Episodes
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Drew Thompson explains how to use Folpan fungicide
As growers plan their fungicide programs with resistance management in mind, here’s a reminder of how to use the Group M fungicide Folpan 80 WDG. It’s a preventative multi-site fungicide that’s used across a wide variety of crops, from grapes and apples to cucurbits and strawberries.
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Drew Thompson explains how Brevis plant growth regulator works
Crop protection company ADAMA is launching a new thinning product for crop load management in apples and pears in 2026. Besides a new mode of action, the company is supplying a BreviSmart app that guides growers on best timing for application. Sponsored by ADAMA.
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Greg Palmer evaluates trade potential in Mexico
Trade patterns are shifting as the threat of U.S. tariffs continue to destabilize the produce industry. Greg Palmer, vice-president, trade and market development for the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, travels often to Mexico visiting with exporters and importers. When he puts on his...
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Matt Ecker foresees sunny future for the Happi pear
A new pear variety will be entering the marketplace in 2026, thanks to a years-long breeding effort by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The Vineland Growers’ Cooperative is licensed to sell the Happi pear which has a red blush and a sweet and tangy taste. Matt Ecker, vice president of sales,...
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Jennifer Best advocates for harmonized land zoning bylaws
Hailing from an agricultural community, Jennifer Best brings an empathetic background to her role as director of growth services for Bradford West Gwillimbury. The municipality straddles the Holland Marsh along with King Township. She’s working with an ad hoc committee to harmonize land zoning...
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Jay Willmot champions automated greenhouse for leafy greens
Thanks to Finnish technology, greenhouse-grown lettuce is taking off in Canada. The Grower is Digging Deeper and speaking with Jay Willmot, CEO, Haven Greens. Jay has built a five-acre facility at King City, Ontario with plans to double the footprint. Launched in April 2025, the state-of-the-art...
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Chrissy Wozniak explains benefits of AI-driven sprayers
The footprint of artificial intelligence is getting bigger in horticulture. The most recent example is the Ecorobotix sprayer that’s now in use in Québec and Ontario vegetable farms. Algorithms have been developed for specific crops ranging from carrots to broccoli. And most recently, the...
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Trevor Jones prepares for ag ministers’ meeting in Winnipeg
The annual meeting of federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers will be a reset in mid-July 2025 with a new federal minister in Heath MacDonald and five new provincial ministers. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the July 2025 cover story and speaking with Ontario’s Hon. Trevor…
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Benny Nabuurs explains wild blueberry trade
So far, 2025 has been a roller-coaster for growers who export to the U.S. With the exception of a few days in early March, tariffs have not been applied on produce under the CUSMA deal. But every commodity association must look at the current trading environment for clues to the future. One…
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Chris Hedges is optimistic about the 2025 apple crop
As chair of the Ontario Apple Growers, Chris Hedges shares an overview of the provincial apple industry – its investments in high-density orchards, desirable apple varieties, controlled atmosphere storages and modern packing lines. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the May 2025 cover story…
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Richard Lee details the effects of U.S. tariffs on greenhouse vegetables
As general manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Richard Lee is in close touch with his growers and many stakeholders. With 85 per cent of production destined to the U.S., Trump’s tariffs of 25% hit growers hard for three days in early March 2025. In this Digging Deeper podcast,...
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Bill Zylmans laments looming U.S. tariffs
Bill Zylmans, chair of the Canadian Potato Council and a grower from Delta, British Columbia, says the threatened 25% U.S. tariffs are unprecedented in his career. President Trump insists they are scheduled to start March 4. In this Digging Deeper podcast Zylmans claims that no side is a winner…
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Lorna McKercher talks about the changing nature of financing horticulture
2025 is shaping up to be a year of uncertainty. New technology costs are soaring. Climate change is on the radar. And the threat of U.S. tariffs is looming large. The Royal Bank of Canada has a large loan portfolio to agriculture of which eight per cent is horticulture. In this Digging Deeper...
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Shawn Brenn: the realities of specialties
Bok choy. Rapini. Fennel. These are examples of the specialty produce that Ontario growers are bringing to market based on signals from brokers and retailer buyers. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the December 2024 cover story and speaking with Shawn Brenn, potato grower. Shawn lists the...
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Dan Duguay is advocating for compostable PLU stickers
Price-look up stickers, for the most part, are plastic. They are the size of a thumbprint, yet they “gum up” the composting process when it comes to separating them from organic food waste. The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) has noted that Europe is moving towards a certified...
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Pascal Forest reflects on the processing vegetable sector
Climate change and global competition are challenging growers of processing vegetables in Ontario and Québec. Unseasonal rains damaged the Québec crop in 2023. Imports from European countries led North American processors to cut contracts in 2024. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the October...
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Matt Aronson champions iceless broccoli with Sobeys’ Tom Pierce
Verdant Technologies Inc. has figured out how to use 1-MCP, an ethylene inhibitor, to keep broccoli fresh from field to fork. The new technology – a sheet placed in each box in the field -- is extending shelf life for a fragile commodity to seven to 10 days. How quickly the innovation is adopted...
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Marcus Janzen comments on climate policy risk
Cumulative catastrophic weather events over the last four years have left many Okanagan fruit growers with little to no fruit to sell in the summer of 2024. Government response, at the British Columbia and federal levels, has been tepid at best. The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada continue…
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Amanda Doughty builds relationships with TFW workers
Responsible for human resources at Sandy Shore Farms, Amanda Doughty has embraced not only the work ethic but the community ethic at this asparagus, bell pepper and onion operation near Port Burwell, Ontario. She is focused on the physical and mental welfare of the 200-plus temporary foreign...
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John Cline explains thinning technology for tender fruit
University of Guelph pomology professor Dr. John Cline has spent his research career in not only apples, but tree fruit. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the May 2024 cover story and speaking with Dr. Cline. He shares information on his most recent trials with a plant growth regulator for...
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Richard Lee takes stock of greenhouse vegetable sector growth
The Ontario greenhouse vegetable sector, now valued at close to $2 billion in farmgate value, is facing regulatory burdens on several fronts. The federal carbon tax is one, but Chatham-Kent’s municipal development charges for water and wastewater will escalate from $179,000 per acre in 2024 to...
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Brian Rideout takes big strides to adopting biologicals
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is registering dozens of biopesticides but the uptake by growers hasn’t been as robust. These new products offer suppression, not total control of insects and disease. That means a management shift in how to integrate them with conventional chemistry....
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Tyler McCann argues for more agriculture investment
As managing director of the Canadian Agrifood Policy Institute, Tyler McCann sees a need for more investment if agriculture is to meet its superpower goals in food production. That means more foresight amongst both public and private institutions and ambition to build the infrastructure that’s...
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Jessica Solanki looks to next-generation challenges
Many farmers -- and farm leaders -- are on the cusp of retirement. The Grape Growers of Ontario is planning for the future by sponsoring a Next-Generation Committee. About 15 to 30 growers, chaired by Jessica Solanki, is much more than a social group. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the…
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Senator Robert Black is digging into soil health
Soil health and climate change are linked. That’s one of the emerging themes from a Senate of Canada study into the state of the nation’s soils, the building block of the agri-food industry. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the December 2023 cover story and speaking with Senator Robert Black....
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Fernando Borja shares recruiting experience with Guatemalan workers
FERME Québec, a non-profit agency, was responsible for bringing more than 16,000 temporary foreign workers from Guatemala to the province in 2023. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the November 2023 cover story titled 'Guatemalan workers bridge the labour gap for Québec growers'. We are…
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Justin Cantafio explains why farmers’ markets matter more than ever
The pandemic tested the logistics and marketing acumen of farmers’ markets like never before. As executive director of Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia, Justin Cantafio led a remarkable drive that resulted in the growth of provincial markets from 36 to 45. In this Digging Deeper podcast, he shares…
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Peter Quiring explains why he started an R & D Centre
As founder of a greenhouse building company and then as a grower himself, Peter Quiring has witnessed lots of growth over 30 years. Nature Fresh Farms is headquartered in Leamington, Ontario. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the September 2023 cover story and speaking with him about his…
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Jaime Bustamante explains DRC mandate
The Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation is a hub of expertise that touches most aspects of produce trade in Canada. If you’re a grower/shipper, broker or freight contractor, then you know how produce gets moved every day. And with perishable products, sometimes things go wrong.…
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Dan Froese explains the journey of field cucumbers to pickles
Ontario’s processing vegetable sector is valued at more than $100 million. Hand-harvested field cucumbers make up $16 million, a niche that’s often forgotten. Many tons go to American processors to be made into a variety of pickles. The stubby ends, known as nubs and crooks, are used to make...
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Sukhpaul Bal promotes first Canadian Cherry Month
British Columbia’s $160 million cherry sector has grown substantially in recent years thanks to new markets in China, Japan and more recently South Korea. The 400-member BC Cherry Association is now raising awareness of their stone fruit domestically. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the July...
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Ron Lemaire analyzes supply chain challenges
Shipping and logistics are still the crux of getting fresh produce to consumers. Ron Lemaire, president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, shares both a global perspective and domestic context of the pain points that need to be addressed to protect the cold chain. These challenges are...
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Doug Balsillie praises heritage apple varieties for hard cider
The trend to hard ciders is not abating. The challenge is to grow apple varieties that will adapt to a fruiting wall and mature to a size that’s economical to pick. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind May 2023 cover story and speaking with Doug Balsillie. Doug and his wife Leslie Huffman have...
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Orchardist Brian Rideout operates with less access to fungicides
Crop protection decisions are harder than ever this spring as tree fruit growers seek alternatives to group M fungicides, the ones with multi-site modes of action. Government regulators have restricted their use as well as other products such as mancozeb and captan. The Grower is Digging Deeper...
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ICL Group offers fertilizer and mineral solutions
The ICL-Group is a global manufacturer of specialty minerals with experience in countries as diverse as Brazil, India and the U.S. In this Grower Calling podcast, Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, speaks with Jason Haegele. Jason explains what this specialty plant nutrition company is…
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Aron Hoff extols new housing for temporary foreign workers
Meyers Fruit Farms, a tree fruit and floral greenhouse business near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, has invested in five new units that will accommodate up to 40 temporary foreign workers. Planning the design has been mindful of worker comfort and privacy. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, is...
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Elaine Froese coaches family farm transitions
There is no season harder than succession. That’s why alignment of needs and goals is so important for farm families looking to transition roles and assets. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the January 2023 cover story titled 'Farm transfers are about more than land and legacy.' Editor, Karen...
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Young and competitive David and Jenn VanDeVelde
Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer Competition will spotlight seven regional winners at its final event in Saskatoon, November 23-27, 2022. Three out of seven competitors are from horticulture. One of those couples is David and Jenn VanDeVelde, berry growers and on-farm retailers from Delhi,...
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Next-generation fertilizers are here and now
Israel Chemicals Limited, or the ICL-Group, is a global manufacturer of specialty minerals. The delivery of these products are through controlled release fertilizers, foliar fertilizers and fertigation fertilizers, just to name a few. Jason Haegele, North American agronomy lead explains how these...
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Chris Veillon leads branding strategy for greenhouse produce
The journey from commodities to brands is traced by the chief marketing officer, a 15-year veteran of the greenhouse industry. The branding of greenhouse vegetables has reached such sophistication that a kitchen was built inside the new marketing quarters of the Leamington, Ontario operation. It...
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Vivid Machines comes alive for apple growers
Jenny Lemieux, co-founder and CEO of this Toronto start-up, is conducting trials with nine apple growers to solve a common problem: crop load management. One of those growers, Kirk Kemp, Algoma Orchards, Newcastle, Ontario, is excited that computer vision technology can count blossoms and…
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Davina Komienski charts progress with on-farm market
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well as growers become marketers who encourage consumers to “eat the seasons.” The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the July 2022 cover story and speaking with Davina Komienski, owner of Sam's Place Farm Market. Davina shares how fresh produce grown at...
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Dino DiLaudo launches Apeel protected greenhouse cucumbers
Westmoreland Topline Farms is the first in Canada to launch greenhouse-grown, plastic-free English cucumbers in June 2022. The Grower speaks with Dino DiLaudo about the edible coating, developed by Apeel Sciences, made from the seeds and skins of other fruits and veggies. A major Canadian…
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Stewart Lapage comments on climate change and carbon taxes
As growers, marketers and distributors of produce, the Oppenheimer Group knows the challenges first-hand. Stewart Lapage is steering through multiple crises as executive director of operations and logistics based in Calgary, Alberta. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind our May 2022 cover story…
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Colin Chapdelaine shepherds growth of greenhouse strawberries
The drive for more homegrown produce is intensifying as global events shake up norms and supply chains. The Star Group’s foray into strawberries is one example of extending its greenhouse vegetable expertise at BC Hothouse. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, is Digging Deeper into April 2022...
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Ryan Brewster tracks changes to softer chemistries
As a grape and tree fruit crop consultant in the Niagara peninsula, Ryan Brewster is counselling his clients how to move away from some pesticides that are harsh on beneficial insects. One cultural method is to spray summer oils. Another is to plant late-flowering-cover crops between the rows to...
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Chuck Baresich looks to the future of robotic weeders
Enthusiasts of precision agriculture are now looking to robots to alleviate labour shortages. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, is 'Digging Deeper' in the February 2022 cover story and speaking with Chuck Baresich, general manager of Haggerty Creek Inc. Chuck is demonstrating robotic weeders...
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John Visser offers context to the potato wart findings in PEI
The chair of the Prince Edward Island Potato Board is confident in the 20-year long-term management plan for potato wart, a fungal disease that’s been rarely seen by lifetime growers. He’s seeking answers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on why the border is closed to PEI exports of seed...
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Kyle Oakley explains his tunnel vision
Apple grower Kyle Oakley and his family have transitioned to market gardeners in the last decade with the help of high tunnels. With the purchase of Goldsmith’s Farm Market & Bakery in Thornbury, Ontario, they are confident enough to expand with two greenhouses to grow tomatoes, cucumbers…
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Kevin MacIsaac surveys the Canadian potato sector
The pandemic has disrupted the supply chain in potatoes with some sectors experiencing a boom, and others suffering from a dip in demand. Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower, goes 'Behind the Scenes' of the November 2021 cover story and speaks with Kevin MacIsaac, general manager of the United...
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