC

230 pm - Marketing our Farm withSocial Networking and other InternetTools Kevin Belluz Belluz Farms Thun-der Bay

300 pm - Ontario Consumersrsquo Motiva-tions for Buying Local and Organic Pro-duce Insights on Local Strawberries DrIsabelle Lesschaeve Vineland Research ampInnovation Center

330 pm - Marketing Berries (panel dis-cussion)1 New PYO ideas Sharon Judd MeadowLynn Farm2 Farmers markets Gerry Rochon JardinRochon 3 Satellite stands Paul Ralph Cedar HillBerry Farm

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 21

Ontario Berry Growers meet February 22-24 2011

North American Strawberry Growers

Association meetsFebruary 8-11 2011 Tampa

FloridaThe 7th North American

Strawberry Symposium (NASS)will be held Feb 8ndash11 2011 atthe Doubletree Hotel TampaWestshore in Tampa Florida Thesymposium will be held jointlywith the 35th Annual Meeting ofthe North American StrawberryGrowers Association (NASGA)and will attract many growers andindustry members andresearchers

This is an excellent opportunityto learn about recent research andto explore the ever-changing faceof the strawberry industry in NorthAmerica and around the world

On Wednesday Feb 9th theprogram features 14 speakers whowill provide world views onstrawberry production and mar-keting and pest management Thiswill be followed by a dynamic andinteractive presentation on mar-keting your business fromkeynote speaker Mr Bill McCur-ry

On Thursday Feb 10 the

NASS program will consist offour oral sessions on topicsincluding strawberry productionmethods pest management fruitquality and breeding geneticsand genomics

NASGA will host a concurrentsession focusing on marketing andgrower profiles looking at suc-cessful growing and marketing ofstrawberries

On Friday Feb 11 check outthe impressive strawberry indus-try in central Florida An all-daybus tour of the Plant City growingarea is planned for Friday Feb11th

More than 300 scientistsgrowers agribusiness and stu-dents are expected to attend the2011 conference This exchangeof information is vital to the con-tinued health and improvement ofthe North American strawberryindustry and internationaladvancement of strawberryresearch

The program and other infor-mation can be found on line atwwwnasgaorg

THE GROWER

PAGE 22 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

An organic growerrsquos newsletter whets the appetiteDavid Cohlmeyer Cookstown Greens is a well-known

supplier of organic vegetables to Torontorsquos restaurantsHis reputation as a grower is fortified with a newsletterthatrsquos jam-packed with background on chef-friendly varieties and production practices Herersquos a sample ofrecent offerings

One of our earliest variety trials (in 1989 and 1990) wasto determine the best leeks for our southern Ontario soil andclimate We quickly determined that hardy ldquowinter leeksrdquotended to be too dirty for convenient use in busy kitchensand they were too tough to smoothly emulsify into fine foodcreations ldquoSummer leeksrdquo were easier to keep the interiorclean and their flavour and texture were much more deli-cate From our point of view in the garden and from ourchefsrsquo point of view in the kitchen Titan Leeks were theclear choice But in 1999 seed production for these sud-denly stopped Evidently ldquoagricultural expertsrdquo banned thesale of Titan in the EU due to its pale green leaves - in thebelief that dark coloured vegetables were more nutritiousWith no European market seed companies immediatelyceased providing the better tasting pale varieties

I immediately searched the world for the last remainingTitan Leek seeds I obtained one little packet from a seedcompany in India I continue to save this wonderful varietyfrom extinction by going through the labour-intensive four-year process of growing these out for seed These beautiesare now available

Winter Radishes are an under-appreciated class of veg-etables Unlike the common round-red forms these canonly be grown for fall harvests They store very well in rootcellars throughout the winter ndash hence their name The stun-ning magenta flesh of round Valentine Radishes is sweetand only a little nippy raw and absolutely scrumptiouswhen lightly cooked (grilled sauteacuteed or steamed) GreenFlesh Radishes are a small daikon radish that has a propen-sity to push itself out of the soil into the sunlight and there-by turn green Prepare these in the same ways as red fleshones The robust flavour of Black Icicle Radishes is for trueradish connoisseurs They are superior in flavour and convenience to the more common round black radishes

Red Icicle Radishes are like round-red types but their carrot shape makes slices and julienne more convenient Allof these radishes can be deliciously quick-pickled but beforewarned they become sulphurously smelly when stored

overnight Baby turnips are not baby rutabagas With the long

springs enjoyed in Europe and Japan turnips are considereda luscious spring specialty Spring turnips are not practicalwith Ontariorsquos typically abbreviated springs But ourextended autumns provide exceptional turnips ndash and theystore very well in our winter root cellar So we get to enjoytheir scrumptious flavour and beautiful colours all throughthe fall and winter Baby White Turnips are the classiccolour and mildest tasting Quickly cooked Baby RedTurnips are red and white slower cooking turns them a gor-geous pink Baby Amber Turnips have wonderful cinna-mon-y aroma Long-thin purple-topped Japanese Turnipsprovide wonderful presentation ideas and they also tastegreat With all turnips take care to not overcook themSince many customers have prejudices againstldquoturnipsrdquoanother moniker is advised How about Frenchnavet Scottish neep Italian rapa Spanish nabo or Japanesekabu

In 2002 and 2003 we tried a wide assortment of variouscoloured cippolinis Both we and our chefs selected RedCippolini Onions as the ldquobestrdquo Then several terrible sum-mers in Italy meant that no seeds were available ndash until thespring of 2010 In the mid-90s we did trials on Dahlia Rootvarieties Our favourite variety ceased being available in2002 (I have not heard why) Suddenly this year seed wasonce again available Both of these wonderful vegetablesare on our now available list

We have been putting together a poster (see photo at left)to demonstrate how we grow our premium produce Ithought you might like to see this work-in-progress for aview of Cookstown Greens from the air

The top two fields are in the ldquoNew Farmrdquo that we pur-chased in 2006 We have been growing plough-down cropsthat help convert soil from the previous cropping system ofcash crops into soil better suited for the coming vegetablecrops Cash crops (corn-wheat-soybeans) require a preponderance of soil bacteria vegetable crops do best witha fungal orientation

Continued on next page

13 13 1313 $

ampampamp$

ampampamp(amp$)amp$$+-01-20$

1313

213 13amp13amp3$1(45$+-1-657

13ampamp 13(0amp8$9$+-5lt202=0$

13gtamp13amp3$amp$3$4$+-6571-5$

131313131313 13 131313

2amp)

A54

B=

5C4544

0ampD=E$$4C9

By Steve ChapelleIf you received the news that

there has been a fire break-in orflood at your farm office and thatthe flames thieves or water haverendered the business informationon the computer(s) indefinitelyunavailable what would you donext

Clients suppliers lenders andpartners will have to be told of theinterruption and theyll all have thesame question When will you beback up and running Theyll wantassurance that it will be soonbecause as theyll each presumeyou have offsite backups of yourdata correct

The American Express SmallBusiness Monitor reports thatnearly half of small business own-ers have no significant businesscontinuity plan and 80 per cent ofthem admitted they had next to noplan to prepare one A businesscontinuity plan requires neither agreat deal of time nor money andshould be seen as a logical exten-sion to the business existing databackup process an essential func-tion that must be regularly com-pleted by all businesses

Business interruptions occur invarying degrees For example aloss of power causes the computerto shut down improperly forcingthe readwrite heads of the harddrive to come to an abrupt haltThis can have a damaging effecton the information you havestored there This risk can be min-imized by connecting the comput-er to an uninterruptible power sup-ply or UPS

Other lurking threats includeviruses and spyware aka lsquomal-warersquo Viruses will damage Win-dows andor other installed pro-grams while spyware monitorsyour internet behaviour the great-est danger being a spyware trojanthat sneaks onto your system andcaptures keystrokes which ofcourse include IDs and passwordsof any environment you accessInstalled and updated antivirusand antispyware software mustexist on every computer

A firewall - software that pre-

vents unauthorized access fromthe internet to computers - shouldalso be resident and active on allcomputers It can also prevent anymalware that gets past yourantivirus or antispyware softwarefrom communicating with itshome server until it is detected andremoved at the next full antivirusor antispyware scan

Wireless networks convenientand growing in popularity poseanother danger and should not beused unless configured to utilizetheir encryption feature Unen-crypted wireless networks are vul-nerable to unauthorized accesssuch as the monitoring and unau-thorized gathering of private infor-mation by Googles Street Viewcamera vehicles this past summer

Eventually comes the day whenyour computer must be put out to

pasture but that hard drive stillholds years of confidential busi-ness information Preventing itfrom inadvertently changing own-ership can be accomplished in twoways If the hard drive is intendedfor re-use it should first be perma-nently erased using a (free) pro-gram that meets RCMP or USDepartment of Defence secureerasure criteria For drives that aretoo small for practical re-useremoval from the computer anddrilling three or four holes throughthem before dispatching to thecomputer parts graveyard willensure that your confidential busi-ness information remains just that

Steve Chapelle is an informationsecurity expert who teaches bestpractices to small business opera-tors More information is availableat wwwstevechapelleca

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 23

Business Development for Farm Businesses

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

Build a solid foundation for your businessattend a GYFP workshop

workshop is the place to start

Register for a workshop today

ldquoWe wanted to step back to analyze how to stay financially

viable as opposed to just floating along The Growing Your

Farm Profits Workshop fit well into our planrdquo

Helen and Marc Carere Sheep Farmers - Lindsay Ontario

You willbull identify strengths and weaknesses about your farm

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

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

ensure your goals are achieved

January 5 6 18th Annual Southwestern Agricultural Conference Ridgetown ON

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

January 24 25 Scotia Horticultural Congress Old Orchard Inn Wolfville NS

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

January 26 27 Manitoba Potato Production Days Keystone Centre Brandon MB

January 25 ndash 27 Nova Scotia Fruit Growersrsquo Association Annual Convention Old Orchard Inn Greenwich NS

January 27 ndash 31 30th Annual Organic Agriculture Conference Guelph University Centre Guelph ON For information wwwguelphorganicconfca

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

February 8 OMAFRA On-Farm Food Safety Workshop Desbarats Algoma District

February 8 ndash 10 Canadian International Farm Show International Centre Toronto ON

February 9 OMAFRA On-Farm Food Safety Workshop Sturgeon Falls

February 9 ndash 11 Fruit Logistica Berlin Germany

February 14 New Brunswick Potato Conference EP Senechal Centre Grand Falls NB

February 17 Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS) Annual General Meeting Roma Club Leamington ON 9 am to noon

February 23 Ontario Berry Growers Association Annual General Meeting Four Points Sheraton Suites St Catharines ON

February 23 24 Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention St Catharines ON

COMING EVENTS 2011Continued from page 22Summer buckwheat is excellent for stimulating thisconversion These fields will be our primary produc-tion fields next year

Below this you can see late seeded main crops ofbeets and carrots to be ready for November harvest-ing Below this are summer cover crops of sorghumand sunflowers which provide tons of organic mater-ial to feed our army of soil organisms ndash bacteriafungi amoebas protozoa nematodes and of courseearthworms These in turn know how to provide ourvegetable crops with exactly the nutrients theyrequire to assure pest resistance superior flavour and

extended shelf-lifeBelow these are vegetable crops of Jerusalem arti-

chokes potatoes squash leeks drying tomatoes andpeppers Under the large blanket are winter radishesand turnips protected from insect pests To the rightof this are mid-summer crops of carrots and beetsBelow this is our field of baby salad and mustardgreens The next fields have more cover crops to pre-pare the soil for future leafy greens Thegreenishgrey coloured leaves are asparagus soakingup the summer sunshine in preparation for nextspringrsquos harvest

Organic growerrsquos newsletter

Protect your business information

Mark calendar for Organic ConferenceThe Guelph Organic Conference welcomes Tom

Manley Homestead Organics as its keynote speakerfor a presentation titled ldquoOur Common ThreadOrganic Food through the Generationsrdquo

ldquoBeing chosen as the Guelph Keynote for the 30thanniversary makes our three generations ponder thelong and hard road that organic agriculture has trav-eledrdquo says Manley ldquoWhile we were not there at thelsquomodern dayrsquo organic start-up in the 1960s our farm

was actually in the family in the 1860s when organ-ic was the only option Since lsquore-conversionrsquo toorganic in 1985 we have seen many changes andchallenges We are also trying to set the foundation ofwhere the business and the organic sector may go inthe next decades The big question is how can organ-ic move from two per cent to 10 per cent or even 100per cent of agriculture assuming that this is the realobjectiverdquo

By Steve ChapelleIf you received the news that

there has been a fire break-in orflood at your farm office and thatthe flames thieves or water haverendered the business informationon the computer(s) indefinitelyunavailable what would you donext

Clients suppliers lenders andpartners will have to be told of theinterruption and theyll all have thesame question When will you beback up and running Theyll wantassurance that it will be soonbecause as theyll each presumeyou have offsite backups of yourdata correct

The American Express SmallBusiness Monitor reports thatnearly half of small business own-ers have no significant businesscontinuity plan and 80 per cent ofthem admitted they had next to noplan to prepare one A businesscontinuity plan requires neither agreat deal of time nor money andshould be seen as a logical exten-sion to the business existing databackup process an essential func-tion that must be regularly com-pleted by all businesses

Business interruptions occur invarying degrees For example aloss of power causes the computerto shut down improperly forcingthe readwrite heads of the harddrive to come to an abrupt haltThis can have a damaging effecton the information you havestored there This risk can be min-imized by connecting the comput-er to an uninterruptible power sup-ply or UPS

Other lurking threats includeviruses and spyware aka lsquomal-warersquo Viruses will damage Win-dows andor other installed pro-grams while spyware monitorsyour internet behaviour the great-est danger being a spyware trojanthat sneaks onto your system andcaptures keystrokes which ofcourse include IDs and passwordsof any environment you accessInstalled and updated antivirusand antispyware software mustexist on every computer

A firewall - software that pre-

vents unauthorized access fromthe internet to computers - shouldalso be resident and active on allcomputers It can also prevent anymalware that gets past yourantivirus or antispyware softwarefrom communicating with itshome server until it is detected andremoved at the next full antivirusor antispyware scan

Wireless networks convenientand growing in popularity poseanother danger and should not beused unless configured to utilizetheir encryption feature Unen-crypted wireless networks are vul-nerable to unauthorized accesssuch as the monitoring and unau-thorized gathering of private infor-mation by Googles Street Viewcamera vehicles this past summer

Eventually comes the day whenyour computer must be put out to

pasture but that hard drive stillholds years of confidential busi-ness information Preventing itfrom inadvertently changing own-ership can be accomplished in twoways If the hard drive is intendedfor re-use it should first be perma-nently erased using a (free) pro-gram that meets RCMP or USDepartment of Defence secureerasure criteria For drives that aretoo small for practical re-useremoval from the computer anddrilling three or four holes throughthem before dispatching to thecomputer parts graveyard willensure that your confidential busi-ness information remains just that

Steve Chapelle is an informationsecurity expert who teaches bestpractices to small business opera-tors More information is availableat wwwstevechapelleca

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 23

Business Development for Farm Businesses

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

Build a solid foundation for your businessattend a GYFP workshop

workshop is the place to start

Register for a workshop today

ldquoWe wanted to step back to analyze how to stay financially

viable as opposed to just floating along The Growing Your

Farm Profits Workshop fit well into our planrdquo

Helen and Marc Carere Sheep Farmers - Lindsay Ontario

You willbull identify strengths and weaknesses about your farm

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

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

ensure your goals are achieved

January 5 6 18th Annual Southwestern Agricultural Conference Ridgetown ON

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

January 24 25 Scotia Horticultural Congress Old Orchard Inn Wolfville NS

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

January 26 27 Manitoba Potato Production Days Keystone Centre Brandon MB

January 25 ndash 27 Nova Scotia Fruit Growersrsquo Association Annual Convention Old Orchard Inn Greenwich NS

January 27 ndash 31 30th Annual Organic Agriculture Conference Guelph University Centre Guelph ON For information wwwguelphorganicconfca

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

February 8 OMAFRA On-Farm Food Safety Workshop Desbarats Algoma District

February 8 ndash 10 Canadian International Farm Show International Centre Toronto ON

February 9 OMAFRA On-Farm Food Safety Workshop Sturgeon Falls

February 9 ndash 11 Fruit Logistica Berlin Germany

February 14 New Brunswick Potato Conference EP Senechal Centre Grand Falls NB

February 17 Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS) Annual General Meeting Roma Club Leamington ON 9 am to noon

February 23 Ontario Berry Growers Association Annual General Meeting Four Points Sheraton Suites St Catharines ON

February 23 24 Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention St Catharines ON

COMING EVENTS 2011Continued from page 22Summer buckwheat is excellent for stimulating thisconversion These fields will be our primary produc-tion fields next year

Below this you can see late seeded main crops ofbeets and carrots to be ready for November harvest-ing Below this are summer cover crops of sorghumand sunflowers which provide tons of organic mater-ial to feed our army of soil organisms ndash bacteriafungi amoebas protozoa nematodes and of courseearthworms These in turn know how to provide ourvegetable crops with exactly the nutrients theyrequire to assure pest resistance superior flavour and

extended shelf-lifeBelow these are vegetable crops of Jerusalem arti-

chokes potatoes squash leeks drying tomatoes andpeppers Under the large blanket are winter radishesand turnips protected from insect pests To the rightof this are mid-summer crops of carrots and beetsBelow this is our field of baby salad and mustardgreens The next fields have more cover crops to pre-pare the soil for future leafy greens Thegreenishgrey coloured leaves are asparagus soakingup the summer sunshine in preparation for nextspringrsquos harvest

Organic growerrsquos newsletter

Protect your business information

Mark calendar for Organic ConferenceThe Guelph Organic Conference welcomes Tom

Manley Homestead Organics as its keynote speakerfor a presentation titled ldquoOur Common ThreadOrganic Food through the Generationsrdquo

ldquoBeing chosen as the Guelph Keynote for the 30thanniversary makes our three generations ponder thelong and hard road that organic agriculture has trav-eledrdquo says Manley ldquoWhile we were not there at thelsquomodern dayrsquo organic start-up in the 1960s our farm

was actually in the family in the 1860s when organ-ic was the only option Since lsquore-conversionrsquo toorganic in 1985 we have seen many changes andchallenges We are also trying to set the foundation ofwhere the business and the organic sector may go inthe next decades The big question is how can organ-ic move from two per cent to 10 per cent or even 100per cent of agriculture assuming that this is the realobjectiverdquo

THE GROWER

PAGE 24 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

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

NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

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

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

howardcolcucrogerscom

Howard A ColcucNursery Manager

SPECIALIZING IN FRUITTREES amp GRAPE VINES amp

ELDERBERRIES VARIETY AND PRICE LISTAVAILABLE ON REQUEST

AlpineNurseries(Niagara) Limited

YEARS

Since 1932

wwwnoursefarmscom 4136652658

41 River RoadSouth DeerfieldMassachusetts 01373

RR2 Ruthven ON N0P 2G0

Specializing in Service to Commercial

Fruit GrowersApple amp Peach

Trees

Phone 519-326-9330

Fax 519-326-3083

gwfarmwavedirectnet

SCOTT-WHALEY

NURSERIES LTD

STRAWBERRY PLANTSCERTIFIED

RASPBERRY CANESProducers of Quality stock for 46 years Grown under the

Nova Scotia Certification Program Shipping across North America

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

7295 Hwy 221Centreville NS B0P 1J0

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

KEDDYCO

bull Certified Strawberry Plants amp Raspberry Canesbull All popular varieties available

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

Contact us for a FREE brochure

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

Email keddynurseryxcountrytv

GLADIOLUS BULBSWide variety selection for retail sales and

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

LMBolle amp Sons813083 Baseline Norwich ON(519) 468-2090 Fax 468-2099email lmbolleexeculinkcom

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums

The best producing orchards startwith exceptional trees

ApplesApricotsCherriesNectarinesPeachesPlums Quality

Fruit Treesfor 60 years

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd RR2

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

Email fruittreesmorinurseriescomwwwmorinurseriescom

QualityFruit Trees

for 60 years

Mori Nurseries1695 Niagara Stone Rd RR2

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

Email fruittreesmorinurseriescomwwwmorinurseriescom

OFVGA 152nd AGMRegistration forms and agenda

available at wwwofvgaorg

72 3PH harvest aid used twoyears $1200000 OBO Automat-ic Old Mill tray seeder comeswith top coater mounted on a 10conveyor mint condition$600000 Two round tables 5and 6 $60000 each or $100000for pair Two 6 row cucumberpickers $200000 each Two rowhigh clearance Holland trans-planter with liquid fertilizer$350000 call 5194764623

CLASSIFIEDS

THE GROWER

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

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 25

EQUIPMENT

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

Fall is the best time of year to buy lease or trade for best pre-seasonpricing and more time to recondition advertise and sell your tradeLOW DRIFT SPRAY TOWERS to fit any TURBO-MIST - IN STOCK NOWSPECIAL Turbo-Mist 600 gal Narrow centrifugal pump hydraulic controls 145L tires used one season full warranty $20000Turbo-Mist 500 gal Narrow short turn hitch nice clean $14900Turbo-Mist 400 gal Low hrs spotless cond ComingJohn Deere HD 10 ft rotary mower hydraulic sideshift centre pull towide offset new blades paint low profile tires $5500Seppi 200 flail mowermulcher almost new $5900Perfect KV220 7ft HD flail mowermulcher - all new hammers$4400Perfect KG220 7ft HD flail mowermulcher - only 2 yrs Coming

Instant photos to you by e-mail - all advertised items Perfect HD Flail Mulchers for Orchard BrushPerfect Rotary Grass Cutters - Many Styles + WidthsSeppi Flail Mowers for Grass and PruningsSeven Variable Width Mowers - Auto Tree SensingVotex Rotary Mowers and HD Flail Mulchers with Side-Shift

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

15 SPRAYERS IN STOCK NEW amp USED

NURSERY AND ROOTSTOCK

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

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

persimmon pawpaw fig amp more

Proprietor Ernie Grimo

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

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

TREE NUTS

REAL ESTATE

Made inCanada

ALL STAINLESS STEEL

PHONE (705) 458-4003 rwequipmentbellnetcawwwrwequipmentca

ScoringAgcom

for EXPORTING to USA

Traceback and

Trace-up systems

PROVEN

Acceptable

SIMPLE

SECURE

INEXPENSIVE

lenhardtthotnet705 324 2709

TRACEABILITY

QUALITY FRUIT TREES

bull APPLE on M9 and M26bull PEAR on Quince

]

Order NOW for best selection

WARWICKORCHARDS amp NURSERY LTD

7056 Egremont Rd RR 8Watford Ontario

N0M 2S0warwickorchardsbrktelonca

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

Fax (519) 849-6731

ASPARAGUS ROOTSJersey Giant

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

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

For advertising in The Grower call Herb Sherwood at

519-380-0118

THE GROWER

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

CONTAINERS

LLOYD BAG CO(wwwlloydbagcom)

Established in 1939

BURLAP (JUTE)TREE WRAP LINERS SHEETS

WOVEN POLYPROPYLENE

PAPERLENO MESH

COTTON AND CANVASFOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

MARK ALLOTT BEV ADDEMAN JASON LONGGeneral Manager Sales Sales

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

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

PAGE 26 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

FRUIT amp VEGETABLE PACKAGINGWellington Wood Products (1972) Ltd

Manufacturers and Suppliers of

bull Corrugated Baskets amp Masters bull Wooden Baskets bull Wooden Hampers

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

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

Triple Wall Bulk Bins

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

For current competitive pricing call

1-800-265-2397 wwwwwponca

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

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

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

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

Supplying Fruit and Vegetable Growers with

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

30TH ANNUAL GUELPH ORGANICCONFERENCE amp EXPO

Jan 27-30 Guelph Univ Centre - full details wwwguelphorganicconfca

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

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

Brochure info amp prices (519) 824-4120 ext56205

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

as part of this Generation Organic event Be there in January

ORGANIC CONFERENCE

Pipeamp Fittings

for Water Systemsbull PVC ABS Poly Copper

bull Stainless Brass SteelProduct Lines

bull Drip amp Micro Irrigationbull Septic amp Sewerbull Drainage amp Culvertsbull Berkeley Water Pumps

Winona Concrete amp Pipe Products Ltd

489 Main St W Grimsby ON L3M 1T4

Phone (905) 945-8515

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

1-800-361-8515

IRRIGATION

WWWTHEGROWERORG

THE GROWER

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

CROP TUNNELS

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 27

IRRIGATION

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

Vacuum Coolers Refrigerated DehumidifiersKOOLJETreg

Reliable Refrigeration Systems

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

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REFRIGERATION

Oriental Vegetable Seeds

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

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Baby White Pak Choy-Nabai Queen

Hot Pepper-Dalong D11

Hot Pepper-Long Hot H

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ORIENTAL VEGETABLE SEEDS

FREIGHT SERVICE

Customs Brokerage Warehousing amp Distribution

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

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PRUNING

Good Reasons to Contract Your Pruning

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bull Improved quality

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maintenance costs

Available anywherein Ontario

Simply the best approach tothis important factor of fruit

productionCall Dave (519) 372-0604

Continued from page 7The goals of the project include

identifying new products and varieties to meet the needs anddemands of consumers developnew varieties for testing assess

production and cultural issuesrelated to the growth and sale ofthese new crops in Ontario andQuebec and complete consumeranalysis of new varieties and packaging design options

Research will be conducted inOntario and Quebec in partnershipwith the Quebec HorticultureCouncil The CAAP program inOntario is administered by theAgricultural Adaptation Council

A decision on the application isexpected in mid-winter

OFVGA funding pilot programThe OFVGA has been looking

at various options for funding the

organization moving forward In2009 the OFVGA rebated$250000 in retained earningsback to its member organizationsBoard members passed a motionto establish a two year pilot program that would set aside$300000 a year for two years tobe allocated to sector groups forresearch and marketing The allocation of dollars will be basedon the percentage of membershipand container fees paid to theOFVGA by farmers and associa-tions of the various commoditysectors Research and Marketing FundsAvailable Greenhouse $12780000Apples $1539000Unreg Veg $7215000Potatoes $2460000Tenderfruit $3939000Berries $600000Fresh Grapes $414000Asparagus $201000Ginseng $366000Grapes $486000

Specific parameters around theprogram and distribution of fundswill be determined in the very nearfuture

By-law reviewThe OFVGA Management

Committee conducted a review ofthe organizationrsquos by-laws this fallto look at potential changes relatedto governance issues The Boardagreed to send several recom-mended by-law changes to theOFVGA annual general meetingin January to be voted on by membership

Policy regarding late resolutions

The Board agreed to bring aresolution to the 2011 AGM thatseeks to change how late resolutions will be dealt witheffective for the 2012 annualmeeting The resolution proposesto require a passing vote of 80 percent for late resolutions while resolutions submitted on timerequire a simple majority of 50 percent plus one

Annual General MeetingThe OFVGA annual meeting

will be held January 10 ndash 12 2011at the Crowne Plaza in NiagaraFalls Registration information isavailable on the OFVGA websiteat wwwofvgaorg

The next OFVGA board meet-ing will be held February 10 2011at the OFVGA office in Guelph

THE GROWER

PAGE 28 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

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Marc AndreacuteLaberge QC514-984-4589

Board briefs

Environmental advocate to speak at OFVGA AGMFarmers must unite and start taking

charge of the public debate on sustainablefood and farming Thatrsquos the message Mon-tana logger and environmental advocateBruce Vincent will bring to his keynoteaddress at the Ontario Fruit and VegetableGrowersrsquo Association (OFVGA) annualmeeting and banquet January 10

Vincent is a third-generation logger fromMontana who during the past 20 years hasgiven speeches throughout the United Statesand around the world has testified on nat-ural resource issues before the US Con-gress and has appeared on several news pro-grams including ldquo60 Minutesrdquo

In his address Vincent will explain howthe timber industry in North America lost itssocial license to harvest the forests thelessons agriculture can learn from that lossand what is being done to re-introduce con-sumers to the farmers who provide theirfood

ldquoFarmers are very active environmental-ists but we often donrsquot talk about the manypositive things wersquove done ndash and continueto do ndash to protect our earth air and waterrdquosays apple grower Brian Gilroy chair of theOFVGA ldquoBruce Vincent is an excellentspeaker and will have several great exam-ples to share with Ontariorsquos fruit and veg-

etable growers about his experiences in try-ing to bring some balance to the sustainablefood and farming discussionrdquo

ldquoFarmers are very active environmentalists but we often

donrsquot talk about the many positive things wersquove done ndash andcontinue to do ndash to protect our

earth air and waterrdquo- Brian Gilroy chair OFVGA

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 29

By Jim Chaput OMAFRAProvincial Minor Use

Coordinator

URMULE registrations 2010 ndashfield vegetables

bull Aliette ndash Belgian endive (Phy-tophthora)bull Ridomil Gold ndash radish spinach(downy mildew)bull Gaucho ndash crop group 6 legumes(seed treatment)bull SuccessEntrust ndash asparagus(asparagus beetles)bull Actara ndash crop group 8 fruitingvegetables (aphids)bull Dual Magnum ndash carrots non-bellpeppers transplanted mustardgreens (weeds)bull Matador Warrior ndash CG6 and allcorn types (WBC) carrots (CRFCW)bull Admire ndash petiole leafy vegeta-bles subgroup 4B (aphids)bull Rimon ndash snap beans (ECBFAW TAW) field peppers(ECB) crop group 5 Brassicas(DBM ICW CL)bull Dynasty ndash seed treatment on cropgroups 1A 1B 3 4 5 8 9 (Rhi-zoctonia)bull Upbeet ndash red beets (weeds)bull Proline ndash sugar beets (leaf spotRhizoctonia)bull Pristine ndash celeriac (leaf spot) CG5 (diseases) bull Command ndash crop group 9 cucur-

bits (weeds)bull Decis ndash all corn types (WBC)bull Coragen ndash sweet corn (ECBCEW) crop group 5 Brassicas(swede midge)bull Poast ndash lettuce (grassy weeds)bull Aatrex + Pardner ndash sweet corn(giant ragweed)bull Reason ndash crop group 5 Brassicas(downy mildew)bull Switch ndash crop subgroup 1B(Botrytis)bull Assail ndash sweet corn (aphids)[final label pending]

Other registrations 2010 viaURMUR Joint reviews ndash field

vegetablesbull Quintec (quinoxyfen) ndash melonspumpkin winter squash lettuce(powdery mildew) bull Coragen (chlorantraniliprole) ndashtuberous corm vegetable cropsubgroup 1C additional pests CG

4 5 8 cucurbit vegetables cropgroup 9 okra (insects)bull Concept (deltamethrin + imida-cloprid) ndash potato tomato CG 5A(insects)bull EragonIntegrity (saflufenacil) ndashsweet corn (weeds)

Emergency use registrations2010 ndash field vegetables

bull Confine (potatoes) ndash late blightsilver scurfbull Carzol (dry bulb onions) ndash onionthripsbull Intercept (Brassica GH trans-plants) ndash swede midgebull Scholar (carrots ndash PH) ndash whitemold

Active URMULE projectsunderway

- Sugar beets (Serenade)- Red beets (Select Betamix Ser-

enade)- Carrots (Reason Allegro Sen-cor Clutch Scholar CyazypyrNortron Prowl)- Parsnips (Select)- Belgian endive (Venture)- Potato (Scholar 2 4-D chloropi-crin Lance [reduce PHI] Poast[reduce PHI] Superior oil 70)- Radish (Flint Cyazypyr)- Rutabaga (Muster AssailClutch Cyazypyr)- Sweet Potato (Dual II MagnumScholar Clutch Chateau Cora-gen)- Celeriac (Actara Gesagard)- Crop subgroup 1B (Rimon)- Crop group 1 (chloropicrin)- Onions [dry] (Raxil ElevateSuccess Titan MoventoCyazypyr Agrimek Allegro)- Onions [green] (Titan ElevateSuccess Frontier MoventoAgrimek Coragen Lorsban)- Garlic (Scholar Raxil)- Leeks (Lorox)- Bulb vegetables crop group 3(chloropicrin Presidio QGU42)Celery (Matador Clutch ChateauPoast)- Lettuce (Dithane DG GavelElevate Clutch Ranman RidomilGold Prowl Allegro ActinovateVenture QGU42)- Spinach (Dual II MagnumCruiser Switch Ranman)- Parsley (Ridomil Gold QuadrisLorox)- Rhubarb (Callisto)- Leafy Vegetables crop group(Apron Rimon Reason FulfillActara)- Brassica Vegetables group(Frontier Success MatadorRimon Intercept Aliette QuadrisGoal Coragen Ranman Moven-to)- Cauliflower (Actigard)- Broccoli (Acrobat RovralChateau)- Cabbage (Brigade)- Brussels sprouts (Poast Ultra) - Snap beans (Quadris CoragenProwl)- Peas (Assail Coragen QGU42)Pepper (Command AcrobatSwitch Allegro KasuminChateau Actara QGU42 V-10208)- Field tomato (Dual Magnum +Sencor [fresh] Prism + Sencor

Agriphage Sumagic Prism [rateincrease] Actinovate Switch)- Eggplant (Acramite Kanemite)- Fruiting vegetables crop group 8(Actara Clutch)- Cucumber (Dual MagnumReflex Oberon [reduce PHI]Botanigard)- Winter squash (Garlipro)- Cantaloupe (Dual Magnum [pre]Allegro)- Cucurbit crop group (AssureNova Acrobat Acramite CruiserApplaud Ranman [aerial]chloropicrin QGU42 VivandoTanos Pristine Actinovate Mata-dor Clutch V-10208)- Sweet corn (Movento Coragen[WBC]) - Asparagus (Folicur AuthorityFlint Callisto)- Artichoke (Movento)- Herbs (Intrepid Revus [basil]Chateau [mint] Serenade Aim)- Wasabi (Quadris)

Current amp On-going Minor UseIssuesbull The impact of workload atPMRA and AAFC-PMCbull The need for a new URMURprogram and fee structurebull The need for program 914 totruly address the lsquotechnology gaprsquobull The long-standing issue of non-harmonized data requirements ndashie occupational exposure formu-lation changes safety factorsMRLsbull The need to recognize resistancemanagement issues as a key minoruse priority

For summaries of minor usecrop registrations priorities andactive projects visitwwwomafragovoncaenglishcropsminoruseindexhtml

Minor use update for Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario

1313

131313131313

1313131313

13

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THE GROWER

PAGE 30 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

Everyone must have heard afew lsquolawyer jokesrsquo by now I mayhave even recounted a few of themmyself In my community thereare many lawyers several ofwhom I count as friends I knowthey will back me on the followingepistle

The Ontario Grower PesticideCertification Program came intobeing when like-minded individu-als recognized the merits of beingable to interact with the public andsay that they as farmers were edu-cated on pesticides their use theirenvironmental and health effectsand on safe practices It was alsothought that for more restrictiveproducts that such certificationwould at least allow them accesswhich may have been denied tothose not so trained All this cameafter the Vendor Certification Pro-gram had been initiated starting in1979 leading to courses beingavailable by 1982 This was a teameffort spearheaded by Croplife (orCACA as it was known in thosedays-Canadian AgriculturalChemicals Association) alongwith representatives from the

Ontario environment and agricul-ture ministries It was the first suc-cessful program of its kind inCanada and has led to many otherprograms in other provinces and Idare say was the impetus for thelater CCA programs and theCCSC program of Croplife for itsfield staff and lsquouse recom-mendersrsquo

These two programs wereaccepted here and made mandato-ry under the Ontario PesticidesAct When the growers asked forthis the ministry staff was incred-ulous Who had ever heard ofgrowers actually asking formandatory anything

The whole point of this hasbeen a very successful programwhich has continued to this day

Well almostHere is where the lawyer

lsquostoryrsquo starts When the originalprograms were developed andenacted the Ministry of Environ-ment (MOE) lawyer of the day(we called him lsquoLeo the Lawyerrsquowith great respect) did a good jobof taking the program parametersand making them fit the needs oflegislation He had the pesticidesfile for years and while we didnrsquotalways agree with him he wasrespected and even asked for ourguidance when there was morethan one way to approach an issueLeo retired a few years ago andmoved away- and trouble soonmoved in

Fast forward to late winter2008 The Ministry lawyers wereQuote lsquohard at workrsquo The newlegislation to ban cosmetic pesti-cide use was being developed instrict secrecy Even folks who hada need and obligation to review the

contents were virtually unable tosee it or effect change Part of theproblem was that lsquothe lawyersrsquo (soI was told) were determined to usethe opportunity to make manyother changes to the Act and Reg-ulations The ministry staff alsoused this opportunity to make cer-tain changes an opportunity thatwas denied to any other interestedgroup wanting changes When thenew Act and regs were actuallymade available to be reviewed thelsquoCosmeticrsquo changes were high-lighted and it was on those that allattention was focused Some of theother changes were noticed andcomments made but even with afine eye for detail no one was ableto catch them all That is until arecent Steering Committee for theOntario Pesticide Education Pro-gram (OPEP) met earlier this fallLow and behold another changebecame apparent and here iswhere the lawyers must have beenhaving a day of days They (so wewere told) made these changesand elicited no consultation what-soever with the affected parties(That would be all Certified Grow-ers and Certified Vendors) In theirdubious wisdom they changedthe titles and certification status ofalmost 30000 people Plus theyimpugned the knowledge stand-ing and worth of all non-certifiedfarmers in Ontario They musthave stayed up nights (billablehours) to find a simple way to dothis- in their own twisted waysthey were creative

How and what did they doThey changed the names of theprograms the title and implica-tions of the currently certified andhave possibly cost the program

(we hope the government) untoldthousands of dollars Get readyfor it

The lawyers decided that fromhenceforth that we would becalled ldquoQualified Growers orQualified Vendor Outlet Repre-sentativesrdquo

That by definition means thatthe rest are ldquoun-qualifiedrdquo farm-ers That all other vendor employ-ees are ldquoun-qualifiedrdquo employeesWhat does this say about theirimplied abilities What does it sayabout public or even governmentperception of these individuals

These programs and terms havebeen with us for almost 30 yearsThere have been over 100000who have taken or re-taken thesecourses and been lsquocertifiedrsquo Theterm lsquoCertifiedrsquo actually meanssomething across Canada andbeyond It wasnrsquot just lsquodreameduprsquo as the lawyers must have donefor their terminology Ah if theyhad only asked

All the course materials willneed to be re-printed with thesechanges unless this stupid deci-sion is reversed All the lsquocertifi-catesrsquo out there will need to be re-issued All the publicity many ofthe videos and other material willneed to be changed Great expens-es- for what and for whom Forappeasement of a governmentlawyer (I bet they will try toweasel out of the need for changesto save a buck and keep both ver-sions around to further muddy thewater and create confusion)

I want to run a quiz and willaccept answers all month with aprize for the most inventive- butthey must be realistic How doYOU define a government

lawyer A-la David Lettermanhere are my top ten (With apolo-gies to all the lsquogood guysrsquo likeLeo) (Maybe this only applies toone ministryrsquos lawyers)1 Canrsquot get a real lawyer job2 For some reason need to workin the big smoke (and like it)3 They are congenitally unable tolsquoconsultrsquo on any issue4 Came 202nd in a class of 2075 Spent time at six different firmswhile articling before passing thebar exam6 Have no friends at private firmsto recommend them for a real job7 Love to cause controversy8 Fit in well with other non deci-sion-makers9 Earnestly believe that they andonly they are correct on everyissue

And last but not least10 Have 31 blue pin-striped suitsor skirts and a burning need towear one every day

Hopefully this travesty will bereversed if not by the lawyersthen by wiser heads heading for afall election in rural Ontario I canjust imagine all the newly lsquoun-qualifiedrsquo farmers who will be soimpressed with their new statusNone of this need to have occurredif consultation with appropriatepeople had been followed Fur-thermore a simple check acrossCanada would show that lsquocerti-fiedrsquo is THE accepted terminolo-gy Perhaps in the future nochanges would be contemplatedbeyond those immediately neededfor the issue at hand- in this casethe cosmetic ban Allowinglawyers and staff a free hand toindulge in whimsical changesshould be ldquobannedrdquo instead

Craigrsquos CommentsLawyer joke or true story

Craig HunterOFVGA

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

1-866-613-3336 or visitwwwengageagrocom

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

Minor Use

Growers receive funding to solve resistant weed issuesBy Kristen Callow OMAFRA Weed

Management Program Lead - Horticulture

The Holland Marsh Growersrsquo Associa-tion and La Feacutedeacuteration des producteursmaraicircchers du Queacutebec are eager to get project work underway to solve multipleand cross resistant weed problems in thecarrot onion and leafy vegetable producingregions in both provinces

Herbicide-resistant weed populationshave been found throughout greater than 50per cent of the carrot onion and leafy veg-etable growing area in Ontario and Queacutebecencompassing more than 20000 acres In

some cases the weed species are showingresistance to two or more herbicide groupsresulting in total crop failures from weedcompetition This project will determine theextent and mechanism of herbicide resis-tance in each weed species and develop bestmanagement practices and alternative inte-grated weed management to ensure produc-ers remain competitive If producers in bothprovinces do not find solutions and manage-ment strategies to control and mitigate thespread of the resistant weeds species immediately they will no longer be able toproduce vegetable crops on their land

This project will provide new cultural

and chemical tools to manage and preventthe spread of resistant weed species Thesuccessful completion of this project andadoption of the Integrated Weed Manage-ment (IWM) Best Management Practices(BMP) will ensure that producers in bothregions have crops to harvest and continueto remain competitive Results will benefitproducers across Canada particularly inBritish Columbia Manitoba Nova ScotiaOntario Prince Edward Island and Queacutebec

A great team of researchers and exten-sion personnel from the University ofGuelph Agriculture and Agri-Food CanadaOMAFRA and MAPAQ are collaborating

on this large research project to find the bestsolutions possible for the growers

The Holland Marsh Growersrsquo Associa-tion and La Feacutedeacuteration des producteursmaraicircchers du Queacutebec are grateful to theBradford Co-operative Storage Ltd Syngenta Crop Protection Canada Inc andTKI Novasource for their generous fundingcontributions to this project

Funding for this project has been provid-ed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canadathrough the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) In Ontariothis program is delivered by the Agricultur-al Adaptation Council

THE GROWER

JANUARY 2011 ndashndash PAGE 31

By Jim Chaput OMAFRA Minor Use Coordinator Guelph

The Pest Management Regula-tory Agency (PMRA) recentlyannounced the approval of anURMULE registration for Switch625 WG Fungicide for control ofgray mold (Botrytis cinerea) oncrop subgroup 1B root vegetables(except sugarbeets) and control ofAlternaria leaf blight (Alternariapanax) on ginseng in CanadaSwitch WG Fungicide was alreadylabeled for a number of diseaseson a range of specialty crops inCanada

This minor use project was ini-tiated in 2009 by the minor useoffice of OMAFRA as a result ofminor use priorities established bygrowers and extension personnelin Canada The minor use label

expansion for Switch WG Fungi-cide is a significant step towardsdeveloping a more robust and sus-tainable pest management toolkitfor these diseases in Canada

The following is provided as ageneral outline only Users shouldconsult the complete label beforeusing Switch WG Fungicide

Switch WG Fungicide can beused for control of gray mold onroot vegetables in crop subgroup1B (except sugarbeets) at a rate of775 ndash 975 g product per hectare asa foliar spray Switch WG Fungicide can be used for controlof Alternaria leaf blight of ginsengat a rate of 975 g product perhectare as a foliar spray

A maximum of two applicationsper crop can be made at an intervalof seven to 10 days if conditions

remain favourable for diseasedevelopment In general beginapplications prior to or at the onsetof disease Do not apply withinseven days of harvest for root vegetables and ginseng

Switch WG Fungicide shouldbe used in an integrated pest management program and in

rotation with other managementstrategies to adequately manageresistance

Follow all other precautionsand directions for use on theSwitch WG Fungicide label carefully

The label expansion project forroot vegetables and ginseng was

sponsored by the minor use officeof OMAFRA as a result of priorities established by producersin Canada We also wish to thankthe personnel of Syngenta Crop Protection Canada Inc for theirsupport of this registration and thepersonnel of the Pest ManagementRegulatory Agency for evaluatingand approving this important pestmanagement tool

For copies of the new minoruse label contact Jim ChaputOMAFRA Guelph (519) 826-3539 Sean WesterveldOMAFRAGinseng Specialist at Simcoe(519) 426-4323 Marion Paibome-sai Vegetable Crops Specialist atGuelph (519) 826-4963 or visit theSyngenta Canada website atwwwsyngentaca

Switch WG Fungicide label expanded to include gray mold controlon crop subgroup 1B and Alternaria control on ginseng

Bravo ZNfungicideregistered

for potatoes Potato growers should be

aware that Bravo ZN a new for-mulation of Bravo fungicide nowincludes zinc Bravo ZN supportsthe development of healthier pota-to plants resulting in an improveddefense against early blight

Like Bravo Bravo ZN is abroad-spectrum contact fungicideoffering protection against lateblight Botrytis vine rot and earlyblight It is an effective fungicidethat should be incorporated as thebase of a preventative programBravo ZN includes the uniqueWeatherStik technology a patent-ed surfactant technology fromSyngenta which maximizes theproductrsquos ability to stick to plantsurfaces to better prevent infec-tion even after heavy rainfall

ldquoMitigating disease pressurethrough a strong preventativefungicide program is a crucialcomponent of maximizing cropperformancerdquo explains TaraMcCaughey technical crop man-ager for Syngenta Canada

For optimal convenienceBravo ZN is a liquid formulationeliminating dust improving mixa-bility and eradicating pluggednozzles It will be available in2011 in 10 L jugs and 450 L totes

THE GROWER

PAGE 32 ndashndash JANUARY 2011

regPyrinex Silencer Apollo and Alias are registered trademarks of Makhteshim Agan of North America Inc All others are registered trademarks of their respective companies 1110 10014

Fair Price Brand Resultsmanaincca

Same active as AdmireregSame active as Lorsbanreg Same active as Matadorreg Exclusive to MANA

Insecticide

ChlorpyrifosPyrinexreg

480 ECInsecticide

Silencerreg

120 ECLambda-cyhalothrin

Apolloreg

SCInsecticide

ClofentezineAliasreg

240 SCInsecticide

Imidacloprid

PRECISE PROTECTION

With the same active ingredients as the other brandsthe only difference yoursquoll see is the money you save

MANA products target insects as quickly and efficiently as the name brands only they do it at a fair price Support fair pricing and ask your retailer for MANA insecticides

FOR FRUITS AND

VEGETABLES

• pg 1pdf
• pg 2pdf
• pg 3pdf
• pg 4pdf
• pg 5pdf
• pg 6pdf
• pg 7pdf
• pg 8pdf
• pg 9pdf
• pg 10pdf
• pg 11pdf
• pg 12pdf
• pg 13pdf
• pg 14pdf
• pg 15pdf
• pg 16pdf
• pg 17pdf
• pg 18pdf
• pg 19pdf
• PG 20pdf
• pg 21pdf
• pg 22pdf
• pg 23pdf
• PG 24pdf
• pg 25pdf
• pg 26pdf
• pg 27pdf
• pg 28pdf
• pg 29pdf
• pg 30pdf
• pg 31pdf
• pg 32pdf