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Grower Day 2022 welcomed hundreds of growers, industry leaders and experts

The 2022 Grower Day was a great success. After two years of virtual-only conferences, Greenhouse Canada and Grow Opportunity, were happy to welcome back growers and industry experts alike for a dynamic and engaging day of networking and education.

With more than 200 attendees, registrants listened, observed, and had the opportunity to ask any questions they desired to the 12 presenters of day one. The full day of presentations were moderated by Rita Sterne, Project Manager of Greenhouse Technology Network (GTN). GTN is a Niagara College-led consortium of academic research institutions supporting the research needs of greenhouse and related technology businesses through applied projects. Sterne provided the attendees with a quick kick-off about the work of the GTN, as well as the available collaborative funding opportunities.

The morning sessions started with an eye-opening presentation on a new and notable greenhouse predator, presented by Taro Saito, Senior Research Technician, Biological Control at Vineland Research & Innovation Centre.

Michael Brownbridge, Biological Program Manager, Disease Control Management at BioWorks, helped attendees avoid plant stress, from nutrition to biostimulants (and everything in-between).

Next up, Fadi Al-Daoud, Greenhouse Vegetable Specialist from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Thomas Graham, Assistant Professor and PhytoGro Research Chair in Controlled Environment Systems from the University of Guelph, aided growers with making informed decisions about the water treatments available for filtration and disinfection.

To end the morning sessions, attendees saw the latest updates from collaborative trials conducted by Blue Radix and OGVG with small, medium and large greenhouse operators, presented by Niki Bennett (OGVG), and Ronald Hoek (Blue Radix).

After the lunch break, where the audience enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch, Chevonne Dayboll and James Dyck from OMAFRA kicked off the afternoon portion, providing ways for growers to find the least energy-efficient areas of your greenhouse (and what to do about them).

Brian Cantin from Berger explained how to adapt production practices to different media components and blends in his presentation, “Adapting to a different mix,” while Gary Vollmer from Selecta North America took us back to the basics with “Poinsettia Culture 101.”

Rose Séguin, Sollum Technologies, ended the afternoon presentations with applications for dynamic LED lighting and dove into case studies where light intensity and spectra impacted both floral and vegetable crops.

Grower Day concluded with the annual Top 4 Under 40 awards (sponsored by Paul Boers Manufacturing and Prins Greenhouses), and the Grower of the Year award. This year’s winners for the Top 4 Under 40 included Nikki Scott, Tolko, Eagle Rock Reforestation Division; Karl Schouwenaar, Orchard Park Growers; Mark Numan, Colour Paradise Greenhouses; and Ty James, Blaine Consulting. The winner of the 2022 Grower of the Year award was Gene Ingratta, owner and operator of Allegro Acres.

Greenhouse Canada thanks our sponsors for making this event possible, including Sollum, Paul Boers Manufacturing, Prins Greenhouses, BioBee Solutions Canada, KUBO Greenhouse Projects, Ball Seed, and Big Ass Fans.

Mark your calendars for Grower Day 2023, taking place on June 20, 2023 in St. Catharines, Ont.