News
Top 4 Under 40: The future grows bright

As a child, Kok worked alongside his parents in their greenhouse and continued in the family business into adulthood. He went on to take horticultural courses at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and gained experience working with local growers of bulbs, perennials and nursery stock.

“When I came back to the family business, I gained a larger perspective for the business and the direction that we would take it,” he says.

In 2017, Kok and his wife Lindsay bought the greenhouse and garden centre business from his parents.

“Continuing his family business is very important to him, as this is the legacy of his parents,” says Lindsay. “I am very proud of what we have done to the company since we’ve owned it.” The greenhouse operation now proudly uses all organic media and a mycorrhizal fungal product with their organic feed.

Described as compassionate with a sense of humour, Kok’s management style has built a strong work environment based on teamwork and trust, paying compliments when due and addressing problems where needed. He listens to what the staff have to say and makes the changes they request, says Lindsay, “and in doing so, it makes the staff feel at home.”

Kok also organizes regular training and educational workshops, drawing from outside industry expertise to ensure their staff can access the latest skills and tools. “Instead of just a job, many of our staff feel this is their career,” says Lindsay.

Engaged in their local community as well as the horticultural sector, Kok is an active member of the BC Nursery and Landscape Association, as well as United Flower Growers’ Association and Nurseryland Canada.

Celebrating Amsterdam Greenhouses’ 40th anniversary, the results of the couple’s hard work has not gone unnoticed. The business was presented with the Agribusiness of the Year Award by the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.

“My motivation comes from my family and the drive to continue to build my business and grow our family legacy,” says Kok.

Jeff Newhouse
Waldan Gardens
Wainfleet, ON

“I grew up on our family’s field vegetable farm,” says Jeff Newhouse of Waldan Gardens in Wainfleet, Ont., “and when I was 13, we decided to build our first range of greenhouses.”

Spending his summers and Saturdays working at the greenhouse, Newhouse found himself wearing a number of different hats and gained experience in a number of different roles. The knowledge and skills he acquired proved to be indispensable.

After completing university, Newhouse joined the family business full-time, focusing on finance, administration and capital projects. A lover of new opportunities and challenges, he found himself taking on a number of key projects once again in his role.

Newhouse was at the helm of Waldan Gardens’ recent 120,000-square-foot expansion, says brother Chris, co-owner of the greenhouse operation. “This has been a monumental year for Jeff.” Through careful planning and thoughtful execution, Newhouse was instrumental in the layout and design of the new facility, bringing in new machinery for automating many of the greenhouse’s production processes.

In addition to lessening their labour load, Newhouse worked to reduce energy costs by procuring and installing Waldan’s cogeneration unit in 2017. Described as a “behind-the-grid power plant,” the unit currently handles the lighting load while supporting the heating needs of the facility, says Chris. Outside of the greenhouse, Newhouse is an active member of Ag Energy’s board of directors.

Always seeking to elevate the floriculture sector, Newhouse has hosted a number of events at Waldan’s, including grower meet-and-greets in partnership with Berger, Zwart Systems, and Verhoef Electric, as well as a Petals & Plates consumer dinner event with Flowers Canada – drawing 120 to 150 guests. Whether it’s improving grower rapport or raising awareness around local flower production, Newhouse’s activities clearly reflect his dedication to the sector.

Dusty Zamecnik

While the family operation has been propagating strawberries for well over 20 years, he explains, it was through his involvement with various agricultural associations that he came to understand the emerging greenhouse berry industry.

Described as a horticultural innovator, entrepreneur and passionate advocate for Canadian growers, Zamecnik was one of the first to assess the need for properly grown strawberry plant material for the young greenhouse strawberry market, says Shawn Mallen, manager of hydroponics and manufacturing at A.M.A. Horticulture. Travelling back and forth from Europe to research innovative techniques, Zamecnik introduced the first commercial suspension propagation system to North America.

Pairing this European propagation technique with a Cravo retractable-roof greenhouse from a Canadian manufacturer in Brantford, Ont., EZ Grow Farms has become a key source of young strawberry plants in North America. Initially starting with a trial order of 40,000 plants in 2016, they now grow over 1,200,000 plants for greenhouse growers, with more acreage coming online annually, says Mallen.

Crediting their success to the team at EZ Grow, as well as key suppliers and financers, Zamecnik says he is motivated by working with like-minded individuals who “embrace the unknown, pioneer the future and take that leap of faith.”

Known to share his knowledge with with colleagues on strawberry production,  he also uses social media to dispel myths and stereotypes around modern farming practices, including pesticide use, sustainability and automation, says Mallen.

Zamecnik has volunteered with a number of industry organizations, including his roles as a board member of the Berry Growers of Ontario, chair of the Norfolk County Agricultural Advisory Council, member of Canadian Horticulture Council’s Berry Working Group, and the Young Farmer Representative for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, among others. In 2017, Zamecnik received the Ontario Outstanding Young Farmer Award. In his limited spare time, Zamecnik hones his entrepreneurial skills by growing Hometown Brew Co., a joint venture with his cousins that uses local produce, including EZ Grow’s own blueberries and hops.

“Dusty’s passion for the industry and energy for ongoing education and innovation is contagious,” says Mallen, “and we can’t wait to see what he will do next.”