The Grower Calling

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 fruitlets with more accuracy than he can.

The Grower is 'Digging Deeper' behind the August 2022 cover story and speaking with Jenny and Kirk. They describe how the ATV-mounted camera can scan the high-density rows and offer real-time numbers about quantity and quality of apples.

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 Komienski Farms is supplemented with other fruits and vegetables and value-added products from Norfolk County, Ontario’s garden. Podcast sponsored by Cohort Wholesale.

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 retailer is partnering on the initiative with consumer messaging about sustainability. Sponsored by UPL.

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 and speaking with Stewart. We discuss how the pandemic, a flood in BC’s Fraser Valley, port congestion and now a war in Ukraine are piled on top of climate change and carbon taxes. He shares his perspective on the strains in the food chain.

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 cover story and speaking with Colin Chapdelaine.

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 attract beneficial insects that eat bad bugs.

Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower is "Digging Deeper' in to the March 2020 cover story and speaking with Ryan. His counsel includes how to integrate these methods for both insects and disease.

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 for various crops in different soil types to see how they perform in Ontario. It’s the first step in finetuning the practical aspects.

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 and fresh potatoes to the United States. And why the agency suggests it might take a year to process the soil tests to satisfy requirements of the USDA.

The Grower is Digging Deeper in to the January cover story and speaking with John Visser.

This podcast has been sponsored by Cohort Wholesale.

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, peppers and flowers. It’s an example of the trend to more protected and controlled environments.

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 Potato Growers of Canada. They discuss how the entire North American trade is adjusting to tectonic shifts in consumer demand, shifts in climate and shifts in seed sources. Surprisingly, some growers are responding by building more capacity.