The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention (OFVC) is February 18th & 19th at the Niagara Falls Convention Centre. Come for the trade show and the educational sessions. Here is a list of sessions that may be of interest to vegetable growers:

Wednesday February 18

Managing Diseases in Tomatoes and Peppers

9:30 Tobamoviruses and Plant Resistance
Jonathan Griffiths, AAFC

10:00 Bye Bye Bravo? Foliar Disease Management in Tomatoes without Chlorothalonil
Katie Goldenhar, OMAFA

10:45 Buried Battles: The War Against Soil-borne Diseases
Amanda Tracey, OMAFA

LEGUME VEGETABLES

9:30 Exploring Specialty Legumes for Diversifying Small-Scale Production
Evan Elford, OMAFA

10:00 Can Edamame Transcend a Niche Crop Status to Mainstream?
Martin Williams, University of Illinois

10:30 Root to Shoot– Troubleshooting Production Issues in Snap Beans
Elaine Roddy, OMAFA

11:00 Decoding the Legume Root Zone: Driving Agronomic Innovation with Genomics
Rebecca Doyle, McMaster University

DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS FOR SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT

9:30 4Rs on Vegetables: Insights from Onion and Carrots
Charlie Lalonde, The Holland Marsh Growers’ Association

9:45 Decision Support Tools for Soil Fertility Management: An Overview
Tejendra Chapagain, OMAFA

10:00 Picketa Systems for Making Nutrient Management Decision on
Horticultural Crops
Domenic Blass, University of Guelph

10:30 Soil Data for Making Nutrient Management Decisions on Horticultural Crops
Paul Raymer, Soil Optix Inc.

11:00 Decision Support Tools for Soil Fertility Management
Bryan Stennet, NutriAg

GARLIC

2:00 When is the Best Time to Plant Garlic and Potential Intercropping Options
Travis Cranmer, Stephanie Vickers, OMAFA

2:15 Garlic Pests and Diseases in 2025
Travis Cranmer, OMAFA

2:30 Shifting Alliance: The Complex Relationship Between Fusarium and Garlic and Its Implications for Management of Dry Rot
Christel Leyronas INRAE Centre PACA, France

3:30 The Yield Advantages of Clean Seed
Travis Cranmer, OMAFA

INTRODUCTION TO VEGETABLE GROWING

This session offers a look at considerations when starting to farm and a practical overview of farming fundamentals. Designed for those curious about starting their agricultural journey, it provides a strong foundation to understand both the challenges and rewards of farming today. Programing to be released in the near future.

Thursday February 19

CROP PROTECTION

9:30 Behind the Spray: What It Takes to Bring Products to Market
Pamela Livingston, Syngenta Canada

10:00 PMRA Risk Assessment Overview
PMRA Speaker TBD

10:30 Minor Use 101
Josh Mosiondz, OMAFA

11:00 Health Canada’s Pesticide Compliance and Enforcement Update
Ann-Marie Cooper, Health Canada

SWEET CORN AND CUCURBITS

9:30 Where do Fungicides Fit for Sweet Corn?
Kris McNaughton, OMAFA

10:00 Surprises from Studying Sweet Corn Production Over the Last Quarter Century
Martin Williams, University of Illinois

10:30 Insect Vectored Diseases in Vine Crops–A Primer
Elizabeth Buck, Cornell Cooperative Extension, USA

11:00 Watermelon Production: Cultural Practices and Cultivar Selection
Wenjing Guan, Purdue University

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF THE CROP PROTECTION HUB & CROP IPM

9:30 Crop Hub & CropIPM: A Year in Review
Ian Williams, Zengenti; Nicole Berardi, OMAFA

10:00 Building Better Tools Together: Help Improve Crop Hub & CropIPM (1.5 hours)
Ian Williams, Zengenti; Nicole Berardi, OMAFA

LABOUR

9:30 Ergonomics and Return to Work Strategies
Shawn Chadwick, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services

10:00 Farm Injuries and WSIB Administration
Shawn McGowan, Agri-Business HR Solutions

10:30 Practical Health and Safety Resources for Employers of TFWs
Eduardo Huesca, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc.

11:00 60 Years of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programme (SAWP)
Althea Riley, Jamaica Liaison Service; Eric Poliah, Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Labour

GROWER EXPERIENCES WITH ROBOTICS & TECHNOLOGY

9:30 Robotic Apple Thinning–Early Results & Path to Robotic Harvesting
Matt Stevens, Finite Robotics; Gerbe Botden, Blue Mountain Fruit Company

10:00 Robots, Research and Results: Ontario Crops Research Centre-Simcoe Squash Trial
Torin Boyle, University of Guelph; Kaya Moore, Haggerty Robotics

10:30 agroTRAX– Robotics Platform for Tabletop, Vine Grown and Greenhouse Crops
Konrad Konerth, Konexxio; Kevin Howe, Howe Family Farms

11:00 Grower Experiences with Robotics & Technology
Cole Jones, Local Line

ORGANIC & MARKET-GARDEN POTATOES

2:00 Organic No-till Potatoes
Ken Laing, Orchard Hill Farm

2:30 Growing Organic Potatoes Commercially
Isaiah Swidersky, Wider Sky Farms

3:00 Varieties and Seeds for Small-Scale and Organic Potato
Hugo Martorell, SeedChange

3:30 Vegetable Variety Workshop: Share, Learn, Discuss
Moderators: Hugo Martorell, SeedChange; Dennis Van Dyk, OMAFA

CREATING RESEARCH IMPACT

2:00 Driving Value in Horticulture: Aligning Research Priorities with Investment
Dr. Amy Bowen, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

2:30 Farmer-led Research as a Tool to Support Farmer Innovation and Ecological Farming Practices
Ali English, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario

3:00 Collaborative Research for Processing Vegetables
Dan Oliver, Nortera Foods

3:30 Brock University’s Clean Agriculture Sustainable Production (CASP) Research Farm
Dr. Jim Willwerth, CCOVI

COST OF PRODUCTION

2:00 Know Your Cost to Grow: Record Keeping, Calculating, and Analyzing your COP (2 hours)
Dr. Nathan Stacey, Oregon State University

A full list of sessions/workshops can be found at https://www.ofvc.ca/sessions_overview.html. Session calendars taken from the OFVC highlights brochure are found below: