Ballrooms are located on the main level. All other rooms are located on the 2nd floor. Map links are listed beside each room number below. All sessions and speakers subject to change. Some presentations may be live-streamed or pre-recorded.
Session Room Map - 2nd Level
Session Room Map - Main Level
Sessions Day 2
Session Program at a glance
AGRITOURISM ONTARIO
Ballroom D, Main Level
Chair: Kevin Vallier, Agritourism Ontario
9:30 Pursuit of Excellence: Growing for Gold – Self Awareness, Leadership and Teamwork
Cheryl Pounder, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist/World Champion/NHL Broadcaster
10:30 Loving and Living Your Brand
Andrea Kaiser, Kaiser Design and Marketing
2:00 Sensory Merchandising: Connecting with Customers One Sense at a Time
Joe Baer, Meg Lefeld, ZenGenius, Inc., USA
3:00 AI 101 – How to Leverage AI for Your Business in Agritourism
Craig Haney, AltaML
APPLES
Ballroom C, Main Level
Chairs: Erika DeBrouwer and Kristy Grigg-McGuffin, OMAFA
2:00 Effective Spraying: What Can Go Wrong and How to Get It Right
David Manktelow, Applied Research & Technologies Ltd., New Zealand
2:30 FUNdamentals of Fungicides
Katie Goldenhar, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food
3:00 The Use of Plant Growth Regulators in Apples – Why, When and How to Use Them
Poliana Francescatto, Valent BioSciences, USA (Live stream)
3:30 Targeting Success: Effective Spraying Practices Panel
David Manktelow, Applied Research & Technologies Ltd., New Zealand; Katie Goldenhar, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food; Poliana Francescatto, Valent BioSciences (Live stream)
Sponsored by:
BERRIES
Ballroom B, Main Level
Chairs: Erica Pate, OMAFA and Victoria Buma, Berry Growers of Ontario
9:30 Taylor Farms Muskoka Grower Profile
Sarah and Aaron Shaw, Taylor Farms Muskoka
10:00 Optically Targeted Herbicide Application in Highbush Blueberry
Thierry E. Besançon, Rutgers University, USA
10:30 Soilborne Disease Management
Marvin P. Pritts, Cornell University, USA
11:00 Who dunnit? Identifying Species to Improve Pest Management: The Buzz on Ontario Berries
Erica Pate, OMAFA; Victoria Buma, BGO
Sponsored by:
2:00 Best Use of Biological Solutions in Crop Protection and Plant Health For Berries
Eric Clifton, BioWorks
2:30 Anthracnose Resistance Issues and Neopest Management in Strawberry
Guido Schnabel, Clemson University, USA
3:00 Getting More Ontario Berries into the Shopping Cart
Peter Chapman, SKUFood
3:30 Field Release of the Asian Parasitoid, Ganaspis kimorum, for Biological Control
Tara Gariepy, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Sponsored by:
BRASSICA
Room 201, Second Level
Chair: Travis Cranmer, OMAFA
9:30 Major Brassica Pests and Diseases in 2024
Travis Cranmer, OMAFA
10:15 Managing Alternaria Leaf Spot and Head Rot in Broccoli with Fungicides in New York
Christy Hoepting, Cornell University, USA
11:00 Investigating Fungicides for Alternaria Management in Ontario Brassica Vegetables
Katie Goldenhar, BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Sponsored by:
COMMUNICATING ABOUT FOOD AND FARMING
Ballroom C, Main Level
Chair: Kelly Daynard, Farm and Food Care
9:30 Speaking Up About Food and Farming Workshop #1
Kelly Daynard, Farm & Food Care
10:30 – 11:30 Speaking Up About Food and Farming Workshop #2
Kelly Daynard, Farm & Food Care
COST OF PRODUCTION: MACHINERY COSTS
Room 203, Second Level
Chair: Ken Slingerland, LV Equipment
2:00 Accounting for Tracking/Managing Machinery Costs
Greg Simpson, MNP
2:30 Getting the Most Out of Farm Mechanization
Joe Pillitteri, Lakeview Vineyard Equipment Inc.
3:00 Financing Machinery Dos and Don’ts
Bill Stockwell, Farm Credit Canada
Sponsored by:
ENHANCING THE CROP HUB & CropIPM
Room 203, Second Level
Chairs: Nicole Berardi and Cora Loucks, OMAFA
9:30 Crop Hub and CropIPM Update: Demo of New Features
Joe Miller, Zengenti; Nicole Berardi, OMAFA
10:00 – 11:30 Question & Answer Feedback Session
Joe Miller, Zengenti; Nicole Berardi, OMAFA; Cora Loucks, OMAFA
FARMERS' MARKETS ONTARIO
Ballroom A, Main Level
Chair: Elmer Buchanan, FMO
9:30 2024 Market of the Year Award
TBD
10:00 Reducing Waste at Farmers’ Markets
Gabriella Dee, Memorial Centre Farmers' Market
10:30 Farm Fresh at Your Market – OFA-FMO Partnership
Paul Maurice, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
11:00 Funding your Market – An Unconventional Guide
Jaime Grant, Innisfil & Barrie Farmers’ Markets
2:00 What Can FMO Do for You – Workshop
Helen Scutt, Scutt & Associates; Facilitators: Melanie Anderson, ByWard Market; Jenny Groenheide, Thunder Bay Farmers’ Market
3:30 FMO Annual General Meeting
Lisa Cooper, FMO Treasurer
GRAPES
Room 207 Second Level
Chair: Wendy McFadden-Smith, OMAFA
2:00 Recent Advancements and the Importance of Domestic Clean Plant Program for Grapevines in Canada
Sud Poorjari, Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute–Brock University
2:30 Results of a Chemical Control Trial for Spotted Lanternfly
Doug Pfeiffer, Virginia Tech, USA; Josh Mosiondz, OMAFA
3:00 Best Use of Biological Solutions in Crop Protection and Plant Health for Vineyards
Michael Brownbridge, BioWorks
3:30 The Ugly Truth About Black Rot Control: Back to Basics
Bryan Hed, Penn State University, USA
Sponsored by:
HAZELNUTS
Room 204 Second Level
Chair: Melanie Filotas, OMAFA
2:00 Pricing and Promotion for Profit
Melissa Schooley, Apple Hill Lavender
2:30 Selling Local – Consumer Perceptions of Local Products and How to Increase Sales
Alicia Rihn, University of Tennessee, USA
3:00 Marketing Local Hazelnuts – A Case Study from the Midwestern USA
Emma Dempsey, American Hazelnut Company, USA
3:30 Grower Panel – Marketing Hazelnuts in Ontario: Present and Future
Amanda Pilot, The Nutty Neighbours; Rebecca Compton, Dalton White Farms; Elisabeth Burrow, Jewels Under the Kilt
HOPS
Room 204 Second Level
Chairs: Evan Elford and Melanie Filotas, OMAFA
9:30 Update on Spider Mite Biocontrol and Flea Beetle Distribution in Ontario Hops
Justin Renkema, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
10:00 Importance of Coverage/Improving Coverage in Tall Crops
David Manktelow, Applied Research & Technologies Ltd., New Zealand
10:30 Impact of Drying Temperature on Aroma Hop Quality
Lindsey Rubottom, University of Oregon, USA
11:00 Impact of Temperature and Other On-Farm Parameters on Hop Quality
Lindsey Rubottom, University of Oregon, USA
LABOUR 1
Room 205, Second Level
Chair: Stefan Larrass, OFVGA
9:30 Effective Health and Safety Representatives
Jay Remsik, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services
10:00 Onboarding Employees (TFWs & Domestic Labour)
Shawn McGowan, Agri-Business HR Solutions
10:30 WSIB's Foreign Agricultural Worker Strategy and What it Means for TFW Employers
Kendra Holliday-Bryant, WSIB
11:00 SAWP Source Country Update: Panel – Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Asha Jagassar-Jaggernauth, Consulate General of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Olaf Fontenelle, Chief Liaison Officer and Head of the Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service (ECLS); Ken Mason, Barbados Liaison Service; Shirley Wall-Mayers, Assistant Liaison Officer at the Consulate General of Barbados/Barbados Liaison Service
Sponsored by:
LAVENDER
Room 205, Second Level
Chair: Sean Westerveld, OMAFA
2:00 Hosting a Lavender Festival Off Site
Beth Hammerberg, Down by the River Lavender, USA
2:30 Panel on Festivals and Events
Arthur Lin, Lavender Polo Farm; Julie Thurgood-Burnett , Hereward Farm; Beth Hammerberg, Down by the River Lavender, USA; Christine Arezzi, Bluewater Lavender
3:30 Ontario Lavender Association AGM
OENOLOGY AND CIDER
Room 207, Second Level
Chairs: Jennifer Kelly, Brock University and Kevin Montgomery, OMAFA
9:30 Use of Non-Traditional Yeast to Mitigate the Effects of Botrytis and Sour Rot
Debbie Inglis, Brock University
10:00 There’s No Surefire Way – Challenges Faced as a Niagara Winemaker
Marc Bradshaw, Arterra Wines
10:30 Issues at the Crossroads of Cider and Wine
Eleanor Leger, Eden Specialty Ciders, USA
11:00 The Cider Project
Kate Anstreicher, Megan Larmer, The Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, USA (Live stream)
SWEET CORN AND CUCURBITS
Room 201, Second Level
Chair: Elaine Roddy, OMAFA
2:00 Tar Spot: An Emerging Disease of Sweet Corn
Julie Kikkert, Cornell University, USA
2:30 Fungicide Programs that Work Against Powdery Mildew in Pumpkin
Jim Jasinski, The Ohio State University, USA
3:00 Laser Scarecrows to Deter Birds in Sweet Corn
Julie Kikkert, Cornell University, USA
3:30 Review of Pumpkin and Squash Hybrids from 2020-2023
Jim Jasinski, The Ohio State University, USA
Sponsored by:
TENDER FRUIT
Room 206, Second Level
Chair: Wendy McFadden-Smith and Kathryn Carter, OMAFA
9:30 Reduced Sensitivity to DMI Fungicides in the Brown Rot Pathogen and Management Approaches
Katie Goldenhar, BC Ministry of Agriculture; Guido Schnabel, Clemson University, USA
10:00 Advances in Management of Scale Insects in Tender Fruit
Brett Blaauw, University of Georgia, USA
10:30 Insights on Biology and Epidemiology of Peach Leaf Curl
Irene Salotti, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
11:00 Peach Leaf Curl 2024: What Worked, What Didn’t and Possible Future Options for Management
Wendy McFadden-Smith, OMAFA
Sponsored by:
Afternoon Chair: Sarah Marshall, Ontario Tender Fruit Growers
2:00 Optically Targeted Herbicide Application in Tender Fruit
Thierry E. Besançon, Rutgers University, USA
2:30 Fruit Production for the Future: Washington State Smart Orchard
Lav Khot, Washington State University, USA (Live stream)
3:00 Panel on Optimizing Water Use in Orchards
Myroslava Khomik, University of Waterloo; Brett Ruck, Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
3:30 Tomorrow’s Forecast: Warmer, Wetter, and Wilder – Are you Ready?
David Phillips, Environment Canada
Sponsored by: