A surprise snow storm in southern Ontario on November 11 has bogged down harvesting of root vegetables. Anywhere from 20 to 50 per cent of the carrot crop is yet to be dug, depending on geography.  

The Canadian Agri-Marketing Association recognized CropLife Canada’s outreach activities with three awards in its annual competition on November 14.  One was for its Real Farm Lives video series. Shane, Gail and son Kyle Ardiel, apple growers at Clarksburg, Ontario were one farm subject.

The California company that has engineered an edible covering for fruits and vegetables is opening offices in key countries:  Mexico, Netherlands and Peru. 

USDA now requires Canada to inspect tomato and pepper fruit to ensure it is free of disease symptoms prior to export to the United States. The federal order is effective Friday, November 22, 2019.

The 28th annual Ontario Produce Marketing Association Gala shone a light on four of the industry’s brightest and best on November 15. One of them was Steve Bamford who won the Cory Clack-Streef Produce Person of the Year Award.

CPMA and PMA will stop issuing generic Universal Product Codes at the end of December, 2019.  Instead, brand owner-specific codes or global trade item numbers will be used.  One benefit: enhanced traceability efforts in the case of a food recall.

The weather has won this fall’s battle writes Terence Hochstein, executive director, Potato Growers of Alberta. He predicts about 7,500 acres are affected in southern Alberta.