The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention (OFVC) will be held February 20 and 21, 2019 at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls (www.ofvc.ca). This year the program features substantial specialty crop content. Here are some highlights for specialty crop growers:

Wednesday, February 20 am
Hops

9:30 Environmental Impacts on Hop Cone Quality  Evan Elford, OMAFRA
10:00 Pest Management and Cone Quality Dr. Melanie Filotas, OMAFRA and Dr. Asifa Munawar, University of Guelph
10:30 Post-Harvest Methods for Optimal Cone Quality Alex Adams, Cedar Hop Farm, Harmony Agricultural Services, and Processing Consultant, MILocal Hops, USA
11:00 Ontario Processor Perspectives: What Do We Need to Do to Improve Cone Quality Brandon Bickle, Valley Hops; Curtis VanQuaethem, VQH Farms & Kinglake Farms; Nicolas Schaut, Bighead Hops; and Scott Hayhoe, Hayhoe Hops

Thursday, February 21 pm
Garlic

2:00 Producing Clean Seed for Ontario Garlic Growers Candy Keith, New Liskeard SPUD Unit
2:30 An Integrated Pest Management Strategy for Leek Moth, an Alien Invader Kathy Makela, AAFC
3:00 Transitioning a Budding Garlic Industry Jackie Rowe, The Garlic Box
3:30 Cropping Systems to Maximize Garlic Yield John Zandstra, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus

Lavender – Planning for Profits

2:00 Creating a Lavender Business Plan Lee Anne Downey, Stonewell Farm
2:30 Lavender Economics: Is Your Purple Flower $Green$? John Molenhuis, OMAFRA
3:00 How to Manage the Risks of Operating a Lavender Farm Business Connie Kehler, Herb, Spice and Specialty Agriculture Association
3:30 Panel: Grower Experiences Planning a Lavender Farm  Lee Anne Downey, Stonewell Farm; Melissa Schooley, Apple Hill Lavender and Raging Bowl Pottery; Anita Buehner, Bonnieheath Lavender and Winery; Christel von Engelbrechten, Christel Lake Lavender

Hazelnut Production

2:00 Bud Mites in Hazelnuts and Other Economic Pests / AAFC Research Dr. Julia Mlynarek,  AAFC
2:30  A Market Assessment for Hazelnuts –  Opportunities and Potential Prices for Growers Douglas Hart, Hart & Associates Management Consultants Ltd.
3:00 Grower Panel:
Weeds in Hazelnuts Martin Hodgson, Butternut Farms
Machine Harvesting for Hazelnuts Les High, Highview Orchards
3:30 What Does it Cost to Grow Hazelnuts Commercially? John Molenhuis, OMAFRA

There are also many sessions that apply to all crops including Foliar Micronutrients, Drip Irrigation, Business, The Future is Now: Emerging Tools for IPM, Food Safety for Produce: What You Need to Know, Tapping into Secondary Stream Revenue for Farms, Organic Pest Management, Precision Agriculture, Sprayers: Doing More with Less, and Biostimulants. Full 2-day sessions have been organized by both the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association and Farmers Markets Ontario and there are numerous sessions on fruit and vegetable production as well cider and wine making. For the full program and to register for the convention visit the OFVC website at www.ofvc.ca.