The governments of Ontario and Canada are offering $2 million to small businesses to improve their food safety programs.
Are you a grower who produces ready-to-eat minimally processed fruit and vegetables and/or ready-to-eat bagged salads, leafy greens, or herbs? If so, you may be eligible.
Continue reading “Second Intake of the Food Safety and Growth Initiative Opens October 19th, 2026 to March 1st, 2027”
Some of you may be aware that Kathryn Russell, OMAFA’s Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist, is on leave. She’s working on a little propagation project of her own 😉
Please join me in welcoming Kyle Hendricks as the Acting Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist for the next 12 months, starting October 5th. He’ll be moderating at CGC this year (on his 3rd day on the job!). If you see him running around the conference centre, make sure to say hi and make him feel welcome.
Kyle will be handling all things related to ornamental production, including nutrients, lighting, substrates, and the greater greenhouse environment. He will also be contributing to policy and programming behind the scenes.
Read on for more information about Kyle’s experience and how to get in touch with him.
Continue reading “Introducing OMAFA’s New Acting Floriculture Production Specialist”
Do you know someone making an impact in Ontario’s agri-food sector? Nominations are now open for the 2025 Excellence in Agriculture Awards! These awards recognize the individuals and organizations that are driving excellence, sustainability and long-term competitiveness in Ontario’s $51 billion agri-food industry.
Continue reading “Excellence in Ag Award Nominations Open Until September 12, 2025”
Join us at the 2025 Canadian Greenhouse Conference (CGC) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on October 8 and 9. Check out the excellent lineup of speakers, trade show exhibitors, greenhouse bus tour, and much more! Registration is now open. See you in October.
I’m thrilled to announce that Kathryn Russell will be joining me as my partner in crime as OMAFA’s new Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist.
She will be handling all things related to ornamental production, including nutrients, lighting, substrates, and the greater greenhouse environment. She will also be contributing to policy and programming behind the scenes.
(We hope to start a quarterly newsletter soon, to help growers in Ontario understand exactly what it is we do for you, whether we are in your greenhouse or not!)
Read on for more information about Kathryn’s experience and how to get in touch with her!
Continue reading “Introducing OMAFA’s New Floriculture Production Specialist (Permanent)”This post was originally written by Abigail Wiesner, Acting Greenhouse Floriculture Production Specialist.
Check out the one-of-a-kind incentive program from Enbridge. Offering 3 times the standard rate for energy efficiency projects. Read on to see how you qualify.
Up until this point, most of Ontario floriculture growers (and me!) assumed the only pest thrips we were dealing with was Western flower thrips (besides Echinothrips in a few crops like gerbera and poinsettia).
But a survey conducted in major commercial operations in 2016-2017, AND recent outbreaks of serious damage have proved us wrong. (You know what they say about assuming!). Keep reading to find out the truth about thrips! Continue reading “Which Thrips Are in Your Flower Crops: When Paradigms Shift (Part 1)”