2022 OFVC is Back!

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention (OFVC) is back in-person for 2022 after a brief hiatus. It begins tomorrow Feb 23 and runs until Thursday Feb 24 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.

Come for the Trade Show and stay for the educational sessions. Here is a list of sessions that may be of interest to vegetable growers:

• Wednesday February 23 – Morning 9:30-12
• Sweet Corn and Cucurbits
• Innovations in Ag Robotics
• Wednesday February 23 – Afternoon 2-4
• Garlic
• Incorporating Biopesticides Into IPM
• Thursday, February 24 – Morning 9:30-12
• Emerging Pest Issues in Peppers
• Soil Health and Cover Crops for Vegetable Production
• General Labour
• Managing Food Safety Risks
• Thursday, February 24 – Afternoon 2-4
• Living Without Linuron
• Organic Production:Breeding, Seeds and Implementation

Wednesday February 23 – Morning 9:30-12

Sweet Corn and Cucurbits

9:30 Sweet Corn Pest Management Update Elaine Roddy, OMAFRA

10:00 Strip Tillage – What Can Sweet Corn Growers Learn from the Field Corn Experience? Ben Rosser, OMAFRA

10:30 Rainfastness of Vegetable Fungicides Daniel S. Egel, Purdue University, USA

11:00 Phytophthora Rots in Pumpkins and Squash – The Scourge of 2021! Katie Goldenhar, OMAFRA

Innovations in Ag Robotics

9:30 Agricultural Robots – What to Expect and Are They Worth the Investment? Sougata Pahari, Korechi Innovations Inc.

10:00 Precision Robotic Weeding for Vegetable Crops Teric Greenan, Nexus Robotics

10:30 Effectiveness and Efficiency of Field Robots Chuck Baresich, Haggerty Creek AgRobotics

Wednesday February 23 – Afternoon 2-4

Garlic

2:00 Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Your Garlic Crop Travis Cranmer, OMAFRA

3:30 Clean Seed Production Candy Keith, University of Guelph

Incorporating Biopesticides Into IPM

2:00 Where Do Biopesticides Fit in a Disease Management Program for Vegetables Dr. Margaret McGrath, Cornell University, USA

2:30 Biological Solutions for Small Fruits and Vegetables Dr. Surendra Dara, Oregon State University, USA

3:00 Efforts to Effectively Integrate Biopesticides into Management Programs Using Best Horticultural Practice and Disease Forecasting Dr. Kerik Cox, Cornell University, USA

3:30 Role of Biopesticides and Cover Crops in Integrated Disease Management of Vegetable Diseases Dr. Cheryl Trueman, University of Guelph

Thursday, February 24 – Morning 9:30-12

Emerging Pest Issues in Peppers

9:30 New or Not? Biology and Management of Anthracnose Fruit Rot on Peppers Dr. Anthony Keinath, Clemson University, USA

10:10 Internal Fruit Rot of Pepper: a Greenhouse Foe Now Causing Issues in The Field Dr. Genevieve Marchand, AAFC

10:50 Managing Stink Bugs in Vegetables: A Summary of 10 Years of Research in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Dr. Thomas Kuhar, Virginia Tech, USA

Soil Health and Cover Crops for Vegetable Production

9:30 Soil Health Testing – What’s it Worth to You? Sebastian Belliard, OMAFRA

10:00 Fitting Cover Crops into Vegetable Rotations Dr. Thomas Bjorkman, Cornell University, USA

10:30 Soil Health and Cover Crops – A Winning Combo for Ontario Vegetable Growers Dr. Laura Van Eerd, University of Guelph

11:00 Grower Panel – Building Soil Health Pays Kurtis Allaer, Serkka Farms, James Kingsbury, Sandy Shores Farms

General Labour

9:30 Connecting Ontario’s Agri-Food Workforce Janice Janiec, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

9:45 Cultivating Non-Traditional Talent Ingrid Muschta, Ontario Disability Employment Network

10:00 Tools to Manage the People Part of Your Farm Jennifer Wright, Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council

10:30 SAWP/TFWP Ag Stream 2022 Update Ken Forth, OFVGA

11:00 Taking Advantage of Your Health and Safety Partnership to Maximize Profits and Lower Risk Jeff Pedlow, Pamela Resvick, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services

11:30 Employer Registry of International Agricultural Workers Walkthrough Kelly Jackson, OMAFRA

Managing Food Safety Risks

9:30 Canada GAP Updates: Unannounced Audits and Environmental Monitoring Heather Gale, Amber Bailey, CanadaGAPNote: session is divided in half. Part 1: Unannounced Audits, Heather Gale Part 2: Environmental Monitoring Program, Amber Bailey

10:00 Listeria and Other Food Pathogens in the Field Dr. Laura Strawn, Virginia Tech, USA; Dr. Alexis Hamilton, Virginia Tech, USA

10:30 Understanding and Implementing an Environmental Monitoring Program (TBC) Dr. Alexis Hamilton, Virgina Tech, USA; Dr. Laura Strawn, Virginia Tech, USA

11:00 Panel Discussion Dr. Alexis Hamilton, Virgina Tech, USA; Dr. Laura Strawn, Virginia Tech, USA

Thursday, February 24 – Afternoon 2-4

Living Without Linuron

2:00 Pyridate and Linuron-free Weed Control in Carrots Clarence Swanton, University of Guelph

2:30 Controlling Pigweed in Carrots on Mineral Soil without Linuron Darren Robinson, University of Guelph

3:00 Potato Options without Linuron in the Tank Dennis Van Dyk, OMAFRA

3:30 Asparagus Weed Control in a World without Linuron Kristen Obeid, OMAFRA

Organic Production:
Breeding, Seeds and Implementation

2:00 Crop Functional Traits Through Domestication: Nutrient Acquisition in Organic Agriculture Dr. Marney Issac, University of Toronto

2:30 No-till Organic Vegetables – Our Successes and Challenges Ken Laing, Orchard Hill Farms

3:00 Behind the Scenes of Organic Seed Aaron Varadi, High Mowing Seeds