A B.C. company that raises seedlings for greenhouse vegetable growers is set to devote its existing square footage to weed, following a takeover by a B.C. cannabis grower and processor. Langley-based, publicly-traded Bevo Agro on Thursday announced a reverse takeover deal with Surrey-based, privately-held cannabis firm Sun Pharm Investments, which will see Sun Pharm shareholders […] Read more
Vegetable seedling grower, cannabis grower to merge
Aurora to buy Ontario’s MedReleaf in biggest-ever pot deal
Reuters — Aurora Cannabis will buy rival MedReleaf Corp. for $3.2 billion in the biggest deal yet to unify major Canadian pot growers, as the country moves toward legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The deal announced Monday is the latest in a wave of mergers in the industry as marijuana producers — emboldened by pot […] Read more
Greenhouse advances saving operators big dollars
New state-of-the-art designs are halving energy costs, but even ‘simple things’ make a difference
Reading Time: 2 minutes Improved construction materials and design are making greenhouses more efficient and cheaper to operate, says a provincial horticulture specialist. “Greenhouses have traditionally been energy-intensive operations, but with increasing scrutiny and slowly shrinking margins, producers need to find ways of trimming costs wherever possible,” said Dustin Morton. For example, research by Silke Hemming of Wageningen University […] Read more
Vertical farming grows up and comes of age
Growing food without sunlight or soil is now a reality, but the economics leave little room for error
Reading Time: 6 minutes Olds-area greenhouse operator Wayne Lohr and business partner Ulf Geerds are dreaming big — they want to grow an acre of strawberries. That may not sound like a big deal until you consider that acre will take up just 360 square feet and produce strawberries year round. And even though they’re grown in racks on […] Read more
Ontario greenhouse growers get competitiveness fund
The Ontario government is putting $19 million into a new initiative to support the competitiveness of the greenhouse sector in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal announced the funding on Thursday at Link Greenhouse near Bowmanville, just east of Oshawa. The Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative aims to provide funding for the creation of […] Read more
Lake Erie plan’s farming recommendations released
A federal/provincial action plan to reduce phosphorus loading in Lake Erie has been released for public comment — and many of its recommendations will have implications for farmers in the Lake Erie basin. None of the numerous recommendations are particularly new or surprising and mostly call for using existing funding programs to encourage certain production […] Read more
B.C. pulls PST for farm telehandlers, skid steers
Qualifying farmers in British Columbia are now able to buy telehandlers, skid steers and polycarbonate greenhouse panels for farm use without paying the province’s seven per cent sales tax. The province on Thursday announced the additions, effective Feb. 17, to its list of goods, equipment and services for which eligible farmers are PST-exempt. Farmers wanting […] Read more
Learn about the good bugs
Reading Time: < 1 minute A March 23 workshop will address how biocontrols can fit into an integrated pest management plan to help in greenhouse growing operations. “Biologicals are huge right now in greenhouse production and we’re seeing people introduce them and monitor them carefully for pests but at the same time aren’t quite sure where to take it from […] Read more
New profile of Alberta’s greenhouse sector
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has released the 2014 Alberta Greenhouse Profile Report, which is based on a survey conducted in partnership with the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association. It provides current benchmark data on the province’s 230 greenhouses, including size, distribution in different regions within the province, heating systems, water and energy use trends, labour, as […] Read more
Tomato producer Mastronardi said seeking buyer
Reuters — Mastronardi Produce, an Ontario grower and distributor of hothouse tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, is exploring a sale it hopes could value it at as much as $900 million, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Privately-held Mastronardi has hired Bank of Montreal (BMO) to run an auction process, the people said […] Read more
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