Fruit/Vegetables & Production Tips

Lana Popham. (B.C. NDP via Flickr, license at Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

B.C. NDP’s ag critic named ag minister

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News July 23, 2017

The agriculture critic for British Columbia’s opposition New Democrats will be the minister of agriculture as the party takes the governing reins. Lana Popham, the MLA for the Vancouver Island riding of Saanich South, was named Tuesday as ag minister in Premier John Horgan’s cabinet. Horgan took over as premier after Christy Clark’s Liberals, who […] Read more

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Reuters

Reckitt cuts the (French’s) mustard with food business sale

By GFM Network News July 19, 2017

London | Reuters — U.S. spices maker McCormick and Co. Inc. has won the battle to buy Reckitt Benckiser Group’s North American food business, paying a higher than expected US$4.2 billion to add extra seasonings and sauces. London-listed Reckitt said in April it was reviewing options for the unit, which includes French’s mustard and Frank’s […] Read more

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Machinery

Toronto juice firm backed for ‘cold pasteurization’

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News July 10, 2017

A Toronto organic juice processor that bills itself as shunning conventional pasteurization for its products has picked up federal funding to develop a “new-to-Canada” way to extend their shelf life. The federal government on Friday announced a “repayable investment” of up to $6.3 million from the AgriInnovation program for Greenhouse Juice Co. to set up […] Read more

This trial near Beeton, Ont., was thought to have been lost, but timely drainage has saved it. (Photo courtesy Eugenia Banks, Ontario Potato Board)

Crops, Potatoes, Weather

Pearce: Heavy rains cause losses in Ontario potato fields

By Ralph Pearce, GFM Network News June 27, 2017

After a month of good growing conditions and positive reports amid sporadic news on disease potential, word from one of Ontario’s potato-growing regions is that roughly 1,000 acres of potatoes have been lost due to flooding. Drenching rains in midwestern Ontario have left both commercial fields and variety plots ruined. Rainfall amounts from June 22 […] Read more

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables

Ontario redrafts vegetable grower organization governance

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News June 24, 2017

Ontario’s Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) is proposing a new governance structure for the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, which has been without a board of directors since March. The commission last week released proposed amendments to provincial Regulations 441 and 400, which would set up an eight-member OPVG board with an OFPMC-appointed chair. The amendments […] Read more

Shown are stalks of German Wine rhubarb ready for harvest. Ted says it’s time to make a low-cost refreshing beverage and provides easy-to-follow steps for “No-Fuss Rhubarb Slush.”

FarmLife, Fruit/Vegetables

Planting and raising raspberries

Singing Gardener: Plus, sauerkraut from crock to jars and making refreshing rhubarb slush 

By Ted Meseyton June 23, 2017

Planting raspberries — and memories of Prairie songs. Also, yours truly had a chance to talk with gardener Margaret Gluska from Cranberry Portage, Manitoba. She’s seeking seeds for Pilgrim tomato and apparently they’re as hard to get as pulling hens’ teeth. As I get older, thoughts sometimes return to childhood days. A number of Prairie […] Read more

Southern Ontario wine grapes on the vine. (Dave Bedard photo)

Crops, Grapes

CFIA eyes replacing ‘Cellared in Canada’ claim for wine

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News June 2, 2017

Labels declaring blends of imported and domestic wine sold in Canada as “Cellared in Canada” could soon be on the way out in favour of more specific wording. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Thursday announced a round of consumer and stakeholder consultations, running until June 30, on a proposal for new wording on […] Read more

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables

Ontario minimum wage increases concern farmers

By GFM Network News June 1, 2017

Changes to the way labour is regulated and paid for in Ontario will have detrimental effects on farm profitability, say farm organizations. Premier Kathleen Wynne and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn announced the changes this week, outlining the proposed legislation after a review of the acts that govern labour in Ontario was completed. The largest impact […] Read more

Fruit/Vegetables, General

Five tips for eco-friendly gardening

May 31, 2017

The word eco-friendly can be used in many areas of our lives: at work, at home, at play. Being eco-friendly in all these aspects is quite a simple concept with incredible opportunities for creativity. The bottom line is eco-friendly is all about working with nature, not against it. As gardeners we play an ever-increasing unique […] Read more

Améthyste artichoke produces purple, uniform, heavy, tight heads with multiple secondary buds on an upright spineless plant that can take up  to 100 days to reach maturity.

FarmLife, Fruit/Vegetables

Some info on growing artichokes

Singing Gardener: Plus, Ted shares more feedback from readers

By Ted Meseyton May 29, 2017

As always, lots to write about in Grainews Singing Gardener page. Am sharing more feedback from readers, so thanks to folks who take time to write. Got some thoughts on the best days to go fishing once the rod and reel season opens in your area. Here where I am we’ve got the Portage Diversion spillway that […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures higher on year-end positioning

U.S. grains: Soybean futures fall, shrugging off China purchases

Growing pains: An Ontario city’s urban agriculture efforts show good policy requires real capacity

Fruit/Vegetables