Michael Kauzlaric works as a technology scout at Vineland Research and Innovation.

New tender fruit varieties are just peachy

Harvest window, flavour and climate hardiness among most sought-after characteristics

An early ripening, yellow-flesh peach will be moving into first stage commercialization next year. It’s among several promising new tender fruit varieties from the University of Guelph and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) breeding programs that are emerging as potential winners in research under way at Vineland Research Innovation Centre (Vineland) in conjunction with Ontario […] Read more

Honeycrisp is a difficult apple to grow, but easy to market due to crispness and taste.

Cold climate apples and grapes put University of Minnesota on the map

The work on cold climate fruit will have an effect on cultivars grown in Ontario, including Honeycrisp apples

As we head into fall, the name Honeycrisp will be on many consumers’ minds. The highly sought-after apple is arguably the most popular among the 27 varieties released by the University of Minnesota apple breeding program since its inception 111 years ago. Less well known, but nonetheless starting to make an impact on tourism and […] Read more

File photo of fresh cherries from a roadside fruit stand at Penticton, B.C. (Amy Mitchell/iStock/Getty Images)

New EU import curbs on fruit not Canada-specific

Ottawa | Reuters — New European Union rules that could block shipments of Canadian cherries and other fruits to the 28-nation grouping apply to all countries and “was not unusual,” a senior Canadian official said on Friday. The clarification from federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau came a day after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) […] Read more

File photo of fresh cherries from a roadside fruit stand at Penticton, B.C. (Amy Mitchell/iStock/Getty Images)

EU set to halt imports of Canadian cherries, other fruits

Ottawa | Reuters — The European Union will halt imports of Canadian cherries and other fresh fruits starting Sept. 1 as it enforces new import requirements related to pests, according to a Canadian government document sent to industry on Thursday. In the notice, which was seen by Reuters, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the […] Read more

Strawberries are significantly behind in their maturity due to the cool and damp spring.

Ontario fruit, vegetable growers challenged by wet weather

Strawberry season delayed; veggie growers wait out the rain

Ontario’s cool, wet spring has widespread repercussions for the fruit and vegetable sector. So far it has delayed flowering and planting, caused some farms to reschedule the arrival of temporary foreign workers and created uncertainty about the viability of transplanted seedlings. Why it matters: Fruits and vegetables are high value crops and not getting enough […] Read more


(Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

New federal standard to expand beer ingredient options

More variety in allowable ingredients and more requirements for declarations are now part of the federal rules on what can be called beer in Canada. The federal government on May 1 announced “modernized” beer standards under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) — the rules laying out the requirements to be met by a product […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Neonic-treated canola not an ‘unacceptable risk’ for pollinators

Already facing federally mandated phase-outs from many major on-farm uses in Canada over risks to aquatic insects, neonicotinoids aren’t expected to pose “unacceptable risks” to pollinators when used on canola seed or hothouse vegetables in the meantime. Health Canada said as much Thursday as it released its final re-evaluation decisions for three neonic pesticides — […] Read more

Croptracker has a dashboard that allows a grower or a worker to manage the crop data collected.

Ontario company launches AI-based system to help automate fruit harvest

Croptracker traces fruit through the production process, but new image collection options can analyze fruit in bins for more efficient marketing and delivery

An Ontario software company is helping fruit and vegetable growers automate more of their labour-intensive harvest processes using artificial intelligence. Croptracker has just unveiled its latest innovation — Harvest Quality Vision — at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Niagara. Why it matters: Many aspects of fruit and vegetable production still require manual labour, […] Read more


(Food-guide.canada.ca)

Eat plant-based foods more often, new Food Guide says

Health Canada unveiled a new Canada Food Guide today that ends the era of the ‘four food groups,’ no longer refers to serving sizes nor specific amounts of food to eat daily, and replaces the former iconic rainbow with a dinner plate comprised mostly of plant-based foods. This new guide is all about proportion rather […] Read more

Greenhouse strawberries are grown at about waist height.

Strawberry expansion proves to be good business decision

Mucci Farms identified many potential pitfalls to growing indoor strawberries, but two years later, it is looking at adding more

The owners of Mucci Farms saw many good reasons to stay away from expanding their Leamington-area greenhouse operation to grow strawberries. But as the company looks back on its 2015 decision to proceed anyway, following two years of acreage expansion and expected construction of a third 12-acre strawberry facility in 2018, those perceived obstacles have […] Read more