The Grower December 2015

DECEMBER 2015

CELEBRATING 136 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION

VOLUME 65 NUMBER 12

GREAT LAKES FARMING

Climate change or business climate: what’s the bigger threat?

Global processing giant Bonduelle contracts about 90,000 acres of vegetables in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta for processing into frozen and canned foods at eight plants.

South of the border, Bonduelle operates three processing and one packaging plant. Look at a map and they’re all clustered around the Great Lakes. The company is an interesting case study of the opportunities and threats on both sides of the border. Gary (left) and Russell Woolley along with Bonduelle’s agricultural technical program manager, Jennifer Thompson, sample the August pea harvest at Springfield, Ontario. Photos by Glenn Lowson.

INSIDE Marketing and sales in a digital world Page 7 Focus: Great Lakes Farming Page 14

Kudos to agri-innovation winners Page 22

www.thegrower.org P.M. 40012319 $3.00 CDN

KAREN DAVIDSON Springfield, Ontario –Think of peas and the ubiquitous Green Giant brand comes to mind.

Global processor Bonduelle supplies peas for that brand yet chances are, its name doesn’t register high awareness in agriculture. But it should. With eight vegetable processing plants in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, it contracts 90,000 acres of Canadian vegetables.

Unlike the high-profile departure of Heinz from southwestern Ontario, Bonduelle Americas is digging in. A fire in its Tecumseh, Ontario plant on July 18, 2014 devastated 4.5 million kilograms of frozen vegetables and its warehouse.

Bonduelle rebuilt. This month, more than a year later, the company is opening its new refrigerated warehouse with streamlined packaging lines.

The 2015 acquisition in Lethbridge, Alberta and the reinvestment in Ontario are

noteworthy for the conglomerate headquartered in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France and helmed by the founder’s great-great grandson, Christophe Bonduelle.

The processor also owns four plants in the states of New York and Wisconsin, so it has working knowledge of the vagaries of business on both sides of the border.

For Canadian growers, it’s worth knowing how the processor is reading the competitive landscape. Brothers Gary and Russell Woolley, for example, and their father before them, have been growing peas, green beans and sweet corn for decades.

“We like the flexibility that vegetable crops provide to us,” says Russell Woolley, a dairy and crops farmer. “The peas are harvested in August and we don’t have to wait to rotate into wheat.

This area, south of the 401 highway, is considered to be in the Carolinian-Canada range.

There are lots of plant species here and it’s a climate conducive

to growing field crops. The Great Lakes basin is not a bad place to be with adequate yearly rainfall and access to land.”

Jim Poel, chair of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, is a pea grower himself. He agrees that the 2015 season ended well despite a rainy start. “We’ve come off a terrific fall,” says Poel, “where our tillage practices are not damaging the soil. We’ve put everything to bed for winter well.”

What Poel worries about is the long-term future of the processing industry. About 45,000 acres of processing vegetables – peas, carrots, sweet corn, celery, green beans and Brussels sprouts – are contracted to Bonduelle at plants in Tecumseh, Strathroy and Ingersoll, Ontario.

“The reality is that the vision of the corporate world is not as long-term as of farm families looking to the fertility of their soils for the next generation,” says Poel. “In these corporate deals, it’s all about trading labels

and infrastructure.”

That said, he applauds Bonduelle’s professional outreach during and after the Tecumseh fire. Much of that credit goes to Rob Anderson, vice-president Bonduelle Americas operations for Canada and the U.S. During this troubled time, there were silver linings. The global company had the financial resources to rebuild quickly.

Bonduelle honoured all its contracts, diverting $20 million of crops standing in the field to other southwestern Ontario facilities.

“We’re a private label partner,” explains Rob Anderson, who adds that Bonduelle processes and sells 85 per cent of the frozen and canned vegetables in Canada. “We serve retailers and foodservice and provide bulk ingredients to industrial companies such as Campbell’s and ConAgra.”

What are the opportunities and threats in the near term?

Continued on page 3

PAGE 2 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

NEWSMAKERS

AT PRESS TIME… Dumping tax not renewed on Dutch greenhouse peppers The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has not renewed the dumping tax on Dutch greenhouse peppers. Since a ruling on October 19, 2010, any peppers from the Netherlands were taxed 193 per cent of the value of imported goods. At that time, CITT determined that continued or resumed dumping of greenhouse bell peppers from the Netherlands would likely result in injury. The ruling is automatically reviewed every five years.

After exhaustive testimony, the Tribunal published its reasons, citing that “the impact of the subject goods on the domestic industry’s profitability will be minimal, given the likelihood of low import volumes and the unlikelihood that the subject goods will undercut, depress or suppress the prices of the like goods if the finding is rescinded. For these reasons, the Tribunal cannot conclude that the dumping itself will likely cause material injury to the domestic industry.”

The Tribunal ruled on October 16, 2015. The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) has stated it will not appeal the Tribunal decision.

Today’s marketplace is different. The acreage devoted to Dutch green peppers has shrunk modestly from 3465 acres in 2010 to 2964 acres in 2014 according to Netherlands Statistics. On the other hand, Canadian acreage has grown.

In Ontario alone, there are 892

acres of greenhouse peppers this year.

“We do not expect to see Dutch pepper imports to North America until spring of 2016,” says Rick Seguin, OGVG general manager.

“However, OGVG will regularly monitor the local market and import data to see if significant Dutch pepper imports result.”

OFVC award honours innovation The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention (OFVC) is inviting 2016 exhibitors to apply for its Innovation Award. Applications received by December 31, 2015 will be highlighted in the OFVC Show Guide. January 30 is the final deadline for entries. The winner will be announced at the Farmers and Friends reception on opening day, February 17 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre, Niagara Falls.

“We believe there is value in this award to our exhibitors providing another marketing forum to launch a new idea and to our grower community highlighting the best new technologies that will help them stay competitive in the changing landscape,” says Matt Peters, OFVC president.

This year, the rules have changed to accommodate products or services that are new to Canadian growers as of the 2014 OFVC, i.e. within the last two years. All entries will be showcased in an Innovative Product display area. Submissions will be judged comparatively by a committee of industry personnel

and growers from a wide range of horticultural backgrounds.

Download the application form from the OFVC website: www.ofvc.ca. Submissions and questions can be sent by email to Glenna Cairnie, OFVC executive coordinator at Glenna@ofvc.ca.

Ontario to host TriNational Agricultural Accord Meeting Ontario will host the 2016 TriNational Agricultural Accord annual meeting of agricultural officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States from September 6 - 8 in Niagara Falls.

The Tri-National Agricultural Accord serves as a model to encourage a higher level of dialogue and understanding between neighbours.

The Accord meeting is held every year and rotates from country to country. In 2014, officials met in Chicago, Illinois, and this year in Guadalajara, Mexico. In the past, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta have traded spots in the Accord hosting rotation.

Source: OMAFRA news release

Correction In the November issue, page 19, we incorrectly identified Wooley Apple Aphid resistant rootstock. Nick Ibuki, Summerland Varieties Corporation, says G.41 and G.214 are Wooley Apple Aphid resistant.

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Congratulations to all the award winners at the recent Ontario Produce Marketing Association (OPMA) Gala in Toronto.

Lawrence MacAulay About 550 guests were on hand for the ceremonies. The OPMA Fresh Award was presented to Julian Sarraino, a produce leader under 40 whose family company Fresh Produce operates at the Ontario Food Terminal. The OPMA Outstanding Achievement Award was won by Chris Cockle, vice president of Wonderful Sales for innovative displays, point-of-sales materials and packaging.

The OPMA Cory ClackStreef Produce Person of the Year was bestowed upon Mike Venton, senior vice-president for Loblaw Companies No Frills and Produce Procurement. He was honoured for the “Grown Close to Home” marketing program which Mike Venton celebrates local growers.

OPMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award was won by Ian MacKenzie, president of the OPMA. He was lauded for his contributions to the formation of the Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC), as well as years Fred Webber (L), Dispute Resolution of policy insights and Corporation, Ian MacKenzie, OPMA. direction at OPMA. MacKenzie served at OPMA from 1994 to 1998, then went to the Ontario Apple Marketing Commission. Since 2002, he has helmed the OPMA. Best wishes for a happy and healthy retirement.

Kudos to the winners of Ontario’s Agri-Food Innovation Awards.

Durham Foods, Port Perry was honoured for creating a user-friendly food safety app that makes it easier for companies to track and document their compliance with national food safety guidelines.

Vineland Estates Winery Inc, Vineland, was applauded for Canada’s first optical grape sorter, a machine that is six times faster than hand-sorting, helping to raise standards for Ontario wine. For more details about other winners, see page 22.

The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame awards were presented at Canadian Western Agribition on November 22.

Congratulations to Canadian winemaking pioneer Anthony von Mandl who was one of the five inductees. He dedicated his career to put British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley on the international wine map. He currently lives in Vancouver and Kelowna.

Condolences to the family of Sigmund (Sig) Nickels, an Olinda, Ontario apple grower. He was a co-founder of the Western Ontario Fruit Testing Association and won the 2008 Award of Merit from the Essex County Associated Growers.

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Prince Edward Island’s longest-serving member of parliament, Lawrence MacAulay, is the new minister of agriculture and agri-food. A former seed potato and dairy farmer, he represents the riding of Cardigan, PEI.

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The University of Guelph is welcoming Jeff Farber as a faculty member and its new director of the Centre for Research in Food Safety in January 2016. Farber spent 30 years working for Health Canada.

Todd Graham has joined the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) in the capacity of interim science coordinator effective November 2015 through November 2016. Graham is acting in this position while current science coordinator, Niki Bennet, is on leave. He will be responsible for coordinating all of the association’s research, pest management and education initiatives during this time.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 3 THE GROWER

COVER STORY

Climate change or business climate?

Bergen, NY Brockport, NY Oakfield, NY Fairwater, WI Ingersoll, ON Strathroy, ON Tecumseh, ON St-Denis, QC St-Césaire, QC Bedford, QC Ste-Martine, QC Continued from page 1 Rob Anderson’s perspective straddling the Canadian and American markets is valuable. Because Bonduelle already owns such a high market share in the Canadian market and earns half of its revenue in exports to the U.S., there isn’t much room to expand. In fact, all of Bonduelle’s plants in Canada are nearly at capacity. By the nature of the business, plants can process only as much as the local area can grow.

Peas, for example, have a travel time of only 1.5 hours to maximize freshness.

“The challenge in Canada is to keep up with changing trends and demographics,” says Anderson. “We have a healthy product, but we need to communicate that we’re local, we’re Canadian.”

Bonduelle is currently trialling new technology that might revitalize the frozen food category. It has negotiated the global

rights to the proprietary radiant energy vacuum technology of Vancouver-based EnWave Corporation. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also has a stake in the research with a $2.5 million investment earlier this year.

“It’s a very controlled process to extract moisture from inside the vegetable,” explains Anderson. “For each commodity, the percentage of moisture removed is different, but essentially the process protects the integrity of the cell structure.”

In early tests at Bonduelle’s SainteMartine, Quebec plant, the result is better texture, enhanced colour and nutrient concentration of vegetables. While these early results are encouraging, he anticipates another two years to expand and to develop the market. He sees a niche with restaurant chefs and for industrial companies looking for a fresh pizza topping.

“This is not a technology which will

cannibalize our current product offerings,” Anderson says.

While the Canadian business climate is favourable to research, he also cites the high costs of operating in Canada. Utilities, labour rates and labour regulations are onerous compared to the U.S. The Canadian dollar, now valued at about 0.75 cents U.S., is positive for the near-term future.

The American marketplace has its opportunities and threats too. Bonduelle has 10 per cent market share of what Anderson calls an “emerging” market.

While a population of 319 million beckons, it must be remembered that Americans are also patriotic in buying locally. Hence the processing plants in New York and Wisconsin states.

Processing overcapacity plagues the very competitive U.S. marketplace. Will Bonduelle grow in the U.S. through

acquisition? Watch the Bloomberg wire service to know for sure. What’s promising is that General Mills’ sale of the Green Giant brand to B & G Foods – finalized on November 2 – still contains a contract for Bonduelle to supply product for the 2016 season. Bonduelle is in discussions to continue that relationship, which is key for Canadian growers.

“We’re working hard to position ourselves as a North American processor,” says Anderson. “With 48 plants around the world, we share best practices and consider ourselves to be very good processors of vegetables.”

To remain competitive, Anderson encourages growers to work with Bonduelle in field trials, whether they are testing new fungicides and insecticides or new varieties.

“It’s very important to us to keep those crop rotations in place to keep up crop yields,” says Anderson.

While 2015 may have been a challenging year in eastern Canada, most crops weathered the weather. Contrary to the headlines about climate change, the business climate is more of a threat.

UNITED STATES GEORGIA

WASHINGTON

NEW HAMPSHIRE

OREGON

FLORIDA

PMA seeks produce placement on TV shows

Water issues loom large

New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference

Light hazelnut crop reported

Totally impermeable film for fumigation

Growers in the Willamette Valley, home to 99 per cent of the U.S. hazelnut crop, report production is down 30 to 50 per cent in 2015. Pollination problems in the spring meant that the kernels didn’t develop and nuts didn’t mature.

The warm, dry summer resulted in an earlier harvest than normal. October and November are more usual harvest times.

While 2014 prices were soft, this year’s supply shortage is firming prices. Growers are looking to final harvest estimates in Turkey which will determine global prices.

With methyl bromide no longer in use for pre-plant fumigation, Florida growers are turning to other innovative options.

Totally impermeable film (TIF) contains a different barrier polymer, ethylene vinyl alcohol, which is less permeable to gasses than other nylon polymers.

TIF mulch provides many benefits but because of its effectiveness in retaining fumigants, its downside is potential to extend plant back periods, says Josh Freeman, University of Florida extensionist. This is true in spring when cool wet conditions prevail. Adjustments are always required with new technology. Overall, trials show cost savings of $30-60 (USD) per acre.

The Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) annual Fresh Summit Convention and Expo attracted a record 19,332 attendees at its October event in Atlanta, Georgia. Best New Product Launch went to Evolution Fresh, a company based in southern California where juices are prepared from locally sourced fruits and vegetables. They are cold-pressed under high-pressure processing.

The PMA will be aligning with the Entertainment Resource & Marketing Association to place fresh produce front and center in television shows, movies and online entertainment.

This partnership is part of an overall strategy to improve consumer health and fight child obesity.

Source: FreshPlaza.com

For a bird’s eye perspective of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association convention, look no further than their meeting agenda for December 7-9. Marketing strategies to move larger crops will be addressed by executives from such companies as Stemilt Growers and Rainier Fruit Co. Growing global market share is on the menu.

But it’s the depth of the agenda on climate change and water issues that is most striking. One title is: Integrated modeling over the Pacific North West region to assess impacts of climate change on water resource availability and cropping systems. The industry’s worries are captured by this title: Responding to today’s drought and preparing for tomorrow’s.

For the complete meeting agenda, go to: http://ow.ly/UlTHj Source: Research by The Grower

Across the border, take note of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station’s conference in Manchester, December 15-17.

See www.newenglandvfc.org.

Key learnings are from plant genetics researcher J. Brent Loy. He’s found that grafting melons onto the rootstocks of hybrid squash increases the production of melons. Also note Becky Sideman’s development of a new cherry tomato designed to be grown in hanging baskets in greenhouses. Rambling Rose provides an attractive pink fruit colour.

Source: Hortidaily.com

Source: FreshPlaza.com

Source: Hortidaily.com

PAGE 4 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

CROSS COUNTRY DIGEST PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

New brand identity modernizes PEI potatoes Following significant market research and rounds of development and consultation, the Prince Edward Island Potato Board is launching a new logo and packaging designs aimed at further strengthening the Prince Edward Island Potatoes brand.

The new logo blends historic brand identity cues, such as the shape of the Island and the red and blue colours, with a modern look. This new logo serves as a consistent identifier of PEI Potatoes across both new industry packaging and private label packaging, and also serves as the new corporate logo for the Prince Edward Island Potato Board.

This new packaging design also blends

the well-known look of burlap with modern elements such as recipes and social media links. Bags will identify the type of potatoes in the bag (russet, white, yellow, or red) and will be available in both poly and paper. This new packaging design replaces the former industry bag which was primarily white with the previous Prince Edward Island Potatoes logo. To date, the industry has already received enthusiastic feedback from retail partners about the new packaging and branding.

Packaging is the number one promotional asset for the potato industry, so efforts were made to ensure that the industry was leveraging the most potential benefit from packaging to promote Prince

Edward Island Potatoes. The project to update and optimize fresh potato packaging builds on work done by the industry over the last decade and culminated with a full review of existing packaging as well as packaging used by competitors in the Canadian fresh potato market.

The primary goals are for consumers to easily identify Prince Edward Island Potatoes in the competitive retail marketplace, as well as to make it easy to re-purchase that consistent, easily identifiable bag across multiple retailers.

The industry expects an increased volume of Prince Edward Island Potatoes to be sold in the newly developed industry packaging. A soft launch of new packaging

began in the spring of 2015, but a full rollout of new packaging is now underway this marketing season.

Source: PEI Potato Board news release

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Ambrosia growers to consider levy renewal When the Ambrosia apple was first introduced to the market it was recognized that special funds would be needed to promote this exciting new variety.

Consequently BC’s Ambrosia growers voted in 2001 to introduce a special levy for marketing and research.

Over the next few months the

New Tree Fruit Varieties Development Council (NTFVDC) will be inviting input from the B.C. Ambrosia growers and packers regarding the future and

renewal of the current mandatory levy of $0.025 per pound of Ambrosia apples.

Ambrosia growers have supported the levy, and the role of the NTFVDC, since its inception in 2001. The original mandate was extended in 2006 and again in 2011. The current five year mandate expires in June 2016. A plebiscite of Ambrosia growers will be held in the spring of 2016 to decide on the future of the mandate.

The Council, along with growers, packers, researchers and selling agencies, have been very successful at improving and promoting Ambrosia. It is now ranked among the most promising apple varieties in the world, with high returns to growers. This success has resulted in an increase in BC plantings of Ambrosia, from a few acres in 1994 to more than a thousand in 2015, with investment in new plantings expected to continue over the next several years. In fact, recent surveys of nurseries and suppliers of rootstock indicate that Ambrosia plantings will total nearly 2,000 acres by 2020.

“These increased plantings mean more production and the need to introduce the variety to new consumers and new markets,” says Bruce Currie, chair of the NTFVDC. “Promotion in those markets is costly. Growers have a vested interest to maintain a profitable return and it makes good business sense to invest funds to support that.” Recent economic studies in

Washington State report up to a seven-fold return to the grower for every dollar spent on promotion.

The Council disperses levy funds for a variety of activities concerning Ambrosia apples.

Funding has been provided to improve the storability of the apple and to carry out research into certain apple pests. In-store demonstrations at supermarket chains have been used yearly to encourage consumer acceptance.

Social media platforms have been established to engage with consumers. Videos have been produced to tell the Ambrosia story and introduce Ambrosia growers to the public, and consumers are encouraged to view these on the Ambrosia website. There is attendance at many consumer events such as the Interior Provincial Exhibition, Edmonton Women's Show, Agribition in Regina, and Vancouver Buy Local Event. The levy funds have been enhanced by matching funding which has been available from time to time.

The Council will be attending grower meetings over the next few months to discuss the options and garner grower opinions on the future of the Ambrosia variety. The details of the plebiscite to be voted on will be finalized following these meetings. Anyone requiring further information information can email the NTFVDC at ambrosiacouncil@gmail.com, or call Jim Campbell at 250-6890408.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 5 THE GROWER

LAND USE

OFVGA responds to conservation, wetlands consultations In July and August, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) released two discussion papers. The first concerned the Conservation Authorities Act (Conservation Authorities Act: A review of the role, responsibilities, funding and governance of conservation authorities under the Conservation Authorities Act) and the second was regarding wetland conservation in Ontario (Wetland Conservation in Ontario: A Discussion Paper).

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) has been diligent in responding to consultations that are applicable to edible horticulture and the industry’s growers.

The Conservation Authorities Act consultation focused on the governance, funding, and the roles and responsibilities of conservation authorities across Ontario. Key questions were highlighted on these three topics to better gauge the effectiveness of the current Act. In the OFVGA response, submitted on October 19, 2015, several key problems with the current conservation authority model that can affect our growers were outlined. The OFVGA supports efforts to improve the Conservation Authority structure and recognizes a great opportunity for a continued relationship between the Authorities and Ontario growers.

The OFVGA questions the use of population as a marker of funding and board size, when urban dwellers have access to Conservation Authorities across

the province, regardless of where they live.

The OFVGA also suggests a distinction between the roles of Conservation Authorities and the various ministries and municipalities overseeing the regulations that conservation authorities enforce. Where disagreements take place, the OFVGA suggests and supports the use of a third-party ombudsman to evaluate situations as they arise.

Further, the OFVGA objects to the use of government money by Conservation Ontario to lobby the provincial government on behalf of the conservation authorities.

The source of part of this funding comes from the province and is considered a clear conflict of interest.

The Wetland Conservation in Ontario consultation discussed the potential for a no net loss policy for wetlands in Ontario and could have an impact on the Permit to Take Water Program and further on-farm activities. Specifically, the paper touches on the current system for evaluating provincially significant wetlands as well as the current inventory that MNRF has of Ontario’s wetlands.

In our response, submitted on October 30, 2015, the OFVGA recognized the significance that wetlands play in Ontario’s watersheds and commended the Ontario government on taking steps to solidify legislation that would allow these wetlands greater longevity.

However, the OFVGA questioned the accuracy and completeness of the current inventory that the ministry is

The pristine beauty of Lake Erie's wetlands is on full display in this summer picture.

Photo by Denis Cahill.

The OFVGA suggests that the definition of what constitutes a wetland is incomplete, leaving out human-made wetlands such as drainage ditches, irrigation ponds, and others. Scientific rigour needs to be applied in the development of processes for the evaluation and inventory of wetlands.

using. Further, the OFVGA suggests that the definition of what constitutes a wetland is incomplete, leaving out human-made wetlands such as

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The ‘AQUA Wetland System’ is operated out of doors and can achieve year-round tertiary treatment of wastewater. This sub-surface, vertical flow constructed wetland consists of sand & gravel beds planted with moisture tolerant plant species. Water is pumped vertically from cell to cell. There is no open or standing water.

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drainage ditches, irrigation ponds, and others. Scientific rigour needs to be applied in the development of processes for the evaluation and inventory of wetlands.

There is concern from the OFVGA that the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) is too subjective. Findings can be skewed based on weather events, seasonality, species sightings and land maintenance.

The OFVGA recommended

that human-made wetlands be exempt from legislation pertaining to a no net loss policy.

Further, the OFVGA expressed concern about which regulatory body should be addressing and implementing policies such as these and where the onus falls in proving/disproving which land should be classified as a wetland.

For more information and full versions of these OFVGA responses, please visit www.ofvga.org/news

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PAGE 6 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Time-starved consumers migrate to online produce KAREN DAVIDSON The fresh produce industry is ripe for disruption. Compared to many markets in developed countries, digital commerce is lagging in Canada. But expect that trend to change as timestarved consumers buy more vegetables and fruit online.

Three months ago, Google Express launched a delivery service in San Francisco and West Los Angeles, upping the stakes against Amazon Fresh which has been in the digital marketplace since 2006. Google, usually known as a “search” engine, is leveraging its homeplate advantage to take a bite of the $10.9 billion online grocery market in the U.S. It’s a space that’s expected to grow by almost 10 per cent annually until 2019.

“Think of the new reality this way,” said Davis Yung, CEO Fresh Direct Produce, at an October 28 webinar hosted by the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA). “Three big global companies – Airbnb, Alibaba and Uber – have no bricks and mortar. What are the implications for a mature industry such as produce?”

That subject was explored in the webinar: Technology and

Changing Consumer Expectations. Initially, it’s tough for the sector to imagine that fresh produce could be ordered online without a sensory experience. And yet, that’s exactly what’s happening in the U.S. and with Grocery Gateway in Canada, an online business operated by Longo’s in the Greater Toronto Area.

Steve Quintin, director of Longo’s Digital Commerce, Grocery Gateway says, “Our business is now at a tipping point, with sales of online groceries growing at about 10-12 per cent a year.” During the CPMA webinar, he explained how online grocery shopping has grown organically since 2004. By 2012, the store fulfillment model was interfering with day-to-day business, demanding its own fulfillment centre. Now, there’s a “dark store” says Quintin, describing it as a hybrid between IKEA and Costco.

“Fresh is important to us,” said Quintin, “but fresh is a big barrier to trial. Buying behaviour is different than a bricks-and-mortar store.”

He described how consumers must put trust in personal shoppers to pick the freshest ingredients. Then they must rely that the service, with a minimum

$45 order and $10 per delivery, will execute flawlessly on the day and within the time frame. The logistics are immense to meet customer expectations and to get repeat buyers. But once that confidence is achieved, the shopper’s basket rapidly expands.

To convert browsers to buyers, Quintin said it’s essential to have high-resolution photos and wellwritten product descriptions on the website. He also noted that online buyers are skewed more heavily towards convenience.

Offerings of pre-cut, prepackaged vegetables and potatoes are popular. Once consumers are hooked, the biggest percentage of deliveries is to the home rather than to a business.

Steve Dotto, tech expert and columnist for Canada.com, is not surprised by this success. As the second featured speaker participating in the webinar, he noted how important it is to view the Internet as a place, not a thing.

“For some in the sector, there are different degrees of resistance to Twitter and Facebook,” he said, “but I guarantee that these channels are relevant and have impact in both business-tobusiness and business-toconsumer environments.

Smartphones are changing how

we socialize. Fueling the social fire is mobility.”

Social media is prized for its ability to build relationships, create communities and to engender loyalty. The online irony, Dotto noted, is that with millions of interactions, the consumer still seeks that personal experience. For consumers, that personal interaction is any time of day or night. And the seller has to honour and respect the experience.

In Dotto’s opinion, live streaming will be a game changer.

Applications such as Periscope, MeerKat and Blab work well on mobile phones.

“We can expect to see live video in the future,” Dotto said.

“This is place shifting in real time.”

The opportunities are immense for growers, shippers and retailers to expand reach into consumers’ homes. This is an era of just-intime knowledge, telling the story from farm to table. In return,

consumers like to participate in review systems. This has proved an important function to Amazon who lets consumers rate their products.

“The education layer greases the skid for everything else,” said Dotto. “The cost of acquiring a customer is becoming more important in the online world.

You have to find a way to bind them to you.”

Small and medium-sized produce businesses have an advantage in leveraging these new social media channels.

Google Analytics, for example, allows you to market to targeted postal codes. Test and learn.

Instagram is another social media channel that’s skyrocketing in popularity. A high percentage of photos on Instagram are of food.

“It’s a foodie place,” said Dotto. “So take advantage of the fact that 30 per cent of U.S. adults now have an Instagram account.”

CANADIAN HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL

2016 AGM online registration now open CHC is now accepting registrations for the 2016 Annual General Meeting to be held from March 8 – 10 at the Westin Ottawa. The AGM is a highlight in the Canadian horticultural industry’s calendar and is an

important opportunity for industry members and stakeholders to meet to discuss a way forward for our industry in the upcoming year and beyond. The AGM will again follow a shortened three-day format, but new this year is that

GUELPH ORGANIC CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW Jan 28 - 31 / Guelph University Centre 'WHERE FARMERS & CONSUMERS MEET' Major workshop streams include organic cropping, soil/weed management, livestock, pastures, etc.

Also, greenhouses, orchards, compost, family farm succession, food safety on the organic farm.

4 days, 42 workshops (paid admission).

Sat Jan 30 – Sun Jan 31 FREE 2-day Trade Show/Sampling featuring 165 booths Meet organic ag. & equipment suppliers.

Leading vendors: Willsie, Echo Equipment/BCS, Homestead Organics, Organic Meadow, SunOpta, Harmony Dairy, Pfenning's, Global Repair, Nature's Path Fri Jan 29th Organic Food & Wine Dinner Brochure, info & prices: (519) 824-4120 X56311 Registration, full brochure & exhibitor list www.guelphorganicconf.ca

registration can be done via the CHC website.

As in past years, we are extending an invitation to

members, stakeholders and partners to consider sponsoring the event. The popular Companion Program will again

be offered for spouses and partners who wish to join us in Ottawa.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 7 THE GROWER

SOCIAL MEDIA

Work smarter, not harder with digital KAREN DAVIDSON Think of tech years as dog years. That’s Kelly Ward’s advice to those using social media.

The universe is evolving so quickly that Facebook, launched in 2004, now has 1.8 billion active monthly users worldwide.

Business can’t afford to ignore this phenomenon to reach target customers.

Ward speaks from experience as the supervisor for brand services for Foodland Ontario.

For the last three years, she’s been actively engaged with the demographic of principal grocery shoppers aged 25 to 55. She shared her key learnings on November 10 at the Health Professionals Day hosted by the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

If you’re starting out with social media or ramping up your presence, ask a few questions about what business need you are fulfilling. Is it publishing?

Marketing? Networking? The answer will guide you as to how and when to create content for your target audience.

Once you’re certain about your purpose, build themes that you

can explore on a frequent basis.

For Foodland Ontario, Ward concentrates on a theme that introduces faces of farming.

Another theme embraces the globe at your table, exploring how to explore new ingredients.

Understand the social media consumption patterns of your target audience. For Foodland Ontario, mornings and after children’s bedtimes are good times to snag mothers. For growers, evenings might be a better time for engagement.

Create a content strategy. For growers and farm marketers, this might include thinking ahead about the production cycle or seasonal events and planning key messages around them. If your farm market doesn’t open until May, then it’s a good idea to keep your regular customers engaged with your brand. Maybe it’s a reminder that the fresh strawberries from last summer are sunshine in a jar of jam.

Remember that the month of December is already prime time for many commodities, so the marketing push needs to happen sooner. Or perhaps you should be thinking ahead to sports events in February. If you’re a greenhouse

CANADIAN HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL

RPC Technical Working Group meets

Photo by Glenn Lowson The CHC RPC Technical Working Group recently met in Atlanta in conjunction with PMA Fresh Summit. Discussions focused on proposed options and approaches to field sampling protocols to be conducted in 2016, as well as the need for increased outreach and education.

This includes the use of appropriate labels on RPCs, as well as flagging instances where grower/shippers receive RPCs deemed to be unclean upon visual inspection. Loblaw has prepared and made available information pertaining to labels and IFCO has made available an RPC Quality/Claim Form document

for use in tracking details in support of a claim. Those using RPCs are encouraged to review and use these documents.

In conjunction with Fresh Summit, IFCO hosted an Open House of their McDonough Service Centre. CHC TWG members André Plante, Linda Delli Santi and Anne Fowlie toured the facility.

The TWG was struck in response to CHC AGM resolutions expressing concern over the potential risk of RPCs as pathways for human and plant health pathogens and will meet again in April 2016.

grower, then you’re pushing tomatoes for salsa-based snacks at football parties.

Be sure to consider photos and video. Visuals result in higher engagement and more shareability

with target audiences.

Start planning your 2016 social media calendar. Choose the channels you want to engage in – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest for example – and

coordinate your key messages according to the channel.

It’s a new world and a new year around the corner. Don’t miss 2016, the equivalent of seven dog years.

PAGE 8 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

Carbon, economics, food security and climate change

JASON VERKAIK CHAIR, OFVGA Between the years of 2006 to 2012 there was a massive drought in Syria. Around 1.6 million farmers and rural inhabitants migrated towards the cities.

Previous to this, nearly 1.5 million people had migrated, displaced from Iraq during the earlier civil war and the Gulf wars. These factors, along with others, created food insecurity.

The lack of the government's response to these challenges, along with ballooning populations and unemployment, led to a collapse in agricultural production and the Arab spring.

Now add ISIS to the mix.

They strategically control water – and oil -- for these areas and are involved in a devastating civil war. That’s how we arrive at the end of 2015, with all the inherent complexities of displaced Syrians

on the move. Their plight is heightened with media coverage of the recent attacks in Paris, France. The “City of Light” is shining light on these historic events and the contributors to them.

History shows us that people are generally resilient and resist moving far from the environment in which they grew up. It is usually a combination of war and extreme hunger that create mass migrations of people. Many in the climate change circles bring attention to the Syrian drought.

There is a general consensus that climate change and the warming of the earth are one of the catalysts for this humanitarian crisis.

However, is it our use of fossil fuels that has really put our world into a potentially catastrophic climate that will be the end of our species? Is a zero carbon economy going to influence that much change in our temperatures, which may divert these perceived worst-case scenarios from taking place?

About five years ago I read a book called Superfreakonomics. I highly recommend the read. The following paragraph borrows from that book.

At the turn of the 20th century there was one horse for every 17 people in New York City. The city was covered with horse manure and was at the point of where they couldn't live with

horses and the smell, disease, and the methane gas (a powerful greenhouse gas) caused by horse transportation, nor could they function without the horses.

Then out of innovation, not government policy, electric street cars and automobiles were invented and they were cleaner to run and far more efficient; they were considered an environmental saviour.

Fast forward to all the cars and coal-burning power plants which have now seemed to warm the planet. Climate change debate is not something new created by Al Gore and his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. In the mid 1970s, there were articles in Newsweek and New York Times, to name a couple, about how mankind is not prepared for this new pattern of change in the global temperature, that climate change would force economic and social adjustments on a worldwide scale. However these scientists were publishing journals on global cooling, not global warming. The big fear was the collapse of the agricultural system. In Britain, these changes had already shortened the growing season by two weeks. A measurable natural event occurred in 1991 when Mount Pinatubo, located in the Philippines, erupted emitting more than 20 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. When combined with

water vapour, it created a natural side effect that temporarily reversed the rise in global temperature and cooled the earth.

A single volcanic eruption cooled the globe for two years.

When I grew up, I was taught that carbon was the building block of life and obviously it still is. Yet kids today would consider it a poison. Carbon is portrayed as a negative part of our environment. Let us understand that the carbon cycle is a natural process. Carbon gets released into the air through a multitude of activities: growing food, driving cars. Through photosynthesis, carbon is captured, helps grow plants, and is sequestered back into the soil through the roots.

Carbon dioxide emissions also come from natural processes such as plant decay. Swamps and forests have naturally suffocated themselves with their own emissions and have died off.

World ruminant animals are responsible for 50 per cent more greenhouse gases than our entire transportation sector. It has also been stated that human activity has led to only two per cent of carbon dioxide emissions. Current predictive climate models are limited in their scope. Forecasting models have limitations and are not accurate. Some models have shown that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen after the rise in temperature, not the

157TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING JANUARY 12 & 13, 2016 CROWNE PLAZA NIAGARA FALLS, ON

AWARD OF MERIT NOMINATIONS

TWO-DAY FORMAT

NEW ONLINE REGISTRATION

The award is our way of recognizing the outstanding contribution made by an individual or organization to our fruit and vegetable industry.

Is there someone you would like to nominate?

with meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, banquet Tuesday night.

visit www.ofvga.org to find the link to register online.

Deadline: Nov. 30, 2015

Registration information, Agenda and Award of Merit Nomination form available at

www.ofvga.org

other way around.

One could surmise that I'm trying to discount climate change or the fact that our planet has been continually warming. I believe the data – that the earth overall has warmed, that a warming planet creates intense weather systems, that the polar vortex shifts have created great variations in our seasons, giving us false springs in January, droughts in California, snow in spring, extended warm falls, and excessive amounts of rain. There are many anomalies in our weather patterns. We cannot argue that.

It is on record. However we must also understand the balance.

I recently attended a food security and climate change conference in Ottawa. Phrases such as transitional farming and sustainable nutrition are the new order of the day.

The stars have aligned for our provincial government’s mandate in regards to climate change.

They now have a federal government that is ordering off the same menu. Whether we agree with the worst-case climate change models and fear for what the next generations will face, or we simply attribute all of this to natural variations in weather systems, we must still adapt to the changes.

Continued on next page

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 9 THE GROWER

Carbon, economics, food security and climate change Continued from page 8 The continued support for carbon taxing and/or cap and trade will affect our economy. This will affect agriculture.

It is in our continued best interest to stay at the table and find the opportunities for Ontario horticulture.

The government has promised that all the money raised in the cap and trade system will flow back to innovation to help meet the zero carbon targets. However, if the benefits of carbon sequestering in what's considered normal farming is not counted, then I would argue the normal practices of farming that release carbon into the environment should not be counted against farming as well. Our modern horticultural system has become a very efficient way to produce sustainable affordable nutrition.

We need continued investment from our governments into the production side of horticulture. If we want to see significant change in our emissions maybe we should impose a hefty health tax on junk food and encourage more fruit and vegetable consumption with a minimum half your plate every meal.

Food security will be discussed in concert with developing global climate change policies. We need a national

Photo courtesy of Charles Stevens. food policy developed with a continental food strategy.

This must start at the production level. This must be done without adding any more burdens to our farms.

Farmers must be recognized for the efficient way in which they produce sustainable nutrition. We must continue to support soil health as the essential component for the natural carbon cycle.

This brings us back to Paris, where the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held from

Nov. 30th to Dec. 11th. Our government will be well represented and listened to. They will bring aggressive targets that must be balanced with economics and global competitiveness.

Even the most well-meaning urban environmentalist or climate change promoters are not ready to give up their luxuries; They ride a bike 15 km a day to work and discuss agriculture while sipping on a local Cabernet as they trade conversation on the local broccoli they had at dinner. But they would not engage in a mass migration from the concrete jungle, to buy an ox, horse, and cow and move to the countryside. Just like New York City got themselves to a point where they couldn't continue to live with the horses and but couldn’t live without the horses.

An innovative economic decision created the change needed to move forward, one that cost less, not more.

In Ontario, the rising cost of energy, all in the name of a low-carbon economy, is challenging our competitiveness. We are subject to the policies of the day and future generations are subjected to the unintended consequences they deliver. Change will only happen once we are given the proper incentive. Let the change be a thriving sustainable agricultural economy.

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION

Board briefs The following board briefs are from the Thursday, November 19, 2015 board meeting. Topics ranged from the current status of SDRM payments, the bird damage mitigation group, and all of the latest news, including the emergence of the hive beetle.

The development of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plant (ORPP) is continuing despite the federal election results. The first meeting between the new Prime Minister and the Ontario Premier saw instructions go to Canada Revenue Agency to share data.

Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) – Adrian Huisman The advocacy side of CHC has submitted a list of the new ministers appointed; mandate letters have been given to all ministers from the Prime Minister. No mention was made of PACA despite it being an election promise.

The Fall Harvest event did not take place in November due to the election. The next one is scheduled for November 21, 2016.

Organization for the CHC Annual General Meeting is underway. The AGM will take place in Ottawa March 8-10, 2016 at the Westin Hotel, Ottawa.

Labour – Ken Forth

Safety Nets – Mark Wales The Self Directed Risk Management (SDRM) program is running smoothly with most participants having received their funds. The direct deposit system is operating smoothly.

There was significant damage to some crops as a result of the May frost. Overall the crop insurance program will not have large payouts this year as a long fall made for a good harvest.

As a reminder, growers should be aware that applications next year to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program need to be received well in advance. Ken Forth recommends 14 weeks.

Property – Brian Gilroy The Horticultural Value Chain Round Table meeting will take place the last week of November.

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) has withdrawn from this committee. With the withdrawal of CPMA, there is now discussion on how to better engage retailers.

The Bird Damage Mitigation project has received partial funding from OMAFRA’s Agriculture Wildlife Conflict Strategy Fund to carry the project forward another two years. However, the ministry has indicated the funding should be applied to another deterrent than the kestrel nesting box research. The project advisory committee will be meeting in December to discuss options for supporting the kestrel component as well. The funding is for the Invisishield project,

which is being conducted in collaboration with Brock University.

We’re optimistic to continue work on developing other means to mitigate the damage birds create for fruit and vegetable crops.

The Farm and Food Care Environmental Advisory Council has met regarding phosphorus loading of the Great Lakes. A report is available for download through the Farm and Food Care website.

Research – Harold Schooley Harold Schooley, OFVGA Research Section chair, is currently in the midst of reviewing the Letters of Intent submitted by research scientists looking for funding through the OMAFRA/U of G Research Agreement. These letters are an initial look at who will be invited to submit full proposals for research projects to compete for limited government funding. The review includes all proposals aimed at the production systems plants theme: field crops, edible horticultural and non-edible horticultural crops.

The OFVGA is actively supporting the development of a research project on Precision Agricultural Technologies being led by Ontario Agri-Food Technologies and the University of Guelph. Harold has participated in the engagement of this program, including the steering committee and evaluation of proposals to support the integration

of “Big Data.” This project could have ramifications across all edible horticulture, and our participation on the steering committee ensures significant direction in its development.

OFVGA has issued two letters of support to research-based projects. The first is Durham College which is applying for an Applied Research Tools and Instruments (ARTI) Grant. The second was supplied to a vegetable processor for an innovative type of packing machinery for spinach salad greens to prevent bruised product from entering the packaging.

Crop Protection – Charles Stevens The Minor Use Priority Setting Meeting will be held March 21 24, 2016 in Gatineau, Quebec.

The first part of the meeting will be dedicated to educating people about resistance management.

Members should make sure their commodity is represented at that meeting.

Craig Hunter and Charles Stevens attended the NAFTA meeting in North Carolina. They visited the Bayer Crop Science Bee Research Centre which showcases ways in which the crop protection industry is being proactive towards the health of bees, including the neonicotinoid situation. In future, farm organizations may want to think about a similar demonstration facility in Ontario. Politicians and various school-aged children were able to

tour the facility.

In Mexico, the main issue at the 2014 NAFTA meeting was to get the Mexican government and their growers to create a minor use priority-setting meeting. On August 14, 2015, the first meeting was held, allowing us to work with each country to have a priority setting meeting for minor use chemistries resulting in more joint registrations. This year’s meeting was on two subjects: MRLs for trade and an increase in more joint reviews. More joint reviews signals great success; if more countries can get together to register on a chemistry with aligned MRLs, perhaps Codex will accept more MRLs. Craig Hunter also gave a presentation on inadvertent residues, otherwise known as soil bound residues; the technology for detection of these chemistries has changed significantly, with parts per trillion now quantifiable in some cases. This could potentially be an issue in the future. The next NAFTA meeting is in Canada, however the date and location cannot be confirmed at this time.

The Hive Beetle has been identified as a potential quarantine threat to the province.

The beetle has been present in some hives in Ontario since 2010.

Not a lot is known at present but the Ontario Beekeepers Association (OBA) will address this at their AGM.

PAGE 10 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

Are you blue or are you seeing red?

JOHN KELLY EXECUTIVE VP, OFVGA We are now a few weeks into a new federal government, with a majority government in place. To many, this was indeed a shock as the general feeling was that there was going to be a minority government. A minority government would have meant a different form of governing, with the requirement for more consensus building and a more collegial approach. A majority government, however, gives those in power a very strong hand indeed, and the necessity for credible and valuable consultation is weakened. This certainly has been the case in Ontario when the current provincial government was elected almost two years ago.

There are a number of implications for not only a majority government, but also one that has changed parties. If the Conservatives would have been re-elected, it is likely that many of the policies and programs would have been status quo, however with the Liberal party elected, chances are good that there will be a significant change in direction. For agriculture this will be led by new Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

For horticulture, this can have some significant implications.

Probably front and center of major issues affecting this sector was the Liberal commitment, if elected, to resolve the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) challenge that is currently in place with our U.S. neighbours. Prior to October 2014, Canadian sellers to U.S. buyers occupied a preferential position in seller protection.

When this was withdrawn, it became the major policy discussion for horticulture in Ottawa.

Both the Liberals and New Democratic Party stated that they would work to enact enabling legislation to renew this process and grant reciprocity to U.S. sellers in Canada. Further, this would add

more protection for Canadian sellers selling within Canada. It will be very interesting to see how this develops and the OFVGA and the Canadian Horticultural Council will be lobbying strongly to have this occur.

Beyond PACA, other federal programs are likely to change.

The current federal agricultural policy framework, which includes individual agreements with each of the provinces, will no doubt be evaluated and altered. While the current Growing Forward 2 framework is in place until March 2018, there will be much discussion on what the future will hold for federal-provincial relations in agriculture. The agriculture policy framework does include both business risk management (BRM) and non-BRM programs, such as the innovation investments.

Compared to the previous government, the new federal government is also going to put a larger emphasis on the environment and its sustainability. The implications for horticulture have yet to be determined, since legislative environmental responsibilities also fall to the provincial jurisdiction.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership

trade agreement, which generally has been viewed positively by most in agriculture for its expanded trade opportunities, will be evaluated by the Liberal government. While it is probable that there will be modifications to the agreement when it is presented to parliament, it is also unlikely that there will be enough disagreement to prevent passage through the house. The government will claim it as its own after passage.

Trade with the U.S., which represents the majority of our horticultural exports, will continue to expand (even further with PACA protection). Reducing border issues -- including transit time, trade delays and removing trade irritants -- will be essential to the perishable horticulture sector. The Great Lakes region has tremendous trade volume, and international collaboration on product harmonization, market access and environmental concerns will be beneficial for all growers.

Another interesting dilemma for the Liberal government will be the real dynamic strain between rural and urban communities. In the last Ontario provincial election, it became very evident that the power of the

urban vote swayed the election of the government, with most rural seats being Conservative and most urban seats being Liberal, with a smattering of NDP. It is no coincidence that this appears to have happened for a second time in Ontario. While there are exceptions of some Conservative and NDP seats in urban centres, most of the Ontario urban seats belong to the Liberal party. That rural Ontario seats are dominated

by Conservatives is not a surprise. What does this mean for how the federal Liberals deal with agricultural issues in Ontario?

Will horticultural issues in Ontario, which are mostly rural, be heard? Another question yet to be answered is what does the predominance of the rural Conservative party in Saskatchewan and Alberta mean for western Canadian agriculture and its voice in Ottawa?

Whether or not the results of the federal election have made you blue, or have you seeing red, it is essential that the horticultural sector work with the government on relevant issues. The next four years depend on the ability of its representatives to present a clear, cohesive message that promotes the viability and sustainability of the sector.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS

This pastoral scene of sheep grazing in a sour cherry orchard was taken near Simcoe, Ontario at the farm of Brett and Carrie Schuyler. The Grower staff wishes all our readers peace and joy throughout the Christmas season. Photo by Glenn Lowson.

STAFF Publisher: Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association Editor: Karen Davidson, 416-557-6413, editor@thegrower.org Production: Carlie Melara, ext. 221, production@thegrower.org Advertising: Herb Sherwood, 519-380-0118, advertising@thegrower.org The Grower reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Any errors that are the direct result of The Grower will be compensated at our discretion with a correction notice in the next issue.

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The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association is the sole owner of The Grower. All editorials and opinions expressed in The Grower are those of the newspaper’s editorial staff and/or contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the association.

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ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Crop Protection Research Property Labour Safety Nets CHC

Chair Vice-Chair Fruit Director Veg Director Director

Jason Verkaik, Bradford Jan Vander Hout, Waterdown Norm Charbonneau, Port Elgin Mac James, Leamington John Thwaites, Niagara-on-the-Lake

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Apples Fresh Vegetable - Other Tender Fruit ON Asparagus Grws’. Mkg. Brd. GGO/Fresh Grape Growers Fresh Vegetable - Muck ON. Potato Board Small Fruit/Berries ON. Ginseng Growers’ Greenhouse Greenhouse

Charles Stevens, Newcastle Kenny Forth, Lynden John Thwaites, Niagara-on-the-Lake Neil Reimer, Vienna Bill George Jr., Beamsville Jason Verkaik, Bradford Mac James, Leamington Norm Charbonneau, Port Elgin Ken Van Torre, Burford Jan Vander Hout, Waterdown George Gilvesy, Tillsonburg

Charles Stevens, Newcastle Harold Schooley, Simcoe Brian Gilroy, Meaford Ken Forth, Lynden Mark Wales, Alymer Murray Porteous, Simcoe

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 11 THE GROWER

PERSPECTIVE The Canada brand will make your commodity more lucrative

OWEN ROBERTS U OF GUELPH Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is just back from a trade mission to China, with $2.5 billion in agreements. Not all of them are agricultural, but some are. And further, they’re directly connected to the perception that Canadian products are superior.

Why are they considered superior? Well, because they’re Canadian. It’s like Canada has become its own brand.

This comes up again and again. For example, after significant market research in China, Japan, Mexico and right here at home, Canada Beef, a national advocacy group, announced what consumers, importers and processors like most about Canadian beef is that it’s Canadian.

At an Ontario-European forum, hosted by the University of Guelph to connect agri-food business for investment and trade, branding expert Jo-Ann McArthur noted that when chicken farmers considered branding, their research revealed 85 per cent of

consumers considered it important that Canadian farmers were identified with the product. That thinking resulted in the popular “Raised by a Canadian farmer” brand for chicken.

Consider the price of branded Canadian potatoes versus their generic counterparts. It’s not unusual to find them several times more expensive than nonbranded potatoes. People think there’s value in seeing photos of the Canadian farmers who grew them or the farms they came from, and hearing their stories.

“Stories evoke an emotional response,” said forum speaker Prof. John Cranfield, chair of the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph. “People are buying products with a story.”

It’s time for the agri-food sector to broadly figure out how to take advantage of these stories and bundle the Canadian brand.

Canada Beef brand officer James Bradbury says consumers everywhere “understand that Canada has a unique environment with lots of land, water and clean air, an environment that…shapes our values and inspires our work.”

Sustainability is a key consumer concern. Is it also part of our values, and therefore part of our brand?

There’s no time to waste.

Forum participant Ezio Di Emanuele, now a senior advisor with the accounting and business consulting firm MNP, says looking ahead, we know Canada and the European Union (EU) are going to do more business, including a significant amount

Photo courtesy of Jealous Fruits, based in Winfield, British Columbia.

more in the agri-food arena. After all, an agreement’s in place.

So why are Canadian agribusinesses waiting for someone to do something, or tell them what to do, before they begin working on market development there? It’s already started. A lot of work can be done between now and when the EU agreement is active.

That’s particularly true when it comes to adding value to raw products. Canada is notorious for low-value shipping commodities and buying back finished products at a much higher price, to the peril of our trade balance.

Given our country’s commitment to research, the discussion at the forum underlined to me that the Canada brand has a big opportunity to

GARLIC

Building on 2015 success MARK WALES Now that the garlic crop is nestled in the ground building a strong root system for 2016, it’s time for the fall growers’ meeting. The Garlic Growers’ Association of Ontario (GGAO) will be meeting December 5, OMAFRA building, Woodstock at 9 am.

The agenda includes an update on current research projects, a new project on bulb and stem nematodes and alternative methods of control. Let’s share results from the 2015 crop season and marketing programs to build on success. The website working group will report on progress and how to make it more interactive for members.

To wrap up, let’s look at the last 20 years and figure out where GGAO wants to go from here.

Garlic was on display at last month’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. The brown bulbs are shallots which are interspersed with the garlic.

boast about how research underpins products developed here – not just in the actual product, but also areas that support its development, such as soil conservation.

Brand expert McArthur urged Canada to take some lessons from Ireland, which has launched a branding campaign called Origin Green that speaks to many of the same virtues that attract our admirers. In it, a narrator urges all members of the Irish food sector

to get onboard. “Many of the things we need to do for sustainability are already in place,” she says.

Same with Canada. McArthur further suggested the new agriculture and agri-food minister drive towards a Canada brand for our 150th anniversary.

It’s the season of presents . . . and what a great present the Canada brand would be to the agri-food community, and indeed to the world.

PAGE 12 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

Phosphorus management – What really has to change?

BRUCE KELLY Those in agriculture are being asked by both the provincial and federal government to reduce the amount of phosphorus that runs into Lake Erie by 40 per cent.

This does not mean a 40 per cent reduction in the amount of fertilizer we use, but rather we are being asked to reduce the amount that runs off from our agricultural facilities by 40 per cent. This difference is important.

Farmers are pragmatic folks and look for practical solutions to problems, but phosphorus management is a complex topic.

As much as phosphorus likes to bind with soil particles, it can also move with the soil if it erodes or can dissolve in waters that flow off the land or down into the soil.

This makes it somewhat confusing to figure out which practices we might need to modify in order to reduce phosphorus runoff.

In my opinion there are four basic areas we need to focus on, where farming practices might be contributing to the problem: • Soil Erosion. We must stop water from flowing in large volumes across fields and down slopes. We need to learn how to re-incorporate grass waterways back into glyphosate-resistant field crop systems.

• Building soil health and its ability to hold nutrients. We must look at our tillage regime, use of cover crops and crop rotations to increase organic matter, and improve the water-

holding capacity of our soils to both store nutrients and reduce what runs off our farms.

• Nutrient use. By now most of us have heard of the 4Rs (right source, right rate, right time, right place) but each operation needs to focus on those Rs that matter most to their situation. Let’s assume we are soil testing and putting on the correct source and amount of nutrients, so we need to focus on correct time and placement of nutrients to minimize the amount of phosphorus that is moving off our fields. We know we need phosphorus for optimal plant growth, but at the same time we need to figure out when and how to put it on, so that it won’t be susceptible to movement.

• Agricultural Point Sources.

Tile outlets, pond outlets and building outlets can be an opportunity to reduce or eliminate phosphorus outflows with new kinds of technological solutions.

The Holland Marsh Growers’ Association, Flowers Canada, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers and The Ontario Greenhouse Alliance are currently researching water treatment options and contributing to a base of knowledge that will allow growers greater choices in affordable options to re-circulate and treat water streams.

The issue of phosphorus in the Great Lakes is going to test our industry. There are a number of commodity-specific programs underway to demonstrate the

sustainability of agriculture. But talking the talk is easier than walking the walk. We will need to prove that we can reduce the environmental impacts beyond our farm boundaries. Thus far, sustainability initiatives have been largely unchallenged as they seek to address customer, government and consumer concerns about sustainability. The phosphorus issue will push commodity-driven farm sustainability programs, and industry-supported programs such as the 4Rs to prove that they can address whatever the criticism might be about a specific issue: nutrient use, antibiotic use, animal welfare, social responsibility or in this case the reduction of nutrients that flow off our agricultural operations.

What actual farm practices should farmers be looking at on their farms?

• Are you using a good crop rotation that maintains soil organic matter or is soy-on-soy a regular occurrence on your farm?

• Have you looked at the drainage patterns on your field and done everything possible given your farm’s drainage pattern to reduce overland flow of water? Even if that means you have to farm differently than your neighbours?

• Look at when and how you (or your supplier) uses manure or fertilizer. Is it the best time of year to apply and is it incorporated or side dressed where possible? Are nutrients applied while a green crop is on the field that will bind the nutrients? Or is it put on

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a barren brown field where it is susceptible to runoff or snow melt? What changes could you make in how or when you apply nutrients to keep your fertilizer away from the water?

We must refine our systems so that the nutrients our plants need are kept out of the waters that flow off our farms. The issue of Great Lakes phosphorus and a 40 per cent reduction target is not going to just blow over. If we are

really committed to sustainability, agriculture must respond to the challenge and commit to specific measurable actions to help play our part in a reductions strategy.

For more information on water and nutrient projects at Farm & Food Care Ontario, contact Bruce Kelly at bruce@farmfoodcare.org Bruce Kelly is environmental program manager, Farm & Food Care Ontario.

COMING EVENTS 2015 Dec 1

Christian Farmers’ Federation of Ontario Convention, St. George Banquet Hall, Waterloo, ON

Dec 1 – 3

GrowCanada Conference, Calgary, AB

Dec 2

Ontario Potato Board Annual General Meeting, Cambridge Holiday Inn, Hall C, Cambridge, ON 10 a.m.

Dec 8 – 10 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo, Devos Place Convention Centre, Grand Rapids, MI Dec 10

CanadaGAP Annual General Meeting, Canadian Federation of Agriculture Boardroom, Ottawa, ON

2016 January 7-9 North American Strawberry Growers’ Association, in conjunction with the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Savannah, GA January 12

Ontario Apple Growers Annual General Meeting, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Niagara Falls, ON

January 12

Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario Annual General Meeting, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Niagara Falls, ON

Jan 12-13

Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association Annual General Meeting, Crowne Plaza, Niagara Falls, ON

Jan 12-14

Potato Expo 2016, Las Vegas, NV

Jan 19-21

Empire State Producers’ Expo, Oncenter, Syracuse, NY

Jan 26-27

Nova Scotia Horticultural Congress, Old Orchard Inn, Greenwich, NS

Jan 26-27

Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association Annual Convention, “Replant, Renew, Refocus,” Old Orchard Inn, Greenwich, NS

Jan 26-28

Manitoba Potato Production Days, Keystone Centre, Brandon, MB

Jan 28-31

Guelph Organic Conference and Trade Show, Guelph University Centre, Guelph, ON

Jan 29-30

B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association Annual General Meeting, Ramada Inn, Kelowna, BC

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Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention, ScotiaBank Conference Centre, Niagara Falls, ON

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B.C. Tree Fruit Horticultural Symposium, Trinity Baptist Church, Kelowna, BC

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DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 13 THE GROWER

RETAIL NAVIGATOR

Category managers will change as a reminder and if they are new then you definitely need to meet.

If you have a seasonal item, timing might impact this. Photos and videos work well if you are out of season. This is your chance to reinforce your unique selling point. Why your product over the others?

2. What do they know about your company?

PETER CHAPMAN One of the realities of the food business is that you need to embrace change. The consumer is constantly changing and the retailers are trying to keep up which impacts suppliers. Another reality is that the category managers you work with will change too. You need to be ready for these changes. If you manage these changes properly, it should have a positive impact on your business.

Be ready for a smooth transition You should always be prepared to meet a new category manager or a new customer. This means you have a solid profile of your business, your products and your unique selling point. Not a 57-page history lesson, but a succinct package that will position your business and your products properly. My recommendation would be to review this annually and it should always be ready because you never know when change will happen.

Top five questions when a category manager changes Every personnel change is different. Sometimes the assistant category manager gets promoted in which case he/she should have a good working knowledge of the category and the suppliers. Other times, the retailer will decide a person in finance needs to get exposure to different parts of the business. They probably have very little experience with production, the history of the category and they might have never heard of your business. When I took over produce for Loblaw in Atlantic Canada, my background was in the marketing department.

The growers who took the time to teach me about produce got my attention.

When a change happens, you need to assess the level of knowledge of the new person in the following areas: 1. What do they know about your product?

You should always try to get your product in front of the category manager. If they are familiar, then the meeting serves

Category managers need suppliers to perform and they need to understand your capabilities and why you are a solid supplier. You should provide them with a brief profile of your business and where you see opportunities for growth. Success stories from recent years always help to position your business.

3. What do they know about your category?

I think back to when I started in produce and I really did not know much. I needed to learn fast and there were some suppliers who really did focus on helping me to understand the category.

Food is very seasonal and the lead times for every item can be unique. If the new person has 20 years of experience in the category do not try to tell them how to do it. If they are new to the category this is a great chance to position yourself as a valued supplier. Take the time to share insights throughout their first year.

4. What do they know about your industry?

Every food department has different challenges. Years ago, most category managers had experience in the store and they knew the category and the industry. That is not the case today. Employees do not stay with companies like they used to and companies see value in moving people around the organization to get more exposure. A new person with little experience does not have time to get out to plants or fields. You need to take your experience to them. With technology today you can make the experience almost as rich.

5. What do they know about your region?

If you are located in a region away from where the category manager is working this can be an opportunity. Even if they are experienced in the category or the industry you can still take the time to help them understand some of the unique perspectives of Western Canada or Atlantic Canada.

When a new category manager comes into the position you have a new relationship to build. Find the opportunities for you to add

value. Often I hear suppliers complaining when these changes happen. It is reality and you have to look for the opportunity.

Time of year is important The time of year the change happens is very important. This can have a big impact on your business. Make sure you advise the new person about lead times required for decisions. They might not be aware that you have specialized seed or ingredients that require more lead-time than others in the category.

Special arrangements You should always make a new person aware of any special arrangements you had with their predecessor. Do not assume they will have a complete transition that includes you. Find the right opportunity to discuss the issues.

Remember the previous category manager made the agreement on behalf of the company, so you have to position it as though it will continue.

Your first meeting or call should focus on the top issues Respect the time you have with the new category manager.

They probably have a lot to learn and they cannot spend an hour with 200 different suppliers. My recommendation is to review the questions we discussed earlier and put together a top three to five issues you want to cover.

Focus on these and then start to work through other items as your relationship evolves. They will appreciate your efforts to focus on the important items. Again, make contact as soon as possible.

You should always make a new person aware of any special arrangements you had with their predecessor. Do not assume they will have a complete transition that includes you. seventies. Pete promptly asked them, with a twinkle in his eye, to produce ID to prove they were old enough to drink. After a few laughs, they both bought the wine. He is a master. It is unfortunate we are losing another independent. These stores make the big ones better. They push ahead faster and they can respond to the consumer very quickly.

When I was at Loblaw, we had to watch what these stores were doing and they did make us better.

Loblaw to drop Loblaw brand in Quebec

Remember to say good-bye It is always important to follow up with the departing category manager. You never know when your paths will cross again.

Regardless of the type of relationship you had, it is important to wish them all the best. If you have some stories and ideas about transitioning to a new category manager or if you have any questions you can contact me at pchapman@gpsbusiness.ca.

RETAIL NEWS Pete’s in Halifax purchased by Sobeys Recently, Sobeys announced they were buying Pete’s in Halifax. Pete Luckett and his stores are famous for their great produce and his fantastic ability to sell anything to everybody. I remember watching Pete demo his wine when he was starting the winery. Two women were in line for samples, and they were probably well into their sixties or

Loblaw has announced they will drop their efforts to brand Quebec stores as Loblaw and focus on Provigo. It is amazing the power brands can have and the value they deliver in the market. Personally I believe the offering, the pricing and the experience should make the name on the front irrelevant. Obviously Loblaw felt differently and their consumers must be telling them so.

The challenge for Loblaw is the added complexity of their business, which adds costs. They compete against two large competitors who keep it very simple.

Their low-cost model allows them to charge lower retail prices for the same items. It will be interesting to see if this change will help the company drive sales in the face of a strong IGA, a Quebecbased Metro and more Walmart and Costco stores.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DESK

Flipp is a great app for flyers It can be a challenge to follow all the items on sale in food stores. One of the great things about my consulting business is that I get to work with a lot of different people. Recently, a client’s staff member shared this app with me: Flipp. It maintains an inventory of all flyers currently available in different markets.

You simply use the postal code to get access to the specific flyers.

If you are in Ontario ,you can follow item and price in any market just by changing the postal code.

There are two great features: search and favourites. You can search for a particular item each week. If you want to know what onions are on sale in any flyer you simply search for onions. In an instant you get them all on your phone. You will even get onion rings! If you search for apples you will get fresh and Apple computers! The other timesaving feature is the favourites.

You can select specific flyers to be favourites and each week they will be there for you so you don’t have to search through everything.

I always encourage suppliers to understand what is happening with the ads and their items. This is a great tool to simplify that process for you.

Peter Chapman is a retail consultant, professional speaker and the author of A la cart-A suppliers’ guide to retailers’ priorities. Peter is based in Halifax NS, where he is the principal at GPS Business Solutions. Peter works with producers and processors to help them navigate through the retail environment with the ultimate goal to get more of their items in the shopping cart. pchapman@gpsbusiness.ca.

PAGE 14 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

FOCUS: GREAT LAKES FARMING

Questions about phosphorous are outstanding in the field KAREN DAVIDSON Lake Erie is ground zero for new environmental monitoring in Ontario. Concern over the health of the lake was renewed in 2014 when toxic algal blooms caused the city of Toledo, Ohio to stop intakes for drinking water.

This cross-border issue is putting pressure on Ontario farmers, specifically in the Thames River watershed which runs into Lake St. Clair and tributaries in the Leamington area. Stateside, the Maumee River and Sandusky river systems that flow through the heart of Ohio agricultural regions have been identified as major U.S. contributors to phosphorus in the western basin.

As Bruce Kelly, environmental project manager for Farm and Food Care Ontario, reports on page 12 of this issue, agriculture, along with other sectors, is being coaxed to reduce the amount of phosphorus going into Lake Erie by 40 per cent by 2030. It’s an aspirational target. He’s careful to point out that does not mean reducing phosphorus fertilizer use by 40 per cent but rather working strategically to reduce the small amount that might currently be leaving farmland through soil erosion or dissolved in spring melt water.

However, research is still lacking on how to advise farmers on the practicalities and suitability of some of the best management practices for controlling phospho-

rus losses across a range of environmental conditions. Professor Ivan O’Halloran at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, who specializes in soil fertility and nutrient use efficiency, explains why.

“While we may be reducing overall phosphorus loading into Lake Erie, we may not be reducing the soluble phosphorus,” he says. “It’s the soluble phosphorus that’s biting us now in terms of algal blooms. We’ve reduced the particulate phosphorus but not the soluble phosphorus which is more bioavailable. Very small amounts can have a significant unwanted environmental impact.”

For example, O’Halloran explains that the inter-relationships between soil type, soil test P levels and cover crops species are not completely understood. Cover crops vary in their effectiveness for controlling soil erosion and the loss of soil bound (or particulate) phosphorus from farmland.

Cover crops can also be a source of soluble phosphorus loss, particularly during spring snow melts.

These losses also can vary with the age and species of cover crop.

Higher soil test P levels also give greater risks of both soluble and particulate phosphorus loss in runoff, and typically higher soluble phosphorus levels in plants.

So at what point in a given field does the risk of soluble phosphorus loss with a cover crop exceed the benefit of reduced erosion and reduced total phosphorus loss?

Often the importance of these

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inter-relationships is lost when the main message is generalized to a simple statement that says cover crops are either good or bad for controlling phosphorus loss.

What researchers seem to agree on is that the practice of fall broadcasting of dry fertilizer without incorporation seems a likely contributor to the problem.

O’Halloran says that fall broadcasting might be convenient and allows for more time for other operations in the spring, but it’s not the best management practice agronomically or environmentally. He understands that farmers might also be taking advantage of better fertilizer prices in the fall and that suppliers are moving fertilizer to farms for logistical reasons, but he reasons that farmers in high-risk areas should warehouse fertilizer until the spring.

Fortunately, Mark Wales, a section chair for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, sits as the only Canadian farmer on the Great Lakes Water Quality Board. This 28-member, volunteer board advises the International Joint Commission (IJC) on the Great Lakes which in turn advises the respective national governments.

Ontario has accepted the IJC recommendations for reduced phosphorus loading in Lake Erie, Wales reports, but it’s not a hard target. It’s hoped that 20 per cent of the target will be reached by 2020. The positive news is that most of the phosphorus problem is generated on the American side of the border.

“The U.S. accepts that 90 per cent of the loading is on its side of Lake Erie, and that agriculture, sewage plants and stormwater management need to be better,” says Wales. “Ohio has just banned the practice of spreading manure on snow or frozen soil.

We’ve had this rule in place in Ontario since 2003 as a result of the Nutrient Management Act. And Ontario farmers do very little fall fertilizing. Overall, Ontario agriculture is ahead of the curve on this issue.”

Wales believes that best management practices will evolve as more research and monitoring reveal more hard data. Two facts are worth noting now. First, 40 per cent of the lake sediment is contaminated with phosphorus and significant phosphorus can be found in stream banks and sediments. Farmers can’t influence what’s already embedded.

Secondly, researchers who examined runoff data are showing how most of the phosphorus loading occurs between November and April, when more extreme weather events tend to occur.

With that knowledge, farmers can begin to implement target practices to prevent runoff during this critical period. The challenge is to examine nutrient use schedules and try to figure out how to keep nutrients away from spring melt waters.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 15 THE GROWER

FOCUS: GREAT LAKES FARMING

Connect and collaborate at the Great Lakes Expo By the numbers, the Great Lakes Expo packs a punch: 4200 visitors from 43 states and five Canadian provinces. Grand Rapids, Michigan is where the horticultural industry intersects for three days every December. This year’s program runs December 8-10.

Dave Smith, executive director of the Michigan Vegetable Council, is one of the event planners. He points out that online registration is closed but the numbers are on pace for another well-attended event.

More than 450 exhibitors are expected for the trade show including a separate area this year for vendors to farm markets.

Here are some events of special interest.

December 7 Fourth National Vegetable Grafting Symposium This is the first time that this vegetable grafting symposium has been held in a northern U.S. state. Previous meetings have been in Florida, California, and Georgia.

It’s an opportunity for Canadian propagators to mix with academia, extension workers, seed and equipment suppliers.

Canadians currently supply a large percentage of the grafted solanaceous plants, particularly tomato, to the U.S. Matthew Kleinhenz, a panel moderator, works as an extension vegetable specialist for Ohio State University and as a member of a team working to help U.S. growers make better use of grafting and grafted plants. Their reach is global with the website www.vegetablegrafting.org.

Note that this symposium is held the day before the official opening of Great Lakes Expo. The entire program can be accessed here: http://ow.ly/UREFA Expo attendees may participate in a Vegetable Grafting Clinic on December 8 and 9, 8:30 am to 5 pm. The clinic will feature a take-your-time, do-it-yourself approach to learning more about grafting.

Experts will be on hand to answer questions. In addition, there will be publications, posters, and videos available for viewing. All items needed to graft tomato and melon seedlings will also be on hand.

Clinic participants can try their hand at grafting, with or without input from experienced grafters. Participants can spend as much time as they want and come and go based on their schedule. Clinic participation is free with EXPO registration.

December 8 and 9 Michigan Greenhouse Growers’ Expo This two-day event is held in conjunction with the Great Lakes Expo. Subjects include: growing leafy greens and herbs in a hydroponic system, greenhouse insect control update and the latest neonicotinoid research results, are using good bugs a cost-effective strategy for controlling insect pests of spring crops.

December 9 Food Safety Seminar The food safety workshop with Trever

Suslow, Postharvest Technology Center at the University of California, is booked to capacity and is not accepting more registrants. He is an international expert on the subject of wash water sanitation for a diversity of horticultural crops, both preharvest and post-harvest. The Grower will follow up with highlights for the January 2016 issue.

However the food safety seminar and webinar on December 9 is open. This will focus on the Food Safety Modernization Act which is relevant to Canadian exporters.

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PAGE 16 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 17 THE GROWER

PAGE 18 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

FOCUS: GREAT LAKES FARMING

Air dancers as a potential bird deterrent in blueberries HEIDI M. HENRICHS, PAUL D. CURTIS, JAY R. BOULANGER As part of a USDA-SCRI study, our research team has spent the last two years examining bird damage to fruit crops in New York State, as well as Michigan, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest. We examined many different aspects of bird damage including: 1) bird species causing damage and their behavior; 2) spatial distribution of damage within a plot (edge vs. interior); 3) effect of the surrounding landscape; 4) grower opinions; and 5) economic costs.

The main goal of this project is to identify cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally-friendly ways to deter birds from eating cherries, blueberries, apples, and wine grapes.

In 2013, we pilot tested several different techniques in New York State, including bird distress callers, hawk kites, and “air dancers” (inflatable, flexible fabric, colourful “people”, powered by a fan to move around).

Bird behavior data were collected through the use of 15minute point counts, and 1.5-hour observation periods, where all birds present were recorded as well as their specific foraging behavior in the target fruit plot.

The top four birds seen during these periods in blueberry plots were: American robins (Turdus migratorius), Baltimore orioles (Icterus galbula), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), and cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum).

Given the nature of blueberry plantings in New York, we had very few plots with more than four rows of Blue Crop planted in a block, so we were unable to find differences in bird damage between the edges and interior of plots. Data concerning the surrounding landscape and its effect on bird damage are still under analysis.

Assessments and surveys of bird damage to blueberries in central New York took place in 2012 and 2013, with 14 sites and 12 sites, respectively.

Preliminary analysis indicated that the average amount of blue-

berries damaged by birds in all sites was significantly higher in 2012 (21.8%) than 2013 (8.7%).

We believe this is due to the poor fruit crop in 2012, caused by the warm March temperatures, and following late-April freeze. With the low fruit numbers in 2012, bird damage was a more important part of overall crop losses.

We set up a small pilot test of air dancers in four sites during 2013. The average percent loss to birds in the air dancer sites was 7.4 per cent, which was lower than for paired control blocks, as well as non-trial sites (8.3%, 9.6%, respectively), although this was not a statistically significant difference.

Simultaneous trials in Michigan blueberries reflected this trend, but low sample sizes make it difficult to show a statistical difference. Air dancers showed a similar trend in our grape trials, and were the only deterrent to show any measurable effectiveness for our target fruit varieties.

We have updated information from a larger trial conducted with air dancers in New York and

Michigan states. The air dancers showed significant reductions in fruit losses caused by birds only for wine grapes in the larger study. Trials in sweet cherries and blueberries did not show significant reductions in bird damage. Updated results will be presented at the Ontario Fruit and

Vegetable Convention in Niagara Falls, Ontario on February 18, 2016.

Heidi Henrichs, Paul D. Curtis and Jay R Boulanger are researchers with Cornell University's Department of Natural Resources.

Connecting cross-border

KAREN DAVIDSON When research dollars are finite, it pays to collaborate.

That’s what the Great Lakes Fruit Workers have been doing since 2006. In the past month, about 50 fruit researchers, extensionists and independent IPM consultants gathered in Geneva, New York for a conference that drilled down into seven subjects. They are: • New Fruit Production Systems & Technologies • Plant Breeding & New Cultivar Trials • Plant, Water, & Nutrient Management • Pest & Beneficial Insect Management • Disease Management • Postharvest Management • Extension Tools & Techniques Jennifer DeEll, OMAFRA’s fresh market quality program lead, looks forward to these annual gatherings because there are so few colleagues in her post-harvest storage specialty.

From her base in Simcoe, Ontario, she collaborates with Randy Beaudry, Michigan State University and Chris Watkins, Cornell University.

“It’s important not to duplicate research work,” says

DeEll. “If we’re aware of each other’s research focus, we can identify the gaps and plan trials that will not overlap.”

The Honeycrisp apple is a case in point. This popular cultivar is prone to storage disorders, chilling injury and is CO2 sensitive. It makes sense to build a knowledge base and unified recommendations for growers in the Great Lakes area. Future research is exploring dynamic controlled atmosphere environments as well as integrating 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) into orchards for harvest management. This ethylene-binding inhibitor extends the storage life of apples.

When new products or label extensions are registered, these researchers can provide expertise on how they work in the field.

Randy Beaudry, horticulture professor with Michigan State University, complements the Honeycrisp work. He researches controlled atmosphere storage impacts while Jennifer DeEll looks at sensory science and ethylene effects. Their most upto-date results will be shared with storage operators at a controlled atmosphere clinic slated for August 3, 2016 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 19 THE GROWER

FOCUS: GREAT LAKES FARMING

Frost protection equipment to be featured at Great Lakes Expo One of the most important benefits is that when the Frost Guard machine is used, the relative humidity goes down and the dew point is raised significantly.

This results in less hoar-frost and less ice on the plants.

The last two winters have been harsh for Michigan, New York and Ontario farmers. Mitigating that cold damage may be possible with equipment such as FrostGuard manufactured by AgroFrost, a Belgian company.

Originally designed for small vineyards and orchards, Frost Guard has a gas burner and powerful fan, driven by an oil or gas engine. There’s enough fuel to last one night.

Two stationary models are available to match different crops. The model with the outlet just above the ground is suitable for most orchards or low crops such as strawberries. In orchards, it covers an area in the form of an oval from 65/90 by 110/120 yards. Capacity depends on the density of the trees. In open fields, it covers a circle with a diameter between 110 and 130 yards.

The second model with the outlet above the machine is

for vineyards, greenhouses and high crops such as raspberries. This model covers a circular area with a diameter between 110 and 130 yards.

The Frostbuster, the most economical model, is pulled by a tractor and covers eight hectares. It works with the same technology as the other models but has to be driven through the mapped-out orchard.

According to distributor Werner Zurbuchen, Waterford, Ontario, these new models have reduced noise levels and lower consumption of fuel. All parts are covered and better protected against rain. One of the most important benefits is that when the Frost Guard machine is used, the relative humidity goes down and the dew point is raised significantly. This results in less hoar-frost and less ice on the plants.

One of the applications of FrostGuard equipment is to

improve fruit set in low temperature during blossom. It can also be used to raise the temperature in plastic tunnels, bring forward the first harvest date at the start of the season or extend the last harvest date.

For more information, go to www.agrofrost.eu or contact Werner Zurbuchen, tazuwerner@gmail.com.

Farming year-round with moveable high tunnels The biggest challenge of certified organic grower Mike Bollinger is how to manage the growth of his River Root Farm business. Demand for his year-round crops, grown in Decorah, Iowa, is as far afield as Minneapolis and Chicago. Local restaurants want his clamshells of spinach and lettuce mix as well as arugula, mustard

greens, kale and pak choy.

High tunnels have made four-season production possible. As well, these high tunnels are mobile so that he can start a field crop and then cover it with a tunnel for late fall harvest. It’s not unusual for him to plant greens in mid-February and March. Rotating these tunnels from place

to place disrupts diseases and pests while avoiding nutrient mining.

His first exposure to these methods came at the famed Four Season Farm in Maine. The practices have transplanted so well to Iowa that he’s building a 5,000square foot high tunnel now with another 3,000-square foot tunnel for spring 2016.

Scale-appropriate products such as anchoring and tunnel parts, trellising kits and drip irrigation can be found at www.smallfarmtools.ca Attend his talk at the Great Lakes Expo on Wednesday, December 9 as part of Hoops and Tunnels.

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FOCUS: GREAT LAKES FARMING

7 tips on creating and maintaining attractive websites KAREN DAVIDSON

Anyone remember what happened on April 21, 2015?

That’s the day Google changed the algorithms on its search engine, placing a higher ranking on websites that are mobilefriendly. For any business that counts on consumer traffic to make sales, this is a major shift.

Some American and Canadian farm marketers realized the significance and called on Danny Mauk, FarmWebDesign, St. Louis, Missouri to upgrade their websites. He’s a specialist in agritourism and farm markets, everything from pick-your-own apples to cut-your-own Christmas trees.

“My primary focus these days is responsive web design,” he says prior to his presentation at the Great Lakes Expo on December 8 - 10, 2015. “That means creating mobile-friendly websites that can be accessed from anywhere and still be readable on a desktop, tablet or smartphone. The text may be large but it must be transformed to different-sized screens without the user having to zoom in.”

Here are Mauk’s seven tips for websites that work in the farm retailer environment.

Make sure to have access to all pages Navigation must be simple on your website. There should be no pages that are hard to find because of hidden links. If you list ripening dates for apple varieties, for example, then they must be accessible from your home page.

Create wording that maximizes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) When customers Google for a product or service, they use key words. The more precise you are in describing your business and the more frequently you repeat that phrase on your website, the easier that local customers can find you.

“Longtail key words such as pick-your-own apples are better than shorttail key words such as apples,” Mauk explains.

Also research what key words are relevant to your target audience. For example, when you partner with like-minded organizations such as your commodity group or marketing association, you will get more traffic.

Think of your provincial asparagus group or your provincial farm fresh marketing association.

Use social media as a teaser to drive traffic Incorporate social media into your marketing plans so that you drive traffic to your website. It’s the website that drives sales. Use Facebook and Twitter to announce weekly contests, trivia questions and Farm Fact Fridays.

Make photos and video a priority

field to draw interest to a traditional commodity.

Reformat your content

“If photos are worth a thousand words, then video is worth a million words,” says Mauk. He recommends a ratio of half written content and half images for better SEO. The images tell a story, especially if they depict the farmer in the field.

While drones are the new toy, he does not recommend drone shots for websites. “Drone shots are too high to convey any personal connection with what you’re selling,” he says. “After 30 seconds, the impact is gone. Rather, take photos at ground level of kids playing or customers picking up fresh produce.

Freshen your content Keep your content accurate and seasonal. Blogs are helpful in relaying the cycles of the year and binding your customers, even when produce isn’t for sale.

Share your seed catalogue decisions, for example. Or show a photo of a warty pumpkin in the

These days, customers expect to be connected in real time no matter where they are. If they’re in the back woods and don’t have a cell phone signal, they can still Google your farm to find directions. Make sure your farm address and directions are at the top of the website home page to make it easier to find you.

Stay connected to graphic trends “Country weddings are very trendy right now,” says Mauk.

“And many farm retailers offer destinations for country weddings.” There’s a fine line between a rustic feel to your website and an urbane sensibility.

Simplicity is sophistication. Keep the website clean with white space. Some examples are: www.vineyard354.com based in Lawton, Michigan and www.downeysfarm.com based in Brampton, Ontario.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 21 THE GROWER

MINOR USE

Aprovia fungicide launched for leaf disease control in horticultural crops Syngenta Canada Inc. is launching Aprovia, a new fungicide for broad-spectrum disease control and management in several horticultural crops, including low-bush blueberries and pome fruit.

Aprovia fungicide contains the active ingredient Solatenol, (benzovindiflupyr), a newly registered Group 7 succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) foliar fungicide.

“With the introduction of Aprovia, we have an excellent new product that sets a new standard for scab control in pome fruit and other key diseases in a range of crops,” says Eric Phillips, product lead, fungicides and insecticides, with Syngenta Canada. “Aprovia complements and further enhances our strong portfolio of crop management tools for horticultural growers.”

Aprovia moves in a translaminar fashion, binding tightly to the plant’s waxy layer and slowly penetrating into the tissue. This binding, combined with the product’s high potency, delivers powerful disease control.

In pome fruit, Aprovia controls scab (Venturia inaequalis and Venturia pyrina), to halt disease development. Aprovia also controls powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) and Alternaria blotch (Alternaria mali). Aprovia can be applied at a 120–200 mL / acre rate starting at the green tip, or when environmental conditions are conducive for disease.

In low-bush blueberries, Aprovia controls blueberry leaf rust (Thekopsora minima) and provides suppression of Valdensinia leaf spot

(Valdensinia heterodoxa).

Growers can apply Aprovia at 200–300 mL / acre at the first sign of disease and only during the non-cropping year (known as the vegetative or sprout phase) of the low-bush blueberry production cycle.

Across several replicated trials and sites, an Aprovia application during the sprout year resulted in consistent late-season leaf rust control, as well as an increase in the number of floral buds. This helps to set the stage for higher yield potential in the subsequent fruiting year.

Aprovia is applied as a foliar spray in pome fruit and low-bush blueberries and can be effectively used in treatment programs in combination with other crop protection products. Consult the product label for details.

Apple scab Aprovia will be available for purchase in spring 2016.

For more information about Aprovia fungicide, please visit the Aprovia product page at SyngentaFarm.ca, contact your local Syngenta Representative or

our Customer Interaction Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682).

Source: Syngenta Canada news release

Become familiar with brown marmorated stink bug HANNAH FRASER Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) numbers have been down this year, although numbers trapped at our urban hot spot increased dramatically over the warm spell of late September. Almost all individuals are

adults now, although we continue to find the odd late instar nymph (plus a few really early instars that won’t have enough time to complete their development). Many of these adults are looking for places to overwinter, but some are still out there in the landscape and potentially in your crop. Late season crops are at risk from feeding injury by this insect. Make

sure to familiarize yourself with the pest and signs of damage.

If you think you have found BMSB on your farm, contact us! Take a picture, collect some samples. Contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or email ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca or visit our webpage www.ontario.ca/stinkbug.

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PAGE 22 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

BRIGHT IDEAS

Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Awards reward ingenuity

Durham Foods (L - R): Premier Wynne, Shelley and Jim Sheehan, Minister Jeff Leal

Laurie Thatcher-Craig and her husband John have invested significantly in their process of flash freezing hops for Ontario craft breweries.

Vineland Estates Winery (L - R): Premier Wynne, Brian Schmidt, Minister Jeff Leal

Once again, many horticultural producers have been recognized for their smarts. None is more happy that Laurie Thatcher-Craig and her husband John for their process of flash freezing hops for freshness. They won the Minister’s Award in a lateNovember ceremony in Toronto, Ontario in conjunction with the Premier’s Agri-Food Summit.

Seven hops growers band together for pelletizer mill

Fresh hops are preserved with flash freezing Clear Valley Hops claims to supply the freshest hops in the world, and they go to great lengths to deliver on that promise.

As soon as the hops are harvested, they are transferred to a 40-foot-high oast house for low-heat drying, preserving their flavour-rich essential oils. Once the hops are dried, Clear Valley doesn’t waste time baling them -

instead they go straight to pelleting. Finally, they are packed in material that blocks harmful oxygen and ultraviolet rays, flushed with nitrogen and flash-frozen.

The entire process, from harvest to freezing, takes just 24 hours.

Laurie Thatcher-Craig and John Craig have poured more than $1.3 million into their Collingwood, Ontario enterprise, but the investment is paying off with numerous long-term brewery contracts.

In total, 50 award recipients have been recognized. One of the Leader in Innovation Award winners was Durham Foods, Port Perry and another was Vineland Estates Winery Inc, Vineland.

Read on for their thumbnail sketches. More winners will be profiled in the months to come.

Spinach producer transforms CanadaGAP manuals into app

To achieve food safety and traceability certification, food producers and processors have to keep a number of thorough records and manuals. And for small operations, that can be daunting. Durham Foods has just made it a whole lot easier with their new GAP App. The hydroponic spinach producer has taken the manuals from CanadaGAP the national food safety program for fruits and vegetables - and transformed them into a userfriendly app. Bye-bye timeconsuming paperwork. Instead, workers can enter information and document issues with a few swipes and taps on tablets strategically placed around the plant floor. The app prompts them with required activities for the day. It also generates reports and makes food safety audits a cinch, slashing the costs of the company’s food safety program.

Optical sorter delivers betterquality grapes To make a great wine, you need to be choosy. No under-ripe grapes, no bits of leaves or stems and definitely no bugs. A couple of ladybugs can ruin an entire tonne of grapes. But hand-sorting grapes is a slow, back-breaking business. That’s why Vineland Estates has invested in an optical sorter. The first of its kind in Canada, it scans 2,000 grapes per second, gently de-stems the fruit and removes bugs and unwanted plant material. Puffs of air then sort the grapes by colour, size and shape, letting winemakers select exactly what they want. The optical sorter is six times faster than hand-sorting, and it delivers better-quality grapes. By lowering costs and raising standards, this machine promises to revolutionize winemaking in Ontario.

Ontario-grown hops seem like the natural choice for the province’s craft breweries.

There’s just one problem. Most breweries are set up for pelletized hops, but the price tag of commercial pellet mills is well beyond the budget of small-scale hops producers. That’s where one Meaford hops grower got creative. Nicholas Schaut and Monique Vanden Heuvel, Bighead Hops banded together with six other producers to form a co-op and adapt a pelletizer to their specific needs and scale.

Bighead put the mill into operation in 2014, producing more than 3,000 kilograms of pelletized hops. A few tweaks this year have helped speed up the processing time by nearly 50 per cent. Breweries and cideries are snapping up the hops, giving co-op members the dollars they need to plant even more acres of Ontario hops.

Grape growers benchmark sustainability

More and more, when consumers enjoy a good wine, they also want to support good environmental practices. A new sustainability certification program launched by the Grape Growers of Ontario and the Wine

Council of Ontario provides that assurance. The web-based program spans the entire journey from soil to shelf, covering habitat conservation, energy efficiency, water conservation and more.

An online assessment tool makes it easy for grape growers and winemakers to benchmark their operations and identify areas for improvement. Once a third-party auditing process is put in place, they can earn certification that will serve as a passport to premium market segments, enhance their international competitiveness and give consumers around the world yet another great reason to choose Ontario wines. Debbie Zimmerman, CEO, Grape Growers of Ontario and Mary Jane Combe, Wine Council of Ontario accepted the award.

Flavourings boost locally grown nuts Customers go nuts for Jewels Under the Kilt, a line of locally grown walnuts, pecans and hazelnuts roasted with an addictive mixture of flavourings that range from chipotle to pumpkin pie. In the early days, Elizabeth Burrow grew all the nuts herself on her 95-acre Fergus, Ontario farm, using sustainable practices such as shellfish-based fertilizer, strategic inter-planting and organic insecticidal soap. As the popularity of her snacks has grown, she has planted other nut varieties to expand her offerings.

Burrow has also turned to other farms to supplement her nut supply, as well as provide maple syrup, peaches, apples, pumpkins and other flavourings.

Continued on next page

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 23 THE GROWER

BRIGHT IDEAS

Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Awards reward ingenuity

Dale (left) and Jan VanderHout, one of 50 winners of the Ontario Premier's Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Awards, are pictured in their cucumber greenhouse which uses natural insect control.

Continued from page 22 A never-frozen French fry captures new markets The rich, sandy soils near Sudbury have always produced tasty potatoes - and now you can enjoy all that flavour in a fresh, never-frozen French fry. In 2015, Valley Growers launched “Farmhouse Fresh Fries.”

The process is simple: cut the potatoes, blanch them briefly in a high-powered fryer to lock in the flavour and nutrients, and then cool and package them. That’s it.

There are no chemicals or preservatives, yet the potatoes stay fresh for 25 days. French fry lovers can find them in the bagged salad section of Walmart and Loblaw Superstores, while restaurants can source them through Gordon Food Service.

Thanks to Tami Rainville and

Gérald Philippe at Valley Growers, local farmers have gained access to big markets, 16 new jobs have been created, and North America's favourite indulgence just got a little fresher.

Identifying banker plants to host insect warriors Like all greenhouse cucumber growers, one of the VanderHout's biggest headaches is bugs: the aphids, thrips and whiteflies that munch on their plants. Jan and Dale VanderHout, Beverly Greenhouses, Dundas, Ontario are fighting fire with fire, cultivating beneficial insects that destroy cucumber bugs. The VanderHout’s have found the perfect mix of plants to support insect warriors: grasses for his aphid parasites, ornamental peppers for the bugs that fight thrips and mullein for a whitefly

NEW EQUIPMENT

What’s new in irrigation

Valley Irrigation, a Nebraskabased firm, has introduced a new anchor package that allows center pivots to irrigate more land. The company is expanding its Bender product line with a new anchor package that extends the reach of irrigation machines even further.

Valley Bender products allow a center pivot to bend and wrap around in-field obstacles, irrigating the acres behind it. The new Bender Anchor allows growers to use Benders on longer machines, up to 2,000 feet after the Bender, as well as on rough or rolling terrain, to irrigate even more acres.

For more information, go to www.valleyirrigation.com.

predator. By experimenting in their 20 acres of greenhouses, they figured out the best locations, watering regimes and pruning regimes for these “banker

In the propagation facility of Beverly Greenhouses, banker plants (right) are grown side by side with cucumber seedlings. They include mullein, Purple Flash ornamental peppers and different kinds of grasses. When fully grown, these “banker” plants are used to raise natural enemies of greenhouse pests. Photos by Glenn Lowson. plants.” The result is better pest control with little or no need for insecticides.

“We continue to try different ideas to improve the process,”

says Jan VanderHout. “This is a work in progress.”

Source: OMAFRA backgrounders

PAGE 24 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

The squash bee: essential native pollinator IAN SEIFRIED Squash bees are native pollinators. They are directly associated with the cucurbita family of crops (squash, pumpkin, gourd, zucchini, marrow and courgette). This means that the squash bee populations depend solely on the production of these crops to establish their broods as well as feed their larvae.

Cucurbita flowers are synchronized to open just as the sun comes up and close as soon as the temperature heats up, approximately three hours later.

Squash bees are similarly synchronized to start collecting pollen as the sun comes up and stop once the flowers begin to wilt. You can find both solitary male and unmated females in the flowers; you can even touch them, as they are stinger-less.

Squash bees are medium-sized with a very hairy thorax and black and white horizontal stripes running down the abdomen ending with a smooth point, without a stinger. The specialized hairs on the squash bees’ thorax and legs enable the bees to pick up cucurbita pollen which is larger, stickier and coarser than

other types of pollen. This makes them more efficient than other pollinators such as the bumblebee and honeybee.

The squash bee constructs ground burrows that are a series of lateral tunnels ending in individual brood cells. The cells are connected to a central vertical tunnel (which can be up to 45cm deep) leading to the surface hole.

The surface hole is approximately the width of a pencil and can be found either in the field that is home to cucurbita crops or around the edges of fields.

The squash bee burrows are directly affected when tillage is

Photo by Jeffrey Carter used. Tillage can fill in these burrows, destroying the central tunnel along with several brood cells, and even kill the squash bees trapped inside.

A small field survey of squash bee activity in commercial pumpkin fields was conducted in July and August, 2015. The

number of bees varied considerably. Total bees observed in 10 minutes (one- minute intervals at each of 10 locations across the field) ranged from 11 to 170, depending on the location.

Ian Seifried is summer research technician, OMAFRA.

Update: fungicide efficacy on downy mildew in cucumbers

Figure 1. AUDPC (area under the disease progress curve) for leaf area affected by cucurbit downy mildew in cucumber cv. Vlasstar, Ridgetown, ON, 2015. Fungicides were applied on a 7-day interval July 7-Aug 4. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different from each other.

CHERYL TRUEMAN, RACHEL RIDDLE, ELAINE RODDY Over the past two years, there have been several changes in the efficacy of fungicides commonly used to control downy mildew in cucumbers. The results from field trials conducted by the University of Guelph reflect trends also observed in Michigan and North Carolina.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the results of the Ontario 2015 downy mildew

Figure 2. AUDPC (area under the disease progress curve) for leaf area affected by cucurbit downy mildew in cucumber cv. Vlaspik, Simcoe, ON, 2015. Fungicides were applied on a 7-day interval July 16-Aug 6. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different from each other. fungicide trials conducted at Ridgetown and Simcoe. Note that in both trials, a significant decline was observed in the efficacy of both Presido and Tattoo C. Presidio performed no better than the untreated control, while the results from Tattoo C were no different than chlorothalonil (Bravo Zn).

The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is currently evaluating a new active ingredient called oxathiapiprolin (Orondis Ultra). In both of the University of Guelph studies,

oxathiapiprolin demonstrated good control against cucumber downy mildew. If approved, this product will provide a good option for rotation with currently registered downy mildew fungicides.

Cheryl Trueman is college professor, University of Guelph – Ridgetown Campus.

Rachel Riddle is research technician, University of Guelph – Simcoe.

Elaine Roddy is vegetable crops specialist, OMAFRA.

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DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 25 THE GROWER

VEG FOCUS

Sprayer math for banded applications JASON DEVEAU Where crops are planted in rows, growers can save on chemical costs and reduce potentially wasted spray by performing banded applications.

A banded application is treating parallel bands (Figure 1), unlike a broadcast application where the entire area is treated (Figure 2).

This means only a portion of the field or orchard/vineyard floor receives spray, so the total amount of product applied per hectare (or per acre) should be less for banded than for broadcast.

Banded applications are used in many situations, including: • Applying herbicides right over a crop during planting, both for pre-emergent or post-emergent crops.

• Applying insecticides/fungicides by “directed spraying” using drop hoses or row kits; the latter is pictured in Figure 3.

• Carefully spraying herbicide between the rows to control weeds in the alleys of an established crop (Figure 1).

• Applying herbicide under fruit trees or grape vines to control weeds (Figure 4).

It’s easy to make mistakes when calculating product rates for banded applications and these can be costly errors: too little means poor control and too much means wasted product and possible crop injury. This article describes how to calculate sprayer output and product rate for common banded applications.

Step 1: Determine broadcast volume Pesticide labels typically list broadcast product rates (e.g. amount of formulated product per hectare or acre). In this example, let’s say the label recommends a broadcast product rate of 500 ml of formulated herbicide applied using 100 litres of spray mix per

Figure 2

Figure 1 hectare (i.e. added to 99.5 L water).

broadcast, because we’re only spraying half the planted area.

Step 2: Establish sprayer settings

Step 4: Calculate the nozzle output

Select a travel speed that is safe, gives decent efficiency and doesn’t compromise coverage.

For this example, we’ll say the sprayer is moving at 8.0 km/h.

Select a band width that completely covers the target row and some of the adjacent area where control is desired. Band width should be measured along the ground for soil-applied products or along the top of plants for post-emergence products. We’ll use Figure 1 for our settings: bands are 50 cm wide on 100 cm centres. We’ll say that a single nozzle swath can treat the band, and that we’re spraying two hectares of planted area.

Use the following formula to convert the broadcast output into the banded output: [broadcast output (L/ha) x travel speed (km/h) x (swath width (cm) / number of nozzles in per swath)] / 60,000 = nozzle output (L/min) [100 L/ha x 8 km/h x (50 / 1)] / 60,000 = 0.67 L/min For completeness, here’s the U.S. formula: [broadcast output (gal/ac) x travel speed (mph) x (swath width (in) / number of nozzles in per swath)] / 5,940 = nozzle output (gal/min) Note that if multiple nozzles were contributing to the swath, such as in figure three or figure four, this formula will account for it. You still mix the labelled product rate at a ratio of 500 ml of herbicide to 99.5L water, but as we determined in step three, we should be able to spray twice the planted area using a banded application as we would a broadcast application.

height). Always choose to operate a nozzle in the middle of its pressure range.

Step 5: Use the nozzle catalogue to find the right nozzle

Step 6: Calibrate the sprayer (i.e. double-check)

Using a nozzle manufacturer’s catalogue, select a nozzle that gives the desired spray quality (usually coarser for herbicides) and will produce the 50 cm swath we’re looking for (which can be adjusted a little using boom

Follow your typical calibration process and make minor adjustments until the nozzle discharge per minute results in the desired banded output. A rate controller will handle this on larger sprayers, but if you don’t

Step 3: Calculate the banded sprayer output We can calculate how much of the planted area actually receives spray using this formula: [band width (cm) / row width (cm)] x total planted area (ha) = actual sprayed area (ha) [50 cm / 100 cm] x 2 ha = 1 ha For completeness, here’s the U.S. formula: [band width (in) / row width (in)] x total planted area (ac) = actual sprayed area (ac) From this we now know that we should be able to go twice as far on a tank spraying a banded application as we would a

Figure 3

Figure 4 have one you can make small adjustments to speed and pressure until the desired output is achieved. Ideally, if your math was right, these changes won’t be needed. When performed correctly, banded applications are a great way to focus your efforts on the target, saving time and money.

Dr. Jason Deveau is application technology specialist, OMAFRA.

Should growers be concerned about resistant weeds?

KRISTEN OBEID Fruit and vegetable growers have been dealing with insect and disease resistance to pesticides for many years. The challenge of herbicide resistance is no different.

Most of the talk these days is about glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds in field crops, but we do not hear much about resistant weeds in hort crops. Should fruit and vegetable growers be worried? The short answer is yes!

Actually, the first cases of GR weeds were found in orchards, not in glyphosate-tolerant (GT) crops. Worldwide there are 31 weed species (11 grasses and 20 broadleaves) with reported

glyphosate- resistance.

Currently, in Ontario there are four: • Giant ragweed • Canada fleabane • Common ragweed • Tall waterhemp All four species have populations that have multiple-resistance to glyphosate and Group 2 herbicides, such as Prism, Pinnacle, Upbeet and Classic to name a few.

In fruit and veg crops the most concerning herbicide resistant cases are: • Crabgrass species resistant to all grass herbicides • Pigweed species resistant to Group 5 and Group 7 herbicides, which includes, Sencor, Gesagard

and Lorox found throughout the province • Gramoxone and glyphosate resistant Canada fleabane • Group 2 resistant Eastern black nightshade found throughout the province So . . . where do we go from here?

• Continue to use Integrated Weed Management practices • Use multiple herbicide modes-of-action with overlapping weed spectrums in rotation, sequences, or mixtures • Use the full recommended herbicide rate and proper application timing for the hardest to control weed species present in the field • Scout fields after herbicide

application to ensure control has been achieved. Do not allow weeds to reproduce by seed or to proliferate vegetatively.

• Get any suspect weeds tested immediately for potential resistance.

Kristen Obeid is responsible for weed management, horticulture, for OMAFRA.

Photo right: Canada fleabane is the most worrisome because it has been found in orchards and other perennial systems to be resistant to glyphosate and paraquat.

PAGE 26 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

BITS AND BITES

Got thrips? Got white flies? Go to GreenhouseIPM.org All greenhouse growers battle thrips and white flies, the most ubiquitous pests of controlled environments.

A new website seeks to provide solutions.

GreenhouseIPM.org serves both floriculture and vegetable greenhouse sectors. It’s a collaboration of the best expertise between Flowers Canada Growers (FCG), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland), Agriculture Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Pest Management Center (PMC).

Thrips

White flies

The lessons from Cache Creek, British Columbia JOHN STANLEY Cache Creek . . . where is that I can hear you asking. I asked the same question when I recently had the opportunity to work with a retail client in the town.

Cache Creek has a population of 1,040 people and is situated 354 kilometres northeast of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

It was mid-October when I was asked to work with the client and I rented a car and travelled up the Fraser River valley to get to town. I accept this is not the tourism season, but most retail

operations had shut for the season and getting a decent cup of coffee became a challenge.

I often get asked to consult “off the beaten track.” Many retailers keep telling me that they do it tough not being in an urban market where consumers are constantly walking past the door.

There are some key differences that remote retailers have to focus on, however, the lessons from Cache Creek could be applied to retailers anywhere in the world whether they be in a small town or a major city.

1. Stand out from the crowd

Cache Creek is located on the Trans-Canada Highway, at a point where travellers will be prepared to stop on their journey.

This means you need to provide a clear unique offer to make people stop -- your “curb appeal” needs to stand out from the crowd. This can be achieved by unusual architecture or simply paint. Be bold. I drove into town and got the camera out when I saw an establishment that was determined to stand out from the crowd. Compare this to a consultancy job I recently had in Timor Leste where I walked down a street of clothing retailers that all looked the same. My only

choice was based on price.

In Cache Creek I had plenty of choice in motels, but the majority all looked the same. I checked in to the Bear Claw. Why the Bear Claw? Well, because it looked more appealing, it reflected the area I was in and the owners had built a log cabin rather than a style of motel I can find anywhere in the world.

2. People make a difference I went into the restaurant for a meal. There was nothing special about the menu -- it was a standard menu that you can find anywhere in a remote town around the world.

What was special was Gina the waitress. She was welcoming and a “day maker.” She realized her job was to make the experience memorable.

When she gave me the bill there was a picture of a pumpkin on the receipt that she gave me.

When I congratulated her on her “Delight Strategy” she explained that she changes her doodle on the receipt as the seasons change.

Simple, but unique.

Too often in remote retail establishments, as strangers we get processed rather than having a unique experience. I am due back in Cache Creek early next year and guess where I will be staying.

3. Work as a group, not as an individual British Columbia excels at developing regional tourism. To get to Cache Creek you pass through the region of Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack.

These three councils have joined together to provide the “Experience Guide” of the region.

Each region has then developed a

Self-Guided Circle Farm Tour Guide. The guide has an illustrated map with the aim of getting the tourist to linger longer in the region. Get tourists to stop longer and all retailers benefit from the opportunity.

Some research carried out in Australia indicated that if you could get a tourist to stop in town they would, on average, spend around $170 per head in local businesses.

4. Provide me with something different you can promote My client is Horsting’s Farm Market. This long established market has a bakery and is famous across the province for its bread and pies. In fact according to Trip Advisor it is the number one restaurant out of the 15 in town to stop and eat. The pies were started by the Horsting family who maintained the tradition and nostalgia. The farm was recently purchased by the Shane family who are building on the tradition and tourism opportunity.

Remote means you have to try harder. If you do not try, the chances of failure are also higher.

My challenge to you is that the next time you go to a remote area, study the unique retailers and discover what they are doing that is unique to ensure they are providing a positive memorable experience.

Reprinted with permission from John Stanley Associates. John Stanley is a global retail consultant based near Nannup, Western Australia. He regularly visits Canada. For more marketing advice, go to www.johnstanley.com.au.

DECEMBER 2015 –– PAGE 27 THE GROWER

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PAGE 28 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

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PAGE 30 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

MINOR USE CRAIG’S COMMENTS

Significance of data

CRAIG HUNTER OFVGA There has recently been a report released in Quebec that reveals what on the surface appears to be a serious pesticide issue. Their environmental monitoring programs have revealed increased levels of certain pesticides in soil and water. This has been tied to reports of increased pesticide use on farms. In the immediate hue and cry for action, several basic tenets were missed -- either deliberately or from a lack of knowledge.

These are not the first such reports in recent times, but they may end up in creating unseemly action before logic can prevail.

The world of analytical chemistry has advanced a long way from its infancy. If one looks at the parallel developments in other fields such as rocket science, medicine, robotics and others, it should be to no one’s surprise that pesticide residue chemistry has advanced dramatically during the past 50 years. Even in the years between 1960 and 1975, residues could be found, identified, and quantified by 1975 that were just not findable before. In Rachel Carson’s ‘evidence’ for Silent Spring, there were many references to DDT residues. It was only later that these were re-run using newer techniques that proved these residue results had merged DDT and PCB residues into one, since up until then, they were not distinguishable between each other. This factoid shows how ‘solid’ conclusions were later reversed when new developments allowed better knowledge to prevail. DDT was soon thereafter removed from

general use, but it had already been in steady decline because of pest resistance, a fact rarely even mentioned at the time.

In more recent times, growers have faced the growing dilemma of once ‘unfindable’ residues, that have no residue limits established based on former ‘non-detects,’ suddenly being not just found but at quantifiable levels leading to rejection in foreign markets with ‘zero’ tolerances. The growers had done nothing wrong -- ‘the system’ had let them down.

When pesticides are submitted for registration, the company must supply a lot of data.

Included in their package are residue trials on various crops, done in every cropping zone where such use was proposed.

These replicated trials produce the expected residue outcomes under the maximum allowed rates, the shortest pre harvest intervals, and over at least two years for data/climate variation.

All of this data is developed using a standard residue detection methodology which must also be submitted. In all future residue work for new registrations or for enforcement purposes, this ‘standard’ methodology must be the only one used.

These ‘standard’ analytical methods are also used for the clinical tests used in experimental testing for toxicology, and all the feeding studies. Obviously the same standards must be used to line up with the residues from applications to reach usable conclusions. A risk analysis must use the same standards throughout to be meaningful.

There have been screw-ups along the way. One time a contract lab was used by the federal government to determine residues in a Canadian crop. More than 40 growers were subsequently charged with illegal residues of a common fungicide. They swore that they had done nothing different than in past years, to no avail. They were fined, and their names were published as ‘offenders.’ It was only two years later when a brave soul did an investigation and showed the contract lab had not used the ‘standard method’ - a newer and more sensitive method had been

Now that you’ve found it, what does it mean?

substituted! It took time, but very quietly the charges were stayed.

The negative publicity attached to their false convictions could not be undone.

Back to the Quebec situation.

The results of their monitoring no doubt have numbers that need to be examined and explained.

First and foremost, the methodology needs to be checked against the standards that are used to set the ‘acceptable’ limits. Secondly, the absolute numbers found need to be examined with regard to their immediate and possible future impact where they are found. The old adage that the dose makes the poison has never been more applicable.

I heard that even the way in which the ‘data’ was portrayed leaves a lot to be desired. It is an old trick to alter the scale of a graph to show what may appear to be a steep slope of findings of one item versus another, when in fact if the same scale is used, the slope is virtually flat. Figures don’t lie, but liars can sure figure out how to skew impressions!

Finding residues in and of itself is not surprising if the pesticide is known to be used in an area. In fact, with modern analytical techniques it would be more surprising to NOT find residues. Many products are used across Canada every year, and if used correctly, will not lead to unacceptable harm. More disturbing is when unexpected residues are found -- especially when the pesticide is not used in the area or not for many years.

Of critical importance is not just whether a residue can be found, but whether it is biologically active. Just like finding a tumour in your body -if it is cancerous it is bad, but if it is benign then it is often not removed. The new tests such as MRIs or CAT scans can find the mass, but the ultimate test is to see if the mass is a problem.

Some pesticide residues are detectable but are ‘tied up,’ being tightly ‘bound’ to soil particles, and are no longer biologically available or active.

The residues being found may not be unexpected, but certainly need to be explained. The knowledge about their significance is critical.

The actual level of these residues is the pivotal factor. If the laboratory techniques used are now quantifying residues below those ever found before, that does NOT in and of itself mean that those levels are significant. In fact, there are often ‘bridging’ factors used to translate between old and new techniques. Put quite simply, an ‘old’ three PPM (parts per million) may be equivalent to a ‘new’ 36 PPM meaning the new test is 12 times more sensitive.

Likewise, if the toxicology study that determined an acceptable daily intake was 2.5 PPB (parts per billion) would now be deemed equivalent to 30 PPB (or 0.030 PPM) using the new methodology.

There is a whole body of information techniques to examine the relative relevance of data.

The ‘Impact Quotient’ has been developed to see what collateral changes happen if pesticide uses change. These changes include dosages, frequency, choice of active ingredient, where when and how they are applied, and the actual chemical properties of the pesticides used.

When Ontario had its ‘Food Systems 2002’ program, its stated political intent was to reduce the use of pesticides by 50 per cent. It more than achieved that goal.

However, what was even more important was that it actually even further reduced the ‘Pesticide Impact’ as measured using the “EIQ” (Environmental Impact Quotient) as developed in New York State. At the end of the day, it is the impact reduction that makes the most sense.

Before Quebec rushes to restrict pesticide use by legislation, they need to know if the actual impact of what has been ‘found’ is actually significant. Further, they need to look at the best means to manage pesticide use that achieves political means while not only not negatively impacting agriculture, but in fact Improving crop production. It can be done -- it has been done!

Numbers can be used to ‘prove’ almost anything unless they are broken down to very basic levels. I hope and trust that analysis will be done before irretrievable and possibly harmful actions are taken in the name of political response.

The best offense is a good defense.

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Regalia is a registered trademark of Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. © 2013 Engage Agro Corporation.

DECEMBER 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PAGE 31 THE GROWER

MINOR USE

Update on potato crop protection products

EUGENIA BANKS It is never too early to find out about the new crop-protection products that were registered recently and that should be available for the 2016 season.

Here is a list of pesticides, some with new active ingredients (see chart).

There are also label changes to some registered products. For instance, the label of Rampart (phosphite) has been expanded to a foliar application for suppression of late blight and pink rot.

In general, any product that suppresses late blight should be tank mixed with a compatible control product. A better approach would be to tank mix two compatible control-products.

If the weather is favourable for late blight, this disease can explode and devastate potato fields very quickly.

There are new registrations for potato psyllids. This tiny insect is the vector of the bacterium that causes Zebra Chip. This past season, I placed several yellow sticky cards in three Alliston fields to monitor for potato psyllids, but no potato psyllids were caught on the cards. In the past, this insect has been reported in BC, AB, SK and QC. Psyllids were found in Ontario a few years ago, but only in a greenhouse, not in the field.

It is always good to have registered products available for the control of potential pests.

There will be more updates to come as new products are registered.

Eugenia Banks is potato specialist, OMAFRA.

Pristine fungicide for control of root rot on Belgian endive

JIM CHAPUT The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently announced the approval of an URMULE registration for Pristine fungicide for control of crown and root rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on Belgian endive in Canada.

Pristine fungicide was already labeled for use on a number of crops in Canada for control of diseases.

This minor use project was submitted by Ontario in 2012 as a result of minor use priorities established by growers and extension personnel.

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

Pristine fungicide is toxic to aquatic organisms, small mammals and non-target terrestrial plants. Do not apply this product or allow drift to other crops or non-target areas. Do not contaminate off-target areas or aquatic habitats when spraying or when cleaning and rinsing spray equipment or containers. Boscalid present in Pristine fungicide is persistent and may carry over. It is recommended that any products containing boscalid not be used in areas treated with this product during the previous season.

Follow all other precautions and directions for use on the Pristine fungicide label carefully.

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

Trade Name

Application Method Disease or Insect

Aprovia (Syngenta) Group 7

In-furrow

* Suppression of Rhizoctonia stem canker, stolon canker and black scurf.

Sercadis (BASF) Group 7

Foliar & Aerial

Control of early blight and white mould. Use of a nonionic surfactant is recommended

In- furrow

Control of Rhizoctonia canker

Voliam Express (Syngenta) Group 3A & 28

Foliar

Control of black cutworm, variegated cutworm, armyworm, potato psyllid Active ingredients: pyrethroid + diamide

Agri-mek SC (Syngenta) Group 6

Foliar

Control of potato psyllid & spider mites (not a pest in ON)

Control is at least 85% control *Suppression is 65 to 85% control May provide some control" is less than 65% control.

PAGE 32 –– DECEMBER 2015 THE GROWER

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