Welcome our New Managing Director!

Shannon Fraser-Hansen

Our new contact information:

The SGGA has awarded the 2010 tag distribution program to JVK.  JVK is the exclusive distributor of Mastertag products in Canada and are looking forward to working with us this year.  If there are any questions in regards to this year’s tag program please contact the SGGA office or JVK directly.   JVK would also be happy to mail you catalogues. Ms. Janet Jackson at the JVK Tag Department is our main contact and she can be reached at 1-800-665-1642 (ext 2309) or by email at JJackson@jvk.net.

Note: you will NOT be required to send in a letter of good standing with your tag order. Instead the SGGA office has provided JVK with a list of 2010 member companies.  The list will be updated as memberships are renewed.  If your name is not on their list then check with the SGGA office.  Memberships must be updated by the time JVK does their billing to ensure you get the discount!   

 By Myron Love

    Growers who attended the most recent SGGA and SVGA conference (November 12-14 at the Travelodge in Saskatoon) had nothing but praise for the organization, the choice of speakers and the variety of exhibitors.
     Owen Vanstone (Vanstone Nurseries in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba), for example, says that it was nice to see some new exhibitors this year.  “The traffic seemed good,” he says.  “And I have to compliment Dorothy (Long) for her work in organizing the conference. She seemed to have the details well in hand.”
     Stuart Hunt from Oyen Greenhouses in Alberta says that he comes to the conference every couple of years.  It seemed to Hunt that the number of exhibitors had grown from the last time he attended in 2007.  He also noted that the conference seemed to be well organized.
     Bob Purton (Kangro Gardening in Yorkton) observed that the conference gives him an opportunity to get together with other growers and compare experiences.  “I always look forward to going to the trade show, too,” he says.  “I always find something new.”
     One of the features of this year’s conference that was new was that the SGGA and the SVGA welcomed two new partners – Flowers Canada and Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation.  To reflect the expanded base, the conference this year was renamed the Saskatchewan Green Trades Conference – the largest conference and trade show of its kind in Saskatchewan.
     The conference program began with two pre-conference workshops – led by Dr. Mohyuddin Mirza (recently retired from the Alberta Government) - speaking about getting started in the greenhouse industry – and customer service strategist and author Jeff Mowatt sharing low-cost high-return methods to retain employees and motivate them to provide exceptional service.
     Mowatt, who also led a general session providing tips on how to put customers at ease, was the speaker most frequently mentioned by growers attending the conference.  Tyler Benefeld, who works for Dutch Growers in Regina, said that he was most impressed with Mowatt while Bob Purton (Kangro Gardening, Yorkton) appreciated his positive approach.  
     Priscilla Mah (Central Botanical Gardens in Saskatoon) thought that Mowatt was the best speaker. She also appreciated hearing from Ball Horticultural’s Jim Nau about new varieties, container usage and propagation of perennials.
       Other speakers on the greenhouse side were Dr. David Ehret of Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada who did presentations on growing organic greenhouse crops, automated crop management and “Oxygenation of nutrient solutions”; Dr. Nabi Chaudhary of Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, who spoke about the economics of greenhouse crop development and how to make your greenhouse more profitable;  Syngenta’s Heidi Doering who provided suggestions on taking care of vegetative annuals and increasing sales and profit on bedding plants by paying attention to cultural details; Dr. Peter Johnston-Beresford from Olds College with an overview of new technologies to improve growing conditions for spring crops; Johnston-Beresford’s Olds colleague Dr. Ken Fry – whose topics were integrated pest management  for greenhouse vegetable production and new species threatening urban forests (for the Parks and Recreation folks); Bob Brad of the University of Saskatchewan describing a university dehumidification project;  Brian Sim of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture providing an overview of  agriculture business development programs; and marketing expert Bill McCurry.
     For vegetable growers, University of Saskatchewan plant sciences researcher Dr. Doug Waterer reported on his department’s experiments with a variety of vegetables over this past challenging summer as well as Dr. Philip Northover, supervisor of the Crop Protection lab in Regina, outling the lab’s services, and biologist (University of Regina) Dr. Chris Yost reporting on research into detecting fecal contamination levels in irrigation waters the Qu’Appelle valley.
     The Parks and Green Spaces component of the conference also featured (inaddition to Fry), presentations by Vancouver-based applied ecologist and renewable resources technologist Andrew Appleton and Chet Neufeld, the executive director of the non-profit Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan.          The conference also included the SVGA and SGGA AGMs and a banquet at which four greenhouses Central Botanical Gardens and Cory Parke Greenhouses in Saskatoon, Shaunavon Greenhouses (in Shaunavon) and Dieter Martin Greenhouse (in Langham) – were awarded their 25 year pins.  A silent auction that was part of the banquet evening raised over $5500 dollars which will be used for SGGA’s research and marketing programs.  
     “We had a very successful banquet and fundraiser,” conference co-ordinator Dorothy Long reports.
     She adds that attendance this year was over 200 – up from last year -  while the number of exhibitors was 40 this year which was up from last year.  Long along with the planning committee are very pleased with the results of the conference and trade show and is eagerly looking forward to next year’s conference.

The 2009 Saskatchewan Green Trades Conference was a huge success!  While many conferences are experiencing a drop in participation our conference saw significant increases in both attendance and tradeshow exhibitors! Thank you to all the sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and delegates for making this year's conference such a huge success!  Mark your 2010 calendar for November 11^th to 13^th for next years conference!

 

Pre-Conference Workshop

Becoming as Service Icon in

90 Minutes a Month

There was an over run of tomato trays made during our tray order.  If you are interested in more tomato trays at $1.25 (saving over 25 cents per tray) then  contact: Dorothy at dorothy@saskgreenhouses.com or 306.387.6610 for an order form!  

Save the Date!  Saskatchewan Nursery Landscape Association will be holding an event in Regina on Thursday August 13, 2009 at the Ramada Inn (1818 Victoria Ave., Regina).  
 
The event will include seminars ("New Ways for the Green Industry to get Premium Dollars" and a report on the Economic Impact Study for the Horticulture Industry), an overview of SNLA and the CNLA, a dinner and networking opportunities.  This event is open to both members and prospective members of SNLA - owners, managers, and staff, come out and get to know your industry association!  Please pass this information on to anyone that you think might be interested in attending this event.

Sponsorship Opportunities are available - Without the support of sponsors, events like this would not be possible.  Please see sponsorship opportunities listed in the attached registration package.  There are many different levels that will suit all budgets - all opportunities will give your company great exposure at this event!

See attached registration package which includes seminar details and sponsorship opportunities.  For more information on this event contact Rebecca Wetselaar at rebecca@canadanursery.com or 1-866-383-4711, or Michelle Brown at michelle@canadanursery.com or 1-888-446-3499 ext 8650.

by Glen Sweetman, PAg  Provincial Specialist – Greenhouse and Nursery
Crops Branch. (Published with permission from Agriview, Ministry of Agriculture, Sasaktchewan.)

The time is right for greenhouse vegetable production in Saskatchewan.  With consumers’ increasing awareness of the growing “buy local” movement, and the high cost of transportation, the greenhouse vegetable industry is doing well in Saskatchewan.

The acres devoted to Saskatchewan greenhouse vegetables are increasing along with the number of greenhouse operators.  However, production levels still have not met the increasing demand.  It seems like everyone is on board with Saskatchewan
produce. The farmers’ markets have line ups, fine restaurants are adding it to their menu, and grocery stores are sourcing as much locally grown produce as possible.

There has also been a lot of diversification by the individual producers.  They are extending their product lines beyond tomatoes and cucumbers to include miniature vegetables, as well as hot and sweet peppers.  There has even been limited production of strawberries, pole beans, lettuce, zucchini and muskmelons across the province.

The challenge of greenhouse vegetable production is managing the growing environment to produce an ideal ecosystem for the crop.  Production in a greenhouse is very technical with a number of management challenges.

The best place to buy Saskatchewan-grown produce is directly from farmers’ markets and greenhouses, but more and more local produce can be found in grocery stores.  Now, thanks to several of the larger greenhouses operating throughout the winter, produce is available year round.

For more information on the opportunities in greenhouse production
•    Call Glen Sweetman, Provincial Specialist, Greenhouse and Nursery, at (306) 787-6606, or
•    Contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.  

The Canadian Horticultural Council is pleased to announce the launch of its On-Farm Food Safety (OFFS) Certification Program. The application form for producers, storage intermediaries and packers interested in enrolling in the Program is available at the CHC website.

 

From the Canadian Horticultural Council's newsletter - Hort Shorts Spring 2009: On March 30, the Canada Organic Office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published its new Organic Products Regulations website featuring essential information on the upcoming regulations and enforcement policy.  The website includes valuable resources, such as a copy of the government's cost benefit analysis for regulating the organic =sector, questions and answers on the 2009 organic regulations, links to the regulations, standards and Canadian statistics. For more information, please go to the CFIA website.