Feature articles
Feature articles provide a big-picture look at the issues that are facing the horticulture industry, and what these possible changes might mean for growers. Although the perspective of the articles is high-level, the stories also provide actionable advice.
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October 24, 2022 — Fruit and vegetable growers across Canada are continuing to feel the pressures of inflation and increased expenses as they work to feed Canadian families.
Read MoreBy Janet Krayden, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) Producers often speak about the aid benefits of Canada’s Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) for farm workers and their families. And, due to the personal relationship farmers have with their seasonal employees, they have a unique, first-hand perspective to witness the ways the lives of their farm…
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By Janet Krayden, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) If your farm uses the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) through the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) or Agricultural Stream to fill job vacancies when Canadians do not apply, you will have noticed the number of audits and inspections have increased significantly. According to Employment and…
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Story and photos by Jeff Tribe Felena Pereira lives her life with the personal philosophy, For success, always keep trying, always get your feet wet. “Meaning, don’t be afraid to get in there,” explains the Tabaquite, Trinidad resident and six-year Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) participant at Schuyler Farms Limited near Simcoe, Ontario. “It could…
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By Mark Halsall Harrison Van Meekeren is a third-generation apple farmer in Lakeville, Nova Scotia, managing the crop on property his grandfather Frank bought back in 1964 to grow vegetables, apples, and other fruit that he sold door-to-door. Today, Van Meekeren Farms comprises a bustling apple packing facility, along with 100 acres of trees that…
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By Simon Lavoie, Les Producteurs en serre du Québec Located in the charming valley of the Diable River in Quebec’s Laurentian Region, Ferme aux petits oignons has an incredible story to tell. As part of the wave of agroecological horticultural field and greenhouse production, the Mont-Tremblant business continues to impress with its capacity to develop…
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Dusty Zamecnik is a 27-year-old horticultural farmer in the lush farmland of Norfolk County, Ontario, which is situated close to Lake Erie’s north shore. Now production manager at his family’s EZ Grow Farms, Zamecnik returned to farming in 2014 after getting a business degree from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and spending…
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Bryce Loewen is a 28-year-old potato farmer in Winkler, Manitoba who believes more young people should be eating more spuds because of their significant nutritional value. That’s why he supports a new fresh potato marketing campaign from Manitoba’s grower-owned vegetable marketing board, Peak of the Market. The campaign, called Potahto Lovers of Manitoba, was launched…
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By Mark Halsall Cory Gerrard is a 33-year-old potato producer at Rod Swenson Farms, a fourth-generation farm on Westham Island in Delta, British Columbia. Gerrard married into the Swenson family and runs the operation along with his wife, brother-in-law, and father-in-law, but he’s certainly no stranger to farm life. “I was born into it,” says…
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By Karen Davidson In 2022, the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) will be marking its 100th anniversary. That’s one hundred years of focused advocacy work on behalf of fruit and vegetable growers across the country. As a small not-for-profit, CHC prides itself on being able to make the most of its limited resources, yet its success…
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