AgScape, the voice of agriculture in the Ontario classroom, announced an educational challenge that will allow teachers and students to trek across the province to learn about local foods, without leaving their classrooms. It’s a great way to celebrate Local Food Week, June 3 to 9, 2019.

Research findings into management of viticultural pests have been summarized for grape growers in a comprehensive field manual entitled Guide to the Key Arthropods of Vineyards of Eastern Canada.

Many mainstream American commodity groups are worried about China’s May 13 retaliation on an array of goods. Chinese tariffs will rise anywhere from five to 25 per cent on June 1, including frozen vegetables.

Now in its seventh year, the Fresh from the Farm program hopes to reach a new enrolment goal of 600 Ontario schools this year. 2019 enrolment is now open.

The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity has hired John Jamieson as its new president and CEO. Most recently, Jamieson served as deputy minister of agriculture and fisheries, and deputy minister of rural and regional development in Prince Edward Island. He was also a past executive director of the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture.

Canadian growers have a new tool in the fight against fungicide resistance. ManageResistanceNow.ca has added fungicide best practice information to help growers minimize the development of resistance in their crops.

British Columbia’s strawberry, blueberry and raspberry industries will be receiving $200,000 in federal and provincial government funding on an annual basis for the next five years. The investment is in berry breeding to supply best varieties suited to the local climate.

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers is moving swiftly to communicate biosecurity protocols to its members in the face of a positive identification of an economically damaging virus. There is no danger to human health.

Leaders of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the Canadian Horticultural Council met with ag minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and other parliamentarians on May 7. It’s the last advocacy event before the federal election.