The Grower Newspaper June 2011

CELEBRATING 131 YEARS AS CANADA’S PREMIER HORTICULTURAL PUBLICATION

JUNE 2011

VOLUME 61 NUMBER 06

Supreme Court of Canada balances rights of farm employers and workers KAREN DAVIDSON It takes a lawyer to understand how the Supreme Court of Canada made its April 29 decision on Fraser v Ontario (Attorney General), but farmers clearly understand the result: farm employers need not fear that full-blown collective bargaining will be imposed on them by the courts.

For Ken Forth, broccoli grower and chair of the Labour Issues Coordinating Committee (LICC), the historic 8-1 decision supports the constitutionality of Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA). The ruling means that the province has correctly balanced the rights of employers and farm workers.

The legislation recognizes the need to market perishable agricultural products while protecting the rights of farm workers to join unions but preventing them from going so far as collective bargaining that could potentially paralyze a business.

“We’ve been working on the labour file for 20 years,” says Forth. “We’ve given verifiable evidence on everything we’ve said and informed the court just exactly how agriculture works.”

While the case pertains to Ontario legislation enacted in 2002, the Supreme Court decision resonates with the entire country.

That’s because seven attorneygenerals of other provinces and indeed, the federal attorneygeneral, were intervenors in the

INSIDE Rain forecasted for green energy parade

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Sun rises on Harovin Sundown pear

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Ken Forth is one of those rare farmers who can plant broccoli with his 16 Jamaican workers one day and sit down with lawyers and union representatives in Washington the next, just as he did in early May. His work regarding the Supreme Court of Canada case has been shared with other growers Hector Delanghe, Mark Wales and Anthony Cervini and staff member Ken Linington on the Labour Issues Coordinating Committee. Thanks to this group, they have invested countless hours preventing the unionization of horticulture. Photos by Denis Cahill. case, arguing for their rights to make labour law just like Ontario.

It would seem that Ontario’s law is an excellent model.

“What is protected is associational activity, not a particular process or result,” Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin and Justice Louis LeBel wrote for the majority of the court’s nine judges.

“The AEPA provides a special labour regime for agricultural workers. However, on the record before us, it has not been established that the regime utilizes unfair stereotypes or perpetuates

existing prejudice and disadvantage,” the justices wrote. “Until the regime established by the AEPA is tested, it cannot be known whether it inappropriately disadvantages farm workers. The claim is premature.”

For its part, the United Food and Commercial Workers’ (UFCW) union has responded with shock that it has lost the second challenge in a decade.

“The reality is that appealing to the courts has ended,” says Wayne Hanley, UFCW president, in a website news release.

“Appealing to the decency and the will of voters is next.”

With an Ontario election set for October 6, the UFCW will be taking their mission to the media.

But the facts get in the way of their cause. In earlier discussions, Forth says that UFCW has not readily accepted that Ontario, unlike California, has no corporate farms with 5,000 workers each. The average is closer to 10.

In Ontario, minimum wage is $10.25 per hour plus workers receive housing, access to health care and Canadian Pension Plan

benefits. The migrant workers who arrive every year under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program – about 15,500 in Ontario – have been the focus of unionization drives by the UFCW. Primarily from Mexico and the Caribbean, the workers earn enough to send family members to school and to provide for elder years. These countries welcome the opportunity to negotiate labour agreements with Canada that result in remittances to support their local economies.

Continued on page 3

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PAGE 2 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

AT PRESS TIME… Assiniboine River floods some Manitoba vegetable growers The once-in-300 years flood event of the Assiniboine River in Manitoba is causing less damage than predicted to horticulture.

“It’s not as bad as first thought,” says Larry McIntosh, president and CEO, Peak of the Market.

The deliberate breach of the dikes on May 14 at Hoop and Holler Bend directly affects four highly productive vegetable farmers near Portage la Prairie. One of those is Doug Connery who operates 1,200 acres at Riverdale Farms. He has become a familiar face speaking to media.

It’s too early to assess what the planting schedule may look like for carrots and cooking onions. “We’re already a couple weeks behind normal in planting,” McIntosh told The Grower May 17.

Although the provincial government has promised financial compensation, calculating damage will take months.

Michigan offers high tunnel workshops While spaces are limited, commercial growers are invited to sign up for Michigan State University Student Organic Farm workshops which cost $40 each.

Dates and topics are: Monday, June 27: Drip Irrigation for Hoophouse and Field Production Monday, August 15: Marketing Options for Year-Round Vegetables Monday, September 12: Hoophouse Cropping for Winter Harvests All workshops are held at Michigan State University Horticulture Teaching and Research Center 3291 College Rd, Holt, Michigan. All workshops will be held from 1 to 5 pm.

Visit www.hoophouse.msu.edu or email admontri@msu.edu.

Haskaps available Phytocultures Ltd. has announced the launch of two new releases of haskap: Indigo Gem and Indigo Treat. University of Saskatchewan researcher, Dr. Bob Bors, is credited with developing Canada’s native Lonicera caerulea through his search for germplasm in Canada’s boreal forest. Known by several names – blue honeysuckle, honeyberry and swamp honeysuckle– these new edible berries are available at leading plant and nursery suppliers.

Try Veseys Seeds PEI (mail order catalogue); Harbour Greenhouse Co-Op Ltd, Mackinnons Harbour Nova Scotia; Halifax Seed Co Ltd Halifax Nova Scotia and WestRiver Greenhouse, Pictou Nova Scotia. For more information, contact www.phytocultures.com

NEWSMAKERS AgriSpirit fund seeks applicants by June 20 Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is accepting applications for its FCC AgriSpirit Fund from now until June 20. Registered charities and non-profit organizations interested in funding this year are encouraged to visit www.agrispirit.ca for eligibility requirements and to apply online. FCC will give a total of $1 million in funding to rural community groups across Canada for capital projects.

FCC annually awards rural community groups between $5,000 and $25,000 in AgriSpirit funding for community improvement projects such as emergency services equipment, playgrounds, recreation centres and care homes in communities with populations fewer than 100,000. Since 2004, FCC has provided $4.5 million to 480 capital community projects.

For a project to be considered for funding, it must meet specific criteria and be completed before December 2013. FCC will announce the selected projects in December 2011.

Naturally Norfolk contracts organic veggies Assess your leadership skills The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council is offering an on-line self-assessment tool. Look to www.cahrcccrha.ca/whatsnew.html.

Designed specifically for leaders in Canadian agriculture, this leadership self-assessment will identify your areas of strength as well as areas which may need development. Competency in leadership stems from four areas.

Within each of these competency areas, you will be asked to examine your current knowledge, skills and attitudes.

You will also be asked how important each area is in your current role. This will help identify not only your current level, but also where you can most benefit from additional training or support.

The Naturally Norfolk individual-quick freeze (IQF) plant is a hub of activity this year, starting with asparagus in May and then moving to strawberries in June.

The Simcoe-Ontario based facility will be drawing fruits and vegetables from as far west as Essex County and as far east as Prince Edward County.

“The reception has been phenomenal in the marketplace,” says Jim Irvin, president, Naturally Norfolk. “We are one of the first companies in Ontario to have a certified organic processed vegetable line.”

The IQF process will be used for organic peas, beans and surprisingly, cooking onions to fulfill contracts. Irvin has contracted 200 acres of organic vegetables that will be available in major grocers next winter.

Business currently on the books is enough to keep a daily shift going for the next six months with the peak season in July and August.

The refurbished federal cabinet, now 39 ministers strong, has few changes with the note that Christian Paradis, MP Mégantic-L’Erable, becomes junior minister for agriculture supporting Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz. Parliament resumes June 2.

Congratulations to the Canadian winners of new product innovations at the United Fresh show in New Orleans. They are: Sun Drops grape tomatoes from Mucci Farms, Leamington, ON which shares the Best New Fruit Product award with Naturipe Berry Quick Blueberry Snacks.

Pure Flavor Grill Ready Vegetable Mix won Best New Vegetable Product

by Pure Hot House Foods Inc., also based in Leamington, ON. Other category winners included: Best New Packag- Ken Paglione (L), Pure Hot House ing: MIXIM Classic Foods Inc. receives United Fresh award 5x5 6oz. Bushberry from John Toner.

Packaging System, Sambrailo Packaging Best New Food Safety Solution: SmartWashTM, New Leaf Food Safety Solutions Best New Processing Equipment: Primus Gemini – New and Improved Fresh Berry Sorter, Best Sorting Best New Packing/Packaging Equipment: Volmpack Ultrek 320 Vertical-Form-Fill-Seal Bagger, Volm Companies, Inc. Ginseng Growers of Ontario has elected the following board of directors for 2011: Doug Bradley, chair; Ken Van Torre, vice-chair; Jeff Rice, treasurer; and directors Remi Van De Slyke, Jim Lucas, Dave Smith and Carl Atkinson. Executive director is Marvin Karges.

Gerald Renkema is the newly elected chair of the Agricultural Management Institute, based in Guelph, ON. Brenda Lammens, former chair of OFVGA, becomes vice-chair. New directors are Frank Hoftyzer, David Lee and Jim Wheeler.

Emily Dickinson is the new Program Coordinator for the CanadaGAP program, with several years’ experience on OnFarm Food Safety activities with the Canadian Horticultural Council. She will be involved in auditor training, document reviews and updates as well as external and internal communications.

Mastronardi Produce, headquartered in Kingsville, ON, has been awarded the DuPont Food Quality Award for 2010 for its Sunset brand of greenhouse vegetables. It’s the first time a fresh produce company has won the award in the 10-year history.

The Canadian agri-food industry lost an icon with the passing of Wallace McCain, 81, on May 13. The son of New Brunswick potato farmers, he and his brother Harrison grew the storied empire of McCain Foods, a French fry conglomerate that spans the globe. In the mid-1990s, he went on to purchase Maple Leaf Foods Inc., reinvigorating a waning brand and appointing son Michael as CEO and son Scott as leader of the agribusiness division.

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JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 3 THE GROWER

Supreme Court of Canada balances rights of employers and workers Continued from page 1 So is it business as usual? No matter what the Supreme Court says in Ottawa, the business reality is clear on the ground.

“All growers need to take to heart the tenets of the Agricultural Employees Protection Act,” concludes Forth. “Listen to your workers and consider carefully what they say. If they aren’t happy, you don’t have a business.”

Right: Jamaican workers start planting 200 acres of broccoli - six rows at a time with an Italian-made planter -- on the farm of Ken Forth near Orkney, Ontario. Some of these workers have been returning for more than 20 years. Photo by Denis Cahill.

Ontario v. Fraser – Supreme Court of Canada allows the Appeal “Fraser is clearly one of the most significant labour and constitutional decisions in Canadian history,” says John Craig, Heenan Blaikie, who has been working for the legal firm for a decade and was a prime presenter on the case. "The Supreme Court's decision was a great relief. The Court confirmed that labour laws should be determined by legislators, not judges.

We have been saying this for years, and the highest court in the land agreed."

Here is Craig’s backgrounder on what happened in the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Fraser v. Ontario, which was recently overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada.

In its 2008 decision, the Ontario Court

of Appeal determined that the exclusion of agricultural workers from Ontario’s Labour Relations Act (“LRA”) and their inclusion in a separate statutory regime, the AEPA, was unconstitutional because it failed to provide adequate statutory protections to allow these workers to engage in collective bargaining. The Court of Appeal found that while the AEPA allowed workers to form or join employee associations (including unions) and to make representations to their employers regarding their employment, unlike the LRA, it did not compell employers to respond to and bargain with employees, did not regulate labour disputes, and did not limit representation rights to a single association or

union per group of employees.

The Ontario Court of Appeal identified four protections that the Legislature was required to enact to enable agricultural workers to exercise their right to bargain collectively: • A duty to bargain in good faith; • A requirement that employee representatives be selected based on the principles of majoritarianism and exclusivity; • A mechanism for resolving labour disputes (i.e., strikes and lockouts); • A mechanism for resolving disputes regarding the interpretation and administration of collective agreements.

While the Court of Appeal was not entirely clear in this regard, it appeared to

suggest that the constitutional right of collective bargaining in section 2(d) of the Charter generally requires statutory protection of the above-noted features.

At the time the Court of Appeal’s decision was released, many observers commented that it may be in conflict with the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2007 finding in the B.C. Health Services case that the constitutional protection for collective bargaining does not guarantee a particular model of labour relations.

The Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal in Fraser v. Ontario in December 2009 and the matter has been under reserve until the decision was rendered April 2011.

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Strawberries reduce risk of esophageal cancer

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Consuming strawberries regularly may reduce the risk of esophageal cancer, the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death.

A team of researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center recently reported that of patients who ate at least two ounces of freeze-dried strawberries per day for six months, 80 per cent were found to have fewer bloodborne biomarkers for the carcinoma afterward.

Further research may determine which compounds found in strawberries act to inhibit the growth of precancerous lesions.

The vitamins and nutrients found in strawberries include polyphenols, which is a class of antiinflammatory compounds and antioxidants.

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The Santa Maria valley in California will be home to one of the largest greenhouse operations in the U.S. – and it’s Canadianowned. Windset Farms, with greenhouses in Delta and Abbotsford, British Columbia, is building a 5.1 million square foot greenhouse for tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables. Construction of the 64-acre project is expected to finish in late summer 2011.

Windset has the rights to Landec’s BreatheWay packaging that extends the shelf life of cucumbers as well as grape, roma and cherry-type tomatoes.

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The Chilean Ministry of Agriculture is projecting overall growth of 10 per cent in its fruit sector in 2011. Estimates are based on better international prices for fruits, particularly in Asia which has high demand for cherries.

José Antonio Galilea, minister of agriculture, expects advances of 40 per cent for blueberries, 25 per cent for cherries, nine per cent for table grapes and five per cent for kiwi.

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Known as a global leader in off-patent crop protection solutions and Mana Canada in this country, Makhteshim Agan has cleared all hurdles in its merger with the China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina).

ChemChina informed the company on May 6, 2011 that it had also received the approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China.

The company has global sales of US$2.38 billion and is ranked seventh in global agrochemical companies. In Canada, it offers 16 active ingredients in its portfolio of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

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A new apple variety that was nearly abandoned because it was thought to be too small, returns to New Zealand supermarket shelves, its small size now promoted as a virtue.

Called Rockit, the little red apple is in just its second season of commercial production but already demand is outstripping supply.

“It’s about 1 1/2 times the size of a golf ball,” Havelock North Fruit Company owner Phil Alison said. “It’s very sweet and very crisp. It’s for people who want a healthy snack.

“Rockit is the name because it’s new and innovative, has bursts of flavour and will take off.”

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How long will the sun shine on Feed-in-Tariff program?

KAREN DAVIDSON Farmers beware. In the next four months, green energy will become a political hot potato in Ontario.

If elected in the upcoming Ontario election October 6, Conservative leader Tim Hudak has vowed to end a $7 billion, untendered deal with Samsung and to cancel the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program which pays above-market rates for green energy. Although Hudak said contracts would be honoured with individual farmers who supply power to the grid, it’s clear growers should decide on applications well before the election.

If the current Liberal government stays in power, an anticipated program review is likely to decrease prices per kilowatt hour.

Prices are as good as they’re going to get.

The microFIT program -- for farmers producing 10 kilowatts per hour power or less – has been widely subscribed with 28,000 applicants. The attractive rates of 80.2 cents/kilowatt hour with a roof-mounted solar panel or even a ground unit at 64.2 cents/kilowatt hour offer a generous return of about 10 per cent.

One of the turnkey installers is Ag Energy Cooperative based in Guelph, Ontario. Because the company is involved in day-today installations, it learns first about emerging issues.

“What we’re hearing is that certain geographies of Ontario are becoming constrained in their capacity for new hook-ups to the electrical grid,” says Lori Gallaugher, director of marketing and business development, Ag Energy Cooperative.

Chatham-Kent-Windsor is nearly full as is the Toronto and Ottawa areas. With the heads-up that some hookups might become impossible and that prices are likely to change, Gallaugher suggests growers take a hard look at options over the summer. The application process should be to the Ontario Power Authority and simultaneously with your local distribution company to see if an electrical connection is feasible.

Better to find out early if you can access the local system.

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63.5

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has resulted in new structures built for the purpose of generating green energy. But the Ontario Power Authority reminds producers that it clarified the definition in July 2010.

“To be eligible as a rooftop

facility, the application has to be related to a project that is permanent and on an existing building,” says Jim MacDougall, manager of FIT procurement for the Ontario Power Authority. “The clarification was to ensure that the program was not encouraging the construction of new buildings that would not otherwise have been built, but may have been built partially as a means of obtaining a higher FIT price under the program. This would not be consistent with the principles of the program.”

MacDougall says that the building supporting the solar installation can be a barn, bunkhouse or facility for value-added production on the farm.

The FIT Program call centre number is 1-888-387-3403.

JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 5 THE GROWER

Sun rises on Harovin Sundown pear with new plantings KAREN DAVIDSON Niagara-area growers planted 20 acres of Harovin Sundown pears this spring. Their hope is to rejuvenate a pear industry that’s dwindled to a scant thousand acres in Ontario.

“We love this made-in-Canada pear,” says Mike Ecker, president, Vineland Growers Cooperative, Jordan Station, Ontario, with a nod to the Agriculture and AgriFood Canada breeding program.

“AC Harovin Sundown eats well, has the texture of a Bartlett yet a sweet flavour all its own. The agronomics are there in spades with fire blight tolerance, winter

hardiness, post harvest storage life and sustainable yields.”

Ecker’s excitement is based on a new approach for bringing a product to market. First, there’s the knowledge that consumer taste testing by Isabelle Lesschaeve at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (VRIC) was favourable long before committing to test acreages. Then there’s the marketing agreement that the cooperative has just signed to pay $1.50 per tree in royalties to VRIC which, in turn, will plow back the monies into more research. And lastly, there’s a three-year ramp-up to 250 acres to finetune harvesting and storage

before the Sundown pear reaches consumers in 2014.

In the past, new varieties would be bred, grown and marketed to consumers without much tinkering. But Ecker says that the Sundown pear will benefit from knowledge on proper time of harvest and how long it can be stored.

“You can pick it wrong,” says Ecker, who admits that they have already picked too early one year and too late the second year in trials. “If it’s too hard, it’s not palatable. If it’s too soft, it goes mushy in two days. We’ve only got one chance with the consumer.”

So the Vineland Growers’ Cooperative will be testing pressure per square inch for hardness, brix levels and how long to store with the aid of SmartFresh technology. To date, they are encouraged about storability well into March, or about six months after harvest. Those facts augur well for a positive response from major retailers who will have reliable supplies with this locally grown fruit.

For Jim Brandle, CEO, VRIC, the marketing agreement with Vineland Growers Cooperative is exactly what was envisioned in the recent 15-year strategy for the Ontario tender fruit industry.

“To stay competitive, the Canadian industry must forge new types of marketing alliances that will secure premium markets and increase grower margins,” says Brandle. “The agreement between VRIC and the Cooperative will do exactly this. The Cooperative is already a trusted marketer with well established retail agreements in eastern Canada and coordination for more than 70 per cent of the pear production in Ontario.”

Growers in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes who are interested in producing Sundown pears should contact the Cooperative directly.

Farmers’ markets polish their marketing tools Just as Shakespeare set his market scenes as rustic and rollicking affairs, so too do modern-era markets. Farmers Markets’ Ontario has taken an entertainment leaf from the bard, equipping its 160odd members with training videos and marketing materials. Their advice? A little theatre keeps the crowds happy.

At last winter’s Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Tracy Lamb, communications consultant presented a number of tips and tools for creating a great market experience. “A customer who is emotionally connected to a business is likely to spend 46 per cent more than one who is merely satisfied,” she said.

According to Lamb, the main ingredients for a great customer experience are surprise and delight. A great experi¬ence is interactive and engages all the

senses, appealing to sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Taken together, these elements forge an emotional connection that brings

people back to your market, week after week.

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ing” as the second most common reason for return visits. Apart from farm-fresh food and real farmers, customers are looking for social connection, social responsibility, and inter¬actions that are stimulating, fun and interesting. “They’re willing to pay more for that connection,” says Lamb.

And more often than not, the outings are multi-generational.

“Where kids are having fun, and are entertained, parents and grandparents are out spending

money,” states Lamb. So your market needs to do different things to delight the different age groups. Face-painting for kids and comfortable seating for seniors “surprise and delight” in entirely different ways.

How well does your market or market stall appeal to the senses?

Do you delight with stunning arrays of colour, friendly greetings, cheerful music, eye-catching displays, sumptuous food tasting, mouth-watering smells, unexpected courtesies, unusual activities and useful food facts and tips?

The Petrolia Farmers’ Market involves different community groups in the heart of the market each week. One week, a tai chi group will be practising a routine and the next, a featured vendor might bring in a herd of alpacas.

Can you imagine driving by a farmers’ market and not being surprised to see alpacas or people practicing tai chi?

At Desbarats Farmers’ Market involving international exchange students with vendors has allowed the small northern town to offer services in fluent German and French.

For your own tool kit, go to www.ontariofarmersmarkets.com.

PAGE 6 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

As food prices increase, farming can become a more valued profession

BRIAN GILROY CHAIR, OFVGA The past month has been extremely busy for the people involved with the growing of fruit and vegetables here in Ontario.

Farmers are busy growing the food that everyone needs and the organizations that represent them have been finalizing the details of a new risk management program.

In the very near future, farmers of edible horticultural crops will have access to a Modified SelfDirected Risk Management Program. After a number of consultation meetings and conference calls, the OFVGA Safety Nets Committee has been working

with OMAFRA and Agricorp representatives to get the program operational this year. It is refreshing to see everyone working together and we are optimistic that it will be a program that will provide valuable support for farmers. It is quite possible that records could be broken regarding the speed at which this program will go from announcement to implementation. Congratulations to all involved.

In looking back at the month of May it has been eventful around the country and the world.

Mother Nature has been very newsworthy this spring with numerous floods, tornadoes and wild fires. Food is also becoming a very newsworthy item as food prices are directly linked to a lot of the political unrest around the world. As food is being discussed I see an opportunity for farming to become a more valued profession. We are making gains provincially. I can only hope that the recently elected federal government becomes more responsive to the needs of the farming community.

Here in Ontario, we experienced the earliest spring in recorded history last year and this

year has been one of the coolest and muddiest I have ever seen.

Our ability to adapt is essential and one thing that farmers are

very good at.

Despite a late spring, asparagus harvest is now in full swing on 800 acres in Ontario. This grading crew at Jason Ryder's farm, Delhi, has been coping with a cool and rainy season. Yields have been reduced by a disease called purple spot stemphylium. Photo by Denis Cahill.

Moving in the right direction

ART SMITH CEO, OFVGA In many ways, the past few months (weather aside) have been pretty good for our growers. The Supreme Court of Canada overturned the Ontario Appeals Court decision regarding the right to collective bargaining, effectively saying that the province has the right to establish its own rules around this issue. Congratulations to all the folks at the Labour Issues Coordinating Committee for all their hard work on this

issue over the years.

The government of Ontario also announced risk management programs for the meat, grain and edible horticulture sectors. You will recall I wrote about this in my column last month and that what is being considered for our sector is a modified Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM) program. I can report that we are working on the development of this program and that the discussions are both quite smooth and going quickly. I will report more in a month or two.

I would also like to report on something else that is going on and while it may not be a new program or new legislation, it will, if carried through, have huge benefits for our farmers.

What I am talking about is a new approach to the development of regulations that impact our members and not just those developed

by OMAFRA but other ministries as well.

The Government of Ontario has set out to study the implica-

tions of regulations to doing business in Ontario. It is not just the regulations that are being looked at but also the process of the development of new regulations and the elimination of outdated ones.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) was tasked with facilitating the agriculture and agribusiness sectors . They are to be commended for the very good job they did.

Five priorities were developed (highlights only):

ing group to review existing regulations to amend or delete outdated or ineffective regulations 3) Inspection and enforcement activities - recommend more consistency and accuracy among ministries when dealing with inspection and enforcement issues - enhanced communication and information sharing between ministries and the agri-food sector to achieve greater consistency and accuracy in regulatory inspection and enforcement

1) Engagement in the regulatory development process -a mandatory early consultative process on any new regulation that would affect farmers regardless of ministry -a framework to help define modern farming practices to help when developing or amending regulations

4) Service standards to streamline licensing and permitting approval process - eliminate inconsistent information requirements and reduce approval time 5) Compliance incentives - encourage compliance with regulations and thus minimize the need for enforcement penalties (carrot vs. stick approach)

2) Review of existing OMAFRA regulations - a government-industry work-

STAFF Publisher: Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association Editor: Karen Davidson, 416-252-7337, kdavidson@ecomente.ca Production: Carlie Robertson, ext. 221, production@thegrower.org Advertising: Herb Sherwood, 519-380-0118, hsherwood@cogeco.ca

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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.

All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either whole or in part without the prior written consent of the publisher.

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The Grower is printed 12 times a year and sent to all members of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association who have paid $30.00 (plus G.S.T.) per year for the paper through their commodity group or container fees.

Others may subscribe as follows by writing to the office:

$30.00 (+ G.S.T.) / year in Canada $40.00/year International Subscribers must submit a claim for missing issues within four months. If the issue is claimed within four months, but not available, The Grower will extend the subscription by one month. No refunds on subscriptions.

ONTARIO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2011 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Chair Vice-Chair Fruit Director Veg Director Director

Brian Gilroy, Meaford Mac James, Leamington Ray Duc, Niagara-on-the-Lake Jason Ryder, Delhi Norm Charbonneau, Port Elgin

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

Brian Gilroy, Meaford Mary Shabatura, Windham Centre Fred Meyers, Niagara-on-the-Lake Jason Ryder, Delhi Ray Duc, Niagara-on-the-Lake Jason Verkaik, Bradford Mac James, Leamington Norm Charbonneau, Port Elgin Doug Bradley, Tillsonburg Jan Vander Hout, Waterdown Don Taylor, Durham

The five points mentioned above may not seem like much but they are most significant. We have all heard, for far too long, that many regulations impede business, so as simple as the recommendations mentioned above may seem, amendments to them will make a huge difference to you the farmer. There is no room for inconsistency and outdated regulations.

Regulations are necessary.

They have a purpose but they must be written to meet that purpose and in a way that does not unduly encumber business or foster unintended consequences.

Enhanced communication between those in the agri-food sector and the policy makers will go a long way to a better, more streamlined system.

Well-done OFA. For what it’s worth, it’s the way I see it.

OFVGA SECTION CHAIRS Crop Protection Research Property Labour Safety Nets CHC AGCare/Nutrient Man.

Charles Stevens, Newcastle Harold Schooley, Simcoe David Lambert, Niagara-on-the-Lake Ken Forth, Lynden Mark Wales, Alymer Murray Porteous, Simcoe Charles Stevens, Newcastle

JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 7 THE GROWER

PERSPECTIVE On-farm energy will need to be part of new food policy

OWEN ROBERTS UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH Have you moved on from the federal election? I haven’t. I’m still overwhelmed by the results and I haven’t seen anything significant happen to suggest change, other than the usual exposé of surprise finishers, such as successful NDP candidate Ruth Ellen Brosseau, who had never even set foot in “her” riding until two weeks after the election.

Now, did factors such as attack ads help her win against the other dominant parties? Experts say attack ads work. We know Brosseau didn’t win because of a tireless door-to-door campaign, or her familiarity with her constituents, or her expertise in French, or her long service record to the community. So maybe attack ads had something to do with it.

Attack ads don’t work for me.

They make me want to attack them. I believe they reflect the worst human qualities. Visitors to this country watching attack ads would think we really despise each other. I don’t think we do.

But every few years, whenever an election comes up, we buy into

this hatred and maliciousness.

Blech.

Those aren't Canadian values, and they're certainly not rural values. And thankfully, for the most part, while federal campaign organizers were sharpening their fangs and spitting blood at each other, candidates in rural Ontario were taking a different tact.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture President Bette Jean Crews says she sensed a conciliatory tone and open mindedness among rural candidates this year. She says regardless of their political stripes, they seem committed to working together on at least a couple of fronts.

First, they know the will exists across Canada for the creation of a national food policy. Each party, as well as several special interest groups, has some version of a food policy, or a vision for it.

Some include farms. Others emphasize the environment. And still others deal with educating consumers.

A government truly and democratically representing the national interests of the country will gather these assorted policy documents, try to find the commonality and then, in an inclusive, transparent way, create a policy that everyone can rally around. It will underline how a country too dependent on imports is at risk.

But, according to Crews, it will also bring focus to another matter that seems to particularly resonate with rural Canadians (perhaps because they’re closest to the land) – that is, well over a million people around the world go hungry every day, more than that are poor and the retail cost of food is rising. So is the cost of producing it. As an exporting

Erie Shores wind farm located in Elgin County, Ontario is a 99 MW facility producing enough electricity to power 23,000 homes. Photo courtesy of Elgin County Economic Development. nation that, despite embarrassingly mean political attack ads, has a sense of morality, we need to create a food policy that strengthens farmers’ ability to feed Canadians and others.

Of course, feeding others is only part of the answer to world hunger – helping them feed themselves is the other part. That’s why a food policy needs to also support research into vital foodrelated matters. What we learn domestically through research can help address global concerns such as climate change and trade issues.

A new food policy needs to be cognizant of how food production and on-farm energy production can be balanced, as well. If ever a case could be made for a domestic alternative energy supply involving farmers, it’s now, as petroleum giants once again gouge us in unprecedented ways.

A policy is needed to lay out the parameters for alternative energy production, especially surround-

LETTER TO EDITOR Dear Editor, In a recent article, “Corn and honeybees: The perennial problem of pesticides,” it was unfortunate that the authors failed to mention a new product that effectively controls the key insect pests in field, seed and sweet corn, while having very low toxicity to honeybees.

DuPont Coragen insecticide was available to sweet corn growers under emergency registrations in 2008 and 2009 and received full registration in 2010. It provides corn growers with a new tool for effective control of European corn borer, corn earworm and western bean cutworm, complemented with very low toxicity to honeybees.

Coragen has long-lasting residual control and is classified as a reduced risk insecticide. It has a negligible impact on key biological control agents – parasitoids and predators – and pollinators, at field-use rates.

This selectivity, along with its robust control of important insect pests, makes Coragen an excellent tool for integrated pest management (IPM) programs.

While it is very important to highlight the safe use of pesticides in areas where bees are active, growers also need to know that there is new technology available with very low toxicity to honeybees.

Bill Summers Government Affairs and Field Development Manager E.I. duPont Canada Company

ing the many environmental questions that have yet to be settled, and energy production’s relationship with agriculture.

A sense of urgency surrounds this matter, though Crews believes that with a four-year federal mandate, there’s time to reach consensus and do it right.

Farmers should be front and center in a national food policy’s creation. Recognizing agriculture’s importance to the economy, the province asked the federation to take a lead role in discussions among all sectors for the Open For Business initiative, and for the new farm business risk management program that’s being widely lauded in Ontario.

Could farmers also take a lead in helping coordinate the national food policy? Absolutely. It all starts with them. They should be recognized for their key role in keeping us and others fed. owen@uoguelph.ca

COMING EVENTS 2011 June 8

Ontario Produce Marketing Association Annual General Meeting, 12 noon, Room 205, Ontario Food Terminal, Toronto, ON

June 9, 10

2011 Riesling Experience, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON

June 22

Soil Management Workshop, Simcoe County (infield workshop/bus trip) Contact Woodstock OMAFRA: 519-537-6621

July 5 – 7

The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council Annual Forum on Employment and Skills Development, Rodd Charlottetown, PEI

July 7, 8

Federal/provincial/territorial agriculture ministers’ meeting, St Andrews, New Brunswick

July 14

50th Anniversary Simcoe Research Station Open House, Simcoe, ON 2 pm – 7 pm

Aug. 2 – 4

Canadian Horticultural Council Mid-Summer Apple Meeting, Old Orchard Inn, Wolfville, NS

Aug 18 – 20 QPMA Annual Convention, Fairmont Tremblant, Mont-Tremblant, QC August 24

Herb Demonstration Day, OMAFRA Simcoe Research Station, Simcoe, ON

SUPERIOR SEEDS, SUPERIOR SERVICE Michel Gratton

Yvon Riendeau

Yves Thibault, agr.

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PAGE 8 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

Board briefs Following are highlights from the OFVGA board meeting held April 21, 2011. The purpose of this brief is to keep you up-todate on issues that the OFVGA is working on, as well as projects and initiatives the organization is involved in.

Property Wildlife conflict strategy: Property section chair Dave Lambert reported that the Ontario government, through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources, recently released a discussion paper on a new agriculture-wildlife conflict strategy. Work is underway to update compensation levels paid to farmers for livestock losses.

Wildlife damage to crops and livestock has been a key issue for farmers for a number of years.

Provincial government officials have indicated that work will soon begin on developing a strategy to address crop losses due to wildlife damage.

Occupational Health and Safety: Farmers are required to provide training for their employees in on-farm occupational health and safety; training materials are available in various languages from the Farm Safety Association but some farmers may need help in delivering the materials in different languages. OFVGA will look into additional information and resources to help farmers meet their employee health and safety obligations. More information on the Act and tools to assist with on-farm implementation are available at http://www.farmsafety.ca/pages/ohs_act.html.

Crop protection Grower Requested Own Use program: Crop Protection chair Charles Stevens reported that several products approved for the Grower Requested Own Use (GROU) program have been removed from the eligibility list.

GROU allows farmers to import an identical product from the United States that may be avail-

able for a lower price south of the border for use on their own farms.

The program was implemented as a way to lessen price discrepancies between crop protection products sold in Canada and the U.S. Some products, even if they are approved for the GROU program, may be subject to additional regulations. For example, if a product that is restricted in the U.S. is on the GROU approval list, a Canadian farmer must have a state pesticide license to buy the product in the U.S. and import it into Canada. U.S. retailers are not allowed to sell the product to anyone who does not have the state applicator license, and there is currently no recognition of licenses or permits – such as the Grower Pesticide Safety Course in Ontario – from other jurisdictions.

New pests in Canada: Two new pests affecting horticultural crops have been identified in Canada for the first time. The spotted wing drosophila attacks fruits and berries, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries strawberries, cherries, plums, peaches and nectarines. The brown marmorated stink bug affects fruit trees, vegetables and legumes, as well as ornamental crops. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is putting monitoring programs in place to try to determine the extent of the pests, which are native to Asia and can cause severe crop damage. No controls are currently registered in Canada.

Significant commodity issues Telone: Farmers are concerned about the loss of Telone, a soil fumigant that has been withdrawn from the market by its manufacturer due to a request by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for extra data. OFVGA has asked PMRA to reconsider so that Dow will reinstate the product. There are no known environmental or health problems with Telone and there is currently no replacement product available for growers in Canada. The problem is of particular concern to farmers

who grow root crops, muck crops and ginseng; they depend on Telone to keep their crops free of pathogens and nematodes. Growers say the loss of this product will threaten the future of ginseng growing in Ontario.

Heat and power co-generation opportunities: Ontario greenhouse farmers in the Leamington area are interested in exploring heat and power co-generation (cogen) opportunities. Ontario Power Generation’s policy is to only focus on co-gen opportunities in five Ontario urban centers. Leamington is not included on this list so farmers are unable to proceed.

This policy is made all the more concerning by a shortage of electricity in areas of south Essex which is threatening to delay planned greenhouse vegetable sector expansion. It was reported that in the Netherlands, more than 20 per cent of green power generated in that country comes from greenhouses.

Compliance with environmental standards: Greenhouse vegetable farmers are working with the Ministry of the Environment to try to resolve issues surrounding compliance with environmental standards. There are some suggestions that greenhouses should be considered industrial and not agricultural users, which would mean that environmental standards and solutions used by the rest of agriculture would not apply to greenhouse farmers.

Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM) update Work has begun between horticulture sector representatives and officials from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and

Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to develop the Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM) program for edible horticulture announced by the Ontario government in the March provincial budget. A detailed proposal is expected to go to the Treasury Board in June with the goal of having an application process in place by fall.

Lobbying priority setting The board continued discussions around setting priorities for its lobbying efforts. Key issues identified by board members included safety nets, promotion of Ontario products/farmers, research and tech transfer, societal costs and offsets, horticulture for health and school snack programs, harmonization of regulations, water, PACA and taxation.

A draft strategy will be developed for discussion at an upcoming meeting.

Labour Labour section chair Ken Forth reported that work is ongoing to encourage the Canadian government to establish a PACA-like trust in Canada. In the U.S., the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) licenses buyers of produce to ensure that those who sell produce receive payment for their products and at the same time has established legislation that protects produce sellers when buyers fail to pay. The OFVGA and the Canadian Horticulture Council are lobbying for the establishment of a made-inCanada PACA-like trust program that extends the same benefits to the Canadian produce industry as in the U.S. There is no cost to

government for this program; it would only require a legislation change to enact it.

Note: In the days following the Board meeting, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in the Fraser case with a ruling of 8 to 1 in favour of denying the right of farm workers to unionize.

Director roles and responsibilities The Board reviewed a report provided by Strive as a follow-up to a governance training workshop held last month. This included recommendations for succession planning, and board and committee functions.

International Federation of Agriculture Journalists Congress in Ontario The Board agreed to provide $2,500 to support the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists congress that will take place in Southern Ontario this September. The event, set for September 14 to 18, will welcome up to 300 international farm journalists and agricultural communicators to Canada for the first time since 1967. The congress will start in Guelph, include three concurrent two-day tours to southwestern, midwestern and eastern Ontario and end in Niagara Falls.

The congress program includes considerable coverage of horticulture. More information is available at www.ifaj2011.com.

The next board meeting will be held June 9th at the OFVGA office in Guelph starting at 10 a.m.

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JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 9 THE GROWER

Building trust between farmers and food industry key to keeping activists at bay LILIAN SCHAER Farmers have to start being more proactive to counter growing influence by activist groups, an influence they’re increasingly wielding with retailers and restaurants. Paul Hodgman, a consultant and former Executive Director of Alberta Pork, is working on a new initiative with AGCare and the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) that is aimed at building relationships between food producers and major food buyers – in this case, retail and restaurant chains.

“Activists are pressuring the food industry. This is not a new issue but what has changed is that it’s business driven now,” Hodgman told an audience at the AGCare-OFAC annual meeting last month. “Their activities are about driving a vegan diet and these groups are extremely well funded.”

Modern activist groups are well-funded, sophisticated and influential. After considerable success in Europe, the United States and Australia, they have turned their sights on Canada, and are going directly to the boardrooms of major food companies in an effort to convince them to change their business practices to suit activist demands.

“We are up against a big machine with a lot of money,” he said, adding that although the primary focus is currently on targeting livestock production practices, other issues like pesticide use are also starting to feel pressure from across the supply chain. For example, that pressure can start when an activist group buys shares in a major food company and introduces a resolution to demand a certain farm practice or audit.

Activist efforts are bringing about changes to buying policies, public policy and the regulatory regime, which means farmers can be forced to change their practices. These changes will impact the entire supply chain through increased costs and will lead to fragmentation in the industry.

According to Hodgman, the status quo – a patchwork of individual initiatives across the country by companies, commodity groups and small scale coalitions – is unacceptable. The industry is consistently in a reactive instead of proactive position and there’s a real need to build trust amongst the players through coordinated communications and advocacy.

This includes developing relationships within the food supply chain, sharing intelligence and seeking alliances with counterparts in Europe and the U.S., improving relations with government as it shifts to an increasingly regulatory approach and finally, becoming crisis-ready to deal with targeted activist attacks and campaigns on all facets of

Issues like pesticide use are also starting to feel pressure from across the supply chain, said Paul Hodgman, guest speaker, AGCare and OFAC AGM. farming.

Hodgman’s work with AGCare and OFAC is focused on finding solutions to drive these goals for-

ward, which is being developed for the Ontario groups but with an eye on the need to address national efforts in the future. He is

currently examining four different approaches to food industry advocacy, including operating the work as a project under existing groups like AGCare or OFAC through to creating a new structure nationally. Part of the project is to examine what success looks like for the agri-food sectors in other jurisdictions, including the United States and Australia who are facing more pressure than Canada to date.

Regardless of what may ultimately be implemented, Hodgman says it is critical that the whole supply chain becomes involved and that core funding and necessary resources are put in place.

Dedicated staff is also important in order for the strategy to be effective. Leadership for the program must come from within the industry and it must have national recognition and support.

“We need to position our industry properly to deal with this. All sectors in the industry will be attacked on one level or another so we have to be ready,” he concluded. “And time is of the essence. One of the results of a well fed, wealthy economy is people with time on their hands who will take up causes because they can afford to do so. We can’t stand by and pretend this isn’t happening.”

AGCare, Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment, is a coalition of farm organizations, including the OFVGA, committed to communicating about agriculture and the environment. AGCare is the environmental voice of Ontario’s 45,000 fruit, vegetables, and field crop farmers. Visit www.agcare.org.

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PAGE 10 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

New cookbook to be sold at farmers’ markets KAREN DAVIDSON Lynn Ogryzlo knows how to tease the appetite with recipes like grilled cheese and asparagus sandwich. She is a household name in the Niagara region, as a food writer for Niagara This Week and founder of the Niagara Culinary Trail. But she’s about to go provincial with a new cookbook – Ontario Table – that will be sold only through farmers’ markets.

The rationale behind the unique distribution channel is that farmers’ markets are powerful eonomic engines in the community.

“If everyone spent just $10/week in local produce at a farmer’s market, there would be $2.4 billion injected into the Ontario economy,” Ogryzlo says.

That’s why she’s launching “Ontario Table” on June 22 at

Nathan Phillips Square Farmers’ Market in downtown Toronto – a savvy move to attract consumers and media.

Ogryzlo is no novice to cookbook publishing success, after selling 15,000 copies of Niagara Cooks. She blends novel uses of local food with a pinch of growers’ backgrounds. Beside her recipe for yellow plum soufflé, for example, is a tribute to Niagaraon-the Lake Kurtz Orchards.

Ogrylzo discovered that yellow plum pureé could be substituted in a lemon square recipe with delectable results, overcoming the sometimes bitter taste of lemons.

In all, the new cookbook features 20 destinations with more than 100 recipes. She shines a spotlight on the root vegetables of Hagerman Farms in Prince Edward County, using brie cheese as the

secret ingredient in a recipe for scalloped potatoes. If anyone is a regular at the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, they will recognize the story about Rochon Gardens and their eight varieties of melons.

All of the proceeds from the $29.95 cookbook will go to farmers who sell them at their local farmers’ markets. There are now about 175 of them in Ontario.

Growers can obtain copies through Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association (if they’re a member at www.ontariofarmfresh.com) or through 20 tourism offices across the province. All proceeds remain with the growers.

The book can also be ordered through www.lynnogryzlo.com.

Digging for a solar first 60 per cent domestic content standard and will use exclusively Ontario contractors. Canadian Solar, based in Ontario, has manufactured the solar panels at its new Guelph facility which has added more than 400 jobs to the burgeoning green industry.

Ethosolar, the panel installer for this project, is based in Barrie, Ontario, and has considerable knowledge about the FIT application process and the hurdles in getting hooked up to the grid, having already installed more than 300 microFIT projects across the province. On its website (www.ethosolar.com), Ethosolar has indicated that capacity issues appear to be most significant in

the southwestern part of Ontario.

The Alliston solar project is expected to be connected to the grid in late June -- an addition that fits the sustainable philosophy of Sunrise Potatoes. Sunrise is known for producing potatoes for the chip industry and organic potatoes for fresh consumption and processing. It supplies markets year-round through its stateof-the-art storage facility. Anyone interested in the FIT project is invited to join the VanderZaags and EthoSolar for an open house and tour on Friday, July 8, 2011.

This large solar project is being installed at Sunrise Potato Storage facilities at Alliston, Ontario.

Ground breaking and installation of the first solar Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) project of its size in the Alliston, Ontario area is underway at Sunrise Potato Storage.

Sunrise Potatoes is owned by Peter and Carla VanderZaag

along with their partners, daughter Ruth and her husband Nick.

The solar FIT project is a joint venture with a son and daughterin-law from Ottawa.

The 250 kw project will be one of the first that meets the new

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JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 11 THE GROWER

Do you discharge your wash water?

GEORGE SHEARER This article is a follow up to the last two articles written on the Nutrient Management Act. Many growers have been contacting the OFVGA office for additional information on wash water discharge.

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has indicated to the OFVGA that growers who discharge wash water to a ground or surface water receiver need to have certificates of approval from the Ministry. The situation is less clear when it comes to water being discharged into a reservoir or directly onto the land. According to MOE, Agriculture Source Material is handled on a case by case basis and anyone who is discharging washwater should contact their local area or district office to determine how they fit in and a list of MOE contacts is provided below. Should the Ministry of the Environment determine that you are indeed in need of a Certificate of Approval for your discharge water they will work with you at that time to bring you into compliance and give you some time to do it as long as you continue to work towards an approval. Be warned though as this process is not a cheap one and the application fee alone not including any consulting or engineering fees starts at $7500 and can go up depending on the complexity of your specific situation.

Growers may also contact George Shearer, OFVGA Surface Water Specialist, for information at 519-763-6160, ext. 219.

• CENTRAL REGION OFFICE General Inquiry: 416-326-6700 Toll Free: 800-810-8048 Fax: 416-325-6345 - For FOI also Address: Place Nouveau 8th Flr, Toronto ON M2M 4J1 • BARRIE DISTRICT OFFICE General Inquiry: 705-739-6441 Toll Free: 800-890-8511 Fax: 705-739-6440 Address: Unit 1201, 54 Cedar Pointe Dr Barrie ON L4N 5R7 • HALTON-PEEL DISTRICT OFFICE General Inquiry: 905-319-3847 Toll Free: 800-335-5906 Fax: 905-319-9902 Address: Suite 300, 4145 North Service Rd Burlington ON L7L 6A3 • TORONTO DISTRICT

OFFICE General Inquiry: 416-326-6700 Fax: 416-325-6346 Address: Place Nouveau 9th Flr, 5775 Yonge St Toronto ON M2M 4J1 • YORK DURHAM DISTRICT OFFICE General Inquiry: 905-427-5600 Toll Free: 800-376-4547 Fax: 905-427-5602 Address: 5th Flr, 230 Westney Rd S Ajax ON L1S 7J5 • SOUTHWEST REGIONAL OFFICE Toll Free: 800-265-7672 Fax: 519-873-5020 Address: 733 Exeter Rd London ON N6E 1L3

• HAMILTON DISTRICT OFFICE General Inquiry: 905-521-7650 Fax: 905-521-7806 Fax: 905-521-7820 Address: Ellen Fairclough Bldg 9th Flr, 119 King St W Hamilton ON L8P 4Y7 • NIAGARA DISTRICT OFFICE General Inquiry: 905-704-3900 Toll Free: 800-263-1035 Fax: 905-704-4015 Web Site: www.ene.gov.on.ca Address: 9th Flr Suite 15, 301 St Paul St St Catharines ON L2R 7R4 • KINGSTON REGIONAL

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PAGE 12 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Sorghum may find sweet spot in bioenergy crop rotation Can a tropical crop provide biomass in a temperate climate?

The answer is a resounding yes, according to Agricultural Environmental Renewal Canada (AERC) with research facilities in Delhi, Ontario.

The bio-agro seed company specializes in developing sorghum and pearl millet hybrids for both grain and forage. Unlike miscanthus and switchgrass which are perennials, sorghum and pearl millet are annuals.

“For some farmers, growing an annual for bioenergy may be a plus,” says Anand Kumar, research lead, AERC. “High biomass sorghum has the flexibility to be used for animal production.

Most important, it can fit into a crop rotation. It adapts to sandy

Sorghum for biomass

Pearl millet for biomass soils with an acidic pH of 5. And it’s very drought-tolerant.”

Until recently, all the sorghum and pearl millet varieties that

were grown in Canada were U.S. varieties. Through extensive research, AERC has developed varieties and hybrids that can be

grown under climatic conditions across Canada and in similar conditions worldwide.

From 2002 to 2005, AERC

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research focused on developing high-biomass sorghum (HBS).

Results showed dry matter yields ranged from nine to 11 t/ha, about the same as corn silage. More recent research from 2006 to 2008 showed hybrids could yield 45.3 to 55.3 t/ha of green biomass. Pearl millet has even better yields of around 13 t/ha of biomass. It is popular in Ontario and Quebec as a means of controlling root lesion nematodes in tobacco, potato and strawberries without use of fumigation.

AERC has shown that biomass yields can be increased by at least 1.5 times by using narrow row spacing and high plant populations. High-biomass sorghum will take 100 to 105 days from seeding to harvest. It will be green at harvest with moisture content higher in late-maturing hybrids than lower-yielding, earlier-maturing hybrids that senesce before harvest. Kumar notes that late-maturing types tend to produce thicker stems that may require different dry-down steps.

The cost of establishment is generally 70 to 75 per cent of corn silage. The 2011 OMAFRA enterprise budget for corn silage shows that it costs $327.35 per acre. So estimate about $230 to $250 per acre for high-biomass sorghum, factoring in a reduced fertilizer application. “As a rule, we recommend application of 70 per cent of fertilizer quantity applied to corn,” says Kumar.

Two principal methods of harvest are in vogue: swathing followed by baling or chopping of windrows and direct forage chopping of a standing crop. Your choice of harvesting method should be based on the final moisture content of the biomass required for the end use and subsequent drying level needed to achieve it. Using a swather to cut and windrow for later pick allows biomass to be field dried before pick-up and transport.

AERC’s preliminary estimates of combustible energy of sorghum is around 7500 to 7700 BTU per pound. This value compares favourably with several other grasses and overlaps values for woody feedstocks.

Ongoing trials will be on view this summer in the Delhi area.

JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 13 THE GROWER

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

How biomass could fit into Ontario energy plans NICK BETTS

Spring 2011 In Ontario today, our ‘baseload’ energy – electricity - is largely supplied by nuclear power. The electricity that fluctuates upon usage, or ‘ramp potential,’ is used for quickly increasing production from baseload to levels that will accommodate the higher need. This is when the SmartMeters kick into premium prices! This ramping tends to be produced through burning of fossil fuels, whether it is coal, natural gas, or oil.

Many alternative energy sources are available to offset some of these more controversial electricity generators. Options such as wind and solar tend to be good sources for baseload energy, as it is impossible to ramp up on solar energy, for example, when the sun isn’t shining.

Using biomass as an alternative to fossil fuel consumption has excellent potential, both as a means of clean energy, environmental preservation and local product marketing. One of the biggest hurdles with growing agricultural biomass for thermal energy generation is transportation and densification. Many nations around the world readily grow and utilize agricultural biomass for energy production, but this is usually done on a regional or city-level. By down-scaling generation plants, process efficiencies can be increased, such as limiting distances from field to

15 10 20

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plant, lowering densification needs, decreasing costs and handling fees.

Ontario Power Generation has proposed burning biomass in their large-scale plants. To my knowledge, I’m not aware of any evidence that supports this economic model in a positive way. That being said, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada has funded a project through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP), in Ontario. Delivered through the Agricultural Adaptation Council of Canada, researchers are look-

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ing to develop an innovative agricultural biomass value chain sector in Ontario. Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) is coordinating the field research of this project. This involves growing 900 acres of energy crops across Ontario in field-scale size comparison plots.

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Ontario Energy Crops All grasses grown for this project are perennial species. While several annual grasses are under production in the U.S., they offer limited environmental benefits while increasing handling and maintenance costs. By using perennial grasses, the crop is likely carbon-neutral or even carbonnegative, sequestering carbon in the root mass that remains in the field year after year. These grasses are extremely low maintenance; little, if any fertilizer is used, no pesticides are needed, and the harvesting for most will

occur in the early spring when all custom harvesters are sitting idle.

Other environmental benefits for long-term rotation (sometimes 20+ years) grasses would come out of planting them in high-erosion potential soils, vegetated filter strips of milkhouses and greenhouses, and along riparian buffer zones. Yet another avenue for research is the impact these long-term rotation crops will have with respect to biodiversity. There is likely research on the not-toodistant horizon looking at the ecological benefits associated with growing various energy crops long term.

Our Project Process The OSCIA process started with innovative farm cooperators submitting applications and receiving funds to grow, maintain and harvest several energy crops.

This four-year program will provide data on basic agronomy of various crops in varied climes and soils (collected by the University of Guelph), as well as the experiences of the farmers themselves.

By providing funds for these experimental crops, we decrease the risk for early adopters while providing the industry with unbiased information for a speedier ramp-up.

All 26 farmers will have multiple field days on-site, organized by the OSCIA regional communications coordinator. In addition, Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show will have four side-by-side oneacre comparison plots of two varieties of switchgrass and miscanthus. These plots will be onsite in Woodstock at least until the end of 2013, in an attempt to provide exposure, information, and appeal to this new crop option.

Nick Betts is Outreach Coordinator, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.

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PAGE 14 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Three greenhouse growers, three biomass feedstocks Municipal solid waste fuel pellets KAREN DAVIDSON Ontario’s greenhouse industry has made tremendous strides in managing energy costs in recent years, finetuning feedstocks for biomass boilers. For one, Bert Mucci of Southshore Greenhouses in Kingsville, Ontario has become more efficient in heating 47 acres of peppers, the second largest pepper operation in the province. He formed a separate company called Remasco in April

Above: Jim Gallant, Remasco, predicts municipal solid waste fuel pellets will fuel close to 77 per cent of greenhouse needs by 2012. Left: Enerpax fuel pellets.

2007 to provide thermal and electric power using clean alternative fuels. His company has contracted a municipal solid waste company in the Greater Toronto Area to supply Enerpax fuel pellets. “This energy services company was launched to be ready for miscanthus and a wide assortment of energy crops on the horizon,� explains Jim Gallant, Remasco’s vice-president of operations and engineering. “In our case, we have designed and constructed two gasifiers that under reduced oxygen conditions, volatize the pellets and burn the syn-gas. We then take the hot gas stream and put it through a heat recovery boiler. The resulting low-pressure steam is used for greenhouse heating and possibly lighting.�

With natural gas prices coming down recently, the savings are now negligible, however Gallant says there is solace in controlling costs over the duration of a 20year contract. Currently, about half of the heat for the 47-acre

greenhouses at Southshore is generated by solid waste pellets.

Gallant estimates that in the next year, the percentage will increase to 75 per cent, displacing natural gas and wood-chip biomass.

In the interim, Remasco is working with University of Guelph agro-forestry researchers on “woody� biomass rather than “grassy� biomass. While there’s much interest in perennial grasses such as miscanthus, they are difficult to process and have ash melting problems and densification issues. The advantage with some species of woods, such as hybrid poplar or short-rotation willow, is that they contain higher BTUs, have lower ash content and can be grown on marginal lands without displacing food-growing opportunities.

Philosophically green, woody biomass will also need to prove its credentials economically. That story is yet to be written.

Miscanthus Dean Tiessen has just harvested his third-year crop of miscanthus. Opposite to most crops, the perennial grass is taken off the field from February through April when it’s dry and can be processed into cubes for burning in a biomass boiler.

Now that the crop is getting established, yields are about 11 tonnes per acre at his Leamington, Ontario farm. “Compared to natural gas, miscanthus is not a perfect solution,� says Tiessen, president, New Energy Farms. “But it allows us to fix our energy cost for 20-plus years.�

It takes about 37 hectares of miscanthus to heat one hectare of greenhouse for a year. He figures that miscanthus costs

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about $55,000 to heat one hectare of greenhouses – still about half the cost of natural gas. That’s a considerable saving when heating greenhouses.

In 2011, the Tiessen family will be building a densification facility, providing local growers with a method to convert the raw biomass into energy pellets. By 2015, the goal is to process 100,000 tonnes biomass per year. The facility will draw from a 20- to 50 -kilometre radius.

With more agronomic data compiled every year on miscanthus, Tiessen expects farmers will be convinced to grow the biomass crop on a contract basis, especially on marginal lands.

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ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wood chips Beverly Greenhouses owned and operated by the VanderHout family is a big believer in wood chips. So big, that they buy 8,000 tonnes per year to fuel biomass boilers to heat 15 acres of greenhouse cucumbers near Waterdown, Ontario. About 80 to 90 per cent of the heat comes from this single source with natural gas as a back-up. Their farm is one of the original converts, burning wood for 28 years, with a boiler made by Seaforth-Ontario company, Boilersmith.

“Our two main boilers are Boilersmith Units but the oldest one is only 10 years old,” says Jan VanderHout. “The maintenance of the combustion areas is substantial. Burning wood is cost effective, but the infrastructure involves handling equipment, wood storage and labour costs.”

One challenge with wood is that it’s not an on-demand delivery.

Vander Hout emphasizes the importance of having relationships with suppliers and even more importantly, to have storage for a buffer.

Most of the wood is burned between November and April, so having a three-month supply is not out of the ordinary.

Right: Jan VanderHout, Beverly Greenhouses, burns 8,000 tonnes wood chips annually to heat 15 acres of cucumbers near Waterdown, Ontario. He keeps three months of wood chips in storage. Photo by Denis Cahill

Powering with biomass?

JOHN KELLY Last year, a Steering Committee representing a cross section of agriculture (including OFA, OSCIA, OFVGA, OAFT and growers), industry, academic, and government experts was established, which included both input providers (growers) and end users (OPG, greenhouse operators). This project was tasked with examining the use of agricultural biomass and how it might contribute to producing power and heat to help reduce net greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of this committee, three working groups addressed major components of the use of biomass in Ontario for power and heat generation. They have sought input from industry.

• The Agri-Sustainability Working Group has a focus on environmental sustainability and development of a sustainability certification system.

• The Technical Working Group is addressing agronomic, infrastructure and combustion challenges.

• The Business Case Working Group is trying to determine if a business case can be made at each step in the value chain.

These efforts are very important to the fruit and vegetable sector, and in particular to groups that are high users of energy to maintain building heat and power. This steering committee has held two public informational forums, the first held in February focusing on agronomics including discussions on perennial and annual crops, and woody biomass. A second technology forum was held in April, and this included presentations from end users, including greenhouse heat uses and requirements.

John Kelly is Vice President, Erie Innovation and Commercialization.

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PAGE 16 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

Bulb and stem nematode: A menace for Ontario garlic Figure 2. The basal plate (the region of the bulb where the roots attach) of garlic bulbs severely infested with the bulb and stem nematode are rotted and can be easily separated from the bulbs.

MICHAEL CELETTI The demand for Ontario garlic has never been higher than it has in recent years. Unfortunately the bulb and stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsacci), a pest of garlic, onion and leeks is causing significant damage to Ontario’s garlic crop. This microscopic worm-like pest has been spreading on garlic cloves used for seed and has caused complete crop failure in some fields. The cool wet spring experienced earlier this year may result in the spread of this pest within fields if infested garlic seed was planted last fall. All garlic growers should plan on scouting and keeping an eye on their crops for symptoms of this pest.

Obvious symptoms in garlic often do not appear until late June or early July. Severely infected plants turn yellow, dry prematurely and appear stunted. Often infested plants on which the nematodes have been feeding and reproducing will appear to have thicker leaves and necks. Sometimes a small yellow spot or pimple is left on leaves where the nematodes were feeding as they moved down between the leaves towards the bulb. Severely infested garlic bulbs tend to be soft, shriveled, discoloured and lighter in weight. The basal plate (the region of the bulb where the roots attach) of severely infested bulbs may also appear to have a dry rot which can be easily separated from the bulbs. Bacteria, fungi and onion maggots will often invade nematode-infested bulbs causing them to become mushy

Figure 1. Garlic plant infested with bulb and stem nematodes appears stunted, dry and senesces prematurely. with soft rot and decay. Often symptoms of bulb and stem nematode in garlic look very similar to symptoms of Fusarium basal plate rot.

The nematodes move down between the leaves of garlic in films of water left from rain, dew or overhead irrigation and continue to feed, develop and multiply.

They can live for 45 to 75 days and begin to reproduce within 19 days after hatching from eggs when temperatures average around 15°C. A single female can lay up to 500 eggs within her life span and several generations can be produced within one growing season. The short period of time between egg hatch and maturity together with the frequency of reproduction often results in an explosion of this pest under cool wet conditions.

Managing bulb and stem nematode is not easy once it is introduced and becomes established in a field. A four-year crop rotation with non-susceptible crops such as a cereal crop, fumigating soil or planting a nematode-suppressing cover crop such as oriental mustard or French marigolds in the rotation before planting garlic have all been shown to keep this pest under control in the soil. However, it is equally important to plant only nematode –free garlic seed once the soil is cleaned up. If clean, nematode-free seed is not available, growers can try dipping infested bulbs in hot water; however, this is a very tricky technique and must be performed carefully to prevent damage to bulbs. If garlic bulbs are exposed to temperatures above 50°C,

injury to the garlic cloves may occur resulting in poor germination and establishment. If the temperatures fall below 44°C, the nematodes may not be killed.

Hot water treatment of garlic bulbs used for seed has been shown to be an effective method for reducing and in some cases completely eliminating the nematode from seed. There are several recipes for treating garlic seed in hot water to reduce or eliminate bulb and stem nematode. It is best to use healthy looking bulbs since unhealthy bulbs may not survive the hot-water treatment which could lead to poor germination and establishment. Some recipes suggest presoaking the bulbs in 0.1 per cent detergent and water solution for about one hour at room temperatures to reduce surface tension before dipping them into the hot-water bath. The standard method is to soak bulbs for 30-45 minutes at 38°C and then immediately submerge them into hot water kept at 49°C for 20 minutes followed by a cool bath at 18-22°C for 10-20 minutes and then drying the bulbs. The temperature of the hot water baths must be maintained and measured precisely with high quality standardized thermometers for best results.

The Ontario Garlic Growers Association (OGGA) has recently received funding from the Agriculture Adaptation Council (ACC) under the Growing For-

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ward program to continue propagating clean nematode-free garlic seed at the Northern Horticultural Research/SPUD Unit at the University of Guelph, New Liskeard Agricultural Research Station. In addition the funding will be used to conduct a survey to determine the distribution of bulb and stem nematode in garlic across Ontario. The survey will also determine the strains of this pest attacking Ontario garlic by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

All garlic growers are encouraged to submit garlic samples for nematode testing. Workshops will also be conducted in various locations across Ontario to update growers on the progress of the clean garlic seed program and the survey.

For more information contact Michael Celetti, OMAFRA Plant Pathologist at (519) 824-4120 ext 58910 or Marion Paibomesai, OMAFRA, Vegetable Specialist (519) 826-4963.

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JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 17 THE GROWER

Stemphylium leaf blight of onions in Ontario MARION PAIBOMESAI AND MICHAEL CELETTI OMAFRA MICHAEL TESFAENDRIAS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH MUCK CROP RESEARCH STATION Stemphylium leaf blight is a foliar disease of onions and garlic caused by the fungus Stemphylium vesicarium. Symptoms start as small yellow to brown to purple, water-soaked lesions that develop into elongated spots that turn dark olive brown to black when spores develop. Leaves may be completely blighted as the lesions coalesce (Fig. 1 and 2). The symptoms of Stemphylium leaf blight are easily confused with purple blotch, which is caused by Alternaria porri (Fig. 3). Infections of this disease are primarily confined to the leaves, and lesions are typically found on the side of the leaf that faces prevailing winds, but can also be found on both sides of the leaf.

This fungus invades damaged, diseased or dying leaf tissue and under ideal environmental conditions causes serious leaf damage.

Like purple blotch, development of this disease is favoured by warm (18 - 25°C) humid conditions and long periods of leaf wetness (16 hours or more). Since the pathogen is likely to enter leaves that have been physically damaged or infected by other diseases it is important to maintain healthy plant stands and control other common foliar diseases of onions such as downy mildew and Botrytis leaf blight. It has also been noted that Stemphylium leaf blight may ‘invade’ pre-existing purple blotch lesions causing the lesions to turn black. These foliar diseases of onions can prematurely defoliate the crop therefore compromising bulb quality and can also make the crop more susceptible to secondary diseases that affect bulb quality (i.e. storage rots caused by bacterial pathogens).

This disease was identified in various locations in Ontario in mid-July of 2010. During scouting for diseases of onions in 2010, Stemphylium leaf blight was observed in many fields in the vicinity of Bradford, Ontario.

This disease was first seen by scouts in 2008 in a few fields, more infected fields were identified in 2009, and in 2010 yield losses were associated with this disease. In New York State, this disease is a problem in mid-July and August. In Michigan, the disease is an occasional problem, but can be more difficult to control than other foliar diseases of onions.

Research has shown that fungicides registered for the control of purple blotch will also be effective on Stemphylium leaf blight; however, further investigation is required to improve management of this disease. Currently, there are no fungicides registered for control of this disease in Ontario; however, this disease has

Figure 3. Side-by-side comparison of purple blotch (Alternaria porri) (left) and Stemphylium leaf blight (Stemphylium vesicarium) (right).

Figure 1. Stemphylium leaf blight (Stemphylium vesicarium) symptoms on onion leaves.

Figure 2. Stemphylium leaf blight infected onions in a field.

been identified as a top onion minor use priority for Ontario in 2010. Like other major foliar diseases of onions, the pathogen

over-winters in infected crop debris left over from the previous year, so be sure to bury leaf debris left from last year’s crop

through deep cultivation, rotate crops with non-host crops for three years and remove culls and volunteer plants from the field. If possible increase plant spacing to facilitate air movement and quicker drying. Irrigate crops during the late morning or early afternoon to allow leaf surface to

dry quicker and reduce the potential of infection.

On another note, a new fungicide by Syngenta called Inspire has been labelled for control of purple blotch in bulb vegetables.

Please follow all precautions and directions for use on the label carefully.

PAGE 18 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

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PAGE 20 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

MARKETPLACE

To advertise phone: 519-380-0118 • 866-898-8488 x 218 • Fax: 519-380-0011 CROP TUNNELS

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REAL ESTATE

F For or Sale - 98 A ACRE CRE F FARM ARM A OFFERING: OF FERING: $1,500,000 $1,500,000

918 R Road oad 6 East,, Leamington Ontario Perfect cconditions Perfect onditions al allowing lowing yyou ou too gener generate ate income income fr from om this ffarm arm with fronts allowing eexcellent xcellent sandy loam soil. The ffarm arm m fr onts 3 roads roads al lowing ffor or ease of access ac cess and gr great eat eexposure xposure and is located just north of Leamington c Lar Large ge buildings with temper temperature ature ccontrolled ontrolled ccoolers oolers & loading dock c Complete with lar large ge ap apple ple or orchard chard and 3 houses; tw twoo ar aree currently currently currently arm help rrented ented and one cur rently houses ffarm c An abundance of water ffor or ir irrigation rigation with w wells ells and holding pond cF Farm arm has pr produced oduced inc income ome since 1990 off oil rrevenues evenues and a land leasee c

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JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 21 THE GROWER

MINOR USE

Diagnosing vegetable crop problems JANICE LEBOEUF, OMAFRA VEGETABLE CROP SPECIALIST, RIDGETOWN It's happened to us all. The season is rolling along. The crops are looking good.

Then, all of a sudden, disaster strikes!

Well, maybe not a complete disaster, but something is munching on the crop or the leaves are turning brown or the plants are wilting or the blossoms are dropping or ….. You know the feeling. What now?

What you need is a 12-step program especially this one, which only has six steps.

1. Keep an open mind. Don't jump to conclusions.

2. Look for clues. Observe the whole field and surroundings to look for patterns of damage. Observe the plants, including roots. The location, pattern and symptoms should give you an idea whether the problem might be caused by insects, pathogens, nematodes, or physical damage; soil, chemical, physiological, nutritional, or environmental factors; or a combination.

Make written notes.

3. Collect information on the field history. Again, make written notes.

When were the symptoms first noticed?

What has been done to the field: tillage, fertilizer, pesticides? What about the plants: variety, source of seed or transplants, condition of seed or transplants, when seeded or transplanted, seed treated? What were weather

conditions recently or at time of critical growth stages or field operations?

Have neighbouring fields been sprayed?

Do neighbouring fields have similar problems? Do other plant species in the field (ie. weeds) show symptoms?

What crops were in the field previously?

What pesticide/fertilizer programs were used? Did problems or problem areas show up in previous crops?

Are there soil or plant analyses available? Is soil compaction present?

What is the soil type?

Do equipment sizes (widths) match the pattern? What other pesticides were in the sprayer previously?

4. Collect samples. Samples of plants or plant parts (or insects) can be collected and shown to crop experts or sent to the Pest Diagnostic Clinic. Soil or plant samples can be collected from “good” and “bad” areas of the field. Analysis may show differences in nutrient content. Take photos too. Digital photos can be e-mailed to crop experts or diagnostic clinics and may help in identifying the problem.

5. Diagnose the problem using all available sources of information: your experience, reference materials, expert opinions, lab reports.

6. Decide on corrective measures.

Sometimes there is no effective or economically feasible action that can be taken or the plant may grow out of certain problems with no ill effects. In other cases, appropriate corrective action should be taken. This could include nutrient or

pesticide application, improving drainage or replanting. Determine what could be done in the future to prevent the problem.

These on-line resources can help with diagnosis: • Ontario CropIPM (ontario.ca/cropIPM or www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/english/index. html) - an interactive, online resource for identifying pests and disorders and for pest management information for many vegetable crops as well as apples and

strawberries • OMAFRA Vegetable Web Pages www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/ vegetable.html) - includes information on pests, disorders, crop nutrition, soil and tissue testing laboratories and more • Pest Diagnostic Clinic, University of Guelph www.guelphlabservices.com/AFL/ Service_Growers.aspx) - includes guidelines on sampling, shipping samples

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PAGE 22 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

MINOR USE CRAIG’S COMMENTS

Pesticide training - make it national!

CRAIG HUNTER OFVGA The origins of The Ontario Grower/Vendor Pesticide Education Program go back to 1979. A meeting was convened between a CropLife (CACA in those days!) rep. and from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture.

These folks were Len Hawkins, Doug Wilson, John Onderdonck and myself. (The rest of those guys are long retired, so I guess I am the corporate memory for the meeting!) It started out initially to train vendors and quickly expanded to cover grower training. Voluntary training sessions ensued, until 1991 when the farm coalition group AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned about Resources and the Environment) asked the Minister of Environment to make the program

mandatory. The minister was nonplussed- since when did growers ask FOR this kind of legislation?

This was granted with a five- year window, becoming mandatory by 1996.

In Ontario there are currently 22,000 certified growers, 1,100 agricultural assistants and 1,100 certified Vendor Outlet reps. This is the definition of a success story anywhere anytime!

Other provinces have taken various approaches. Some have a mandatory program, some are still voluntary. One still has no program at all.

One of the original premises of the Ontario growers was that a course could entitle them to better access to some pesticides, if they could show they had the knowledge and skills to use them, even if the regulators had some reservations about toxicity, environmental fate, etc. This has not come to pass, simply because the PMRA has always defaulted to the least trained group- the province with no program. None of this is to say that the growers in any province that do not have a mandatory course do not operate at the highest skill level. However, the growers who have taken the course here will state that they have improved their practices, and that they value the course. It

is just a sign of the times that we need to demonstrate our skill.

The time has come for a national course agenda, mandatory attendance and a passing grade to access the most contentious products. There is a need to have all growers across Canada step up to the plate on this issue! Perhaps the ‘carrot’ needs to be labels that restrict access unless the appropriate certificate has been earned.

No exceptions! The ‘stick’ to get courses in place may be a lack of access for some growers to these products enjoyed by others who are certified.

One of the current issues that has pushed this to such a high need is the current PMRA reluctance to register some products/uses that require confirmation of access restrictions to a treated crop by any unprotected workers or the public. The labour protection rules tend to be in provincial hands, and are as diverse as the training courses.

Since there is no good assurance (at least to them) that protection is on the minds of ALL the users, and since no one can provide assurance that provincial labour rules are enforced at the level deemed necessary, PMRA plays it safe by denying the uses. It is now up to growers across Canada to show their willingness to get

the training, to allow registration of such new products. They can safeguard access, once they understand the why and the how.

It will also be beneficial to have the training down the road for other reasons such as Food Safety Program requirements.

How to proceed?

There is already a national education sub-committee of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Committee on Pesticides and Pest Management. There is already a complete set of training materials in the provinces with programs.

Other than adding the provincespecific legislation to the material, almost everything is ready and available. What needs to happen now is for growers to demand the courses and demand that they are mandatory. It will take leadership in every province, and maybe a federal push to get it done. The FPT leaders need a mandate and they can proceed with a nationalized effort.

The benefits go far beyond the current product/use access issues.

The assurance to your public that you are indeed trained will go a long way. Furthermore, it puts you on-side in the ongoing debate about pesticide use by anybody.

A course taken every five years is neither onerous nor expensiverelative to the cost of everything

else you need to pay for in order to operate these days. In Ontario, once you have achieved the first pass, you are allowed to just write the exam in five year intervals.

Notwithstanding that, almost everyone still goes back for the one-day course. As one grower stated, ‘I learn something new every time.’

Growers have always taken the high road when it comes to being professional. Certainly in this case with a five year re-testing, they exceed even the ‘professional’ applicator, who need only attend an initial course, only write one initial exam and then remain licensed forever with a yearly fee payment. It begs the question: who is the true professional?

At the end of the day, we expect the PMRA to recognize those who do have their certification, by registering products for their use, even if it means restricting such access by labelling. Our growers across Canada who are willing to meet a higher standard should be respected for so doing, and trusted to meet ALL the requirements on a label.

Fair is fair after all.

Inflation can be good!

DR. JASON S.T. DEVEAU, APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST, OMAFRA I toured the USDA’s agricultural research station at Ohio State University last year. My reason for visiting was to meet Heping Zhu, a USDA researcher specializing in horticultural sprayers. Heping was a wealth of knowledge, but one tip in particular caught my attention.

When you calibrate airblast nozzles (because I know you do) it’s tricky to hold a braided hose over a nozzle body while juggling a pitcher or collection vessel. The hose can pop off, you can lose volume and you have a pretty good chance of getting sprayed.

Some have tried hose clamps, but that drags out the process. Others have attached funnels to the hose to capture more spray, but that’s still cumbersome.

Enter the ‘Inflation’ (see figure 1). This is the rubber liner that goes inside milking tubes on dairy farms. For sanitation reasons, they can only be used for so many milkings (six weeks or so) before the dairy farmer has to replace them. This is good news for airblast operators

because the used inflations fit securely over the nozzle body and can be flexed with one hand to direct the spray into the collection vessel (see figure 2).

If you don’t know a dairy farmer to get used inflations, you can go to your local farm supply store and buy a set of four new ones for less than $30.00. Heping was kind enough to offer me a crate of used inflations to take back to Ontario with me, but I politely declined. After seeing

Figure 2. Inflation used on a tower sprayer to calibrate a nozzle

Figure 1. Typical rubber dairy inflation

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JUNE 2011 –– PAGE 23 THE GROWER

MINOR USE

Beleaf insecticide granted first Canadian registration for several specialty crops Crop or Crop Group

JIM CHAPUT, OMAFRA, MINOR USE COORDINATOR, GUELPH ISK Biosciences Corporation and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently announced the registration of Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG insecticide for several crops in Canada.

These are the first registrations of this new active ingredient in Canada and mark an important milestone in addressing the pest control product technology gap between the U.S. and Canada.

This product and the pests it controls have been identified for many years as a critical pest management tool needed by Canadian producers.

Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG insecticide is registered for control of aphids on Brassica vegetables, root vegetables, tuberous and corm vegetables, cucurbit vegetables, hops, leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables, pome fruit and stone fruit. The following table provides a summary of the crop registrations on the new Canadian Beleaf insecticide label. Consult the full product label for detailed instructions, precautions and restrictions.

Follow all other directions for use on the Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG insecticide label carefully. Consult individual crop and aphid control recommendations on the Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG insecticide label for additional use restrictions.

Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG insecticide should be used in an Integrated Pest Management program and in rotation with other management strategies to adequately manage resistance. Consult provincial guidelines and local extension specialists for monitoring protocols and aphid management recommendations.

We wish to thank the personnel of ISK Biosciences Corp. and FMC Agricultural Products for their support of this registration and the personnel of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency for evaluating and approving this important pest management tool.

For copies of the new Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG insecticide label contact Jim Chaput, OMAFRA, Guelph (519) 826-3539 or visit the UAP Canada website at www.uap.ca

Rate Product per hectare (kg / ha)

Remarks

Preharvest interval

Beleaf (flonicamid) 50SG Insecticide Brassica vegetables [broccoli, Brussels 0.12 – 0.16 sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese broccoli, Nappa cabbage, mustard cabbage, kohlrabi] Cucurbit vegetables (bittermelon, squash, 0.12 – 0.16 cucumber, cantaloupe, Chinese cucumber, Chinese okra, melons, muskmelon, pumpkin, watermelon) Fruiting vegetables (eggplant, tomato, pepper, 0.12 – 0.16 tomatillo)

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 0 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

Leafy vegetables (celery, celtuce, chrysanthe- 0.12 – 0.16 mum, amaranth, chrysanthemum, dandelion, endive, fennel, parsley, radicchio, cress, lettuce, rhubarb, spinach, escarole, Swiss chard)

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 0 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

Root vegetables (except sugarbeets) [red beet, 0.12 – 0.16 burdock, carrot, chervil, celeriac, chicory, ginseng, radish, turnip, rutabaga, horseradish, salsify, parsnip]

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 3 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

Tuberous and corm vegetables (potato, sweet 0.12 – 0.16 potato, ginger)

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 7 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

Pome fruit (apples, pear, quince, crabapple)

0.12 – 0.16

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 21 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

Stone fruit (apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum, plumcot, prune)

0.12 – 0.16

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 14 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

harvest

| www.valent.ca | 519-767-9262 Read and follow the label instructions before using.

ReTain is a trademark of Valent BioSciences Corporation, in various countries. © Valent U.S.A. Corporation, 2009. All rights reserved.

the

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 0 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

Aphids: A maximum of 3 applications 0 days is permitted at a minimum 7 day interval.

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PAGE 24 –– JUNE 2011 THE GROWER

MINOR USE

Western bean cutworm can be controlled in sweet corn DuPont has announced an expansion of its Coragen label to include control of western bean cutworm (WBC) in sweet corn. The active ingredient is rynaxypyr, a new class of chemistry belonging to group 28, the diamides.

“This is a relatively new pest in Ontario,” says Sylvain Legault, senior sales representative, DuPont. "Last year there were some pockets in Ontario where

damage was quite extensive. The registration for WBC comes just in time as this year's late spring could make the corn crop more susceptible to WBC." WBC moths generally don't like to lay eggs in corn that has already tasseled. This year's later-planted crop may not tassle before WBC moths start laying eggs.

Given the choice, moths also tend to lay eggs in shorter corn. "Later-planted sweet

corn could be at an even higher risk if it is pre-tassel while the rest of the field corn crop is beyond that stage," says Tracey Baute, field crops entomologist for OMAFRA. Coragen provides rapid cessation of feeding, residual activity and excellent rainfast properties. As a reduced risk insecticide, it is also effective against a number of key pests in corn, including

European corn borer and corn earworm.

A key benefit is negligible impact on honeybees and other key biological control agents at field-use rates. Coragen is also registered for insect control on potatoes and a wide range of vegetable crops. For more information, contact 1-800-667-3925 or visit the website www.dupont.ca/ag.

Intercept greenhouse insecticide label expanded JIM CHAPUT, OMAFRA, MINOR USE COORDINATOR, GUELPH The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently announced the approval of an URMULE registration for Intercept greenhouse (GH) insecticide for control of swede

midge on greenhouse transplants of head and stem Brassica vegetables, crop subgroup 5A in Canada. This includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Nappa cabbage, Chinese broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard cabbage and kohlrabi. The active ingredient imidacloprid was already labeled on a wide range of

vegetables and fruits as well as ornamentals.

The minor use project for swede midge was sponsored in 2004 by Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Pest Management Centre (AAFC-PMC) as a result of minor use priorities established by growers and extension personnel. Intercept GH Insecticide was

also the subject of several emergency use registrations for swede midge between 2006 and 2010 in several provinces. The minor use label expansion for Intercept GH insecticide is a significant step towards developing an improved pest management toolkit for this pest in Canada.

The following is provided as a

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2 Always read read and follow label directions..

general outline only. Users should consult the complete label before using Intercept GH Insecticide.

For swede midge on GH transplants of Brassica vegetables (broccoli, Chinese broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, mustard cabbage, nappa cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi) Intercept is to be applied as a transplant tray plug drench at a rate of 4.1 grams per 1000 seedlings. Do not use less than 15 L solution per 100m2 of seedling trays. Apply during seedling stage prior to transplanting and allow a minimum of 10 days between application and transplanting.

Do not apply more than once per crop season and do not apply within 21 days of harvest for Brassica vegetables.

Intercept GH Insecticide should be used in an integrated pest management program and in rotation with other management strategies to adequately manage resistance.

Follow all other precautions and directions for use on the Intercept GH Insecticide label carefully.

For a copy of the new minor use label contact Marion Paibomesai, OMAFRA, Guelph (519) 826-4963, Jim Chaput, OMAFRA, Guelph (519) 8263539 or visit the Bayer Environmental Science website at www.bayeres.ca, the Plant Products website at www.plantprod.com or the Evergro website at www.growercentral.com

Savvy Farmer launches mobile app Savvy Farmer, a source of pest control information, has launched a mobile app as a companion to its desktop software.

It has specially designed a mobile site for Savvy Farmer to function on most mobile device browsers: I-Phone; I-Pad, Blackberry (vers. 4.2.1+), Playbook, Windows, Android, and Symbian.

Savvy Farmer subscribers can now access many of the key features of Savvy Farmer from their mobile device for no extra charge.