Cherry harvest has begun in the Okanagan Valley. Which, as Sukhpaul Bal, president of the B.C. Cherry Association, explains in this week’s Farmer Rapid Fire on RealAg Radio, is later than usual. The late harvest season is a result of a cooler spring, like most of Western Canada experienced. However, the heat has finally come, and it’s pushed… Read More
Category: Fruit and Vegetables
Changes have been made to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, announced earlier this week by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. The Program Workforce Solutions Road Map is an initiative that marks the next step in an ongoing effort to adjust and improve the TFW Program to ensure it continues to meet the… Read More
The Canadian Horticultural Council marked its 100th annual general meeting on Thursday with the unveiling of a new name and logo. The national organization, which represents more than 14 thousand fruit and vegetable farms who produce more than 120 different crops, has changed its name to the “Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada.” “As we… Read More
The Weston Family Foundation has launched a $33 million challenge for Canadian producers in an effort to spur development of long-term fruit and vegetable production. The Homegrown Innovation Challenge will run until 2028, supporting new ideas, technology, and business models that will help offset the 80 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetables currently supplied… Read More
Edited: This story has been updated, including the headline, to reflect the public health district rescinding the original letter that blocked TFW movement into the health region until February 2, 2022. The Windsor Essex public health region has rescinded a statement invoking a section of the Reopening Ontario Act, 2020, to stop temporary foreign workers from… Read More
Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) has announced a significant project for Alberta’s greenhouse sector. The project between the Lethbridge College greenhouses, located at Brooks, Alta., and Sunterra Farms Greenhouses Ltd, located at Acme, Alta., aims to “optimize the growing conditions for pre-commercial and commercial-scale production of strawberries and tomatoes on the vine, and boost Alberta’s crop… Read More
John Deere has rolled out the 6120EH and the 6155MH tractor models, each with its own best-fit with high-value crop production. The 6155MH features a rear drop axle and more drawbar clearance for high clearance in-field, a creeper transmission to match worker speed and tractor speed, and more for what John Deere calls a competitive… Read More
Unbelievably hot temperatures recently hit parts of B.C., the Pacific Northwest, and into California, injuring fruit and trees alike. Glen Lucas, general manager for the B.C. Fruit Growers Association based at Kelowna, B.C., recently joined Shaun Haney to talk about how orchards are affected by the recent heatwave. “The first thing that was of note… Read More
Farmers in Ontario’s vegetable- and fruit-rich Simcoe area took to the streets on Tuesday, in a show of solidarity and protest of the health region’s Section 22 order. Organized by local asparagus farmer Frank Schonberger, the protest was to bring awareness to the plight of farmers in the area who are struggling to meet the… Read More
Each year, Canadian farms and orchards grow an abundance of fruit and vegetables for both local and export markets. From peaches and pears, to broccoli and asparagus, to processing tomatoes and cucumbers, Canada’s horticultural industry plays a vital role in producing local, fresh food for millions. Many of these farms employ seasonal workers, temporary foreign… Read More
At first glance, it appeared that seasonal and temporary foreign workers coming to Canada would flow relatively unimpeded, save for the pre-flight COVID-19 test. However, last week’s federal announcement of more stringent quarantine measures and additional costs is possibly a new stumbling block, in the path to getting thousands of people here to work on… Read More
As of this week, the Ontario government is expanding its workplace safety COVID-19-compliance blitz to more businesses, including farms. The campaign began last week focused on big-box retail stores. More than 300 provincial officers will now be focusing on retail, restaurants providing take-out, gas stations, and farms, among other essential businesses. Officers will enter businesses to… Read More
It takes heaps of management to grow perfectly-sized, quality sweet potatoes. Katie Keddy, of Valley Harvest Sweet Potatoes in Nova Scotia, shares how her farm grows this neat crop, plus strawberries for propagation, blackberries, and raspberries. Listen to Keddy (@VHsweetpotatoes) in conversation with host Kara Oosterhuis below (with a special guest voice appearance by producer… Read More
Ontario’s fruits and vegetable farms are labour intensive and highly dependent on seasonal agricultural workers. COVID-19 has interrupted regular flows of worker travel and has resulted in some gaps in labour availability. COVID-19 outbreaks at a few large horticulture businesses has put further pressure on labour availability. The labour shortage could mean some crops go… Read More
Billing itself as a company ready to transform Canada’s food industry, Local Leaf Farms has opened a vertical farm in Barrie, Ont., with plans to launch 20 locations across the country by the end of 2025. Vertical farming is “always presented as the future, and I’ll state right off the top I don’t see it… Read More