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

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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

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