Excellence in Ag Awards – Nominate Someone You Know!

Do you know someone making an impact in Ontario’s agri-food sector? Nominations are now open for the 2026 Excellence in Agriculture Awards! These awards recognize the individuals and organizations that are driving excellence, sustainability and long-term competitiveness in Ontario’s $53 billion agri-food industry.

Ontario’s agriculture and food industry is full of exceptional people, businesses and organizations driving innovation, sustainability and leadership. With 10 award categories including Youth, Women’s Farming Excellence, and Family Farm Excellence, there are many opportunities to recognize yourself, your organization, or someone you know.

If you know someone making a difference, or if that someone is you, nominate them today!

Applicants and nominees must demonstrate how they have met at least 1 of the priority agriculture excellence outcomes:

strengthening Ontario’s agriculture and food supply chain;
attracting, growing and retaining Ontario’s agriculture and food workforce;
enhancing food safety, traceability and/or stewardship practices in the Ontario agriculture and food sector;
increasing or maintaining access to high-quality, local and nutritious food;
supporting agriculture and food market development and trade (intra-provincial and international trade);
increasing public engagement and support for agriculture, local food and knowledge of Ontario’s agriculture and food sector; or
building leadership capacity and increased involvement of women and youth in the agriculture and food sector.

More details can be found at ontario.ca/excellenceinagriculture. Submit the application to excellenceinagriculture@ontario.ca by 11:59 p.m. ET on September 4, 2026

Growing Roses? Export Rules to the U.S. Have Changed.

In the efforts to prevent a quarantinable strain of Ralstonia from entering the United States, USDA-APHIS has changed importation rules for rose material for planting. This includes rose material coming from Canada.

Under the new federal order, roses (Rosa spp.) grown in Canada must now have been grown entirely within Canada or the U.S.. This includes root stock and graft material.

This is to reduce a potential pathway for Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 biovar 2 (Rs R3bv2) into the U.S., which can devastate solanaceous crops such as potato and tomato, as well as geraniums.

Read on for more details about RS R3bv2 and the new export regulations.

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Your Yearly Reminder of Japanese Beetle Requirements: Get Those Treatments on Before May 15!

Anyone following this blog for the last few years knows I like to remind y’all to make sure you treat your plants for Japanese beetle before May 15! This is because NO pesticides are allowed when Japanese beetle (JB) pupae are present (generally, May 15-June 15 in Ontario),which has gotten some growers into a pickle during spring shipping in the past.

Note that if you’re a nursery crop grower also treating for boxtree moth, you may surpass the maximum allowed applications or rate of Acelepryn per year if you also need to treat for JB. In that case, it might be better to time your treatments for JB in order to use intercept (imidacloprid) instead. So make sure to check out the pesticide timing chart in the JB Infographic in the full post.

This year, I’ve updated the JB Decision Tree and Infographic to include shipping requirements to different areas in the United States. So, if you or your staff need more clarification on any of these points, make sure download the latest PDF.

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Funding ALERT: Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative

Intake for the Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative is from February 17 – March 17, 2026

To learn more about the initiative, continue reading or attend one of the upcoming information webinars linked below.

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New XLerate Energy Program from IESO

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is pleased to announce the official launch of XLerate.

This redesigned program replaces the previous Industrial Energy Efficiency Program (IEEP) and is part of the IESO’s ongoing commitment to support Ontario’s industrial (greenhouse and all agriculture are considered industrial), municipal, institutional, and healthcare sectors in achieving large-scale, impactful energy efficiency improvements.

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Third Intake of the Agricultural Stewardship Initiative Opens August 13 to September 3, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $3 million and launching the third intake of the Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (ASI) to help farmers implement projects to improve the energy efficiency of their farming operations. To support the province’s plan to protect Ontario, this funding will help local agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products businesses across the province enhance their competitiveness, put more money back into their pockets and keep workers on the job.

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June 24, 2025: Japanese Beetles Have Started to Emerge!

Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica) adults were caught in pheromone traps yesterday in Vineland, ON, by Cassie Russell, OMAFA’s Nursery and Landscape Specialist. Read on for what the start of the adult emergence period means in terms of pest management for outdoor nursery and floriculture crops.

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Guardian Network Training: Suicide Prevention Training for Field Staff supporting the Ag Community

Don’t miss the upcoming exclusive Guardian Network virtual training session on July 30th.

Designed specifically for Field Staff across Ontario who support the agricultural community. This includes agronomists, field service reps, soil & crop advisors, livestock & dairy specialists, equipment reps and others in similar roles.

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Updates to the Expanded Energy Management Program from Save On Energy

The Expanded Energy Management program now provides support to commercial and institutional facilities in Ontario (including Greenhouses) to improve their energy performance with energy savings opportunities in two areas:

Funding for hiring an Energy Manager
Strategic Energy Management: Identify and implement long-term energy-saving opportunities.

Continue reading to learn more and register here for the information webinar Wednesday June 4^th, 1-2pm

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Are you developing a Product for the Agri-food Industry that uses Innovative Tech? Learn more about the CIT Cost-Share Initiative!

Don’t miss the opportunity to apply for 1:1 cost-share funding up to $100k through the Critical Industrial Technologies Initiative (CIT)! The application deadline is May 30th, 2025.

This program is geared towards small and medium-sized Ontario-based companies developing a solution or product that incorporates at least one of these six critical technologies: 5G & advanced networks, AI, Blockchain, Robotics, Cybersecurity or Quantum.

Some examples of greenhouse-specific projects that would fall under this program: robotics for planting or harvesting, AI for sorting on a production line, or 5G connected sensor systems for greenhouse monitoring.

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