The Grower March 2025

MARCH 2025

CELEBRATING 146 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION

THEGROWER.ORG

TRADE

Trump’s tariffs: a hot potato for Canadian growers

When Alison Davie became chair of Potato Growers of Alberta in November 2023, she never dreamed that the growing sector would be threatened with 25 per cent tariffs from the U.S. That’s the situation clouding the horizon for not only potato growers but everyone in agriculture. Alison and her husband Michael operate North Paddock Farms Ltd. near Taber, Alberta.

Photos by Glenn Lowson.

Alison Davie represents the best of what Canadian agriculture stands for today. She’s smart, progressive, and uses environmentally-friendly technology to counter the impact of climate change. She’s also part of a flourishing, 80,000-member-strong cohort of female farm operators as identified in the 2021 Census of Agriculture.

Farming on 3,000 acres near Taber Alberta, Alison Davie and her husband Michael have doubled their potato acres since taking over the family farm 12 years ago. They have been active contributors to an expansion trend that has seen total processing acreage in the province increase from 45,000 to 60,000 acres over the last five years.

They plant 650 acres of potatoes as part of a one-infour year rotation cycle that includes seed canola, timothy hay, wheat, flax, faba beans and garlic. The Davie’s

harvest will be split between contracts with Lamb-Weston at Taber and McCain Foods at Coaldale where their potatoes are transformed into French fries. The industry is looking forward to the opening of the McCain Foods $600 million plant this summer, a doubling of current capacity.

Theirs is a story of diversification, of measured growth, and of the steady development of sound agronomic and management skills. And of planning that can cover contingencies, right?

Well, not everything. In 2025, a new fractious global order is sweeping the land, not at all like those friendly chinooks that blow across southern Alberta in the winter.

Rather, U.S. President Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods, potentially as of March 4, are sending disruption chills through every sector of Canadian agriculture.

As Davie shares from her seat as chair, Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA), the most immediate strain is on Alberta’s seed growers who are ready to ship $30 million

of seed, about 60 per cent of 2024 production to U.S. customers.

“The seed business is tough,” adds Terence Hochstein, executive director, PGA. “I don’t know how they will fare against tariffs. I’m worried about these farmers.” These specialty growers provide specific varieties for specific customers. It’s not possible for them to pivot seed production on a month’s notice, and often not even on a year’s notice.

Processing growers (fry and chip) selling into the continental marketplace will also feel the impact. Thanks to irrigation, Alberta potato growers are very productive, harvesting on average 390 cwt/acre, the highest in Canada. And thanks to the presence of six processors -McCain Foods, Lamb-Weston, Cavendish Farms, PepsiCo-Frito Lay, Old Dutch and Shearer Foods -- the sector as a whole has thrived and expanded.

Québec Outstanding Young Farmers PG 5

Nortera opens Strathroy warehouse PG 9

Crop protection/spraying/potatoes PG 16

KAREN DAVIDSON

Volume 75 Number 03 P.M. 40012319

$3.00 CDN

@growernews

Continued on page 3

PAGE 2 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERS

AT PRESS TIME… Ontario announces $100M boost to risk management program The Ontario government will increase risk management funding in a three-year phase-in for farmers, starting with a $30 million increase in 2025. The boost to Ontario’s Risk Management Program, which includes the Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM) program for edible horticulture farms, means growers will have greater confidence when making production decisions for the 2025 growing season says Shawn Brenn, chair, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA).

Rob Flack, minister of agriculture, food and agribusiness, Peter Bethlenfalvy, minister of finance, and John Jordan, parliamentary assistant made the announcement January 28, 2025. The total investment raises the fund from $150 million to $250 million per year.

“We appreciate the willingness of the provincial government to invest in our domestic food supply by recognizing the importance of fruit and vegetable production in our province,” says Shawn Brenn, potato grower and chair, OFVGA. “This additional investment will help Ontario’s fruit and vegetable sector better navigate current challenges – and we appreciate the leadership of Minister Flack and the Ford government in making this

L-R: Shawn Brenn, OFVGA chair; Rob Flack, Ontario minister of agriculture food and agribusiness; Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario minister of finance; Mike Chromczak, OFVGA vice-chair; Steve Peters, OFVGA board member. happen.”

OFVGA and fellow members of the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (OASC) have been urging the province for the past several years to increase its funding of RMP and SDRM to help Ontario farmers better deal with inflation, stubbornly high production costs, and other challenges outside of their control.

One example is the new farm assistance program launched by the United States Department of Agriculture in December 2024 for growers of specialty crops, primarily including produce. The total funding envelope for this new program is approximately $3.84 billion CAD, putting Ontario growers at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to their U.S. counterparts.

“The world has changed dramatically in the last several years, with growers facing

increased costs, geopolitical uncertainty and market instability, and the additional assistance provided to U.S. growers by their government creates even more competitive pressure for our industry here at home,” adds OFVGA vice chair Mike Chromczak, an asparagus grower who is also co-chair of OASC. “That’s why we have been urging the government to increase its investment in this critical program – and why today’s historic announcement is such welcome news for our sector.”

OFVGA’s partners in the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition are Beef Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Pork, Ontario Sheep Farmers, Grain Farmers of Ontario, and Veal Farmers of Ontario.

Source: OFVGA January 28, 2025 news release

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) has named George Gilvesy as the deserving winner of its 2025 Industry Award of Merit. In 2009, he began a six-and-a-half-year tenure as general manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, then was appointed chair in 2015 before stepping down in fall 2024. In this role, he served as a director of the OFVGA board.

Gilvesy has led many fruit and vegetable industry initiatives focused on sustainability, food security, trade and market access and development for growers, as well as generally speaking up eloquently for the sector’s need for a streamlined regulatory environment and economically competitive playing field. Significantly, he has been agriculture’s only representative on Premier Doug Ford’s council on U.S. trade and competitiveness. George, congratulations on this industry honour!

OFVGA gave two special partnership awards at its February 18 banquet, spotlighting the work of MP Scot Davidson (York-Simcoe) and Streef Produce Ltd. (Princeton). Davidson received the award for his work in bringing Bill C-280, Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers Act, into law. The legislation ensures growers are paid should a produce buyer become insolvent. Since 2013, Streef Produce has volunteered to manage, procure and provide logistics for the Fresh from the Farm school fundraising program. More than 3,000 schools and childcare centres in Ontario have sold more than five million pounds of Ontario-grown fruits and vegetables while raising more than $2.2 million for their schools.

More than $3.5 million has been returned to Ontario farmers and distributors. Hurray for these selfless efforts!

Scot Davidson

L-R: Jack Streef and sons Dylan and Nathan

The Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ Association hosted five young growers at its AGM. They are: Augusta Van Muyen, sponsored by Grape Growers of Ontario; Alex Henrie, sponsored by Berry Growers of Ontario; Alex Chesney, sponsored by Asparagus Farmers of Ontario; Quinton Gibson sponsored by Ontario Apple Growers; Brandon Wolfert, sponsored by Holland Marsh Growers.

The British Columbia Cherry Growers have elected the 2025 board of directors. They are: Sukhpaul Bal, Valley Orchards; vicepresident, David A. Geen, Jealous Fruits; Graem Nelson, secretary; Erin Carlson, Carcajou Fruit Company and Savanna Ridge Orchards, treasurer. Joining them are directors: Harman Bahniwal, Krazy Cherry Fruit Company; Bill Bokla, Trestle Farm; Gino Boensch, Consolidated Fruit Packers; Richard Isaacs, Global Fruit; Harsh Khela, Northern Cherries Inc.; Neal Van der Helm, Laughing Coyote Orchards, Sim Sandher, S. Sandher Orchards and Royal Fruit Packers.

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Todd Lewis, first vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, has been appointed to the Senate. Lewis farms south of Regina, Saskatchewan near Gray, and is the former president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).

Congratulations to Angela Reid, manager of policy and GR for Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC). She was selected as one of 12 participants in the Leadership At Its Best program sponsored by Syngenta. This is the 20th anniversary of the leadership development program which was established by Syngenta in 2005 in partnership with the Ivey Business School.

Congratulations to Jody Mott, executive director, Holland Marsh Growers’ Association (HMGA).

Local MPP Caroline Mulroney presented her with the King Charles coronation medal for her strong leadership and community involvement.

Jody Mott

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 3 THE GROWER

COVER STORY

Trump’s tariffs: a hot potato for Canadian growers Canadian potatoes trade balance (CANS) Fresh potatoes Seed potatoes Exports Frozen potatoes Other processed potatoes Total exports Fresh potatoes Seed potatoes Imports Frozen potatoes Other processed potatoes Total imports Fresh potatoes Trade balance Seed potatoes (exports Frozen potatoes imports) Other processed potatoes Overall trade balance

Fresh potato exports by province, value (CANS) 2023/24 493,102,830 50.249.104 2,672,943,501 423,929,202 3,640,224,637 80.309.605 14.391.518 125.571.891 314,008,166 534,281,180 412.793.225 35,857,586 2,547,371,610 109,921,036 3.105.943.457

* See notes below

2023/24

2023/24% Share

2.204

0 0%

183,280,709

37 2%

Nova Scotia

254,532

0.1%

New Brunswick

56,689,330

11.5%

Québec

61,076,371

12.4%

Ontario

102,953,485

20.9%

Manitoba

36,985,813

7.5%

Saskatchewan

9.428.165

1.9%

Alberta

32,341,032

6.6%

British Columbia

10,091,189

2.0%

493,102,830

100.0%

Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island

Canada

Note: Does not include seed potatoes.

Source: Statistics Canada (CAT Set, September 2024)

Ryan Jensen, Klearidge Farms Ltd. is pictured spraying potatoes near Taber, Alberta. Potatoes are the fifth largest primary agriculture crop in Canada after canola, wheat, soybeans and corn.

Continued from page 1 But the reality is that these six companies also have plants south of the border. As Hochstein explains, “Consumer demand has softened in the last year. The QSRs – quick-service restaurants – have not bounced back after COVID and the cost of food has restrained growth.”

Another often-not-talked-about part of the Alberta industry is the fresh side. The Little Potato Company operates plants on both sides of the border and any tariffs would also be devastating to their part of the industry.

Coming into 2025, there’s been an overage of production, which translates to the processors being in the driver’s seat for this year’s round of negotiations. Time is ticking for contracts to be signed prior to finalizing inputs for spring planting.

“In a word, negotiations will be tough,” says Hochstein. “The only settled contract, as of press time, is in Washington State.”

The national picture, as reported by Ag Canada in November 2024, is that 96 per cent ($48 million) of seed, 93% ($457 million) of fresh and 91% ($2.4 billion) of processing potatoes were exported to the U.S. in 2023/24.

During the same period, Canada’s potato and potato product imports from the U.S. totaled $456 million, which represented 85% of imports from all countries valued at $534 million. Relative

values of total imports by sector were $440 million in processed potatoes (frozen French fry at $126 million and other processed at $314 million) and $94 million in fresh potatoes (table stock at $80 million and seed at $14 million).

On the other side of the country in Prince Edward Island, potato growers’ concerns run just as deep because they exported about $183 million PEI fresh potatoes to the U.S in the last year on record.

Bill Zylmans, a potato and vegetable grower from Richmond, British Columbia is chair of the Canadian Potato Council with an overview of the entire industry.

“We’re all losers on this tariff front,” he says. “There’s no benefit to either side.”

Surprisingly, the National Potato Council in the U.S. has been reaching out to the Canadian Potato Council to share concerns, with informal meetings at the January 2025 Potato Expo. From their side of the border, growers are worried about receiving both Canadian potato seed and Canadian fertilizer in time for planting.

“Contract negotiations are very problematic,” says Zylmans. “There are no contracts signed in Canada. They are in a stalemate.”

All parties with vested interests are waiting for more clarity. Normally, growers would confirm their contract, go to the bank to finance inputs of seed and crop protection products, then get in the field to plant. The timing and sequence of

that ritual are becoming out of sync this year.

“There is a glimmer of green light,” says Zylmans. “The 30-day reprieve has given us a window to get inputs on the road before any tariffs hit.”

If there are any early lessons from the recent turn of events, it’s that Canada must become more self-supporting in its food systems. Zylmans is heartened by messaging from some retailers pledging allegiance to supporting local, but he knows that only one thing counts: “It’s all about price.”

A quarter of the way into a supposedly enlightening 21st century, disquieting murmurs from history underline the current unease. Chronicling the leadup to the French Revolution in 1775, author Charles Dickens’ memorable prose resonates loudly.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.”

Today, A Tale of Two Cities might well foretell A Tale of Two Friends. And the story? Disorder reigns. * Notes: Fresh potatoes do not include seed potatoes. Frozen potatoes include uncooked potatoes, potatoes cooked by steaming or boiling

water, prepared or preserved potatoes (other than by vinegar or acetic acid) in the frozen state.

Other processed potatoes include potato chips; potato starch, flakes, granules and pellets; potato flour, meal and powder; and dried potatoes. Source: Statistics Canada (CATSnet September 2024) The Grower is “Digging Deeper” with Bill Zylmans, potato grower from Richmond, British Columbia and chair of the Canadian Potato Council.

Despite the challenges facing the entire potato chain, he is optimistic that a stronger sector will emerge as a result of face-to-face conversations up and down the chain on both sides of the border. This podcast is sponsored

by Cohort Wholesale. Photo of Bill Zylmans courtesy of Country Life in BC.

PAGE 4 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

CROSS COUNTRY DIGEST BRITISH COLUMBIA

BC pledges $5M to tree-fruit growers for climate resiliency program New funding of $5 million is available to help tree-fruit growers prepare their orchards for extreme weather. The $5million program will provide 80 per cent cost-share funding for eligible projects up to a maximum of $100,000 per farm business.

Applications are being accepted and will continue until funds are fully committed.

The Tree Fruit Climate Resiliency program will help fund devices such as protective covers, energy-efficient heaters and wind machines to help during periods of extreme cold, as well as canopy sprinklers and shade protection to help ward off the effects of extreme heat. The program also is open to applications for innovative projects to support industry resiliency.

“The Okanagan is home to B.C.’s iconic tree-fruit sector and through my conversations with growers, I know how hard it has been for them to deal with the effects of extreme heat and

extreme cold,” said Harwinder Sandhu, parliamentary secretary for agriculture and MLA for Vernon-Lumby. “Climate change is a real challenge for our farming communities and this new program will help growers with projects and equipment that support their farms’ profitability, resiliency and sustainable food production for the years ahead.”

Multiple growers may also jointly apply for a project that benefits more than one producer, such as a wind machine that could be used on multiple properties.

“As one of B.C.’s largest cherry producers, we are seeing an increasingly volatile climate stretching the ability of growers to adapt,” said David Geen, CEO of Jealous Fruits Ltd. “Climate mitigation strategies, such as frost-control materials, installation of wind machines, and researching and developing hardier genetics and varieties can all contribute to a more stable

cherry industry. It is great that the B.C. government is listening to grower concerns and providing funding for these industry endeavours.”

The program was developed with input from the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association and the B.C. Cherry Association. The program was announced in August 2024 as one part of government’s efforts to help treefruit growers through challenges faced by their industry.

“We greatly appreciate the B.C. government’s commitment to supporting tree-fruit growers with the new $5-million Tree Fruit Climate Resiliency program. This funding is a significant step toward helping us prepare our orchards for the challenges posed by extreme weather, ensuring that families and communities can continue to enjoy our locally grown peaches, cherries, and apples,” said Deep Brar, vice-president, B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association, and a

tree-fruit grower. “The climate has been exceptionally tough on our growers for the past few years, with devastating impacts from heat domes and cold snaps.

We look forward to working closely with the government and other stakeholders to ensure the tree fruit industry in British

Columbia remains strong and sustainable for generations to come.”

Source: BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food January 30, 2025 news release

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

AAFC research proving diploid breeding is more than just small potatoes Diploid potatoes are quickly becoming the stud spuds for breeding new commercial potato varieties. Wild diploid potatoes have two copies of each chromosome in their DNA, unlike more traditional tetraploid potatoes, such as Russet Burbank, which have four copies of each chromosome. Fewer chromosomes make diploid genetics easier to work with for breeders.

First domesticated in the Andes of South America, diploid potatoes are often a little smaller in size than their tetraploid cousins.

Their untapped genetic potential is being harnessed by geneticists and breeders to develop new diploid potato varieties for farmers.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist Dr. Bourlaye Fofana is leading the pre-breeding charge for diploid potatoes. After successfully pinpointing drought-resistant and early-maturing genes in diploid potatoes, he’s moved on to his next foe – common scab disease.

Comparing traits for common scab Dr. Fofana has been studying common scab for many years at the AAFC Charlottetown Research and Development Centre on Prince Edward Island.

As recently as 2021, he compared the genes of tetraploid potato varieties: Green Mountain (more prone to common scab) and Hindenburg (develops fewer symptoms of common scab). This research discovered genes that may be responsible for common scab resistance. Now, he wanted to find the same for diploid potatoes.

“There is more natural genetic diversity in wild diploid potatoes compared to tetraploids that make them interesting for breeding. First, we created re diversity on top of what they have naturally by inducing a change in their genetic make-up. Those changes are random, however, andwe don’t know the full picture until further research is done,” says Dr. Fofana.

In order to find common scab resistance for diploid potatoes,

Dr. Fofana dipped into his vast collection of diploid germplasm – the seeds, plants, or plant parts used in crop breeding – research, and conservation efforts. The seeds were planted at the AAFC Harrington Research Farm and, once harvested, were evaluated for various common scab resistant traits including the percentage of the surface area of the potato covered by common scab, the severity of common scab (number and depth of lesions on potato skin), and the incidence of common scab (how many harvested potatoes have any lesions versus no lesion at all).

The diploid potato clones that have the least of these three traits are good candidates to go to the next stage of the breeding process.

Narrowing down varieties Dr. Fofana, along with AAFC researchers in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and Kentville, Nova Scotia, as well as former AAFC student Dr. Braulio Soto-Cerda, now at the Universidad Católica de Temuco

Dr. Bourlaye Fofana in Chile, evaluated 384 diploid potato clones for common scab resistance traits. The team found genetic markers on the diploid chromosomes for common scab resistance. Of the 384 diploid clones, the group identified 61 that are tolerant or resistant to common scab disease and have genes that help the potato plants to defend and protect themselves against diseases. These 61 varieties will now be evaluated for yield and quality in larger commercial field plots which have greater numbers of plants

(minimum of 25), compared to the research field plots (maximum of six plants) that have been used until now.

So far, Dr. Fofana’s research is an important first step. It shows that varieties associated with common scab disease resistance can be developed, and that the markers, gene sequences, and the 61 selected clones are key resources for breeders to make future potato varieties more resilient to climate change.

Source: AAFC

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 5 THE GROWER

CROSS COUNTRY DIGEST QUÉBEC

Québec’s 2025 Outstanding Young Farmers grow potatoes and vegetables

Pierre-Luc Barré, Virginie Bourque and family (winners at OYF) .

State-of-the-art technology is bringing more consistent quality to storage of processing potatoes.

included onions, hot peppers, sweet corn, and field corn. In 2012, he decided to grow potatoes, now the most valuable crop on 400 acres. He also cultivates 390 acres of field corn, 114 acres of snap beans for processing, 34.5 acres of fresh sweet corn and 163 acres of soya.

This diversification of crops allows field rotations and in addition, reduces financial risk.

He is the father of three girls with his partner, Virginie Bourque, who takes charge of the administrative management of the enterprise. Together, their vision is to continue to expand

A sweet corn stand is an excellent way to develop interpersonal skills. L-R: Romy 11, Arielle 10, Béatrice 8.

KAREN DAVIDSON Québec is honouring potato and vegetable growers Pierre-Luc Barré and Virginie Bourque from Yves Barré Farm of St-Damase.

They will represent the province at the National Event of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ competition in Toronto, Ontario.

Their story is not unique in that Pierre-Luc followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the family farm in 2010, after completing studies in St. Hyacinthe. He has been involved in everything from fieldwork to management, becoming principal shareholder in January 2023.

What is unique is that the farm’s income has soared from $5.1 million in 2012 to $15 million in 2024 thanks to modernizing equipment.

“We invested in a lot of equipment – a self-propelled

Grimme potato harvester for example – to harvest rapidly,” says Pierre-Luc. An optical sorter was purchased in 2023 that rejects defects and ensures better quality going into storage. These investments were made after travelling to Europe and the U.S. to see how the equipment operated in the field.

In Québec, the umbrella Union des Producteurs Agricole (UPA) is home to the potato producers’ association (Les Producteurs de pommes de terre du Québec). Pierre-Luc has the role of vice-president for executive council and chairs the pre-peeling sub-committee. He notes that access to production data, and particularly cost of production, is important when negotiating contracts with the processors’ ATLF association.

The farm also excels in vegetable production. When he returned to the farm, the crops

the farm, increasing the cultivated areas. They are aiming for 500 acres of potatoes but to achieve this, they will have to increase the enterprise’s cultivated area to more than 2,470 acres either by purchasing or renting new plots.

Pierre-Luc is most proud of the ability to coax potato production of 417 cwt/acre on loam and clay soils. “In dry years, the clay holds the water,” he explains. “But in wet seasons that we had in 2023 and 2024, it was difficult to manage late blight.”

It’s these challenges that motivate them to start new projects in the years ahead.

V

EG

ETABL

Held annually, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers competition rewards farmers who demonstrate excellence in their profession and promote agriculture’s huge contribution to the economy. Open to participants aged 18 to 39 years old whose major source of income comes from agricultural sources, participants are selected from seven regions in Canada, and two national winners are chosen each year. The national event will be hosted in Toronto on November 27-30, 2025.

E

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PAGE 6 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

GREENHOUSE GROWER

How to advocate for the greenhouse vegetable sector

JULIE PAILLAT You may have heard the quote, by Stephen R. Covey, “If there’s one thing that’s certain in business, it’s uncertainty.”

Uncertainty is rampant – not only in business, but in politics and trade. We’re seeing it play out these days as President Trump signs Executive Orders and historic tariff threats begin to change what we had learned to expect from our closest allies.

At the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) we are advancing national advocacy priorities set by our members, despite the uncertainty due to the Liberal leadership race,

anticipated federal election, and in the face of the potentially catastrophic effects of tariffs.

The greenhouse vegetable sector is represented nationally at FVGC by its Greenhouse Vegetable Working Group members from across Canada.

Together, our mission is: To position the Canadian greenhouse vegetable sector as a recognized leader in sustainable agriculture: driven by our commitment to excellence, demonstrated in our responsible stewardship of people and the planet, and unified by a tireless pursuit of innovation, competitiveness and growth.

Advocacy is most effective when it is truly informed by

growers’ needs. Collecting the right data and telling our compelling stories can bridge the gap between current assumptions and well-informed policies.

Together we can make the difference between simply identifying the problem and finding a set of solutions.

The best news? Your voice matters, and you can get involved!

To help you take action, FVGC is developing a tool-kit focused on the potential impact of tariffs and how you can advocate for policies that protect the greenhouse vegetable sector.

This resource will equip growers and industry partners with the information and messaging

needed to engage effectively with decision-makers. Whether you’re speaking with your city mayor, rural municipality councillor, chamber of commerce, trade council, Member of Provincial Parliament, Member of Parliament, or representatives in the Senate of Canada, you can help ensure that food policy decisions are made through a food lens—one that considers the realities of Canadian growers and the sustainability of our food system.

We also want to hear from you. How are tariff threats already affecting your business?

What would the impact be if they were fully implemented? Your insights and experiences will

strengthen FVGC’s advocacy efforts, ensuring that policymakers understand the real-world consequences of their decisions.

Email us at ustariffs@fvgc.ca.

You can learn more about FVGC by going to our website (www.fvgc.ca), following us on our social media (you can find us on X, LinkedIn and Facebook), and joining us at the upcoming Annual General Meeting in Québec City, March 10-13th, 2025.

Julie Paillat is national coordinator, Greenhouse Vegetable Sector, Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada.

Laying the foundation of a greenhouse tomato crop

Pictures are courtesy of Schriemer Family Farm, Otterburn, Manitoba

MOHYUDDIN MIRZA Greenhouse tomato is one of the top crops and with reports of very high yields it becomes important to understand about the seedlings as the foundation for the future performance. Reports of 160 kg/m2 from Norway are very exciting to know about. In Alberta where I come from, the reports of achieving 70 to 80 kg/m2 are well documented.

So, when growers talk to me about how tomato seedlings should look like or be grown for good future production, I always tell them to look for compact plants not leggy and yellow.

Commercial seedling growers do a great job in providing good quality tomato seedlings but when you are growing your own, then things could go wrong. Here are

a few pictures to share to highlight my thoughts on growing good quality seedlings.

A good soilless growing medium with adequate water-holding capacity and air porosity, temperature maintained at 22 to 25°C resulted in almost 100% seed germination. I noticed that every plant’s cotyledon leaves is facing in different directions. It does not affect plant’s health or vigour. It is basically each plant positioning itself for best interception of light and to channel all that it assimilates to roots and next set of leaves.

The picture to the right is of the same plants showing true leaves which are juxtaposed to cotyledonary leaves to trap maximum light. At this stage tomato seedlings have already developed and determined the shape and size of first two to three clusters and that all depends on

Picture on the right is of cat-faced tomatoes on first cluster and can result in serious loss because this fruit is not marketable. light and temperature. It is recommended to keep the temperature at 20°C day and night for short internodes and compact plants.

The focus is to keep the plant vegetative, build a strong plant with maximum leaf area and high in dry matter before the fruit load is initiated on the plant. Growers use day and night and 24hour average temperature to keep the plant in vegetative state but the next picture shows the results of “aggressive” use of temperature. When the seedlings become purple it means that night temperature is dipping below 16°C. These plants will produce cat-faced tomato fruit on first one or two clusters.

To summarize: • Pay attention to grow quality seedlings right from selection of varieties to germination and early management.

• Know about the plant focus in this early seedling stage before the seedlings are planted because the fruit “buds” are set right when cotyledon seeds are expanding.

• Know all aspects of temperature management, that is day and night temperature, 24-hour average temperature, ramping from day to night and night to day.

• Know your target irrigation and feeding programs. I prefer to use all nitrate nitrogen and high potassium. High EC values can be used to keep the plant under control.

Dr. Mohyuddin Mirza, is an industry consultant in Alberta.

Drmirzaconsultants@gmail.com

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 7 THE GROWER

GREENHOUSE GROWER

Record-breaking pepper production achieved with dynamic LED lighting Sollum Technologies has published a recent business care demonstrating how the Delphy Improvement Centre in the Netherlands achieved higher yields and quality in peppers.

Growing peppers under traditional LED systems often presents growers with significant challenges. Low transpiration rates, for example, impact nutrient uptake. Varied growth rates and internode lengths across different varieties complicate uniform production.

In the 2023-2024 trial at the Delphy Improvement Centre, total yields increased from 45.67 kg/m² (2020-2021 trial) to 46.71 kg/m² . Class I peppers

improved from 40.74 kg/m² to 41.75 kg/m², reflecting higher quality. Class II peppers were reduced from 2.36 kg/m² to 1.06 kg/m², minimizing lower-grade produce.

Here’s how the trial was set up: Planting date: early October. PPFD levels: 250-270 mol/m²/s. Lighting strategy: 16-hour day length using adaptive dynamic lighting. Sollum’s dynamic LED lighting solution addresses these issues by tailoring light intensity and spectrum to the specific needs of each variety, ensuring optimal growth conditions throughout the production

cycle. Dynamic adjustments focused on fine-tuning far-red strategies and spectrum adjustments to optimize internode length, fruit set, and plant development.

Light use efficiency achieved 6.2 grams/mol, optimizing light-to-biomass conversion. Consistent fruit weights were maintained at of 190-220 grams, with a rapid outgrowth period of 44 days from fruit set to harvest.

The trial concluded with higher yields of 46.71 kg/m², improved quality with class 1 peppers up to 41.75 kg/m² and energy efficiency of 6.2 grams/mol.

Sensei Farms grows baby spinach in Ontario greenhouse Sensei Farms has announced the arrival of baby spinach, the latest addition to the indoor-grown produce brand’s retail line of leafy greens. Grown fresh, year-round out of the company’s 30-acre Ontario greenhouse in Leamington, Sensei Farms Baby Spinach is available now at participating Safeway and Acme grocery store locations across the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.

“Our goal is to deliver the freshest, responsibly grown fruits and vegetables

throughout the year,” says Jessica Vasisht, Sensei Farms’ senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

“We’re eager to add Sensei Farms Baby Spinach to our line-up and excited to continue expanding our portfolio over the next year.”

According to the company’s team of sensory experts and growers, Sensei Farms Baby Spinach has a delicate texture, mild flavour and delicious taste. Enjoyable raw,

steamed or sauteed, Sensei Farms Baby Spinach makes a great salad base, or a nutrient-rich smoothie ingredient. It’s also pesticide-free and non-GMO. All of Sensei Farms’ leafy greens varieties, including baby spinach, are available in the brand’s more-sustainable packaging, featuring a recyclable, moistureresistant paperboard tray, 360-degree product visibility and “peel and reseal” closure.

Source: Sensei Farms Feb 4, 2025 news release

Cole Mucci to launch KingsOne Farms A new chapter in greenhouse agriculture is set to begin with the opening of KingsOne Farms in Kingsville, Ontario in fall 2025.

Spearheaded by Cole Mucci, a thirdgeneration grower from the well regarded Mucci family, this venture will focus on producing clean, nutritious, and flavourful lettuce using cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices.

Initial capacity will be 6.5 acres producing nearly 11 million whole head lettuce annually with plans for future diversification. All product will be packed under the Mucci Farms Naked Leaf brand.

“Greenhouse farming is in my blood,” says Cole Mucci, who grew up in the industry.

“Both of my grandfathers were growers who came to Canada from Italy. My dad, Bert, along with my uncle Danny and their partners, built Mucci Farms into what it is today. I’m proud to carry on that legacy.

Agriculture has always been a part of my life, and I’m passionate about producing food that’s safe, clean, and packed with flavour.”

Cole chose lettuce as the focus of KingsOne Farms because of its potential and importance to consumers. “Here in Canada, more than 80 per cent of our lettuce is

imported from the United States so there’s tremendous opportunity in this space, especially when it’s sustainably grown with a premium emphasis on cleanliness. We can provide high-quality product 365 days a year,” he explains.

KingsOne Farms will be a 6.5-acre facility, with production slated to begin in fall 2025.

The greenhouse will be designed with cuttingedge technology and automation to maximize efficiency and production. The operation will produce nearly 210,000 heads of lettuce each week, totaling nearly 11 million heads annually.

PAGE 8 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

GREENHOUSE GROWER

Magnetic resonance imaging shows promise in detecting internal defects

A close-up of a tomato inside the MRI scanner that the University of Windsor constructed for a Greenhouse Technology Network project.

University of Windsor physics professor Dan Xiao is experimenting with an electromagnet to develop a portable Magnetic Resonance device.

As the world seeks new ways to increase agricultural efficiency, Dr. Dan Xiao is pushing the boundaries of traditional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) applications. She’s the associate professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Windsor working alongside industry partner, the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG).

“The Greenhouse Technology Network (GTN) funding has been pivotal in advancing our research into portable MRI technology for agriculture,” says Richard Lee, executive director, OGVG.

The major advantage of MRI is its ability to non-invasively visualize the internal structures with rich soft tissue contrast, enabling the detection of diseases before they manifest on the plant’s surface.

“One of our students discovered a fungal infection in tomatoes that starts internally and spreads outward,” explains Xiao. “By the time you see signs on the outside, it’s often too late.

With MRI, we can detect these infections early, allowing farmers to take action before the disease spreads.”

This innovation can

“Their support provided the essential resources needed to innovate and address critical challenges in plant health monitoring.”

Traditionally, MRI systems are bulky, expensive, and designed for medical use— however, Xiao’s team is working on making MRI more affordable and portable, designed more specifically for agricultural applications. “We’ve developed smaller, cheaper MRI devices that can be used in fields to monitor plant health without the need for large, stationary machines,” says Xiao.

potentially reduce crop losses, particularly in fruits and vegetables prone to internal diseases. It could also be incorporated into packing lines for quality control.

The ability to monitor plants non-invasively also opens the door to a better understanding of plant physiology and how plants respond to environmental factors such as water, nutrients and light.

Beyond tomatoes, Xiao’s team is exploring how MRI can be used to study water movement within plants, monitor seedling growth, and even track how nutrients are transported through plant stems. This technology

could revolutionize plant phenotyping by providing detailed, real-time insights into plant health and development.

While this technology is still in its early stages, she believes it has the potential to impact the agricultural industry significantly.

“I’m not sure how many farmers are interested in looking at the internal anatomy of a tomato just yet, but I believe this technology could be invaluable to researchers studying plant physiology and disease resistance,” she says.

The development of affordable, portable MRI systems for agriculture could help farmers optimize growing conditions, reduce water and nutrient use, and increase crop yields. The technology could also help researchers better understand how plants respond to environmental stressors, leading to more resilient crops in the face of climate change.

For more details, contact: at info@greenhousetechnetwork.ca.

Editor’s note: This project is funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

Source: Greenhouse Technology Network January 13, 2025

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 9 THE GROWER

PROCESSING VEGETABLES

Nortera’s $25M refrigerated warehouse feels U.S. trade chill

“I’m encouraged by the recent statement of Loblaw’s CEO, Per Bank, who said that the company is doubling down on securing food grown and made in Canada.” Rob Anderson KAREN DAVIDSON Mere hours after a 30-day pause was announced in the Trump-Canada trade battle on February 4, Nortera officially opened its state-of-the art frozen vegetable warehouse in Strathroy, Ontario. From a Canadian point of view, it’s fortuitous timing that the 100,000 square-foot, southern Ontario food hub is now on-stream for the 2025 season.

“Any expansion in the Ontario market is a positive,” says Keith Robbins, general manager, Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, now in contract negotiations for this year’s harvest on behalf of 200 growers. The new warehouse increases yearround, cold-chain capacity for vegetables being processed in Nortera’s three Ontario plants -Strathroy, Ingersoll and Tecumseh -- by approximately 40 percent.

While the $25 million warehouse makes storage and distribution more efficient, the fact that a quarter of Nortera’s Canadian production is sold to U.S. customers is clearly a worry.

Strathroy is one hour’s drive from the Port Huron, Ontario border crossing to Michigan, a traditional export route.

“We are considering all our options,” says Rob Anderson, vice-president of operations, Nortera. Eight of Nortera’s vegetable plants are in Canada while five are in the U.S. Along with the three in Ontario, there are plants in Lethbridge, Alberta and in Saint-Césaire, SainteMartine, Saint-Denis and Bedford, Quebec. Nortera product is sold under the Del Monte and Arctic Gardens brands to many of the top retailers in Canada, and it also co-packs for private label brands.

“I’d like to reinforce that Nortera has built a resilient business model with a diversified supply chain and strong partnerships on both sides of the border,” adds Anderson.

“Nortera is taking proactive steps to mitigate any potential effects of tariffs should they come,

Rob Campbell, director of logistics, for Nortera, points to the efficiency of storing frozen vegetables for up to a year in the newly expanded, $25 million warehouse in Strathroy.

including strengthening our relationships with local farmers and increasing our sourcing of Canadian produce.”

Launched in June 2022, Nortera is a relatively new name, but Canadian growers have done business with the processor for years. Its history dates to Aliments Carrière which sold the company to multinational Bonduelle in 2007. After 15 years of innovation in North America, Bonduelle Group reduced its ownership to 35 per cent and brought in Québec pension funds Fonds de solidarité (FTQ) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

For Ontario growers, all eyes are on contract negotiations underway for peas, green beans, sweet corn, butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. Within each commodity, there will be crop variances based on consumer demand. Anderson points out that international competition is fierce in the processed vegetable category citing Spain, Belgium and Poland, as examples. Facing such competition and with tariffs still looming large over sales into the U.S., Nortera would welcome more retail business in Canada.

The big question is whether Canada can absorb the 25 per cent of Nortera’s current production that is going to American clients. And, if so, at what price.

“I’m encouraged by the recent statement of Loblaw’s CEO,” says Anderson. Per Bank through his LinkedIn account said, “As Canada’s largest domestic food purchaser by a large measure, we are doubling down on securing food grown and made in Canada.”

Despite anticipating that prices will be under pressure, Nortera is looking for more positive cues from retail clients that would support current or expanded contract volumes.

From the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers’ perspective, Keith Robbins will be reminding Nortera that, with a nod to consumer pain in inflationary times, growers took a $11 million

cut in 2024. This translated to a reduction of 15-17 per cent, depending on commodity.

“But growers can’t go back a decade in time on prices, with input costs of fertilizer and other inputs continually rising,” argues Robbins. “Farmers need a price increase to be sustainable. We all need a margin to have a measure of success.”

During the uncertainty of this

Here are two examples of the Del Monte and Arctic Gardens brands that Nortera delivers to retailers.

unprecedented trade environment, Robbin hopes that Foodland Ontario can help consumers identify more locally grown and processed food. Doing its part while building on sentiments of patriotic relevance, the media has started to communicate to consumers the difference between Product of Canada (98% Canadian content) and Made in Canada (at least 51

per cent Canadian content).

Getting the right ingredients into Canadian kitchens is the big goal for 2025. But the bigger question is: how hard will it be to convert patriotism into market share for Canadian-grown and processed? Made in Canada, eh?

PAGE 10 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

U.S. TARIFFS

30-day reprieve allows time to prepare for potential tariffs Agri-Food Economic Systems published a thought piece on February 8, 2025 that provides valuable coaching on how to approach the threat of 25 per cent tariffs on March 4. Authors Al Mussell, Douglas Hedley and Ted Bilyea share their strategic thinking.

Here’s a key excerpt on understanding the Canadian interest: “In a trade negotiation (or a trade war) what matters is not just the vulnerabilities of the other side -- it is also the vulnerabilities and opportunities of your side with respect to your counterpart.

We need to understand ourselves.

However, a common approach is to focus on the vulnerabilities of a counterpart and target those in retaliation. For example, if the members of a legislature coming up for election can be identified and the key industries located in their constituencies determined, targeting the products of those key industries with retaliation provides leverage. This is accompanied by engagement with regional governments to remind them of the benefits from trade and the value of partnership.

This approach is centered on the opponent, rather than integrated in a country’s interest and strategy; in fact, it is a tactic, rather than a strategy. It also presents an awkwardness in

dealing with the domestic parties disaffected by the trade retaliation who face higher prices they must pay -- it is just their bad luck that their suppliers were located in the wrong place.

Understanding one’s interest is broader than this. It balances what we want and what we don’t want from a counterpart, and relates them to our internal strengths and weaknesses. For example, generally speaking, we want export access -- but in some cases there are alternative and maybe better export markets -- or third-country exporters that are competitors, or lack of scale, that de-emphasize the significance of export access. In other cases, we have individual processing plants that require a specific export volume in order to be viable.

Alternatively, there may be critical imports obtained from the counterpart without which our costs would greatly increase, or some products that are no longer feasible without imported inputs.

Understanding these details entails much more work than figuring who is up for election where, and who/where has had a large Canadian export business that can be reminded of such.

Interests go right down to the internal and external details of individual industries and companies. It cannot be skipped.

Maximum intelligence Because there is a range of plausible objectives, undisclosed, that the U.S. may be pursuing with Canada at a given time, Canada must prepare for each prospective U.S. objective. This entails much greater information collection, delineation of scenarios, and formulation of approaches and responses than would typically be the case.

Moreover, the doctrine under which U.S. trade and agri-food

policy has been conducted has changed, or will. Many of the people that have been engaged as career officials in the USTR, USDA, EPA, FDA, and other U.S. government agencies that Canadian government officials and agri-food organizations have worked with have left, or will be moving on, replaced by people with less experience in the agency or with agri-food, and are in positions due more to perceived loyalty to the new administration.

The implication is that greater effort will be required to obtain

good information, independently validate it, and greater preparation for interaction will be required than has previously existed.”

For the entire report, link here: www.agrifoodecon.ca/uploads/ userfiles/files/canada%20has%20a %20one%20month%20reprieve. pdf

Source: Agri-Food Economic Systems February 8, 2025 Photo by Marcella DiLonardo

EQUIPMENT

Kubota marks 50 years in Canada KAREN DAVIDSON Milestones such as Kubota Canada’s 50th anniversary are meant for celebration but also for future-gazing. It’s a brand that’s well-recognized in horticulture from berry fields to apple orchards.

“We are exceptionally proud of our half century of continued growth in Canada,” said Yannick Montagano, president of Kubota Canada. “When we launched in Canada 50 years ago, our goal was to sell compact agricultural tractors to Canadians. Since then, we have significantly expanded our award-winning product line-up to meet the evolving needs of a broad range of markets and individuals. We launched the first-ever heavy equipment cold weather testing facility in Timmins, Ontario, in 2013, which is now the global gold standard for Kubota, ensuring our machinery consistently lives up to real-life conditions.”

For historical reference, Kubota Corporation is based in Osaka, Japan where more than half of its manufacturing still takes place. U.S.-based plants are located in Georgia and Kansas.

The substantial local demand for Kubota products and the associated company growth led to an investment exceeding $80 million in a new, state-ofthe-art 65,000 sq. ft corporate office and 500,000 sq. ft warehouse in Pickering, Ontario, in 2022.

Leveraging customer and dealer feedback to drive research and development,

prioritizing customer needs above all else has driven success for Kubota. According to the North American Equipment Dealers Association’s 2024 Dealer-Manufacturer Relations survey, Kubota Canada is ranked as the number one full line OEM with dealers when it comes to overall satisfaction, product and parts quality, parts availability, product support, warranty, communication with management and manufacturer responses to needs and concerns. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, companies that produce components or products that are sold to other companies to be integrated into their own products.

Montagano further remarked, “We became industry leaders by listening to our customers, addressing their needs, and continuously looking towards the future.

Fifty years of equipment manufacturing progress with an unwavering commitment to our dealers and the customers they serve, is what makes Kubota Canada one of the most respected equipment companies globally today.”

Andrew Marshall, vice-president, sales, marketing and dealer development, adds that the acquisition of Bloomfield Robotics in fall 2024 will propel the brand into the future with sensors on tractors that can determine plant health in the field. For example, they will be able to work in high-density apple orchards with further accuracy using artificial intelligence.

Estimating yields is on the horizon.

Bloomfield Robotics Inc., a Pittsburghbased startup, uses advanced imaging and

These Sunrise Orchard workers were photographed near Simcoe, Ontario.

Photo by Glenn Lowson. artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor the health and performance of specialty crops one plant at a time. The company’s groundbreaking service includes an advanced camera, on-farm data processing systems, and a grower dashboard providing real-time plant-level assessments. The service delivers real data that transforms customers’ ability to make accurate projections and yield estimations, guiding decision making around harvest timing and workforce deployment.

The company currently services growers of wine grapes, table grapes, juice grapes,

blueberry, and raspberry growers in the U.S, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and France with plans for further country expansion.

“Skilled tractor operators with 30 years of experience are becoming more difficult to find,” says Marshall. “The technology will help make work more efficient.”

For more information, visit kubota.ca/who-we-are

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 11 THE GROWER

FARM SAFETY

Normalizing farm safety from an early age

Katie Keddy, Lakeville, is the past-president of Farm Safety Nova Scotia. Keddy and her husband are second-generation farmers who have approached teaching farm safety to their two sons by normalizing it and making safety a regular part of conversations.

ERIN KELLY Katie Keddy’s approach to teaching her two sons about safety on the farm is simple: normalize it.

“We believe in teaching them lessons so that they grow up with safety as a culture on the farm instead of learning it as adults,” explains Keddy.

Keddy and her husband, Philip, are second-generation farmers growing sweet potatoes and strawberry nursery plants with her in-laws in Lakeville, Nova Scotia. Being both a parent and involved with the farm, Keddy says she recognized early on the significance of making safety a regular part of conversations and way of thinking.

“Through the busyness of business, especially with farming, safety can be one of the things that falls by the wayside pretty easily if it’s not made a priority,” says Keddy, who is currently president of Farm Safety Nova Scotia. “I wanted to ensure that didn’t happen because learning about safety as an adult requires more of a conscious effort when you haven’t grown up with it, versus it just being instilled from a young age.”

A unique aspect of agriculture is that farms are not just worksites but places where people also live.

While other industries see victims of occupational injuries almost exclusively in the 18 to 65 age range, children account for a significant number of injuries in agriculture. According to the latest findings of the Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting, between 2011 and 2020, there were 58 fatal agriculture-related injuries among those aged 0 to 14.

“I’ve always made sure to have very black-and-white conversations with my kids about safety. If something could result in death, then we are very direct about it and very clear about the risks because there is so little room for error,” says Keddy. “A single moment of inattention could mean the worst possible outcome.”

When it comes to safety,

everyone has a role to play.

That’s why one of the main lessons that Keddy and her husband have taught their sons – now 10 and 12 – is that farm safety is everyone’s responsibility.

And that includes them.

“We have always taught our kids that they have as much responsibility to look out for other people on the farm as other people have to look out for them, and it is all of our jobs to look out for one another,” Keddy explains, adding that prioritizing safety also plays a big part in attracting and retaining employees.

Being a parent and having a farm are both no easy feats. So, it’s no surprise that when asked if there is a balancing act that comes with parenting and farm work, Keddy can’t help but laugh.

“The entire lifestyle is a balancing act,” she says.

Farm kids tend to grow up fast, says Keddy, and certain expectations are often put on them, whether intentional or not, because of what they grow up around and experience.

“But even still, it is our responsibility as parents to not put them in an environment that could be unsafe and to give them the tools and knowledge necessary to keep them safe,” she explains. “While you’re trying to work, while you’re trying to run a business, you’re also trying to teach the kids the skills needed to be safe every day on the farm.

And that definitely does take some careful and conscious balancing.”

Maritime Ag Women’s Network One of the outlets that Keddy has used to help balance different priorities has been the Maritime Ag Women’s Network. Keddy co-founded the Facebook group with her friend Amy VanderHeide nearly 10 years ago after they attended the Atlantic Farm Women’s Conference and wanted to stay connected with the women they met there.

“We realized we were all going back to our farms and it is isolating living on a farm, so

when you find those connections, it’s really meaningful,” Keddy explains. “There is a need for connection, for information, and advice – be it with business, kids, or safety.”

The need for such a group became clear as its membership grew steadily, reaching more than a thousand members.

As Keddy notes, it’s no secret that agriculture is rooted in old traditions. And while much progress has been made, many of the traditional expectations of women’s role in agriculture still exist. The Facebook group, she says, has helped highlight the unique experiences of farm women.

“Safety is a prime example of something that falls to women as the traditional caregivers and they are the ones most often who are balancing the kids with the farm work. For me, I did have the interest and passion for safety,

but that’s not the case for everyone and safety often becomes a woman’s responsibility regardless of their interest in it,” explains Keddy. “It’s an immense amount of pressure, and when you’re working stressed is when accidents happen and things get missed.”

While individual experiences will differ depending on location and commodity, Keddy points out that women in agriculture share many similar barriers, challenges, and stressors.

“The Facebook group has helped a lot of women to realize they are not alone and that there are other people in the same situation as them. And that can really make a world of a difference to someone,” she explains.

There’s no question that raising kids on a farm can bring many stressors and unknowns.

However, despite the challenges,

it’s a lifestyle that Keddy says she would never change. But she notes that the lifestyle comes with a responsibility that she and her husband share to instill safety in the next generation.

“The bottom line is that we want them to grow up knowing that safety really has to be your number one priority,” says Keddy. “Because without it, you may not have a farm.”

Every year, the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association raises awareness about the importance of safety on Canadian farms through Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW), which takes place during the third week of March.

In 2025, CASW takes place March 16-22.

Erin Kelly writes for the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association.

PAGE 12 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PERSPECTIVE

OFVGA ready to respond in times of uncertainty

ALISON ROBERTSON As I write this column in early February, we’re in the midst of an Ontario election. In any other year, that would be the primary focus for our organization. But 2025 is proving to be unlike any other year.

In the first month, we have already seen more upheaval, uncertainty and change on both sides of the border than we would normally see in six or 12 months.

We were only six days into the year when the Prime Minister prorogued parliament and unleashed a federal leadership

campaign within his own party to replace him. This move effectively paused parliamentary activity and essentially put an end to any legislation still in process.

It will be mid-March before we know who will replace Prime Minister Trudeau – and all signs point to a federal election happening sometime after that.

This was quickly followed by Donald Trump’s return to the White House and to be blunt, the world hasn’t been the same since.

Canada narrowly dodged a first round of tariffs from the United States, gaining a one-month reprieve only hours before they were to take effect. Much uncertainty remains on the tariff front and it’s equally unknown what else will come at us, whether as a sector or a country, from the Trump Administration.

Provincially, there’s an election campaign underway, one that will already be over by the time this column goes public.

It’s hard to know what the next few months will bring, but one thing is clear: maintaining our ability to grow our own

produce and keeping as much control as possible over our own food system has never been more important.

It has long been a key priority for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA), underpinning most of our advocacy work with all three levels of government: the more food we can produce ourselves, the less vulnerable we are to risks to our food supply. And in order to keep growing our own food, we need a stable and competitive economic and legislative environment that will encourage the profitability and growth of our sector, rather than creating barriers and additional costs.

Because of our climate, there are already times of the year when we simply can’t grow pmost of our own produce, so we must import from other countries.

There’s an inherent risk, though, in an over-reliance on other countries to feed us. Our food sovereignty is critically important, but we won’t realize that until we no longer have it. And when it’s gone and our international

markets can’t or won’t supply us with what we need, it will take a long time to get that domestic food production capacity back, if at all.

A key objective for OFVGA this year is to ensure there is recognition and understanding by all levels of government of the value of domestic fruit and vegetable production to our economy and to Canada as a whole – and why it is so very important to support and protect what we are lucky enough to have.

And that includes the critical role that exports play in our sector. For greenhouse vegetables, for example, 85 per cent of cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers grown in Ontario are exported – so access to export markets is absolutely essential.

At the end of the day, there is a role for everyone to play in the future of our sector. Growers are already doing their part – taking risks, making investments and often being on the frontlines of economic impacts and consequences, but we also need

the support of retailers, all levels of government and consumers.

It’s hard to predict what may come at us, but we are fortunate that the OFVGA is in a strong financial position. This hasn’t always been the case in our organization’s history, but years of fiscally responsible leadership has given us this advantage. We also have strong and experienced leadership at the board level, and over the last few years, we have built a talented, dedicated staff team that is particularly strong in policy and advocacy.

All of this means that we have the resources to react to what comes at us and do what needs to be done to work on behalf of growers both provincially and federally. If ever our sector, our food system and our country needed the support and pride of government, it is now – and we will work hard to ensure the necessary trust and confidence in our homegrown fruit and vegetable production system is there.

WEATHER VANE

The threat of U.S. tariffs is particularly worrisome for Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers who export 85 per cent of production to the U.S. Here, workers are on their way to lunch break in a Leamington, Ontario tomato greenhouse. Photo by Glenn Lowson.

STAFF Publisher: Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association Editor: Karen Davidson, 416-557-6413, editor@thegrower.org Advertising: Carlie Melara 519-763-8728, advertising@thegrower.org

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ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2023

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Crop Protection Environment and Conservation Labour Safety Nets Property, Infrastructure, Energy and Food Safety

Chair Vice-chair Grapes Fresh Veg Small fruit/Berries

Shawn Brenn, Waterdown Mike Chromczak, Brownsville Matthias Oppenlaender, NOTL Joann Chechalk, St Anns Morris Gervais, Springwater

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Apples Fresh Veg other Tender Fruit Asparagus Grape Fresh Veg muck Potato Small Fruit/Berries Ginseng Greenhouse Greenhouse Processing Vegetables

Brian Rideout, Chatham-Kent Joann Chechalk, St Anns Dave Enns, Niagara-on-the-Lake Mike Chromczak, Brownsville Matthias Oppenlaender Quinton Woods, Cookstown Shawn Brenn, Waterdown Morris Gervais, Springwater Glen Gilvesy, Tillsonburg Jan VanderHout, Dundas Steve Peters, St. Thomas Tracy Gubbels, Mount Brydges

Brian Rideout Jan VanderHout Bill George Mike Chromczak Brian Gilroy

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 13 THE GROWER

URBAN COWBOY

American ag likes trade not tariffs

OWEN ROBERTS U.S. agriculture has a reputation for being protectionist against Canada . . . and for having it backfire.

You may have examples of your own; for me, it’s the punishing way Americans handled Canada’s BSE crisis back in 1993. Cross-border cattle trade with Canada was halted for much longer than science said was necessary, a poorly veiled effort by the U.S. government to appease anti-trade groups who had long claimed Canadian beef imports hurt their markets.

Canadians, led by the late Anita Stewart, railed against the U.S. and rallied around homegrown beef producers, an action that eventually led to the declaration of Food Day Canada.

Now, history may be repeating itself. A new flag-waving, Buy Canadian campaign is gaining momentum, thanks to the punishing 25 per cent protectionist tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump in January. That threat was temporarily delayed, but Canadians are delivering a counterpunch with a clear message to Trump: hands off.

You’d expect Canadians to kick back at the U.S. president.

But who thought Americans would join in?

As a country, the U.S. was caught off guard when Trump tried lowering the tariff boom on Canada (as well as Mexico and China). Following his announcement, Americans dove into the Internet, seeking thought leaders who could explain why their new leader would assault their greatest ally.

In fact, for a time, on Google more Americans were searching for “tariff” than “Taylor Swift.”

And they didn’t like what they read. A survey of registered voters showed most of them deplored tariffs. Experts on both sides of the border argued tariffs would cause the U.S. economic pain and strain relations with Americans’ key trading partner.

“North America’s integrated supply chains set the standard for global trade, allowing farmers and food producers to compete on the world stage while keeping prices affordable for families,” according to the Canadian AgriFood Trade Alliance.

“Unnecessary tariffs threaten to unravel decades of cooperation, raising costs, creating instability and putting livelihoods at risk.”

U.S. agriculture seemed genuinely alarmed at the prospect of a trade war with Canada. Even given Trump’s penchant for punishing his critics, farm groups said tariffs are wrong.

They remembered: they’d suffered through Trump tariffs before. One of the first to speak out was Western Growers’ president and CEO Dave Puglia.

“Rival growers of specialty crops outside of the U.S. will move quickly to seize the new business opportunities created by these tariffs to sell into the Canadian, Mexican and Chinese marketplaces,” he said. “Their success in doing so could permanently displace American growers from these key markets.

This is the same pattern that emerged during the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods during

the first Trump administration.”

American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall said tariffs limiting trade are unwanted by the exporthungry ag sector. He noted that the sector has seen too few new trade deals in the last decade, and now it’s facing a $32 billion trade deficit.

“Boosting agricultural trade also has proven to be good for our overall economy,” he says.

“Historically, every $1 of U.S. agricultural exports results in more than $2 in additional domestic economic activity.”

Separately, in a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Duvall noted more than 80 per cent of the potash used in U.S. cropland comes from Canada. Reducing access to it “would be devastating to our farmers.”

The U.S.-based International Fresh Produce Association took a more pro-Trump approach,

saying the targeted tariffs “can be a tool for addressing challenges or inequities between trading partners. “However,” it concluded, “the broad application of tariffs can disrupt supply chains, threaten market expansion, increase costs for consumers, and place unnecessary strain on growers and producers.”

The tariff affair will be a huge test for new agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins. Will she deliver agriculture’s message to Trump as she should, or toe the party line and mouth conservative platitudes about tariffs?

Even Trump says it’s likely tariffs will hurt.

“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump said in upper case in a social media post.

“BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT

MUST BE PAID.” Farmers beg to differ . . . and so do researchers who have been engaged in agricultural development work through USAID, which is now being decimated by Trump.

His decision to close 19 key research labs, including the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois, is further limiting farmers’ options. Lab director Peter Goldsmith says, “U.S. soybean farmers [are losing] one of their best tools to expand their markets and U.S. standards globally.”

The lab closures are not tariff related. But they show yet another aspect of Trump’s myopic view of trade, one that is not shared by producers.

Owen Roberts is a past-president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and a communications instructor at the University of Illinois.

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PAGE 14 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

SCENE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The pivot to Canadian

COMING EVENTS 2025

KAREN DAVIDSON Donald Ziraldo isn’t finished yet. The award-winning vintner and Member of the Order of Canada is once again renewing his push for a national VQA standard.

The co-founder of Inniskillin Wines, Niagara-on-the-Lake, is standing on his podium of medals to say the obvious: we need a national appellation of origin standard like the one in Italy and France. It would be called Vintners Quality Alliance for Canadian wines.

He’s been trying since the 1980s, but perhaps the idea is ripe this time with the threat of U.S. tariffs. He bemoans the fact that in the past, Canadian wine could be sent to the U.S. with few barriers, but it’s nettlesome to send Niagara grapes to British Columbia, or for that matter, to find BC wines in Ontario LCBO stores.

National standards would enable Ontario growers to supply their grape juice to BC winemakers and for the resulting wine to be labelled as VQA. As

recently as 2024, Ontario growers had a 7,000-tonne surplus of grapes that could have been used in British Columbia whose growers lost most of their crop to a deep freeze.

The provinces would have to agree to this proposal. And that’s where regional interests have scuttled progress.

The goal of national VQA wines should be revisited. As Ziraldo told local newspaper Niagara This Week, a VQA

standard would help promote Canadian wines in the international market, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is disrupting global trade patterns. The umbrella designation could mean progress for wines of Nova Scotia, Québec, Ontario and British Columbia.

Canadians built a national railroad. Now they need to build a wine trail.

Mar 4

Ontario Fresh Grape Growers Annual General Meeting, Grape Growers of Ontario Board Office, St. Catharines

Mar 6

Ontario Potato Conference, Delta Hotel, Guelph, ON

Mar 11-12

Pacific Northwest Cranberry Congress, VIRTUAL 9 am-noon

Mar 11-13

Fruit & Vegetable Growers of Canada Annual General Meeting, Hilton Québec, Québec City, QC

Mar 16-22

Farm Safety Week

Mar 20

Ontario Hazelnut Association Annual Symposium, The Arboretum, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Mar 24

Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers Annual General Meeting, Sheraton Four Points Inn, London, ON

Mar 25-26

Minor Use Priority Setting Meeting, Gatineau, QC

Mar 25-27

GreenTech Americas, Querétaro Centro de Congresos, Mexico

Mar 27

Ontario Tender Fruit Growers Annual General Meeting, Hilton Garden Inn, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

April 2

Grape Growers of Ontario 77th Annual General Meeting, Club Roma, St. Catharines, ON

April 2-3

Muck Grower Days, Ontario Crops Research Centre, Bradford, ON

April 8-10

Canadian Produce Marketing Association Convention and Trade Show, Montreal, QC

April 9

Eastern Ontario Garlic Production and Pest Management Workshop, Grenville Mutual Insurance Community Room, Kemptville, ON

April 10

Farm & Food Care Ontario Annual Conference, Grandway Events Centre, Elora, ON

April 16

Garlic Pest & Production Workshop, 1 Stone Road West, Guelph, ON

May 6-8

International Potato Symposium, Rimini, Italy

May 12

International Day of Plant Health

May 30

International Day of the Potato

June 10-12 GreenTech Conference, Amsterdam June 18

3rd Annual Ontario Potato Board Industry Social Golf Tournament, Hockley Valley Resort, Mono, ON

July 16-18

Potato Sustainability Alliance Summer Symposium, Charlottetown, PE

July 24

Gaia Consulting Field Day, Southridge Farm, Southport, MB

July 2025

Federal-Provincial-Territorial Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting, Winnipeg, MB

Oct 8-9

Canadian Greenhouse Conference, Niagara Falls, ON

Oct 16-18

Global Produce & Floral Show, Anaheim, CA

Oct 28-29

Canadian Centre for Food Integrity Public Trust Symposium, Westin Toronto Airport Hotel, Toronto, ON

Nov 7-16

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Toronto, ON

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 15 THE GROWER

RETAIL NAVIGATOR

This nine-alarm fire is a wake-up call

PETER CHAPMAN The week of February 1, Canadians turned from the blackand-white threat of 25% tariffs by the U.S. to red-and-white defiance. Ninety-year-old nonnas are nixing Florida orange juice.

No matter what happens in the weeks to come, this paradigm shift is permeating all society in the Great White North.

This threat hanging over us until March 4th – and potentially beyond -- is a sign we need to make some changes. We would always recommend you need to manage risk in a business. One tactic is to sell to different customers. If you are producing and packing items, it is very risky to sell 70 per cent to one customer.

It can be great when times are good. You get efficiencies, you can reduce your sales costs with only one major account and as long as they are happy, your business should deliver a return.

When they don’t like your proposed cost increase or people come in with different ideas or they look to ‘go in a different direction,’ it can be devastating.

As the threat evolved into reality and then changed at the 11th hour to a reprieve, a lot of people were scrambling. We will be living and working with this volatility as long as the current leadership stays in place in Washington. It is clear we cannot really influence the direction they (he) will take. We have to focus on what we can do.

Focus on your business Protect the sales you have.

Regardless of whether you sell into the U.S. or not, you could be impacted. Many Canadian companies who do sell into the U.S. are looking for opportunities to reduce this risk. Some of these customers might be the ones you supply. There is a chance they might go after Canadian business being done by someone else.

If you do sell into the U.S., you have time to figure out the plan. Talk to your American customers to understand the impact of a 25 per cent price increase. Finally, it seems that businesses in the U.S. understand that Canada is not paying the tariff. Perhaps there are some things you can do to offset some of the increase: full loads of product, more on a pallet, bigger

orders less frequently.

Talk to your customers, all of them. Make sure you are in a good place. If you have had some lingering issues recently, get them cleaned up. You do not want any excuses out there for them to consider ‘other options.’

Review your sourcing of any inputs from the U.S. We did see a swift response from Canada to apply counter tariffs. From a patriotic perspective, it is great and something we probably have to do. Unfortunately, it will drive up your cost of goods and force you to absorb higher costs for inputs. It may be harder to get a price increase through. With this reprieve, review all sourcing to understand the options. Perhaps when you made the decision to source from the U.S., there was a close second from Canada or somewhere else. Might be time to go back to those decisions. The volatility will remain so remove the angst of dependence on the U.S. Does your packaging clearly indicate you are Canadian? I assume you meet the legal, regulatory requirements. Now look at it from the consumer’s perspective. When they see your product on the shelf is it clear you are Canadian? Don’t make them pick it up or read the fine print.

Win on the shelf. Right now, this is something that will change buying habits.

Consumers loyal to brands are switching. People are looking in other shopper’s carts to see if they have any U.S. products.

Changing packaging is not something you can just run out and do next week, but you can look at inventories and make some changes to your next print run. Perhaps a maple leaf on the front or something that is not a complete re-design.

Companies such as Heinz are responding to the public’s need for clarification on what’s made in Canada. In times like these, the iconic red-and-white branding is a bonus. now is the time to make your case to retailers. After the bad publicity of inflation, retailers would be happy to make the claim “we switched 15 per cent of our private label volume to Canadian producers.”

Take advantage of the reprieve My sense was a lot of people were scrambling once we got into the weekend of February 1 and it looked like tariffs were a reality.

You do have some time now to talk to your customs brokers and others to understand the mechanics. You also have time to talk to your U.S. customers to really determine what will happen to sales. Cash flow is very important if you are going to

have to pay the duties to customs brokers up front.

Push government, retailers and other manufacturers to support ‘Buy Canadian’ programs. This will help in some cases, but never make up for the lost volume going to the U.S. There is demand from consumers so let’s make it easy for them.

Explore new markets. This is much easier said than done and it takes time, money and persistence. Given the protectionist approach being pursued in the U.S. it is possible some countries will be less interested in U.S. products.

Explore export markets where your product could work and look for U.S.-made products on the shelf. They might be looking for a friendlier alternative from

T HE WORLD’S SWEET

Look for opportunities Canadian consumers want more Canadian products. This is definitely an opportunity for Canadian producers. We all know what the leaders say in the media and what happens in a category manager’s office can be different, but now is the time to leverage the opportunity. If you did not get to the shelf last time or into new markets, now is the time to try again. Show them what you are doing, that includes sharing with consumers a Canadian retailer put you on the shelf. In other words, give them some credit.

As we see consumers posting all over about Canadian products, private label can be a mystery. Many processed products say “produced for” but there is no clear origin. Retailers will be looking to reduce the risk of higher prices and also seeking some good publicity.

If you have the capability to meet food safety requirements,

Canada. We do need to diversify our export volume so perhaps now is the time to explore something you had put lower on the priority list.

We all must accept we are operating in a different environment. Do not breathe a big sigh of relief and go back to what you were doing. Take advantage of the time to position your business in a better place.

Peter Chapman is a retail consultant, professional speaker and the author of A la Cart-a suppliers’ guide to retailer’s priorities. Peter is based in Halifax, N.S. where he is the principal at SKUFood. Peter works with producers and processors to help them get their products on the shelf and into the shopping cart.

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PAGE 16 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

Rotten potatoes

Figure 1. Bacterial species causing soft rot and blackleg symptoms on potatoes in Ontario during the 2024 growing season sorted by seed source.

Soft rot symptoms on potatoes.

Soft rot (photo credit: Mark VanOostrum, WD Potato) Figure 2. Bacterial species causing soft rot and blackleg symptoms on potatoes in Ontario during the 2024 growing season sorted by variety.

Blackleg in potatoes

Survey setup KAREN DAVIDSON Ontario’s potato growers have received reassuring news from the recent potato soft rot and blackleg survey, presented at the Ontario Potato Board’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). The survey, conducted by Dennis Van Dyk, vegetable crop specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness throughout the 2024 season, aimed to establish baseline results and assess the prevalence of bacterial species responsible for soft rot and blackleg in the province. Soft rot and blackleg, caused by bacterial pathogens, can significantly impact potato yields, making it crucial for farmers to monitor and manage these diseases effectively.

Soft rot or blackleg samples were accepted during the 2024 season including from seed, infected plant material during the season and storage samples. With each sample, the variety and province/state source of the seed lot was recorded to see if there were any correlations that might be useful. Soft rot bacteria were isolated from infected material. PCR was then used to extract and amplify, and these results were then sequenced to identify the species.

Survey findings In 2024, only three species of bacteria were identified across all collected samples: • Pectobacterium carotovorum

• Pectobacterium versatile • Pectobacterium polaris In Figure 1, Van Dyk explains that most seed sources had a mix of species identified from the samples. Both Maine and Michigan tested positive for only P. carotovorum while the other regions tested positive for both P. carotovorum and P. versatile. When you look at the results by variety (Figure 2), many positive samples had only one species present. For instance, FL varieties only tested positive for P. carotovorum, regardless of the seed source. Some of the varieties with many samples submitted had a combination of species and that related closely to the multiple sources of seed.

Though sometimes subtle, there are differences in the threat to potatoes between the different species. Van Dyk explains, for example, that P. parmentieri is very aggressive and successful at rotting tubers. Thankfully P. parmentieri and other soft rot and blackleg species which are highly aggressive on potatoes such as Dickeya dianthicola and P. brasiliense were not identified in Ontario samples last season.

Interestingly, a common soft rot bacteria usually associated with potatoes, P. atrosepticum was also not found.

P. carotovorum has historically been one of the most common bacterial soft rot pathogens. It can cause soft rot symptoms on a wide variety of hosts in diverse environments. P. versatile is closely related

genetically to P. carotovorum and they share similar characteristics. P. polaris is not a well studied species and is more adapted to cold climates and generally prefers potatoes as a host. In Northern Europe, it was reported to be very effective at rotting tubers so this is one species that growers will be watching for in future samples.

Management Bacterial soft rots are difficult to manage and unfortunately do not have a suite of available products to control them.

They can be found on the surface of seed, equipment, water and soil, just lurking and waiting for a weakness to exploit and infect. Van Dyk shares the main management strategies: • Develop good skin and minimize bruises and wounding.

• Disinfect often.

• Grade out seed and storage.

• Manage moisture where possible.

These species thrive with moisture mixed with the right temperature so prevent standing water in the field and manage relative humidity in storage.

If you have a soft rot sample to submit for testing, OMAFA is still accepting samples through the storage season and into the spring. Contact Dennis Van Dyk (dennis.vandyk@ontario.ca) for more details.

MARCH 2025 –– PAGE 17 THE GROWER

PAGE 18 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

How to use a closed transfer system to be compliant with label regulations KAREN DAVIDSON Jason Deveau, alias Spray Guy, has been application technology specialist for the Ontario ag ministry since 2008. Imagine his surprise when an ag chemical representative casually mentioned that one of their small-volume horticultural products required growers to use a closed transfer system or be non-compliant with label regulations.

Spray Guy had been tracking E.U. developments in closed transfer for years but didn’t expect to discover the requirement was already on a Canadian label during a small winter meeting in 2023. The growers in the room were told that this technology not only increases operator safety but environmental safety by preventing any “drips and drops” that can happen during sprayer loading.

What is a closed transfer system?

Closed Transfer Systems (CTS) permit the direct transfer of pesticides from container to sprayer while isolating the process from the operator and the environment. Similar systems are already used with bulk pesticide containers and in other industries to dispense a wide range of liquids from household products to industrial chemicals. In the case of small-volume containers (e.g., up to 20 L), these systems include an integrated container

rinsing function.

CTS are comprised of two parts: a specially-designed cap (or an adaptor) and a coupler explains Deveau. In Europe, a CTS cap (aka the easyconnect cap) is increasingly pre-fitted on the pesticide container. If not, the user must remove and replace the existing, non-CTS cap with an adaptor. Generically, the container is then locked into the coupler, and a valve in the cap or adaptor opens to permit chemical to be drawn out. If a partial amount is required, the valve can be closed to re-seal the container for safe removal, and the coupler and lines can then be rinsed. If the full amount is required, then the container is also rinsed prior to removal.

Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) considers the requirement for closed transfer when products go through their natural re-evaluation cycle. They define it as follows: “A closed system means removing a pesticide from its original container, rinsing, mixing, diluting, and transferring the pesticide through connecting hoses and couplings that prevent exposure to the pesticide.”

The requirement is primarily a means of reducing operator exposure and point-source contamination during filling, but can also be used to impose rate restrictions, or in response to reformulation. In recent years, several pesticides have had statements added to the labels regarding the requirement for a

closed transfer system. They have stated that there have been three scenarios that they have included closed systems on labels: • The registrant requested closed systems be used in the occupational risk assessment.

• Closed systems were required when triggered by the occupational risk assessment as a form of mitigation to reduce exposure to the mixer/loader.

This is the most common reason it gets added.

• Closed systems were used in the specific exposure study submitted to PMRA that was used in the risk assessment.

As standardized language is developed, Canadian operators can expect to see statements that vary in their specificity, such as in the following two examples: Product 1: “Requirement for additional personal protection equipment (PPE) and engineering controls when mixing/loading and applying to various crops.”

Product 2: “Closed mixing/ loading systems are required. A closed system means removing a pesticide from its original container, rinsing, mixing, diluting, and transferring the pesticide through connecting hoses, pipes, and couplings that are sufficiently tight to prevent exposure of any person to the pesticide or rinsing solution.”

Questions and concerns have been raised by registrants and growers as these changes have appeared on pesticides with particularly important actives. As

The UK’s Iain Robertson testing Pentair’s Cleanload Nexus Coupler.

easyFlow M mounted on separate transfer station.

Photo courtesy of Freeform.

of 2025: Products with standard CTS label statement: • Lorox L herbicide • Ethrel PGR • Dibrom insecticide Products that require CTS without standard label statement: • Bravo ZN fungicide (bulk totes only, chlorothalonil in 10 L jugs does not require CTS) • Captan 480 SC fungicide (only if open cab AND exceeding a maximum L/day threshold) Products that may require CTS but not clear on the label: • Sevin XLR insecticide – “use a closed mixing system” Commercial horticultural and specialty crop growers are more likely to purchase pesticides in small-volume containers as opposed to a tote. At present, there is no standardized jug in Canada. Deveau recently visited a crop protection distributor and while the threaded openings tend towards a standard size, he counted no fewer than 25 jug designs. Fortunately, those small-volume products currently affected by the CTS requirement are compatible with commercially available CTS equipment.

For growers, the practical requirements for compliant closed transfer are not well understood.

Most do not currently have CTS and some may feel a retrofit is overly burdensome (e.g. slow, expensive, complicated), incompatible with their equipment, or redundant with conventional PPE. However, this requirement is not likely to go away, and compliance is the best path to ensuring growers continue to have access to the products they need.

Two solutions exist in Canada now: the Goathroat and Agrotop EasyFlow M. The Goathroat requires two steps. Deveau says, “It’s a bit cumbersome, but it’s a way to comply.”

The second option is the Agritop EasyFlow M. According

to the company website, it is the first closed, contaminationavoiding and self-cleaning transfer system for liquid plant protection products from sealed or non-sealed small PPP containers. The user can do partial or complete dosing.

It can be used as part of a portable tender system or mounted next to the sprayer tank, at working height for easy handling on big sprayers. It connects to the suction line, induction bowl or any other induction system, tranfers the entire content or metered doses.

It rinses the whole system even after partial emptying of containers.

“This is a smart piece of kit,” says Deveau. The base kit includes: easyFlow tank adapter for installation on the sprayer tank, incl. mounting screws, sealing ring and drilling jig, easyFlow container adapter for PPP containers up to 10 l with 63 mm neck thread. The rinsing nozzle is incorporated in container adapter. It cuts and pushes back the aluminium seal of the PPP container automatically, no there’s no need to contaminate a knife for seal breaking.

Deveau concludes that since 2015, European research has revealed best practices for using closed transfer systems that won’t slow down operators. They are developing new, semi-automated couplers to integrate with factoryfitted CTS caps to improve the ease and effectiveness of the process. Hopefully Canada will be able to take advantage of what they’ve learned, and the integrated European CTS process will be made available here.

For more detail, go to www.sprayers101.com and search for “Closed Transfer”.

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 19 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

Linking all the dots of potato data KAREN DAVIDSON The United Potato Growers of Canada, helmed by Victoria Stamper, is mandated to create a sustainable potato industry, where growers succeed, by providing quality information and analysis. To fulfill this mission, Stamper travels widely across Canada and the United States, most recently to the Potato Expo in Orlando, Florida.

For her, the 3 C’s are: collecting data, communication and collaboration. Since coming to the role of general manager in April 2022, she’s been working hard to ensure the depth and accuracy of data collected. To this end, she’s working with Statistics Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency to determine best methods of collecting data. One of the goals is to track crossborder movement. A key accomplishment in 2024 was creating a Truck Rate Report, Retail Ad Report and continuing work to have a Weekly Shipping Report broken out by russet, red, yellow, white and other.

She’s also working with Holland College to develop a forecast model to better track the movement of the Canadian potato pile over the season with the ultimate goal of estimating crop transition between old crop and new. Because the potato industry consists of growers of fresh, processing and seed, specific analysis is provided to each sub-sector.

Once the data is collected, she has improved member access to that information through new technology including a new and improved website as well as regular email updates.

A majority of her time is spent on building strong relationships with not only Canadian industry organizations but relevant government agencies, global industry partners and the United Potato Growers of America.

In 2025, Stamper and her board have set several goals. The forecast model is intended to estimate transition from storage crop to new crop. She has applied for funding for national data collection and is working to consolidate all potato industry information into one platform.

Her collaboration with NRC is to add climate-related data into the forecast model.

What’s in the forecast?

The biggest issue on growers’ minds is the threat of tariffs from the U.S. “With the amount of Canadian potatoes being exported to the U.S., these tariffs have the potential to cause significant hardship to Canadian growers,” says Stamper. “At

UPGC, our focus is on the current state of potato supplies in North America and we are attempting to project how that supply will be impacted by tariffs but also potential repercussions relating to the Mexican market for U.S. potatoes.”

For background, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reported that the U.S. is by far the most important market for Canadian potatoes. In 2023/2024, Canada exported $50 million of seed potatoes, $493 million of fresh potatoes, $2.7 billion worth of French fries and $424 million of

other processed potato exports to all countries.

Communication is ongoing with United Potato Growers of America as well as PMANA to keep growers current.

“Our goal is to inform members on the supply situation as these issues evolve, seeking regional feedback to help us better understand the national picture,” says Stamper. “We wish to remain calm and stick together, bringing the analysis and information needed for our growers to make decisions in these very turbulent times.”

The United Potato Growers of Canada (UPGC) collaborates with other industry leaders on a frequent basis. At the Ontario Potato Board annual general meeting in December 2024, three are pictured: L-R: Vanessa Currie, University of Guelph potato researcher; Victoria Stamper, general manager, UPGC; Eugenia Banks, Ontario Potato Board researcher.

PAGE 20 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

Fresh potato growers are sizing up an early, round, white-fleshed variety resistant to scab

MSFF031-6 is close to being named after successful trials at Michigan State University.

EUGENIA BANKS Selecting suitable varieties is the first step in any successful potato operation. Not only must varieties suit the intended market, but they must also be well adapted to local growing conditions.

Potato breeders release new varieties every year, but varieties that perform well in one area

may not do well in neighbouring areas. Thus, new varieties must be evaluated in different regions to determine local adaptation.

On-farm variety trials replicated at different locations help to enhance economic security and expand market potential by identifying varieties that: • meet local climatic challenges.

• fit different production windows, to improve availability and extend the season.

Vanessa Currie, University of Guelph potato researcher, hosts an annual open house at the Elora Research Station.

• fill market niches • require less nitrogen, which benefits the environment and reduces costs.

• have good market qualities such as flavour or an attractive appearance.

• reduce chemical use with improved resistance to insects, diseases, and physiological disorders.

Climate change has an impact on the performance of potato

Always read and follow label directions. Orondis® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. ©2025 Syngenta.

varieties. European varieties, usually developed under cool and wet summers, develop second growth problems in Ontario such as heat runners, dumbbell tubers, tuber chaining, pointed end and pear-shaped tubers to name a few. Due to this climate change issue, it is important to evaluate new varieties at different locations in Ontario for at least three years.

Common scab continues to be a problem for fresh market growers in Ontario. Many varieties reported to be resistant to scab in other jurisdictions, show high scab susceptibility in Ontario. This is probably due to different species of pathogenic Streptomyces in this province.

Ontario growers are always interested in early, round, white-fleshed varieties resistant to scab. In my 2024 variety trial conducted in Beeton, I evaluated MSFF036-1, an advanced line from the potato breeding program of Michigan State University. I planted the trial in a scabby area to test its resistance to scab. During the season I watched closely the development of this line, and as expected, emerged as early as Superior.

The 3rd week in August, I pulled samples for displaying MFF036-1 at the Ontario Potato Field Day. I was pleased to see that the tubers were attractive, with even set and no common scab or other diseases or defects present. Even set is a must to reduce the presence of Jumbos or minis. Yield was high: 415 cwt/acre. By contrast. Superior yielded 315 cwt/acre.

MSFF036-1 caught the attention of many fresh market growers at the Field Day. Vanessa Currie’s variety trial at the Elora Research Station, also demonstrated that MSFF036-1 is a promising line for Ontario conditions.

Here’s the technical sheet from Dr. David Douches, Potato Breeding and Genetics, Michigan State University.

University and the MSU AgBioResearch Plant Variety Protection: To Be Applied For.

Parentage: MSS576-5SPL x Lady Liberty (NY152) Developers: Michigan State

Eugenia Banks is potato specialist with the Ontario Potato Board.

Strengths: MSFF031-6 is a high yielding tablestock advanced breeding line with a bright white skin and white flesh, and multiple disease resistances. The tubers have an attractive, uniform, round shape with a smooth white skin and bright white flesh with a low incidence of internal defects.

MSFF031-6 has a strong disease resistance package combining PVY resistance, common scab resistance, and moderate foliar late blight tolerance. This variety has demonstrated excellent agronomic performance with high yield potential in many trial locations in North America.

Incentives for production: The bright white, uniformly round tuber type and high yield potential of MSFF031-6 combined with its disease resistances offer a robust potato that could lend itself to be grown in challenging environments and produce a highly marketable tablestock round, white potato.

MSFF031-6 also has excellent culinary qualities and is highly suited for boiling, roasting, baking, and many preparation methods.

Agronomic Characteristics: Maturity: early to mid-earlyseason.

Tubers: round tubers with a smooth white skin and bright white flesh colour.

Yield: high yield potential.

Culinary Quality: excellent culinary qualities and is highly suited for boiling, roasting, baking, and many preparation methods.

Diseases: PVY resistance, common scab resistance, moderate foliar late blight resistance.

For more information, email: douchesd@msu.edu

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 21 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

Manitoba grapples with Colorado Potato Beetle resistance KAREN DAVIDSON Of all the potato-growing regions in Canada, Manitoba has the dubious distinction of the highest levels of insecticide resistance to Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB). The beetle problems are worst in the Winkler area where fresh market acres are concentrated. Here, smaller fields are planted to multiple potato varieties adjacent to each other. This makes spatial rotation difficult.

“It’s hard to coordinate crop protection programs between neighbouring growers,” explains Darin Gibson, owner, Gaia Consulting Inc., Southport, Manitoba. “The problem is that CPB can walk or fly across the road from last year’s potato fields.”

Keeping a distance of at least 1/4 mile from last year’s potato field can help in reducing early-season CPB infestations according to extensionists at the University of Minnesota.

Most potato growers are still using neonicotinoid seed treatments yet more foliar protection is needed in-season. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has ruled that foliar treatments must be reduced from

three to two per season with growers relying on the chemical families of diamides and spinosyns. The results of beetle control are mixed.

There are many insecticides registered in Canada for use against CPB. Agronomists advise to rotate crops and crop chemistries, but the problem is many of the chemistries no longer work due to insecticide resistance.

The three groups that still have some efficacy in recent years are group 4, 5 and 28 insecticides observes Gibson. Gaia Consulting conducts testing on behalf of crop protection companies, fertilizer and seed companies.

The resistance issue has been chronicled in six provinces by Dr. Ian Scott, a London, Ontario research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The table (see above) shows results from 2023. Funding was not available for the 2024 crop year.

“Presumably, the situation has only gotten worse since then,” says Gibson. “As you can see, Group 4 (neonicotinoids such as Titan and Actara ), Group 5 (spinosyns such as Delegate), Group 28 (diamides such as Coragen or Exirel) don’t work very well in many areas of Manitoba, particularly in the Winkler region. In some

provinces, these three groups are working just fine.

Thanks to BASF Agricultural Solutions, newer chemistry is now registered. Cimegra was registered for wireworm a few years ago and the label was extended to CPB in 2023. More group 30s are being researched for other companies with hope that more registrations will allow more effective rotations of crop protection products.

“We have seen great results from Cimegra, a group 30

meta-diamide,” says Gibson.

For the future, Gibson holds hope for several foliar RNAi insecticides, group 35. RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural process that turns off genes by using a cell’s own DNA sequence.

It’s also known as PostTranscriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS). GreenLight Biosciences, based in North Carolina, has registered biopesticide ledprona under the trade name Calantha.

The benefit is that it’s specific to CPB, with no harm to

beneficials. Calantha is not registered in Canada but has been submitted for registration.

Darin Gibson will be speaking at the Ontario Potato Conference on March 6th in Guelph. One tip is to use the Colorado potato dip test to know the effectiveness of the product being applied to a potato field before the field is sprayed. Link here: www.ontario.ca/page/coloradopotato-beetle-dip-test

PAGE 22 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

Using genetic tests to confirm herbicide-resistant weeds in Ontario crops

KRISTEN OBEID & MIKE COWBROUGH

Since 2016, this project has developed 24 genetic quick tests (more in progress) to assist in identifying herbicide resistance in

14 weed species and confirmed 258 new cases of herbicide resistance in Ontario crops.

These tests deliver a diagnostic

and a recommendation to the grower within the same growing season. Traditional resistance testing in the greenhouse can take from three months to a year to get results back to growers. Now, leaf tissue instead of seed is collected. DNA is extracted from the leaf tissue to determine if there is a change in the sequencing resulting in a mutation making the plant resistant.

Tests have been developed to differentiate between Brassica and Amaranthus (pigweed) species.

Tests differentiating pigweed species have been instrumental in confirming new cases of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth in Ontario. Once confirmed, the waterhemp is tested for Groups 2, 5, 9 and 14 resistances.

Waterhemp has been found in 18 Ontario counties.

In 2020, Harvest Genomics www.harvestgenomics.ca signed an agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to obtain the protocols and started to provide the service to Ontario growers for a fee. In 2023, the partners in Harvest Genomics disbanded. TurnKey Genomics was then formed www.turnkeygenomics.ca and the

company obtained a licensing agreement from AAFC to provide the genetic testing service in Ontario for this project. As a result of this change, the number of tests that could be provided to Ontario producers has been reduced to 20 in 11 weed species.

Funding for this project will continue in 2025. Sampling protocols and sample collection kits can now be obtained directly from Turnkey Genomics: Sample Submission Forms | TurnKey Genomics Significant results: • In 2024, 57 fields were tested for herbicide-resistant weeds (12 of these fields were tested first for species identification and then once a species was confirmed all genetic tests available for that species were completed).

• Palmer amaranth was identified in Bruce and Haldimand counties through a species identification test.

• Only one field with waterhemp has been found with G5 resistance at this time. There are two mechanisms of G5 resistance - target-site and metabolic.

Continued on next page

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 23 THE GROWER

FOCUS: CROP PROTECTION, SPRAYING & POTATOES

Using genetic tests to confirm herbicide-resistant weeds in Ontario crops Table 1. Genetic Tests Currently Utilized by TurnKey Genomics Herbicide Group

Resistance & Tests

Common chickweed Common ragweed Eastern black nightshade Giant foxtail Giant ragweed Pigweed spp.

Common ragweed Giant ragweed Lamb’s-quarters

2 2

Target-site (P197Q & unpublished) Target-site (W574L)

2

Target-site (A205V)

2 2 2 5 5 5

Pigweed spp.

5

Canada fleabane

9

Italian ryegrass

9

Target-site (unpublished) Target-site (W574L) Target-site (S653N & W574L) Target-site (V219I) Target-site (V219I) Target-site (S264G) Target-site (A251V, S264G, V219l & F274L) Target-site (P106S) Pro (CCA) to Ser (TCA) mutation at Codon 106 in EPSPS

Weed Species

Continued from page 22 Seed will need to be collected and dose response experiments will need to be conducted on all fields to determine if G5 metabolic resistance and G27 resistance are present.There is no genetic test developed for G27 resistance yet. One is being worked on by Québec researchers.

• Waterhemp has been confirmed in 18 counties in Ontario (Brant, Bruce, ChathamKent, Dufferin, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Huron, Lambton, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Ottawa, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Wellington and Wentworth). No new counties were found this season.

• Over the course of this study, multiple resistant waterhemp has been confirmed in asparagus, corn, dry beans, peppers, soybeans, sugar beets, sweet corn, switchgrass, wheat and white beans in Ontario. Sugar beets and switchgrass are new in 2024.

• In 2024, 100% of the waterhemp tested was resistant and 94% of these populations were multiple resistant to two or more herbicide groups.

• In 2024, 100% of pigweed species (green and redroot pigweed) were resistant. Seventy per cent of these fields were G14 resistant and 30% were multiple resistant to two or three herbicide groups.

• Multiple resistant pigweed species (green pigweed and redroot pigweed) are commonly found in many horticulture crops for example: G2/G5 in pumpkins, potatoes, strawberries, sunflowers and tomatoes and G5/G14 in carrots and onions.

• For the first time a three-way (G2/G5/G14) resistant pigweed species was found in onions.

• Forty-seven percent of common ragweed samples were G14 resistant. Seventeen per cent were multiple resistant and 12% were three-way resistant to

G2/G5/G14. The three-way resistant populations were found in soybeans and black beans in Lambton and Oxford counties.

• Continued documentation of Canada fleabane resistant to G9 in apples, blueberries, carrots, grapes, onions, pumpkins and strawberries.

This testing has been instrumental in documenting new cases of herbicide-resistant weeds.

In 2024, 90 per cent of the fields tested in Ontario were resistant to at least one herbicide group.

Once confirmed, producers were provided the resistance profile enabling a change in management to mitigate spread.

Producers, agri-business and consultants who participated in the project were pleased with the timely results, welcomed the in-season management recommendations and highly value this service. For the most up-to-date, herbicide-resistant weeds information, visit our herbicide-resistant weeds database on the Ontario Crop Protection Hub: Herbicide Resistant Weeds - Database and Maps (gov.on.ca) There are many more undocumented cases of herbicideresistant weeds in Ontario. The resistance mechanism is unknown for most of them. The major concern is their distribution and economic impact for producers.

Knowing where resistant biotypes are located will improve management and maintain the longevity of our crop protection tools.

Project partners since 2016 include: AAFC, AAFC-PMC, Bayer Crop Science Inc., BASF Canada, OBG, FMC Canada, FVGO, GFO, MAPAQ, OAG, OFVGA, OPVG and Syngenta Canada Inc. We greatly appreciate the support from the OFVGA which administers the finances of this project.

Kristen Obeid is OMAFA weed management specialist – horticulture.

Mike Cowbrough is OMAFA weed management specialist – field crops.

UNRESERVED FARM, POTATO & HORSERADISH RETIREMENT ONLINE AUCTION For VANDERSTELT FARMS LTD of Princeton, consisting of 7 IH tractors, Stieger, Sprayer, forklifts, 9 irrigation reels, pipe & motor, pivot irrigation system, farm, potato & horseradish equipment, vehicles & miscellaneous. A complete dispersal of equipment. Items located at 2 farms, 157 Third Concession Rd, Princeton & 40 Jerseyville Rd, Brantford (majority located at Princeton location). Viewing Wednesday March 27th to Saturday March 29th from 9am to 3:30pm.

TUESDAY APRIL 1ST @ 10:00 AM ONLINE BIDDING OPENS FRIDAY MARCH 28TH @ 8:00AM TRACTORS & FORKLIFTS: 2016 Case IH 250 Magnum, 4wd, duals, weights, only 1950hrs, purchased new; 2010 Case IH Steiger, 4wd articulating tractor, powershift, duals, purchased new; Steiger Panther KM325, 4wd articulating tractor, gear drive, clean; Case IH MXU135, 4wd, Quicke Q970 loader, 235hrs on rebuilt transmission, 9100hrs (stays until Monday April 7th, for loading); Case IH MX120, 4wd, Alo 690 loader, 11,822hrs (stays until Monday April 7th, for loading); IH 786 open station, torque handle is seized, runs great; IH 966 open station, torque handle seized, weights; IH Hydro 186, cab, runs, weak transmission; Komatsu 25 forklift, propane, includes forks, rotator sold separately (stays until Monday April 7th for loading); Hyster 60 Electric forklift & charger, side shift.

SPRAYER: 2007 Case IH SPX 3320, 4wd sprayer, 1000 gallon, rinse tank, Raven 4600 controller, Raven GPS, Raven steering control, Raven auto boom, 2933hrs.

IRRIGATION: Zimmatic 66’ overhung pivot irrigation system (to do approx. 80-85 acres); Two 1000’ rolls of underground #4 wire, for pivot to pump shut off; Bauer Rainstar E51 tandem irrigation reel w/ gun; 3 Bauer Rainstar E4 irrigation reels w/ guns; 2 Cadman 4500 wide body irrigation reels w/ guns; Cadman 4500 irrigation reel w/ gun; Cadman 4000 irrigation reel w/ gun; Bauer Rainstar irrigation reel; JD irrigation motor w/ Berkley 8” in, 6” out, 9952hrs; Perkins irrigation motor w/ Berkley 8” in, 6” out, pump setup for pivot, 5986hrs; Iveco irrigation motor w/ Berkley 6” in & out, 1155hrs; Cadman Power Pac irrigation motor, Cummins, Rovatti pump, 870hrs; Koolmees JD 6 cyl irrigation motor, Berkley pump; Koolmees JD 6 cyl irrigation motor; Caprari pump; Gorman Rupp 540pto pump, w/ booster pump; Caprari 540pto pump & primer; Rovatti 1000pto pump; Marlo 540pto booster pump; Caprari 3 stage pto pump; 225 Wade Rain 5”x30’ irrigation pipe; 93 Ames 5”x30’ irrigation pipe; 30 Ames 6”x30’ irrigation pipe; McDougall 5”x30’ irrigation pipe; 14 DF 5”x30’ irrigation pipe; 10 DF 6”x30’ irrigation pipe; Hundreds of 6”,5”,4” Wade Rain & other Brands of elbows, T’s, hydrants, suction hoses, rubbers, reducers, ring lock fittings, etc.

GRADING LINE: Haines grading line w/ washer, sizer, 48” rolling table, trash belts, elevators, single phase 220v; Pit elevator, 36” stainless chain, single phase; Alliston Machinery bin piler, 40” lead in, 48” belt & star rollers, 48” table, 29” belt, telescopic to 50 plus, steerable 4 wheels; Alliston 60’ telescopic conveyor, 28” belt, single phase; Hill Machinery 4’x10’ rolling grading table; Custom built bulk washer, tumbler, washer, conveyor & bagging station, could be used for ginseng; Haines 30”x30’ belted conveyor; potato sizer; Haines vegetable washer, brusher, sump tank & cart; Several conveyors, various sizes; Large quantity & types and sizes of Big “O” aeration pipes.

POTATO & HORSERADISH EQUIPMENT: Lenco 4 row self propelled potato harvester, rebuilt; 2011 Grimme GT 36T, 6 row steerable potato planter w/ Trimble RTK GPS, planted less than 5000 acres; Lockwood 4 row, 367” horseradish planter; 2 Holloway model 1443 sugar beet topper used for horseradish; Lockwood potato digger, converted to 2 row horseradish windrower; Spudnik 5140, 4 row potato windrower, right hand discharge; Lenco 4 row, 4wd horseradish/potato harvester, NEW JD engine; Gruse 4 row potato hiller; Spudnik 4 row model 9040 hiller; Lockwood 8 row horseradish planter, converted from 12 row potato planter, 36” rows.

EQUIPMENT: Kongskilde 42’ vibrotrill “S” tyne cultivator, double hydraulic fold, w/ rolling baskets; Case IH 730B Ecolo-Tiger 7 shank ripper; Willrich 25’ chisel plow, hydraulic fold; JD model 965, 7 furrow 3pth swing plow, Case IH 18’ PT crumbler; Salford 870, 36’ cushion gang wheel disc; Einboch Aerosta Exact 1200, 40’, 3pth tyne weeder, less than 1000 acres of use; Loftness 1445C , 12’ flail shredder, 1000rpm, semi-mt; Nobili BNG360, semi-mt flail mower; JD 9 shank chisel plow; 12’ 3pth disc; Ford 7’ flail mower; Bush Hog MBX960, 8’ box scraper; Salford 4 row cult; Haines 3 row stone picker, 3pth; IH 4500, 24’ vibrashank, Midwest harrows; Thomas 2 row pto drive rock picker; Gehl 219, 10 wheel hay rake; Willsie 8 row, 36” crowfoot packer; JD 8 row 36” crop cult.

VEHICLES: 1994 Ford Areo-Max L900 tandem water truck, 3000 gallon pump & hoses; 1989 Auto Car tandem dump truck, 19’ aluminum box; 1998 Freightliner tandem c/w 24’ van body; 1979 Ford tandem 18’ dump truck; 2004 Ford Econoline van; 2001 & 2001 Dodge vans; 2002 Ford F150; Ford F250.

MISCELLANEOUS: Large quantity of misc. farm items; Karcher pressure washers; HD battery chargers; generators; Plasma cutter; Trimble GPS system, base station & repeater, Trimble tri-pod stand & more PLEASE NOTE: Don & Jeff have sold the farms and are retiring. An excellent, well cared for line up. A very large auction with a great selection. Everything sells UNRESERVED! TERMS: A 5% Fee applies to all items to a maximum $2,000 (Buyer’s Premium & Internet Fees) per item. Payments will be received by cash, cheque, debit, credit, certified cheque or bank draft, E-Transfer & Wire Transfer (a three percent charge will apply to all credit card payments $2000 and above). Payments are due by 3:30pm on April 3rd.

Invoices will be emailed out after the auction closes! If needed, financing MUST be prearranged prior to bidding.

Items to be removed by Saturday April 5th, with paid invoices only. Auctioneer has described all items to the best of their ability with information provided by consigners. Owners and Auctioneers are not responsible for accidents during viewings or loading. Auctioneers are not responsible for items not picked up after final loading day.

PROPRIETORS: VANDERSTELT FARMS LTD FOR MORE INFO: DON: 519-751-6276 JEFF: 519-732-2080 AUCTIONEERS TOM HAMULECKI 519-421-6957 MIKE HAMULECKI 519-535-0202 AUCTION OFFICE 519-424-1562 FOR PICTURES VISIT OUR WEBSITE @ www.sunrise-equipment.com

PAGE 24 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

CLIMATE CHANGE

Conserving the last remaining wild apple trees in Michigan

Apple tree blossoms are very sensitive to cold temperatures.

Every year, apple crops in the western part of Michigan’s lower peninsula suffer frost damage, but in some years, the results are catastrophic, with nearly entire apple crops being wiped out.

Additionally, climate change

continues to cause warmer springs, which means apple trees begin blooming sooner — increasing their risk of frost damage.

This is why Steve van Nocker, a plant geneticist and professor in the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and

Natural Resources, has been on a quest the last few years to find an apple species that’s more tolerant to spring frosts.

Luckily, he and doctoral student Kaz Christian found one — the native Michigan apple tree, Malus coronaria. Van Nocker said his team is the first to scientifically document the late-blooming trait of this frosttolerant tree.

“We found that the native apple tree is incredibly tolerant to spring frost simply because it blooms several weeks later than commercial apple trees,” van Nocker said. “This tree is naturally adapted to our region — in terms of resistance to extremes of weather, climate, and microbial and insect pests. It also has really good postharvest resilience.

The fruit also doesn’t decay very quickly. In fact, I had one in my office for a year, and it never went bad.”

At one time, the species was common in the state. In fact, Malus coronaria was designated as

Michigan’s state flower in 1897.

However, van Nocker said the tree is now hard to find, which suggests that the species is in decline.

“Most of the sites where it’s been recorded in the past are now shopping malls and housing developments,” van Nocker said.

“I think it’s not listed as threatened or endangered because most people misidentify it because there are so many feral apples assumed to be Malus coronaria.

“We need to find more evidence to prove if it is in decline or not. This is really important and valuable because if we lose this tree, we also lose all of the genetic potential it offers.”

Finding and conserving the wild apple tree Van Nocker will use a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service to help find the elusive tree in Michigan. He has additional funding from the Michigan Apple Committee and from the MSU Project GREEENprogram.

The USDA funds exploration trips to all over the world for scientists to collect wild plant varieties to add to the USDA germplasm collection. These plants could have unique traits that could be introduced into crop plants to improve efficiency of production.

“Grants are typically for exploration of exotic places,” van Nocker said. “They were surprised that we were interested in exploring Michigan since it’s not very exotic, but they understood our rationale and desire to preserve this tree and its traits.

“This project, to identify and conserve the last remaining wild apples in Michigan, it’s part of our state’s history,” van Nocker said. “There is real concern that due to climate change there may come a time where we can’t grow apples here, which would be devastating to Michigan since we are the second largest producer of apples in the nation. Growers are really concerned about climate change, and that’s why this research has such potential because it could lead to frostresistant apple crops in the nation.”

Van Nocker and his team recently went north in search of Malus coronaria. They found the elusive tree in the Manistee National Forest area and a few in the Huron National Forest near the Au Sable River.

He said this quest provided further evidence that the native apple tree is indeed in decline because all the specimens found were obviously unhealthy, with a lot of dead wood, little or no new growth, and an undiagnosed leaf-spot disorder. Additionally, there were no or very few seedlings or young plants nearby.

The team collected fruit and cuttings. The seeds from the fruit will be added to the collection at USDA in upstate New York, ensuring the genetic stock will not be lost.

Van Nocker also will grow seedlings from seeds and plant them around campus with the help of the MSU Herbarium, the 27th largest in the U.S. with a worldwide collection of all groups of plants and fungi. Additionally, the cuttings they brought back from the national forests will be grafted onto rootstocks for a permanent live collection of the species at the Clarksville Research Center.

“Seeds are an excellent potential way to preserve genetics, as they last many years in the cooler,” van Nocker said.

“However, seeds aren’t a sure thing, since there could have been cross-pollination from a feral or commercial apple plants, in which case the seed is a hybrid and the original genetics are lost.

“For this reason, we preserve the original plant by taking a cutting — a piece of stem — and grafting it onto an apple rootstock, which is the underground portion of a plant that provides the base and root system for a new plant. Most commercial apples are propagated in this way.

So, the plant that grows from the graft is identical to the original individual.”

Creating a frost-resistant apple crop for the future Van Nocker will first test the cuttings to ensure they aren’t hybrids. After that, his hope is to identify the actual genes that cause the late blooming.

Ultimately, he is trying to create a genetic stock that plant breeders can use to develop commercial apples that flower a little bit later and are insensitive to frost.

“My goal is to identify the genes and create the genetic stock apple breeders can use,” van Nocker said. “If I can cross Malus coronaria into a common Honeycrisp or Gala or Fuji to create a late-blooming apple that’s frost-proof and has a long shelf life, that would be huge for the industry and for consumers.”

Source: MSU Today

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 25 THE GROWER

BITS AND BITES

Growing Home with BASF returns with increased prizes of $160,000

BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions’ (BASF) community investment program, Growing Home with BASF, has more to give in its third year. From Feb 4 to March 3, individuals in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba

and Ontario can nominate the local organizations that help their communities grow to win a portion of the initiative’s new $160,000 prize fund.

Farmers and their rural communities are the heartbeat of

Canada. Growing Home with BASF offers a chance to highlight and support the organizations that are making a positive impact on their communities. Twelve organizations will win big this year, with second- and thirdplace prizes added in each participating province: • First place: $25,000 • Second place: $10,000 • Third place: $5,000 “Growing Home with BASF is an incredible opportunity to support organizations that are the backbone of their rural communities,” said Leta LaRush, vice president, business management at BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions. “We are excited to continue expanding

this program and helping strengthen Canadian farming communities.”

Nominations submitted by March 3 will be judged based on criteria, including alignment to supporting Canadian agriculture and rural communities. Following the nomination period, 12 finalists — three from each province — will be selected and announced for public voting from April 1-15 to determine the first-, second- and third-place organizations in each province.

Voting is open to individuals who reside in Canada and have reached the legal age of majority in their province or territory of residence. The winners, based on the number of votes, will be

announced April 29.

The 2024 Growing Home with BASF winners were Erskine Curling Club in Alberta, Abbey Curling Club in Saskatchewan, St. Jean Baptiste Volunteer Fire Department in Manitoba and Three Oaks Respite Cabin in Ontario. Each received $25,000 to further organizational goals and operations.

To learn more about Growing Home with BASF, nominate a deserving organization and for full terms and conditions, please visit agsolutions.ca/growinghome.

Source: BASF Canada February 4, 2025 news release

Acadian Plant Health and Koppert expand partnership Acadian Plant Health and Koppert, two leading innovators in sustainable agriculture, are expanding their partnership to enhance the global reach of biocontrol and biostimulant technologies. By integrating Koppert’s expertise in biological pest and disease control with Acadian’s advanced biostimulant technology, this collaboration aims to deliver improved crop yield and quality for growers

worldwide.

Building on a successful history of collaboration in North and South America, the two companies have now signed an extended distribution agreement covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Starting with France, this partnership will evolve to a global scale, providing growers and farmers with an even broader array of biological solutions to support plant health,

resilience, and productivity.

Martin Koppert, chief business officer at Koppert, adds: “As a company deeply committed to the vision that the world needs 100% sustainable agriculture, we continuously invest in innovative R&D to advance biological solutions.

Source: Acadian Sea Plants and Koppert January 28, 2025 news release

PAGE 26 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

Powdery mildew in strawberries: stay ahead!

CAIO CORREA & ERICA PATE Powdery mildew is one of the most widespread plant diseases, and in strawberries, it can be a persistent challenge. Caused by the fungus Podosphaera aphanis, this disease can significantly reduce fruit quality and yield by distorting leaves, stunting plant development, and covering berries with an unsightly white fungal coating. In severe cases, powdery mildew can make strawberries unmarketable, leading to economic losses. Good management is essential to reduce the losses, and understanding the disease is the first step in getting better control.

When and where powdery mildew thrives?

The pathogen prefers warm temperatures (15-27°C, 60-80°F) and high humidity, but unlike many other fungal diseases, it doesn’t need free moisture on the leaves to infect plants. In field production, outbreaks usually peak in mid-summer, but a warm spring with cool nights and dew can trigger early infections.

Rain can wash off some of the spores and temporarily slow disease spread, but it won’t eliminate the fungus—it can quickly regrow and continue infecting plants.

How does it spread?

The fungus overwinters in plant debris but needs living tissue to grow and reproduce. In the spring, wind-borne spores kickstart new infections. The fungus then spreads across plant tissues, forming white powdery patches and releasing fresh spores every 72 hours if conditions are right. These spores are carried by the wind to new plants, allowing

the disease to spread quickly.

While powdery mildew affects many crops, each host is infected by a different fungal species. So, an outbreak in your neighbour’s pumpkin field won’t spread to your strawberries.

For more information on powdery mildew identification and disease cycle, make sure to check OMAFA’s Crop IPM website (ontario.ca/cropipm).

Managing powdery mildew Fungicides are still the go-to method for controlling powdery mildew. Products with tetraconazole (Mettle), myclobutanil (Nova), or trifloxystrobin (Luna Sensation, Flint Extra), are commonly used, but timing is key. Spray as soon as you notice early signs of the disease — such as leaf distortion or discolouration — to prevent the disease from spreading.

Beneficial microorganisms, such as certain strains of Bacillus subtilis, can help control powdery mildew by attacking fungal structures or boosting plant immunity. Some commercial products already include these beneficials in their formulation, offering good options for both conventional and organic growers.

Since powdery mildew can develop resistance to fungicides, rotating products with different modes of action is crucial for maintaining effectiveness. You can check which products are registered for strawberries and their modes of action on the Crop Protection Hub (ontario.ca/cropprotection).

Prospects for high tunnel and greenhouse growers Protected strawberry production (greenhouse and high tunnel, table top systems) is gaining popularity, but the same

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protected environment that helps the plants thrive also creates the perfect conditions for powdery mildew. Outbreaks of powdery mildew are making it difficult to manage protected strawberry production in Canada.

On the bright side, new integrated pest management (IPM) strategies are being tested, and one of the most exciting developments for powdery mildew control comes from research into UV-C light technology. UV-C light works by disrupting the DNA of fungal spores, stopping them from germinating and spreading.

USDA researchers in Kearneysville, WV, validated the efficacy of UV-C for control of powdery mildew on strawberry, and application of UV-C in field experiments in Florida provided equal or better control of powdery mildew compared to weekly applications of conventional fungicides. In addition, panels equipped with UV-C lights can be mounted on robots to automate the treatment.

Here are a few benefits: • less Chemical Use: UV-C treatment can reduce the need for fungicide applications, cutting down on the risk of resistance and chemical residues.

• eco-Friendly: UV-C light is residue-free and non-toxic to plants, making it a great option for organic production systems.

• efficient: Robots can work overnight when UV-C light is most effective, so workers are not exposed, and the plants’ natural cycles aren’t disturbed.

• multiple pests: UV-C treatments have activity against multiple strawberry pests, including botrytis grey mould,

Figure 1: Fruit symptoms of powdery mildew on tunnel strawberries anthracnose, and two-spotted spider mite.

Commercial UV-C robots are already on the market for greenhouse growers, and while the initial cost may be high, the long-term benefits—such as lower fungicide costs and better yields— could make it a smart investment down the road.

The Berry Growers of Ontario (BGO) is actively working with a robotics company on adapting UV-C technology for table top strawberry growers and is working on testing treatments tailored to the crop. With trials underway this season, there’s more to come soon — so stay tuned!

References:

Janisiewicz, J.W., F. Takeda, B. Nichols, D.M. Glenn., W.M. Jurick II, and M.J. Camp. 2016. Use of low-dose UV-C irradiation to control powdery midlew caused by Podosphaera aphanis on strawberry plants. Can. J. Plant. Pathol: 38, 430-439.

Onofre, R.B., D.M., Gadoury, A. Stensvand, A. Bierman, M. Rea, and N.A. Peres. 2019. USe of Ultraviolet light to suppress powdery midlew in strawberry fruit production fields.

Plant Disease.

Caio Correa is acting pathologist-horticulture crops and Erica Pate is fruit crop specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

Frost protection for strawberries Lunch N Learn When: April 8th, 2025, 12:00-1:00PM Where: Zoom What: Register now for a Lunch N Learn with Kathy Demchak, berry extension associate from PennState, April 8th, from 12:00-1:00pm.

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to go over frost protection methods for strawberries in unpredictable spring weather. Join this webinar to prepare for the season and to understand your options when temperatures drop.

How: Register in advance for this meeting: E-mail Victoria Buma, Berry Growers of Ontario (victorialeastman@gmail.com) to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 27 THE GROWER

ONTARIO BERRY NEWS

Plant ‘25 ADAM DALE Many factors go into a well planted strawberry field. Site selection and site preparation begin months ahead of time, followed by cultivar selection and plant orders. Then, once plants arrive, they need to be handled and stored properly for good field establishment.

Many strawberries in Ontario are grown on raised beds or on table tops. However, if the plants are to be put straight into a prepared field for June-bearing, matted-row production, a few simple procedures should be followed. Following these suggestions will help to ensure that a flourishing crop can be harvested.

Strawberries should be planted in early spring as soon as the ground is workable, in April or May. The earlier June-bearing strawberries are planted, the sooner they will produce runners, which contribute to next season’s yield. Ideally, plants will arrive as close to the planting date as possible. However, unpredictable weather or other factors may delay planting, and plants may need to be stored for a few days or weeks before they can be planted.

When plants first arrive, check the roots for moisture; keep the roots moist but not overly wet.

Discard mouldy plants. Keep plants in cold storage in the plastic bags they were shipped in until they can be planted. Keep temperatures around 0°C for up to four to six weeks of storage. Do not let storage temperature drop to -2.7°C, as this may injure the plant. Do not let plants heat up or dry out while being stored, and do not leave plants in water.

If plants are frozen upon arrival, open the boxes and begin to thaw out the plants before planting. If frozen plants have thawed while in transit, do not re-freeze them; instead keep them in cold storage above freezing.

June-bearing strawberries should not be planted after July 1st. Plants kept in storage for too long lose vigour, rows will not fill in with daughter plants, and flower bud initiation will be limited. If a late planting date cannot be avoided, consider planting at a higher density to anticipate poor runner establishment.

Frost in the forecast?

If cold, below-freezing temperatures are forecast for the days following the anticipated

planting date, hold off until temperatures warm up. Damage to the crowns can occur if temperatures drop shortly after they are set in the field. If plants have been in the ground for a few days before a potential frost event they will tolerate cold temperatures better than a freshly planted field. Moist, dark soil holds heat more than light, dry soil, and packed soil holds more heat than recently cultivated soil. Make sure newly set plants have good soil contact, and irrigate to add soil moisture before a frost event.

Planting Dormant strawberry plants can be soaked for an hour before planting, which allows plants to absorb some water. Make sure roots do not dry out during planting -- keep boxes covered and in the shade until they go on the planter. Temperatures inside plastic bags left in the sun can warm up quickly and damage plants. Don’t plant on sunny, windy days. Cool, cloudy days limit the stress on the plants.

Set strawberry plants at the correct depth, where the soil is even with the midpoint of the crown, and the roots are straight down into the planting hole. If planted too deep and the crown is

Figure 1. Newly planted field. covered with soil, plant growth and runner production can be delayed; if set too shallow, the roots and crown will be exposed and dry out. Irrigate after planting and make sure the soil is gently packed around the plant.

Dormant bareroot plants need to be handled and stored properly to establish a new, vigorous, field,

and efforts made at planting will pay off for the years to come.

References: Lieten, P., B. Evenhuis & G. Baruzzi, 2005, Cold Storage of Strawberry Plants, International Journal of Fruit Science, 5:1, 75-82

PAGE 28 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

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PAGE 30 –– MARCH 2025 THE GROWER

CROP PROTECTION

A lighter toolbox: increasing challenges for fruit & vegetable crop protection

CHRIS DUYVELSHOFF Canadian growers require effective tools to manage pest problems such as weeds, insects, and diseases which can threaten the quality, value, and yield of the crops they produce. Since the pandemic, these tools – known to the sector as crop protection products — have become harder to obtain.

New product innovations are slow to come to market, existing products have been removed by regulatory mechanisms or voluntarily withdrawn, and expansion of existing products into fruit and vegetable crops has slowed. A series of actions, related to both resources and policy, have been negatively impacting the ability of growers to access these tools. Ultimately, this will reduce the ability for growers to supply plentiful, nutritious, and affordable fruits and vegetables to Canadians and our export markets.

Slower introduction of innovation Prior to approval for use in Canada, all crop protection products are reviewed to ensure they pose minimal risk to human health and the environment by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada. The PMRA conducts comprehensive reviews based on scientific data and evidence.

Due to their intensive nature, these reviews can be time consuming, measured in months to years. For example, the review of a new active ingredient to Canada has a stated performance standard of approximately two years – known as a Category A submission. Companies with Category A applications at PMRA are informing us review decision timelines are sliding to

three to four years, despite the two-year performance standard.

This is noted in PMRA’s own statistics – where the Category A performance target has only been met once in the past nine years.

The PMRA indicates high workload is partially responsible.

Companies are also noting differences in data requirements between Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency resulting in additional cost and time to satisfy PMRA. As a result of delayed registration timelines, less innovation is entering the Canadian market. Due to regulatory uncertainty, many companies now do not look to Canada as an initial market for innovation, rather, they seek initial registration in other countries such as the United States, or simply avoid the Canadian market entirely.

Fewer new tools are coming to the grower toolbox.

Regulatory cost increasing for existing products The PMRA charges annual fees to companies maintaining registered products to support post-market regulatory activities undertaken by the agency. The rationale for charging fees is stated to ensure that the burden of funding these public regulatory activities is shared between taxpayers and companies of crop protection products. The PMRA has charged fees for these activities since 1997, with the current fee structure in place since 2017.

A current proposal seeks to revise these fees as published in Canada Gazette, Part I in December 2024. While it is reasonable to review and update fee structures from time to time, the magnitude of the proposed increase is extreme – representing a 40 per cent increase to multiple times current rates. The regulatory proposal itself projects that total fees due to PMRA will more than double under the proposed scenario.

Canada already faces the reality of being a smaller market for crop protection products than other countries globally. This is especially true for fruit and vegetable growers, whose production area is just a fraction of the large field crops such as canola, corn, soybeans, and wheat which limits

Figure 1: Average annual number of minor use projects and operating funding by agricultural policy frameworks. company interest. Growers of fruit and vegetables are already dealing with more limited product registrations as a result.

Dramatically increasing the fees charged to maintain registrations of crop protection products will pressure companies to reduce the number of products they offer.

In PMRA’s own analysis, the agency anticipates that 28 per cent of registrations will be dropped if fees are increased at the proposed levels. While PMRA indicates a large proportion will be products with zero sales, withdrawal of products with sales are still predicted. Fruit and vegetable products are likely to be preferentially withdrawn due to lower market potential.

The grower toolbox will lose some tools.

Process to extend use of existing registrations neglected For Canada’s major crops, private companies invest in R&D to develop regulatory data needed to satisfy PMRA’s registration requirements. However, due to their smaller scale of production, fruit and vegetable crops are often left off product registrations because of a lack of private sector financial interest in generating the necessary data to obtain registrations.

To address the gap, the federal government created the Pest Management Centre (PMC) within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in 2003 to address a lack of commercial investment in crop protection products for fruit and vegetable

crops. The PMC generates the data needed for their registration at PMRA, referred to as the Minor Use Program.

The program has been highly successful. An AAFC internal analysis conducted in 2016 concluded that it enabled the registration of more than 2,300 new uses of crop protection products. It was estimated PMC’s work contributed to the prevention of crop losses in the range of $653 million to $998 million as of 2016. Furthermore, for every $1 of government cost, a return of $42 of net benefits are accrued to society, representing an excellent return on government investment.

The PMC’s Minor Use Program under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership is now running on approximately two-thirds of the operational funding it had available under the Growing Forward (2008-2013) program (Figure 1). Operational funding for the program has declined in each successive five-year agricultural policy framework.

Considering inflationary impacts over the past 15 years, the budget is now equivalent to just half the value of funding from Growing Forward.

This has had a dramatic impact on the ability of PMC to execute its objective in supporting Canadian growers of minor use crops (fruit and vegetables and other specialty crops) with their pest management needs. The PMC’s annual number of minor use projects has declined to just a third of the level it conducted under Growing Forward.

The PMC’s declining output will ultimately make the few new innovative crop protection tools that do enter the Canadian market more difficult and slower to extend on fruit and vegetable crops.

The crop protection tools we do have will be more limited in scope.

Solutions Canada’s federal government can reverse this trend and provide growers with the tools they need to protect their crops and produce plentiful, affordable, and nutritious food for Canadians and to export markets. Three areas of action are strongly needed to help support the grower toolbox.

Importantly, PMRA must focus on its core business including registration activities as a priority. New resources may be needed to appropriately fulfill this mandate. The PMRA should also further explore opportunities to align requirements and share work with other regulators such as U.S. EPA for efficiency.

Secondly, regulatory fees should be minimized for products focused on fruit and vegetables to encourage private sector participation in the market.

And finally, AAFC’s PMC needs to be resourced appropriately to restore its capacity to Growing Forward levels.

Together, these actions would go a long way in bolstering a limited crop protection toolbox.

Chris Duyvelshoff is crop protection advisor, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association.

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 31 THE GROWER

CROP PROTECTION

Lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide cancelled for apples and peaches KAREN DAVIDSON The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has updated its guidance on the pyrethroid insecticide, lambda-cyhalothrin. While the agency has reinstated certain feed uses, it has cancelled use on apples and peaches at the request of registrants Syngenta and Sharda-CropChem Limited.

Here’s a shortened version of the background provided by PMRA. Lambda-cyhalothrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used to control many types of insect pests in various settings. It is used on greenhouse food crops, terrestrial food and feed crops, shelterbelts, turf lawns, livestock, buildings, and ornamental plants. It has been registered for use in Canada since 1996.

On 29 April 2021, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) published the Re-evaluation Decision RVD2021-04, Lambdacyhalothrin and its associated end-use products. As a result of the re-evaluation decision, several uses were cancelled due to human health concerns.

Following the 2021 decision, Syngenta Canada Inc. and Adama Agricultural Solutions Canada Ltd., applied to re-instate the cancelled feed uses, based on new data and a proposal to reduce the number of times per season this pesticide could be used on turf. Additionally, Syngenta Canada and Sharda CropChem Limited Inc. requested to remove the uses of two other lambda-cyhalothrin products on apples and peaches.

After thoroughly reviewing all relevant data, including the consideration of

vulnerable populations, Health Canada concluded that the reduced use frequency on turf and the removal of specific food uses eliminated the human health concerns. As a result, Health Canada has reinstated certain feed uses of the product.

These changes are designed to ensure that lambda-cyhalothrin continues to meet the requirements for protection of human health, based on the best available science.

Health Canada has issued a decision for each of the applications received from Syngenta Canada Inc. and Adama Agricultural Solutions Canada Ltd. Outcome of the decisions: Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada is: • Re-instating the following livestock feed uses o Canola/Flax - seed and meal o Field corn grain and milled by

Phoenix SC herbicide registered for grapes

Gowan Canada has added to its herbicide portfolio with Phoenix SC to be used in grapes.

Powered with Tergeo active, Phoenix SC is a Group 14 nonselective, contact (burndown) herbicide used to control or suppress certain emerged annual broadleaf and grassy weeds less than 12.5 cm tall.

“Gowan is excited to be able to bring a new solution for grape growers to manage weeds in their vineyards,” states Dale Ziprick, product manager with Gowan Canada. “The speed of activity will be something that any user will notice immediately after

applying Phoenix SC. Our field results repeatedly show that under various growing conditions the consistency and speed of activity is evident.”

Phoenix SC will be available for the 2025 field season. To learn more about how Phoenix SC herbicide can be an important part of weed control in grapes, please speak with a Gowan Canada representative or visit https://ca.gowanco.com/ products/phoenix-sc-herbicide.

Source: Gowan Canada January 28, 2025 news release

products o Popcorn grain o Sweet corn grain o Legume vegetables (including pulses) seeds o Soybean seeds, hulls, meal o Cereals - grains and milled byproducts • Cancelling registration for use on apples and peaches • Reducing the use pattern on turf from being applied four times per season to being applied two times per season.

The following feed uses have not been re-instated, in other words, remain cancelled: • Canola forage • Field corn forage/silage, stover • Popcorn stover • Sweet corn forage, stover • Legume silage, vine, hay

• Soybean forage, hay, silage • Cereal forage, hay and straw • Grasses (alfalfa, timothy) hay and straw • Aspirated grain fractions (corn, soybeans and cereals) • Potato culls Corresponding product labels (refer to Appendix A) have been updated.

As a result of these decisions, new lambda-cyhalothrin maximum residue limits (MRLs) are proposed for animal food commodities and MRLs for apples and peaches are proposed for revocation.

For more information, refer to the maximum residue limits section of the PMRA information note.

Source: Pest Management Regulatory Agency February 3, 2025 posting

MARCH 2025–– PAGE 32 THE GROWER

CROP PROTECTION

Aprovia Top fungicide label expanded for table beets JOSH MOSIONDZ The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved a minor use label expansion registration for Aprovia Top fungicide for suppression of cercospora leaf blight on table beets in Canada. The product was already labeled for disease control on a wide range of crops in Canada. This minor use proposal was submitted by Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Pest Management Centre (AAFCPMC) as a result of minor use priorities established by growers and extension personnel.

Rate (mL of product / ha)

Crop(s)

Target

Table beets

Control of cercospora leaf blight

The following is provided as an abbreviated, general outline only. Users should be making disease management decisions within a robust integrated disease management program and should consult the complete label before using Aprovia Top fungicide.

Follow all other precautions,

643 – 967

PHI (days)

Application Information Begin applications prior to disease development and continue throughout the season on a 7 – 14-day interval. A minimum spray volume of 150 L/ha for ground application is recommended. 4 applications per year.

restrictions, and directions for use on the Aprovia Top fungicide carefully.

For a copy of the new minor use label, contact your local vegetable crops specialist, your regional supply outlet, or visit the PMRA label site www.hc-sc.gc.ca /cps-spc/pest/registrant-

7

titulaire/tools-outils/label-etiqeng.php Josh Mosiondz is minor use coordinator for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

Luna Privelage greenhouse fungicide labelled for strawberries JOSH MOSIONDZ The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved a minor use label expansion registration for Lunca Privelage greenhouse fungicide for control of botrytis grey mould and powdery mildew on greenhouse strawberries in Canada.

This fungicide was already labeled for disease control on a wide range of crops in Canada.

This minor use proposal was submitted by Agriculture & AgriFood Canada, Pest Management Centre (AAFC-PMC) as a result of minor use priorities established by growers and extension personnel.

The following is provided as

Crop(s)

Rate (mL of product / ha)

Target

Greenhouse Control of Strawberries botrytis grey mould

500

Use a water volume for thorough coverage of 0 plant foliage. Use a minimum water volume of 650 L/ha.

Begin fungicide applications preventatively.

Maximum of two applications per year with a minimum re-application interval of 6 weeks. Rotate with non-Group 7 fungicides that control listed diseases 7 to 10-days later.

Do not make a second application of LUNA PRIVILEGE GREENHOUSE within 6 weeks of the initial application.

Control of Powdery Mildew

an abbreviated, general outline only. Users should be making disease management decisions within a robust integrated disease management program and should consult the complete label before using Luna Privelage greenhouse

PHI (days)

Application Information

fungicide.

Toxic to aquatic organisms and non-target terrestrial plants.

Follow all other precautions, restrictions, and directions for use on the Luna Privelage greenhouse fungicide label carefully.

For a copy of the new minor use label, contact your local greenhouse crops specialist, your regional supply outlet, or visit the PMRA label site www.hcsc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/registranttitulaire/tools-outils/label-etiq-

eng.php Josh Mosiondz is minor use coordinator for Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

Magister miticide expanded for cyclamen mite on field-grown strawberries JOSH MOSIONDZ The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently approved a minor use label expansion registration for Magister miticide for control of cyclamen mite on field-grown strawberries in Canada. Magister miticide was already labeled for management of various mites on a wide range of crops in Canada.

This minor use proposal was submitted by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness, OMAFA, as a result of minor use priorities established by growers and extension personnel.

The following is provided as

Rate (L of product / ha)

Crop(s)

Target

Field grown strawberries

Cyclamen mite

an abbreviated, general outline only. Users should be making insect management decisions within a robust integrated insect management program and should

2.63

PHI (days)

Application Information Apply in at least 1000 litres per hectare. Do 1 not make more than one application per year. Do not exceed the application rate of 2.63 L/ha of product per year. Apply with a non-ionic surfactant at 0.25% v/v. Toxic to bees. Avoid application during the crop blooming period. If applications must be made during the crop blooming period, restrict applications to evening when most bees are not foraging. When using managed bees for pollination services, DO NOT apply during the crop blooming period.

consult the complete label before using Magister miticide.

For a copy of the new minor use label contact your local berry crops specialist, local regional

supply outlet, or visit the PMRA label site www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cpsspc/pest/registrant-titulaire/toolsoutils/label-etiq-eng.php

Josh Mosiondz is minor use coordinator, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

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