Planting in the Delhi region on April 18. (Supplied photos)

Pearce: Rain expected to stall Ontario potato planting progress

Reading Time: 2 minutes Rainfall expected for much of southern Ontario is expected to narrow what’s been a relatively early planting window for Ontario’s potato growers. Two weeks ago, the reports from the Ontario Potato Board were full of warm temperatures and dry soils, and growers, particularly around Leamington and Delhi, took full advantage. One farmer in the Delhi […] Read more

Populations of swede midge are high enough that certain areas would see the loss of a canola crop if it were planted.

The swede midge threat

Swede midge continues to confound Near North canola growers, and it could migrate farther south

Reading Time: 5 minutes By 2015, Terry Phillips, then chair of the Ontario Canola Growers Association, was advising growers in Ontario’s Near North to stop planting canola on farms that had been hit by the recent arrival of the swede midge. By then, yields were already getting cut by as much as 50 per cent by the pest, with […] Read more


(OntLA.on.ca)

Ontario budget seeks tax flexibility for on-farm processing

Reading Time: 4 minutes The Ontario government has balanced its budget for the first time in since 2008 — but Thursday’s budget contained little news for agriculture and rural Ontario. Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s budget mostly highlighted agriculture programs that had already been announced, and maintains $100 million in funding for the provincial Risk Management Program, which helps offsets […] Read more

A strawberry rhubarb mini cake at Panera Bread. (PaneraBread.com)

Krispy Kreme owner to buy bakery chain Panera Bread

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, said Wednesday it would buy bakery chain Panera Bread for US$7.2 billion, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire through the biggest-ever U.S. restaurant deal. JAB, the investment vehicle of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has built up an empire of coffee […] Read more


Crown rust is considered one of the worst crop diseases since its strains can mutate to acquire new virulence and resistance.

Crown rust comes after oats

Part of the management challenge comes from its sources and its choice as a cover crop

Reading Time: 5 minutes In a production agriculture world where corn and soybeans have dominated the scene for much of the last 25 years, oats are supposedly one of the forgotten crops. There have been attempts to revive the grain’s standing, including the formation of the Oat and Barley Council of Ontario back in the early 2000s, as well […] Read more

Seed potatoes loaded for planting. (File photo by Ralph Pearce)

Southwestern Ontario potato planting underway

Reading Time: < 1 minute Close-to-seasonal temperatures and good planting conditions across parts of southwestern Ontario have growers in the Leamington region planting potatoes. According to Eugenia Banks, a special consultant for the Ontario Potato Board, potato planting began Wednesday morning, ahead of a weather system that’s forecast to dump up to 40 mm of rain by Friday. According to […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ontario tomato farmers to get less on higher yields

Reading Time: 2 minutes The agreement between Ontario growers and tomato processors for the 2017 growing season is expected to drop the price tomato farmers are paid as their yields increase. The agreement, announced last week, maintains the contracted tonnage of 2016 and follows the five-year pricing agreement set by growers and processors last year. Final prices, however, aren’t […] Read more

Jeff Leal, Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs (fourth from left), announced the new Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative at a greenhouse in Bowmanville, Ont. (Photo courtesy OMAFRA)

Ontario greenhouse growers get competitiveness fund

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Ontario government is putting $19 million into a new initiative to support the competitiveness of the greenhouse sector in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal announced the funding on Thursday at Link Greenhouse near Bowmanville, just east of Oshawa. The Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative aims to provide funding for the creation of […] Read more


(HeinzItUp.com)

Ontario processing tomato contracts set

Reading Time: 2 minutes An agreement has been reached between growers and processors of Ontario tomatoes for the 2017 growing season, maintaining the 2016 pricing agreement and 2016 contract tonnage. Final prices, however, weren’t released Friday, as they historically have been on the website of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG). According to the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Processing […] Read more

Compressed hay bales. (Hunterwood.com)

Technology could open up hay export markets for Ontario

Reading Time: 3 minutes An Ontario hay co-operative hopes to have a double-compaction facility running by 2018, giving it access to global markets for hay. Ontario hay has traditionally been at a shipping cost disadvantage compared to most competitors, as hay headed for Asia or the Middle East has had to be shipped by rail to the West Coast. […] Read more