Despite extraordinarily difficult issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill George is optimistic about the future of the Canadian horticultural sector. “I’m very proud of how producers have risen to the challenges,” he says. “They always will find a way to get things done.” George is the chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association[...]
Major Quebec hothouse grower seeks creditor protection
One of Quebec's best known greenhouse propagators, who in recent years launched an aggressive expansion into organic vegetables, is seeking creditor protection. Les Serres Lefort, which operates almost 50 acres of greenhouse facilities at Sainte-Clotilde in Quebec's Monteregie, announced Sept. 10 it had filed a notice of intention on Sept. 6 to file a proposal[...]
The hustle and bustle of the Ontario Food Terminal
Tucked between a Shoppers Drug Mart and an overgrown hedge, the entrance to the Ontario Food Terminal is nearly impossible to find after you turn off the bustling Queensway in southwest Toronto — unless you know where you’re going. Yet every day, about 2,500 people in cars, half-tons, cube vans and tractor-trailers do know exactly[...]
The hub of an opportunity
Trissia Mellor is on a mission to boost the sustainability of farmers and small businesses in eastern Ontario. In Northumberland County’s economic development and tourism department, she’s the energetic agriculture manager, and she’s also heavily involved in getting the new Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre (OAFVC) up and running. The venture centre is one of a[...]
When farm organizations work with charities, everyone wins
When Bill Laidlaw was general manager of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario, he had no more insight than anyone else into what food banks were, what they did, or how they operated. Now, as executive director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB), he spends a lot of his time lobbying the government, companies and[...]
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
