(Bicks.ca)

Smucker to shed Bick’s brand

Pickle brand, other Canadian condiments to go to TreeHouse

U.S. food firm J.M. Smucker has a deal in place to sell off the Canadian pickle brand Bick’s and a portfolio of condiment brands it makes for the Canadian market. Ohio-based Smucker announced Oct. 17 it will sell the Bick’s brand plus the Habitant pickled beets, Woodman’s horseradish and McLarens pickled onions brands to Illinois […] Read more

The Agriculture Enlightened conference, held Oct. 26 in Winnipeg and hosted by EMILI, is trying to help Canada become a leader in digital and precision agriculture. (John Deere photo)

Robots may help grain farmers diversify

Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops

Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who […] Read more

B.C.-based Crush Dynamics Inc. uses a patented technology to convert grape waste from wineries into a functional ingredient that can help reduce the amount of sugar, salt and preservatives used in food and beverage production.

Repurposing food waste can offer benefits to agri-food sector

Companies are finding ways to create value and increase food availability

The concepts of reducing food loss and finding ways to repurpose waste streams into viable, useful products are gaining traction as countries around the world look to tackle food security and climate change. The United Nations just marked its fourth International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on September 29, and October has […] Read more

Luke Dinan, shown here with his family, won first prize in the Northern Food Security Challenge.

Finding new, energy efficient ways to grow food in the North

Cochrane vegetable grower wins Northern Food Security Challenge with wood biomass heating system

Luke Dinan is passionate about improving food security in northern Ontario and his vision for how to grow more food locally has won the Cochrane, Ont., vegetable grower first prize in the Northern Food Security Challenge. Why it matters: The natural growing season in the north is short and the climate is cool, which limits […] Read more

Gray mould growing on produce.

Path found to defeat crop-killing gray mould without chemicals

Science Notes: Study reveals how fungus delivers RNA weaponry

It’s a mould that causes billions in crop losses every year, infecting berries, tomatoes and most other fruits and vegetables. Now, researchers have found a way to defeat the mould. If you’ve ever seen a fuzzy gray strawberry, you’ve seen gray mould. It affects more than 1,400 different plant species, and there is no real […] Read more


“We have an automated system here where they swipe a card to come in, so we keep track of activity, who’s bringing what, who brings the most garbage, and who doesn’t.”

Innovation keeps Canada’s largest produce hub running smoothly

A state-of-the-art food waste system, efficient logistics and energy conservation keep Ontario’s Food Terminal humming

Nestled between The Queensway and the Gardiner Express is Canada’s largest and only wholesale fruit and vegetable distributor. “People from all over the world come to see how we operate. We’re distinct,” said Bruce Nicholas, Ontario Food Terminal general manager and secretary-treasurer. “We’re the only one with a wholesale farmers’ market (and) the only one […] Read more

Ontario Food Terminal has 20 wholesalers that stock in-season produce and some imported stock to supply the approximately 5,000 registered buyers.

Ontario Food Terminal distributes local produce on a national scale

Canada’s largest wholesale fruit and vegetable distribution centre moves more than two billion pounds a year

As the sun kisses the 40-acre Ontario Food Terminal, there is a frenetic hum and controlled chaos on the street. Forklift trucks and people pulling hand carts trundle between wholesale and farmers market tenants, swiftly and efficiently loading fruits, vegetables and horticultural products for the day. “Today, about 3,000 to 4,000 people are wandering around […] Read more

The Bill aims to cushion the financial blow to growers by securing payment in case of buyer bankruptcy.

Produce sector getting closer on financial safeguards for buyer bankruptcy

Victory may be in sight after a 35-year campaign for financial protection

Fruit and vegetable growers are keeping one eye on Bill C-280’s parliamentary progress and the other on the election countdown. The Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers Act, York-Simcoe MP Scot Davidson’s private member’s bill, received unanimous support in the House of Commons during its second reading mid-May. Why it matters: Since 1985, […] Read more


Since 2019, Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable growers have been dealing with tomato brown rugose fruit virus, which makes tomatoes unmarketable.

Anti-viral technologies can reduce pathogen transmission in the greenhouse

Pandemic battle to reduce COVID transmission gave researchers a unique opportunity to study anti-viral potential in tomatoes

Three new anti-viral technologies could help prevent the transmission of both COVID-19 and a plant virus that affects tomatoes in commercial greenhouses. That’s according to a recent Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) research project to refine and apply technologies used in other industries to greenhouses to test their effectiveness at inhibiting virus transmission. The project […] Read more

(Limagrain.com)

Limagrain offers to buy out seed maker Vilmorin

Pride Seeds co-owner has majority stake in veg seed firm

Paris | Reuters — French agricultural co-operative Limagrain has offered to buy the 28.78 per cent of Vilmorin it does not already own in a deal that values one of the world’s biggest seed suppliers at 1.43 billion euros (C$2.13 billion). Limagrain said on Friday it was offering 62.60 euros per Vilmorin share, a premium […] Read more