The Grower Calling

Two Ontario vegetable growers share different perspectives – one is contracting celery to an American food processor, another is worried about decreased plantings of field vegetables in his area. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the September cover story and speaks with Dr. Evan Fraser, director of the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute. Fraser comments o...

Amanda Dooney and her husband Hayden have bought a total of 80 acres of high-density apple orchards near Simcoe, Ontario since 2019. The arrival of the pandemic challenged strategic plans for Suncrest Orchards. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the August cover story and speaks with Amanda about how stable accommodations and accommodating change have kept temporary...

Strawberry propagator Dusty Zamecnik has tripled the size of his greenhouse in order to supply the growing demand for starter plants in the greenhouse sector. What used to be just 50 acres is now 120 acres of Ontario greenhouse-grown strawberries for year-round consumption. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the July 2021 cover story titled 'Riding the berry revoluti...

Potato growers welcome new products and label extensions that offer options for chemistry rotations. Bayer is launching Vayego insecticide. And Luna Tranquility fungicide, a mainstay of Bayer’s portfolio, offers protection against several leaf diseases that are associated with early dying complex. In this podcast Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, speaks with Bill Moons, market development agro...

Trade protectionism is not going away. The U.S. government is reviewing the security and strength of its supply chains, spurred by the global pandemic, climate change and geopolitical shifts. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the May 2021 cover story and speaks with Al Mussell, research lead, Agri-Food Economic Systems. Podcast sponsored by BASF

The chair of the Ontario Tender Fruit Growers overcame initial resistance by his seasonal agricultural workers to get vaccinated. With a couple days to ruminate over printed flyers and face-to-face meetings, all of his 71-member crew from Niagara-on-the-Lake consented and were inoculated on March 22, 2021. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind The Scenes' of the April 2021 cover story...

The safety protocols around COVID-19 are restricting capacity at the Pest Management Centre to conduct toxicological trials needed to register crop protection products. A permanent funding structure would help meet future goals. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the March cover story and speaks with Charles Stevens, chair, crop protection section, OFVGA.

The arena of business risk management is complex with interconnected government, crop insurance and private insurance programs. Federal proposed changes for AgriStability, for example, are currently under review by the provinces. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, talks to Steve Funk, director of agriculture risk management resources for MNP, a leading national accounting agency, about how to a...

Carbon taxes are going up. They are $50/tonne now but the federal government has announced incremental increases to reach $170/tonne by 2030. At the ground level, this policy will increase prices on fertilizer. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of The Grower's February 2021 cover story, and talks to Brian Gilroy, president of the Canadian Horticultural Council on lobby...

For 25-plus years, Bob Tosh has been giving farm management advice, including how to retire with enough cash flow for two generations. Planning for a healthy retirement involves a whole-family discussion. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, talked to Bob Tosh, MNP, to find out how this accounting company offers more than tax planning and accounting.

Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of January’s cover story titled 'Wired for launch' and speaks with Scott Hodgins, manager, Cohort Wholesale. He’s been in the crop protection business for 20 years and shares his thoughts on the impacts of COVID-19 on research for horticulture.

Ontario’s greenhouse sector was at the epicentre of the COVID-19 crisis, under intense public scrutiny. Near Leamington, Ontario, Nature Fresh Farms was a leader in advocating for on-site testing, but then 199 of its asymptomatic workers tested positive. Local health authorities shut down the entire 160-acre facility on June 30, 2020. It took two weeks to be fully staffed again. Karen Davidson, ed...

Software developer Cliffe Hodgkinson has finetuned a web-based program called FarmHR that eases the load of record-keeping for temporary foreign workers. One of his British Columbia clients, a human resources manager, adopted the program in 2020 to manage the personnel files for 600 tree fruit workers. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, speaks with both Cliffe and Tricia about the benefits of u...

Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of November's cover story titled 'Growing live, virtually' and speaks with Travis Cranmer, Ontario vegetable crop specialist. Travis describes Slido.com, a question-and-answer polling platform that allows participants to see photos and slides on technical subjects. Didn’t know the answer to that question? No one knows but you. But it’s...

Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the October cover story titled GRAPE EXPECTATIONS: UP AND DOWN and speaks with the owner of Lakeview Vineyard Equipment, Joe Pillitteri. Joe shares the roller-coaster of managing his Ontario company through a pandemic that’s resulted in cancelled field days and trade shows. He traces the fear of scrapped orders to the surprise of de...

Huge strides in artificial intelligence are being made in not only detecting but treating pests and diseases in real time in Canadian greenhouses. Using biological controls and UV disinfectants are part of the treatment. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind The Scenes' of the September 2020 cover story and speaks with Dr. Saber Miresmailli, CEO of Ecoation Innovative Solutions. Mires...

Southwestern Ontario is more than corn, soybeans and wheat. It’s also a vegetable belt with a farmgate value at close to $l00 million. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes Behind the Scenes of the August cover story titled 'Big data drives the vegetable belt' and speaks with Ron Van Damme, processing tomato and field cucumber grower. Ron is optimistic that the trends already underway – such...

The Greenbelt Fund has published an optimistic report that sees room for the local strawberry sector to take more market share. Field growers such as Jeff Tigchelaar, Vineland, Ontario, agree that with more protected production systems, there can be a reliable source of fresh and flavourful product throughout the year. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes "Behind the Scenes" of the July cove...

One farmer’s appeal represents the interests of Ontario’s Norfolk County agricultural sector which is at a competitive disadvantage with nearby growers. The local public health unit ruled that only three workers would be allowed per bunkhouse regardless of size, for the 14-day quarantine. With less guaranteed access to workers, growers have reduced their plantings and harvesting schedules. Karen D...

For the last six weeks, Jane Proctor, vp of policy and issues management, Canadian Produce Marketing Association, has been in the heart of Ottawa, stick handling the fallout from COVID-19. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes "Behind the Scenes" of the June 2020 cover story and speaks with Jane. How does she do it from home? She shares how strong relationships matter in a crisis.

Working with many ag leaders across the country, the Ottawa-based president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association has been stick handling myriad issues. An early success is that the federal government will permit seasonal ag workers from Mexico and the Caribbean to fly to Canada in time for spring planting. While health authorities are finalizing self-isolation protocols, he says the next...

Nutrients and micro-nutrients have a huge role to play in keeping potato plants healthy through the season. A strong plant is in a better position to ward off diseases and pests, and stand up to extreme weather conditions. In this episode of The Grower Calling, Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, picks up the phone and calls Dr. Chris Trobacher at NutriAg. They discuss foliar and soil-applied nu...

The state of Integrated Pest Management keeps evolving with new equipment and techniques for identifying diseases and pests. Methods for communicating the results are shared with growers so that reduced-risk pesticides or biopesticides can be employed at the right rate, right time. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes "Behind The Scenes" of the March cover story titled 'The future of IPM: so...

On-farm marketing requires hands-on management. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the February cover story titled 'How to tell and sell the origin story' and speaks with Kevin Howe, Howe Family Farm Market near Aylmer, Ontario. Kevin shares best tips from storage to signage. Specialty melons, sweeter than most, are star attractions.

Darci Vetter, former chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative has had a front-row seat to trade relations around the world. She offers a nuanced analysis of trade deals in December 2019 and potential risks and opportunities for horticulture moving forward into 2020.   Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower,  goes “Behind the Scenes” of the January 2020 cover story titled 'Show...