The Grower Calling

Kyle Horlings, a fourth-generation carrot and onion grower, is boosting soil health. Since 2015, he’s been taking about 10 acres out of production to plant cover crops. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes Behind the Scenes of the December cover story titled “Soil fitness — just do it!” and chats with Kyle about why he started the practice and what benefits he’s seen in the last four years.

Oleen Smethurst, assistant vice-president, general merchandise manager for Costco Canada, flies all over the globe from Berlin to Bogotá to taste test fruits and vegetables. This year, she is also chairing the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA). The defining issues of her CPMA leadership are the importance of enhancing flavour and reducing plastics. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower,...

Sweet potatoes are not native to Canada, but for the VanBerlo family near Simcoe, Ontario, sweet potatoes have become second nature. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes "Behind the Scenes of the October cover story titled "Sweet Potatoes: the uber tuber are now shipped coast to coast" and speaks with Nick VanBerlo, director of sales and business development. Nick shares how his family has c...

The management team at Gwillimdale Farms took several trips to Europe to track down state-of-the-art cooling and storage equipment for root vegetables. They settled on French company Klim ‘Top Controls for a system that pulls air through the boxes. Karen Davidson, goes "Behind the Scenes" of the September 2019 cover story titled "Cold comfort, the new standard in root vegetable storage" and speaks...

The Tregunno family is grading peaches by the pixel with a new Spectrim vision system at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the August 2019 cover story titled "Grading peaches by the pixel" to speak with Ryan Tregunno.

Minimum wage rates keep going up and that’s a hit to horticulture. In some crops, labour rates add up to 60 per cent of the total cost of getting produce to market. That’s why growers are turning to labour-saving equipment. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes behind the scenes of the July 2019 cover titled 'On top of the latest labour-saving equipment' to talk with John Beardsley. He’s the...

For the last two years, Rebecca Compton, based in Delhi, Ontario, has chaired the Asparagus Farmers of Ontario through a challenging marketing period. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the June 2019 cover story to speak with Rebecca about her background and leadership approach to tackling industry issues.

Apple grower Cathy McKay has converted her 27-acre orchard to new varieties and trellis systems to produce a great tasting experience for consumers. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the May cover story titled 'Breeding ‘local’ apples for multiple micro-climates'. Cathy shares her excitement about the potential for new varieties from the Canadian Apple Breeding Cons...

Canada’s greenhouse vegetable sector is being buffeted by carbon taxes, high energy prices and repercussions from the last year’s sudden cannabis expansion. The Grower goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the April 2019 cover story titled 'Cannabis clouds competitiveness of greenhouse vegetable sector' and speaks with pepper grower Duffy Kniaziew. Duffy shares his views on how these competitiveness issues...

The Grower goes "Behind the Scenes" of the March 2019 cover story “Intellectual property: unearthing the gold beneath your feet.” Editor Karen Davidson talks with Shawn Brenn, Brenn-B Farms, Waterdown, Ontario about on-farm research and how that’s led to marketing and packaging a specific potato variety called Goldenheart.

Based near downtown Toronto, the Ontario Food Terminal is a central hub for food distribution in the province and beyond. The Ontario government is currently looking at changes to the network. The Grower goes "Behind The Scenes" of the February cover story titled 'Taking the pulse of the Ontario Food Terminal' and interviews MPP Randy Pettapiece, chair of the agricultural advisory group as well as...

Not yet 30. Tom Heeman is chair of the Berry Growers of Ontario and the North American Strawberry Growers Association. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the January cover story titled 'The changing context of leadership' and speaks with Tom Heeman. Tom shares his insights on agricultural leadership today, involving more women on boards of directors and reaching out...

Ontario’s ginseng industry has a $250M farmgate value. If the future is to be secured, the issue of replant disease must be solved. Or 160 growers will simply run out of land. A multi-disciplinary research team is working hard to find the answers. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes "Behind the Scenes" of the December cover story and talks with Carl Atkinson, ginseng grower, about replant d...

Vegetable processors such as Bonduelle and Whytes Foods are investing in plant upgrades in several Ontario communities. Cathy Lennon, general manager, Ontario Vegetable Processors Association, offers a fresh look at this $100 million sector.

Canadian horticulture would be crippled without the efforts of seasonal agricultural workers from Mexico and the Caribbean. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower goes "Behind the Scenes" of the October 2018 cover story titled 'Hand it to 30,000+ seasonal workers who bring produce to market.' In the podcast, Ken Forth, president of FARMS, offers context and history on the 52-year-old Seasonal Agricu...

Aphids are just one of many insects that can damage an apple crop. Hank Markgraf, head of field services for BC Tree Fruits, points to aphids as an example of how challenging an integrated pest management program is now and into the future.

Peter Quiring, founder and president of NatureFreshFarms, Leamington, Ontario has spent 20 years building and operating the most innovative vegetable greenhouses in North America. With 2.5 acres dedicated to research, he shares how the Discovery Center has been ground zero for the launch of the Tomberry, the world’s smallest tomato.

Cleanfarms is a non-profit environmental organization that offers a wide range of recycling programs for farmers across Canada, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island with ways to address agricultural waste management and resources. Their systems offer a way to address agricultural waste management and resources in the ag community. Shane Hedderson of Cleanfarms talks about the company’s cross-Cana...

Some good things are growing deep in Essex County's agricultural belt, namely sweet Athena cantaloupes. Wrightland Farms is known for its apples, asparagus - and cantaloupes. It's thanks to dedicated farmers like Keith Wright who send their produce on a four-hour trip one way from Harrow, Ontario just to get their product to the Ontario Food Terminal. Our latest podcast goes behind the scenes of T...

Installing Point of Sale (POS) management software to process transactions more quickly at on-farm markets adds definite value to small business operators and growers are seeing a lot of value in automation. Heemans has been using such software for several years with continued success in their garden centre. The Grower discusses relieving pain points at the on-farm market with Will Heeman.

Canada’s sweet cherry harvest will soon be starting in British Columbia and Ontario. That's good news for cherry lovers, but growers are concerned that not enough workers will be available for hand harvesting due to Service Canada's delays in processing seasonal agricultural workers. The Grower goes Behind the Scenes of the July cover story titled 'Short-handed for hand harvesting' with David Geen...

Oppy Transport falls under the umbrella of well-known company The Oppenheimer Group. With transport offices in Calgary, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Newark and Tampa Bay, shipping and logistics issues aren’t just limited to one country. With the changes in USA legislation, increases in traffic congestion and more companies wanting to consolidate their storage, Oppy is working around these issues on a n...

Jackie and Jim Rowe are a grower-marketing duo inspiring a value-added garlic industry in Ontario. With a number of key relationships with other growers and food processors, they are methodically building a dependable supply of garlic products year-round. It starts with garlic scapes harvested in mid-June at Hensall, Ontario. This podcast goes "Behind the Scenes" with Jackie Rowe for a more in dep...

Trinidadian Sooruj Bhoolai came to Canada in 1992 as a seasonal agricultural worker. Now that he’s the owner of the celery farm near Bradford, Ontario, he faces new hurdles with a 28 per cent increase in the minimum wage. He shares his tips on teamwork.

Canada’s greenhouse vegetable industry is undergoing massive change this year. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers have been standard fare for many years, but now there are new crops under the lights. Mucci Farms in Kingsville, Ontario is one of the operators who has invested in strawberries. In a very short time, they have become the largest indoor grower in North America. Karen Davidson, editor of T...