Karen Davidson

Milton

Editor at The Grower

Reporting, analysis, the pulse of Canadian Horticulture, editor, The Grower.

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Articles

Ontario‘s asparagus season is refreshingly early

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

Plentiful supplies of Ontario asparagus are kicking off spring in farmers’ markets, roadside stands and grocery stores. “After a cold winter and cool spring, we were surprised to be harvesting in late April and early May,” says Charles Welsh, Welsh Bros., Scotland, Ontario.
Evaluating the status of wild bees on your apple farm

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

Curious about the diversity of pollinators on your farm? Want to know if wild bees are abundant in your orchard blocks? There’s an app for that!WiBee (pronounced We-bee) is a smartphone app developed by the Gratton Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that allows growers and interested community members to collect high-quality data on wild bee abundance and diversity on farm, as well as non-crop habitats.
BC’s tree fruit and grape sectors rebound

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

Elected officials and producers visit Brarstar Orchards on the second Agriculture in Action bus tour on April 2, 2025. After five years of hardship marked by pandemics, heat domes, deep freezes, and trade disruptions, British Columbia’s tree fruit and wine grape sectors are showing signs of renewal - and remarkable resilience.
International Day of Plant Health is May 12

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

May 12 marks the International Day of Plant Health, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reminding everyone of their role in safeguarding agriculture, forests, and the environment in Canada. As the weather warms and Canadians are out enjoying local parks, campgrounds, and backyard barbeques, the CFIA is asking you not to move firewood, and report any sightings of invasive species.
Farm Boy sustains ‘nourish to flourish’ food literacy program

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

Farm Boy, one of Ontario’s fastest-growing fresh-market retailers has renewed its flagship charitable program, nourish to flourish. Developed in close collaboration with Sustain Ontario and Farm to Cafeteria Canada, nourish to flourish received more than 500 applications during its inaugural year and distributed 30 grants totalling $55,000 to Ontario schools highlighting the need for this community support.
LCBO’s The Eh List drives domestic wine sales

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

Ontario VQA wines are making a big splash, rising in dollar value sales by 62 per cent since the U.S. tariff war and thanks to the promotion of LCBO’s The Eh List. The statistic refers to the period of Feb 9 to March 29, 2025, when compared to the same period a year ago. The provincial liquor agency pulled American wines and spirits off the shelf on March 4, filling the space with Ontario- and Canadian-made products.
Collaborative efforts improve living and working conditions for Ontario’s TFWs

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

As spring arrives, Ontario’s fruit and vegetable farms are once again welcoming seasonal and temporary farm workers from other countries. Five years after the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, many improvements have been made to support and protect the workers who come to help grow the food Ontarians enjoy as part of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) and the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program’s agricultural stream.
U.S. specialty crop payments increased to $2.65 billion

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

First announced in December 2024, the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program authorized $2 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to assist U.S. specialty crop growers with rising input costs and aid in the expansion of domestic markets. In January 2025, in response to stakeholder feedback and program demand, funding was increased to $2.65 billion.
Kenya to host 13th World Potato Congress in fall 2026

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

The World Potato Congress (WPC) Inc. announces Kenya will be hosting the 2026 World Potato Congress in October/November 2026. This location change comes following an agreement reached between the Polish Potato Federation (PPF) and WPC to cancel the event scheduled for Gdansk, Poland in June of 2026. In late March 2025, the WPC Board of Directors reviewed the formal request led by the National Potato Council (NPCK) of Kenya to have its initial bid reconsidered for a future Congress.
Idaho potato acreage projected to hit 70-year low

1 week ago | thegrower.org | Karen Davidson

Idaho potato acres are projected to decrease by 15,000 acres this year compared with last year. That would be a five per cent drop if realized, from 315,000 acres in 2024 to 300,000 in 2025. Total U.S. potato acres are forecast to fall by four per cent, dropping from 930,000 acres in 2024 to 891,000 acres in 2025. Those projections were made in the April 10 edition of the North American Potato Market News. The largest acreage reductions are expected in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Maine.