The Grower Calling

As growers plan their fungicide programs with resistance management in mind, here’s a reminder of how to use the Group M fungicide Folpan 80 WDG. It’s a preventative multi-site fungicide that’s used across a wide variety of crops, from grapes and apples to cucurbits and strawberries.

Crop protection company ADAMA is launching a new thinning product for crop load management in apples and pears in 2026. Besides a new mode of action, the company is supplying a BreviSmart app that guides growers on best timing for application. Sponsored by ADAMA.

Trade patterns are shifting as the threat of U.S. tariffs continue to destabilize the produce industry. Greg Palmer, vice-president, trade and market development for the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, travels often to Mexico visiting with exporters and importers. When he puts on his tourist cap, he also frequents food markets. He shares his observations on the ramped-up trade missions fro...

A new pear variety will be entering the marketplace in 2026, thanks to a years-long breeding effort by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The Vineland Growers’ Cooperative is licensed to sell the Happi pear which has a red blush and a sweet and tangy taste. Matt Ecker, vice president of sales, reports that the cooperative is expanding its controlled atmosphere storage space at Virgil, Ontario.

Hailing from an agricultural community, Jennifer Best brings an empathetic background to her role as director of growth services for Bradford West Gwillimbury. The municipality straddles the Holland Marsh along with King Township. She’s working with an ad hoc committee to harmonize land zoning bylaws that would ease pressure on the day-to-day lives of growers while protecting the land for future f...

Thanks to Finnish technology, greenhouse-grown lettuce is taking off in Canada. The Grower is Digging Deeper and speaking with Jay Willmot, CEO, Haven Greens. Jay has built a five-acre facility at King City, Ontario with plans to double the footprint. Launched in April 2025, the state-of-the-art operation integrates water, energy and nutrition expertise with the result that 10,000 pounds of leafy...

The footprint of artificial intelligence is getting bigger in horticulture. The most recent example is the Ecorobotix sprayer that’s now in use in Québec and Ontario vegetable farms. Algorithms have been developed for specific crops ranging from carrots to broccoli. And most recently, the technology can thin lettuce. This means that growers are better able to spray targeted weeds, while saving on...

The annual meeting of federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers will be a reset in mid-July 2025 with a new federal minister in Heath MacDonald and five new provincial ministers. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the July 2025 cover story and speaking with Ontario’s Hon. Trevor Jones. Jones is one of the new faces, vowing to build consensus on infrastructure needs and to improve busin...

So far, 2025 has been a roller-coaster for growers who export to the U.S. With the exception of a few days in early March, tariffs have not been applied on produce under the CUSMA deal. But every commodity association must look at the current trading environment for clues to the future. One example is Maritime-grown wild blueberries. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the June 2025 cover story an...

As chair of the Ontario Apple Growers, Chris Hedges shares an overview of the provincial apple industry – its investments in high-density orchards, desirable apple varieties, controlled atmosphere storages and modern packing lines. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the May 2025 cover story titled 'Wind’s up and the weather is rising for Canadian apple growers' and checking in with Chris. Represe...

As general manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Richard Lee is in close touch with his growers and many stakeholders. With 85 per cent of production destined to the U.S., Trump’s tariffs of 25% hit growers hard for three days in early March 2025. In this Digging Deeper podcast, Richard explains how the $6 million hit may be a forecast of things to come depending on the level of tar...

Bill Zylmans, chair of the Canadian Potato Council and a grower from Delta, British Columbia, says the threatened 25% U.S. tariffs are unprecedented in his career. President Trump insists they are scheduled to start March 4. In this Digging Deeper podcast Zylmans claims that no side is a winner in this war. Seed growers will be first to feel the pain shipping to the U.S. for spring planting. But p...

2025 is shaping up to be a year of uncertainty. New technology costs are soaring. Climate change is on the radar. And the threat of U.S. tariffs is looming large. The Royal Bank of Canada has a large loan portfolio to agriculture of which eight per cent is horticulture. In this Digging Deeper podcast, The Grower speaks with Lorna McKercher, national director of agriculture. Lorna shares her perspe...

Bok choy. Rapini. Fennel. These are examples of the specialty produce that Ontario growers are bringing to market based on signals from brokers and retailer buyers. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the December 2024 cover story and speaking with Shawn Brenn, potato grower. Shawn lists the opportunities but also the risks for these niche markets. He developed a specialty potato with great taste...

Price-look up stickers, for the most part, are plastic. They are the size of a thumbprint, yet they “gum up” the composting process when it comes to separating them from organic food waste. The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) has noted that Europe is moving towards a certified compostable PLU by 2028. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the November 2024 cover story and speaking with...

Climate change and global competition are challenging growers of processing vegetables in Ontario and Québec. Unseasonal rains damaged the Québec crop in 2023. Imports from European countries led North American processors to cut contracts in 2024. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the October 2024 cover story and speaking with Pascal Forest, president of the Producteurs de légumes de transformat...

Verdant Technologies Inc. has figured out how to use 1-MCP, an ethylene inhibitor, to keep broccoli fresh from field to fork. The new technology – a sheet placed in each box in the field -- is extending shelf life for a fragile commodity to seven to 10 days. How quickly the innovation is adopted depends on acceptance through the entire value chain. That’s where Sobeys is testing the practicalities...

Cumulative catastrophic weather events over the last four years have left many Okanagan fruit growers with little to no fruit to sell in the summer of 2024. Government response, at the British Columbia and federal levels, has been tepid at best. The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada continue to advocate for more rapid monetary support but president Marcus Janzen fears that injections will be t...

Responsible for human resources at Sandy Shore Farms, Amanda Doughty has embraced not only the work ethic but the community ethic at this asparagus, bell pepper and onion operation near Port Burwell, Ontario. She is focused on the physical and mental welfare of the 200-plus temporary foreign workers from Mexico and the Caribbean. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the June 2024 cover story and sp...

University of Guelph pomology professor Dr. John Cline has spent his research career in not only apples, but tree fruit. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the May 2024 cover story and speaking with Dr. Cline. He shares information on his most recent trials with a plant growth regulator for peaches and nectarines, that could shave 40 to 50 per cent off the time required to hand thin. That’s new t...

The Ontario greenhouse vegetable sector, now valued at close to $2 billion in farmgate value, is facing regulatory burdens on several fronts. The federal carbon tax is one, but Chatham-Kent’s municipal development charges for water and wastewater will escalate from $179,000 per acre in 2024 to $366,000 per acre by 2029. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the April 2024 cover story and speaking wi...

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is registering dozens of biopesticides but the uptake by growers hasn’t been as robust. These new products offer suppression, not total control of insects and disease. That means a management shift in how to integrate them with conventional chemistry. There’s also a mind shift – how much faith do growers have in their management abilities to scout more...

As managing director of the Canadian Agrifood Policy Institute, Tyler McCann sees a need for more investment if agriculture is to meet its superpower goals in food production. That means more foresight amongst both public and private institutions and ambition to build the infrastructure that’s needed for a climate-resilient sector. In this Digging Deeper podcast, Tyler explains that the future of...

Many farmers -- and farm leaders -- are on the cusp of retirement. The Grape Growers of Ontario is planning for the future by sponsoring a Next-Generation Committee. About 15 to 30 growers, chaired by Jessica Solanki, is much more than a social group. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the January 2024 cover story and speaking with Jessica. She shares how they are developing leadership skills, ad...

Soil health and climate change are linked. That’s one of the emerging themes from a Senate of Canada study into the state of the nation’s soils, the building block of the agri-food industry. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the December 2023 cover story and speaking with Senator Robert Black. After a year of criss-crossing the country, talking to farmers and experts, Senator Black says that a r...