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

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

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



(Nestea.ca)

Nestle, Coke end Nestea iced tea venture

Zurich/London | Reuters –– Nestle and Coca-Cola have agreed to end their Nestea iced tea joint venture after 16 years and pursue separate strategies in the fast-changing bottled drinks market. The companies formed Beverage Partners Worldwide in 2001 to sell Nestea around the world but the brand has faced fierce competition from Lipton iced tea, […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ontario names trustee to break tomato impasse

The Ontario government has appointed a trustee to assume the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers’ power to negotiate 2017 contracts with processors for the growing of processing tomatoes in the province. The board of directors of the marketing board has been dismissed until new elections are held, as expected by the end of 2017. “I have […] Read more

(British Columbia Wine Institute photo)

B.C. to defend wine industry against U.S. trade action

Vancouver | Reuters — The British Columbia government said Wednesday it would defend its wine industry against a trade challenge from the U.S., and was confident it was not breaking any international trade rules. Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. said it started action against Canada at the World Trade Organization, accusing B.C. of discriminating against U.S. […] Read more


Symptoms of verticillium wilt in an infected potato plant. (OMAFRA.gov.on.ca)

Fungicide cleared to curb verticillium wilt in potatoes

A label expansion for Syngenta’s Aprovia fungicide, to cover additional soil-borne potato diseases, makes it the first fungicide in Canada approved to suppress verticillium wilt in potatoes. Fumigants have been potato growers’ only option against the crop disease until now, Eric Phillips, Syngenta Canada’s fungicides and insecticides product lead, said in a release Thursday. Verticillium […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Ontario tomato processors cancel orders for spring

Retaliating in a dispute with what they call a “growers’ cartel,” two of Ontario’s major commercial tomato processors say they won’t contract with tomato seedling producers for this spring’s crop. Sun-Brite Foods and Highbury Canco, which describe themselves as two of the three biggest tomato processors in the province, said Wednesday their cutback in orders […] Read more